Tacos and sliders and balls, oh my!!!!!

Now, this is what I love about Toronto, bro. Where else in the country can you have Malaysian street food one night, then walk just a couple blocks for some Trinidadian pub grub a couple days later? We’re hanging out at Chadon Beni, this funky Trini joint right at the corner of Queen and Shaw, where they’re serving up a few of my favourite tings — like sliders and tacos — along with their funky take on Caribbean classics like bake & shark, callaloo soup and macaroni pie. Actually, their mac pie is not a pie, it’s rolled, breaded and fried, just the way I like it…

These Macaroni Pie Bites are more like big balls, and they’re some of the biggest balls I’ve seen since that charity soiree with Bon Scott in ’77, son! They come with a side of callaloo, which I had started eating with a spoon, until our server gave me a hot tip — you’re supposed to slather it on the balls, bro! And I gotta say, the callaloo really kicked it up a notch, adding a nice earthiness to this dish. Hey, if I’m gonna eat green stuff, putting it on top of deep-fried mac ‘n cheese is definitely the way to do it!!!!

Now, I don’t know if any of these creatures are native to Trinidad, but Chadon Beni is serving up a large selection of sliders from all over the animalverse. You’ve got duck, elk, wild boar, wagyu beef — all that’s missing is kangaroo, rabbit and like polar bear or something. They’ve even got BBQ jackfruit for all the vegans out there. But me, I went with the venison. You definitely don’t see venison every day, especially in slider form… And the meat is the star of the show here — nice and rich, with just a bit of smoked cheddar, bacon jam, and some arugula. Can I get like six more to go, bro????

But now it’s time for the main event: deep fried lobster tacos. Shut the port, aft and starboard doors, matey! These super-crunchy crustaceans are coming straight outta fryer in tempura batter, with a pineapple salsa and chipotle donkey sauce. I think there’s also a bit of scotch bonnet in there somewhere — it’s got a nice kick without biting your face off.

Now, since the name of this blog ain’t Burgers, Bacon and Rum Punch, we had to slam some Trinidadian beers. Man, I have never even seen Mackeson Triple Stout anywhere before, but I like a good stout, so I figured it was worth trying. Thing is, this beer doesn’t have the chocolately taste of a Guinness; it’s got more of a pruney taste like a Belgian dubbel. Still, with all the super-hot (temperature more than spice) food coming outta the kitchen, I really needed a few of these. And they come in tiny little bottles too — 275 ml, which is less than your average longneck, more like a half pint. So I could probably crush, like, 23 of these. You KNOW drinking is all I got, bro!!!!!