That’s why Cabano’s owner Kevin Boyd added his version to the menu at the end of September.
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owner → ’ → September
Boyd’s version starts with five-and-a-half ounces of thick-cut peameal bacon seared in beef tallow.
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version → start → tallow
“Cooking in beef tallow provides an almost umami undertone that you don’t really notice, but you can still taste it.
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you → cook → it
It just provides a buttery, nutty flavour,” he said.
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he → provide → flavour
It’s then topped with two tomato slices, American cheese and a choice of regular honey mustard or spicy honey mustard, all tucked into a soft pretzel bun.
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all → top → bun
It’s a fatty, indulgent sandwich, with the bacon juices trickling down your fingers.
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juices → ’ → fingers
The tomato adds a contrasting sweetness, while the acid in the mustard adds a fat-cutting zing (this is where the spicier mustard does a better job).
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mustard → add → job
While Cabano’s opened on St. Nicholas Street in 2018, the exterior sign says it was established in 2015.
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it → open → 2015
Wanting to see what it was like to work at a Michelin-starred restaurant (this was before Toronto got its own guide)
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Toronto → want → guide
, Boyd traded his Bay Street job for the kitchen of Chicago’s Sepia restaurant.
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Boyd → trade → restaurant
One day, the restaurant received a surplus of habaneros, so Boyd turned them into a burnt chili hot sauce that became the basis for Cabano’s in 2015.
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that → receive → 2015
Moving back to Toronto, Cabano’s started as a sandwich place before Boyd added a smashed burger that really took off.
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that → move → burger
What else is on the menu
Start with the Cabano Burger Combo ($21.49): two four-ounce patties cooked until delicately crusty but still juicy.
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is → start → Combo
The toppings are kept simple, with shredded lettuce, melted American cheese and onions, but what sets Cabano’s burgers apart is the addition of fried jalapeños.
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sets → keep → jalapeños
“It tastes like a salt and vinegar chip,” he said.
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he → taste → chip
A simple Ace Bakery potato bun tops it off.
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bun → top → it
You can get the burger on its own, but the beef tallow fries are piping hot and crispy (plus, the included pop is from the premium Pop Shoppe).
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pop → get → Shoppe
The fried chicken sandwich ($20.49 for a combo) is also a highlight.
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sandwich → fry → combo
Five ounces of white breast meat is wet-brined for 24 hours with dill, garlic and peppercorns before it’s dredged and fried (in beef tallow, of course) to a delicate crisp.
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it → brine → crisp
Get the spicy version, where the chicken is tossed in a spicy habanero honey sauce that gives off a necessary (but mild) acidic bite.
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that → get → bite
For an extra $1 in the combo, swap out the fries for onion rings, where you can hear the crunch with each bite.
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you → swap → bite
Explore the area
I recently wrote about St. Nicholas Street being a bit of an anonmaly in the downtown core.
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Street → explore → core
It’s centrally located but this brick-lined road is still overlooked by most Torontonians, resulting in a quiet, almost small-town atmosphere.
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road → ’ → atmosphere
On this 400 metre stretch you’ll find Bar Volo (17 St Nicholas St.), one of the most well-respected craft brewers in the city.
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you → find → city
Next door is Lao Lao Bar (5 St. Joseph St.), one of the few fully dedicated Lao restaurants in the GTA.
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Bar → dedicate → GTA
Since everything at Cabano’s is cooked in beef tallow, vegetarians’ best bet is to head to Avelo and Bar Avelo (51 St. Nicholas St.), a fully vegan fine-dining restaurant with a cozy upstairs bar perfect for after-work drinks (their bar manager also tells me Lao Lao Bar is also vegan-friendly).
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Bar → cook → me
Finally, at the end of St. Nicholas Street is Okonomi House (23 Charles St. W.), a decades-old yakisoba and savoury Japanese pancake spot that’s run by the same family for three generations.
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that → run → generations
The Aporia
