I often say that my only hobby is eating and it isn’t really a joke. Of all the existentially necessary bodily functions, eating is definitely my favorite (followed closely by sleeping). Now that I no longer live on campus, the best part of my week is discovering new restaurants and revisiting old favorites. 

There’s one particular Chinese restaurant about three minutes from my house that my roommates and I frequent so often we kept a running tally on our fridge white board last semester. (It has since been abandoned to protect our sanity and pride.) The night manager now recognizes us and often jokingly berates us for taking too long to pick up our call-in orders. 

It follows to reason that I don’t really enjoy cooking to feed myself. I am always excited to plan groceries and test my skills at elaborate meals and techniques for a weekend dinner with friends, but cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day almost makes my favourite hobby feel like a chore. 

The running joke among some of my friends is that I survived solely on toasted bread when I lived in residence. I’m no Alain Ducasse, but I will say that I have gotten pretty good at making toast. Other than my favourite Country Harvest Ancient Grains & Red Fife bread dinners, I loved having lunch all around campus. Looking back on my four years eating around town, here are some of the spots that stood out the most.

Innis Cafe

The first recommendation for food on campus I received was for the jerk chicken at the Innis Cafe during Orientation Week. To this day, almost four years later, I still believe that our own Innis Cafe is the best food you can find among the dreadful libraries, classrooms, and labs at U of T. During the week before December exam season, I think I ordered the jerk chicken for lunch every single day. Aside from the legendary jerk chicken, their hearty breakfast is the best brain food before a morning test. Nowadays, I’ve discovered a new love in the chicken kebab and occasionally I like to flirt with the omelette wrap. I’m still there for lunch at least once a week. The owners are lovely and the food is fresh and homey. The more substantive lunch combos come with steamed herb rice and a plethora of salads. It is literally impossible to over-sing the praises of the Innis Cafe. 

White Food Truck

To be honest, I don’t like eating from food trucks at all. I just think there are always better options around. The Chinese food truck outside Sid Smith is the only one I’ve tried and I think I only ate there once. I was really craving Chinese food and it was the closest I could get. It was salty and meaty and so so oily, which made the dish incredibly tasty (fat is flavour!) but also made me need to lie down after eating it. It absolutely did not remind me of my family’s cooking, but I chalk that up to regional differences in Chinese cuisine. Up in north-eastern China, where my family is from, flavours are not as sweet and the spice is rounder. I can’t say too much about the St. George street food truck scene, but this one is not too bad for what it is. My roommate has their number saved as a contact for quick pick-ups.

Diabolos 

Hi, my name is Louisa and I can’t have any caffeine at all. Even decaf can keep me jittery and anxious all night, which is absolutely tragic since I love coffee. However, this affliction doesn’t stop me from going to this well-kept secret in the University College Junior Common Room. Since the construction began around UC, it’s a little harder to navigate to the JCR, but Diabolos makes the journey so worth it. I’ve since found out where they stock their sandwiches and wraps from with my expert detective skills, but Diabolos’s location in the heart of campus makes it very convenient for a terrific quick lunch. You won’t find boring mayonnaise and dry breast meat here; I’ve enjoyed the complexity of everything I’ve tried. The big tables and comfy couches of the Junior Common Room make it a great place to either relax or study; the atmosphere is not sterilely quiet but also not too distracting. The baristas are always lovely and I highly recommend the coffee, if you are a normal person who can tolerate caffeine.

Ned’s Cafe

I like this Victoria College spot, but its downsides include being a 12 minute walk from Innis and not being able to pay with your T-Card Flex Dollars. It’s also the site where the lunch lady pointed out that I had crumbs all over my face in front of everyone in line, and I accidentally flung my wallet at an older gentleman when I tried to pay for my meal. He handed it back to me and told me he hoped my day gets better. The food’s not bad.

Tortillas: Mexican Burritos

This Robarts and Sidney Smith staple is just that: a staple. Nobody knows why they’re there and why they get their own section outside the main Robarts Cafeteria area, but who are we to question tradition? My obsession with Chipotle during my years at Innis was what originally led me to try the burrito bowls, but make no mistake, this popular burrito spot is not the same as Chipotle. I love Chipotle. This article is not an advertisement for Chipotle, but we would be willing to accept a sponsorship. Just kidding. Unless. Returning to the point, I do like Tortillas quite a bit. It’s lighter and fresher than some of the other options at Robarts (Pasta Pappardelle, I’m looking at you), and nobody is really looking for fine dining when you’ve been in the reading room for six hours and just need some glucose to keep the neurons firing. The guacamole is not worth it, though. (Unlike at Chipotle.)

Hart House 5-Buck Lunches

A recent discovery of mine is that Hart House offers five dollar lunches on the last Tuesday of every month for U of T students (seven dollars for everyone else). It’s no Innis Cafe jerk chicken, but the portions are sizable, the menu changes every time, they always have a small dessert course, and the vegan options are delicious. Let’s also not forget that it’s only five dollars and they take both cash and debit. The seats fill up quite quickly, so I would recommend heading over as soon as you can once they start serving lunch. The big tables, wholesome food, and affordable price point make the 5-Buck Lunches a great choice for a social lunch with friends without having to leave campus. Of course, they only come around once a month during a time when classes are often held, so seize your chances to come if you can!

Galleria

Special shout out to this Korean grocery store that’s not technically on campus but quickly vaulted leaps and bounds over the Bloor Street Metro to become my most frequented grocery store. While I love the udon, kimchi mandu, and yakisoba in the freezer section, the best part of the Galleria is the cooked food aisle. When I first came to U of T, my family decided to make a vacation of the trip and we stayed in a hotel near the Galleria location in Don Mills. I loved the freshly-prepared Korean food at that Galleria. While this location does not cook the food in front of you and mostly outsources their cooked meals, I was still extremely excited when they took over the location of the former Gee’s Fine Foods. Mostly everything I’ve tried (which is almost everything they serve) is an A+ option for lunch, but I have to say that my favourite is the hot food bowls they get from Sushi Cafe. You can always distinguish them by their rounded clear plastic containers which stand out among the rows of black-bottom rectangular containers. I’m a huge fan of rice and the Sushi Cafe renditions are some of the grain’s best works. They also all come in well under ten dollars so if you like fresh Korean food, keep an eye out for those round boys. 

These days I eat almost zero toast and I’ve gotten over my initial dislike of meal prepping enough that I no longer frequent campus restaurants as much as I used to. When I feel like going out for lunch, Baldwin Village, Chinatown, and Kensington Market are more often my destinations than Victoria, University, or Innis College. But whether for the sake of nostalgia or convenience, I still find myself returning to my favourite eats on campus, especially the Innis Cafe. 

(I’ve also moved closer to a Chipotle location. Long live Chipotle.)