T&T Roti Trinidad & Toronto Roti

The place is alright. Its kind of a cool, innovative setup that was probably spawned from the city of Toronto. The setup consist of several food street vendors located in a shipping container. Yes, shipping containers. They are equipped with electricity, stove, refrigerator and other necessities.
It was a turn off to hear my food being microwaved, and looking at my food being cooked in shipping containers. I questioned the place and whether they are subjected to the same inspection standards as restaurants.
They only accept cash. Being I had no cash, they allowed me to accept a Roti with the promise to pay them back seeing that I was about to go somewhere else that accepted debit. Needless, to say, I will have to go back and give them the money I owe them; however, I will probably try another vendor in the shipping containers.

Very heart welcoming and kind owners, however I did not really enjoy the roti at all.
Don’t get me wrong, the roti is made fresh on the spot, and they even make a point of it by letting you know before it deflates on the stove top, but the filling wasn’t anything special. No flavour and chewy meat. I understand its a tiny space they have to work with, but seeing them microwaving the food was a turn off for me.

I swear I have reviewed this place already. Alas…
After returning from Trinidad a lifetime ago, I found myself having dreams of goat rotis for years. And, no, dear reader, this isn’t some literary vehicle for imparting my knowledge of this food. I literally dreamed about this shit. For serious.
Last spring I travelled east from the Left Coast. I knew I’d be in Toronto and that Toronto had a sizable Caribbean population. Be still my heart. Could I be so lucky? Could I really revisit authentic Trini food?
Yes. This is the place for it.
As I sauntered up to the counter and said «Hello!», the musical Trini accent which greeted me let me know I was in good hands.
I order a goat roti. «Does that have bones in it?» «We can take them out, for you.» DON’T YOU DARE! «No, please. I need bones in my roti!», I blurted out.
My mind was reeling. «A Ting would be the thing to go with this», my brain threw forth. No, a different beverage was picking at my consciousness. I need to make the most of this…
A Sea Moss!
So how is the food? It’s perfect. It is absolutely as I remember it in Trinidad. The Dhalpuri roti was light and flaky. The goat had little bits of marrow in it. The Sea Moss drink was exactly as I remember it, standing on a street corner in Port of Spain.
I got to talking with the owners. Where do they get the sauces and spices? They make them. Where did they get the moss? They collected it. This little gem is, by definition, artisan. This is without a doubt a labour of love for this couple.
I wish I had more than a day in Toronto, only to eat this food again. If I’m back that way anytime soon, I’ll be eating here.
In case you are wondering, yes, I had another dream of goat rotis after eating this.

I’m speed-​walking along Dundas with my main squeeze to go run bureaucratic errands. We start to get a little bit snippy about orders of operations, figuring out if we have all the paperwork we need, if we’re running late (we are) and whose fault that is (his).
This bickering isn’t like us. What in the world? Oh shit. We’re just hangry!
We are heading east and then boom! Hello 707 Dundas market stalls! We stop at the very first one, Trinidad & Toronto Roti. At this point, being more late is totally fine as long as we can devour this beautifully seasoned, moist but not sloppy goat roti! $ 9 and it was enough for two! When I’m on this block again, I know I should try one of the other stalls but damn, it’ll be hard not to just return to T&T for the exact same order.
When she handed us our absolutely-​needed-​to-​prevent-​domestic-​abuse snack she told us we were «A good couple. Always laughing.» And you know what, as long as I’m constantly full, we really are.

This place is AMAZING, no joke!
I LOVE the cute couple who run this place. This is the real deal, a cute family-​run joint with folks who are very real. I always get the veg roti and it is fucking delish with spices and amazing green apple chutney. It’s so fun to watch it being made! They also have fresh sorrel juice which is perfect on a hot summer day, definitely not too sweet. Also incredibly reasonably priced, every veg roti totally fills me up and it’s five bucks or just over.
Whenever I go there they are genuinely stoked to see me and give me hugs and kisses! So rad to shoot the shit with these two while the roti is being made. They will also usually give plantain while you wait — and again this is delish, not too greasy or oily, but just right.
Seriously hoping they stick around for a while, they are a complete and utter joy to have in the neighbourhood and brighten my day whenever I go by!

A small take out restaurant, near the corner of Dundas street west and Bathurst. Provides one of the more interesting flavours of the ever changing food landscape of Toronto. The roti is made on the spot on a small hot plate, provide all the feeling of a home cooked meal from Trinidad itself. Curry goat is top notch. Give it a try! It wealth the time