Restaurants
Roti Lady
Just when I thought I'd never meet a roti I didn't like I found one. The prize belongs to the Roti Lady, an unassuming spot on Dunn Avenue south of Queen Street. It's just around the corner from Bacchus and within a short bike ride of popular roti destinations like Mother India, Island Foods and Ali's West Indian Roti Shop.
My visit starts with a scan of their bright yellow menu, painted on the exterior wall fronting Dunn. There are beef patties for $1, curry goat and beef rotis for $6.99, fried chicken with fries for $3.50, and the meal I decide to order today - a vegetable roti filled with spinach, squash, potato and chickpeas for $5.50.
Inside I perch in front of the fourteen inch TV set next to the front window. I watch the highlights from last night's Jays game as I wait for the customer currently at the cash to pay for a couple of beef patties. I get the sense that this isn't the type of place they actually want you to eat in. While a few stools and a lawn chair are scattered about, the overwhelming feeling I get is that this is just one big storage room.
There are boxes everywhere, a sack of potatoes, bottles of juice and charming little pictures of the Caribbean. It's not necessarily dirty, but it's incredibly cluttered. Outside, a red picnic table is serviceable enough as a dine-in option when weather permits.
The first sign of trouble starts when I hear the familiar sound of the microwave beeping. Not just once. But on four separate occasions. Once for each ingredient? The kitchen is mostly enclosed but a small window allows me to peer in to see what is going on. I can't see what's going in and out of the microwave but the older man preparing my roti seems to be making the shell from scratch. I'm starting to think this roti might have promise.
Ten minutes later and still no word from the kitchen. The microwave is still getting lots of love but no real progress seems to be happening until a mother (the roti lady herself?) and daughter walk in with the days groceries. At this point, I'm asked if I want my roti regular or hot. I decide that somewhere in between would probably do the trick. Let's make it a medium.
When my roti finally arrives I take it to-go and later cut it open with a knife to check out what awaits me inside. The texture is neither firm not runny. Somewhere in between that I can best describe as gooey. The temperature is uneven throughout - with pockets of heat followed by lukewarm surprises - perhaps confirming my suspicions about the role a microwave played in its creation.
The squash, or something near the squash, is sickeningly tangy. The spinach is dark if not black. Not the usual dark green that I was expecting. For a minute I actually thought it might be eggplant. The potatoes are as they should be but they, plus the chickpeas, are overpowered by the other flavours that abound.
While I do manage to down the whole thing, I find my doing so a bit grudgingly and worry if I'm going to become re-acquainted with the tangy stuff later in the day. Thankfully, we didn't meet again. And because I won't be returning to Roti Lady hopefully never will.
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advice to Tim, next time go to MR sub.
I don't mean any disrespect to the owners of Roti Lady. I'm sure they're nice people and I take you at your word that they're community oriented. I just, personally, don't much care for their veggie roti. It has nothing to do with the fact that the restaurant looks like a storage locker. I'm completely comfortable eating food from less polished places like this. It was simply an observation and didn't impact my feelings about the taste of the roti.
If you want try a small, family-run roti joit, there's a place one block east (across from the vacant lot where the 7-11 used to be) that is inexpensive and quite good.
I really liked the flavour of these rotis. It's funny that the reviewer didn't like the squash or the spinach. Those are two things I really felt like praising. The spinach in particular was remarkably flavourful. The squash is sweet and a bit tangy, absolutely, I assumed that was the point and I liked it. It's probably store-bought pumpkin purée or something jazzed up with spices but so what? That's the way I like my rotis. It goes great with the vinegar/habanero flavour of the hot sauce.
Yes, these ones are really folded up so you get a few bread bites. I'm fine with that too (at this price). If I wanted all filling I'd buy (guess what) curry on a plate. Roti is a bready snack, not an elegant meal. People who are offended by bread should eat something else.
I think part of Tim's negative experience has to do with the fact that roti lady was not making the food (very unusual), and all the microwaving (very weird). I'd chalk that up to bad luck though.
the staff/family is terribly nice, and its always a friendly visit.
restaurant makeover would help this WONDERFUL store out a lot.
BUT I LOVE THEM ANYWAY!
You you are the classic North American Tool with a blog.
Perhaps you should travel a bit and eat street food.
I hope one day you wake up with a dream and no capital and then try to make food that people will buy.
Im not sure what your day job is but perhaps you should stick to it. Or leave it and start up your own place.
BTW Bacus lost lots of money after being made over. Dont wish that on anyone.
Oh, and the Ford for Mayor sticker they had didn't really win me over, either.
You are truly pathetic Peter.
She was a great person, the beef roti was chocked full of chunks of soft beef. The chicken was the right mix of spicy and still let out the flavour of the chicken. Unlike her pretentious, more expensive competitors, she understands the flavour balance and truly is my Roti Lady. My one regret was never trying her food until the last 15 months of my time in T.O.
She was my 4 or 5 day a week addiction. Living 30 seconds away was bad for my waist. ;-)