Someone in Toronto is recreating the most outrageous food from local restaurants
A Toronto designer is making illustrations of some of the most decadent-looking comfort foods found in the city, and they look real enough to eat.
For the past several months, artist José Rivas has been illustrating gooey, cheesy, and chocolatey eats on Photoshop.
At first glance, they look edible.
He has captured the glazed wonder that is a donut from Dipped, and the drippy mess of the vegan burger from Gladiator is on point.
The stack of chicken sandwiches from Cabano's are tempting. So are the Korean rice dogs from Chung Chun. Oh, and theres the mini pancakes-covered pizza from Lamanna's — okay, we're hungry.
Rivas, who is a senior art director at the creative agency Anomaly, says he has been drawing food for a long time, but his business-centric illustrations started during the pandemic.
"I was running low on inspiration and mentally checked out this year - like so many of us - but one thing that always lifted my spirits was eating, so I thought it would be interesting to combine my love for food with my passion for art," says Rivas.
"It sort of clicked after that, I wanted to do my part in creating some sort of spotlight for small businesses in my neighborhood that were doing their part in serving awesome food."
It was also a great way for him to pass the time during quarantine.
Rivas spends two weeks or more on each illustration, depending on the amount of detail involved in the food. He particularly likes drawing burgers.
"They're like edible collages between two buns," he says.
Be right back, about to order some chicken and waffles from The Heartbreak Chef.
Courtesy of José Rivas.
