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Restaurants › Other Latin

El Fogón [?]

543 St. Clair Ave. W. (at Vaughan Rd.) • View on map »
416-850-8041
http://www.elfogon.ca/

Peruvian cooking hasn’t caught on in Toronto like other Latin American cuisines (Mexican or Cuban), but El Fogon, with its tourist shop paintings and hearty, starchy cooking, is a welcome outpost. Families and older couples pack the place on weekends and order with more comfort than curiosity, as if they’ve been coming in for years. There’s a queue for takeout—the best option for the hungry who want dinner in less than an hour. Potatoes, rice, seafood and huge portions—hallmarks of traditional Peruvian cooking—figure prominently. Ceviche mixto, a grab bag of chunked whitefish, squid, shrimp, clams and mussels, is marinated in lemon juice and spices too long and at $15.95 is too pricey for the rubbery texture. Garlicky griddle cakes of softened rice and beans are a filling backdrop to wide swaths of skirt steak shaved thin and grilled rare. Pescado frito is as simple as it sounds, and simply delicious: butterflied whitefish, pan-fried, served salty and crisp over steamed white rice and tender fried plantains. Vegetables don’t figure prominently, but ribbons of lettuce in lemon juice and olive oil accompany most dishes. Alfajor, a crumbly dessert of warm dulce de leche spread between shortbread layers, is great for sharing. The Pisco Sour cocktail has the separated and slushy qualities of a resort margarita. Better to enjoy the grape liquor, Peru’s national drink, by its own sweet self.

543 St. Clair Ave. W. (at Vaughan Rd.)

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