Where chef Imrun Texeira eats in Oakville
His favourite spots for Peruvian dishes, pizza and pastries
Imrun Texeira, chef and founder of Wanderlust, is getting revved up for his new podcast series, Kitchen Rags to Riches, which drops on Spotify and Apple next week. For it, he draws from his years of experience working in Michelin-starred kitchens and interviews others in the hospitality industry. “For me, it’s about exploring how each person defines success, along with how they navigate failures and pivots and the path they carved to achieve their goals,” he says.
Related: Where the Chicken Cartel’s Donnie Gomes eats in Mississauga
When Texeira isn’t interviewing people for his podcast, he’s busy hosting private and corporate events in Toronto and Oakville, where he lives with his wife. “In my downtime, we try to support local chefs as much as we can,” he says. These are a few of his go-to spots.
Machu Picchu
649 Fourth Line, Oakville, 905-847-2228, machupicchurestaurant.ca
“My good friend Devan Rajkumar, who’s also a chef, introduced me to this spot. From the moment I tried it, I was hooked. It’s really gangster Peruvian food. It’s owned and operated by the Timoteo family—Roberto and Rosario with their three daughters—and you can really taste the love.
Go-to dish #1: Mixed ceviche with seafood and tilapia
“This looks absolutely gorgeous, and it tastes even better. I could eat this every day. It’s so fresh and clean, and there’s a perfect balance of spice, tart and sweet. It’s packed with flavour, and the herbaceousness at the end shines through.
Go-to dish #2: Anticuchos (lean beef heart) with potatoes, corn and house hot sauce
“The potatoes have been double cooked, making them crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Meanwhile, the veal heart skewers have this smoky char to them. The meat itself is ever-so-slightly chewy, but it’s as tender as a steak. It’s dense and flavourful—with none of the funk that offal can sometimes have—and fun to eat right off of the skewers.”
Tatin Bakehouse
2345 Wyecroft Rd., unit 20, Oakville, @tatinbakehouse
“I love all that chef Lili Linda is doing at this French- and Southeast Asian–inspired bakery. Linda was the former pastry chef at Hexagon but wanted to venture out on her own, so she opened up this space about a year ago. Tatin filled a void in Oakville with its high-calibre seasonally driven pastries.”
Related: Tatin Bakehouse, a French bakery in Oakville with a Michelin connection
Go-to dish #1: Almond croissant
“There’s such a beautiful and nutty frangipane on the inside, and the lamination is on point. It’s so rich because they source New Zealand butter that has an 84 per cent fat content—that’s what lends to all the flakey layers.”
Go-to dish #2: Crème brûlée tart
“There’s a creamy custard base, then they brûlée the top. It’s topped with seasonal fruit–this one has tart mangoes and lime zest. It is so perfectly balanced: the buttery crust, the golden caramelization and the acid from the fruit. This is one of their core items, and there’s a reason for that.”
Peppino’s Oven
Bay Oak Plaza, 2015 Kingsridge Dr., Oakville, peppinosoven.ca
“I would have completely overlooked this place if it weren’t for my soccer team—we play at the field across the street. Everyone needs an authentic watering hole like this. It’s unassuming, but it’s a gem, and we’ve been coming here for over four years now.”
Go-to drink: A pint of Moretti
“It’s a classic combo: pizza and beer. How could you go wrong?”
Go-to dish #1: Thin-crust pizza with spicy soppressata and pepperoni
“This actually isn’t on the menu—we’ve just made this request from day one, and the staff is kind enough to make these kinds of accommodations for diners. It has a very flavourful sauce with Italian herbs running through it. They pack on the cheese, and they don’t skimp on the meat. It’s salty, cheesy and greasy—in the best way possible.”
Go-to dish #2: A pound of buffalo chicken wings
“These are plump wings that are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Then you get the great vinegar notes in the sauce, and that’s rounded off with the sweet and rich butter. There’s not a single thing I would change about these.”
Related: Le Spot, a Scarborough billiard lounge with a cult following for its food
Tiffany Leigh is an award-winning freelance journalist with degrees in business communications and education. She has a culinary background, is a recipient of the Clay Triplette James Beard Foundation scholarship award and has worked in restaurants such as Langdon Hall. In addition to Toronto Life, her pieces have been read in publications such as Forbes, Vogue, Eater, Dwell, Elle, Business Insider, Playboy, Food & Wine and Bon Appétit.
