Introducing: The Hogtown Vegan, vegan comfort food from the Hot Beans crew
In the past few years, Toronto has become a bona fide meat-tropolis, with a new charcuterie-heavy joint, barbecue smokehouse or gourmet burger shack opening faster than you can braise a veal shank (which admittedly takes some time). But that hasn’t stopped the trio behind Kensington Market’s popular vegan takeout place Hot Beans from expanding its burgeoning meat-free empire with the newly opened Hogtown Vegan. Though Hot Beans serves strictly burritos and donuts, owners Madeleine Foote, Scott McCannell (Foote’s boyfriend) and Ross Corder have decided to tackle a decidedly trickier trend, one that’s already popular in both New York and L.A.: vegan comfort food.
“The idea is that vegans like to eat junk food and comfort food just like everybody else,” says Foote, who had originally intended on using the Bloorcourt locale as a prep kitchen for the claustrophobic, always-crammed Hot Beans. But the ambitious restaurateurs figured that if they were going to have to pay rent, they might as well turn the space into a fully operational restaurant. So with the help of some contractors, they laid the floor and built the dark wood tables, banquettes and bar themselves. The room is still sparse, the turquoise walls noticeably free of the customary new-Toronto-restaurant antique kitsch (or much of anything else at the moment).
While most restaurateurs wait at least a few years before expanding, Foote waited just six months, which she blames on being “young and a little bit crazy.” She sees Toronto as a vegan-friendly city whose community is still growing. Dishes like jack ’n’ slaw, featuring shredded jackfruit cooked in a chipotle and molasses barbecue sauce ($11)—meant to simulate pulled pork—and chipotle mac ’n’ “cheese” ($7) are set to test her theory. Other comfort classics with a vegan twist include unchicken and waffles ($12), which uses breaded, deep-fried soy cutlets instead of chicken, and a Reuben sandwich ($11), which features house-made seitan in place of corned beef. As for the reaction of non-vegans? Foote doesn’t seem to concerned: “When you open a vegan restaurant you’re not doing it for money. You’re doing it because you have a philosophy and you think that the food should be out there.”
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- Inside the new restaurant from the trio behind Kensington Market’s wildly popular Hot Beans
- Introducing: The Hogtown Vegan
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- The unchicken and waffles ($12) uses breaded, deep-fried soy cutlets instead of chicken
- Introducing: The Hogtown Vegan
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- A not-so-classic Reuben sandwich ($11), with house-made seitan in place of corned beef
- Introducing: The Hogtown Vegan
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The Hogtown Vegan, 834 Bloor St. W, 416-901-9779.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-the-hogtown-vegan/&title=Introducing: The Hogtown Vegan, vegan comfort food from the Hot Beans crew&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/hogtown-vegan-inside-1.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_83060" align="aligncenter" width="624" caption="Inside the new restaurant from the trio behind Kensington Market’s wildly popular Hot Beans (Image: Daniel Barna)"][/caption]
In the past few years, Toronto has become a bona fide meat-tropolis, with a new charcuterie-heavy joint, barbecue smokehouse or gourmet burger shack opening faster than you can braise a veal shank (which admittedly takes some time). But that hasn’t stopped the trio behind Kensington Market’s popular vegan takeout place Hot Beans from expanding its burgeoning meat-free empire with the newly opened Hogtown Vegan. Though Hot Beans serves strictly burritos and donuts, owners Madeleine Foote, Scott McCannell (Foote’s boyfriend) and Ross Corder have decided to tackle a decidedly trickier trend, one that’s already popular in both New York and L.A.: vegan comfort food.
“The idea is that vegans like to eat junk food and comfort food just like everybody else,” says Foote, who had originally intended on using the Bloorcourt locale as a prep kitchen for the claustrophobic, always-crammed Hot Beans. But the ambitious restaurateurs figured that if they were going to have to pay rent, they might as well turn the space into a fully operational restaurant. So with the help of some contractors, they laid the floor and built the dark wood tables, banquettes and bar themselves. The room is still sparse, the turquoise walls noticeably free of the customary new-Toronto-restaurant antique kitsch (or much of anything else at the moment).
While most restaurateurs wait at least a few years before expanding, Foote waited just six months, which she blames on being “young and a little bit crazy.” She sees Toronto as a vegan-friendly city whose community is still growing. Dishes like jack ’n’ slaw, featuring shredded jackfruit cooked in a chipotle and molasses barbecue sauce ($11)—meant to simulate pulled pork—and chipotle mac ’n’ “cheese” ($7) are set to test her theory. Other comfort classics with a vegan twist include unchicken and waffles ($12), which uses breaded, deep-fried soy cutlets instead of chicken, and a Reuben sandwich ($11), which features house-made seitan in place of corned beef. As for the reaction of non-vegans? Foote doesn’t seem to concerned: “When you open a vegan restaurant you’re not doing it for money. You’re doing it because you have a philosophy and you think that the food should be out there.”
Start the slideshow »
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The Hogtown Vegan, 834 Bloor St. W, 416-901-9779.){kind=link}
Wow, the place looks empty. I wonder why?
Shared a delicious meal here with a friend last week. One menu item looked better than the next. I’m a huge fan of French fries and have in the past eaten them smothered in gravy and vinegar, dressing and sometimes fried weiners. It may sound gross but it’s a Newfoundland specialty I grew up on. I’m now a vegan and the Hogtown Vegan’s fries supremacy made my soul sing. Indeed, for me it’s comfort food at its best. We also had the chickpea salad with a tahini dressing and the tofu wings, which was expertly fried tofu with a little pot of hot sauce. This has the potential to be one of my favourite spots in the ‘hood.
Coming from New York, where there are loads of vegan restaurants, I am so excited that Toronto is becoming more vegan-friendly. Can’t wait to try this place.
I hope they are celiac friendly as well as I also cannot eat soy products or dairy. I was at Fresh and made a suggestion of buying gluten free products and was bluntly told by staff they would not even look into it. Vegans and vegetarians enjoy the same things but some of us cannot handle eggs,wheat or dairy as Fresh will not address this in their menu I might try this place as one of these days I may not be able to be even a vegetarian by choice with my allergies to food mounting.
They recently got their liquor license and changed their hours to be open until 11pm. Stopped by this past weekend and enjoyed a surprisingly good $20 bottle of Chardonnay and their southern combo special – fried unchicken cutlets w/ BBQ sauce, chipotle mac n’ cheese and collard greens. This was the best meal I’ve had yet, I hope they make this dish a permanent menu fixture. The best part might have been that we didn’t walk in there until 10pm. This place is really stirring up Bloorcourt.
@mattagascar Good food/photo journalists go off-peak hours exactly for that reason. It just looks bare because these photos were taken before they put art on the walls.
for mattagascar . hey this place is never gets empty .its a busy please a.may be u came on like not busy day . come on staurday night or friday night .