Where Michelin-starred Hexagon’s sous-chef Victoria Rinsma eats comfort food in Parkdale and Little Portugal
Her favourite spots for breakfast sandwiches, butter chicken momos and ice cream
Victoria Rinsma, the 28-year-old sous-chef of Oakville’s Michelin-starred Hexagon, is days away from representing Canada at the San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy competition in Milan.
A win would mean another notch on her belt, alongside many accolades already received in the past few years: ascending appearances (from 42nd to 14th) on the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list; securing the top spot in last year’s San Pellegrino competition at the Canadian regional level; and then snagging a Michelin star at Hexagon, first in 2024 and again in 2025.
Related: Ten Michelin-approved restaurants a short road trip from Toronto
Rinsma describes her whirlwind rise to global recognition as surreal. But Hexagon’s executive chef Rafa Covarrubias, her long-time friend and mentor, is far less surprised, insisting that Rinsma’s talent is deserving of attention.
“I’m excited. I’m nervous. I just want to win, and I want everything to be perfect,” says Rinsma. “But, regardless of the outcome in Milan, getting to work with this incredibly supportive team for the past eight years, and witnessing the evolution of Hexagon in that time, has been such a rewarding journey. It’s crazy to think that getting to this point was once just a dream for me. I feel a little bit like Hannah Montana.”
To counteract the pressure of rising expectations, Rinsma turns to a select few comfort-food staples. Here are her go-to spots in Parkdale and Little Portugal—and what she orders at each.
Gold Standard
1574 Queen St. W., breakfastsandwich.ca
“Gold Standard’s Queen West location is a literal hole in the wall for breakfast sandwiches and smash burgers. The people who work there love what they’re doing, and they’re doing a great job. Some of my boyfriend’s family members live outside the city, so when they come to visit, we do our own little food crawls with them. This is one of those places worth bringing people to.”
Go-to dish #1: The Gold Standard breakfast sandwich with scrambled egg, cheddar, aïoli, pickles, hot sauce and bacon (or kale) on an English muffin
“The softest bun, the meltiest cheese—it’s simple and delicious. You can pick bacon or kale, but kale is definitely the right choice. It’s so underrated. It adds such a nice tart flavour to balance out the richness of the eggs and cheese. I think it might be fun to work in a kitchen like this. It’s hard work of a different kind. Then again, I don’t know that I’d be cut out for it.”
Go-to dish #2: The Telway burger, a Detroit-style all-beef patty with mustard, pickles, onion and American cheese on a potato roll
“There’s definitely a time and a place for American cheese, and this is one of them. I love bold cheddars, but you can’t go wrong with a piece of American cheese melted on a burger. And a Martin’s potato bun is the obvious choice—it’s the best bun for a burger. They’re really great toasted because they stay soft, and their size creates the perfect ratio of bun to filling. When we did lunch and brunch at Hexagon, we used a potato brioche, which is my second choice for a bun if you’re putting something decadent and special on it.”
Himalayan Kitchen
1526 Queen St. W., momo2go.com
“Himalayan Kitchen is my guilty takeout pleasure. It’s my number-one choice every time. The food always arrives hot, the quality is amazing and everything is very consistent. When we start a shift at Hexagon, everyone on the team talks about what they’ve eaten recently, then we use that as inspiration. Many staff members are from outside of Canada, including Nepal, and we like to find ways to incorporate those different influences.”
Go-to dish #1: Butter chicken momos with steamed chicken dumplings in a butter chicken sauce
“I already loved momos, but I’m guilty of trying butter chicken momos because of social media—and this time, the trend lived up to the hype. The perfectly steamed momos have a great texture, and the filling, a mixture of chicken and aromatics, is delicious on its own. But then you get the sauce. They are doing something special in that sauce. It’s got so much flavour, but it’s not too spicy. The sauce and the filling complement each other so well. I’ll even eat the leftover sauce for breakfast—it goes great with eggs.”
Go-to dish #2: Himalayan Kitchen special chow mein noodles with seasonal veggies and a choice of chicken, beef or vegetarian
“Everyone has had chow mein before, whether at the mall food court or at a sit-down Chinese restaurant. This dish is so nostalgic but also new and different. It’s a little bit spicier, a little bit crunchier. It’s a great mix that makes you feel warm inside. It makes amazing leftovers too.”
Honey’s Ice Cream
1448 Dundas St. W., honeysicecream.ca
“Honey’s makes the best ice cream in the city, hands down. I said it. They never disappoint. They pack so many delicious bits and pieces into their ice cream, and the flavours—a solid roster of regulars plus three rotating ones each month—are super fun and nostalgic. I am definitely on the mailing list to get their updates. I love the aesthetic of the brand. And it always smells amazing when we go, so you can never buy just one pint.”
Go-to dish #1: Birthday cake ice cream (Betty Crocker–style vanilla ice cream with pieces of frosted sprinkle cake)
“They literally make a birthday cake, chop it up—icing and all—and mix it into this ice cream. It’s the most nostalgic birthday cake flavour. When I have birthday cakes, I want them to taste like this ice cream. I can’t say enough good things about this place, and I tell everyone about it. You truly can’t tell it’s plant based, and a lot of it is also gluten free, which is a huge plus. You can eat a whole pint in one sitting—it’s dangerous. Sometimes I think I’ll just have a little bite, and suddenly there’s only two bites left and I wonder how I ended up here.”
Go-to dish #2: Rocky road ice cream (crunchy almonds, chocolate and marshmallows folded into chocolate ice cream)
“They make their own marshmallows in-house for the rocky road. This and the birthday cake really have my heart. They’re so good and so nostalgic. You have to try the waffle cone too—it’s toasty and a bit cinnamon-y, not like your average cone. I have a big sweet tooth, and that’s actually how I got into cooking in the first place: I wanted to be a pastry chef. I started making my own banana pudding during the pandemic. I would love to do a Honey’s banana pudding collaboration.”
Nicola Brown is a freelance writer and editor with 15 years of experience creating travel, food and lifestyle content. Her work has appeared in the Toronto Star, Time Out, Canadian Traveller, Travel Life, Toronto Life, EnRoute, WestJet Magazine, CAA and Cottage Life, among other publications.
