U.S. economist names Scarborough as ‘best ethnic food suburb’
American economist Tyler Cowen
American economist Tyler Cowen posed the question, “Is Scarborough, Ontario the dining capital of the world?” in a blog post after tagging alongside representatives from the University of Toronto Scarborough’s multidisciplinary food studies initiative for a tour of the area’s ethnic offerings recently;
“Wednesday night I was taken on a restaurant tour of Scarborough — four different places — plus rolls from a Sri Lankan locale, consumed in the office of the Dean of UT Scarborough and with the assistance of Peter Loewen.
Ganesan Sugumar, CEO/Director of Saravanaa Bhavan, Canada.
After that eating, and lots of driving around and looking, I concluded Scarborough is the best ethnic food suburb I have seen in my life, ever, and by an order of magnitude. I hope you all have the chance to visit Scarborough, Ontario. If you are wondering where I went, that is beside the point.”
The tour reportedly included visits to Canbe Foods (Sri Lankan), Bella’s Lechon (Filipino), Saravanaa Bhavan (South Indian), Remely’s (Filipino) and Xin Jiang Restaurant (Muslim Chinese).
“It’s great news to hear,” Ganesan Sugumar, CEO and director of Saravanaa Bhavan Canada, an Indian vegetarian restaurant chain told the Toronto Star. (Cowen’s tour group visited the location near McCowan Rd. and Finch Ave. East.)
Charlesjanthan Antony, CEO of Canbe Foods Inc. is set to open a second location in Ajax, Ontario.
“This is honestly the best cuisine, I could say, in Canada,” Sugumar added. “We have so many ethnic restaurants.”
“This area is not highlighted because it’s not a rich area, so therefore the people are not highlighted in the right way and the promotion is not done in the right way,” added Sugumar.
While there is the annual Taste of Lawrence street festival and the newer TO Food Festin Scarborough, now in its third year, the latter’s co-founder said the area is still under-promoted, the newspaper reported.
SARAVANAA BHAVAN RESTAURANT: Veerapendi Raman, Head Chef Hotel Saravanna Bhavan, Scarborough displays a popular Paper Dosa along with co-chef Veramuthu Periyasamy. (Picture by Mahesh Abeyewardene)
CANBE FOODS TAKE-OUT: Mutton, Fish and Vegetarian Rolls, Paratta, Samosas on display. (Canbe Foods Handout)
