LHB/Voice-Tribune: Toronto Mexican Deli

[Robin Garr]

Ask for the unwritten menu at Toronto
Voice-Tribune review by LouisvilleHotBytes

The little cottage on Brownsboro Road just west of Hillcrest houses yet another eatery, and there's quite a bit more to this latest arrival than meets the eye.

The building, which has seen a succession of small eateries since its days as a Heitzman's bakery, is now called Toronto Deli & Bistro Grill.

Step inside, though, and you find a friendly native of Mexico City, Rafael Benitez Martinez, smiling at you from behind the counter. He has worked around Louisville at Le Gallo Rosso, Lake Forest Country Club, and chain eateries including Chili's and Bonefish Grill. So why the name Toronto and the Canadian flag? As it turns out, Martinez played for years on Toronto's pro soccer team.

Martinez runs the operation as a one-man shop. He takes your order from behind the counter, moves to the tiny kitchen to make your breakfast or lunch, then serves you at one of the six small tables.

The short menu bears Canadian, Mexican and U.S. flags, but it lists mostly familiar American diner breakfast dishes, burgers and sandwiches, along with a couple of Mexican dishes: A burrito ($5.95 for breakfast, $7.95 for lunch), and chorizo as an alternative to bacon for breakfast.

But look around - a small blackboard mentions quezadillas (that's how they spell it) and burritos. Ask a few questions and look around. It doesn't take long to notice that a lot more Mexican food comes out of the kitchen than shows up on the menu.

What we have here is Crescent Hill's first taqueria, but it's cleverly concealed inside a North American diner with a Canadian flag.

Read the complete review on LouisvilleHotBytes.com ...

Toronto Deli & Bistro Grill
2900 Brownsboro Road
357-1157
http://www.torontomexicano.com

And they're... closed? I hope it's only temporary.

My angel and I set out to go there for breakfast this morning, only to find the place dark.

We ended up continuing down Brownsboro to Barbara Lee's, where I had a most fluffy ham and cheese omelette and my sweetie had corned beef hash and a couple of poached eggs. Both dishes were good, and the hash browns were delivered crispy and decidedly non-greasy. Excellent breakfast for the money, but that money'd better be cash because that's all they accept.

[Robin Garr]

And they're... closed? I hope it's only temporary.

Hmm, I don't like that. Rafael seemed kind of sad about not having a lot of business when we were in, but I'd really feel bad if it went down this fast. Don't like the look of that Website message, though.

Rats...it looks like a nice place to walk to on a sunny day for lunch too! Hopefully this is just a temporary closing.

Come to think of it...the closed notice was just noticed today. They might just be closed for Thunder. It would be nice for an explanation of that though.

[Robin Garr]

Come to think of it...the closed notice was just noticed today. They might just be closed for Thunder. It would be nice for an explanation of that though.

That would be GREAT! I dunno, though. A sign on the door for a Thunder closing is one thing. "Closed" on the Website seems like a funny way to shut down for a day.

We live near there ... I'll keep an eye on it.

Saw a Budget moving van backed up to the front door on Saturday, and the homemade Toronto sign is down. Sorry folks, I think she's a gonner.

Saw a Budget moving van backed up to the front door on Saturday, and the homemade Toronto sign is down. Sorry folks, I think she's a gonner.

I called the number on the website, they are closed. Looking for a new place to relocate, said they will update the website when plans are finalized. I hope they can find a place that works well for them.