Questlove Week: Best Toronto Restaurant

The first thing Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson did after rocking the Toronto Jazz Festival on June 29 with the rest of The Roots was sit down to enjoy a grape freezie. However, the moment of potential relaxation was quickly interrupted when a pesky journalist began to pepper him with questions about…what else…food. We already learnt about his love for hot sauce and now we uncover the drummer’s favourite place to eat in Toronto.

I’d say when ?uestlove hits the T-Dot, 85% of the time he heads to a West Indian joint. Our city is blessed with many good options (as opposed to say, Vancouver) and he’s visited a few of them over the years. But the one he always comes back to is The Real Jerk (709 Queen Street East at Broadview).

On his most recent visit he started with the Chicken Soup ($3.25) adding enough hot sauce to induce the nose-runs. The soup got a resounding thumbs up, prompting the rest of his table to order their own bowls. This was followed with a glass of their signature Fruit Punch, a side of Plantain ($2), and a Jerk Chicken Combo ($12.75).

While The Roots’ rigorous touring schedule has settled down since they stepped in as the house band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, ?uestlove still eats at many restaurants all over the world. Tomorrow we uncover his favourite restaurant in New York. It’s a place he’s convinced has somehow resurrected his late grandma to cook up a signature dish.