Make room for the latest munchies to hit downtown’s affordable food hub, because vegan takeout joint Hot Beans is opening in Kensington Market next week. The collective vision of chef Scott McCannell, Ross Corder and Madeleine Foote, the upcoming spot at 160 Baldwin will serve up a compact, approachable menu of Latin-inspired vegan delights.
After visiting Portland, Oregon last year, partners McCannell and Foote were inspired by the variety of fast, delicious vegan options available to them. That’s when the gears started grinding towards expanding the small – albeit solid – handful of vegan establishments in Toronto’s downtown core. McCannell, who has been cooking for 13 years, 10 of them as a vegan, earned his stripes under the city’s legendary vegan chef Stephen Gardner, in the kitchens of renowned veggie institutions Live, Fressen and Urban Herbivore (where he met Corder).
Together, McCannell, Corder and Foote decided that they had a niche to fill: “the vegan community in Toronto is mostly high end,” McCannell explains. Hot Beans plans to change that by perfecting what the chef describes as “simple, accessible vegan” fare. Their objective is to serve, essentially, vegan comfort food: fresh veggie options that are uncompromising in taste.
The enthusiastic Hot Beans crew plans to work tirelessly to satisfy growling stomachs with simple-yet-inventive veg-friendly vitals like the jackfruit “pulled pork” taco, smothered with in-house bbq sauce, and chewy seitan “chorizo” burrito with house-made peanut-miso sauce, garlic-annatto rice, pico de gallo, cashew sour cream, and cilantro-jalapeno salsa.
And Hot Beans will stay open late, until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, providing veg-heads and night owls with nutritious post-bar options. Let the countdown to Friday, February 25 officially begin: vegan tacos, burritos, nachos and donuts! Oh my!
Hot Beans, 160 Baldwin Street, Kensington Market