Goat tastes musky

Not the most appetizing title for a blog post about eating out.  I absolutely stuffed myself last night due to pure stupidity.  I met some colleagues for dinner a little later than I usually eat.  Before meeting I stopped to grab a slice of pizza since I was super hungry.  I was also getting some heartburn and thought some food in my stomach would help.  I happened to stop where the slices were big and on sale “two for one”.  So, since I am frugal I didn’t want to waste a good deal I ate two slices of pizza, which amounted to a full half pizza.  When I met my colleagues 30 minutes later we went out for dinner directly.  The only saving grace was the 20 minute walk to the little hole in the wall Jamaican restaurant called Ritz Caribbean Foods on Yonge Street.  I was embarrassed to admit I just ate pizza so I went ahead and ordered a regular meal without mentioning my pizza “appetizer”.   

I ordered Goat Roti with a side of Channa (chickpeas).  Roti is a type of wrap with your meat and potatoes wrapped together.  Goat has a very distinctive flavor that is akin to mutton.  As I mentioned in the title, it is a musky flavor and would be very tough to handle had it not been prepared in a spicy stew.  I was not in love with the meat’s flavor but enjoyed the dish because of the variety of flavors.  Luck was on my side because the portions are large.  I was able to eat my channa and half the Roti and it didn't seem weird to announce I was full.   

When in a strange city, getting a good recommendation can leave you with wonderful memories of the local cuisine.  An unbiased acquaintance will generally provide a much better restaurant reference than a hotel staffer that is directed to point you towards places that pay for recommendations.  My culinary guide in Toronto provided many options across a broad spectrum of ethnicities.  I recommend listening for a person’s first option as it is generally the best option in their mind.  I followed this advice last night and ate a very good meal.  Despite my efforts to sabotage myself with half of a pizza.