La Pasiva  – 896 Wilson Ave, North York, ON M3K 1E7
Country: Uruguay        
Must-try dish: Beef Chivito
Seating: Indoor seating only as it’s more of a take-out operation. 
The high: It’s entirely family run, and you feel welcomed by each of them. 
The low: As it’s more of a takeout model, you could miss the familial interactions if you quickly grab your food and go. 

Uruguay is a South American country that borders Brazil and Argentina, and in certain circles, its prominence stems from being the first country on the planet to legalize marijuana. But let’s get to the food. 

Word on the street is that Uruguay supplies its neighbours with top quality beef as there may be more cows than humans populating its borders. Whether this is fact or fiction, we’ll leave it to the South Americans to fight out. However, it can be deduced that Uruguayans have a meat heavy diet, often accompanied by carbs and the occasional vegetable. Similar to Argentina, Uruguayan food has a European influence, especially an Italian one that fusions with local flavours and ingredients. 

Empanadas were on order to kick things off: one Beef and one Ham & Cheese. These pickets are perfect for sharing, and although the filling preferences are completely personal, the ham & cheese trumps the beef due to the perfect marriage of flavours. This being said, we loved the beef option as the meat is ground up and seasoned, which adds a kick in taste. This is an excellent starter before getting into the more glutenous items on the menu. 

The country’s most traditional and beloved dish is a Chivito – a meaty sandwich stuffed with tons of delicious ingredients that might seem random but all come together with each bite. Keeping with authenticity, we ordered the Grilled Filet Mignon – Uruguayan Style Chivito. 

This sandwich is packed with the goods: a fried egg, bacon, mushrooms, olives, ham, cheese, peppers, and heart of palm. Nothing here is spicy, rather is fresh flavours that all compliment each other. The piece of steak is tender and comes in a generous portion. This is easy to share if you cut it in half, but you might love it so much that you want an entire sandwich to yourself. 

Uruguay has its own version of a pizza called a Faina. It’s thinner than a typical pizza, and its made with chickpea flour, so anyone with a gluten intolerance, this is for you! 

As usual we went the classic route with a simple flatbread topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella, but there are a variety of toppings available to make it your own including meat and vegetables. It likely has to do with the flour, but a faina feels lighter than a pizza and seems to sit better after lunch. A few pieces of this paired with half a chivito are an excellent way to eat through lunch time. 

In the same plaza as La Pasiva, there’s a Uruguayan pastry shop owned by the same family serving small cakes and treats packed with sugar and caramel. It’s worth saving a little room for something there, especially if it’s filled with dulce de leche. 

Uruguyans and those who love the food come from near and far to enjoy the cuisine and pastries from La Pasiva as it’s the only Uruguayan restaurant in the Toronto area. It’s an institution for the community of expatriates living in Southern Ontario. 

But another reason to take a trip to North York for one of Uruguay’s culinary delights is to spend time chatting with the family who own the restaurant and pastry shop. Not surprisingly, they hail from Uruguay and have a lot of terrific things to say about the country. So much so that we wanted to book a trip there following our lunch. They spent the time telling us about the culture, cuisine, and the people living there, and offered to give us recommendations when we do finally make it there. This is the type of place that we love visiting in Toronto because it takes us away to another place. 

Hasta luego! 

Eat with you soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)