While walking past the kimchi-filled restaurants and specialty grocery stores of Koreatown, one little cafe dares to stand out from the rest, representing cultures halfway across the globe. That cafe is Ave Maria, a Latin American-themed spot that introduces Torontonians to that region’s best food and drink, as well as offering a place for the Latin community to meet.
While husband-and-wife owners Maria-Jose Suarez and Aland Portillo are from Colombia, they’ve chosen to represent countries from across the region. “We have food here that is from Argentina, El Salvador, Cuba, Colombia, Mexico,” says Aland, a former executive chef and the mastermind behind Ave Maria’s unique Latin menu. “The basic diet of a Latin America is based in corn. There are a lot of items on the menu that are made from corn – for example, the bread that we call arepas.”
Aland fills these fluffy flatbreads with pulled pork, guacamole and caramelized onions. And along with their signature arepas, Ave Maria also serves up empanadas, tamales and cubanos, made with a variety of fillings that reflect Latin America’s unique cuisines. But don’t forget the hot sauce, which Aland makes in-house. “The homemade Colombian hot sauce that I prepare is called ají,” Aland explains. “In our country, an empanada without the hot sauce is not empanada!" adds Maria.
