Where to find TikTok ’s favourite crustacean in Toronto

Dear reader,

I’m typing this out a bit slower than usual due to an injury I inflicted upon myself while trying to ceremoniously carve a tiny leg of jamón. (The fewer questions asked, the better.) Thankfully, when it happened, I was with parents of young children, who all raced to their cars for first-aid kits. After a little iodine, gauze and—where Band-Aids failed miserably—duct tape, I was nearly as good as new, but also torn between enjoying the ham or drop-kicking it out the door like a slippery little acorn-fed football.

Sometimes it’s best to leave things that involve sharp blades to the professionals—like Jonathan Larrad, the owner of Spanish Pig, a Roncesvalles shop that stocks all kinds of imported Spanish goods, including preserved seafood, high-quality olives, aged Manchego and packages of (pre-sliced!) Ibérico ham. See below to take a peek through his home kitchen.

Also in this week’s newsletter, you’ll learn about a Korean restaurant serving up what may be the trendiest—and hardest-to-find—seafood dish right now: raw marinated crab. The uncooked crustacean is currently having a moment on TikTok thanks to its mukbang-ability.

And we take you into Sounds Good, the newest addition to Toronto’s burgeoning listening-bar scene, where a former Alo sous-chef is making his own music in the kitchen.

Type the words “raw marinated crab” into TikTok or YouTube and you’ll be deluged with videos of people slurping their way through plates, bowls and—in some cases—big buckets of the Korean delicacy. Toronto isn’t short on Korean food, but unlike some snacks (rice dogs, bulgogi, fried chicken), ganjang-gejang is a little harder to find, especially in the downtown core. Victoria Kim, owner of Comma on Queen West, wants to change that.

Sounds Good is the latest new Toronto restaurant where the music is much more than just background noise. The listening bar at Dundas and Lansdowne serves up hi-fi grooves alongside chef Carson Corbeil’s menu of high-low snacks in a space you’d never guess was recently a Money Mart.

Where was Jonathan Larrad when I needed him? Given the time of night I butchered myself, the owner of Spanish Pig was probably at his Roncesvalles home, enjoying some of the gourmet goodies he stocks his kitchen with. Take a look through his fridge, freezer and cupboards.

There are still a few tickets left for our annual Best Restaurants event, which takes place on May 13 at Evergreen Brick Works. You won’t want to miss this all-you-can-eat celebration of our city’s fantastic food scene. Get your tickets now.

In the latest issue: an optimist’s guide to surviving every doomsday scenario imaginable. Plus, obsessed with Barbie (and other weird collections), a harrowing memoir about postpartum psychosis, the best places to eat in the burbs, and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.