Here's the scoop - The Original "Doubles Man" from Marabella, Trinidad, isn't a man at all. She's a calm, sweet lady who is certainly "the man" when it comes to fantastic doubles, and thin roti wrapped around chicken, goat and beef curries.
ACR (or officially, ACR 786) Hot Roti & Doubles is an inconspicuous little take-out joint in a row of easily ignored stores, but all the time the "UYE: Trouble in Roti-land" Yelpers were there, we saw a consistent flow of customers. The owner of this twenty year old eatery explained the story behind the mysterious name (ACR = combo of her+her husband's initials, 786 = numerical equivalent of a religious phrase normally used before starting a task(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismillah)). I guess in being genuinely inquisitive about the place, we curried favor with the boss lady and when heading out, got some doubles and Pholouri on the house :D.
Alright, on to the good stuff....
We got a truckload of food: First up - appetizers from the display case: Pholouri (8 for $1) - fried savory dough balls (think Honey Cruller Tim Bits) served with a very flavorful hot dipping chutney. Great to share. Kat F. got an Eggplant Pie (eggplant filling in a friend bun - $1.25), Kachori - a "brown paper bag opacity destroying" (it's greasy) fried bread with a spicy chick-pea filling.
And then there were the famous "Doubles": deep-friend flat bread with a scoop of chick pea curry (aka Channa) and 'doubled up' like a taco...at least that's my justification of why it's called a Double :P Good stuff. It's $1.25 and sized for a snack, so if this is your meal, get (at least) two.
Next up, Roti!!! For me, this was the star attraction. The roti here was thinner (compared to Mother India) and the spice in the curry had a far richer flavor with a gradually dissipating heat. I had the chicken curry roti ($5.95) and was very, very happy with it. If I had to pick an issue, it would be that the roti's "wrap" was way too large but that's easy to fix with a quick tear of the part that doesn't serve as the edible curry pouch. Others had the goat and beef rotis and those entrees have made my "Life in Toronto" bucket list along with another rare item on the menu: Duck Roti!
Dessert: Visible from the display case, if you've still got room, I'd recommend the Barfi (thin slabs of reduced milk fats+sugar). The jalebi was as good as it could be when it's not piping hot, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. Kurma, another confection in little plastic bags, tasted like ginger bread with a sugary glaze. Great snack with coffee/tea.
Decor-wise, ACR is no date spot - a unique hodge-podge of different cultural and religious artifacts; plenty of plastic flowers, posters of Trinidad, a wall-clock with "The Original 'Doubles Man' of Marabella" and a "ACR 786" engraved within a heart, a framed poster of The Prophet's Last Sermon, a stainless steel eat-in counter that runs the length of the small shop with a mirror on top to watch yourself pigging out while the boom box blares out Bollywood hits. Oh, and look outside - the big mound and minaret of the local mosque! Gotta love it!
Go here - it might be far for some, but it's a small price to pay for the fantastic goodness served up at ACR 786! read more