From the outside, all one sees is general store and gas station. However, most who stop into the Pumps aren’t there for candy or a fill-up but rather their slow, Southern-smoked sandwiches. And that’s slow, as in 14-hour, beef brisket over hickory and cherry wood, slow.

Their Facebook page lists them as a “Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurant,” but everything here is mostly made of meat. Much like the first location on College, Rodney Bower’s east-side satellite serves up ‘balls in a variety of sauces and sides – and of course, in between a couple of buns, too. Because who doesn’t love a good meatball sangwich?

With a solid BBQ card and inviting back patio, Paul Campbell’s Aft Bar – an acronym for “about fucking time” – has been a well-welcomed spot in Riverside. Pitmaster Lawrence La Pianta ensures quality smoke control but as with all BBQ, it’s best decided by tasting yourself. Start with the wings then move onto the ribs.

Since getting the boot out of their former (legendary) digs at Queen and Broadview, longtime fans have been elated to get their authentic jerk back on at the corner of Gerrard and Carlaw. Some would argue it’s the best Caribbean not only this side of the DVP but also this side of Jamaica. Still, there’s only one way to find out for sure.

Greenwood Avenue local Marcus De Simone’s BBQ joint hits the bullseye with its ribs. But check in daily to see what else is cooking as he’s been excitedly experimenting with two smokers now on the go. Pape and Danforth was clearly waiting for something of this sort – whether they knew it or not – as the smokehouse is already jamming them in after only being open for a few months.

Starfish’s Patrick McMurray brings a slice of Ireland to Leslieville. But only with the right amount of Irish luck does one land a seat inside front-patio Yurt during the winter months. Regardless of weather, there’s always a reliable selection of fresh oysters along with accompanying stouts, ales and whiskey – lots of whiskey.

Prior to the first Libretto on Ossington, most Torontonians had no idea what a Neapolitan pizza was. Now the lineups are regular on the west side but thankfully the Danforth outpost takes resos for those craving thin-crust, wood-fired pies carrying tasty combinations like duck confit with bosc pear and mozzarella.

Plaid shirts are often channeling their inner cowboy or cowgirl at Rock Lobster owner and executive chef Matt Dean Petitt’s western bar, where a long room offers TVs in the front with live country music and line dancing in the back. Any feet too shy to shuffle are easily set straight with $3 bourbon shots.

When Riverside’s much-loved Avro shuttered, Erik Joyal and John Sinopoli (of Table 17 and Ascari Enoteca), along with long-time collaborator Gavin Holmes, felt the void. They weren’t alone. But they filled it when they opened Hi-Lo’s doors last fall. As the moniker suggests, old rock n’ roll posters, pinball machines and small bar menu mingle with considered cocktails and astute wine offerings, balancing the hi and the lo.

Anyone tired of all the Mission-style rip-offs needs to visit this offbeat burrito joint, as it does its own thing entirely. First off, chow mein noodles are available instead of rice. Second, they’ve got weekly specials like jerk chicken, boneless ribs and General Tao’s chicken. With a newly minted location at Broadview and Gerrard, there’s no doubt these Chinos are locos about the east side.

From its humble basement beginnings on a side street in Chinatown, to a proper street front on Spadina, and now its recent arrival on the Danforth, the Northern Chinese fare of Mother’s has been loved for a long time. The latest location offers draught beer, which might be the perfect way to wash down some lamb shui mai.