It all started with the vegan Big Mac. Chef Doomie’s meat-free take on McDonald’s two-stack burger created a huge buzz at Toronto’s Vegan Food and Drink Festival in 2015. Owner of Ecorazzi, Hellenic Vincent De Paul, who is also the festival’s host, took notice, and the two partnered up and gave Los Angeles’ famous vegan comfort food a permanent home in Parkdale.
The burger hails from Chef Doomie’s restaurant in Hollywood, Doomie’s Home Cookin’. He opened the vegan joint in 2010 out of sheer disappointment in the options that were available. “In terms of replicating comfort foods, they would sort of walk a mid-line between health-type food and then comfort food, which is not a good place to be,” he explains. “You might as well go all in one direction or in the other.” So he decided to go full-on carnivorous, creating vegan versions of meaty meals – no salads allowed.
The Toronto restaurant takes on a slightly different name: Doomie’s. It opened its doors on April 2016, lit with vegan and non-vegan patrons alike. With a marquee theatre sign showcasing its exterior, a dark black interior with neon lights, a wraparound bar and an arcade machine in the corner, it’s safe to say that there’s no green vegan vibe in sight.
