Location: 111 Richmond Street West, Toronto (inside the Assembly Chef’s Hall)
Website: https://www.charcoalbiryani.ca/

I recently found myself in the Assembly Chef’s Hall, and I figured I’d check out whichever vendor was the busiest.  This was — by far — Charcoal Biryani, though that might be because they seemed to be a bit frazzled; it took about forty minutes (!!) between getting in line and getting my food, which seems to defeat the whole point of an ostensibly grab-and-go concept like this.

Still, it was pretty tasty.  They serve biryani, along with a variety of kebabs that you can either get as a wrap or in a meal with rice.  I was planning on getting the original kebab wrap, but this was sold out, so I went with the chicken tikka wrap instead.

I wish the chicken were dark meat instead of vaguely dry breast, but otherwise I quite enjoyed this.  As the name of the restaurant implies, they cook the chicken over charcoal, which gives it a delightfully smoky flavour.  Otherwise it’s pretty by-the-numbers, but that pronounced flavour from the grill really elevates it.

I also got an order of fries that I forgot to photograph, which the menu advertised as two dollars but which the apologetic woman behind the counter explained is actually six.  Inflation, I guess??  Anyway, just picture McDonald’s fries (but worse) with a sprinkling of sumac on top.  This would have been worth the advertised two dollars, but six might be a bit much.