One positive thing coming out of COVID are the budding new businesses springing up across Toronto. Search on Instagram and you’ll find at least a dozen local chefs who are creating delicious eats and delivering them across the city.

When Patty Queen came across my feed, the photo of the yellow pastry made me stop. It’s something I ate a lot of in high school – a cheap lunch from the cafeteria and my parents always had a box of frozen Patty King around in case I was hungry before dinner. After high school, it’s something I ate less of: after a night out, at a TTC station, when the food cravings were too strong; or most recently with co-workers as we sampled the three options around the Yonge and Dundas neighbourhood.

As I’ve grown, my palette has become fussier: I want something with a flaky crust, something that’s flavourful, and a filling with discernable ingredients and not merely a brown paste. Those three things seem difficult to find unless I was willing to travel to the city’s outskirts and wait in line for the greats like Randy’s.

The founders of Patty Queen seemed to be facing the same dilemma – where could they easily get a freshly made Jamaican patty to feed their love of Caribbean cuisine?  After one owner lost her job, she decided they would start making it for the masses. After all, they already served them to friends with great fanfare.

Their spin is to use quality organic ingredients, ensure the patties are made-to-order, and deliver them fresh to customers (every Wednesday and Saturday). Their motto: Always fresh; never frozen.

After getting them delivered to my doorstep on the weekend, my husband and I immediately heated two of the Man Down or vegetarian patties to try ($28 for a dozen; $18 for six). Since they were fresh, a quick 8-minutes in the toaster oven yielded hot fragrant patties. We marvelled how the crust was flakey, crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside.

And the vegetable medley (carrots, peas, onions, and potatoes) sat in a thick peppery sauce – not like the flavourless versions I’ve had at work. I only wish there were more of it in the patty as I found the first couple of bites along the curved sealed end sometimes lacks filling… perhaps due to the patties being stood up in the box when packaged.

That evening we tucked into the Pon de Replay or mild beef patties ($25 for a dozen; $16 for six) and it too had the coveted flakey crust. While the filling looked like a uniform paste, upon biting into it, we tasted the meaty bits and the beef flavour was much stronger. Imagine this to be the Black Angus of the patty world.

The mild patties were a manageable level of spice with a restrained heat that tickles the tongue. For future orders, I think I can move up to the Sasha Fierce (spicy beef patties) instead. After all, having supported Ree Ree for my first order, I’ll get a touch of Queen Bey next time.

• Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never order again
• 6 - decent for delivery and takeout, but there's better
• 7 - this is good, for delivery and takeout
• 8 - great for delivery and takeout, it's almost like you're in a restaurant
• 9 -  wow, it's like I'm eating at a restaurant
• 10 - I'd happily order this for delivery or takeout instead of dining in any day!

• Patois