Those of you who’ve been paying attention know that when I travel to conventions, I hate to eat in hotel restaurants and do my best to track down memorable eating experiences. And since it looks like all of the places I plan to hit during November’s World Fantasy Convention are a distance from the hotel, which is in Richmond Hill, about half an hour outside of downtown Toronto, I’ll be renting a car—the first time I’ve ever done that internationally.

But as you’ll see below, it should be worth it.

The Black Hoof

The #1 restaurant I want to hit during the con is The Black Hoof, which is a cash only, no reservations establishment. But with a menu featuring such delicacies as roasted bone marrow, beef tendon & grits, foie & nutella, and spicy horse tartare, how can you pass it up? Adventurous eaters, please raise your hands if you want to tag along.

Momofuku Noodle Bar

The Toronto branch of David Chang’s amazing Momofuku Noodle Bar only opened yesterday, which should give them enough time to work out all the kinks before we get there. Again, no reservations, but for those famous steamed pork buns, it’ll be worth the wait.

The Burger’s Priest

I was planning to head to The Burger’s Priest as part of my search for the world’s greatest burger, but now that I’ve seen a list of “Toronto’s 25 best burgers ranked in order of heart-stopping, messy magnificence,” and found that they’re only ranked #6, I don’t know what to think! Locals with an opinion as to which joint serves the best can’t-miss Toronto burger, you’ve got about five weeks to state your case.

I was intrigued by the concept of O.NOIR, a restaurant with food served in the dark by blind waiters, but since the consensus over on Yelp seems to be that the idea was better than the food, I believe I’ll pass.

I’m sure I’ll find other restaurants to add to the list between now and November 1. If you’ve got any candidates it would be a crime to miss, let me know!