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Perhaps no city can be considered truly great without a vibrant, permanent farmers market. Here in Toronto, fortunately, we have two. Kensington market and St. Lawrence market. To say that these are "Permanent farmers markets" is a bit misleading. What they are is in fact two distinct market neighbourhoods.

To talk about St. Lawrence Market as A market is also somewhat misleading. It's actually 2 markets. As far as farmers markets go anyway. The north, a Saturday only farmers bazaar and the south, a 5 days a week playground nirvana for the food lover.

In November, 1803 the Province of Upper Canada's lieutenant governor Peter Hunter set aside a small parcel of land in what was then known as the Town of York (to be renamed the City of Toronto in 1834) and decreed it would henceforth be set aside as a "Market Block." A wooden building to house the market was subsequently erected and then replaced in 1831 by a larger brick building that would occupy virtually the entire Market Block property. Incorporated into this building was the York Town Hall. In 1849 the first "Great fire" of Toronto resulted in the 1831 brick market building and the original Town Hall that had become de facto the new City Hall being destroyed.

By 1850 the present St. Lawrence Hall began to take shape on the northernmost portion of the ruins of the old brick market building. This magnificent building would quickly become the social center of the young city and home to numerous and varied civic and cultural events. St. Lawrence Hall now sits fully restored and has been designated a National Historic Site. 

In time, a smaller non-descript structure took shape south of the Hall. This latter building has been renovated several times and now there are plans to replaced it with a modern new structure.

A decade after the Town of York was given city status in 1834 the city fathers' who had been meeting in the original Town Hall moved across Front St. into a new City Hall in the "South" Market. A portion of this historic building still stands with the Market Gallery occupying what had been the municipal Council Chambers. 
Over the next 50 years Toronto's first purpose-built City Hall underwent a couple of facelifts. However, by the 1890s a population boom saw the old city offices out grown.  

A move to a new "New" city hall at Queen and Bay in September of 1899 would be the last the St. Lawrence Market would see of city council. Oddly enough that city hall at Bay and Queen streets is now known as "Old" City Hall while it's replacement to the west now bears the title of "New" City Hall.

Back at the historic "South" Market a major renovation in 1904 resulted in only a portion of that original brick building surviving. It can be seen incorporated in the north facade of the "South" Market. A few years later an overhead canopy would be built to connect the north and south markets. It would be removed 50 years later.

One last major renovation took place in 1977 that added two levels of vendors at the south end of the market building plus the addition of meeting rooms, a kitchen and the popular Market Gallery where art work and artifacts related to Toronto's fascinating history are presented.

The south building's busy food court is quite simply a food lovers dream. Seafood, meat, vegetable and cheese vendors (among others) all competing against each other for your food dollar. Below is a sampling of some of my favourite vendors and their wares.

Two things are absolute musts for me, whether or not I'm planning on having a meal, to snack on as I'm wandering. First of all the pepperettes from Upper Cut Meats. These fiery beauties are just the thing to open up the taste buds for the coming onslaught.

Quite often I'll pick up lamb steaks here and do them up on the grill. The marrow from the bone is fantastic.

The other must is a stop at Scheffler's for some anti pasta. Perhaps nothing better from this beautiful bar is the smoked speck and goat cheese. The sharp, rich cheese is a perfect match for the smokey, oily goodness of the speck.
Scheffler's is a grazers paradise too. Sausage, cheese and pates are all available to sample before purchase.

As great as Upper Cut is, Witteveen's is my favourite. The roasted side bacon and pork tenderloins are fabulous. I often grab a hunk and eat it on site. They have a terrific selection which includes one of my favourite pieces of cow. The Tri  Tip. This hunk off the sirloin primal is perfect for fajitas. The super friendly staff are great to just stop and talk meat with as well.

 

For those spaghetti lovers St. Lawrence Pizza and Pasta makes fresh pasta and sauce. Either from their “To go” case or prepared for you at their counter. They also make their own pizza dough and sauce. Both of which can be order at the counter. Their pepperoni pizza is far ahead of what you’d get at a regular food court. While the pepperoni lacked the pizzaz I’d normally like it had a very nice complementary taste to the cheese. The dough is flavourful and chewy but where this slice really gets its personalitly is the sauce. A good tomato flavour is punctuated with a big garlic hit. Enough to scare off the vampires.

Sausage King has a beautiful array of sausage. Both fresh and cured. While you’re there picking up some goodies for home try one of their porchetta sandwiches. Served on a kaiser roll with herbed aioli and optional cracklin’s it’s great. Some people find the strong rosemary flavour to be a bit much. Others find the 17 napkin juiciness of it too much. Not me, I love rosemary and find juice running down my arm as I’m eating to be a good thing.

One of the stars of the show at the market is the peameal bacon on a bun at Carousel Bakery. A debate rages wether it’s the best or the offering at Paddington’s Pub. Well, I’ve had both and will take Carousel every time (as did everyone in a group of 10 I visted with as well). On occasion I’ll hit up one of the other vendors for a couple slices of cheddar. Usually I just eat it plain though. Not even any mustard.

Speaking of mustard, perhaps THE best mustard on the planet can be found at Kozlik's Mustards. Anton Kozlik has a wide array of the yellow/brown goodness for just about any palate. For me, one stands head and shoulders above all. The Triple Crunch is 3 different seeds blended with some whiskey and vinegar. It's pungent with a great texture. It makes a great substitute in recipes that call for mustard seed.

For my money some of the best pastéis de natas (Custard tarts) can be found at Churasco's. The rich custard is nicely nestled in the flaky phylo pastry. They also make a phenomenal bifana sandwich. Sliced pork tenderloin on a bun with everything (Roasted peppers, onions and the best piri piri sauce I've had). It's cooked to order so takes a little longer but well worth the wait. Every bit as tasty as you can imagine and it's not even their specialty. 



So there you have it food lovers. A look at one of the great market and food adventures this planet has to offer. An absolute must for any hungry visitor.


You can find St. Lawrence Market (south) at the corner of Front and Lower Jarvis Streets.
 
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You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.


I would like to thanks Toronto's leading historian, Mike Filey for his help with the historical aspect of this article. Piecing together a time line for the market proved challenging and without Mike I probably wouldn't have got the facts straight.

Well that's all for now. See ya next time in the food court.

Davwud

“This is not Fast Food”

By the 1880’s railroads were ferrying people and cargo all cross the nation. In northern Kentucky rail lines linked the Cincinnati/Lexington/Louisville corridor with points beyond. The small railway known as the Georgetown, Midway, Versailles Railroad was part of this system but was eventually bypassed. The line continued to service a series of small “Bluegrass towns” along it’s tracks for several more years though. One such town was named Wallace for the family that owned the farm on which the train station would sit. Not much more than a general store in which were the depot and post office, it served the local phosphate mine for decades until the mine was depleted and closed in 1940. As the mine dried up so did Wallace. The tracks were removed the town was formally absorbed into the larger towns of Midway and Versailles. It’s now just a memory but for the old general store which has persevered through many incarnations.

When Ouita Michael of the Holly Hill Inn wanted to open a more casual sister restaurant she found the old general store in what was once Wallace to be an ideal location. Together with her sister Paige Richardson and their husbands they would open a bakery that would both serve the Inn baked goods and act as a sandwich shop on it’s own. In 2003 they founded Wallace Station on the picturesque Old Frankfort Pike. “There’s nothing like a good sandwich” I’ve always said and the people of Kentucky seem to agree. Relying mostly on business from the nearby horse farms the business has grown quickly and is now catering events at those local farms. Locals loved the little sandwich shop so much they wrote Guy Fieri and the Triple D gang who paid them a visit in the spring of 2010. (scroll down to watch the show) It was this episode that got my attention and loving sandwiches I had to pay a visit.

The restaurant is rather small and line ups are common. “This is not fast food” they tell you up front and the proper time and care is given to all the food. So you may have to wait a little bit but good things do come to those who wait. Sharing of tables is common and even encouraged as the sense of community is the general feel of this place. Farm owners and stable hands will share a table, a meal and of course, horse tales. It carries a horse racing theme with the menu board reads like a race form and the food is named after horses or race tracks. Wallace Station is also about as “In house” as you’ll get. With the exception of the hot sauce they pretty much make everything from scratch. Right down to the salad dressings, dips and even the various mustards. They source as much produce and meats as is possible locally making them “Kentucky proud.” With this dedication to detail you know everything is first rate.

So, enough with the yakkity yak.

All sandwiches come with regular, crinkle cut potato chips on the side.

I opted for the Big Brown burger. Hailed as one of his top 5 all time by Guy, it’s a cross between a burger and a Kentucky Hot Brown. A griddled patty with ham, bacon, tomato and a white cheddar mornay sauce. It was a terrific burger and may crack my top 5 but it had the unenviable task of competing with my favourite (Blimpy Burger) which I ate the day before.

Another thing conspiring against the Big Brown was how good Mrs. Sippi’s East Hampton sandwich was. Ham and melted brie on the house white with sliced apple and honey mustard. It’s then put in a sandwich press. It was fabulous. IMHO the honey mustard really set the whole sandwich off.

I got a couple cups of mustard (honey and spicy bourbon) as well as their Mediteranian dip. All were great but the dip was perfect for dipping the chips. Mayo based with feta and capers it’s terrific.

For desert we had an apricot cookie. It was very light and not overly sweet. We thought it was okay but not worth another try.

What was however worth another try is the Danger Brownie. This dense fudge brownie had chopped pecans inside and sitting proudly atop was a chocolate truffle. It’s a chocoholic’s dream.

 

If you’re ever in horse racing/bluegrass country a drive out to Wallace Station is wonderful way to spend an afternoon. The surrounding farms and scenery are stunning. You’ll find the restaurant at 3854 Old Frankfort Pike. 

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You can also find them on the web or become a facebook friend.
 

Well that’s all for now race fans. See you another time in the food court.

Davwud

The Great Toronto Ethnic Bakery Tour

If you've been reading along you'll probably know that I live in Toronto. At least, the Toronto area that is. What you may not know is that "The Big Smoke" as it's called is as multicultural a city as there is on the big blue marble. This of course means there is ethnic food from every corner of the globe.

With our love of ethnic foods and bakeries in tow, a small group of local Chowhounders set out to sample some of the delights, both sweet and savoury which our immigrant compatriots have bless the city.
There is too much to go into great detail about everything so I'll hit the high points in terms of taste and interst. Focusing on 4 of the 7 bakeries and 2 places we got side tracked.

Our first stop was Columbus Bakery at 2931 Dufferin St. south of Lawrence.

Specializing in Columbian baked goods, it's quickly becoming a favourite of mine and some of my partners in crime.
We tried over half a dozen treats from the sweet and the savoury as well as a Columbian soft drink.

Pony Malta: A carbonated drink with a malted molasses taste to it. I found it to be okay and if I went back would order it again. I doubt I'd have it somewhere else though.

Carimanolas: Fried cassava (yucca) fritters stuffed with minced beef that make a great little snack when you're on the road. Perhaps a touch greasy for some but I love them. Perfect with or without hot sauce.

Tamales: Not the same as most tamales as they are much bigger and not wrapped in corn husk but banana leaves. A great corn taste from the massa. This particular tamale was chicken and contained some vegetables and a whole drumstick. Bone and all. I thought it was the best tamale I'd had but sadly, it's in short company. Eaten on arepas (cornmeal pancake) with hot sauce it was fantastic. (sorry the pic is a bit blurry). The white thing is the arepa.

Other samples consisted of giant alfajores (a shortbread type double decker cookie), empanadas (made with a corn meal shell that certainly need the hot sauce), chicarones (fried pork belly, skin on. Can't go wrong there) and a tamarind stuffed puff pastry (we don't know the name of but was also good).

We showed up hungry and ate a little too much for our first stop. As you can imagine, we compounded the problem at our second stop.

On we went to Doce Minho a little further south at 2189 Dufferin St. specializing in Portuguese fare.

I'm a chocolate nut but if I'm not having chocolate my favourite sweet is pasteis de natas. The famous custard tarts are simply out of this world good.

There were two things surprising to everyone. A custard filled donut (bottom right). Given that is has custard in it, it probably shouldn't have surprised. The other was a neat little boat filled with a sweet custard that was the colour of sweet potato (top left). There was a good almond tart (middle) and a nice piece of chourico (we laughed at the sausage being a palate cleanser) that was quite tasty too(bottom left). (blurry again)

We also had some savoury pasteis as well. Salt cod, shrimp, beef and chicken flavoured fritters (I mean seperately, not all meat mixed together).

Athen's Pasteries is as you can imagine, Greek. Right in the heart of Greektown.

First thing you'll notice is the goodies were right in the front window. All portioned and cut right there for the passers by to see.

If the pastries in the front window wasn't enough to convince you you were on to something, the fact that they make and sell their own phyllo is should seal the deal.

Kreatopita: Much like Spanakopita but with a meat filling. Fantastic.

Spanakopita: (right) Perhaps the most well known of the Greek pasteries, it's phyllo stuffed with cheese and spinach. Most were in agreement it was the best we'd had. Strong spinach taste without overwhelming.
Tiropita: (left)As above with Feta. Often called cheese pie it too was great.

All the above had flaky, buttery phyllo.

We also had Loukoumades. (above on the bottom) A donut like doughball drenched in honey. Unbelievably sweet and somewhat one dimensional. The addition of cinnamon turns something somewhat boring into a nice sweet treat.

Later in the afternoon we made our way to Babu Bakery and Sweets. Located in the back of a strip mall at 4800 Sheppard Ave. E. it's a take out only Sri Lankan place offering both the sweet and the savoury. Suffering from sugar shock we stuck the hot tables. Upwards of a couple dozen delicious looking a la carte offerings all of which I'd never sampled. We took our goodies and had a picnic in a local park.

Beef String Hopper: (left) Named for the string like rice noodles. At first bite it was quite good but unassuming. As a few more bites came so did the burn. Not overpowering but a nice back bite to it.
Chicken Kothu Roti: (right) HELLO!! Bang, tasty with an up front heat that'll get your attention.
Chicken Hakkah: (bottom) My favourite. I like sauce and spice which is exactly what this delivered.
An ingenious "PeteRock" slipped out to Mona's Roti (4810 Sheppard Ave. E.) and picked up, you guessed it, roti. Mona's roti was very nice, fresh and perfect with all three dishes from Babu.

A couple of us had (what I'm told is) sahlbet. A fruity drink made from a base of milk and rosewater. It needs to be stirred as the rosewater sinks to the bottom. I liked it.

The other unscheduled but well worth it side trips was to Simba Grill at 375 Donlands Ave. to pick up some Tanzanian style samosas to compare with those from Samosa King. Not a bakery but since we were driving right by it....

Tanzanian style samosas sport a phyllo type wrapper. We opted for the beef filled.
I prefer this style and these were as good as it gets. Another reason why we stopped.

The more traditional style have a more standard dough. Both are deep fried.
The Samosa King samosas were fine. The are loved by many but it's most likely because of the price. (5/$1) I've had much better.

Another goodie from Mona's was a Doubles. A sandwich of two flatbreads filled with chana (spiced chick peas). It's called doubles. As in, one "Doubles." It was excellent.

We also stopped at Lebanese Bakery for (obviously) Lebanese. I thought it was okay, nothing special. I did like the baklava.
Ponchos Bakery offers up Mexican breads. It seems none of us are into Mexican breads. For the most part we found them dry. Probably they're meant to be eaten with coffee or some sort of drink. I did like the strawberry flavoured empanada.
We skipped Fragrant Bakery (Chinese) since we were just flat out spent. Sensory overload and/or food coma were the reason.

Well that's all for now folks.

Davwud