CraveTO

CraveTO is the newest Toronto festival that promises to combine and showcase "local street food, craft beer and DJ music culture". And how! It's inaugural edition took place in May of this year at the Evergreen Brickworks and despite the unseasonably cool weather it was a fantastic event. Unfortunately my blog was a mere idea at the time so it went undocumented but when I heard that CraveTwO was happening I made sure to grab tickets.

For their second time out, CraveTO would be a two-part (separately ticketed) event at a new venue located in Honest Ed Alley. The first half, CraveTO Day, taking place between 12:30-5pm, and the second half CraveTO Night running from 7-11pm. Partly due to the timing and partly due to the vendor selection, I decided CraveTO Day was the place to be. We arrived hungry early and found ourselves first in line. The event began right on time and we took a walk around to scope out the vendors before we started eating. Let's let the pictures do the talking:

Mushroom, three cheese & spinach for me and bison short rib for my date courtesy of (personal favorite) HOT BUNZZ.

"Smutty Taquitos" from ESE. Apparently corn smut is actually an edible fungus (who knew?) but it was cheesy, covered in mole and DELICIOUS.

An arepa from MANGO PINTON stuffed with chicken and avocado. If you've never tried an arepa, put it on your "To Do" list immediately.

Japanese chicken karaage from GUSHI, served piping hot and on a stick (the keys to really great street food).

Is there anything more delightful than really good cannoli? TERRA NERA does 'em right with chocolate shavings at one end and crushed pistachio at the other.

This was mad dessert science at its best. Mini marshmallows frozen in liquid nitrogen by the coolest (ha!) vendors of the event (see pic below) ICE VOLCANO.

That was all my stomach could fit but also in attendance were Kanto by Tita Flips and food truck offerings from Buster's Sea Cove, Pancho's and Pretty Sweet (all of whom I've sampled at other events, all of which are yummy). For fans of day drinking there were a host of craft brewers (Kensington, Hogtown, Left Field, Nickel Brook and Tequila Tromba) to choose from. The combination of beautiful weather, awesome food'n'drink and upbeat tunes made for a great afternoon courtesy of CraveTO. No word yet on future events but keep your ears open because the third one will surely be another hit. See you there!