Sunday, November 17, 2013

Toronto Underground Market

Last night Toronto Underground Market (or TUM) had its final event of the year at the beautiful Evergreen Brick Works, located deep in the Don Valley. For those who have never visited the Brick Works, I could just as easily write an entire post on the amazing job they've done transforming a long-dormant industrial site into a thriving (and green!) community space. But I digress...  

#TUM! This was not my first time attending TUM (their first event took place just over 2 years ago) but it has been a year or so since my last time out so I was especially excited to see what (if anything) had changed. I was happy to find that the core of what makes TUM an awesome event has not changed one bit. Admittedly, ticket prices have increased since my last visit ($22.60/advance), but I don't think they are even close to being unreasonable given the overall quality/location of the event. What a ticket to TUM gets you is access to over two dozen food and drink vendors, whose items are usually priced between $2-$8. More importantly, is that the majority of vendors are new up and coming or independent chefs, caterers and restauranteurs who are showcasing innovative and exciting menu items that you can't find elsewhere.


Case in point, my first stop of the evening was at Stuffed.Wings. As their name suggests, Stuffed.Wings was serving stuffed chicken wings (!!!) and I sampled the "Fully Loaded" wing (2/$5), which contained mashed potato, sour cream, chives cheddar cheese and bacon bits. It was delicious and delightfully odd! Up next was a stop at Thistletown Highschool Chefs, where the chefs were a group of high school students from Etobicoke. In addition to eating some wonderfully warm and hearty butternut squash soup ($3), my purchase helped them in their fundraising efforts for a culinary expedition to France and Spain. The soup wasn't the only thing warming my insides as the student chefs beamed proudly at every customer. ALL THE FEELS, GUYS.


As any TUM expert would attest, it is always best to come with a list of vendors/dishes you MUST sample because the pain of missing out on that truly awesome-looking thing you saw pictured on the event Facebook page is devastating. With that in mind, I made my way over to YOLO T.O. to try their (brace yourself) lobster tail corn dog served with pickled watermelon, topped with basil aioli ($8). OH. MAN. Why isn't all food lobster?!? It was spectacular. I could have eaten far more of them than I am comfortable admitting. YOLO T.O. was a tough act to follow but kudos to Boots & Bourbon Saloon for holding their own with jerk shrimp in spicy potatoes ($5). I was asked to choose between mild and spicy for the shrimp and I went with spicy because C'MON and it punched me in the face in the best way possible. Boots & Bourbon is set to open a permanent location in early December and I'm excited to sample more of their offerings. My next stop was at The Kathi Roll Express, where I carefully devoured a butter chicken kathi roll ($5/large), made from Indian parantha (whole wheat flatbread) grilled with freshly beaten eggs. Saucy, messy, YUMMY!


There were many, many new vendors to try at TUM but there were some TUM mainstays (or TUM-alum as they are affectionately referred to) present as well. Fidel Gastro brought their food truck "Priscilla" and so (prepare to be shocked) I had to have some Pad Thai fries ($5) because I love them like a milkshake and can't pass up an opportunity to have them again (and again and again...). I ventured back into the great unknown with Holy Crab, where I happily munched their tender and flavourful crab cakes (2/$5). At From Scratch Pie Co. I opted for a mini chicken pot pie ($3) and mere seconds after I stepped away from the counter with my purchase I heard voices crying out "Pie Lottery! Pie Lottery!" and a slightly scared looking couple were told they had just been randomly picked to win their mini pot pies for free. Awww man! THIS close. Fortunately I had a delicious and piping hot chicken pot pie to ease the pain of being passed over, which was a pretty decent consolation prize.


As I became increasingly full from my feasting I decided it was time to fit in some sweet stuff to cap my evening. There was a lot of lovely looking desserts to choose from but in the end I went with a trio of pop tarts from the Crossroads Diner food truck in raspberry, blueberry & maple bacon s'more (3/$6). These were a much improved take on the original breakfast treat, which I always found had too much icing, not enough filling. These had much less icing, which meant the jam centres were the main event (as they should be). Perfection! One last dessert stop at the Snackery for a tasty duo of a canelle and a peanut butter cookie (2/$6) and I was done, done, done! As I rolled back to wait for the free shuttle bus to Broadview station, I wondered why I had stayed away so long. TUM is done for the year but they will be back in 2014, ready to satisfy many more appetites with ridiculous amounts of fantastic food. I will see you there!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

When I was a child, my grandparents took me to The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair for the first time, and it made such an impression on me that it has become an annual fall outing of mine. In fact, it might hold my personal record among Toronto events for longest consecutive attendance. Even throughout the years that I lived away from the city, I would always make a special trip in to catch The Royal. So what's so great about The Royal? Well! Allow me to explain...


The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair takes place in the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place and is "the largest combined indoor agricultural fair and international equestrian competition in the world". It began in 1922 and was given its regal title by King George V in 1920, which means (quick math) that this year marks its 91st year. The Royal means many things to many different people. For exhibitors, it is the focal point of their year, where they get the chance to show the fruits (some pun intended) of their labours in livestock breeding and agriculture to judges and bidders. For others, it is a world-class equestrian competition, with events such as show jumping, herding, dressage and hitching happening every day. And for those of us who have no vested interest in the many, many types of competitions/judging happening at The Royal, it's a chance to explore aspects of the province/country that we don't normally get to experience living in the city.


It's difficult to summarize the breadth of activities happening at The Royal but I'll take you through my day to give you an indication of what a typical visit might consist of. We began by wandering through the agricultural exhibits/displays. This is where you'll find gigantic pumpkins, sunflowers that stretch towards the ceiling, colourful bundles of wheat, curiously shaped (and named) gourds and neatly-displayed red ribbon-winning fruits and vegetables. The prize-winning produce is meant for display only but every year I find myself overcome with the urge to eat a first place potato or cob of corn. I suspect most of these are awarded prizes based on aesthetic factors but I always wonder if this makes them taste better...


The agriculture area also showcases achievements in cheese, butter (including the ever-popular butter sculptures), honey, maple syrup, eggs, milk, jams, jellies and pickles. Basically, any edible product whose origins can be traced to a farm. As you wander through there are stickers, posters and pins adorned with the slogan "Farmers Feed Cities" and I have very vivid memories of considering this notion when I was a child at The Royal. It was probably the first time I really stopped to consider where my food came from and the people behind its production. It's very easy to be disconnected from the food we eat and not spend any time considering how it ended up on our plate and The Royal serves as a yearly reminder that there are many hard-working men and women out there making sure we stay fed and full.

 

After meditating on the concept of food production/consumption, it was time for some lighter fare. You know what that means? PETTING ZOO! The Royal has a very large petting zoo, full of goats, sheep, llamas and several other requisite farm animals. The goats, sheep and llamas are the most keen to munch and nibble on food pellets so these are the animals you are most likely to interact with. I'm partial to the llamas, and there were more than usual on display, which was cool. I was especially taken with a llama (pictured above) who looked almost giraffe-like with its spotted face.


The animals at the petting zoo make up a small fraction of the animals present at The Royal. Most of the livestock is there in competition/judging and every year as I pass by stall after stall of sheep, goats, pigs, cows, horses, alpacas, rabbits and guinea pigs I am struck by how I really can't tell the difference between a red ribbon calibre animal and one that gets passed over. I used to think the difference would be more noticeable, like, a missing leg or crooked nose but now I realize that the livestock brought to The Royal represents the cream of the crop and only an especially skilled judge can perceive the kinds of imperfections these animals might possess. Very interesting. Even more interesting are the ridiculous getups they put sheep in after being shorn. Which of the two examples above do you find more creepy: the sheep that looks like he's about to attend a certain kind of racist rally or the ones that look like they're about to burst into an aerobic routine? *shudder*


One of the biggest changes that has taken place at The Royal since I began attending is the fowl situation. The first several years I went to The Royal, one of my favorite parts was seeing the large exhibit of birds in competition. It was certainly the noisiest part of the fair, with roosters, hens, ducks and geese all clucking, quacking and crowing at the same time but it was also one of the most interesting and visually diverse. I especially loved the chickens with mops of feathers on their heads (very punk-rock) and seeing what a healthy and well-bred pigeon looks like (hint: it doesn't look like what you see wandering around the city). Unfortunately, The Royal eliminated the presence of fowl entirely a few years ago as a result of the bird flu scare. In recent years they have re-introduced fowl to the fair but due to ongoing health and noise concerns they are only presents for a select number of days. My visit this year didn't coincide with any of these days so sadly, I missed them. Next year I will make a point to visit when they are around.


There is a tremendous amount of educational information available and on display at The Royal, which makes it an appealing event for schools and parents alike. There are many displays/events aimed at school-aged children throughout The Royal but fortunately they are fun for all ages if you're like me and just enjoy learning new things. This year I learned that strawberries have more to do with straw than I thought and that I was wrong about where meat from the "rump" of a cow was located on its body (I wasn't THAT far off but I was still mistaken). Aside from obvious groups of students there on school trips, there is always a strong presence of older, post-secondary art students at The Royal who are taking advantage of the unique life-drawing opportunities on display. I think it's lovely to see them sketching away with purpose as the rest of us wander by.


The two biggest personal highlights of The Royal were catching the Superdogs and (of course) the food. The Superdogs were once a much smaller part of the fair, in a fairly modest fenced off area. Now they have an arena where hundreds of people can delight in their performances. The show changes slightly year to year but it's always a variation on displays of speed and agility from some very well-trained dogs. It always makes me feel like a kid again as I cheer for "my team" of dogs as they race through obstacle courses. I get really into it. I don't even care how lame that makes me.


I also get really into the food. The Royal has a ridiculous amount of food to choose from, like any fair worth its salt, and for my visit I knew exactly what I wanted. A gigantic baked potato, loaded with sour cream and chives (really green onions, but I wasn't complaining) and a freshly baked Apple Dumpling topped with vanilla ice cream. I chose wisely. I was not disappointed. I will definitely be back next year!