Toronto’s St Lawrence Market by Bruce Holmes
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Named as one of the world's 25 best food markets by America’s Food and Wine magazine, Toronto’s St Lawrence Market was to be the focus of our Foodies Tour that morning. And with the city that is Canada’s commercial centre being known by some as “hog town” because there are so many pigs there, it probably wasn’t surprising that we began with a tasting of the Canadian bacon that’s famous as the best in America.
Now in Australia we’re used to the side strips of bacon but in Toronto they sell pea-meal back bacon which we tasted from the Carousel Bakery on a roll with mustard. The bakery was unusual as it represented thirty smaller boutique bakeries whose styles varied with their different nationalities.
Our tour guide Bill Genova explained that after World War II Canada had seen an influx of European immigrants, especially Italians, much as we had experienced here in Australia. Over the years various ethnic neighbourhoods have sprung up and as we toured the market I started thinking they were all represented here. As Bill had been coming here since arriving from Sicily as a small child, he seemed to know each of the food-sellers by name.
Rube's Rice and Apple Latke
The market has specialty shops for meat, cheese, rice, honey and more. We met characters like Rubin, who at 85 years of age has “retired” several times and now seems content to chat with customers at his specialty rice shop, known simply as Rube’s Rice. It had an amazing range, from Kalijira rice imported from Bangladesh to pecan rice sourced in Louisiana and certified organic number 1 Canadian Wild Rice grown north of Regina.
At Unique Fine Food Bill introduced Pityk Mariya, who offered us tastings of home made sausage like Kobonossa and Kilbassa. But most of all I enjoyed her Apple Latke, a type of pancake.
And did we know that Canada grows 90% of the world’s mustard? Well I didn’t. But after tasting samples of Kosluk’s mustards, where all powders and seeds are sourced from plants grown on the Canadian prairies, I certainly learned what good mustard tasted like. Some of their varieties included “amazing maple” and ‘balsamic fig and date,” in which delicious fruit flavours permeated the medium hot mustards.
Between food stops Bill told us something of the history of the place, from the time that the Indians traded fish here. When the city’s name was changed from York to Toronto in 1834 this was the location of the temporary city hall. Then in 1903 the St Lawrence Market was erected over the remains of that former government building.
We saw historic photos of the market from 1898 through to 1955, including some which showed how architects kept the central façade of the old city hall as a feature, using it as the front wall of the South Market. Bill explained that one end of the present market was once the old jail. Now an entire wall there displays so many olive oils that I was bemused.
Bill’s tour also includes some time in the market’s immediate neighbourhood of old Toronto, visiting the Upper Canada Bank, the First Post Office, De Lasalle College and St. Lawrence Hall.
The Weird and the Wonderful
Back to the food fancying, we visited a caviar-seller who also offered “Indian Candy” made from smoked salmon cured with Canadian maple syrup. I know it sounds decidedly doubtful but it really was delicious.
At the market’s seafood outlet you could buy oysters from Malpeque on Prince Edward Island, which Bill assured us were the absolute best, live lobsters and prepared foods including salmon and sea bass wrapped in banana leaves.
Organic fruit and vegetables are very popular at the market. So famous are they that when the Dalai Lama visited Toronto the lady responsible for feeding him shopped here. Bill introduced us to Murray the shopkeeper who told us how the revered Tibetan leader had left cards and letters for him and for his mother who has since passed on. Some of Murray’s customers have been coming here for 30 years.
Finding that we had a taste for something sweeter, we tried jams like red lavender and strawberry with red wine at A Bisket A Basket before descending upon Olek, who hails originally from the Ukraine. Well Olek sells honey and not just from the Ukraine. For this entrepreneur simply decided to sell the world’s best, most of which apparently comes from New Zealand.
He was happy to let us taste a range of honeys to find what we liked best. Of the New Zealand offerings the Manuka was strong and sweet, Penny Royal had a milder and fruitier flavour, Rata was spicy-sweet and Thyme as you’d imagine had a strong herb flavour. And to prove that not every good honey comes from New Zealand there was the woody taste of Beech where the bees had feasted on Tasmanian leatherwood, he had Miel de Lavande (lavender honey) from France, and from Spain there was honey from the flowers of wild oak trees and even the rare “strawberry tree”.
From Canada and Beyond
Then finally we reached the epicure shop, which Bill assured us was much cheaper than elsewhere. Delights here included odd couplings like wild boar with apricots and quail with pears. There was also goats’ milk, Middle Eastern dips, prosciutto from all over Europe and a gourmet range of maple syrups.
The owner had come to Canada from Athens in 1982 to attend university, but when he finished his studies he began to bargain and bought this business in 1991. Such was the allure of fine food.
And the wanderer’s name? Why Odysseus, of course.