Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of the St. Lawrence Market? It's pea-meal
bacon on a bun, a hearty and thoroughly
Ontarian sandwich.
These are mom-and-pop businesses in
the best sense of the term. Most are family
run, or are being carried on by former
employees of the original owners, whose
immigrant backgrounds (Ukrainian, Italian,
Greek, Korean) are proof positive of Toron-
to's ethnic diversity. Signs are hand
painted, and regular customers are known
by name. And talk about longevity: Of the
more than 50 vendors keeping shop in the
South Market hall, several—Wittevein
Meats, Scheffler's Deli & Cheese, Olympic
Cheese Mart, Kozlik's Canadian Mustard—
have been there since the 1950s. Ponesse
Foods has been selling fresh produce
since 1900, and Brown Brothers Butchers
predates the market, having been in busi-
ness since 1895. Locals sometimes scoff
at the St. Lawrence Market as a yuppie
hangout (especially now that the sur-
rounding neighborhood's vacant ware-
houses have been transformed by urban
chic), and it may be, compared to the
cacophony of the Kensington Market
street market, Toronto's other chief food
shopping resource. (The number of
organic vendors is steadily increasing, a
sure sign of yuppification.) But the vibe
here is still casual and laid back.
Since 1803, some sort of weekly farm-
er's market has taken place here at Front
and Jarvis streets; the permanent covered
market building came into being in 1899,
when a former City Hall was converted
into its current train shedlike form. The
North Market building is still the site of a
Saturday's farmer's market, which gets
going at 5am (that's when the farmers
arrive) and draws food shoppers from
quite a distance. The market is closed
Sunday and Monday.
There are a handful of cafes and take-
out stands at the South Market but only
one full-service restaurant, Paddington's
Pump—and even that is a casual sort of
joint. Plans are afoot to open a kitchen/
demonstration area on the west mezza-
nine for cooking classes.
92 Front St. E (
&
416/392-7219;
www.
stlawrencemarket.com).
(
Toronto International (29km/18 miles).
L
$$$
Le Royal Meridien King
Edward,
37 King St. E (
&
800/543-4300
or
416/863-9700; www.starwoodhotels.com).
$$
The Drake Hotel,
1150 Queen St. W
(
&
416/531-5042;
www.thedrakehotel.ca).
Gourmet Emporiums &
Specialty Shops
19
Harrods Food Halls
Food, Glorious Food
London, England
London's world-famous luxury department
store in Knightsbridge actually had its ori-
gins in 1849 as a high-end grocery store, so
it's only fitting that its centerpiece should
still be the food halls. A lavish series of
ballroom-sized salons, the food halls sell
everything from dressed pheasant, legs of
Iberico ham, and whole smoked salmon to
exquisite chocolates, teas, and cheese bis-
cuits; it's like a
Masterpiece Theatre
fantasy
