Monday, September 12, 2011

Taste of the Danforth and The Ex Festival Edition

Hey All,

It has been a while.

I thought I would bring out some good eats from the summer festivities that go on around the city.

1st up Taste of the Danforth

I live right near the Danforth so I had to hit it up for some food. 1st of all I would like to say that if you do not like crowds then this is not the place for you. But if you are ok with them then just right in and it is a great people watching place.
Off the bat i was hungry so I grabbed some chaved beef on a pita from a Brazilian restaurant right near Broadview and Danforth. It was amazing and I wanted more of the tender and perfectly spiced meat but I had to go on seeing as this was just 10 feet inside of the start of the festival.
Walking along I was tempted to get some food from my favorite places along Greek town but it seemed that everyone in the city had discovered where these places were and the lines topped 50 or 60 people so I moved along knowing that I could get there any day.
Corn is essential on Taste of the Danforth (TOD). There is 1 place on the south side near Pape Ave that has the best roasted corn. Not because of how it is roasted but becasue of the flavors that it can be topped with. Over 50 flavors cover the table and we chose black pepper lime and something else I cant even remember. GET THIS CORN!!
Moving along right beside this place there was some home made soft drinks in barrels that you poured for yourself into oldtimey tin mugs that you got to keep. It even came with a clip for your belt so you could carry it around. We tried the Cola and the Root beer and they were both great but especially the Root beer.

The Ex
I am not usually a huge fan of the Ex. I understand its appeal but for me I think there are som many amazing things to do in the city that you can do other things. However, the food building cannot be missed. It is very large and packed and has everything under the sun.
I ventured down here just before I hit up the Toronto FC soccer game (free admission with a ticket). I needed some food.
1st thing I got was some deep fried pierogies with tons of onions and sour cream. they blew me away as I love pierogies but had never had them deep fried like this. My suggestion is to find the oldest looking person who is serving and go to that booth as they for sure have had good experience.
I went onto the main course which consisted of a half pound burger bacon in between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches.......................... yes you heard me right. Wow!! I could not bring myself to get the burger that was between 2 Krispy Kreame Donuts but I had to go for this one. The cheese was whelming (but not over). I thought to myself as well, "I should do this at home". The bread was thick Texas toast so I almost had to unhinge the jaw to get around it all. It filled me for hours later. I would suggest getting it if you can handle it.


So that is that. get out during the summer and visit everything in the city because there are so many great places. Eat well during these places too.