The Stop Community Food Centre’s Night Market is one of Toronto’s best food events. For one, you pay a one-off price to eat and drink as much as you want from the best local restaurants the city has to offer. Secondly, it’s not a massively oversold event where it’s impossible to actually eat and drink as much as you want. And finally, the annual two-day festival is for a really great cause: last year, the sold-out event raised $149,000 for The Stop Community Food Centre’s programs.
Tonight, an entirely new lineup of food and drink vendors will offer you (except for Oyster Boy, mentioned below, who will be there both nights) a whole new menu. To tempt you, here are the highlights from Day One, from food editor Natalia Manzocco:
- The cheeseburger fritter from Me & Mine came flanked with a devilled pickled egg that boasted a curiously alluring floral flavour (thanks to the edible blooms sprinkled on top) and a delicate crunch.
- Rasa doled out pillowy truffle gnudi nestled on a bed of mushrooms and portobello “soil.”
- Geraldine’s duck confit croquettes: Of the night’s many deep-fried ball-based eats, this one was king.
- Tori’s Bakeshop went the simple but satisfying route: Thick baguette slices toasted with olive oil, smeared with a cashew-based “chevre,” piled with roasted beet slices and sprinkled with Maldon salt.
- Maizal served up esquites, a warm, creamy, almost chowder-like corn salad topped with queso (like a hug in a Dixie cup).
This year, The Stop invited NOW staff to judge the one-of-a-kind carts made by local designers and maker. We had the tough (ha!) job of choosing three designs: one that best represents The Stop’s mission statement the one that is most creative and the design team that deserves to be called best in show.
See the results below:
- LOCKWOOD, used last night by Tori’s Bakeshop, wins for best reflecting The Stop’s mission statement. With its gorgeous plants inviting people over to the booth, this cart truly reflects the values of The Stop. Sustainability, hospitality, DIY, playfulness, community-building – we see all of these in this simple, refreshing design.
- Discreet and Discrete wins for most creative cart, whereby the skeleton of an enormous antique wheel was repurposed to deliver The Gabardine‘s fabulous offerings. But where did they find it? And how did they get it there? And what are they going to do with it now?
- LAMAS, used by Oyster Boy, wins best in show: oysters demand a certain sense of occasion. Even at a summer festival surrounded by hungry Torontonians, LAMAS delivered the best atmosphere to accompany this level of flavour.
Congratulations!
Check out NOW’s photo booth photos from Day One here!
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