Watched over ironically by McDonald’s golden arches, the Leslieville Farmers’ Market meets Sunday from 9 am to 2 pm in John Ashbridge Park at the corner of Eastern and Woodward. Only a month old, it’s already become a major foodie destination.
Check out the lineup! Among the vendors set up next to the tennis courts at the south end of the park you’ll find fair-trade organic
roasted beans at Merchants of Green Coffee (merchantsofgreencoffee.com), Quebecois fromage at Leslieville Cheese Market (leslievillecheese.com) and artisan mustards at Kozlik’s (mustardmaker.com). Phoenix/Arnold offers naturally raised grass-fed beef, LPK’s Culinary Groove (lpksculinarygroove.com) has vegan and gluten-free desserts, while M&B Alchemy (giddyyoyo.com) specializes in raw “cosmic” organic chocolate and shoots.
Look for goat crème fraiche, the best mancheco cheese outside of Spain and buffalo milk (!) ice cream at Montefort Dairy (monfortedairy.com) and still-warm-from-the-oven croissants from Jean-Pierre Challet of Ici Bistro‘s new Le Matin Bakery (lematinbakery.com).
Still hungry? Then grab a sustainable salmon burger at Hooked (hookedinc.ca) or made-to-order Belgian waffles and beignets at the Waffle Bar (thewafflebar.ca).
Lobster-Palooza
After you hit the market, stop in at Bill’s Lobster (599 Gerrard E, at Broadview, 416-778-0943) in Chinatown East where three live lobsters will set you back all of $19. Why so cheap? Seems the season is at peak and the market is glutted with the stuff. Owner Bill Cheng expects to go through up to 3,000 pounds a week.
