Will Toronto develop an iconic signature food or food(s) like other cities?

[Tewder]

it is embarrassing even to suggest a type of sandwich is Toronto's "signature food". It is still just a sandwich at the end of the day.

Have you ever really analyzed what Poutine is?...

Most foodies allow that there is more to admire and enjoy than just 'haute cuisine'. There's room for it all in a diverse city, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Chicago is known for hot dogs for gawd's sake, among other things. Relax, it's all good!

 

[the lemur]

I don't find it embarrassing - at issue is whether it is natural/authentic to consider it as such, not what it is.

AoD

it is embarrassing even to suggest a type of sandwich is Toronto's "signature food". It is still just a sandwich at the end of the day.

A lot of great food can be summarily and unfairly dismissed as 'just a sandwich', 'just a salad', 'just a piece of ___ on a plate'. It doesn't necessarily make them any less great, and places with signature dishes don't seem to have this kind of hangup about the format of the food.

 

[SunriseChampion]

This is by no means a ubiquitous "signature" dish, but there's a sort of Chinese restaurant downstairs in my building that will give you jerk chicken with fried noodles. My friends and I always say, " Only in Toronto". It's a pretty good combination.

 

[Johnny Au]

Jamaica, where jerk chicken originated, also has a large Chinese population, so restaurants that serve both jerk chicken and fried noodles should not be rare there.

 

[SunriseChampion]

Yeah, I should know that seeing as one of my best friends is Chinese Jamaican.

Well......back to the sandwich.

 

[Humpday]

I vote for the mutton roll.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Has to follow health inspectors rules of course. In other words, dull simple foods only please.

 

[torontologist]

Consider this another vote for the grilled peameal bacon sandwich. Mmmmm.

Though it's more commonly found in eggs benedict format these days.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

From the Star:

Was the sushi pizza invented in Toronto?

AoD

 

[TrickyRicky]

From a tourist point of view peameal bacon sandwich or “Canadian bacon” sandwich from St. Lawrence market is definitely the “thing” you do.

Secondary to that people go to the food experience thinks we have that aren’t original but they don’t have back home.

Case in point the Poo Cafe is full of tourists with kids not because it’s original but because there is nothing like that where they are from.

P.S. I’m all over having signature dishes and foods while visiting a city but don’t you find them kind of gross more often than not?

My wife’s friend from Taiwan was interested in the mainland Chinese based chain restaurants we have that they inexplicably don’t have back home.

 

[Johnny Au]

From the Star:

Was the sushi pizza invented in Toronto?

AoD

Sushi pizza no doubt is one of Toronto's newest unique culinary inventions.

 

[Northern Light]

How about developing a dish around food that is indigenous to Toronto or the region?

Paw Paw fruit is Canada's only 'tropical' fruit and is native Niagara Region, Lake Erie north shore and Windsor (and grows in Toronto when planted).

The custard-like interior of the fruit could be used to make an ice cream, a mousse, a pudding etc.

For those who don't know, it tastes like a cross between a banana and a mango.

Courtesy Southern Living:

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Or we could use a mixture of meat and produce........

Slow roasted pulled venison (deer) glazed in a Wild Blueberry and Maple BBQ sauce.


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Or how about the wild mushroom meat ball (veggie), glazed in soy-maple reduction, contemporary, uses native ingredients with a hint of multicultural fusion.

Just a thought.

 

[Johnny Au]

How about developing a dish around food that is indigenous to Toronto or the region?

Paw Paw fruit is Canada's only 'tropical' fruit and is native Niagara Region, Lake Erie north shore and Windsor (and grows in Toronto when planted).

The custard-like interior of the fruit could be used to make an ice cream, a mousse, a pudding etc.

For those who don't know, it tastes like a cross between a banana and a mango.

Courtesy Southern Living:

Interestingly enough, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were fond of this fruit.

Too bad, it ripens to the point of fermentation a few days after it's picked, preventing it from becoming popular throughout the continent in its raw unprocessed form.

The pawpaw can grow in Toronto and in New York City, albeit container-grown rather than bare-rooted.

 

[doug]

Too bad, it ripens to the point of fermentation a few days after it's picked, preventing it from becoming popular throughout the continent in its raw unprocessed form.

In its unripened form, it's called papaya. It can be cooked like a vegetable (similar to squash) and is often used as a meat tenderizer. It's an ingredient in many traditional Bermudian recipes.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

From the Star:

How butter chicken roti became a Toronto classic

According to local lore, butter chicken roti was created when a Toronto restaurateur decided to serve East Indian curry in a West Indian way.

www.thestar.com

AoD