A Perfect Toronto Saturday

Very late on Friday evening I landed safely in Toronto. I was greeted at the airport by my parents who quickly whisked me away to the comforts of home and a lilac coloured bedroom full of all the things that I loved during my childhood years.

I made sure to get enough sleep because I knew the very next day we would be heading out on what, for me, constitutes a perfect Toronto Saturday.

But first I went downstairs and grabbed a bowl of yogurt, mixed berries, and plain corflakes.




Like the bowl? My dad made it -he's all kinds of awesome. :o)

After breakie we headed down to St. Lawrence Market on Toronto's Front Street.




There are two buildings that encompass the Market. The South building pictured above is the older of the two and is opened during the week. The North building houses the Farmer's Market and is only open on Saturdays.

The North building is where we always start our trips. Mostly because it's home to El Gaucho; a business run by an Argentinian family. They sell a variety of meats and prepared foods but it's the sausages that are the star of the show here!




I can't recommend their sausages highly enough! Up until recently you could only get their goodies on Saturdays but three weeks they finally opened a permanent store. If you're in the neighbourhood I hope you'll check them out!




Besides chorizos the Market was full of beautiful fresh picked flowers.




Perfectly golden baked goods.




And of course amazingly fresh produce.




Now as much as I love this particular market it is for better or worse kind of yuppy. And well that's not all there is to me! Hahaha :oP

By far my favourite aspect of Toronto is the incredible multiculturalism around every corner!!!! One of the best places to experience this multiculturalism is Kensington Market off of Spadina Street.

Kensington is anything but yuppy. If anything it has a decidedly counter culture flavour. The kind of neighborhood that has fought successfully against the opening of a Starbucks in the area.

The area has seen many changes. Originally it was the Jewish area, eventually it was taken over by the Chinese community. Now it is largely occupied by Caribbean and Latin American vendors. This is where I go to have my ethnic experience.

Our first stop is always a Portuguese fish market to buy some red snapper and grouper (the latter for ceviche).





Their fish is always very fresh and their prices fair. You can add it to the list of places I heartily recommend!




Our next stop was a Latin American store to pick up spices. Since we were hungry we decided to check out what the store had to offer by way of eats.




The choice was clear. We opted for a couple of pupusas - El Salvador's national dish.




A pupusa is a thick stuffed tortilla filled with cheese, beans, or a refried pork paste. I opted for all cheese.

While the pupusas were pretty decent they weren't amongst the best I've ever had. Hence no business card recommendation.

After several hours spent wandering the city's markets it was time to head home. But not before stopping at Allan's Gardens to enjoy the greenhouses.




I had a completely lovely time during my Saturday outing. It really is too bad I live so very far away because I'd love to be able to enjoy days like these with my parents more often. Which is why I'm determined to enjoy every moment of my time back home.

Hast luego! :o)

-- Post From My iPhone