Hawaiian Poke comes North

 The new trend hitting Toronto is Poke Bowls.  They are popping up everywhere.  The latest Poke spot is NORTH POKE in Kensington Market.  I was invited to sample some of their authentic Hawaiian Poke Bowls.  I entered the tiny shop on Baldwin and was greeted by the owner also named Linda, who wanted to create an true Poke shop and more of a fish market place.  They receive their fish daily and prepare everything fresh and in limited quantities.  Fresh Tuna is very expensive so it makes sense to order only enough for the day to keep the costs down and the fish fresh.

North Poke owner Linda

 It's a tiny shop so a small group of bloggers and foodies were invited to try 3 different poke bowls and Musubi which is a Spam Sushi type of thing.

We sampled 3 poke bowls:

1. The Big Wave - Albacore Tuna, charred Jalapeno citrus dressing, black garlic, shallots and mayo.

2.  Hawaii Classic - Ahi Tuna, shoyu dressing, cucumber, onions, nori, toasted sesame, fried shallots, avocado, macadamia nuts, house aoili, green onions and seaweed salad.

3.  Waimea -  Salmon, togarashi aoili, avocado, edamame, pickled onion, seaweed salad and fried shallots.

I think this is also the order of my preference.  The Big Wave was light and creamy and a nice balance of flavours.

The great thing about North Poke is that it comes in 3 sizes.  A snack size, the regular size and the large size.  The prices range from just over $5 to about $15.

This is a great fast fresh lunch on the run.  Grab a bowl and go.  It's the perfect fast food.  They do all the chopping and assembling and you just eat and go.

The shop is tiny but very cute with little kitchy touches like ukelele's on the wall and Hawaiian inspired art.  This shop fits perfectly in the Kensington market area with diverse original foods that have a lot of whimsy in the spaces.  It's the cutest Poke shop that I have seen so far.

Check it out at:

North Poke
179 Baldwin Street,
Toronto, ON
info@northpoke.com
Twitter @NorthPokeTO
Instagram @NorthPoke

Tasty touring through Kensington Market

TASTY TOUR in KENSINGTON MARKET

I was invited by the very knowledgeable tour guide Audrey to take her Tasty Tour through Kensington Market this weekend.

I have never thought about taking a food tour before but it was recommended by a friend of mine.  Since I was about 12 or so I have always just wandered around with a camera aimlessly looking for interesting things.

It was a Hot Summer Day and this was a chance to see what my own city looks like through the eyes of people who have never seen it before.  I joined a group of about a dozen people who were from Cleveland, Asia, New York, Connecticut and Richmond Hill even.
Audry our fact filled tour guide curated each location for us to visit with pre arranged food for us to sample.  The food is included in the price of the tour but you could certainly purchase extra things.

We started off on Spadina at a place called Ding Dong Pastries, named after the sound of a bell, not what you were thinking.  The place though not fancy and more typical of Chinatown restaurants but it had a huge selection of fresh out of the oven, made daily in house traditional Chinese Buns.  We sampled vegetarian spring rolls but I picked up a few buns for $4 to take home.

Then we proceeded to the other side of Spadina to Kensington Market.  Audrey gave us a little bit of historical knowledge about the first Synagogue in the area.  

Kensington Market really is a good place to start if you have never been to Toronto because of it's ethnic diversity.  You can find almost any kind of food in Kensington.

We headed over to Moo Frites next,  I had heard good things about them but hadn't had a chance to get them before.  The shop was created by Ambrose after not being able to find Belgian style frites.  My mom was from Belgium so I can tell you that they take their fries seriously and serve them up with mayo and not ketchup. Belgian fries are twice cooked so that they stay crispy outside but soft and fluffy inside.  They certainly delivered on the Belgian standard.  I would know. I ate Belgian style frites most of my life.  

Other stops included the Toronto Popcorn Co. where you could find all kinds of different flavours of popcorn.  I picked up the Confetti multi coloured popcorn because we did this tour on the day of the Pride Parade.  We also had Pride inspired Rainbow cupcakes from Wanda's Pie in the Sky.  I have been there before but never had their cupcakes.  We were all pretty full by then so we had to share them.  What really filled us up besides the frites were the Chicken and Avocado Arepas from El Arepasado.  The Arepa's had a great corn and char flavour and the inside filling creamy and delicious.  They were a big hit.  We ended with a Churro from Pancho's Bakery, their food truck can be found at festivals around the city in the summer.  Our last bite was at the fun Blue Banana, I love this store and always go in to have a look around when I am in Kensington Market.  They have so many unique and interesting things.  Our last sweet bite was a piece of Dark Stubbe chocolate and Mexican style chocolate from local Chocosol.

What I learned from this tour.  Spring rolls are meant to be eaten for good luck.  The difference between frites and fries and the fact that it is a lot more efficient to tour a city with a knowledgeable guide that organizes your stops beforehand.  Less waiting and sometimes special treatment.

I never really considered the fact that if you go to a new city you are probably most likely to hit tourist traps that may or may not be good and may be over priced if you don't have a local around to tell you where they go to.  So if you go to a new city where you don't know anyone and especially if it's a different language, it might be a good idea to start with a food tour so you will waste less time and get the most out of your time without the endless hours of research.

You can join Audrey's Tasty Tours through Kensington Market and she also has a chocolate tour.

For more Info:

http://tastytourstoronto.com/

Follow on Social - Instagram/Twitter @tasty_tours

St. Andrews Poultry..not just chicken

What do you get when you mix a Toronto Dentist,  a young fresh Executive Chef and a Poultry Shop?

...........An updated new gourmet food store and catering shop in Kensington Market.

 St. Andrew Poultry was founded in 1962 by Jewish European immigrant Isaac Jesin. It was originally a processing plant but they expanded to add a retail side for their poultry products.  Jesin handed down the operation to his son Dr. Jerry Jesin in 2012.  Dr. Jesin a Toronto Dentist and foodie decided to kick the place up to a more modern shop and expand on the food products available.  Since he was a dentist and not a chef he needed to find someone to help him with the vision that he wanted for the store.  He asked around and was told to try Chef Bernadette Calpito's food.

Chef Calpito worked for many great upscale dining establishments including Roger Mooking's Kultura.  She drew from all of her restaurant experience and kicked it into high gear to create some great upscale fast food dishes that people could drop into the shop to pick up and take home for dinner.
Together they created a "Foodie Bar" with hot meals like fried chicken, brisket sandwiches, ribs, fries and their own signature Shawarma's.

They also have updated their Meat Counter to include aged Beef and vacuum packed already seasoned chicken, brisket and beef items.

There is also a counter with prepared foods like fingerling potatoes in a lemon vinaigrette, heirloom tomato salad, malta ribs, salmon and various salads.

They also created a new Supper Club Membership where people could join for $20 for a lifetime membership that allows them to pick up food to take out between the hours of 5pm to 6:30pm and receive a 20% discount on their prepared food.

They also have a Delivery and Catering service that will deliver to downtown offices and cater your events.  Chef Calpito noted that she is willing to provide whatever you need for your event, not limited to the items sold in the store.

Additional specialty items available in the store include some baked goods made by their in house baker and also a line of cheeses, fresh eggs and salads in Mason jars and a lot more.

I sampled a few things from their Foodie Bar.
I tried the Joy fried chicken which is a special process of cooking the chicken which keeps it crispy on the outside while being juicy on the inside.  Try it with their hot sauce.

Their Shawarma's are a signature dish that have their own unique blend of spices that are a global fusion of flavours.  I detected a bit of turmeric in the seasonings which gave the chicken shawarma a nice golden color. They have a nice selection of toppings for the shawarma's and they topped mine off with some of their vanilla infused french fries.  You don't taste the vanilla but the fries are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle and are delicious.

Chef Calpito wanted to make tacos but didn't want to do the same tacos everyone else was doing so she used Beef Cheeks and changed the tortilla shell to a wonton wrapper shell and added toppings like a cabbage and pineapple slaw and feta crema to the top.  Very flavourful taco with a great crunch.

They worked on many different combinations to get their burgers the way they wanted them.  They were so juicy that the napkin that I was holding was soaked in juices.  They used a beef brisket mix for the burgers and had them stacked with all kinds of toppings.

I also tried their Chicken Pot Pie.  It tasted like homemade chicken soup with a nice puff pastry top on it.  They have them uncooked and frozen ready to heat at home.

I tried a sample of their fingerling potato salad with lemon and herb dressing and loved the nice subtle flavour that enhances the potatoes.

I didn't have enough room to try the pistachio crusted lamb pops and their banana breads but the people I was with loved them.   I tried as much as I could and picked up some chicken to take home for dinner as well.

The staff are all super friendly and helpful.  Dr. Jerry loves food and wanted to make sure everything was the best it could be.  Chef Calpito has an abundance of energy and charm and a passion for making the products in her own unique style with flavours from around the globe.

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Twitter @StAndrewPoultry
Instagram/ standrewpoultry