Union Summer - Pop Up Market

UNION SUMMER - POP UP MARKET

Pop Up Markets are springing up all over Toronto this summer.  The latest one that just opened this week is located in front of Union Station. Although this isn't a new space for a summer market it's now sponsored by TD with all new vendors.  The food vendors were curated by my food writer friend Mary Luz Mejia who is no stranger to the food scene in Toronto after curating and hosting events such as the Pan American Food Festival and Luminato's food festival at David Pecaut Square among many other events which you may have read in my previous blog posts.  I love attending the events she has put together because the people and the food are always Top Notch.

Last year it was Front Street Foods who created the Pop Up Market but have moved further north to Adelaide Place this year to cater to the downtown business crowd.

This market known as Union Summer brings a bright and colorful market to the otherwise grey landscape on Front Street.  To further liven up the space for commuters and tourists there will be live music every day.  This market unlike the Front Street Foods market will be open 7 days a week to cater to the mass of people that pass through and around Union Station.

I stopped by the first day to check it out to see how it looked and to pick up my lunch at the same time.   I went early before the crowds got wind of the food vendors.  I picked up some Gushi Chicken for $11.  I have had Gushi before so I knew I was getting.  The only difference was that it was served on rice this time.  I stopped in again today on my way home and had the Piggy Perogies from Loaded Perogi and the Bourbon Chocolate from Death in Venice.


The vendors will change up after 5 weeks so you can try all kinds of things all summer long.  This popup will last 71 days.

Where:
Union Station, 65 Front Street West – Sir John A. Macdonald Plaza

When:
Open daily from June 27 to September 5, 2016
Monday-Friday:     7am to 9pm
Saturdays:     11am to 9pm
Sundays:     11am to sunset

Licensed bar area open from Thursdays to Sundays, 12 to 9pm.
Alcohol serving hours may be subject to change due to weather or attendance.


Participating Restaurants:
Barsa TabernaBurger’s Priest
Loaded Pierogi  
The Carbon Bar
Death in Venice
Fancy Franks
Fresh Off The Boat
Grand Trunk Road
Gushi
Heirloom
Lahuna Poke

Mad Mexican
Mata Petisco Bar
Momofuku Noodle Bar
Oats & Ivy
Eva’s Original Chimneys
Pilot Coffee Roasters
Spacco
True True Pizza
Urban Herbivore
And more to come**!


Connect with them at:

http://www.torontounion.ca/
@TorontoUnion
#TorontoUnion
#UnionSummer

Twilight Tuesdays Popup Event

 What happens when you get three popular downtown restaurants together for a summer pop up event?  A long line up for some tasty food.   The chefs/owners of Momofuku, The Gabardine and the Drake One Fifty got together in a tiny Parkette on York Street right beside the Drake One Fifty for a series of Tuesday pop ups in August, called Twilight Tuesdays.

I have a feeling the event came together something like this.  I know a bunch of these guys were probably at the Taste of Toronto and decided that they liked hanging out together doing outdoor food events so they thought, hey let's get together and make some food in a small parkette on slow Tuesday nights in August and maybe a few regulars will show up and if they don't we will just hang out and eat.

Well more than a few regulars and some new food loving people showed up to try the $5 a plate eats while squeezing into did I mention a tiny little parkette.  I think they got a little overwhelmed by the turnout.  The Gabardine had little disposable boat dishes to plate their fried chicken and I heard them say they only had about 100 of them. They ran out pretty fast and I think they had to wait to get plates and more food.

They were frying their chicken bites on the spot using a tiny little T Fal fryer.  So as you might imagine there was a bit of a wait between batches to get the chicken.   But it was worth the wait.  You had to wait in pretty long lines to get food and I ate the first chicken dish while waiting for the next line and decided to get another dish of the chicken from the next batch before I got to the next vendor which was Momofuku.   Momofuku served Bossam, a lettuce wrap filled with rice and pulled pork with condiments to put on top.  A little messy for a standing up food.  Then I moved on to the Drake One Fifty line up for Eggplant on Pita rounds and some skewered Beef.  They also had Porchetta which I wish I tried as well but I only had 2 tickets left and I knew I wanted to save one for one of Augie's Ice Pops, the last stand before I finished my rounds.  The Eggplant on the Pita was really great and the skewers were tasty too.   I heard the Porchetta was really great as well.  They didn't seem to push that for some reason.

I finished it all up with a Vietnamese Coffee Ice Pop from Augies Ice Pops.  I have had one of these Ice pops before and they are excellent.   I had to eat that one pretty quickly before it melted but it tasted so good.

It was a perfect night for an outdoor Pop up  under a beautiful Sari tent.  As you can see from the photo to the left there was a line up down York Street.  The Pop pup was from 5-9pm and I arrived at 6pm to a small line up that grew larger by 6:30pm.

These pop ups will happen Tuesdays until the end of August and I hope for every one's sake that they rain stays away on the normally crazy weather Tuesdays we have been having this summer.

 It really brought out the large passionate foodie community who are starving for events like this one.  City Hall take note... we want to see more of these little pop ups and food trucks around the city and less formal expensive restaurants that are pretentious, boring and predictable.

I have been to The Gabardine, Momofuku and the Drake One Fifty before.  I have to say that the Gabardine is my favourite with their great comfort food.  They all have a steady stream of regular clientele which is a sign of a good restaurant.

I hope to check out a few more of these pop ups but I will make sure I go early and get in line.  I do hope they change up the menu each week though to keep it interesting.