Saturday evening we made the lengthy trek (via TTC) out to the Evergreen Brick Works in hot anticipation of the second Toronto Underground Market. Offering a venue for the city’s talented home chefs and caterers to peddle their wares, this foodie event has quickly become a sought-after experience, with the $5 tickets promptly selling out (limited door tickets were made available due to begging).
Our only complaint? The space can get pretty chilly once the sun sets, so be sure to bundle up (and wear finger-less gloves suited to sampling) for November’s date. Below are our top picks from the night, in no particular order.
Ukoy
These shrimp and pumpkin squash fritters from Tita Flips were the perfect textural mix: a slightly gooey center paired with a crispy shell. Back in the Philippines, this family business specialized in Filo dishes for just under 30 years; when they moved to Toronto the demand was there to continue. They now create foods from their homeland alongside dishes from other cultures.
Lobster Churros
Chef Lauren Mozer has been in the biz for nine months, wowing friends and family alike at parties before evolving into her own catering company, Elle Cuisine. Her teeny tiny melt-in-your-mouth lobster churros were served with lemon aioli and lime salt, leaving you wanting more.
Jalepeño Cornbread Grilled Cheese
The line-up for these puppies grew at an exponential rate, and we understand why. Comida Del Pueblo’s version of the grilled cheese sandwich housed refried black beans, cheddar cheese and veggie tinga between two slices of jalepeño corn bread. Topped with guac, sour cream and cilantro, it made for a hearty sandwich, perfect for a lazy Sunday brunch (or, well, a Saturday night). However, it could have packed a little more heat.
Butternut Squash Agnolotti
Hailing from Thistletown Collegiate Institute, this vendor had a slightly different story from the others: the high school kids were raising money for a trip to Italy, using fresh veggies grown from their school garden to create their three dishes. Their butternut squash agnolotti was beautifully done, with homegrown squash and sage topped with a roasted garlic sage pesto and drizzled with brown butter.
Arancini
The Thistletown kids also served up arancini: wild mushroom risotto balls that were stuffed with mozzarella, coated in panko, drizzled with white truffle oil, shrouded in parmesan and plated with both an heirloom tomato and a wine cream sauce. Judging by the number of people devouring pasta dishes, we’re quite certain the trip to Italy is in the bag.
Macarons
We sampled a trio of macarons from Three Macarons in maple bacon (pink), sea salted caramel (yellow) and pistachio (green).
Mini Cupcake
Picking just one out of the lineup of scrumptious-looking cupcakes from Sullivan & Bleeker was the hard part. We opted for the chocolate chip cookie-topped version; perched above a vanilla cupcake (and nestled into some creamy icing), it revealed a gooey chocolate center when bit into. There were no regrets.
