Picnic at the Brickworks

 

This entry is not the usual fare. If you follow me on twitter, you know I've been volunteering for the Evergreen Brickworks on my weekends. Gives me a lovely fuzzy feeling inside! 

 

With the added perk of working and thus attending the yearly Picnic, which was this past Sunday. What is the Picnic? It's a terrific event that pairs Toronto chefs, food artisans and beverage makers with local producers to create local and season nibbles for a mass of guests. The ticket price goes towards Evergreens children's programming, towards Slow Food Toronto (one of the organizers!), and of course towards paying the vendors.

There's dozens of them, and 1500 of us eaters to take advantage of all the talent under one roof!

Since this is so different from my usual reviews, I'm taking a different approach. First, it would have been impossible to take notes with one hand holding a laden plate, one clutching a wine glass and fork, and one sneaking out the camera for some ref shots.

 

Second, I don't want to review/critique food that doesn't exist outside this amazing event, nor do I want to nitpick the hard work and big-hearted dishes the chefs made! So enjoy some drawings, and let me tell you how the event went for me.

I started out with my volunteer shift, and I was at Broadview station for a few hours directing people to the shuttle buses that would bring them to the tough-to-access Brickworks. It doesn't sound hard, but standing around with a sign as the station flipped from warm to freezing each time the doors opened somehow drained me! I felt sore all over by the end.

I was also very antsy to get to tasting! I won't deny that affected my patience with the work, as did my clever decision to only have one apple for breakfast and save my appetite for the Picnic.

By the time I got to the Brickworks it was 2:30pm, I was shuddering cold, and famished. So the first few things I had to eat were wolfed down with less attention than they deserved.

These drawings are chronological by the way! That's why the first few have such partial, blurry information. I was in a hunger daze and took horrible notes, if they were taken at all.

Heat lamps provided momentary relief from the damp. Foggy breath gave everyone a sense of solidarity, and I think we all envied the women and men working hard behind hot flames.

For me there was an added sense of satisfaction because quite a few of the chefs were from restaurants I started this blog with. I was especially tickled to eat the pickled goodies from the Parts & Labour team - they were my first review ever!

It's surprising how few of those places I've managed to get back to. It's always somewhere new every week! Which is a lot of fun, but especially for restaurants whose menus change fast, I'm missing out a bit.

The cold did more than just bring everyone together. It had an effect on the food. Everything was great, but most of these dishes would be ideal at room temperature. You could tell the chill had a dampening effect on aroma.

It also meant that every beer I had was the best I'd ever tasted. Naturally frosty. The white wine was also shining that night! Mmm, Tawse. Mmm, Henry of Pelham! But the reds were suffering.

After my initial rampage I slowed down and set a more appropriate grazing pace. I don't think I realized how full I was going to get after that first burst.

When I left my volunteer post, I was worried I had left too early, since no one had come to relieve me. It's good I left when I did, because some tables started closing at 3:30! Just an hour after I was back.

 

I missed out on some tables who were very popular, whose food didn't last long. Even though I saw some chefs from FRANK at the AGO wandering around, their table was long closed! They had had something wrapped in a husk that looked great.

Other than some crusty bread loaves which were more for display, Woodlot had also caved under the demand, and were empty.

 

The feeling as the food began to dwindle was of a soporific party, people swaying to the live music, some red cheeks more from the wine samples than the frosty breeze.

 

People smiled and danced with each other, bonding over a love of Toronto, of food. We shared in our appreciation of the hard work of chefs and producers alike to bring us an event like the Picnic.

 

I ran around trying to find tables that maybe I had missed in the dine and bustle, tossed around in the sea of people. I ran into Becky who organizes the volunteers and claimed I was only about 2/3 full, but the truth was much grimmer.

 

For the next picnic, or maybe the Underground Market if I go to the upcoming one, I have learned a valuable lesson.

 

Keep a count. If you're like me, with legs as hollow as your head, you might find that an appetite driven my community love and appreciation knows no reason or moderation. You can count how many things I sampled, and everything was about 3 ounces or so.

 

What is the maximum size of the human stomach? I had called it quits when I saw Caplansky's truck, hidden in plain sight. I had wanted to find his table so badly, no wonder I couldn't! Against my better judgement, I asked for a hamburger. I had two small bites. I creaked. I stared at this lovely food, and threw 25 years of unwasteful education out the window, and the burger in the bin. I'm sorry Zane!

Finally, home.

I entered my room, murmured as the walls blurred and I fell into bed, deep in food coma.

The people who provided what I ate (in order of appearance):

Bernardin

Globe Bistro

Cowbell Restaurant, Lynn Levitt Farm

The Food Dudes, Cherryvale Organic

Parts & Labour

Buddha Dog, Vicki's Veggies

Pegasus Hospitality, Brooklands Farm

Mildreds Temple Kitchen, Johnston's Cranberry Farm

Fairmont Royal York, Kolapore Springs Trout

Keriwa Cafe, CIPM Grains

Sidecar, Kawartha Ecological Growers

LOIC, Marvelous Edibles

Rocky Raccoon, Grey Bruce Region

Farnell, Real Food for Real Kids, Fun Guy Farms

LUMA, Wicklow Way Farm

Auberge du Pommier, David & Delila Stoll, Grassroot Organics

Chez Vous Catering, Stephen Stoll

le Select Bistro, Chocosol

Canoe, Forbes Wild Foods

Grant St. Caramel Co., Organic Meadow

Enoteca Social, Cheese Boutique

Nick & Nats Uptown 21, Whole Circle Farm

Soma, Not Far from the Tree

Doug McNish, Southbrook Vineyards

enVille Event Design, Fenwood Farm

Quince, Bizjak Farms

Goed Eten, Wild Fruit Growers

Vertical, Fifth Town

Caplansky's Deli

I know I screwed up some info and left some out, so if anyone has corrections for this list, please! Don't hesitate to provide them.

Caplansky's

Click on images to see them larger!

Ah, Caplansky's. The meat-lovers haven of kosher deliciousness, one of Toronto's few authentic deli's. Once upon a time I ventured in to try their smoked offerings at 356 College Street. The turkey was dry, but that was two years ago. Since then, Caplansky's fame has continued a steady climb, and Zane has started some exciting ventures. For those who aren't up for travelling the gruelling distance to middle-of-everything College street, Caplansky now delivers...by bike! Within reasonable  distance. There's also the intriguing deli truck, which takes Caplanky foods out on wheels, like an ice cream cart for adults. Will it play the Lambada?

Let's eat some meat!

 

This might be the thing that brings me back. how to describe the knish? It's no beauty. A wedge of pastry stuffed with meat, spices, and riced potato sits in a puddle of rather hideous, lumpy gravy. It tastes like savoury heaven.  The gravy reminds me of the ragu my not-Quebecois mother would make. It's got a rich briny taste, with the chunks of macerated beef adding a lumpiness that could almost classify it as chili. Though it doesn't have liver in, I can almost taste a rich, heady iron. I thoroughly enjoy the puff pastry, which was bready. The crust was chewy with egg-wash, the tender underside sucking up more and more gravy. I could eat this every day.

For me, this was a challenge. It's not that I'm afraid of the taste of tongue (and you can keep your lewd jokes to yourself!). I've heard unappealing accounts of the texture, though. In my commitment to eating and experiencing everything, I couldn't let that hold me back without advice. Lexie was my consultant for all things on this Jewish menu that I wanted advice for, and told me that tongue is one of her favourite things ever. With trust, I chose if over the sweet gefilte fish. 

The texture is NOT a turn off! 

Perhaps it would have been if the dense and spongy meat hasn't been sliced thin like Montreal smoked meat. The texture is thicker and less stringy than most deli meats, but the flavour is incredible. It's incredibly fatty and overflowing with richness. No risk of being dry here! Since the tongue is pickled, it's packed with tenderness, and the flavours are accentuated from the brine. Call me a convert. What was funny about the sandwich was actually the size of the bread. These poor little wedges of rye! They're under so much pressure to perform. It's a huge task for two little guys, falling apart under the weight of the butter they're drenched in (though that didn't keep me from saturating them further in hot mustard).

What I want to know, Zane, is can I take your tongue home with me? ...do you sell jars, maybe?

The sandwich combo I ordered comes with fries, salad or soup. I need to find a place with more interesting side dished to draw! I opted in for the soup du jour, since it's served cold. Nothing to say 'hello, Summer!' like cold soup to start a hot meal. In retrospect, I should have tried the borscht, something I've yet to try. This soup was very good, though! It was quite filling thanks to the rich and complex squash. With apple puree in it, it was sweeter than I had expected, and reminded me of pumpkin pie. There was a hint of herbs and ginger. It was a lovely appetizer.

Lexie went for an entree from the less deli-centric side of the menu, a vegetarian ratatouille. This was pure comfort food. The rich was fluffy, sticky and plain, the kind that sticks to your ribs. On top was a simple heap of soft grilled vegetables, a medley of citrusy zuchini, earthy eggplant, onions and a colourful array of yellow, red and green pepper. I think the pepper and citrus of the gourds stood out, giving the stew a refreshing quality that balanced with the heartiness of plain rice, and went well with the balmy evening air.

 

Now, I don't usually do this, but the staff was INCREDIBLE. So, here's a quick shout-out as a thank you for wonderful service, humor, and a smile that was massive and almost unnaturally genuine. Seriously man, how do you do it! We came in near to closing time, the hour that servers tend to turn sour, and this guy was just amazing and nice. I probably drew his hair wrong.

Rugelach isn't news to me. Having dated a Jewish boy, I've was lucky enough to get to snack on these tiny pastries semi-regularly. They're like one inch long croissants, but denser. The pastry fall somewhere between puff pastry, and flakier viennoiserie. It's sweet, with just the barest hint of the vinegar used to make puff pastry crisp. That just makes the sugars stand out more. The rugelach at Caplansky's had a chocolate twist which was great (I'm a chocoholic). I really enjoy them for their size, their simplicity. It was a nice and light dessert after a KILLER filling dinner!

 

I know I said not to make any tongue jokes, and now I am making tongue jokes, and have made tongue jokes...well.

 Zane says it himself, he's got the best tongue in town.