With a feast for your eyes, a banquet to fill your belly, and a cause to warm your heart, the food and beverage purveyors at The Stop’s Night Market showcased their best last week, in support of The Stop Community Food Centre.
Held at the iconic Honest Ed’s Alley, the two-night whirlwind of street food and drink festivity brought out a flock of culinary talents from the Toronto area to rally around the Stop’s Community Food Centre. The Stop is dedicated to end hunger and poverty in our community through various programs, and proceeds from The Night Market strengthens this mission. For $65 a ticket, patrons not only enjoyed an unlimited selection of delicious dishes from the very of best of the city, they also gave back to their community through The Stop.
From Snakes and Lagers’ Beef Corn Dogs to Table 17’s Ham Hock Terrine, my head was spinning from all the available fares. As I made my way through the bustling market, there were long lines everywhere for each booth. Even the rain didn’t deter anyone from waiting.
- Table 17’s Ham Hock Terrine with Buttermilk Biscuit
- Snakes and Lagers’ Beef Corn Dog with Housemade Mustard
- Yours Truly’s Garlic Knots and Salt Cod Inari
This is no ordinary street food, as vendors amped up their flavours and presentation, like La Carnita’s Mexican Chorizo Tacos or Small Town Food Co.’s Pork Belly with Watermelon.
- La Carnita plates their Mexican Chorizo Tacos
- Babi & Co’s Indonesian Street Style Chicken Satays with Peanut Sauce & Rice Cakes
- Small Town Food Co.’s Pork Belly with Watermelon
Moving away from the traditional barbeque meats, I was surprised by the selection of seafood dishes this year. My favourite included the Momofuku Shoto’s Seafood Ball, Farmhouse Tavern’s Cured Trout, and Hawthorne’s sophisticated Ajo Blanco Gazpacho with Seafood Garnish. This complex yet tasty soup was a refreshing reminder of summer in the midst of the dreary weather. The Stop’s own dish, Trini Bake ‘N’ Trout (pan-fried fish cake) was down-to-earth and scrumptious. Along with the fish cakes they were handing out, The Stop also encouraged guests to take home packets of seeds and potted herbs.
- Richmond Station’s Veggie Shawarma
- Hawthorne’s Ajo Blanco with Gazpacho Soup & Seafood Salad Garnish
- Farmhouse Tavern’s Smoked Eggplant, Cured Trout, and with Green Emulsion
- Gusto 101’s Kale Salad
- Momofuku Shoto’s Seafood Ball
- The Grove’s Ricotta with Sweet Pea, Meyer Lemon & Verjus
Vegetarian winners go to Gusto 101’s Kale Salad and The Grove’s Ricotta with Sweet Pea. Garnished with a light Meyer lemon meringue that melted immediately in your mouth, the ricotta dish was an explosion of warm season flavours.
For the sweet-tooth visitors, desserts were all the rage at Torito as patrons waited in an endless line for their crispy chocolate dipped churros.
What is all this food without some libation to wash it all down? Microbreweries such as Junction Craft Brewing and Great Lakes Brewery were there to rescue the thirsty. Still Waters Whiskey and Rosehall Run’s VQA selections also offered some variety to the mix. My personal favourite was Tipicular Fixin’s‘ Old-fashioned Southern Snowball (in strawberry basil) – the perfect summer fair fix.
Food and drinks were not the only highlight at the night market. Various music acts, such as the Sephardic-Balkan-Flamenco ensemble, Ventanas, performed throughout the night. We watched in awe as Rambunctious, a rowdy 10-piece jazz band complete with a drummer, marched through the buzzing crowd. Improvising songs as they took ideas from the audience, the band entertained everyone with their cleverly crafted “food” tunes. The group even climbed up a fire escape during a performance, drawing more spectators to their boisterous presence.
The Stop’s Night Market was truly an unforgettable event with eateries pulling out all the stops. One by one, each booth quickly sold out from the waves of hungry foodies. The incredible turnout and the persistence of everyone exemplify the power of food and our community’s awareness of this beloved program. Congratulations to The Stop and all the participants on another year of success!
Check out this great animated video about The Stop Community Food Centre:
For more information about The Stop, please visit: www.thestop.org
Twitter: @TheStopCFC
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheStopCFC
Photos by Nellie Chen
- The booth at Yours Truly
- Mini cupcakes at Sullivan & Bleeker
- Ventanas
- Ventanas with the audience
- The ladies at Citizen Catering
- A sax duel by Rambunctious
- Maizal dishing up their Cactus Salads
- The backstage mayhem
- All smiles at FeasTO
- Rambunctious climbing the fire escape
- Tipicular Fixin’s prepares their snowballs
- Churros on display at Torito
- Grabbing the mini treats at Sullivan & Bleeker
- The cider selection at Ontario Cider Association
- A Strawberry Basil Old-Fashioned Southern Snowball from Tipicular Fixin’s
- Small Town Food Co. serves up their Pork Belly fares
- Jazz band Rambunctious
- The Grove plates their delicious Ricotta with Sweet Pea
- Two Bite Saloon’s Koba Smash Balls
- The ladies at The Stop’s Booth
- Momofuku Shoto’s Grilled Pork Shoulder Skewer
- Rosehall Run’s funky booth for their VQAs
- This End Up’s tasty Adobo Pork Skewers
- The popsicle cart never quit
- The Living Kitchen’s Coconut Mayo Red Rice Twister
- Tipicular Fixin’s’ carnival booth
- The Stop’s Trini Bake ‘N’ Trout: Pan-fried fish cake
- Ventanas