The 90’s was when I did my growing up in this amazing city. I remember when Toronto was a barren wasteland of fast and “Canadian” style food. When having a souvlaki was considered “ethnic” and the accompanying tzatziki sauce was overwhelmingly spiced. Even into the 2000’s sushi was still seen weird as it was just on the brink of being accepted by the masses and finding its way into our supermarkets and as part of our everyday life.
My, how far we have come since then. Leaps and bounds in my opinion. One trend that I hope is here to stay is that of authentic food and/or a combination (fusion) of varying true to origin tastes. This past weekend, having eaten an amazing bao, shawarma, bahn mi, roti and some baklava to keep it sweet, I can’t help think how I lived without this incredible culinary selection for so many unfulfilled years. The absolute direct effect of the acceptance of these culinary influences has led to a complete facelift of the Toronto food scene. Loving it!
Moreover, is it just me or are Torontonians able to handle much heavier levels of spice these days? I mean growing up, spicy meant a dash of Frank’s red hot, now sriracha Is used almost much ketchup and Doritos are spicier than extra hot chicken wings. As someone who is a bit of a spice head, can’t tell you how excited i get to Ask for some hot sauce at a local resto and am given several options. The Local No frills or Loblaws provide a plethora of options on shelf space that just a few years ago contained mint jelly. Just another indicator food is becoming a much bigger and more influential aspect of our T.O identity.
So, let’s go out and explore, try new things, even the occasional weird or previously unthinkable. As a culture, our food and ambitious tolerance levels seems to be ever increasing with the onslaught of new global dishes and offerings. Give it a bite, before you judge or criticize, as it was only a few years ago everyday deliciousness was, ewwwwww. Be a trend starter instead of a follower. Go ahead and just bite it!