President's Choice 1000 Tastes of Toronto (
here)
If you haven't hit up this two day event, I suggest you get to it tomorrow. There are chefs from all sorts of restaurants serving up food on the street at a price of $5 per dish. Yes, they will do this in the name of LuminaTO.
I tried to go the conservative route, so I only purchased four tickets. It's a bit annoying that the booths don't take cash themselves, but the line to buy the tickets wasn't long.
Well, it wasn't long for us. We got there around 4:00 p.m.
After a stroll through the streets, it's easy to realize that although everything costs the same (unless it costs more than one ticket), there is a huge range of portions and quality of food.
On to the food!
We walked all of the East block, and found that one booth had a noticeably longer queue than any of the other places. When it comes to street food, longer line usually means better food or at least better value. My theory doesn't fail, and after about forty-five minutes to an hour of standing in the sun, chowing down on the BBQ chicken and plantains from Mis Amigos was so satisfying.
The chicken was really moist and flavourful! Note the use of exclamation mark. It was that exciting. I wasn't expecting much from the plantains, but after finishing mine, I wanted to steal some of Sheila's. They also had BBQ steak instead of chicken, and salad or rice instead of plantains. Get the plantains unless you're allergic (or just don't like them).
I can totally understand why the line was so long. So delicious. I regret not ordering two plates of food from that booth.
Josie's chicken bone:
I don't remember which table this was, but it had fancy carved fruit. That stuff is straight out of Food Network competitions, yo:
One ticket will get you a plate of five P.E.I. oysters and a lemon wedge from the
Rodney's Oyster House booth.
They vary a bit in sizes, but my plate didn't have any puny ones. I'm no oyster expert, but I liked them.
We saw a girl with something green in a clear cup, and she pointed us to the
Loïc table.
A ticket gets you a cup of the green stuff, and three bite-sized appetizers.
The chilled soup was actually a bit frozen. It consisted of cucumber, yogurt, honey dew, and we noted some dill. The unintentional freezing made it slushy-textured, but I liked it like that. I appreciated the dill, but Sheila thought it tasted like onions. That being said, Josie tried some from Sheila's cup and noted that it had more dill flavour.
Of the three pieces on the plate, Josie and I agreed that the one with the tomato was the best. She said it was a "burst of flavour".
Next on the docket was a crêpe from the Crêpe de licious booth. I decided on a savoury crêpe.
It was bulgy, but that was mostly spinach. Actually, Josie pointed out to me that my crêpe should've included feta cheese, cheddar cheese, and the other stuff that was advertised under its name. All that I got was spinach, shredded mozzarella, and sauce. Maybe the other stuff was in the sauce, but I'm doubtful. I liked the sauce, but the missing ingredients (or at least the lack of their taste) was disappointing.
The string of people for the crêpes curled around itself. In my opinion, I'd rather wait forty-five minutes for a plate of the plantains.
Four tickets gone already? Well, that was fun. I'm tempted to go back again tomorrow to get more chicken and plantains (and try other stuff). I can take my food and sit on the Harbourfront Astro turf.
Random notes:
The trick is to look at what other people are eating, and ask them where they got it from.
The cutlery at the Mis Amigos booth (BBQ chicken place) was really flimsy. It's best to grab a napkin and eat with hands.
The spoon that came with the Loïc chilled soup was really sturdy.
The desserts that Sheila and Josie got from Senses came in a great takeaway box (with a mini spoon). You can take it away, and eat it while you're waiting in line for other food.
The fake grass is really exciting. Lots of kids (and some adults) treat it as a giant gym mat. It's quite squishy.
The subway ride was pretty entertaining. Our car was full of people with headphones on, dancing their butts off. It was like something out of
Newmindspace. Maybe it was. Subway party!
Josie, while waiting in line for Mis Amigos: "It feels like a line for a ride at Wonderland... when the ride breaks down."
I want more BBQ chicken and plantains.
I generally add too much liquid, so I skimped on the juice a lot this time. The result was a drink that could coat a stomach better than Pepto-Bismol. 
I generally add too much liquid, so I skimped on the juice a lot this time. The result was a drink that could coat a stomach better than Pepto-Bismol. 
Without the acidity of the orange juice, it was really sweet. Josie needed to add some water to hers to reduce thickness and sweetness. 
