- 1 day ago
Anthony Bourdain finds that Toronto is more than what meets the eye. Best Mexican takeout in Canada, who knew? Amazing hand cut fries with cheese curds and a peameal bacon sandwich make for a great layover.
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00:00Whoever's in charge of promoting Canada abroad completely have their heads up their asses.
00:11That's all like bears and swatting salmon.
00:14I'm not doing any of that.
00:15Toronto, Canada.
00:17Misrepresented?
00:20Would Celine Dion be welcome here or mocked?
00:22No, it should be mocked.
00:22I could live here.
00:23There's a little voice in my head all the time saying, you must have all of these.
00:27I'm going to wake up tomorrow all drunk and hungover and covered with fat again.
00:33Have you ever tried vomiting in an airplane bathroom?
00:35Wait a minute.
00:35In 1812, the Canadians burned down the White House.
00:38We're going to be running out of Canada on a rail.
00:41Oh my God.
00:42Let's do this thing.
00:43All right.
00:49Get back to you!
00:57Toronto, largest city in Canada, fifth largest in North America.
01:04Never been?
01:04Just passed through?
01:06Didn't make much of an impression?
01:08Yeah, that's pretty much its reputation.
01:10And the wise acres of Vancouver and Montreal, who seem to get all the attention, they don't help.
01:16Talking about the place at every opportunity.
01:18It seems the rest of Canada loves to hate Toronto.
01:22People like to poke fun at it.
01:23It's a hick town.
01:24It could never be as exciting as a New York, as a London, as a Paris.
01:28We're a cold people.
01:29Just tall buildings and busy, busy, busy and making money.
01:34I think it's b****.
01:36I think it's absolutely b****.
01:37But this man, Scott Vivian, of Toronto Restaurant Beast, on my last book tour, fed me wonderful
01:44things and convinced me that Toronto was a subject I needed to investigate further and
01:49deeper.
01:50So I did.
01:53Toronto is located in southern Ontario.
01:56I didn't know that.
01:58It's on a lake.
01:59Actually, I didn't know that either.
02:01Lake Ontario.
02:02Okay, I probably should have known that.
02:04Your plane will probably land at Pearson International Airport, about 27 kilometers northwest of downtown.
02:11Even here on the curb, you may notice it's like different here.
02:15We're a really polite culture, so thank you.
02:18You're welcome.
02:18Excuse me.
02:19I'm sorry.
02:20Goes a long way.
02:22You can do the whole bus to subway safari if you're light on money and don't have a
02:27lot of luggage.
02:27The Toronto Transit Commission costs you only $2.75 in a couple of hours of your time.
02:33There's a shuttle, not that much faster but a little easier with luggage, and will set
02:38you back around $30, Canadian dollars that is, for a round trip.
02:42Take a taxi if you can, about $50 a pop, but it will get you into the city in around 45 minutes
02:48relatively stress-free.
02:49It's not a good-looking city.
02:54It's not a good-looking town.
02:56Well, they sort of got the rest of the architectural fads of the 20th century.
02:59That's crypto-fascist Bauhaus.
03:02You know, Mussolini would have been perfectly home in that one.
03:04You know, it looks like every public school in America, every third-year city library.
03:09Soviet chic, but ugly, glass box, like a roach motel.
03:13But Toronto's steel box exterior conceals, in fact, a uniquely wonderful and weird interior.
03:22If you're traveling for work and want to stick your accounting department with unpaid bills
03:26for your swank accommodation, you should probably stay at the excellent Ritz-Carlton.
03:31Comfortable beds and a good stake on premises.
03:34If you are young, carefree, still getting the occasional check from mom, then the Drake
03:43Hotel in Queen West is excellent, too.
03:46A rooftop lounge space, an underground performance space, good food, a whole lot of scene at prices
03:53mom can afford.
03:54The Drake is one of Toronto's most popular spots.
03:57It's really chic, really trendy.
03:59It's a place to be seen if you're in Toronto, for sure.
04:01If you're in town to watch an athletic event, baseball or UFC or hockey or whatever, the
04:10renaissance at Rogers Center is, well, close, though some locals would wonder why you'd care.
04:18You could go to a Blue Jays game, but if you want to watch crappy baseball, just watch your
04:21kid play Little League.
04:23This is David Sachs, native Torontonian, journalist, and author of the book Save the Deli.
04:29His idea of a worthwhile pastime, like mine, is tucking in to a great sandwich.
04:35Unlike Montreal or Vancouver, which you land at and you're like, oh, mountains, sea, beautiful
04:41French colonial architecture.
04:43You know, Toronto's charms are kind of hidden.
04:46You've got to dig around in the corners, you've got to dig in the dirt a bit.
04:48And, you know, it offers those limitless charms.
04:52David and I are walking across town for what is the original old school Torontonian sandwich.
04:57They call it Hog Town because it was a center for pork processing and there were slaughterhouses
05:01all over the city.
05:03Oh, good times.
05:04Yeah, yeah.
05:05The swine were just, you know, squealing to send their kids to bed.
05:08If you listen, you can almost hear them screaming through the ages.
05:13I'm hungry.
05:14Well, the St. Lawrence Market, I mean, it is, you know, that top schlocky kind of tourist
05:22destination.
05:22It's the oldest market in the city and it's like other big covered markets and other places.
05:27I mean, it's a good place to go get meat or fish or something.
05:29But what they have here is the Pimeo Bacon Sandwich.
05:33And this is a great sandwich, the classic Pimeo Bacon Sandwich at the Carousel Bakery, except
05:40no substitutes.
05:41I think they used to be a lot more widespread and so this is like the last, this is the
05:45temple holding the torch for them.
05:47You know, it goes back to when this city was Hog Town, when this city was like a little
05:51bastard in the British Empire.
05:52Right.
05:53And, you know, with your ale you would have a slice of pork loin that was just griddle fried
05:57and thrown on a bun.
05:58What is Pimeo?
06:02Basically pork loin that's been rolled in cornmeal.
06:06So it used to be Pimeo and that's it.
06:09It's cured, but not intensely salty like, you know, belly bacon.
06:14The Pimeo coating had its roots, they say, in the need for preservation pre-refrigeration,
06:19but survived because it was tasty and crispy.
06:23House mustard contains maple syrup and horseradish.
06:27That's really good with a mustard.
06:28I love it.
06:29I like it.
06:30This is a Canadian classic dessert with a butter tart.
06:34Oh, wait.
06:36Yeah.
06:36It's like a pecan pie without the pecan.
06:38Yeah.
06:39A light breakfast with pork and refined sugar.
06:41Of course, there are other breakfast options.
06:45Over at Evergreen Brickworks Market, a reclaimed industrial site, there's Chevu Catering, where
06:51chef owner Ezra Title and crew whip up sandwiches like grilled cheese with caramelized onions and
06:57maple bacon, or scrambled eggs with aged cheddar and maple-smoked bacon.
07:02Did I mention bacon?
07:03On the other hand, at the Bellevue and Kensington Market, you'd have lox and guacamole on a bagel.
07:11Though, why you would do that, I don't know exactly.
07:15But the full English breakfast, I do understand.
07:18And it's good.
07:19David and I are happy here.
07:21Who would not love that?
07:26I think the biggest mistake I see tourists make is sticking too close to the downtown
07:31core.
07:32There's a lot to see on the smaller streets, these little pockets of businesses.
07:36There's life between the streets of Toronto.
07:38You've got to dig in and walk the residential streets and ask the locals.
07:43Toronto's subway system works.
07:46I urge you to avail yourself of it, mostly so that you can get here, an awesome shop unlike
07:52any other.
07:56Tosho Knife Arts in Palmerston, the kind of Toronto hidden gem that's there for the taking
08:01if you know where to look.
08:02I find this experience very frustrating because there's a little voice in my head all the time
08:06saying, you must have all of these.
08:08You know, your living room should look like this.
08:10Your five-year-old girl will learn to respect knives early.
08:13This is where you can get yourself a real knife, worthy of respect, and where you can
08:18also learn to respect it.
08:22Someday you will be by.
08:26Owners Ivan Fonseca and Olivia Goh know everything there is to know about knives, like where in
08:31the world to find the best ones for sale in your store, or which ones to use for what.
08:36This one's for octopus.
08:38This one for, for noodles.
08:40If you want to butcher a full chicken, you can go through lobster shell.
08:42Now given that I'm not cutting a lot of sushi or sashimi at home, if I'm looking for a good
08:48all-purpose.
08:49You would want a gyuto.
08:50It's the one down here.
08:54Most importantly, they know how to take care of, maintain, love, and keep sharpened your
09:00purchases.
09:01It takes a while when you build a relationship with your knife.
09:03Important if you're going to drop what you can on a blade here, anywhere from several
09:07hundred like me, up to many, many thousands.
09:11Believe me, you want this stuff, and you need this knowledge.
09:15They even know things they can't share.
09:17How do they get that imprint?
09:19It's a secret.
09:20It's just...
09:21Okay.
09:22You could tell me, but you'd have to kill me.
09:27And these...
09:28Best you can get on the planet.
09:29These are the best you can get on the planet.
09:32They're the most expensive as well.
09:34And tactical knives.
09:35Tactical knives.
09:36And by tactical, you're talking about these are people knives.
09:39People.
09:40Survival knives.
09:41But we're large mammals.
09:42Yes, yes.
09:43Let's put it that way.
09:44What's that little clip there in the center?
09:46What is it?
09:47It's the blood hole to allow for the knife to come out of the...
09:53Oh, so it creates a...
09:55It's like a pop top on a beer can.
09:57Yes, yes.
09:58Because you don't want it to like, you know, when you're pulling it out, you don't
10:00want it to have that effect.
10:01Yes.
10:02I hate when that happens.
10:03Even if I could afford that, I shouldn't own that.
10:05That's a personality altering knife.
10:07That's like movies are made about, you know, knives like that talk to you.
10:10You know, don't leave me in the drawer, Tony.
10:12Excuse me.
10:13They're talking about you, Tony.
10:14They don't respect you.
10:16Teach them a lesson, Tony.
10:18Oh man, it's so beautiful, love.
10:21The less I get to know you, the better.
10:24If the cold blue gleam of artisan steel doesn't warm the cockles of your heart,
10:29maybe some beach time on Lake Ontario will.
10:31Toronto's got these great kind of chain of islands right at the base of the city.
10:36So they're really easy to get to.
10:38It's a 15 minute ferry ride right from kind of the bottom of the downtown core.
10:41There are no cars allowed.
10:43Ferry ride is like, leave it all behind.
10:46And as soon as you step up on this end, you can relax.
10:49The best view of Toronto is from the island.
10:52The skyline's gorgeous.
10:53The ASEAN Tower, it's just paradise.
10:55The ferry is less than $10 and runs seven days a week.
10:59But do be advised.
11:01Don't wander around too far, you'll hit Hanlon's Point, which is a naked beach.
11:06Or wander around.
11:07Me, I'll stick to naked steel.
11:10This is an extraordinarily cool store.
11:12You know, the customs people are going to be so confused by maybe,
11:16I've got like Winx dolls for my daughter, you know, comic books and, you know, knives.
11:31Vancouver is known for being kind of a hippie town.
11:38Montreal is known for being kind of European.
11:40But what really sums up the quintessence of Toronto is that it's not really one unified city.
11:46It's just made up of lots of little neighborhoods all conglomerated together.
11:52We have little Portugal, we have little Italy, we have little India.
11:55We actually have a few Chinatowns too.
11:57Toronto is an abalgam of people from all different parts of Canada, from the US, from globally.
12:05Different people, different cultures, different food.
12:07When people, you know, you get into that conversation at a party, like,
12:10Oh, you're actually born here?
12:11Wow, I don't meet a lot of people who are from here.
12:13Whenever I go to the States, they're like, Oh, Toronto, so they speak French there.
12:16And there are more people speaking some distinct, you know, Punjabi, Afghan dialect in Toronto than there are speaking French.
12:24Right.
12:26In Kensington Market, you can find a joint called Ronnie's Local 69.
12:30I meet up with David again for a beer.
12:32Why this place?
12:33One thing the city does love is its patios.
12:36I mean, it's a winter city.
12:37We've got people out here in November in hats and jackets drinking to kind of suck the life out of the last branches of heat.
12:45Kind of feel like I wanted it at Brooklyn.
12:47There's a Williamsburginess to this.
12:49Things are just happening.
12:50Things just kind of crash up against each other and they make this crazy-ass mix.
12:54And you get a place like this, Frack House next to a cool, awesome bar, next to a place that's selling Jamaican, beef patties and some weed on the side.
13:01All within walking distance.
13:02Yeah.
13:03See, generally, this show is part of, regardless of our intentions, we're part of a destructive process.
13:07Yeah.
13:08So, don't come here.
13:09Do not Instagram this place.
13:11Don't Instagram.
13:12Yes.
13:13Do not Instagram this place.
13:14Given that over 50% of the population are from somewhere else, what might be the virtues of your ideal Torontonian?
13:24Well, I think it's, you know, what you get is kind of this mix of the foundational culture, which was this kind of modest Scottish Presbyterianism.
13:33Ah.
13:34You know, very pro-prohibition in church on Sunday.
13:38Really?
13:39And it's strong modesty, but with all these people that came from all over the world, they kind of brought a little more flavor, a little more flair, a little more, you know, abrasiveness.
13:48And yet you still get that politeness.
13:50This area, Kensington Market, is kind of the perfect example of it.
13:54Presbyterianism.
13:55Because you slaughtered all the Catholics or deported them to...
13:58Well, they just went to Quebec.
13:59Having satisfied your bloodlust, you seem to have reverted to centuries of niceness.
14:04Right.
14:05All right, well, I think we've learned something today.
14:09Walking around Kensington is a great way to spend a couple of hours.
14:12Anything can happen in Kensington Market.
14:14You know?
14:15And that's the fun part.
14:16People come to People Watch.
14:17And there's this organized chaos on the street.
14:21Walk down a street.
14:24Kensington Market, be quiet for a second.
14:27So we better get some food in this.
14:30Yeah, this is a great area for just hitting up, like, random small eats.
14:35Everyone's like, oh, it's a multicultural city.
14:37It's a multicultural city.
14:38But this is where they all come together.
14:40This is the equivalent of our Lower East Side.
14:42Oh, we're there.
14:43That's it.
14:44Hidden inside this mini food court is agave and aguacate.
14:49So there's a Mexican churro place.
14:52There was a Venezuelan and Arepa place.
14:55And this guy here.
14:56This guy, Francisco Alejandri and Anita here, are making some of the most amazing Mexican takeout north of the border.
15:04Any border.
15:05The beef tongue, the lengua, looks interesting.
15:09Tender beef tongue with mole sauce flavored with anchos, pasilla, and guajillo chilies, jacked with cloves and black pepper.
15:17Garnished with sweet plantain.
15:19What's the Anita tostada?
15:21Anita was starving, man.
15:23She didn't know what to eat.
15:24Layered on avocado, pinto beans with chorizo, pecorino fresco, homemade crema fresca, habanero, and puya sauce.
15:33And maybe a aguachile as well.
15:36Aguachile is a hollowed out cucumber spiced with peking, peppers filled with tomato, lime juice, and shrimp with chimichurri.
15:44Oh, my God.
15:45Mmm.
15:46The smartest thing I ever did was all of this.
15:48Not only is it beautiful, it's incredible.
15:49It's completely awesome.
15:51He's like super precise, you know.
15:53When there's a line of 20 people there, he works no quicker than when he was making it for the two of us.
15:58It's killer.
15:59It's done.
16:00Beautiful food.
16:01It's really delicious and it can be really, really happy.
16:04It's a moving location, but catch them wherever they go.
16:08Woo!
16:09Mexican not on your to-do list?
16:11I'm not sure why after that, but okay, you've come to the right city at least for options.
16:16You can eat every day in a different restaurant year-round and keep going for a number of years.
16:23Like kebab?
16:24I do.
16:25Altota kebab in Persian Plaza has got this.
16:28Cobide kebab.
16:31Sizzling, smoky, meaty, grilled fresh to order, and served with the usual garnishes.
16:39But perhaps you require something more porcine.
16:43Like, say, this.
16:45Yeah.
16:46If you're near Toronto's Little Italy, you might.
16:49You should get your sorry ass over to Bayrada Churrascaria on College Street for Portuguese.
16:55Locals contend that the chicken is the way to go.
16:58But look at this.
17:00This.
17:01If German sausages are what you need, think classic German beer hall.
17:09Or not.
17:10Wurst is not that.
17:12It's better.
17:13In King West, lost souls can while away the hours with locally made sausages of every variety.
17:19Duck, elk, venison, and a choice of 32 beers.
17:24Accompanied perhaps by Dirty Duck Fries.
17:27Belgian-style fries cooked in duck fat and piled with sautéed peppers and onions, jalapenos, and a special sauce.
17:35I find that Toronto is a city where everything is available to you at any time of the day.
17:41If you're looking for food, if you're looking for entertainment, you can always get what you want.
17:47It's kind of an instant gratification kind of place to live.
17:50That would make sense.
17:52Hits and Misses Records is this little place on Queen West.
17:55And I used to work at the record shop right beside you called Rotate This.
17:58And Hits and Misses is great.
18:00It's this little punk record shop that got a million seven inches.
18:03Stuff that you've never even heard of before.
18:05Hi, I'm Tony.
18:06You're Pete?
18:07Yep.
18:08Nice to meet you, Tony.
18:09The guy Pete is this grumpy old dude who's totally awesome, like this old punk.
18:12And if you know what you're talking about, he'll talk with you for hours on this.
18:15And my old boss at Rotate is going to kill me when he sees this.
18:18Am I going to have to buy a turntable at some point again?
18:21Yeah.
18:22You are.
18:23Yeah, the CDs are just done.
18:24They're going to go the way of the eight track.
18:26People want either vinyl or they're downloading.
18:27Yeah.
18:28What are you losing when you move to a CD?
18:31Warmth and I think bottom end.
18:34You know, for me, you'd get the album, which you, chances are you've been waiting for it.
18:38You've been hearing about it.
18:39And before you play it, you'd sit there and look at it.
18:41First of all, you'd say, what are they trying to tell me with this picture?
18:45You'd stare at this thing for a long time.
18:47Then you'd carefully turn around.
18:48You'd read the liner notes.
18:49You'd look at all the other pictures.
18:51I mean, you'd discuss with your friends what clues, what could they have meant by this?
18:55There was an entire story in the cover art.
18:57There were like three or four albums I sold during a difficult time in my life, shall we say.
19:02Yeah.
19:03Maybe a time that I read in your book?
19:05Yeah.
19:06That I really regret.
19:07I want to start rebuilding my collection.
19:09So are you looking for kind of maybe some more older stuff?
19:14I don't even know what I'm looking for.
19:15I'm just, uh, you never know.
19:17Yeah, poking around?
19:18Yeah, that's the fun part.
19:19You didn't know you needed this album, but you do.
19:21You know, this is dangerous stuff though, because if you get into this too hard.
19:25Wow, that's tempting.
19:26You know that's good.
19:28Titty Twista Go-Go.
19:29Ooh, the butt shakers.
19:30Bad trip music.
19:32Wow, this is a real cult item.
19:33Why am I unaware of this?
19:35Oh, Ted.
19:37I'm obviously gonna need some time.
19:40We can go deeper.
19:41Much deeper.
19:42While I browse, consider these other immediate gratifications.
19:45Hello, and welcome to the Metro Toronto Zoo.
19:53You could go over to Comedy Bar in the Annex.
19:56Canadians are funny.
19:57Really funny.
19:58In fact, most everybody funny in America actually came from Canada.
20:03Nothing I love more than some improv.
20:05Actually, no, I hate improv.
20:07Humor goes a really long way, as does sarcasm.
20:11I would say that would be sort of what identifies us.
20:16Or there's this spin in King West.
20:181,200 feet of this.
20:21Reserve me a table.
20:22A turntable, that is.
20:24I'll stick to spinning vinyl.
20:26Like, everybody's dead.
20:28It's troubling.
20:29It's like the old couple, you know, reading the obituaries every Sunday.
20:34How did he know he passed?
20:37After 20 years, by the way, Pete has had to close the doors of hits and misses.
20:41Which means I wasted a whole load of time on yet another place that isn't here anymore by airtime.
20:48I'm very pleased.
20:50Pete plans on finding other venues to sell his collection, so check into it.
20:54In the meantime, evening approaches and nightlife in Toronto is nothing close to tame.
21:00Time to get boned.
21:02If you're coming here as a tourist, I think you had best watch yourself and deposit your recycling in the recycling bins, not in the litter.
21:18We're very judgy about who recycles and how much and where.
21:21Giveaway, if you're from Toronto, is that you say, Toronto, and you drop the first O, and you just kind of blend the word all together.
21:30And if you're not from Toronto, you say, Toronto.
21:32Everyone thinks we live in a place that's really cold.
21:36You think of Canada, I think of Toronto, I think we're somewhere in the Arctic.
21:39It's not freezing as if we lived up with the polar bears.
21:41You're welcome to come here and not bring a winter coat in the summertime.
21:46Evening approaches, like the slow crawl of a wounded bonobo dragging himself across the jungle floor with a knife between his teeth and a bad attitude.
21:56Hi guys.
21:57How you doing?
21:58Hey, how are you?
21:59Good.
22:00This is Cocktail Bar in Toronto's Little Italy.
22:03A perfect place for a pre-dinner Negroni.
22:07Well, cheers, gentlemen.
22:08Cheers.
22:09This is Che Vu catering owner and chef Ezra Teitel, who you may remember from earlier.
22:15And this is Rose & Sons chef Anthony Rose.
22:19Both are tapped into the main vein of Toronto cultural culinary life.
22:23And as proud citizens, they've offered themselves up as ambassadors for their fair, if underappreciated city.
22:29I think for a long time we sort of looked to other places.
22:33Like we've always kind of redone rather than reworked.
22:36Right, exactly.
22:37So in terms of the architecture, we did have gorgeous architecture.
22:39But we've always kind of, you know, with time to gentrify, we just break the building down and start again.
22:43No, but the same thing with food.
22:45Like for a long time it was, look at what the trends are happening in the food world and then mimic them here.
22:52Yeah, absolutely.
22:53For a long time.
22:54But recently, you know, chefs are developing their own personalities and putting it on the plates.
23:00And we've got a really good food scene now.
23:03You seem to have caught the Brooklyn spore here.
23:05Oh, there's a lot of do-it-yourself.
23:07I mean that in a good way.
23:08People are hanging up a shingle and doing their own thing and...
23:11Frankly, it's pretty exciting.
23:13Well, so, hungry guys?
23:15Yeah, absolutely.
23:17Cocktail Bar is appropriately, perfectly located directly across the street from The Black Hoof.
23:24Same owner, in fact.
23:26Number one most recommended restaurant in Toronto is easily even this place.
23:30The Black Hoof is a fabulous restaurant.
23:33Some people refer to them as a nose-to-tail sort of place but in a very affectionate way.
23:38The owner is one of the greatest mixologists in Toronto.
23:41When you have a dish there, I'm pretty sure you haven't had anything quite like it before
23:46and you're going to remember it.
23:47A lot of chefs have sort of launched new restaurants from their time at The Black Hoof.
23:53So it's sort of a staple in Toronto.
23:55Nose-to-tail, eh?
23:57Your liver and onion.
24:00Oh, that's cool.
24:01The liver is stuffed liver mousse.
24:03The onions are chipolini.
24:04They get brains and roasted.
24:06There's roasted kind-of-the-woods mushrooms, a bit of chikarril and breadcrumbs.
24:09You know that's good.
24:11This is your rosemary blood custard.
24:13Oh, right.
24:14There's a brulee.
24:15There's compressed pear, fresh pear, crispy onions and coriander.
24:18Very exciting.
24:20Mmm.
24:21It's a great dish.
24:22It's very, very fruitable, eh?
24:24It's the beef hearts with mayo-marinated hustles, sauteed asparagus,
24:29gremolata and brown-butter breadcrumbs.
24:32Boogie combination.
24:33But it makes sense.
24:34We have our spicy horse tartar.
24:37This is Black Hoof owner, Jen Ag.
24:40And yes, you heard right.
24:42The delightful horse tartar.
24:45The original tartar, actually.
24:47It's spicy with ginger, which is like strawberry and fat salami.
24:51Caper hollandaise, hickory sticks, mint and pannel fronds on top, and some people green beans.
24:56Beautiful. Thank you.
24:57That's why my daughter is reaching that age where she likes ponies.
25:01So now I can like, I can bring her here.
25:04Here's your pony right here.
25:06Daddy bought you a pony.
25:09Daddy did buy you a pony after all.
25:11A pony for your birthday?
25:12You know what, she'd be cool with that.
25:14Yeah.
25:15Yeah.
25:16Thoroughly and completely delicious.
25:18Wow.
25:19Deep tongue on brioche.
25:21This is where it all started.
25:23Over top, tarragon mayonnaise.
25:25There's a pickled celery and some pickled mustard.
25:27Wow.
25:28So basically it's a riff on a classic deli tongue sandwich.
25:32Yeah.
25:33Holy God, look at that Everest of steaming tongue.
25:36Wait a minute.
25:37Anything is possible.
25:38If this is one of the hottest restaurants in Toronto, which it clearly is, then clearly
25:42also anything is possible.
25:44What I love about it is it's very experimental right now.
25:47If I wasn't eating here, by the way, I'd be over at Scott Vivian's Beast in King West.
25:53He and his food got me here in the first place, after all.
25:56And it is delicious.
25:58There are many tasty creatures on the menu at Beast.
26:01And it's seasonal and local, so your conscience should be clear while you eat it.
26:05The man knows the good stuff, and he knows what to do with it.
26:10Also in King West, Edulis, named after Chef Michael Caballo's favorite wild mushroom.
26:16He has the foraging bug, and when not gathering wild stuff from the woods, he's in the kitchen cooking them.
26:22If mushrooms don't give you a big stiffy, don't worry, there's lots of other good stuff on the menu.
26:27But I'm guessing you probably won't find this.
26:32They do something here called a bone luge.
26:35Back at Black Hoof, it's time for some tasty, tasty bone marrow.
26:39I am aware of this practice, by the way.
26:41It is extremely antisocial and against all standards of decency, so we should probably do it.
26:48All right.
26:49Bone luge.
26:50Start with the bone.
26:51This thing is gigantic.
26:52Good lord, we'll never make it.
26:53You got a big one.
26:54After removing all the delicious marrow by slurping and sucking it out.
26:58Can we light it on fire while it goes in, or?
27:01I feel like a shooter girl, and it's actually just a little alienating.
27:04Right, we should put on music for this.
27:06Yes, yes, go, go.
27:08Add bourbon.
27:09Lots of bourbon, till you can't take no more.
27:12Repeat.
27:18Mmm.
27:19I've been boned.
27:21I'm gonna, you know, wake up tomorrow all like drunk and hungover and covered with fat.
27:26Again.
27:27You know, I hate when that happens.
27:29Have you ever tried vomiting in a, in a, in a airplane bathroom and you're six foot four?
27:34Trust me, it's an extremely uncomfortable experience because you have two very,
27:38very unattractive options.
27:40You either leave the door open with your ass hanging out in the, in the, in the aisle.
27:44Or you can curve yourself into an S shape, where, which is really not conducive to the
27:49sort of free expression of what you need to do.
27:52I think, uh, what unites Perontonians is enjoying complaining about, uh, politics, enjoying
28:12complaining about the weather, enjoying complaining about transit, all of these things that sort
28:15of unite us.
28:16You know, we're not hosers.
28:17We don't drink maple syrup.
28:18We don't say eh.
28:19Actually, no, we do say eh a lot.
28:20The Torontonians are proud of the city.
28:21Yeah.
28:22That's how you can tell who's a Torontonian.
28:23Nothing beats Toronto and Canada, so sorry for the rest of Canada, but it's true.
28:28You want to come here, you know you do.
28:32You know what else they have?
28:37Great food.
28:38You knew that.
28:39Comedy.
28:40Check.
28:41Bars.
28:42Roger that.
28:43But also, music.
28:44Great bands.
28:45Bands like **** up.
28:47Actually, there aren't any bands like **** up.
28:50They stand alone in their awesomeness.
28:53Maybe you've seen them on such shows as mine, or the cover of Spin Magazine, or, oh look,
28:59here they are.
29:00Who's born here?
29:01We're all born here.
29:02We're a band that's all born and raised.
29:04Rare band from Toronto that everybody's kind of from the downtown core.
29:07We've gotten a lot of attention.
29:09Most people would be, you know, in L.A. by now, or wherever.
29:13Why are you here?
29:14Toronto is fiercely loyal to itself.
29:17Everybody from Toronto defends Toronto till the end.
29:20Even if they go somewhere more exciting or more glamorous.
29:23They're called ****.
29:24I'm 300 pounds.
29:26This is the ceiling.
29:27This is it.
29:28We made it.
29:29Top of the world.
29:30You're right.
29:31You clearly made some important career decisions early on.
29:36Like highly discriminating taste in drinking establishments such as cold tea in Kensington
29:41Market.
29:42An excellent example of a refined and wonderful bar.
29:45Discreetly tucked away from the herd, enter through an unmarked door, pass by the ladies
29:51selling authentic dim sum, continue on your way to fine beverages.
29:55Would Celine Dion be welcome here or mocked?
29:57No, she'd be mocked.
29:58She'd be mocked.
29:59She'd be mocked.
30:00This is a significant argument right away for the virtue of Toronto.
30:05Right away.
30:06What are the virtues, the ideal Torontonian?
30:10If we can, tie this into where we are right now.
30:12I think resourcefulness is the number one value of Toronto because this place cold tea
30:17comes from trying to buy drinks after hours.
30:21After last call, you go to a restaurant, you order cold tea and you get a teapot full of beer.
30:25There's beer cans here.
30:27Resourcefulness.
30:28I think, well, that's the thing.
30:29Under like any regime that kind of restricts fun, fun happens, you know?
30:36People are going to make their own fun.
30:38So, MacGyver would be the ultimate Torontonian.
30:40MacGyver, probably in every way, shape or form.
30:44One thing that Toronto doesn't lack is the nightlight.
30:46We're kind of known for that in Canada.
30:48You know, people tend to show up at bars around midnight and that's usually when things sort of get happening.
30:53You don't go to one bar in one night.
30:56You go to as many bars as your legs can take you in one night and then some.
31:00You might see punk bands like, well, this one at Sneaky D's, but they're hanging with me.
31:05So, moving on, we could have gone to the Horseshoe Tavern in Queen West.
31:09It's an old honky-tonk turned rock and roll venue that sort of never bothered to redecorate.
31:14The Dakota Tavern on the Ossington Strip would have, could have been another option.
31:19Old and new style music, but with old style drinks and old style grime.
31:25But we choose thirsty and miserable.
31:30This is actually where we played our first show, with me singing.
31:33The first time I ever broke a bottle in my head was right here too.
31:36What's the best single thing about this night?
31:38The fact that it's the big city with the small town heart.
31:41You know, it's like everyone knows everyone, but it's also like you got the traditional foods from all over the world.
31:48Do you know your next door neighbor's name?
31:50Um...
31:51This is really embarrassing because he probably watched this show.
31:53I mean, under or no one.
31:54I do know them though, we do talk.
31:56My next door neighbor's name is Ed Cuntz, by the way.
31:58Really?
31:59Yeah.
32:00Let's get drunk and call him up.
32:01It's like you remember it.
32:02Pony phone call.
32:03Yeah, Pony phone call.
32:04It's a place that has many secrets in a lot of ways.
32:06There isn't a lot of like free-flowing information unless you're here for a long period of time and then you know everything.
32:11And that's kind of the best part.
32:13All the secrets are unlocked.
32:15What do you say to this?
32:16All the best people come to Toronto and they do their thing and what?
32:19We're gonna be...
32:21We're gonna be run out of Canada on a rail.
32:24Oh my God.
32:27Can you...
32:28Can we publicly like absolutely decry the CN Tower?
32:31The CN Tower's terrible.
32:32It's a long line up with food, a high price, and a glass floor.
32:35Look, if you're in town for a layover of only 36 hours, do you want to spend an hour and a half of it waiting on a line to go up a tower?
32:43Have you ever been to a rotating restaurant that's good?
32:46No.
32:47It's never existed in the history of the world.
32:49What we're doing is, and I find this an interesting choice in your part, we're going for poutine.
32:55Yeah.
32:56We're going for poutine.
32:57Mitch, you're taking on the enemy in their own game.
33:00It's Saturday night, 3am, you just came out of the club and you're starving.
33:07Where do you go?
33:08Poutine.
33:09This is Poutine's in Queen West.
33:11And yes, Quebec, we know you do it best.
33:14That's the province next door to Ontario here containing such cities as Montreal.
33:19We know it's like your thing, but show a little love for the excellent poutinis, please.
33:25Just watch your drunk Montreal ass needs when you've been away too long and find yourself out late in Toronto.
33:31Delicious.
33:32The cheese and the gravy are oozing, and your stomach is just screaming for it.
33:37Let's do this thing.
33:38All right, go.
33:39Holy Jeebus, that is a tower of stuff.
33:43Good God, look at that.
33:45That's good.
33:46Morally wrong, but good.
33:48What do you think?
33:49I mean, you know, come on.
33:51Who wouldn't love this?
33:53These are hand cut, correctly blanched, and then fried against fries.
33:57So, no complaint with the fries, they're perfect.
33:59As the classic recipe demands are then ruined by the application of a delicious gravy, layered with perfectly excellent cheese curds.
34:09I'm sorry, there is nothing wrong with this picture.
34:12There's nothing wrong with this picture.
34:13This is like a solid liter of poutine, I think.
34:16This is excellent poutine.
34:18I know I'm going to get a lot of from my friends in Montreal.
34:23So did you guys do poutine in Montreal?
34:25Yes.
34:26What's better, this or that?
34:27I'm not getting involved in that.
34:29That's absolutely...
34:30Take a side, son.
34:31No, no, I'm not.
34:32You've got to make a statement.
34:33No, I will not.
34:34No.
34:35French fries drowned in all sorts of sinister sauces and condiments?
34:40Not what you love?
34:42Okay.
34:43How about Spence's West Indian Bakery in Little Jamaica for some jerk chicken?
34:47That will sober you up and your burning anus tomorrow morning will serve as a warning to never get so drunk again.
34:54In Koreatown, Owl of Minerva is open 24 hours serving Korean comfort classics like hot bowls of bone soup, slow simmered pork bones in a spicy broth, which I can tell you from personal experience will definitely set you right.
35:09But the band and I have made our choice.
35:12Well, I think we've learned something today.
35:14This is good.
35:15It's amazing, eh?
35:16Before it looked like an insurmountable Everest, but now it looks doable.
35:20They say in Quebec that this cures hangovers.
35:23Prevent them?
35:24That's right here.
35:25In advance?
35:26Yeah, here it like greases you down.
35:27I have to say that bacon was kind of a good choice.
35:29Bacon's an amazing choice.
35:30This place is amazing.
35:31We should probably come back here for breakfast then.
35:33What's important thing to know about Canadians is that we're not Americans, although we do have a special affinity and a strange relationship, but a good one all the same.
35:57We're very humble.
35:58When we're quiet, it doesn't mean we're weak.
36:00We're probably just making fun of you in French behind your back.
36:05To me, anyway, it seems like our attitudes are a little kinder, a little gentler, a little less abrupt with the things that we sort of put out there.
36:12They say that Canada could have been the greatest country in the world because it could have had American technology, French cuisine, and British culture, but instead we got American culture, French technology, and British cuisine.
36:27Breakfast, day two, Toronto.
36:30The hangover scene.
36:31So, here we go.
36:32Let's play out this dreary sham of a scenario one more time, just in case we haven't beaten it to death for like eight years.
36:41Ooh, I'm so hungover.
36:46What will I do to mitigate the results of my hilarious chronic alcoholism?
36:50How about roti?
36:52Bacchus roti and Parkdale being an excellent option.
36:55Roti is a flat, unleavened bread popular in Southeast Asia and parts of India.
37:00The jerk chicken roti is the waiting list.
37:03Want the hot sauce?
37:04Oh, yeah.
37:05Roti is also popular in the Caribbean, brought over by Indian traders and merchants, no doubt.
37:10Ooh, tasty.
37:11Anyway, it's good, if heavy, and spicy.
37:14Ooh, that's gonna burn later.
37:21Time for a poop joke?
37:23Diarrhea joke?
37:24My ass is burning joke?
37:26Nah.
37:27So, while I'm enjoying my roti, roti what other wonders of Toronto I might enjoy?
37:31If you need a less spicy solution to hangover woes, you might run over to Burgers Priest in Leslieville,
37:38because who doesn't crave a morning hamburger when hungover?
37:43There's a secret menu involving crimes against nature like this.
37:46A special burger that uses grilled cheese sandwiches for a bun.
37:50Insert artery-clogging joke here, right?
37:53Yup.
37:54How about fingers and toes falling off jokes?
37:56Too harsh?
37:57Nope.
37:58Got gout?
38:01Over in Little Italy, you've got the sanguiche option.
38:04The strangely named for Little Italy, California Sandwiches.
38:07What does that mean?
38:09And what, like avocado on my veal parm?
38:11California Sandwiches makes this sandwich and it's like an Italian bowling ball.
38:14You can get chicken or you can get veal, and it's insane.
38:17You'll say you only need half, but you'll end up eating the whole thing and can't work for the rest of the day.
38:23Or best option, I think, dim sum.
38:26Forest View Restaurant in Chinatown is a very, very solid choice.
38:31Toronto does dim sum really, really well.
38:34It's a strength.
38:35Has been for a long time.
38:37Actor Peter Ustinoff said,
38:38Toronto is like New York, as run by the Swiss.
38:41Whatever happened to you, Peter Ustinoff?
38:43Comic books which depict any illegal acts are banned.
38:47I have a very hard time believing that.
38:49What kind of comic book doesn't depict any illegal acts?
38:51What would the superhero and types be fighting against?
38:54Bad manners?
38:56Stop picking your nose, Joker.
38:58Or else.
38:59A little hockey related trivia here.
39:01www.couldncareless.com
39:04I'll be of the opinion that hockey would benefit greatly from removing the puck from the game.
39:08Wait a minute.
39:09In 1812, the Canadians burned down the White House?
39:13I didn't know this.
39:15And we're building a wall with Mexico?
39:18Well, I think I've learned enough about these Torontonians.
39:21I think we've settled this matter.
39:23How to describe Toronto in a marketing slogan or in one word?
39:37Um...
39:43This is a tough question.
39:44We've been trying for many, many years in the city to come up with a catchy slogan.
39:49All good?
39:50Um...
39:51Um...
39:54No, that's not good.
39:55That sounds so bad.
39:56Hmm.
39:57Pass.
39:58But we haven't been able to do it.
40:00We've never succeeded.
40:05Toronto, almost a memory.
40:07One more stop.
40:08To meet up with my friend, the chef who made it all possible.
40:11Scott Vivian of Beast.
40:13I told you, Scott.
40:14You're a man of your word.
40:16You are the guy who convinced me, finally, to come to Toronto.
40:20But you were right.
40:21I'm glad I came, though.
40:23I'm glad you came, too.
40:25Scott's choice?
40:26Porchetta and company in Little Italy.
40:28It's his final argument for the city.
40:30They do one thing here and one thing only.
40:33Porchetta sandwiches.
40:35So it's not a traditional porchetta in the sense of a whole pig.
40:39Proprietor Nick Offdemar.
40:41It's a marinated pork shoulder butt.
40:43That's wrapped in prosciutto.
40:44And we wrap that in cured pork belly with the skin on.
40:48And roast it off whole.
40:49Nice!
40:50Yeah.
40:51We rest them in here.
40:52Take the crackling off.
40:53And then we actually double-bake the crackling.
40:55So it gets consistently even and crunchy.
41:00Mmm.
41:01Juicy and delicious.
41:02It's kind of genius with the...
41:04The crackling?
41:05It makes the sandwich.
41:06Yeah.
41:07Yeah, for sure.
41:08Nice to serve it on paper, too, huh?
41:09Cheers.
41:10Thank you very much.
41:12There's a great class right now of young chefs who are making some noise in the city.
41:16What about the dining public?
41:18I feel like it's a young dining public.
41:20I think they're now starting to really get used to the whole fact of like,
41:24Toronto really has an opportunity to be on the upper end of dining.
41:29Not only in Canada, but I think in North America.
41:31The Canadian media doesn't latch on to chefs and restaurants like they're glorified in the stage.
41:37Whoever's in charge of promoting Canada abroad completely have their heads up their asses.
41:42I mean, it's all like bears and swatting salmon.
41:45Mounties.
41:46Yeah.
41:47Mounties and duck rides.
41:48Celine Dion.
41:49I'm not doing any of that.
41:51So all those boring Scots, Irish, English, Presbyterian city fathers really kind of screwed you up in the sense that things changed quite some time ago.
42:03I mean, that's not who's doing business here anymore.
42:05That's not who lives here anymore.
42:07I think Toronto needs a bit of a push from the people that can take the food scene to the next level.
42:13Or maybe you just need a good slogan.
42:15Maybe you already had it.
42:16Hogtown.
42:17Hogtown, eh?
42:18your town and my town and funky town and flavor town for that matter, bitches.
42:23I want to go to Hogtown, a magical place for magical animals where a pig is always turning slowly, slowly on a spit somewhere close and the scent of bacon lingers like wildflowers in the air.
42:36Where cracklins fall freely from the skies at intermittent intervals and the womenfolk rub lardo in their hair.
42:43Okay, baby nicks that last thing.
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