#FoodivalTO

Food events and entertainment always go hand in hand. To have that distraction as one indulges in good eats was always a good idea.  Now when the food event is carnival-themed like FoodivalTO , I still am very much a captured audience. Decades of watching buskers, I am still much in awe of the courage buskers have twirling and dancing with fire with so much ease and grace. I almost had my fortune told with tarot cards that night. If it didn’t start raining, I would have my future already read and mapped. I wasn’t so sad of the missed opportunity though. My primary purpose for attending FoodivalTO I did indulge in, that is, of course to sample novel food from the good number of vendors that made FoodivalTO.

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I came with the media crowd at a little past 5pm at the invitation of FoodieOnFoot’s Steven Hellman. As I ran late, the event started without me. I did caught up quickly and stood in line after several invited media and bloggers that were on site. Seeing the roster of vendors, there were old familiar favorites and novel concepts. This mix of curated treats did not fail to entertain this foodie. Here are the things I have sampled this past weekend.

• Kanto’s Sisig Fries and Turon – Hey what can I say? I still pretty much addicted to Diona’s food.  I don’t think I would ever outgrow that.
• Kitchen Cargo’s Kimchi Dog Taco – That kimchi/slaw/sour cream decked hotdog gave this taco that extra kick. One of the successful fusions that I have tasted.
• Rasher’s Wild Boar Sandwich – The arugula matched the richness of the bacon.  I often dodge bitterness but this kind, I’d have seconds….maybe even thirds.  Anything with bacon, second and thirds should be no question.
• The Happy Hooker’s Shrimp Corn Dogs – Freshly out of the fryer definitely guaranteed a crisp and savoury shrimp corn dog.  It was just the way I want my corn dog.
• The Salted Pig’s Pigs in a Blanket – One of the newest food trucks to bravely run the streets of Toronto, I must say their concept was food event friendly.  Easy to eat and with good texture and crunch, the treat was instant gratification to any hungry foodie.
• Neal Brother‘s Diablo Fuego Nachos- What happens when you combine really crispy nachos with Rossy Earle’s wicked Diablo Fuego? One foodie lip-smackin’ each mouthful to savor the goodness of each perfect bite.
• Tocino Boys Chorizo Skewer – I grew up eating Filipino-style chorizo and it have never occurred to me to put it on a grill.  I must admit that burn marks added another layer to the familiar taste I grew up with.  Being Filipino, I was craving rice after a few bites.  LOL.
• Rise Kombucha Hibiscus Rose Hips and Ginger Raw Health Beverage – Just the exact cool, robust drink I needed after all the eating that I have done.  It was a pleasant surprise that each drink was full-bodied and depth of flavor was refreshing.  This drink was my best discovery of the night.
• Crazy Corn’s Caramel Corn and Microwaveable Pop-A-Cob  –   Ah….the caramel popcorn weakness I have.  Once I start, I can never stop until I eat the last caramel-coated popcorn.  I could not resist too taking home with me their dried organic corn cob for popping.  Just have to try it at home.  If anything, it would be my point of conversation during my Thanksgiving dinner.  Such a novel idea!
• The Golden Apple’s Candied Apples and Canadian Maple Fudge – It seems to me that my consumption of sweet items are on the rise lately.  I wonder what my physician would think after I get my yearly medical.  LOL.

There were more vendors inside that I wished to try but it would be more like pushing it.  I came to a point that all I can do was just imagine how it tasted if I was more courageous.  Or should the word be gluttonous?

Thank you Stephen for inviting me to FoodivalTO!  Here’s hoping there would be more editions to come! :)

Postscript:  FoodivalTO supports Real Food for Real Kids Toronto.  Get in the know through this link!