Last Saturday I went to St. Lawrence Market with my mom. The day was awesome and nice and sunny! It was a perfect day to be strolling around the market looking at all the awesome local produce, meats, cheeses, and of course, the baked goods! I was expecting there to be a lot more bakeries, but the majority of St. Lawrence was comprised of meats and cheese shops. And the occasional seafood place.

We arrived around 9:45am (we're morning people) and parked our car on Adelaide. 9:45 is actually quite late for the Saturday morning Farmer's Market (located in the North building), considering they set up shop at 5am every Saturday! One vendor told me that they start selling out of stuff around noon, which didn't really surprise me.

Wow, was it ever busy! Although my mom said that she remembered it to be a lot more busy when she used to come here as a child. But then again, everyone looks like a giant when you're a kid. I immediately regretted eating breakfast, because there were lots of free samples and goodies to buy. I was particularly intrigued by a sweet potato lady, who sold things made from that wonderful root veggie. Sweet potato fries, sweet potato cookies, sweet potato muffins/cupcakes, etc.

After much wandering around and gawking at all the food possibilities, I settled on a tofu and spinach samosa (I love tofu and veggies, so I had to try out this intriguing and unorthodox samosa filling). And guess what? It was baked, not fried (they had a traditional fried version too, but I wanted to try it baked)! The lady heated it up for me too, and I have to say that it was quite tasty. Lots of stuffing, and just the perfect mid-morning snack. Not too heavy, not too oily.

A couple hours later found my mom and I in the actual St. Lawrence Market (the South Market). I went upstairs to the newly renovated Market Kitchen, which gives you an awesome overview of the entire market. I think I must've walked around that Market at least 5 times in order to fully take in all the food splendor.

We didn't buy too much--a loaf of challah bread (that was nice and thinly sliced), some buns, and packages of blackberries and blueberries. I wanted to buy some cheese, but I didn't know what to do with a giant wedge of cheese. There were so many different kinds that I tried, but the one that stuck out in my mind was a 24-month old French cheese that was a deep orange colour. I can't remember what it was called, but it started with an M. It didn't seem quite as firm as a parmiggiano-reggiano, but it was close. I tried it out at Scheffler's Deli and Cheese, which is a must-visit if you love cheese and all things Italian.

Lunch was at Buster's Sea Cove, which was insanely busy by 12:30. The employees were extremely organized and had awesome communication skills though, in order to correctly bust out all those orders on time. We shared a giant grilled swordfish sandwich (nice generous chunk of freshly grilled fish topped with sauce and juicy tomatoes, lettuce, and onions, all sandwiched between a toasty herb bread) which came with a giant salad as a side. And this was no wimpy salad. It had fresh romaine lettuce, sliced cucumbers, grape tomatoes, sliced red onions, and shredded carrots. It took up an entire takeout container! And the veggies weren't dried up, like they sometimes are if you slice them and leave them out too long. We also got some calamari, which was also a very generous size. The rings were piping hot when we ate them, and they weren't rubbery at all--perfectly cooked! To finish off the meal, I had to get some fresh fruit from a place in the lower level of the market.

I don't have any photos to post as of yet (I haven't transferred them from my camera), but pics are on their way! If I missed anything, I'll address it in my next post.