Taste of Danforth is on again!  For those who don’t know, the Taste of Danforth is…

showcasing the best of Hellenic food, culture, and music our multicultural city has to offer – from souvlaki to mezes, authentic Greek music to interactive children’s games! Come enjoy the culture that makes the Danforth a year round destination

The taste of Danforth is where crazyChiquita and I first met two years ago, but since she was on a flight from Japan to Toronto, she had to miss out this year.  It’s pretty much the same each year but there’s so much food available, there’s no way you can try them all with just one visit.

Oysters anyone?

The moment I arrived at Danforth, I went straight for all the delicious food.  The first thing everyone got was the roasted corn.  It’s always fun to eat a cob of corn while traversing the streets.  At $3 per cob, the vendors must be making a killing since the nearby recycling bins were overflowing with cobs.  The corn was really sweet and tasty, and the variety of spices you can add on top made it even better.

Nothing like eating sweet tasty corn on the streets

After the corn, I tried a chicken pastry roll.  It didn’t taste too good since the chicken was dry and it had a funny after taste.  My friends told me that the lamb version is A LOT better but too bad I don’t like eating lamb.

A Chicken roll that wasn’t so good, go for the lamb version!

I am always tempted when the stand advertises with labels like “best (food item) in…”  This year, I found two of them, one of them for apple pie and the other for calamari.

The apple pie was from a booth called “Sweet Tooth” and there was a sign saying “Voted best apple pie in Toronto”.  Being one of the biggest dessert fan, I couldn’t miss out on trying the apple pie even though it didn’t look very appetizing (the slices were broken in pieces on a paper plate which was covered with Ceram wrap).  Since the pie looked fairly pale, I expect it to taste below average but was presently surprised after I took the first bite.  There was a strong apple and cinnamon flavor without being too sweet.  It would of tasted even better if it was served warm.  So far, it’s the best apple pie I have eaten in Toronto but my apple pie tasting experience is pretty limited.

Best apple pie in Toronto? Maybe so…

The second booth claiming to have a “best of” food was from a Thai restaurant selling their calamari.  They had a huge sign saying “Serving the best calamari on the Danforth for the past 15 years”.  I had high hopes for this stand since the lineup was huge!  After finally reaching the counter, I realized it was just your average fried calamari found at any Asian restaurant.  It didn’t taste any different so I was disappointed.  You can find a better tasting version at Congee Queen.  This might be the “best” calamari on Danforth… but I think they are the only restaurant that sells it on this street.  They are also featured on “Restaurant Makeover” but isn’t that show for restaurants that are on the brink of closing down?

Calamari that is very average.

Aren’t we glad the garbage strike is over?

An interesting food item that I came across was a booth selling “kangaroo burgers”.  I was hesitant to try it at first, but the curiosity got to me.  So what does kangaroo meat taste like? No… it doesn’t taste like chicken, it actually taste like beef.  If someone told me it was a hamburger, I would not be able to tell the difference.  Oh well, now I can say I have tried a kangaroo burger!

One item I wanted to try was the funnel cake but not only was the line-up way too long, it was also not moving so I guess I will wait until next year.

A ridiculous lineup prevented me from trying their funnel cakes

If you hate crowds, I would suggest going at an earlier time because the streets got fuller as the day went on.

Totally packed at night

The taste of Danforth isn’t all about food, if you get too tired sampling all the different food, you can always relax with a massage at a rate of $10 for 10 minutes.

Tired of walking? enjoy a massage.

Overall, I had a fun day enjoying delicious food.  Next year, I am going to have to get myself some of those funnel cake!