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Good Food Fast

South Street Burger.jpg

After the theatrical and video release of documentary film maker Morgan Spurlock’s Supersize Me in 2004, many consumers rethought the merits of ‘fast food.’  Most of us already knew that fried burgers and French fries were not healthy choices, but the film did an excellent job of demonstrating the dangers of a fast food diet; increased fat, increased salt, increased sugar and decreased nutrition. Of course very few people subsist on fast food. But those of us with young kids, or those with a work imposed short lunchtime (and seemingly few food court options), or those of us who are culinarily challenged, find ourselves ambling to the melamine counters more than we would care to admit.  So, on those occasions when you have to eat quickly out of the home –is it possible to get good healthy food fast?

The short answer for those living and working in Toronto is undoubtedly, yes!  It requires a bit of legwork and perhaps a little travel but there are places in the city to eat good, healthy, timely and inexpensive food. While the major chains now offer healthier options, many seem like menu afterthoughts.  And in my experience the ubiquitous fast food salad, is less than fresh and taste deficient. The solution lies in specialty shops, ethnically specific restaurants, vegetarian cafeterias and locally based chains.

Anybody who has worked in the downtown core knows about The Sandwich Box. From one small booth in the Market across from the CityTV complex on Queen Street West, this New York style salad and sandwich bar has grown to four locations (Richmond near Bay, Richmond Street West, the food concourse in the Royal Bank Plaza and Eglinton East of Yonge). Opened in 2003 by a chef, this small chain features “fresh, natural and when possible organic ingredients.” Pick your greens, toppings and dressing, and then watch as the staff mixes it all in metal bowls and finish with a dash of coarse salt, freshly ground pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. The cost of the salads vary by ingredient and weight, but you can eat heartily for $8.50 to $10.00.  Tip: Experienced ‘Sandwich Boxers’ know not to heap on the heavy non-proteins such as cucumbers, tomatoes and strawberries, as they make the salad disproportionately more expensive. (www.thesandwichbox.ca)

You don’t have to work in downtown Toronto to eat a healthy lunch. Local vegetarians in the know have found Kale Eatery (Yonge north of Eglinton) – much like the venerable downtown favourite Le Commensal, Kale is a vegetarian cafeteria-style restaurant, specializing in prepared salads (visit www.tonictoronto.com for their delicious kale and quinoa salad recipe). Newly opened by Edyta Lorek, this midtown joint specializes in vegan, organic and microbiotic fare (www.kaleeatery.com - still under construction).

Some cuisines lend themselves more to healthy eating. In Mumbai, the problem of high cost of downtown restaurant fare was solved through a courier system of meal delivery packaged in ‘tiffin tins.’ Veda, a locally based business aims to bring the concept of slow food quickly delivered to Toronto. Created in 2005, Veda serves traditional Indian cuisine, updated with healthy ingredients to replace butter, cream and ghee. All dishes are nut-free and all curries are gluten-free.  All meat is 100 percent halal, and there are many vegan options to choose from.  And yes, in addition to the stuffed naan breads and curritos (curry filled burritos) you can have tiffin thali delivered to you (see www.vedatakeout.com for the delivery area).

Salads and curry wraps are great, but sometimes you just want a burger; and finding a healthy one is tricky. There are a lot of funky new burger shops cropping up all over the city. Patterned after the Toby’s and Mr. Greenjeans of yesteryear, these are sit-down full-service restaurants that serve great food (see the Burger Shoppe on Ossington – which has delicious burgers made from locally raised natural meat www.burgershoppe.com).

Jay Gould, the co-founder of Cultures and the founder of New York Fries has another solution – South St. Burger Co.. They are hormone-free, antibiotic-free and filler-free – and they are delicious. The burgers served in Toronto are made from meat mostly sourced locally from Rowe Farms.  According to Mr. Gould, “The consumer is more conscious about what they eat; there is an ‘awareness.’ They will cut back on fried food and red meat. But when they do indulge they want the good stuff. Fries are the number one product eaten outside the house, burgers are number two.” The burgers are grilled to order, with an amazing array of fresh cheeses and 25 free condiments (such as guacamole, mango chutney and wasabi mayo) not found at other outlets. Fries are cooked in trans-fat-free sunflower oil. 

Portioning is another issue. The classic South Street hamburger is 1/3 pound. Jay says; “We’re trying to strike a balance. The kids’ burgers were half the size of our regular hamburger. We found that women liked to order it, but that calling it a kid burger was a barrier. We changed the name to the ‘Small Burger’ to allow adults to buy it and sales quadrupled. 

Five of the twelve current locations use 100 percent clean, renewable electricity obtained from Bullfrog Power. Where feasible ingredients (buns, meat, potatoes, chicken etc.) are sourced locally. The cooking areas employ grill hoods with high technology heat exchange ventilation systems so heating requirements are reduced. LED bulbs and non-toxic cleaning supplies are utilized. Catering to, as Jay puts it “the more educated and discerning consumer”, South Street will be opening their lucky thirteenth’ location at the Shops at Don Mills. www.southstburger.com

 

 

 


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