Smorgasbord

It was Customer Appreciation Night at St. Lawrence Market today. I had no idea what that was…but a few days ago, Lamie called me and invited me to join her at this event as she had two invitations. She knew two things about it. 1. It’s FREE. 2. Got good food. I was sold! (Thanks again, Lamie!!)

There was a long line getting into the South Market, but once we were in, it was gastronomical heaven! All the merchants had prepared cooked versions of their wares. I can hardly remember all that we tasted…they were all little bite-sized pieces of heaven. More than once I knew I had a look of bliss on my face as I savoured the scrumptious morsels… the highlight was the seafood. I tasted the most deliciously sweet and succulent grilled tiger shrimp and the freshest and sweetest mussels I had ever had. There was crab ravioli lightly tossed in a super fresh tomato and olive oil dressing *drool*. And the mushroom pizza…was one of the thinnest pizzas I’ve ever tried…fresh from the oven, with mushrooms so fragrant it made your mouth water just to smell it…the pizza, like the ravioli, was light on the palate but supremely satisfying. As for sweet highlights, the crepe filled with molten chocolate and thinly sliced fresh strawberries were a mouthful of paradise!

Here’s a list of the food that we tried (we didn’t get to try everything. Too full!). Ratings in asterisk:

1. Sausage*
2. Angus Beef** (ribs cooked in two different style + something else on bread)
3. Cheese* (so many types! I tasted a couple much too pungent for my taste. Bleh.)
4. Crab Ravioli*****
5. Mushroom Pizza****
6. Mussels****
7. Grilled Tiger Shrimp*****
8. Grilled Sea Bass***
9. Grilled Chicken Breast On A Stick****(super tender and juicy)
10. Venison Meatballs in Sauce **
11. Wild Artic Ox Ribs* (too tough!)
12. Brownie***
13. Bread** (I tried strips of foccacia and egg bread)
14. Blueberry Yoghurt****
15. Crepe with Chocolate and Strawberries*****
16. Assorted Fresh Fruits****(white grapes, pineapple, melons, bananas…)

It wasn’t just about the food. There were live performances as well! Irish and Polish dances…Saxophone Quartet, Afro-Brasilian Percussion. I loved watching the Polish folk dancing…it was so exuberant, spontaneous and joyful. They danced and sang with such abandonment. It made me wonder…the dances in most Eastern cultures (Chinese, Indian, Malay, Thai…) seem more stylized and performance based. Folk dances however, are so cool because it seems almost everybody in that culture knows how to dance it. And I can imagine how wonderful it would be to have a common dance to dance at communal gatherings *muses*

***Duh Moment of the Night***

Lamie and I were in the line to get the pizza and pasta. At the serving table, the person who gave us the ravioli looked at me and said almost sternly, “It’s crab.”
Me (thinking she had said “it’s CRAP”): *taken aback* Really?!
Server: *nods seriously* Yes, it is.
Just then, the chef gave her another batch of ravioli and reminded her, “Tell them it’s crab!”
Lamie and I look at each other: “Oooh…CRAB…”

Here are some photos I took, though none of them was of the food (too busy eating the food!)