Will Toronto develop an iconic signature food or food(s) like other cities?

[wild goose chase]

Like Philly cheesesteak or Chicago deep dish pizza, Maryland crab cakes, Montreal smoked meat. Hey, even Halifax has its style of donair. It seems like Toronto is lacking in this department.

How come? We are pretty multicultural and should have at least a culinary identity comparable to many cities like these worldwide too.

 

[Johnny Au]

Toronto has its own take on the poutine, albeit one derivative of the one in Montreal.

Oh, and don't forget the famous spicy chicken wings from the other end of the QEW.

 

[to_l]

What about Sushi Pizza?

 

[ryguy7787]

Pemeal bacon sandwhich is pretty Torontonian.

 

[grey]

Yeah, peameal on a kaiser is already generally considered to be Toronto's signature food.

 

[Skeezix]

I was going to say peameal on a bun as well. William Davies, who began his career selling pork at St. Lawrence Market, introduced peameal bacon. William Davies Co. eventually owned much of what is now the West Don Lands and had stores across the city.

Not sure about Toronto's "take" on poutine. People all over put crap on poutine. Not a unique Toronto thing to ruin poutine.

 

[Skeezix]

What about Sushi Pizza?

The Wikipedia article calls it a signature Toronto dish, although that claim has been tagged as being unsubstantiated.

 

[the lemur]

I was going to say peameal on a bun as well. William Davies, who began his career selling pork at St. Lawrence Market, introduced peameal bacon. William Davies Co. eventually owned much of what is now the West Don Lands and had stores across the city.

Not sure about Toronto's "take" on poutine. People all over put crap on poutine. Not a unique Toronto thing to ruin poutine.

I think the idea of putting other things on/in poutine than curds and gravy also began in Quebec before conventional poutine had made its way to Toronto.

Peameal on a bun is fine but it's not to everyone's taste and it's maybe not as interesting as Toronto has become.

Something will probably come along but it's not really a thing you can predict.

 

[Skeezix]

Peameal on a bun is fine but it's not to everyone's taste and it's maybe not as interesting as Toronto has become.

I'd like to think that Toronto's ultimate contribution to world cuisine will be the continued development of an excellent, multicultural food scene, even if there is no one food in particular that is uniquely thought of as belonging to Toronto.

 

[calimehtar]

I would like to nominate butter chicken roti. Also the globe thinks they have identified Toronto-style pizza.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/meet-torontos-new-masters-of-the-pizza/article26760501/

 

[Armour]

I believe I invented the mustard and ketchup sandwich as a child.

 

[the lemur]

I would like to nominate butter chicken roti. Also the globe thinks they have identified Toronto-style pizza.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/meet-torontos-new-masters-of-the-pizza/article26760501/

It doesn't seem to define how that differs from traditional Neapolitan-style, though.

Wasn't panzerotto considered a Toronto specialty for a while, or is it just that we call it that instead of calzone?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Peameal on a bun is fine but it's not to everyone's taste and it's maybe not as interesting as Toronto has become.

It's also a food item that is neither ubiquitous or all that well known. By those two measures it would have failed the test.

AoD

 

[devjohnson]

To most of my American friends who come and visit Toronto, they all want to try poutine.

Although more a Montreal dish, Toronto has a pretty good take on poutine.

 

[Skeezix]

To most of my American friends who come and visit Toronto, they all want to try poutine.

Although more a Montreal dish, Toronto has a pretty good take on poutine.

It's a Quebec dish full stop (I believe it actually originated outside Montreal, although it might first have gained prominence in that city). Toronto doesn't do anything with it that hasn't been done elsewhere. To the extent people from the U.S. come to Toronto wanting to try it, it's because they associate it with Canada.