Hello From Toronto - A Culinary Tour Of The St. Lawrence Market & An Exploration Of Historic St. Lawrence Hall

6 October 2005Life behaves very strange and wonderful. Earlier this week, I spoke with my brother in Austria on the phone and said he was reading this German travel magazine and there was great writing of a Toronto-based travel guide that offers culinary tour of San. Lawrence Market, a favorite of my brother, who discovered that his recent trip to Toronto.I asked my brother what the name was and he looked at me and said: "Bruce Bell". I did an Internet search and within seconds I had located Bruce Bell Tours, and I knew I had to deal with this person. Bruce Bell, the famous journalist of the story for the San Lorenzo District Community Newsletter is also an award-winning playwright, actor, standup comedian and the honorary curator of the most photographed buildings in the city of Toronto, the historic Gooderham Building better known as the Flatiron. Bruce has just published a book on Toronto called "Toronto - A pictorial celebration. Immediately after hanging up with my brother was on the phone with Bruce, we briefly present and said, come on Thursday to join me for my culinary tour of San Lorenzo Market. Indeed, this morning, punctually at 10 came to the gift shop at the main entrance of the market, and met Bruce and the other participants in our tour, a young architecture student.As official historian of St. Lawrence Market Bruce has special access to all types of construction areas that people do not get to see others. We immediately took a little 'of the stairs, took a special key and led us in the office of former mayor, as the construction market was the original city hall in Toronto. The building has undergone several transitions and the two side wings were removed to make way for a warehouse of steel beam built in 1904, which was patterned after the Victoria train station in the former office of mayor London.From We had a perfect vision of the market and we also had a beautiful view of the skyscrapers of downtown and the famous Flatiron building, the west and the St. Lawrence Hall, in the north. Bruce took us down the stairs in the hall itself and the market share of confectionery several story with us. The shore of Lake Ontario used to be right on Front Street, and then added the landfill became the esplanade waterfront, and today hundreds of meters of additional landfill have expanded the territory of the city address a new waterfront.Under Bruce began the rounds of the shops including bakeries, butchers, fishmongers, fruit stands, delis, dessert places and specialty providers of all kinds. The first place they took us to a bakery also serves lunch, and we have a delicious taste treat of smoked salmon and backbacon, each in a small piece of bread. I'm not a person who eats fish is usually great, but this was delicious salted Morceli. In another shop we came to the exhibition "Indian Candy" - smoked salmon cured in maple Syrop. How delicious! We walked through some of the executioners, many of whom were in the same family for generations. I admired the creatively presented cuts of pork tenderloin stuffed with spinach, cheese and bacon, a perfect solution for a non cook like me - just stick in the oven and pull out a delicious gourmet meal.After a short walk outside the building where Bruce explained the building's history and society with Toronto for us, we went on the lower level, where all shops are desserts, fruit and specialized vendors. We had some samples of more: a wide variety of delicious honeys from New Zealand, a sample of specialty jellies and jams, white chocolate truffles that just tender melt in your mouth and for dessert - after all the sweat is - Nutella - crepes filled. All the samples we received are completely delicious.Bruce has led us into the bowels of the building, now mostly used for storage and refrigeration, but sometimes these areas were the men and women's prisons. Bruce explained that in 1850 women had no rights and many men simply stuck to their women in prison, especially after childbirth or during menopause, when there is a bit "eccentric. The iron hooks that prisoners were chained to still are visible in the basement walls.The is decorated with a series of murals that explain Toronto's history. As the official historian of St. Lawrence market and a popular columnist for the St. Lawrence Community Bulletin, Bruce is actually depicted on the mural . About 15 historic plaques through a series