Cross-posted from Eye Daily.
Today at city hall, politicians, pedestrians and tourists will get a taste of what Toronto’s street food could be like if we would only see beyond the hotdog. Vendors will be cooking up meals and snacks that are not only healthier than the average frankfurter, but also affordable. Among other things, the menu will include sweet potato bundles, spring rolls, Chinese melon soup and grilled tofu.
It’s happening today from 11:30am to 2:00pm at Nathan Phillips Square.
Increasing the variety of street food and the number of street vendors in Toronto should be a no-brainer. It wasn’t until I returned to T.O. after a trip to Korea and Taiwan last summer that I realized how embarrassingly boring our outdoor food vendors are. But T.O.’s traditional hotdogs and sausages could be in for some competition in the not-so-far-off future — Ontario’s Health Minister George Smitherman announced July 7 that the province would bring in new regulations, effective August 1, that would allow a wider variety of food to hit the streets.
According to the Government of Ontario’s press release, these could include:
– Pre-prepared, pre-packaged foods such as salads, fruits and baked
goods;
– Pre-cooked foods that are reheated on site such as samosas, pizzas,
burritos, hamburgers and hot dogs;
– Lower-risk foods such as orange juice, corn on the cob, whole fruit
and non-dairy smoothies;
Queen’s Park has also granted local Medical Officers of Health permission to approve additional menu items if they are satisfied that safeguards are in place to protect the public.
On top of tempting our taste buds, having a wider variety of street food would make help make our public spaces livelier, boost tourism and provide more jobs. But don’t expect our street life to change overnight. New vendors will first have to apply for a license from the city, which is responsible for determining menus and locations. Whether Toronto’s street food will become as diverse as our population remains to be seen, but this is an exciting first step.
Photo by David Cooper from the Toronto Star.
