Pickle Barrel
IT IS AN irony of our age that we build ourselves bigger and better kitchens, with granite counters and fancy expensive gadgets — sub-zero fridges, big BTU grills, electric choppers and fine food processors, tools for slicing and dicing — and then we go out for dinner.
Or order in. Or pick up.
When I look at the pasta makers, ice cream machines (yes, plural), potato ricers and overpriced mixers and mashers in my kitchen, I often wonder why.
Of course it’s because our food expectations have been raised to a ridiculous level.
We imagine ourselves cooking that gourmet meal … we’re just not exactly sure when that miraculous event might happen.
But goodness knows we’d better be ready with the requisite gadgetry at hand!
The truth is that we don’t have time to cook … and the takeout food of yesteryear no longer suffices for us because we’ve learned to love mozzarella di buffalo over Kraft slices and Provimi veal over burgers.
And we’d rather our garden salad were made from wild rice than from macaroni.
Hence All The Best Fine Foods (a.k.a. the Five Thieves), Pusateri’s, Summerhill Market, Wanda’s in the Kitchen with Dinah and Genua.
Of course there are oodles of other gourmet stores. Like New York, we’ll soon have one in every neighbourhood. But what does “gourmet” mean anyway?
The word has become debased.
I pull in to the gas station and see that they’re offering “gourmet” tea and coffee.
“Gourmet” popcorn can be microwaved; it employs fat whose resemblance to butter is purely circumstantial.
Same deal with most of the gourmet stores that sell take away dinner. Better you should buy a box of Kraft Dinner.
The five best takeout food stores in town are the aforementioned shops, but they are not, however, all created equal.
To find out what indeed is Toronto’s best take away options, we tasted their output in four categories: Soups, salads, sauces and main courses.
Overall, from best to worst, here are the rankings: Genua, Wanda’s in the Kitchen with Dinah, Summerhill Market, All The Best Fine Foods and Pusateri’s.
Is it relevant that the two of the three lowest scorers are the two biggest stores? That the two highest scorers are Mom and Pop operations with small kitchens and owners who cook?
Perhaps ...
Also something to bear in mind: Not-so-good on this list doesn’t actually mean so bad. Given that there are literally dozens and dozens of “gourmet” stores selling food that doesn’t come close to any of theirs.
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