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Best Toronto Groceries


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I absolutely love Fiesta Farms. IMO, by far the best (and most reasonably priced) supermarket in the city. Don’t be put off by it’s grunginess, they really have amazing produce and hard to find things like Jerusalem artichokes or cardoons. Great butcher counter too. I bought a few ox tails for last night’s dinner.

Are there any other great supermarkets out there?

Not specialty boutiques, but somewhere for every day shopping.

Does anyone shop at the Asian supermarkets in Markham?

Malcolm Jolley

Gremolata.com

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Is Fiesta Farms at Dupont and Ossington?

Never been there, myself (if I've got the right place).

On a slightly tangential tangent - I finally got around to the Dufferin Grove farmer's market - and it was pretty good. A dozen vendors tops- so smallish, but two or three (or five) veggie vendors, a couple that did meat, some bread, apple/cider, one that sold only trout. Probably forgetting at least a couple. Mostly organic / free range - eco-granola friendly (I'm not sure they're ALL organic vendors - but pretty close) and the stuff looked good and reasonably priced for organic in the toronto market. Someone was selling rotis too, but I didn't try one.

Worth checking out, in my opinion, on a Thursday afternoon / early evening if you're in that nabe.

Cheers,

Geoff Ruby

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Malcolm, I've never tried Fiesta, but will check it out when I'm in the neighborhood. And to answer your question, can't say there are any supermarkets that I'm particularly wild about.

What I do find curious is that Toronto already has more competition at the food retailing level than just about anyplace I've ever seen, yet more players are entering in large numbers -- Sam's Club a couple of days ago and soon, a big German-based discount supermarket called Lidl.

Anyone have any idea why Toronto, with all the existing competition, is such an attractive market?

Arthur Johnson, aka "fresco"
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It is a bit of a mystery. By some accounts Toronto already has great supermarkets. I worked at Whole Foods for a few months when it first opened in Toronto. The regional supervisors who came to train us and get the store set up were very impressed with the quality and variety offered by other supermarkets in town. They seemed a bit worried that Whole Foods wouldn't stand out from the competition like it apparently does in many parts of the US. They saw their T.O. competition as not just "gourmet" places like Pusataris but big chains like Loblaws (in particular). T.O. was a very attractive market (at least at the outset) and they were already planning more WF stores in the city.

I doubt the entrance of all these new big boxes will be a problem. The good little places that deserve to survive will endure and prices in the chains will be forced down.

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If anyone knows of a good Italian grocer in Toronto, or there abouts, I'd love to know. Porcini, in Ontario - dried or otherwise - has eluded me for a very long time.

The only place in Toronto I make the trip to is a bulk food store and a butcher both in the Humber Valley Village. The bulk food store is mainly Asian, great prices on mung beans and a good selection of seaweeds.

-- Jason

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itch,

Go to Harvest Wagon at 1103 YOnge St, just south of the Summerhill LCBO. They carry fresh morels and porcini, black trumpets in season, likely truffles too. I know they have dried, year-round.

Be careful with that place - it's pretty easy to walk out with $100 in produce, but it's really, really good.

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The last place I was in that was really good was;

T&T Supermarket in the Promenade mall at Bathurst and Centre.

1 Promenade Circle,

Thornhill, Ontario L4J 4P8

Phone: 905.763.8113

Fax: 905.763.8035

Of course they specialize in Chinese groceries but this store has a great variety of other things too.

They had sushi by the piece, BBQ, Hot table, good meat, live fish good vegetables.

The place is good for a quick cheap lunch.

The place is clean and the meat and fish are fresh.

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