culture
Spice City Toronto: A Taste of Canada’s East
A Scarborough storefront specializes in tastes of home for hungry Newfies and Maritimers.
The seafood counter at Seaport Merchants. Photo by Sarah Efron.
Newfies and Maritimers who have migrated to Toronto don’t have to go without the tastes of home. Much of their distinctive East Coast cuisine is available in a little shop called Seaport Merchants (1101 Victoria Park Avenue).
Fish, of course, is the main attraction. “Our fish comes fresh from the East Coast and Ontario lakes,” says Lorne, who started the business with his father—who hails from Newfoundland—in the late 1970s. At the time, the neighbourhood had a lot of people from the East Coast and the Caribbean, but now it has more Sri Lankans and Filipinos.
The shelves at Seaport Merchants are stocked with all kinds of East Coast packaged foods. Many might seem strange to someone who isn’t from the region. You can buy large cans of lobster bisque and clam chowder, and tubs of cured navel beef.
Read the rest at Spice City Toronto.
Spice City Toronto explores Toronto’s great hole-in-the-wall restaurants and strip-mall joints serving food from all corners of the world.
