Dishcrawl
416.725.4116 | dishcrawl.com
A few nights ago I left the office and prepared, in best Paleolithic fashion, to chase down my dinner. Fortunately for me (since I was in heels) there was minimal pursuit involved and my quarry proved immediately compliant when confronted with a fork. This, my friends, is Dishcrawl.
Dishcrawl is a monthly “progressive food adventure” — kind of a pub crawl, with dinners instead of drinks. The concept (“Four Plates. One Night”) began in San Francisco in 2010 and arrived here in Toronto last July — the premise being that the best way to build community is over food. Never have truer words been spoken.
This is a marvellous low-pressure opportunity for everyone in a group to get to know others. The icebreakers write themselves (who doesn’t have something, anything to say about food?) and because you’re a moving social adventure, you get to meet different people (or, conversely, ditch that guy who keeps talking about his Lego collection). Those of you in charge of planning articling student orientation groups will be forever regarded as Hip Dudes in the Know if this is your orientation event — no more inflicting firm history dinners or painful karaoke nights on your associates-to-be.
When you register for a Dishcrawl, you know only the general area where it will occur — in our case, it was the Distillery District and Corktown (other Dishcrawls have been organized around themes; I’m told that a bacon-themed Dishcrawl is in the works for July). A day or two before the event, you are sent the location of the meeting place, and once you arrive, the actual restaurants are revealed. The standard Dishcrawl group is limited to 30 people, and you’re split into two groups: one group does the circuit in one direction, while the other does it in reverse. I was very impressed by the logistics of the operation, and we only got slightly held up once, when our other group, more raucous than ours, couldn’t be persuaded to get out of the restaurants fast enough.
Corporate events are run in a similar fashion and can include up to 100 people with the venues tailored to preferences. Cool, young things might prefer a ’crawl through King West; foodies might opt for a Kensington Market ’crawl. The average price per person is kept around $65 (more if alcohol is included).
Led by Gretchen Wilson, one half of the husband and wife team that organize Dishcrawls, our first location was Massimo Bruno’s Supper Club in the Corktown area. This involved a walk of a few blocks (note: ladies, lose the heels — while this was more walking than is usual on a Dishcrawl, it’s still probably not a good idea to wear heels). Our journey began at the gates of the Distillery District, along a construction zone, and down an alley…where we gathered outside a run-down industrial building. It was about this time that I started to worry about my wallet and well-being. Had I told anyone where I was going? Would anyone take that conference call tomorrow if I didn’t show up?
When we entered the building, however, my fears about being tied up and left for dead were allayed — the hallways were heavy with the smell of basil and garlic and bread. No serial killer I know does that. We arrived at a nondescript doorway and entered…a kitchen. A large, homey industrial kitchen in a raw loft-style space, with a long family-style table running the length of room. In the kitchen was Massimo Bruno, chef and supper club owner. Originally from Puglia, Italy, Massimo was keen to introduce us not just to the food, but to his people’s food, the food of Puglia. He was knowledgeable and entertaining, and the food — two types of focaccia plus small plates of roasted oyster mushroom salad and orecchiette with cherry tomatoes and ricotta salata — was rich and flavourful. So enthused was Massimo that we got a bonus demonstration of the inside tips on how the various types of pastas are made by hand.
After about half an hour we headed back to the Distillery District, where we stopped at SOMA Chocolate. We sat and sampled hot chocolate shots and a selection of truffles while Paul gave us a quick lesson on the various types of cocoa beans, where they come from, and how chocolate gets made.
Hopped up on sugar, we then headed across the road to Pure Spirits Oyster House. This was adventurous food to put on a menu, especially a menu for unknown people, but it was a hit —even the seafood skeptics were persuaded to try an oyster or two. We also had a crispy natural oyster with cucumber mignonette, a shrimp dumpling with smoked salmon and ginger broth and a unique paella dish that included chicken, chourico (a Portuguese sausage), scallops, squid and mussels.
Our final destination was Tappo wine bar and restaurant, in the oldest building in the Distillery District. The rustic stone walls and exposed machinery and beams make this a beautiful spot to dine, and the food — small dishes of risotto, penne and mushroom and truffle arrancini were perfect. Two birthday girls in the crowd got an impromptu birthday treat as well. If that wasn’t enough, we were all given treat bags of s’mores and brownies from The Sweet Escape.
Dishcrawl was seamlessly executed and I was impressed that exceptions (one woman was lactose intolerant, another required gluten-free food) were handled effortlessly. My biggest fear — that I would be left hungry after being given skimpy plates of food — was completely unfounded.
Judge Foodie’s verdict:
Highs: Great way to meet fun and interesting people; a chance to try places/foods you might not otherwise
Lows: Tickets sell out fast
Kirsten Thompson is a Toronto-based research lawyer and commercial litigator. Since her call to the bar in 2000, she estimates that her restaurant to courtroom ratio has been approximately 14:1. Thoughts? Comments? Ideas for a review? Email her.
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