Calling all westend Torontonians!

I've shopped at Bonchef for just above wholesale priced greens and
herbs (in winter, when I can't grow them) since I moved back into the
big city.

But I hadn't been over for a while. Spurred by a mention of a new
outlet store in this past weekend's Toronto Star in the Shoestring
Shopper column, I went over tonight to pick up some salad greens for a
pack of houseguests that I"m hosting this weekend.

You gotta go.

Not only are they carrying their long reputed greens and herbs, but
they've also got baby veg and heirloom veg (golden carrots, purple
carrots) edible flowers, freshly peeled garlicand fresh lemon grass,
The veg and greens are very competitively priced ($3.99 Cdn for a 1/2
lb bag of mesclun mix), $1/packet for the fresh herbs. They had big
bunches of basil and rosemary.

he new part was the two rooms of Canadian gourmet treats that I
haven't seen anywhere else in the city... not even at the Cheese
Boutique.

Salmon chowders from the west coast, duck and goose liverr pates from
Quebec, Hero jams, regional Canadian jams and preserves, swedish
cookies, crisp breads and crackers, Some belgian chocolates I haven't
seen anywhere else, and so on.

I ended up getting a couple ofgenerous packets of mint at $1 Cdn
each, a self-grind bottle of herbes de Provence, fresh lemon grass,
and organic Canadian maple syrup in addition to my salad greens. Yum,
yum. There are so many neat meat and specialty stores tucked into the
industrial area south of Bloor St and the GO line, between Kipling and
Islington.

Shirley Hicks
Toronto, Ontario