LAST WORD Co-owners Robert (left) and Maurice Biancolin
BRINGING HOME THE BACON
Carousel Bakery co-owner Robert Biancolin on the city's most iconic sandwich—and food market. BY DOUG O’NEILL PHOTOGRAPH BY JAIME HOGGE
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TORONTO 2018
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arousel Bakery has been a St. Lawrence Market mainstay for 40 years, renowned for an iconic peameal bacon sandwich that is considered among the country’s best and has tantalized the taste buds of such famous clientele as Catherine Zeta-Jones and chefs Anthony Bourdain, Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay. Carousel co-owner Robert Biancolin shares his insider’s take on the enduring appeal of the city’s historic food market— and of Toronto’s signature dish. “The demographics of our customers at the St. Lawrence Market have changed a bit over the years. On Saturdays, we used to get lots of older Europeans coming at 5 a.m. The Saturday crowd is still regional, but now we’re seeing more of the neighbourhood condo-dwellers coming in almost daily to shop. They chat with the vendors at their favourite stalls and get a sense of where their food is coming from—which has become increasingly important to consumers. And we’re a destination stop for tourists, too. I was a teenager when I cooked my first bacon sandwich. My father was in the butcher business in Toronto, and he cured his own peameal bacon. My brother, Maurice, who co-owns Carousel Bakery with me, and I know there are two important things about making peameal bacon sandwiches: always cook bacon on a griddle (we started doing that a long time ago), and always, always source the best-quality bacon. Be just as picky about the bun. You don’t want it overly dry or too crunchy. Aim for a nice body, good moisture and not too flimsy. For the last 25 years, we’ve been using a Portuguese country-style bun that has the right body to complement the meat. Of our condiments, mustard is the most popular. Sweet mustard, just like applesauce on your pork chops, complements bacon nicely. But I urge customers to try it plain, at least once, to get the true essence of the bacon sandwich. People sometimes refer to peameal as a Canadian dish, but in truth it’s uniquely Torontonian. The peameal bacon sandwich is to Toronto what Philly steak is to Philadelphia. After all, peameal bacon was invented here in the 1800s by an enterprising pork processor named William Davies, who originally set up shop in the market. It led to our nickname: Hogtown.” www.SeeTorontoNow.com