Hogtown is living up to its name

Those of you who know Toronto bacon undoubtedly know the great folks at The Belly Buster Submarines. A late-night landmark for the boozed up empty-bellied belligerents as much as a daytime staple for the working man who needs to dine quick and dip. No one knew that microwaved bacon could be so beautifully crisp and unshakably addicting until the boys at Bellies started stacking thick cuts on their fresh torpedos; "Lettuce, tomatoes, onions? Salt, pepper, sub sauce? Mustard, mayo?"...music to my ears! 3447 Yonge St. in North York map: get the Turkey Bacon, or the Belly Buster with bacon-- add gravy, mushrooms and get it heated, for the true savants.

Never failing to satisfy, and destined to live strong for decades to come, Bellies is not alone in the local road to perfect pork products.

(Image credit: Toronto Eats)

A much less storied establishment, but one that has earned plenty of well deserved accolades and a soft spot within my gut is a humble joint known as The Stockyards. According to their website www.thestockyards.ca "The Stockyards: Smokehouse and Larder is the culmination of the personal journey and labor of love of Thomas Davis, conceived over 15 years ago in a Toronto backyard with a 6 in 1 $100.00 BBQ smoker from Canadian Tire." The best food in the world is bred from passion and built for the hungry; The Stockyards assembles both of those models together in a cohesive and complimentary cacophony of smoked, fried and cured meats that will tantalize the taste-buds, warm the heart and stuff the gut.

Griddle Smashed burgers, sensational sandwiches, chicken, brisket, ribs, and buttermilk fried chicken which is almost unquestionably the best in the city (I think the best I've had in my life), and preparations of which I've unjustly only touched upon. Sad to say that time and distance have kept me from sampling nearly enough of their carefully selected and equally appealing menu items, however, when I returned home for mere moments a couple weeks ago this was one of my must eat meals.

The Porchetta Sandwich 

Making care to patronize on a ribs and smoked chicken night (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday only, starting after 5pm) I dove into the Porchetta Sandwich and a half rack of ribs. The Porchetta features a trio of fennel and garlic scented pork loin, pork belly and cracklin's, topped with garlic aioli and my addition of sauteed rapini; I died and went to hog-heaven. The blend of sweet, tender pork, tangy, balanced aioli and the bitter hit of the rapini made a love child in my mouth...and then the crispy, salty solo of the cracklin's pierced my palate and I was instantly caught in a whirlwind of taste and texture. It's difficult to get into the pork ribs now that I've gotten all hot and bothered, however, they are not to be overlooked. Get your portly rear off the couch and inhale a dozen of these bad boys (if you can stop there). If you break your weight watchers regiment for one thing it should be slow cooked pork that you suck dry from the bones of the beast which bore it. To attempt to quantify the awesome power of The Stockyards BBQ: I went to pick up a female friend from the airport later that evening. I had two choices: roses or ribs. I chose ribs.
...Yeah, they're that good!

Bottom line: Next time you find yourself in the St. Clair West area hustle over to The Stockyards for some homey South Carolina style BBQ in the heart of Hogtown. And, if you never find yourself in that neck of the woods, plan to get lost for an hour. You tummy, and maybe even your hunny, will thank you!

The Stockyards Smokehouse & Larder
699 St. Clair Ave. West
Toronto, ON M6C 1B2
(416) 658-9666
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