JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

  Parade, December 31, 1950. It's always interesting to revisit points in history when food we consider a common, everyday dish was considered new and exotic. Such was the case with pizza during the 1950s, when articles like this one from the American Sunday newspaper magazine insert Parade were not uncommon. Here's a closeup of their recipe for a simple sausage and tomato pizza, which relies on prepackaged hot roll mix, which I imagine would have been like this present-day Pillsbury version . As far as these vintage recipes go, this one sounds edible but will not satisfy cheese lovers. Demonstrating how to make a pizza on CBC television, 1957.   Mad #40, July 1958. One of my favourite early looks at pizza as it became a North American sensation appeared in Mad magazine in 1958. Note that the least Italian-sounding name is the one diners are crowding into, though I'm surprised this pizzeria isn't called "Melvin's," given how frequently that name was used...

London Free Press, October 29, 1924. Halloween has snuck up on me this year. Not until the last week or so has it felt imminent, with decorations finally making their way onto local lawns. Celebrations feel like they're slowly making a comeback, and probably won't kick into full gear until next year (fingers crossed). Digging into my files for a quick post, I found a few pages I gathered from the London Free Press published in 1924 which offered party suggestions under the sort of ornate banner newspapers loved in the post-First World War era.  London Free Press, October 29, 1924.  A festive table setting to set the mood for your Halloween dinner party. The main article on the party page, which winds all over it, provides pointers on how to have "an electric Halloween celebration." It begins with some safety advice: The success of the Halloween party depends largely upon decorations and lighting. A Halloween without the lighted Jack o' Lantern would be like Chris...

The December 31, 1920 edition of the Pasadena Post spotlighted (mostly) grinning photos of the paper's staff and local businessmen. Given my penchant for going down research rabbit holes related to anything quirky I stumble upon, this series will look at some of the stories behind the smiling faces.  Pasadena Post, December 31, 1920. Unless you're going to a farmers' market, using "marketing" for grocery shopping seems charmingly antiquated. Tracing the Braden's Preserves story through old newspapers is a confusing mess, as it appears there were different firms with similar names. During the early 1920s, the FTC filed a complaint against A. Claude Braden and his Braden's California Products preserve company for imitating a competitor's name. This competitor was likely the A.C. Braden Quality Foods Company, which was also based in Pasadena. Though the complaint was dismissed in 1923, an A.C. Braden catalogue of the period notes that their products were...

Buffalo Enquirer, December 24, 1920. A few questions: 1) Why is the "prominent physician" unnamed? 2) Are these "fruited" cereals, which contain figs, dates, raisins, and either whole wheat or oats, an early American adaptation of muesli?  3) Is this man suffering the shakes because he ate too much system-clogging meat, or is he suffering not from auto-intoxication ( a discredited 19th century theory on gut health ) but intoxication stemming from drinking some bad bathtub gin during the early days of prohibition in the United States? Despite the promise of better health from a cheap bowl of cereal, United Cereal Mills went out of business within a year of this ad's publication.  Link to more Fruited Wheat/Fruited Oats ads .

This post offers supplementary material for an article I recently wrote for TVO , which you should read before diving into this post. Click on images for larger versions.    The ads produced by the province to explain the implementation of minimum wages in the Golden Horseshoe. These versions originally appeared in the June 11, 1963 edition of the Globe and Mail .      Toronto Star, September 6, 1963.  How the Progressive Conservatives presented the minimum wage during the 1963 provincial election campaign. Small ads like these were used to tackle the various points of the Tory platform, including topics like margarine colouring. Note the local candidates spotlighted in this ad, who range from Minister of Labour Leslie Rowntree to future disgraced hockey figure Alan Eagleson.       Toronto Star, September 17, 1963.  .    Toronto Star, September 21, 1963.  A Communist campaign ad...

Figuring out how to mark Valentine's Day can be stressful and strike terror in your heart. Have no fear -- the following items I recently stumbled upon from 40-year-old editions of the Toronto Sun during a recent research session may provide inspiration (or a laugh). If you feel a traditional card isn't enough for your sweet patootie, how about something along these lines? Toronto Sun , February 10, 1977. Click on image for larger version. Then there's dinner. You could decide to go out, either to a cozy neighbourhood spot for a romantic rendezvous (if they have tables left) or a popular downtown restaurant. Why not hit The Esplanade? Toronto Sun , February 13, 1977. Toronto Sun , February 13, 1977. You could also stay at home and prepare a lovely, heartfelt meal. If your budget is tight, as were those of inflation-conscious couples during the 1970s, we have the following suggestions not just for Valentine's Day, but the entire week. Toronto Su...

This installment of my "Ghost City" column for The Grid was originally published on May 2, 2013. Dempster's Staff of Life Bakery is visible in the background of this streetcar track construction shot taken along Dundas Street on July 19, 1917. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 372, Subseries 58, Item 681. During the last decades of the 19th century, the Toronto bread market was a battleground. Bakers faced resistance from housewives used to making their own loaves and tough battles for customers with an increasing supply of commercial competitors. When teenager George Weston entered the business in the early 1880s, the future food mogul joined nearly 60 other city bakers and nearly 60 more confectioneries.

This installment of my "Retro T.O." column for The Grid was originally published on June 5, 2012. As of August 2015, the site is occupied by Rose and Sons restaurant. Toronto Star , October 18, 1987. Click on image for larger version. Patrons intending to dine at People’s Foods on Dupont Street were greeted last week with a notice on the door stating that the half-century old diner was closing due to its lease expiring. Though one report suggests that the owners hope to find a new location, for now, regulars will have to look elsewhere for greasy-spoon staples and jukebox selectors at their booths. A quarter of a century ago, People’s was among the “denziens of the dark hours” that the Toronto Star spotlighted in an article on life in the city between midnight and dawn. A 24-hour eatery at the time, People’s saw an early-morning procession of shift workers, police, and frat boys grazing on homemade burgers and onion rings. “The dazzling fluorescent lights are alw...

This post offers supplementary material for an article I wrote for Torontoist , which you should read before diving into this piece. If your appetite has been whetted, here are a pair of Hans Fread recipes I encountered during my research. First up, his take on chicken liver pate. Source: Globe and Mail , November 16, 1957. Note steer behind Hans's head. Second, from Fread's George Brown College course on "Cooking for the Budget Minded," a recipe printed in the September 12, 1969 edition of the Toronto Star . Budget braised beef 1 piece beef fat, size of small potato 4-5 pounds beef, crossribs, or bottom round juice of 1/2 lemon 1 garlic clove, minced 3/4 tsp celery salt 1 tbsp crystallized ginger, diced 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 unpeeled lemon, thinly sliced 8 small potatoes, peeled 4-5 carrots, quartered 8 medium onions Dice and melt the fat in a dutch over or pot. Brown the meat slowly on all sides, until it has a good-looking brown co...

Click on image for larger version. The 1970s. You have a pantry full of Campbell's Vegetable Soup. You can't decide what kind of sandwich will taste best while playing spelling games with the alphabet pasta. Who do you turn to! Toronto Maple Leafs hockey star Dave Keon , of course!

Click on image for larger version In the midst of recent housecleaning, this pamphlet fell out of a decaying cookbook I was about to toss out. Much screams 1970s: the layout, the nod to Canadian nationalism, and the heavy use of tinned food. Perhaps somebody worked very hard in Aylmer's test kitchen to devise these nautical-inspired dishes...or perhaps they were handed a list of products and told "do something with these!" Note the absence of "edible" in that sentence. Brave enough to enjoy a taste of "Nautical 'n Nice?" Continue on...

This post has moved to Tales of Toronto . 

\ Source: the Toronto Sun , November 1, 1985. The Warehouse starts off 2014 with from a visit from our old pal Brett Halliday, purveyor of advertorial delights in Toronto for decades. Today's selection could be classified as an outright ad, as it lacks the tidbits about the entertainment scene, local retailers, and pieces of wisdom which usually broke up Halliday's advertorial columns.  The tone's the same, as is the colourful language. When was the last time you heard anything referred to as a "neon of activity?" Dammit, let's revive this phrase!  SPEAKER 1 : I'm bored tonight.Where shall we go? SPEAKER 2 : Let's go to ( fill in the trendiest neighbourhood in your city or village )! I hear it's a neon of activity! SPEAKER 1 : Good enough for me. Or, we could go to ( fill in the second-trendiest neighbourhood in your town or crossroads ). I hear it's a gaslight of activity! SPEAKER 2 : Better toss your cyberpunk gear on if ...

From November 2011 through July 2012 I wrote the "Past Pieces of Toronto" column for OpenFile, which explored elements of the city which no longer exist. The following was originally posted on May 6, 2012. Shopsy's, Spadina Avenue north of Dundas Street, 1968. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1567, Series 648, File 246. To what lengths would loyal customers go to grab a sandwich from Shopsy’s? During a severe snowstorm in the mid-1940s, one man skied over to purchase a pastrami sandwich. Such was the dedication regulars had during the deli’s 60-year run at 295 Spadina Avenue. The business began in 1921, when Harry and Jenny Shopsowitz opened an ice cream parlour in front of their home on Spadina, just north of Dundas Street. A selection of deli items was soon added, with corned beef based on a family recipe from Poland becoming the specialty of the house. In her novel Basic Black with Pearls , writer Helen Weinzweig depicted the deli during its early yea...

This post offers supplementary material for a recent edition of Historicist posted on Torontoist , which you should read first before diving into the following text. Can you spot the Laura Secord shop in this picture? Click image for larger version. Streetcar track work at Queen, King, and Roncesvalles, April 23, 1923. Photo by Alfred Pearson. City of Toronto Archives, Series 71, Item 2058. For a chain whose locations spread quickly across Toronto, finding good, close-up shots of a Laura Secord store from the City of Toronto Archives' online selection was like looking for a needle in a haystack. There's a sign here, a shop hidden behind hydro poles there, and generally good landscape shots where a Secord store is only a tiny portion of the picture. A Laura Secord shop hiding behind a pole at the southeast corner of Yonge and Bloor. Maybe it was feeling shy when this shot was snapped on September 9, 1926. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 372, Subseries 3, I...