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All stories relating to Caplansky’s Delicatessen

Truck-off: why Calgary’s food truck program works and Toronto’s doesn’t

Toronto’s food trucks are not permitted to operate on public streets in the downtown core

Somehow, inventive, high-quality food served out of a truck has become one of the hottest food trends across North America over the last few years, and Toronto entrepreneurs—like Suresh Doss of Food Truck Eats, or Zane Caplansky—are doing their best to keep up. But such ventures have succeeded despite some strict regulations that keep most trucks off public streets downtown. And although we have no desire to write yet another how-Calgary-is-better-than-Toronto article, that city is halfway through an impressive food truck pilot program that has 10 new trucks roaming the streets. We called around to find out how Calgary got started and see whether the same thing could happen here.

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The Dish

Aprons & Icons

November 3, 2011 | 5:29 pm

1 Comment

Zane Caplansky flaunts his delicious meats on Dragon’s Den, walks away empty-handed

A proud Zane Caplansky outside his first food truck (Image: Caroline Aksich)

Toronto diners watching Dragon’s Den last night got to see a familiar face: Zane Caplansky, owner of the eponymous College Street deli renowned for its smoked meat sandwiches. Before divvying up some luscious-looking sammies, he pulled a tarp off Thundering Thelma, his big blue food truck, and made his pitch. Caplansky described his vision of an entire fleet of Thelmas, offering up 15 per cent of his company for $350,000.

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The Dish

From the Print Edition

October 31, 2011 | 12:30 pm

4 Comments

Toronto’s five best restaurants to bring the kids along and eat well too

No frozen chicken fingers. Just five restaurants that satisfy young palates and keep the grown-ups happy

Best For Kids

Reasons to love Ceili Cottage: its drippingly juicy pork bangers in caramelized onion gravy with creamy mash; an eye-closingly cheddary mac-and-cheese; and its decadent sticky toffee pudding. 1301 Queen St. E., 416-406-1301.

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The Dish

Opening

July 22, 2011 | 5:15 pm

12 Comments

Introducing: Thundering Thelma, Zane Caplansky’s first food truck

Zane Caplansky with Thundering Thelma (Image: Caroline Askich)

Nearly two months past her original launch date, Zane Caplansky’s new food truck—named Thundering Thelma—has come roaring onto Toronto streets. It wasn’t Thelma’s mammoth size (18 feet long, eight wide and eight tall) that held up the launch, but rather a swath of new red tape that was laid down in May, one month prior to the scheduled launch. Caplansky estimates that missing half the summer has cost him well over $100,000 in revenue, but despite this baptism by fire, he’s all smiles and excitement as he and his team gear up for their first day on the road.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

July 6, 2011 | 8:36 am

35 Comments

We stopped by the inaugural Food Truck Eats and found a revolution in the making

At 3 p.m., the lines continued unabated. (Image: Renée Suen)

Saturday marked the inaugural staging of Food Truck Eats, a street food event organized by Suresh Doss, publisher of Spotlight Toronto, which saw four street trucks and 10 vendors gather at the historic Distillery District. Although a conservative turnout of 500 was expected, more than 3,000 showed up for the long-weekend event (which ended up trending on Twitter). Despite the heat and long lineups, the crowd was abuzz—a sure indication of the city’s readiness for more liberal street food rules. We caught up with the various vendors—Cava, Geoff Hopgood, El Gastrónomo Vagabundo and more—to check out their wares and find out what they made of the day’s success. We also spoke to Doss, who gave us the heads-up on the next two events, which will take place at the on Aug. 20 at the Distillery and Oct. 1 at a new location to be announced, and will feature some surprise guests.

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The Hype

To-Do List

June 15, 2011 | 1:09 pm

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The Weekender: Deli Duel 2, Toronto Sketch Com-ageddon and six other events on our to-do list

Strawberries, Diamond Rings and Zane Caplansky

1. ST. LAWRENCE MARKET STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL (FREE!)
It’s berry season in Ontario, and St. Lawrence Market is celebrating with its annual strawberry-focused fest. The morning’s events are split between how-to sessions (making strawberry-mint jam with Bumpercrop, say, or a cooking demo with celeb chefs Massimo Capra and Michael Bonacini) and taste tests (chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate strawberry shortcake and strawberry lemonade). You really can’t go wrong. June 18. St. Lawrence Market, 92-95 Front St. E., stlawrencemarket.com.

2. NORTH BY NORTHEAST
In recent years, NXNE has really expanded its offerings to become something of a cultural event. (Hello, film fest and digital media conference.) But it’s also the same gigantic, new music-focused fest we’ve loved for the past 17 years—that would be the seven days and seven nights of shows and parties bit—with a lineup that includes Devo, The Pharcyde, Fucked Up, Diamond Rings, the Dum Dum Girls and Braids. To June 19. Five-day wristband $50; events at Yonge-Dundas Square free. Various locations, 416-863-6963, nxne.com.

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The Dish

From the Print Edition

June 2, 2011 | 10:53 am

13 Comments

The Bucket List: Eight of Toronto’s best joints for fried chicken

The city is in a fried-chicken swoon lately, as nostalgia-stoking chefs strive to perfect the juicy, salty, crackling classic. By Eric Vellend

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Eating one’s way through the short menu at Caplansky’s Delicatessen takes only a few visits—for now. Soon, the College Street institution will expand its meal options as owner Zane Caplansky is hard at work on a new menu. In his blog, the famed deli guru says that the selection is currently “dead simple” and that customers can expect a new maple dipped fried chicken, as well as the gluttonous-sounding Leaning Tower of Caplansky: three pieces of challah stacked with blueberry jam, cream cheese and beef bacon, topped with maple syrup.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

March 27, 2010 | 11:47 am

2 Comments

Seven standout food deals for Easter and Passover

Whether you celebrate the slaves’ escape from Egypt, the resurrection of Christ or the annual arrival of Cadbury eggs, these seven restaurant events—with Passover- and Easter-themed menus—can help make next weekend memorable.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

March 10, 2010 | 4:12 pm

47 Comments

Best new restaurants 2010: James Chatto names five honourable mentions

(Image: Renée Suen)

Toronto Life‘s annual ranking of the city’s 10 best new restaurants is in our April issue, on newsstands now. Despite the lacklustre economy, it’s been a banner year for eating out. Here, James Chatto picks five more new restaurants are worth lining up for.

The Dish

Restauran-TO

February 5, 2010 | 2:30 pm

1 Comment

Technician’s eyebrows presumed missing after gas explosion at Caplansky’s Delicatessen

Thankfully, Caplansky's Delicatessen remains intact (Photo by Ian Irving)

Caplansky’s Delicatessen was closed yesterday, and officials crowded its College Street space after a technician set off a small fireball while trying to install a fryer. Zane Caplansky writes on the restaurant’s blog that the technician got burned and, amid the panic, used the fire extinguisher, then ran onto the street. Firefighters arrived, and soon the police, EMS, Toronto Public Health, the Ministry of Labour and Technical Standards and Safety Authority arrived to see if the technician who fled was OK. Eventually, the fryer vendor who hired the technician came to the restaurant and told the police that he installed the fryer himself. The cops promptly arrested him for obstruction. “Seeing your kitchen equipment guy being cuffed in your dining room and led away by the police is an experience I never imagined I’d have,” writes Caplansky. “And I’m not grateful for it.”

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