It’s like a shopping mall for food lovers. On a Tuesday morning, there are far fewer shoppers than purveyors; any weekday lunch hour brings long queues of ravenous business folk in search of peameal on a bun, pierogies and onions, veal and eggplant subs, sushi and Chinese noodles; by 5 p.m. on Saturday, the produce shops are selling everything for a dollar. It earned international regard when listed in Food & Wine magazine’s “25 Best Markets in the World,” leading vendors to call out to their city: appreciate what’s in your own backyard!

A Bisket A Basket When Pope John Paul II was here for World Youth Day, he sampled the signature Red Lavender jam; it made such an impression that he had two cases shipped to the Vatican. It’s quite an endorsement, but it’s no surprise—the products here are preservative-free and at least 70 per cent real fruit. Sampling with crackers is encouraged, as there are 90 types of jams and chutneys. Moroccan tomato chutney was inspired by a customer’s favourite recipe. New stock includes low-sugar jams with xylitol. 416-594-0111.

Anton Kozlik’s Canadian Mustard The hot horseradish mustard is delicious—particularly on a peameal sandwich. “It was created for the peameal on a bun,” says Jeremy Kessler, who took over from Anton Kozlik eight years ago, and has since become something of a mustard guru. Ask him about the balsamic fig and date mustard or herbed rosemary, and he’ll start rhyming off recipes. 416-361-9788.

Carousel Bakery Food & Wine called its peameal on a bun “St. Lawrence’s Best Bet”; no doubt the people lining up to get one already knew that. At the other end of the counter is an assembly of Toronto’s better breads. The Portuguese caseiro is a big seller; grainy Good Heart loaves and challah have long been popular. Robert Biancolin is like an ambassador for the market, and proudly shows off clippings from travel magazines about his stall. 416-363-4247.

Caviar Direct Anthony Rommens will only reveal that his private smoker is in New Brunswick…but refuses to say exactly where. He dreamed up the concept for this specialty product boutique during his university days, and has been supplying the city with superb caviar, truffle oils and smoked salmon for more than 10 years now. One of his scrupulous policies: a side of sliced smoked salmon sits on display for no more than six to eight hours; after that period, Rommens turns it into smoked salmon tartar. Look out for the white-truffled salmon gravlax. 416-361-3422.

Chris’ Cheesemongers This arm of Alex Farm’s city-wide cheese cartel focuses on artisanal cheeses from Canada and Italy. The best of Quebec is here, from Le Chèvre Noir to Douanier. They even include cheese curds, which any pur laine Quebecer knows are the only acceptable topping for poutine. The display of furry goat cheese from Fromagerie P. Jacquin is laid out on white waxed paper. 416-368-5273.

Domino Foods Tucked away in the back of the basement, Domino’s feels more like a warehouse than a shop. Bulk nuts and dried fruit occupy half of the space, and high turnover ensures freshness. Across the hall, there are shelves of quality European pantry items (San Marzano tomatoes and Callebaut chocolate). 416-366-2178.

Lively Life You never know what you’ll find here: unusual items from all world cuisines turn up on the bright wooden shelves. There are tins of alphonso mango pulp, Zatarain’s creole rice and bean mixes, canned South African watermelon-ginger jam, and miniature bottles of tamarind concentrate. Dried shrimp, roasted seaweed and candied ginger are also among the offerings. 416-362-1464.

Rube’s Rice Thirty years ago, Rube Markus was the market’s first basement vendor. Now aged 86, he is still here every day, still selling rice: ordinary white rice, unusual purple rice, Canadian wild, authentic Valencia, the house blend of browns and wilds, and Kalijira basmati from Bangladesh. Also sold: du Puy lentils, house-blended granola and seven different types of corn flour. 416-368-8734.

Ying Ying Soy Food Ming Yu and his wife, Christy Zang, were dissatisfied with the tofu available in Canada compared to the soy found in their home province of Anhui, China, so they started Ying Ying. Their organic tofu is dense and firm, spiced up in all sorts of ways: there are sweet-and-sour strips, a honey-garlic roast and even a smoked version. Unlike most tofu, their products do not contain any cal­cium sulfate, but instead are made with nigari, a sea water extract. 905-847-5592.