Toronto street food takes baby step forward

Toronto street food just got a bit more diverse, though there's still a long way to go before anyone would call our food cart regulations progressive. Thanks to a unanimous vote at city council earlier today, vendors will now be able to sell items like pre-cooked veggie burgers, pre-packaged salads, and perhaps more excitingly, corn on the cob. Aren't you just salivating at the news?

Today's vote did not, however, address the dated bylaws that have hampered food trucks from operating freely in Toronto. With more and more mobile eats hitting the city, councillors appear set to debate loosening the restrictions placed on where food trucks can operate sometime in the late fall, when a previously commissioned staff report is completed.

So, for now, we'll have to rejoice over the fact that we can now buy nuts to accompany our Italian sausage. Now that's progress.

Here's the full list of foods approved for sale at food carts today:

• Pre-packaged cut fruits and vegetables using only vinaigrette dips
• Whole fruits and vegetables, including corn on the cob
• Pre-packaged fruit salad
• Bagels with individual serving containers of butter, margarine, peanut butter or jam
• Pre-packaged nuts and seeds
• Pre-packaged salads containing only vegetables and/or fruits with all dressings to be pre-packaged and not requiring refrigeration
• Pre-packaged Tabbouleh salad and pita bread Soups
• Pre-cooked veggie burgers Coffees and teas

Photo by Arrrt in the blogTO Flickr pool