How Kristapsons became a smoked salmon icon
Family-run Leslieville shop a crowdpleaser for any party
Hands down it is the most important part of Sunday brunch.
When you have really, really good smoked salmon, it puts a crimson shine on even the gloomiest spread, prompts the limpest lettuce to stand at attention and goads lacklustre bagels to perform at their doughiest.
Simply, nothing can compete with a choice “lox.”
“I like it when it’s freshly sliced,” Alexis Fraser, 34, says, shyly acknowledging that a food, prepared by Kristapsons, her family’s business, has become a local institution.
“Sometimes people eat it right off the paper. If we show up at a party without it, people are devastated.”
One customer took some on a visit to the Pope, Fraser says, noting she believes this to be true. Another customer took it to friends in British Columbia earlier this month. Patrons frequently gift Kristapsons salmon, rather than wine, at dinner parties, for instance. Available at various stores but only in the GTA, customers from across the province call in to ask when it’s coming to a location near them, Fraser says.
On average, the small Leslieville store cold-smokes, hand-slices and sells more than 800 pounds of lox each week. More during holidays, including Christmas and Chanukah, Passover and Easter. And during sporting events like the Super Bowl.
Who knew? Certainly not Adolfs Kristapsons, who opened a smoked meat shop in 1953 on a lonely stretch of Queen St. E. Way back then, the smoked salmon was the biggest hit. By the time the third owner, Andris Grinbergs bought it in the early 1980s, it was all about the fish.
And it still is under his stepdaughter Fraser, who is now president of the company. She stepped in to run this fishy empire after Grinbergs’ death in October.
“It was a no-brainer,” she says. As a child and youth, Fraser spent a lot of time in the store, especially during the summers to pay her way through university.
Though she now lives closer to the Yonge St. location, just north of Lawrence Ave., which opened in the late 1990s, she has a fondness for the Queen St. E building — that’s where production takes place. “The smoke on the inside of the smokers quite affects the taste,” she says. “We wouldn’t be able to recreate that. We’re quite attached to the building.”
When the smokers are operating, which occurs about twice weekly, they send campfire smells throughout the building — and into the neighbourhood. This is where the deliciousness begins.
It’s also contained in the “secret” recipe. Fraser will only say that the fish is made with sugar, salt and Coho salmon (because it’s a sturdy fish that holds up to the cold smoke). It’s marinated for 24 hours and then smoked for 24 hours. The low temperature helps keep the fish plump and oily.
But not too oily. Just right. Each 1/4-inch-thick slice ($20 for 250 grams of sliced smoked salmon) is supple and tender — almost creamy. Fraser likes it on a bagel. Grinbergs enjoyed it with a little whipping cream or sour cream, a sprig of dill or capers and on what he called “noncompetitive” white bread, Fraser says. At its locations, Kristapsons also sells salmon Bits & Pieces ($10) — those little bits that would otherwise get lost in the hand-slicing process. They’re perfect for tossing into the pan with scrambled eggs.
I can’t imagine a truly great nosh of cream cheese and lox without Kristapsons. Got an idea for Sourced? Email mhenry@thestar.ca.