Posted by Sheryl Kirby in news and media, on the web, what's cooking on March 16, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Here's what's cooking around town today...
People are eating fewer French fries, which is a good thing, what with all those trans-fats and acrylamide and such. This is not such a good thing for the potato farmers in PEI, however, where demand this year will drop by 20 - 30%. [Toronto Star]
Will you be Irish tomorrow? Tips on the proper way to drink a Guinness. [Billy's Best Bottles]
The Wednesday charity lunch at Palais Royale is still going strong, and is more popular than ever. [Toronto Star]
The usual route for sprouts at home is to soak them and keep them in a jar, but this runs the risk of e.coli, and of making you look like a hippie. Instead, plant the things and call them micro-greens. People sell this stuff at farmers' markets for $10 a bag! [Well Preserved]
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Posted by Greg Clow in beer, beverages on March 16, 2010 at 11:24 am
As both a reviewer and drinker of beer, I’ve never been shy about the fact that my tastes tend to run towards brews that are more complex in character and fuller in flavour than typical mainstream suds. I’m also not afraid to give some pretty scathing criticism where I feel it’s due, and most often, that criticism ends up directed towards beers produced by larger breweries. This has led to a few jabs from readers who accuse me of slamming anything that is “not a microbrewed-exclusive-nurse-your-pint-all-afternoon-while-its-nose-evolves-at-Volo kind of beer”, which I’ll admit is a complaint that is somewhat valid, but not entirely so.
Looking back over the 150 or so reviews I’ve written for this site – not to mention my 2500+ ratings at RateBeer.com - I’ve given my fair share of positive thoughts on beers that are simple, well-balanced and easy to drink. What I have a problem with are beers that (A) taste of corn or rice or other mass-production adjuncts; (B) claim to be a type of beer that they don’t come even close to representing; or (C) have so little aroma and flavour that they might as well be soda water. And that fact is that most of the beers that fall into these categories tend to be from large breweries.
That said, I try to avoid having preconceived notions when approaching any new beer, regardless of who is responsible for it. But when invited to the Labatt offices for a tasting of a new light beer, as I was last week, it was hard not to feel at least mild trepidation about what was in store.
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Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on March 16, 2010 at 7:00 am
EVENTS
Film Night at The Stop’s Green Barn: Old Partner
The Stop's Green Barn, Barn #4, 601 Christie Street
6:15 PM dinner - 6:45 PM screening
PWYC - email ash@thestop.org or call 416-652-7867 ext 222 to reserve
Enjoy a vegetarian dinner followed by a screening of award-winning documentary "Old Partner": In a remote, verdant valley in South Korea, old Mr. and Mrs. Lee live on a farm with their rickety ox. For forty years, the animal has served them faithfully, hauling untold firewood loads and dragging the plow through fertile fields. A gently unfolding meditation on the cycle of life, Old Partner playfully and poetically tells the story of the ineffable bond between Mr. Lee and his ox as their lives wind down in tandem. Proceeds to support The Stop Community Food Centre.
[more info]
St. Patrick's Week
The Ceili Cottage, 1301 Queen Street East
various times & prices
To celebrate St. Patrick's Day in fine style, The Ceili Cottage will be hosting fine days and nights of events including: St. Practice Day (March 13th), St. Patrick's Parade Day (March 14th), Industry Night (March 15th), Session Day (March 16th) and St. Patrick's Day Proper (March 17th). For full details, see the link below.
[more info]
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Posted by Sheryl Kirby in news and media, on the web, what's cooking on March 15, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Here's what's cooking around town today...
70 litres of sap will get you a mere two of syrup, but Not Far From the Tree's We'd Tap That project wasn't about quantity - it was about teaching people that city trees can make syrup too. [Toronto Star]
The line-up has been announced for the Festival of Chefs at Cheese Boutique. [A Blog of Cheese]
More factory food contamination issues - but as long as the government keeps cutting inspectors, can we ever get out from under this problem? Maybe, since the US is demanding more inspections on meat shipped south, and we always do what they tell us to. [Globe and Mail] [National Post]
"He denies the vendors were overregulated and blames their troubles on last summer's pedestrian-zapping rainfall, city workers' strike and, in some cases, inexperience." Oh, John Filion, what's that old saying, "Denial isn't just a river in Egypt..." Y'all messed up the street food cart program by micromanaging it to death. Be a big boy and admit it... and then fix it. [Toronto Star]
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Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on March 15, 2010 at 7:00 am
EVENTS
Green Beer From The Greenbelt
The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street West
7:00 PM
free admission
Join local breweries Great Lakes, King, Nickel Brook and Mill Street, along with 86′D Mondays host Ivy Knight and guest host Kevin Brauch (The Thirsty Traveller), for a beer tasting in support of the Ontario Greenbelt.
[more info]
Lunch + Learn with Charles Mason: The Pleasure is Mine
Gardiner Museum, 111 Queen’s Park
12:00 noon to 1:30 PM
$20 - $15 for Gardiner members, seniors and full-time students
Chief Curator Charles Mason comes to lunch with one of his favorite objects from the Museum’s permanent collection. What will it be? Session includes a bag lunch by Jamie Kennedy.
[more info]
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Posted by Greg Clow in restaurant closings, restaurant news, restaurant openings on March 14, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Here's this week's round-up of the latest local food and restaurant news...
Openings:
- Chuck & Co. (126 Atlantic Avenue), the new venture from Arshad Merali (Blowfish, Liberty Noodle), started serving up gourmet burgers to the Liberty Village lunch crowd last week.
- Open since March 1st, Family Dumpling House (79 Huron Street) is likely getting a lot of business from folks who aren't aware that former tenant Mother's Dumplings has moved over to Spadina.
- Prop (770 St. Clair Avenue West) is a casual Italian spot opened a couple of weeks back by Marlene Simone, previously co-owner of Olive & Lemon and several other restaurants.
Closings:
- 15 years after they introduced momos and tentuk to Toronto, Little Tibet (712 Queen Street West) will be offering their last service tomorrow.
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Posted by Sheryl Kirby in brunch, cajun, restaurant review, soul food on March 14, 2010 at 10:53 am
Fire on the East Side
6 Gloucester Street
416-960-FIRE
Brunch for two with all taxes, tip and coffee: $40
There's a renewed interest in southern food these days – fried chicken, collard greens and even grits are showing up on restaurant menus. But for the past few years, one restaurant just steps off the Yonge Street strip has been quietly serving up some classic southern-inspired fare. We reviewed dinner at Fire on the East Side a few years ago, back before Chef Adam Baxter took over the stoves, but figured it might be time to stop by for brunch.
Like most Torontonians, we enjoy brunch, and doing a column about brunch means we're always looking for something out of the ordinary. You can only eat so many omelettes, yanno? So we were pretty delighted to arrive and find a selection of classics with unique southern-flavoured twists.
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Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on March 14, 2010 at 7:00 am
EVENTS
The Great Sugaring Off
Dufferin Grove Park, Dufferin Street north of College Street
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
free admission
We’d Tap That has been Not Far From the Tree’s pilot project in urban maple syrup production. Scattered around the city right now are a dozen or so trees, lovingly tapped to collect their bountiful sap. But as the weather heats up, the sap stops flowing... which means it’s time to make maple syrup! Let us bring the sugar bush to you, and join us for an afternoon of syrup tasting, fun, and learning. We’ll be serving up tiny tastes of urban maple syrup, and we'll have activities and games for all ages, and information galore about the wonderful world of maple syrup. Come on out and chat with some of our amazing volunteers about their experiences, and what they’ve learned through the process. There will also be live music (weather dependent), a warm fire, and The Zamboni Cafe will also be selling yummy maple-syrup-themed fare (pancakes, beans, and sausages!) for you to completely enjoy this experience.
[more info]
Mad Hatter Tea Party
cafe Taste, 1330 Queen Street West
6:00 PM
$15 - reserve online or call 416.536.7748
Staff member Julye is celebrating her unbirthday festivities with a Mad Hatter Tea Party! A special selection of teas and a buffet of snacks (with vegetarian options) will be available. The kitchen and bar will also be open.
[more info]
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Posted by Greg Clow in in the papers, news and media on March 13, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Here’s a round-up of the food & drink articles in Toronto’s papers today…
Globe & Mail:
- Joanne Kates falls under the meaty spell of The Hoof Cafe and gives it a rave review.
- Beppi Crosariol rates a bunch of "blue-chip reds, uncommon whites and emerald greens" - the latter referring to several Irish whiskies, trotted out in honour of St. Patrick's Day.
- Marilisa Racco tells us that while bottle service is often associated with the sort of places that attract greasy douchebags and the trashy girls that love them, a version with a bit more class is being offered at some of the city's more refined establishments.
- Deirdre Kelly hits the bar at Blowfish to try a Goldfinger 007, the gin-based cocktail that won bartender Nishan Nepulangoda top spot at Monday's "Made With Love Mixology" competition at The Drake.
- Sebastien Centner makes things sweeter with a little maple sugar.
- Lucy Waverman prepares for a March Break at home with recipes from Chile and the Caribbean.
- Leah McLaren gets so upset about over-packaged food that she pulls a Helena Guergis on an innocent check-out clerk.
- Amy Verner chats with Tourfik Sarwa, owner of Amber and Cinq 01.
- In the Travel section, Julie Besonen dines at The Wright, the restaurant at NYC's Guggenheim Museum, while Stephen Beaumont advises on ten places to tip back a few glasses of beer, wine or spirits in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
- Sasha Chapman reviews Locavore, the new book by Sarah Elton on Canada's local and artisanal food culture.
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Posted by Sheryl Kirby in announcements on March 13, 2010 at 12:38 pm
(We're not involved in this project but are passing on the details in case any of our readers are interested in taking part.)
Red Claw Press Announces
A Writerlicious Anthology About Food:
Literal, Poetic, Imagined
Call for Contributions
We invite the submission of works about Food and Drink in all their meanings: stories, poems and art work that celebrate food, or decry it; the joy of eating, or not; foods you love or hate now, or did as a child; cooking experiences bad and good; foods you ate recently or a long time ago; cooking recipes with commentary; food for thought, recipes for disaster, recipes for love. When in doubt, query first at editors@redclawpress.com.
Formats
We want to include a variety of art forms. Contributions can be in any one or a combination of these formats: short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction (e.g. recipe, memoir, essay, travel piece), graphic essay, or comic. Other formats could be photographs, or photos of painting, sculpture, collage, or work in glass, ceramics, textiles, metal, wood or jewellery.
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Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on March 13, 2010 at 7:00 am
EVENTS
St. Patrick's Week
The Ceili Cottage, 1301 Queen Street East
various times & prices
To celebrate St. Patrick's Day in fine style, The Ceili Cottage will be hosting fine days and nights of events including: St. Practice Day (March 13th), St. Patrick's Parade Day (March 14th), Industry Night (March 15th), Session Day (March 16th) and St. Patrick's Day Proper (March 17th). For full details, see the link below. (Continues to March 17th.)
[more info]
iYellow Wine School: Wine & Food 101
Reds Wine Bar, 77 Adelaide Street West
4:00 PM to 5:30 PM
$35 per class - $260 for all 8 classes - see website for enrollment details
The second term of iYellow Wine School courses for Winter 2010 will help build your confidence around the art of wine and food. Classes are led by Sommelier Taylor Thompson, with food paired by Reds Sous Chef Amira Becarevic. See the website for full details on all 8 classes in this term.
[more info]
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Posted by Sheryl Kirby in news and media, on the web, what's cooking on March 12, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Here's what's cooking around town today...
What the hell is a bitchin' kitchen anyway? The Food Network's newest show, that's what. [Roger Mooking - Soul Food]
How much do you love the veal sandwich at Mustachio on St. Lawrence Market? Enough to eat no other sodium for the rest of the day? [Toronto Star]
Which came first, the chicken or the head? [Bon Eats]
How to make a lobster roll without (hopefully) starting a fistfight. [Save Your Fork]
The shameful club that is being a Slap-Chop owner. [Toronto Star]
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Posted by Chris Saunders in beverages, wine on March 12, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Henry Smith was the son of a Loyalist who moved to Canada during the American Revolution. The family settled in Niagara, in the area now known as the Short Hills Bench. Later in life, Henry built his an inn near the family property. He chose to name the tavern Henry of Pelham, a jab at the English Prime Minister at the time, and a reference to Pelham Road, which ran through the land he settled.
The inn, built in 1842, was still standing in the 1980s, when The Speck family, descendants of Henry, purchased what pieces of land remained of the original Smith land claim. The Specks had put together what they could to save a few land parcels, moved into the old inn, and replaced the vines that Henry had planted 150 years ago to make room for new vineyards. This is not a story of old money with a new idea; it was the hard work of Paul Speck and his sons that built a winery. They planted 65 acres of vineyards by hand over several summers. The winery was born, named after the man who originally farmed the land: Henry of Pelham.
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Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on March 12, 2010 at 7:00 am
EVENTS
Total Health 2010
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 225 Front Street West
various times
various ticket options - see website for details
Total Health 2010, Canada's premier national health show, will celebrate 33 years of striving to make a difference in the world, bringing cutting edge knowledge to the public by the leading innovators in the natural health field. "Our Health, Our Planet" is our theme for 2010. Our stewardship of the planet influences the state of our health. We as consumers must choose foods and products which do no harm to people, animals or our planet. Our speakers will focus on traditional healing methods, traditional farming methods, promoting agricultural biodiversity, creating ecologically based communities, and preserving a healthy environment for our children. (Continues to March 14th.)
[more info]
Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival
Kortright Centre for Conservation, 9550 Pine Valley Drive, Vaughan (open daily)
Bruce’s Mill Conservation Area, 3291 Stouffville Road, Stouffville (open Wed-Sun, March Break & Easter Monday)
9:30 AM to 4:00 PM
$8 adults - $6 kids and seniors - free kids 4 and under
Tap into nature at the 42nd Annual Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival, the GTA’s longest running and most popular maple syrup festival. The festival celebrates the coming of spring and the sights, sounds and tastes of a Canadian heritage that sprouted from an age-old tradition of the First Nations people who first used the syrup for food and medicine. The Festival will include food and drinks, fun for all ages and lots of entertainment including daily self guided activities at both locations: maple syrup demonstrations, syrup sampling, horse drawn wagon rides, pony rides, maple syrup guided walks and more. (Continues to April 11th.)
[more info]
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