Posted by Greg Clow in in the papers, news and media on March 17, 2007 at 6:39 pm

In the Globe & Mail this week, Joanne Kates goes on the hunt Toronto's best examples of the tasty, hearty and generally cheap Vietnamese beef noodle soup known as pho. Her top four bowls are found at Rua Vang Golden Turtle, Hanoi-3 Seasons, Green Papaya and Pho Phuong, with her kindest words given to the Turtle:

The classic rare beef pho has big thin slices of tender rare beef atop perfectly cooked fat rice noodles. The rich broth has a strong undertone of sweet spices. The less orthodox chicken pho is sweet, strong broth with big pieces of moist chicken and rice noodles. Seafood pho (even farther from tradition) is wonderful sweet chicken stock full of thin al dente egg vermicelli, barely wilted leaf lettuce, and mixed seafood including big shrimp and competent fish balls. Atop this delightful compendium of pleasures are crispy browned onion shreds. Oh joy!

Also in the Globe:

• Lacy Waverman shares three recipes from her recent trip to Paris, including an absolutely delicious sounding Roasted Apple with Crème Brûlée.
• Beppi Crosariol explains why Canada hasn't seen any examples of wine fraud (i.e. passing off a cheap vintage as a classic Château Pétrus or something equally valuable), and also reviews several merlots from this weekend's Vintages release.
• John Downs find out how to make cheese fondue that doesn't smell like dirty socks with a recipe from Far Niente.
• In the Toronto section, Deirdre Kelly profiles Harlem, a new restaurant and lounge on Richmond Street East.

Over in the Toronto section of the National Post, Gina Mallet pits Le Select Bistro against Bistro Thuet, and based on this quote about the meal at Thuet (where the namesake chef and owner Marc Thuet was on vacation), you can probably guess who comes out on top:

My friends go with Napoleon (two slices with garnish) of Quebec pate de foie gras ($23) and terrine of wild hare and wild wood pigeon, the game smuggled personally into the country by Thuet, and topped with a slice of black truffle. Stuffed lamb loin has a tiny leg of wood pigeon on top. This shred of vapid flesh is worth risking a fine for? The chestnut- and date-crusted medallion of red deer ($42) doesn't taste like Bambi. Both dishes have the blandness of high-end takeout, not the passion of a signature chef, which Thuet most certainly is -- or was. Maybe he's on more than a vacation.

Elsewhere in the Post:

• Suburban food adventurers Jon Bricker And Kate Swoger go for some no-frills Somali at Hamar Weyne in Etobicoke.
• Samantha Grice reports that well-loved southern Italian restaurant Terroni will soon be opening a location in Los Angeles.
• Sarah Treleaven professes her love for Kensington hang-out I Deal Coffee.
• Zosia Bielski tours the Annex with TVO host Nicole Stamp, and most of their stops involve food, including Tacos El Asador, Insomnia, Linux Cafee and La Fromagerie.
• Speaking of Le Fromagerie, Zenya Sirant stops by there to get advice on how to create a great cheese tray, amongst other things.
• Michael Vaughan picks Kir-Yianni 2003 Merlot from Greece as his best buy from today's Vintages release, and reviews some of the other new offerings, as well as a few Irish whiskeys.
• On the Food page in the Weekend Post, Bonnie Stern offers a trio of recipes from a recent brunch workshop that she taught alongside fellow cookbook author Mitchell Davis at James Beard House in NYC, and Kate Zimmerman does a Q&A with chef Jason Malloff from Vancouver's Fiddlehead Joe's where the namesake fern appears in many dishes.

In the Toronto Star, Amy Pataki does a falafel taste test, sampling the wares of six restaurants in the GTA, and crowns Scarborough's Shawarma Empire the winner:

His falafel are perfectly balanced. Cool crisp lettuce and tart pickled turnips underscore the hot crunch of patties shaped and fried to order. The clean chickpea flavour is enhanced with fresh parsley, coriander and a hint of chile pepper; the pita pocket is ingeniously assembled to prevent spills.

I knew it was the winning falafel when I wanted to finish the sandwich, my eighth of the day.

Also in the Star:

• Gordon Stimmell recommends a few merlots from the new Vintages release, as well as 10 other choices from around the world.
• Marion Kane visits the South Beach Food & Wine Festival in Miami, and comes back with a nice looking recipe for Shrimp Bisque.
• Sarah Sampson gives a nod to St. Patrick's Day with a recipe for Irish Brown Bread.
• In the Shopping section, Kate Robertson devotes her Enlightened Shopper column to green tea.