At BlogUT Graham reviews Rice Bar in Kensington Market, and JP looks at the misleading images of fast food advertising.

Catherine Jheon of Beyond Burgers posts a very favourable review of the food at Cajun Corner that had me checking prices for airfare to New Orleans to fulfill my Cafe Du Monde coffee and beignet craving. Turns out I only have to go across town, as Cajun Corner serves up the delicacies on weekends, in addition to their tasty po’ boy sandwiches and fried ‘gator.

James Chatto of Toronto Life writes about the Wine Tasting Challenge and muses on French fry quality - at this time of year, potatoes have been sitting all winter and the starch has turned to sugar, making the frites sweet, but not especially crispy. If you’ve been getting soggy fries at upscale restaurants, that’s why. Interesting. Also at Toronto Life, David Lawrason features wine from Greece.

At BlogTO, Megan reviews Morning Glory on King East where the food is sublime and the dishware is uber-retro (seriously, my Aunt Barb had a set of those dishes the cookie is served on), while Tanja has her own retro experience at Daddy-O’s Milk Bar, Roncy’s own version of Pop Tate’s Choklit Shoppe from the Archie comics.

Also at BlogTO, Frank offers up his arteries to the heart attack gods and compares Dangerous Dan’s and The Burger Shoppe. Brave man. Meanwhile, Chris Orbz garnishes a review of Chinese vegetarian Bo De Duyen with plenty of ellipses and plenty of praise.

And at Spotlight Toronto, Suresh goes for some old school Chinese at House of Chan and discovers there’s a better selection than balls in jello - like steak.

It’s almost that time of year again!

Yes, that’s right, market season.

Over on our events page, we’ve compiled a list of 20 farmer’s markets taking place weekly in the GTA, 9 of which are in downtown Toronto. Some of these are year-round, and the rest will be starting up within the next month or so.

New markets this year include Liberty Village on Sunday mornings, and new-to-us, a Thursday market at Metro Hall. Pretty much wherever you are in Toronto, there should be a farmer’s market reasonably close by.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be starting up a new column called “The Market Basket” where we celebrate the bounty of the season. Taste T.O. writers will be sharing the contents of their market baskets and we invite our readers to do so as well.

We’ll have more info on how to participate in the Market Basket column soon, and we look forward to seeing your market swag and hearing about the delicious dishes you plan to prepare.

It’s not easy being green
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over
‘Cause you’re not standing out
Like flashy sparkles in the water
Or stars in the sky

Turns out, ol’ Kermit the Frog was just ahead of his time, because not only is it now easy to be green, it’s actually kind of hip.

This past weekend the Green Living Show demonstrated just how much easier, and better, green really is.

While I had my doubts about a green consumer show (after all, isn’t the greenest alternative simply just to buy less stuff in the first place??), it was reassuring to see that for the stuff we do have to buy, there are now plenty of alternatives. For those of us who have been searching out green cleaning products, cosmetics and clothing for years, it’s fantastic to see the rest of the world finally catching up.

Continue reading Everything’s Green and the Living is Easy »

It’s somewhat late notice, but if you’re looking for something to do tonight, you might want to check out Somewhereness, a unique wine & food event taking place in the lower level of the MaRS Discovery District (101 College Street).

Here’s how the organisers describe it:

Five Ontario wine producers team up to offer a unique look at terroir. The winemakers of Flat Rock Cellars, Malivoire Wine Company, Norman Hardie Winery, Stratus Vineyards, and Tawse Winery are pleased to announce their collaboration in Somewhereness: Old Soils, New Wines; a rare tasting event designed to showcase the depth and complexity of Ontario vineyards, soils and wines.

Meet Ontario’s celebrated winemakers, taste new releases, and enjoy samplings of local artisan foods. Includes tasting voucher redeemable at participating wineries ($50 value).

Tickets for Somewhereness are $68 (+GST), with proceeds to benefit the MaRS Discovery District. Watch for a review of the event here on Taste T.O. later this week.

It was a slow blogging week for most people, all that nice weather seems to have lured them away from their stoves and computers. Here’s what we did find in our search of the intarwebs, though. Enjoy!

• There’s pretty chocolates at Do You Know the Muffin Man?, even though Eric claims they didn’t turn out great. He also discusses his cookie-making class, and shares his impressions of a quick mango kulfi.
• The Nutritionista finds some decent-tasting rice-cakes. No, really!
• Boulevard Cafe gets a review at Phoenikia.
• They’re still playing with yeast over at Blog From Our Kitchen, with progress reports here, although there’s regular foccacia made with regular yeast for bread baking day.

Continue reading Blog-A-Log - Sunday, April 29th »

Tikki Tikka Indian Bistro
2057 Royal Windsor Drive, Mississauga
905-823-2000
Dinner for two with non-alcoholic drinks including tax and tip: $65.00

This week my husband got to pick the place. For our ninth anniversary, he took me to his favourite strip mall Indian restaurant out near where he works, out by the invisible line separating Mississauga from Oakville, out in the complex with the police station (Region Of Peel!), the Firestone Tire, a surviving Harvey’s, a bank, a dry cleaner, and other stuff that is hard to notice or remember. Moderate was my trepidation, hopping the Go Train out from Union Station on the (not quite) last train to Clarkson, but great was my pleasant surprise. Tikki Tikka Indian Bistro met and exceeded my Toronto-city-cat expectations. I was surprised to find such an innovative and interesting Indian food out in the land of the big boxes, many-axeled trucks and red light cams, but, really, on reflection, why not? This bistro was unique and it was good, darn good.

Tasteful was the interior of Tikki Tikka, making one forgetful of the prefab exterior and the police to one side and the bank tellers to the other. Mellow, yellow strings of lights defined the ceiling plane of the interior space, so far removed from the heavy traffic of commerce beyond the frosted glass outside, creating a pleasant, self-contained ambiance. Butcher paper and unprepossessing IKEA-ware on the tables kept things on the casual tip, but the overriding impression is one of cleanliness. I mean, the place is done up in earthtones and soft yellow lights – it is no hospital – but it is exceptionally clean, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Continue reading Tikki Tikka Indian Bistro »

Back when it was held down at the Exhibition grounds, I used to go to the Good Food Festival every year. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. It was the place to find new and interesting foods that were just coming on the market, to try cool stuff by local independent companies and to get amazing deals on interesting products that I already loved.

Then the festival moved to Mississauga, and as a die-hard downtown gal who is proudly car-free, the trek to the festival seemed too arduous to bother.

This year, we sat down with Go Train schedules and maps and figured out a way to get there. Having never ridden the Go Train in all of my twenty years in Toronto (I said I was a downtown gal!), I was excited at the prospect of an adventure. An adventure with food – even better.

In retrospect I can honestly say that the Go Train ride was the best part of the day.

Continue reading The Bad Mood Festival »

Thought for the day: Do restaurant reviewers get together to compare notes, conspiring to gang up on unsuspecting restaurateurs with back-to-back reviews of their places?

Probably not, but if they did, it would help explain why Queen West hot spot Coca has suddenly been noticed by the local food scribes even though it’s already been open for a few months. Amy Pataki gave the place quite a spanking last week, but in this weekend’s National Post, Gina Mallet is kinder in her two-fer review of Coca and chef Nathan Isberg’s other resto-lounge, Czehoski. Although she does suggest that chef should stick with the small plates:

Mr. Isberg’s way with a large plate is not so pleasing. Handmade perogies stuffed with salsify and potato creme fraiche, braised cabbage and apples, chevre noir and bacon — a tasty mouthful but the dumplings are dry and need more sour cream. I can’t resist the idea of lamb schnitzel but realize I should have when I see large pieces of lamb slipping out of their batter. I guess lamb is too coarse for the schnitzel aesthetic, which requires a tight textured meat like veal beaten to a fare-thee-well, then dipped in egg and bread crumbs and fried so it blows up like a balloon. Too late, I wish I had ordered the “ubiquitous (and sublime) steak-frites.”

Continue reading In The Papers - Saturday, April 28th »

I promised a really cool summer wine last time, didn’t I? Well, here it is, Yering Station E.D. Pinot Noir Rosé 2005, only $15.95 at LCBO (Vintages 15545). I know I already reviewed one of the Yering Station wines, but the fact is, I can’t resist a really perfect rosé! Yering Station wine-makers are really good at their job, their cellars might look like a posh imitation of those of Château-Lafitte and their grounds like those of Château Margaux, but the wines are of their own making. Actually this extra dry (that’s what E.D. stands for by the way) rosé is easily one of the top five best rosés I have ever tasted.

This Australian rosé, with a colour of translucent red grapefruit, and a heady red fruit aroma and amazingly refreshing taste is something I fell in love with after the first sip. And besides, it drinks like water, only better, 13% alcohol notwithstanding. You don’t feel the alcohol in it at all, period. I can’t imagine why the majority of commercially available rosés tends to be sickeningly sweet and cloying, with no pronounced bouquet or flavour, when you can get such incredible finesse of taste and clean finish.

Granted, Pinot Noir is one of the most aristocratic varietals, but this only makes it harder to work with. It is a tricky vine even in the relatively cool climate of Burgundy, an area that has long been famous for its great Pinot Noir red wines, but producing such a result with Pinot Noir in Australian heat-waves is a real feat.

So what to pair this rosé with? Cheeses, poultry, cold meats: all the traditional picnic fare would be perfect. I can easily imagine myself sitting in the garden on a warm summer evening and sipping this suitably cooled rosé to my heart’s content. By the way, I find it exceedingly simple to get high on good rosé – I start floating on top of the world after a couple of glasses, so just a tip, do remember that it is something with alcohol you are drinking after all, even if it drinks like water, and especially if it does!

California Sandwiches
244 Claremont Street
416-603-3317
Lunch for two with sodas and tax (no tip): $18.50

California Sandwiches spends nothing on advertising. Less is spent on décor. The World Series Poker pinball machine (which replaced the Sopranos pinball which replaced the Elvis pinball) sits mostly unused. Bright orange walls, a cobwebbed espresso machine, and a photo of Italy’s 2006 soccer team do little to inspire romantic conversation. The storefront sits on a short, one-way side street in little Italy. The light bulb in the basement restroom flickers incessantly like set decoration in one of those new horror movies where teenagers get tortured for two hours. No one just strolls past California and decides to get something to eat. They come looking.

Continue reading The Call of the Sandwich »

In this week’s edition of Gremolata…

• Cheese expert Andy Shay turns his attention to another dairy product, as he tries to find Ontario’s best butter.
• Sommelier John Szabo gives some tips on when to cellar wine.
• John’s business partner (and no relation) Zoltan Szabo gives some tasting notes on five wines labelled with the recently launched Niagara sub-appellation system.

Dolce Gelato
697 College Street
416-915-0756
1-3 scoops: 3-5$ (Larger tubs also available)

“Eh! Mi piace mangiare gelato!!” That’s me screaming for ice cream, I think, in Italian. The extent of my Italian language instruction ended around 1995 when I moved across country and away from an Italian Canadian girlfriend, it’s a long story. But after a recent visit to Dolce Gelato in the western reaches of Little Italy, a few words came rushing back, brought on by the very Italian-tasting product they sell in the shop. Unlike many places in Toronto that serve gelato too cold and hard to be properly called gelato, the offering at Dolce is soft and creamy. When I ask why, the answer is that it’s handmade in the shop so it isn’t shipped anywhere in a deep-freezer truck. As a result, at Dolce, you will never see your server come on to ‘er mangia-cake-style in order to scoop out a ball or two. Just like the stuff you’d get in Bari or San Gimignano or any other random Italian town, the gelato at Dolce slides up the side of the scoop like a silk stocking up the leg of an Milanese supermodel. Did I say that out loud?

Continue reading Oh Gelato Mio »

Tasting T.O. is a new weekly feature here at Taste T.O. where we’ll be asking local artists, writers, musicians, foodies and other personalities about their favourite places to eat and drink in the city. If you or someone you know would like to be featured in an upcoming instalment - especially if you have an upcoming event, gig, release, etc. to promote - please get in touch.

Maz Fusion is an icon in Toronto’s experimental music scene. Her extensive history in experimental guitar atmospheres, and solo “audio-art” performance, as well as her experience as a producer/engineer is one of the greatest assets of her current band, holoscene. Innovative, but never at the expense of melody, she is able to create sounds on her instrument usually reserved for samplers and synthesizers.

Recently, she took time out of her busy schedule of planning shows and making guitars sound like “screaming angels” to have a bite to eat.

You’ve got $10 to buy lunch - where do you go?

Louis Meat Market (449 Danforth Avenue) for a Lamb n Beef Gyros and a Greek Fries. No need to eat for the rest of the day and I still have $2 left.

The budget’s unlimited, someone else is paying and the choice is yours - where do you pick for dinner?

Right down the road from Louis Meat Market then, to The Pantheon (407 Danforth Avenue)! I just dribbled on my laptop.

Continue reading Tasting T.O. with Maz Fusion of holoscene »

Eye food critics Alan Vernon and Denise Balkissoon venture into that last bastion of old school restaurant service, the hotel dining room, with a trip to Signatures at the Intercontinental where they find the attempt at a global menu to fall somewhat flat.

Tempura quail ($15) sautéed with lamb bacon, honey and mushrooms sits atop a house-made, perfectly toothsome gnocchi. True to the Intercontinental name, the Signatures menu skips merrily all over the world for inspiration. Passing on a shrimp tikka, we opt for a cumin salt squab ($26) sided with boiled Anasazi beans, a small white North American legume. Although heady with flavour, this pigeon with airs is sadly overdone and chewy; its side of wild blueberry gastrique is suspiciously similar to the huckleberry caramel that accompanies a dry and overdone Berkshire pork tenderloin ($26), itself a cliché on T.O. menus nowadays.

Continue reading Rag Round-Up - Thursday, April 26th »

If you’re looking for some food-related fun this weekend, there are two great events taking place that are sure to satisfy.

The Good Food Festival runs from Friday to Sunday at the International Centre, admission is $12. There will be tons of free samples, new products to check out and purchase (usually at really great prices), and over 150 cooking lessons, demos and talks. There’s also some fun contests like “My Mom is a Whole Foods Market Kitchen Goddess”, and a “Best Butter Tart” contest. mmmm… butter tarts. I wonder if they need taste-testers for this one.

The Green Living Show is also taking place this weekend at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place. It runs from Friday to Sunday and admission is $10 at the door. While this one isn’t food-specific, we’re told that there will be a number of food and beverage exhibitors taking part and there will be cooking demos, an organic marketplace area and a feature exhibit about Ontario’s Greenbelt. Speakers include Jamie Kennedy, Daryl Hannah, David Suzuki and Al Gore, to name a few. And to anyone who actually has tickets for the sold-out Al Gore lecture, if there’s a question and answer section, please, please, please ask him how he justifies keeping a 10,000 square foot mansion, flying everywhere, and running a cattle ranch while the rest of us are getting shit for using incandescent lightbulbs.