Posted by Sheryl Kirby in news and media, rag round-up on June 21, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Pride Week apparently has the odd effect on Toronto's food writers of making them want to make lists. At Eye, Jeff Harrison offers a round-up of gay-friendly establishments. Now yes, it's Toronto and we're living in the 21st century, so by default ALL restaurants should be gay-friendly, but some places are just a bit more comfortable and welcoming to all flavours of non-conformism.
Over at NOW, Steven Davey also has a list of queer-friendly joints, as well as places with patios along the parade route. Call ahead if you're planning on hitting any of these spots as reservations are definitely recommended. And of course, a patio along the parade route is no guarantee of a decent sightline. Davey's also got a list of bars along the parade route, for those folks whose patience runs out after the first half hour of being jammed up against 1 million or so sweaty, hairy, cologne-drenched, glitter-encrusted, water-gun shooting revellers hopped up on E. And that's just the suburban families and their kids!
For those more inclined to avoid the parade completely and get on with the drinking, Graham Duncan mixes up some Pride weekend cocktails with his LCBO picks.
Elsewhere in NOW, Davey has a review of Manyata. He talks a lot about Greg Couillard (whose Spice Room shares a kitchen and staff with Manyata) but he appears not to have had the surreal shopping mall experience we had by eating in the courtyard. And given his 4N assessment, his dining companion wonders why she's seen no other reviews of the place. She's just not looking in the right spots, I guess. We reviewed it shortly after it opened, and Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star reviewed it in early May. Maybe Davey's "Literary Device" isn't all that literary after all.
At Metro, Billy Munnelly's got recommendations of European whites, while Aonghus Kealy skewers President's Choice Atlantic Salmon skewers for their lack of flavour and reviews the fare at Bier Markt.
Also in Metro, Jennifer Yang's got a piece on ice cream and gelato to celebrate this first day of summer, plus recommendations on supermarket ice cream.
Yang also has an interview with Chef Marc Thuet about upcoming blueberry season. The event she attended was put on by BC blueberry growers, but, yo, wait for local, especially wild ones.
And what about wine pairings for your blueberry nights? The Alsatian native keeps it loyal, recommending a Pinot Gris Vendange Tardives from near the Alsatian mountains, which are blanketed with blueberries. “Look for a wine that grows close to blueberries,” he says. “Sometimes there is a blueberry hint on your palate.”
Or, you know... blueberry wine. There are usually a couple of varieties available at the LCBO including dessert wines and the lovely dry Rodrigues from Newfoundland. Yang also has a quickie piece on the anti-oxidant properties of blueberries.
Finally, there's a piece on FoodTV's Canada Day weekend grill-a-thon. Because why do it yourself when you can watch some guy on TV cook dinner?
