At a time when farmer's markets and the idea of eating locally are at a fever pitch, it's important to note that some of us still don't really get exactly where our food comes from. Sure, it's lovely to meet the farmers who grow our food, but it's another thing altogether to think about how our expanding population and the desire for a little bit of land of our own continues to push farmers further away from the city.
At Posted Toronto, Barry Hertz visits with the Faris family, who are giving up their family farm as developers push them out. But there are positive local food stories as well, as Rob Roberts reports on the beehives atop the Fairmont Royal York. Roberts also gets a "Halleujah!" from the downtown condo dwellers in reply to his piece about a new LCBO store opening at King & Spadina, but customers shouldn't hold their breathe - there's much debate about the shape and form this new location will take, and here in Toronto, the land of municipal red tape, we all know what that means in terms of progress.
Over at the Post's Appetizer Blog, Jennifer Sygo offers some tips for healthy summer eating with some depressing news; "Anything with the word 'rib' in it tends to be high in saturated fats and calories." Awww... we were all so happy with our heads in the sand and BBQ sauce under our fingernails. And the folks who do the shelf life column check out Clovermead Apiaries Cinnamon Honey Spread. Yum.
Marc Lostracco of Torontoist reports on the Dinner with Grandma event set up by CBC's Spark radio program. What a cool idea! Also at Torontoist, the Snappy Answers column deals with my all-time favourite late-night drunk in the park snack - the Halifax donair, and more specifically where to get 'em. The non-snappy answer - my house. I have the recipe from the original Halifax donair shop, and we eat them regularly. I've even got a vegetarian version.
I can think of worse ways to spend a summer than learning to cook, and Victoria Wang of BlogUT plans to do just that - and will apparently be keeping BlogUT readers up to date on her efforts. At Menumental, Eric Vellend, who already knows how to cook, lists 7 of his favourite farmer's markets - one for each day of the week.
At Gremolata, Dana McCauley has a list of top food trends including scary stuff like candy meant to emulate street drugs and the marketing of junk food as being healthy or rewarding. But she also recommends Armenian preserved walnuts, which I'm rather enamoured of. They're weird, but so tasty. Andy Shay explores local cream cheese, and Nicole Munaretto checks out local fishmongers.
Is your waiter too intrusive? Suresh at Spotlight Toronto blogs about a piece on Slate.com and offers his own take on pushy wine service. Suresh also checks out Spring Rolls where presentation and taste do not jive; some sketchy mussels at Superior; and scores a bird's eye view of the garden patio at Terroni on Adelaide.
James Chatto of Toronto Life previews a Niagara food and wine boat tour he's hosting in September, and reveals that the imaginary sidekick in his head sounds like Peter Lorre. I wonder how he knows it's Peter Lorre and not the cartoon chihuahua Ren. (My imaginary sidekicks sound like Cow and Chicken.) Also at Toronto Life, David Lawrason drinks lots of wine, but finds a number of decent ones under $10. Rock on.
Awesome, thanks for the mention!