Here’s a round-up of the food & drink articles in Toronto’s papers today…
National Post:
- Gina Mallet does what many of us are tempted to do after a bad restaurant experience - she departs without leaving a tip. And given her description of the mediocre food and horrendous service she received at The Local Company, one could hardly blame her.
- Margaret Swaine recommends two "splurge-worthy" bottles and one relative bargain from today's Vintages release.
- Shinan Govani has the scoop on the dining options that will be on offer at the swank Thompson Hotel, opening on Wellington near Bathurst this spring.
- Adam McDowell is even further ahead of the game with a preview of the Toronto Temperance Society, a private cocktail club on College Street that won't be opening until the summer.
- Rebecca Tucker has good news for those who didn't get into (or couldn't afford) the recent insect-themed dinner at Charlie's Burgers: you can get your fill of tasty creepy-crawlies next weekend by checking out the Bug-a-licious Insect Food Festival at the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory.
- Lia Grainger learns where her meat comes from by attending a butchery demo at Cowbell.
- Bonnie Stern has recipes for a few snacks to accompany Olympic (or Super Bowl) viewing.
Globe & Mail:
- Joanne Kates finds the food to be a bit of a mess at Cinq 01, with only the pizza and dessert getting much praise, but she also recognizes that the cocktails and eye candy are really the main draw.
- Beppi Crosariol is glad to have a bunch of big red wines to help him get through February, aka "the month from hell".
- Sebastien Centner advises white rather than red to warm up in winter - except he's not talking wine, but béchamel sauce.
- Lucy Waverman has a slightly non-traditional menu for a Chinese New Year feast.
- Chris Nuttall-Smith joins the kitchen crew of Chef Chris Brown at The Stop Community Food Centre for one of their monthly Food for Change fundraising dinners.
- Bert Archer gets his fill of chocolate and beer on a trip to Brussels.
Toronto Star:
- Amy Pataki, perhaps inspired by the Turkish-style pizza called pide that she raved about in last week's review of Dino's Pizza, travels around the GTA to dine at as many Turkish restaurants as she can find.
- Gord Stimmell suggests some wines that pair well with chocolate, including some interesting sounding red icewines.
- Jennifer Bain profiles Mark Trealout and Laura Boyd, and amiable and energetic owners of Grassroots Organics farm and the Kawartha Ecological Growers collective.
- Linda Barnard pores through the massive Difford's Encyclopedia of Cocktails to find something suitable for sipping during the Olympics, and settles on a Downhill Racer.
- Corey Mintz cooks a meaty meal for Kathryn Borel, a friend and fellow writer who got him his first paid job as a restaurant reviewer - although as he offhandedly mentions, this was preceded by an unpaid gig for "a local blog". (What, Mr. Big Shot Toronto Star Writer is too good to mention us by name now? You were nothing when we met you, Mintz! You hear me? <chomps cigar> Nothing!)
- Robert Collins visits the legendary Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples, where the menu features three perfect pizzas and nothing else.
- Richard Ouzounian travels enough to know that the food available in airports is generally pretty dire, but he manages to find good grub at air terminals in six cities (although none, it must be noted, are at Pearson...).
- Eric Vellend has a new column, "Chef's Showcase", which is a revival of an old Star column that features a short profile of a local chef and one of their favourite recipes. It's rather oddly located in the newly expanded Starweek TV guide, so it's not online, but pick up a paper copy and you'll find Vellend's interview with Trish Donnelly of Oyster Boy, along with her recipe for steamed clams.
