Jean’s Vegetarian Kitchen
1262 Danforth Avenue
416-778-1388
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and pot of tea: $38

My eating mates and I are not high-brow but we do have high expectations for vegetarian cuisine. Reviews on the website Chowhound allude to delicious grub at Jean’s Vegetarian Kitchen. With comments such as, “the menu is more adventurous than before”, “awesome Thai”, or even, “The William Shatner of Toronto’s dining scene. Just when you think they’re gone for good, they pop up again in an even more delicious context”, reviews more or less glow. Many a vegetarian top-ten holds the name, Jean’s Veggie.

Continue reading Fresh Isn’t Always Enough »

Hibiscus
238 Augusta Avenue
416-364-6183
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and coffee: $30

Despite what I consider reasonably solid skills of observation, it took me two-and-a-half years to notice Hibiscus. Thirty months while walking into Kensington Market – in the same direction, south down Augusta then back again – I was oblivious to the meatless, wheat-less dining spot that sat near my preferred fruit market.

But, sure enough, there it is nestled into a small, graffiti-laced enclave right on Augusta. Once inside, it becomes clear how I might have missed it all this time. It is a bright, serene setting that offers sanctuary from the often boisterous street outside. It doesn’t seem to seek customers; it waits for them to discover it. Once inside, it’s easy to give in to the relaxed, near-meditative atmosphere. No lunch will be freer of stress than one taken at Hibiscus, a true hidden gem.

Continue reading Killing Stress Softly »

Messa Bites
681 Mount Pleasant Road
416-485-5832

Every occasion calls for a cookie. That’s certainly the going train of thought in the Costa household, where wife Vera and husband Michael bake biscuits for any and all times of year. Want 200 cookies with wedding dresses or clover leaves on them? Maybe Canadian flags? Cupid? Frogs? Company logo?

The new Costa creation, Messa Bites, would likely welcome the challenge. They add personal flare and imaginative design to a batch of cookies or other sweets, made with all-natural ingredients. “Our motto is to ‘give them something to talk about,’” says Vera Costa. “That’s exactly what we want guests to do at a party. Imagine taking home an edible place card or matching your child’s invitation with a cookie favour.

Continue reading Using Cookies as Canvasses »

David Farnell and Lulu Cohen-Farnell have outgrown their 9,000 square-foot kitchen. They need to double it. The reason is that, despite having just two children of their own, they cook for nearly 3,500 kids. Each day. From scratch.

Their business, catching the interest of many schools and even Queen’s Park, is called Real Food for Real Kids (RFRK). In 75 daycares across the GTA, the couple is instilling nutrition in the bodies and minds of youngsters. The target is to eliminate processed, nutrient-poor foods that typically populate kid’s menus and cafeterias.

Continue reading Watching Chicken Nuggets Disappear »

La Fromagerie
868 College Street
416-516-4278

Robert Burns’ shop is tailored toward a nice hike in the mountains of France where he was once married. Not the correct footwear and walking stick one may need, but rather the food. Take several types of cheese, a couple of baguettes and several French saucission. He doesn’t sell the other integral ingredient, red wine, but that can be purchased on the way to the hillside.

Yet La Fromagerie is in fact near no French mountains, or mountains at all for that matter. This is College Street and the red streetcar going by clearly indicates this is Toronto. The hike required is only the one back home. And it’s probably only a block or two away, as this cozy cheese shop has a neighbourhood feel to it. Instead of laying out a picnic gazing across lush valleys, the reality is more like gazing across the living room floor at the television. Continue reading From the Mountains of College & Ossington »

Pomegranate Chai House
420 College Street
416-921-7557
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and wine: $70

The room breathes Persian sexiness. It is lively every night, with tables continually full during dinner hours. Tapestries, artifacts and paintings adorn the walls. Rugs warm the floor. A “takht” (double-bed) is able to be reserved for those who like to eat more traditionally—chairless.

This is Pomegranate, a perfectly-sized restaurant that absolutely defines the tired and seldom-relevant term “hidden gem.” The tables are full, sure, but only by those who have dug to discover its charm on a stretch of College Street that does it no great justice (in my fair opinion).

Continue reading Where Fruit and Lamb Live in Harmony »

Viva Tastings
409 College Street
416-506-0054

“This is a different kind of place,” says Karen Viva-Haynes. “You come in here to slow down. Get a glass of wine, walk around the store and just breathe, which we all need to do.”

“Here” is Viva Tastings, which a year ago supplanted Quizno’s on a College Street corner lot, bringing a refined palate and innovative mind to the outer reaches of Kensington. This is the storefront that represents a stall that’s been in St. Lawrence Market for the past six years or so.

Continue reading A Foodist At The Top Of Her Game »

Dessert Lady
20 Cumberland Street
416-924-3223

Here is a spell of winter magic: Trudging through the slush and tumbling over snowbanks in suddenly-white Toronto, cold, nose running, face wind-burnt and opening the door to the Dessert Lady. The powerful scent of shortbread slams into me like a wave. The wind turns to warmth. And winter is long gone two steps into this cozy Yorkville shop.

For three years, a sibling team has been creating artful goodies that run the gamut of everything sweet. Chef Mandy Kan, whose studies began at Manhattan’s renowned French Culinary Institute, has honed her skills in Florida (Ritz Carlton) and Toronto (Superior Restaurant, Summerhill Market). Now she’s got her own shop of innovative desserts.

Continue reading An Inspired Sweet Tooth »

Just Us! Cafe
2010 Queen Street East, 490 Queen Street West
416-862-2233

Twelve years ago this month, Jeff Moore travelled to Chiapas, one of Mexico’s poorest and most populous states. In the mountains, farmers were growing, producing and exporting excellent organic coffee beans independently. When Moore arrived there was a civil war brewing over who got the money from the coffee. “Coyotes” – agents for huge international coffee companies – were after the this homegrown business’s funds.

Maneuvering past military road blocks, Moore hiked up the mountains. He met farmers that, even amidst unstable political conditions, felt empowered through their co-op setup. Fair trade had provided them hope. Moore struck a deal to import the farmers’ coffee to Halifax. It would take a minimum shipment of 10 tonnes of coffee, for which he and wife Debra put their house up as security. And they hadn’t yet had a single customer.

Continue reading Maritime Fair Trade Roaster Comes to Town »

Specialty Food Shop
Main Floor, The Hospital for Sick Children
555 University Avenue

The main foyer of The Hospital for Sick Children is awash in colour and breathes open air. Staring up and around at its tall structure, visible elevators, and larger-than-life toys, it seems meant to inspire a little awe and a little hope. The room looks anything but a hospital, but instead a place of magic from the viewpoint of a sick child.

Down the hall sits the Specialty Food Shop, whose decoration is not so inspired as the foyer’s. But it isn’t the paint job or lighting that draws customers; instead the items on the shelves. This year marks the 25th birthday for the Specialty Food Shop (SFS), providing specialized foods and health advice for children and adults who are forced to watch what they eat.

For many people, eating is less a pleasure and more a challenge.

Continue reading Where You Watch What You Eat »

It might sound trivial, but for anyone who fumbles with a recipe book, staining pages with lemon juice and garlic, it is definitely not. The new all-Canadian Feed Me, I’m Hungry cookbook is coil-bound. It’s simply not possible to lose your spot while attending to the frying pan. It’s a half-foot long, rectangular, and can even stand up on its own like a desk calendar. No need for paperweights.

This initial, obvious observation is the first clue to how the book was put together. Its three authors, all nutrition experts, have created a recipe book for families that is easy to use and follow. It is, as one of its authors puts it, a tool for cooking more easily and nutritiously.

Continue reading Feed Me… I’m Hungry »

Le Bar a Soup
164 Ossington Avenue
416-533-9825
Lunch for two with coffee (soup and sandwich or salad), including all taxes and tip: $25

There are four chairs and two stools inside the quaint Le Bar a Soup. That means this joint is all about the takeout. It’s all about the press too, as owner Nathalie Barin has got her fair share of attention since opening last February.

Maybe it’s partially due to location. Two stones’ throws from Dundas Street, the restaurant sits in a nondescript unit on Ossington Avenue. That’s smack in the middle of a burgeoning neck of town that, if it’s all right with everyone, I’m not going to describe as “trendy.” The Portuguese nook has been the next “in” hood for some time now, boasting galleries, new restaurants, and small bars so hip they don’t even put their name out front.

Continue reading A Resurgence in Soup? »

It’s that time of year when the spotlight turns on everyone’s favourite squash: the pumpkin.

It’s not hard to find pumpkins in the city, with boxes of them on display at every supermarket worth its own salt. But Toronto sits within a region rich in agriculture, so why not venture outside the city limits and pick your own pumpkin straight from where it was grown?

This is a guide to some of the excellent farms in and around the GTA that offer the chance to get out in the fall weather and traipse around looking for the ideal pumpkin. Most in the list offer pick-your-own right from the soil, while others have covered their lawns with thousands of pre-picked pumpkins. (Say that 10 times fast.) Many have family-oriented activities to further entice a trip to the country.

Continue reading In Search of the Great Pumpkin »

This is a story best told in Q&A fashion. I’m at Rosebud with Rodney Bowers, its creator and one of the most down-to-earth chefs in town. The cooks are preparing for dinner service, the bartender lighting candles for tables. At the outset of the interview I mention the recent review of Citizen by Joanna Kates in the Globe and Mail. It wasn’t overly favourable, and in it she went on a tear about Caprese salads.

Bowers tries to explain his incredulity, but stops and goes to the kitchen. He emerges with the buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad. It’s the same recipe from Citizen. He says the cheese is imported from Italy and is about four days old. He gets local organic tomatoes from Ontario. The olive oil traverses the Atlantic as well; he says it’s probably in the top five in the world. The interview won’t start until I eat it. The cheese is phenomenally smooth and soft — it really is. It dies in your mouth. Needless to say, he didn’t understand many of Kates’ points. And for the moment, neither did I.

Continue reading “I’m What They Call a ‘Fanatic’” »

The Cookbook Store
850 Yonge Street
416-920-2665

Tomorrow at the Cookbook Store there will be a knife skills demonstration. Expert slicer Peter Hertzmann will be wielding metal, signing his new book, and mingling. This sort of thing happens a lot in this niche book shop.

Owner Alison Fryer says almost every Saturday until December is full of book signings and demonstrations. They even have special days, featuring different types of food. Soon she’ll host an “apple day” that will assuredly tread far past the simple McIntosh.

Welcome to the Cookbook Store (CBS). Sure, the walls are lined with popular and hard-to-find books of recipes, cooking techniques, and food literature, but there’s a lot more here beneath the surface. You don’t even have to buy a book; just come in, talk about food, and go about your day.

Continue reading The House That Food Built »