If you’re like many who inhabit this Great White North and embrace the blessings of fine mid-spring weather and three work-free days, this long weekend is bound to involve an encounter or two with some outdoor cooking. So read on.

As a relative newbie to open flame cuisine, I had the timely good fortune to have an inspirational telephone chat with Chef Ted Reader – some may know him better as King of the Q’s, a frequent guest on Q107 and visitor of Regis and Kelly – during which he shared some his ideas, tips, and grilling philosophy. Or grillosophy.

Classically trained in the culinary arts, Ted Reader was attracted to cooking with fire as a little kid, watching his father make hamburgers on a makeshift grill comprising a wheelbarrow and a refrigerator rack. “Dad was cheap,” he says. When Ted began working professionally, he gravitated toward the grill. Now Ted has 100 grills and barbecues of his own, give or take, allowing him the opportunity to try out his various creations – and those of others – and to fine tune them using different equipment.

How does he come up with his ideas? “Tequila.” He laughs, but the smile in his voice suggests he’s only half-joking. “And Jack Daniels. I like working with Jack.” Indeed J.D. is an active participant in a number of Ted’s recipes including his version of Beer Can Chicken that calls for a couple of shots of bourbon.

Continue reading Grilling the Saucy Zen Master »

Foxley Bistro and Bar
207 Ossington Avenue
416-534-8520
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and wine: $120

It’s been over a week now since I visited Foxley Bistro and Bar, Chef Tom Thai’s über caliente restaurant on Ossington, just south of Dundas, and I still don’t know quite what to think about the place.

Arriving just after 6pm on a Wednesday, the room is already close to full. My guest and I are told we can sit where we like, but when we opt for the only standard-height table remaining, we are warned that we may need to shift over and take the chairs closer to the wall in order to accommodate an additional diner who may or may not be joining the party behind us. While I don’t much like the idea of having to interrupt my meal and switch to a chair that is certainly not one that I would choose given my druthers, what am I going to do? Make a scene and refuse? Perhaps this seat-juggling could be avoided if Foxley took reservations. But, alas, they do not.

The menu is an intriguing list of Asian meets Latin. Preparation for my visit has revealed that the food is “Asian tapas”. Sort of. The intention is for guests to share the dishes. Tough luck if you’re dining solo, I suppose.

Continue reading At Least the Food’s Good »

Phil’s Original BBQ
838 College Street
416-532-8161
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip, and beer: $80

I’m going to start this off with a pissy little pet peeve of mine regarding the variant spelling of “barbecue”, and that would be “barbeque”. “Barbeque” would be pronounced “barbeck” when you think about it. I wish more BBQ places would think about this when they go to the printer or sign-maker.

I have no problem with BBQ. I guess that’s just the way I roll.

Okay, end of peeve.

Continue reading Bar-B-Kudos »

Chakra
2497 Yonge Street
416-487-7188
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip, and wine: $155

“Simply revolutionary Indian Cuisine!!”

So says Chakra’s website. I decide to forgive the over-the-top punctuation – I’m a big fan of Indian food, and I’m always curious about things all revolutionary-like.

A nasty wind is blowing when my guest and I arrive at Chakra, but we are warmly welcomed at the door and given our choice of table. Newly opened in the former Mimosa location, just north of Eglinton, the interior by Cricket Design Co. is spacious and thoughtfully lit, and the house music creates an appropriate atmosphere without being intrusive. Colourful paintings by Gregory Burns line the walls. The setting is seductive, and as my guest and I settle in with a gin and tonic, we are looking forward to trying what Chef Johnson Yohannon has described as “modern Indian”.

Continue reading Not Enough Spice for the Price »

Karuchie
924 College Street
416-850-1729
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and wine - $125

It has me at konichiwa. The pristine aquarium at the front door, the dark wood, the small pieces of Japanese charm displayed here and there. A contemporary French bistro displaying the (paradoxically) complex simplicity of an origami box, Karuchie is a fresh culinary cerisiers en fleur to the neighbourhood. Bonus extra = I score a (free) parking spot within yards of the entrance. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone – always a big plus when planning an evening out.

My fellow diner begins with watercress salad ($9) comprised of toasted pumpkin seeds, sections of blood orange, and avocado – this is a lovely salad, but a tad frustrating. Like eating a plate of flower stems, the watercress doesn’t lend itself especially well to eating with a fork – it falls all over the place. I don’t know what to suggest – maybe chopsticks would be more practical. Or fingers. For those who desire a beginning to their meal on the lighter side, this is a winning combination of ingredients. Never mind my own difficulties in getting the greenery up to my own piehole.

Continue reading That was Zen, This is Now »

Taramosalata, sometimes spelled taramasalata, is a classic Greek appetizer that is a tongue-tinglingly salty, creamy, sensual and sunny-bright delight, harbouring a complex taste and texture resulting from the intimate mixture of a few ordinary elements. Taramosalata’s basic components are red fish roe (usually cod or carp), bread or potatoes, lemon juice, and olive oil. These are whipped together resulting in a smooth-ish paste usually served with pita for dipping or, in my case, scooping. Perfect with a glass of resin-y retsina.

Continue reading The Drama of Taramosalata (or Caviar Emptor) »

My first encounter with escargots wasn’t a very good one. I was about seven at the time. Rather than being repulsed by the thought of eating a creature that left a trail of slime as it crawled around the back garden, I was quite keen on the idea. My mother had been given a “kit” comprising a tin of snails, a dozen or so snail shells, and four double-pronged forks. Mom set to work preparing the dish, stuffing the wee snails into their shells, sealing them inside with cold garlic butter, and then popping them under the broiler until the butter was melted and bubbling. Unfortunately some vital step in the preparation had been overlooked (I still don’t know which one it was), and the snails, once dug from their shells with those special pointy forks, had the taste and texture of large pencil erasers that had been stewed in a puddle of buttery mud.

Yet for some reason, that first experience with escargots left me undeterred. Which is a good thing, otherwise I would have missed out on a few delightful gastropodous experiences in our fair city.

Continue reading On the Trail of the Snail »

While its origins are still a matter of mild controversy (New York City?Or Omaha?), the basic Reuben is essentially a grilled or toasted sandwich made with rye bread, corned beef or pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and either Russian or Thousand Island dressing. It’s comfortingly uncomplicated, but the combination of its relatively simple ingredients elevates it to the level of sandwich that causes those experienced in Reuben magic to crave one the moment its name is mentioned. That’s what happened to me when a friend shared his recent memory of a wonderful Reuben he had enjoyed during a visit to Montreal. I immediately decided that my next mission in life was to check out a few places in our own fair city to see if I could find the tastiest real deli deal.

Continue reading A Quest for the Reubenesque »

Jolly II Italian Restaurant
2625 Weston Road
416-242-6666
Complete dinner for two with all taxes, tip and wine: $72

Sandwiched between Nevada Bob’s and a Bell Mobility store at Crossroads Plaza (Weston Road and the 401), it’s an odd place for a sit-down restaurant. But Jolly II Italian Restaurant has occupied that odd place for twenty years. And after twenty years of driving by the place on my way to the gigantic LCBO just two doors down from the Jolly II, I am finally curious enough to set foot inside its doors. It can’t be the location that’s responsible for Jolly II’s longevity. So it must be the food.

The website says that the restaurant offers “a casual, relaxing environment for a romantic dinner for two or a family get-together”. Family get-together, maybe. But romantic dinner for two? Hmm. My idea of a romantic dinner doesn’t involve two large televisions angled toward the main dining area and intrusive whistly background music.

Continue reading Finally Getting My Jolly’s »

Adam’s Shawarma
1910 Kipling Avenue
416-241-1114
Lunch for two with all taxes, tip and soft drinks: $20

You can’t spell “shawarma” without the “warm”, so Adam’s sounded particularly appealing as a lunch-stop on a blisteringly cold day in January.

With an address that places it almost directly under the 409 overpass, Adam’s Shawarma is not situated in the most attractive of locations. And it’s not easy to get to, even by car. If driving in from the south, one has to make a left on Belfield Road and swing around to get into the parking lot. But never mind the aesthetics and the logistics. It’s the food that’s worth the visit for anyone who finds themselves in the area, perhaps comparing ceramic tile prices between the nearby Rona on Belfield and Home Depot on Kipling. The former provides hot dogs from a cart; the latter houses a Harvey’s. Adam’s Shawarma is welcome addition to the light industrial/home improvement big box store neighbourhood.

Continue reading A Nice Shawarma Welcome »

Martin Grove Fish & Chips
5 Lavington Drive, Etobicoke
416-244-7630
Take-out lunch for two (including soft drinks, no dessert) with all taxes: $19

I don’t usually get a craving for deep-fried food around two in the afternoon. But on this particular day of hardcore holiday shopping and extra calories incinerated while wandering the malls and lugging heavy packages – not to mention plenty of action with my snow shovel early that morning (and not in a good way) – I decided that a late lunch of some hot greasy goodness was a well-earned indulgence.

So off I went to Martin Grove Fish & Chips.

Continue reading Ignoring the Wisdom of Bourdain »

The Toronto Food Business Incubator
133 Rivalda Road
416-401-8888

So, you’ve got a great idea for a food product. You’ve done your research, studied the market, and put together a business plan. You’re sure you’ve got a hit on your hands. But what’s your next step? Where do you find the space to actually make your product? You might want to check out the program at the Toronto Food Business Incubator (TFBI) - a new not for profit facility that offers low-volume local food entrepreneurs the assistance and guidance to take their ideas from the business plan stage straight through to getting the products into the marketplace – either onto restaurant tables or retailers’ shelves.

Now before you pick up the phone and request an application, please note this is not the place for those who want to fast-track their grandmother’s prize-winning strawberry jam recipe onto Loblaws’ shelves in six months.

Continue reading Chickens Need Not Apply »

The Local Bar & Restaurant
396 Roncesvalles Avenue
416-535-6225
Dinner for two with wine plus all taxes and tip (dessert not available): $59

Upon entering The Local, it is immediately obvious that this place is not trying to be an Irish-inspired pub; it is an Irish pub, and it is aptly named. At 5:30pm on a Tuesday, a young mom is enjoying a pint at one of the tables and spoon-feeding dinner to her two very young (and well-behaved) children while, at the bar, a small gathering of “cheery blokes” are engaged in lively animated conversation.

I take a seat at the banquette and spread out - I’m a good half hour early to meet my dining partner, but in the mean time this gal is thirsty. The Friendly Server is at my side immediately to render my parchedness non-existent. I order a Magner’s Irish Cider ($6.25) - “It’s not as sweet as Strongbow,” he says - and review the menu while I wait. (I’ll add in here that for those who enjoy a spot of entertainment, The Local also features live music on a regular basis, but this particular night is music-free.)

Continue reading A Likeable Local »

Sitting Around Eating Bonbons
3308 Lakeshore West (Unit 1)
416-503-3313

Sitting Around Eating BonBons is a modest little storefront that produces a not-so-modest product. By that I mean the owner/operator/chocolatier, Trish Kooger-Brown, is offering incredible value for her wares; $2 for a high-end chocolate truffle isn’t really considered a lot to pay these days – but Trish’s creations, her “bonbons”, are nearly the size of golf balls. And knowing she uses quality organic and fair trade chocolate makes them even more attractive to the serious and socially aware chocoholic.

Continue reading These BonBons aren’t for SnobSnobs »

Charlie’s Sticky Sauce, a new BBQ condiment to arrive in various locations throughout and surrounding our fair city, certainly lives up to its name. “Sticky” is what happens when one of the key ingredients is sugar. For anyone who likes their grill sauces and dips with a hard sweet kick to the palate rather than just a plain ol’ kick, then the line of Charlie’s Sticky Sauce sauces is tailor-made for them. And the wallet of their dentist.

Available in ‘Original’, ‘Mid-Evil’ (Hah!), and ‘Stupid Hot’ (Oh stop! My ribs! I mean it!), my barbecue-loving pals and I actually found the ‘Original’ strength to be more inflammatory than the ‘Mid-Evil’ (which is very hoi-sin-esque). We began sampling each one straight out of the bottle and licking off our grubby little fingers (hey, we’re food-lovers – not scientists). All three intensities pack quite a punch in terms of heat, but none is lip-blistering. The ‘Stupid Hot’ was maybe a tad mouth-numbing – not painful (my friends and I are relatively fire-proof) – but there’s enough caliente in this one to potentially knock out the flavour of the food it’s attempting to enhance if one goes too far with it straight up.

Continue reading Charlie’s Sauce is Sticky-licious »