Once a year, usually just in time for the Festival of Beer (which starts today, coincidentally), the mainstream publications remember that there’s more to drink than wine and give a nod to that other beverage - beer. Such is the case with NOW this week. First, Graham Duncan offers a selection of quickie profiles of some Ontario breweries, and even quicker profiles of local beer-friendly watering holes, as well as a list of upcoming beer events, minus lots of relevant information, like the time or price for some listings. There’s a basic primer on beer styles that will be useful to beer newbies, and Steven Davey warms up to beer bistro after a couple of visits. Davey’s also got a list of restaurants that uh… serve beer. Also, Molson made a really big beer keg. Okay.

At Eye, an unnamed restaurant critic drops by Table 17 and finds the offerings a bit uneven.

The only new article at Metro this week is Billy Munelly’s piece on Southbrook Winery and their new digs in Niagara- they serve pizza. Cool.

Things to eat this weekend…

• roti
• doubles
• jerk chicken

That’s right, it’s Caribana weekend and pretty much every food writer in the city has a roti round-up (and we thought we were being so unique doing our own - D’oh!).

At Eye, Sean Kelly Keenan tries a couple of Parkdale roti shops but also has a selection of places from around the city.

Over at NOW, Steven Davey checks out the West Indies offerings at Pam’s Carribbean Kitchen, and has his own nicely organized round-up of places grouped by country. In his Drink Up column, Graham Duncan has a couple of fancy rums and coconut water… which would work well together, no?

Also at NOW, Wayne Roberts looks at the real reasons behind the global food crisis.

As of publication time, the food section of Metro’s website hasn’t been updated.

Most people think the life of a food critic is all about $300 tasting menus and expense accounts but in the search for great food, sometimes it’s really just some dishes from a take-away that offers a discount if you bring your own containers. This week Steven Davey of NOW eschews the upscale and digs in to some tasty Thai at Thai To Go on Gerrard. Of course, given all the new places opening in the next few weeks, Davey’s got his work cut out for him in the upscale restaurant department - some new places we can expect to see reviewed in all the papers over the coming weeks get a mention in Davey’s Fresh Dish column today. Also, Graham Duncan has some bottles of bubbly in his Drink Up column.

Over at Eye, they’ve got exclusive coverage of Wakestock. This has nothing to do with food, other than the fact that the Wakestock logo shows up as wallpaper on every page of the Eye site, including the restaurant review. And perhaps in keeping with that “water” theme, Sean Kelly Keenan reviews Deep Blue Fish and Chips, where despite the pretences, it’s really just an authentic, down-to-earth chippy.

At Metro, Billy Munnelly has some Ontario wines perfect for pairing with goodies off the BBQ, and Barb Holland has blueberry breakfast bread pudding. There’s a review and recipe from the book Fabulous Fairholme: Breakfasts and Brunches, and a piece from last Friday that previews the Tastes of Thailand festival last weekend.

NOW’s got a fancy new blog-style layout this week (and it’s nice - cleaner, less cluttered and easier to read), and Steven Davey’s exhaustive sandwich round-up is full of fancy blog-style photos. Davey hits all the sandwich hot spots from Vietnamese bahn mi to the smoked meat goodness at Caplansky’s.

But the man doesn’t stop at just types of sandwiches and has another piece on some of the best overall places to grab a sandwich and soup. I’ll put up a fight over Salvador Darling, however, because I don’t think they deserve to be on any kind of “best of” list. The last few times I’ve been there they’ve been missing ingredients (I ended up eating the pear poulet with mango because they were out of pears; the time before that, they were out of chicken) and service has been confused and really scattered. The mise en place was non-existent and the guy making my sandwich made a separate trip to the fridge for every single ingredient. Then he tried to talk me out of the accompanying salad (which was just a handful of organic greens from the plastic Price Chopper box) but refused to offer me a discount. They’re lucky they’ve got the fancy Montreal smoked meat, otherwise savvy Parkdale sandwich cravers would just head across the street to Rustic Cosmo where the prices are the same, the options are better, and their mise is done and ready to go.

Also at NOW, Graham Duncan tries some Old Speckled Hen, and cynical commenters have wasted no time in taking advantage of the new blog format to be disagreeable.

At Eye, the Junction neighbourhood gets a raw deal (okay, actually 3 out of 5 stars) with new raw food restaurant Rawlicious as reviewed by Edward Keenan.

Over in Metro, Barb Holland has tips for using all those herbs that are getting bushy in everyone’s herb gardens, and Krystina Castella reviews a book of tasty ice pops, including a recipe for blueberry cheesecake pops. There’s also a recipe for fried rice, and Billy Munelly defends Pinot Grigio.

There’s some kind of crazy low pressure system coming in and I’ve got the head explody today. So I’m giving myself a sick day to go and watch court shows and flip through fashion magazines with the shades drawn. Here’s this week’s weeklies, in point form…

NOW

• Steven Davey checks out Piccolo
• Graham Duncan likes the pizza at Mangia & Bevi
• In Sips and Nips, Duncan tries some 360 Eco Luxury Vodka

Eye

• Chakra gets 4 stars

Metro

• serve up some cool summer salads
• tortilla pizza from Everyone Can Cook Midweek Meals
• pasghetti!
• David Rocco has a new show on the Food Network, which makes the unexplained spaghetti recipe a little more logical in retrospect

It’s funny that we didn’t run into Steven Davey at Lula Lounge. He must have been visiting the place right around the same time we were to write his review today in NOW. And although we had some of the same dishes, it seems like our experiences were completely different when it comes to service. Davey also visits Manpuka, a Japanese noodle place in Village by the Grange. In his Fresh Dish column, he’s got info on Summerlicious, Harvest Wednesdays, the Slow Food picnic and Farmer’s Nights at Cowbell. Graham Duncan drinks a 50. We’re not sure why.

Despite receiving mixed reviews from other publications, the folks at Eye (again no byline this week in the online edition) seem to really like Spice Route.

At Metro, Barb Holland has some great ways to enjoy strawberries, there are some recipes from Everyday Grain-Free Gourmet: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner by Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass, and Billy Munnelly recommends some summer whites.

And not in our usual Thursday round-up, but still worth a mention is the article by Rita Zekas in the Toronto Star about Toronto’s lack of women chefs, and Kim Honey shares her account of Dinner in the Sky (and it seems like pretty much every food writer and media outlet has their own version - mine’s on my personal food blog, and Shinan Govani’s can be found in his National Post column today).

Gotcher glitter ready? It’s Pride weekend, people! And while the agoraphobic in me stays far away from a crowd of a million people, those with enough fortitude to brave the crowds will need to eat. Steven Davey of NOW recommends Magic Oven on Wellesley Street. Davey’s also got another list of Pride restaurants, as well as other hotspots along the parade route, but steers readers away from Soban. Graham Duncan checks out some gay cocktails like the “So Good It’s Got to be Gay.”

At Eye, they’re waving the rainbow flag, but the restaurant column is over on the other side of town with a review of Atelier Thuet. There’s no byline to this piece online, but the reviewer greatly enjoyed the place with only a few service missteps, but plenty of Thuet’s awesome bread to fill in the gaps. Mmmm… Thuet’s bread.

Rick McGinnis visits Craftburger this week at Metro, and if burgers aren’t your thing Barb Holland has tips for grilling some tasty-sounding ribs. And it wouldn’t be Canada Day without strawberries - this time with jalapeno peppers in the form of strawberry poppers. Also, James Beard Award winner Trish Magwood shares a mocha brownie recipe.

Got Pride? Yep, Pride Week is upon us again, and the weeklies have stepped in to provide their readers with info on all the hot spots to check out while waving the rainbow flag. Let’s start with a drink. Kim Bosch at Eye rounds up some of the most interesting cocktails at Church and Wellesley, and with names like the Bitch Slap, the Slippery Hole, the One Night Stand and the Cock Sucking Cowboy, the drinks could be chapter titles in a romance novel about Pride weekend. Alan A. Vernon also offers a round-up of Gaybourhood patios for those who prefer to watch rather than participate.

Continue reading Rag Round-Up - Thursday, June 19th »

It’s asparagus season, and over at Metro, Barb Holland has some tips and recipes on making the most of spring’s favourite green treat. Billy Munnelly’s got a white wine from Chile (that would go well with asparagus, I bet). And to grill asparagus safely, check out the safe grilling tips from the Associated Press piece on the subject.

Sean Kelly Keenan of Eye visits Jean’s Vegetarian Kitchen where he’s made to feel comfortably at home.

At NOW, Steven Davey twice braves the hipster brunch crowd and their jam-handed children with reviews of the Dakota Tavern in all its bluegrass glory and Disgraceland in its Elvisy embarrassment. Graham Duncan revisits Queen West’s Peter Pan and hopes it was better back in the 70s than it is now. Duncan also moves past the critter wines in his Drink Up column and proves he’s a fan of the Little Penguin.

At NOW this week, Steven Davey visits Crush, formerly a fancy wine bar, now re-invented as a gastro-pub, complete with soccer hooligans and sticky toffee pudding. Davey even takes a stand for the half fries/half salad team even though it makes his server cranky. And he’s also got a Fresh Dish column with news of restaurant openings and closings while Graham Duncan sips some Beaujolais.

Ever buy your dog some fancy doggie treats that look and smell as good as people food? Over at Eye, Kim Bosch and her dog taste test items from some popular local doggy bakeries.

Billy Munnelly of Metro remarks on the trend for lighter, drier white wines out of California and recommends a few to try. Chris Atchinson gives a club report of Spice Route (no info on the food), while Rick McGinnis profiles Delux.

It bears pointing out to the powers that be at NOW that it is neither hot, nor technically summer. Yet this issue appears to be the “Hot Summer Guide”, so maybe NOW’s key demographic is full of schedule-oriented control freaks who need to plan their summer a month in advance. In any case, Adria Vasil has tips on eating locally this summer, while in the health column, Elizabeth Bromstein does a survey on cholesterol, getting opinions from health care professionals of all flavours.

In the restaurant section, Steven Davey has a whole pile of round-ups of summer treats broken down by category. Start with ice cream and then use the sidebar to check out everything from patios (wasn’t that last week?) to markets. Davey’s also got summer dish, a collection of restaurant news bits. Graham Duncan has a selection of summer suds that are not from a 2-4, all of which you can drink now - even though it’s not actually summer.

But it seems that everyone’s just impatient for summer - over at Eye, Sean Kelly Keenan has some grilling tips for BBQ season.

They’re grilling at Metro, too, where Sandy Caetano interviews grillmaster Ted Reader. Marcy Cornblum talks to Chef Rob Feenie about comfort food and there’s wire pieces about grilled cheese and the Taste For Justice dining event.

Since we’ve been running TasteTO, we’ve noticed that more and more restaurants are hiring PR firms for their openings. Now media tasting events and fancy press packages are the norm to ensure coverage of a restaurant’s opening, but some places prefer the old-skool soft touch, opening with little fanfare and letting both customers and the media find their way there without a lot of hoopla. One such recent opening is Jamie Kennedy’s Gilead Cafe. We all knew it was coming, but we didn’t quite know exactly when, and it turns out Kennedy’s latest venture has actually been open a few weeks, with little word of it anywhere, even on Chowhound. Which is likely why it was so quiet when Steven Davey of NOW arrived to do his review. Focusing on breakfast and lunch (no dinner), the menu serves up some JK favourites, including the famous poutine.

Continue reading Rag Round-Up - Thursday, May 22nd »

Patio season. When Torontonians gleefully sit on the side of the road to eat their dinner surrounded by exhaust fumes, cigarette smoke and mosquitoes. Okay, maybe I’m a bit of a crank - there are some decent patios out there, and this week both NOW and Eye offer up their definitive guides to the best the city has to offer. At NOW, Steven Davey sorts his selections by categories like best people-watching or best view, with a TOP 10 list for the various categories as well. At Eye they’re offering a straight-up, sorted by neighbourhood-type listing.

Eye’s also got a piece about sustainable seafood by Pasha Malla that looks at the book Bottomfeeder by Taras Grescoe. However, I’m a tad confused by Malla’s idea that Canada is not a country that eats or cooks a lot of fish…

Continue reading Rag Round-Up - Thursday, May 15th »

At NOW this week, Steven Davey gets his fill of Mexican grub with visits to La Tortilliera, where they bake the tortillas onsite; and Burritos Mexican House where the burritos come with a side of fries. In his Drink Up column, Graham Duncan does a great job of describing Trafalgar Oak-Aged rye without actually telling us what it tastes like.

Handsome devil Corey Mintz scores himself the cover story at Eye with a piece about the Ontario Food Terminal. More extensive than the piece he wrote for us back in November, it’s a detailed look into a foreign place that most of us will never see. In the review section, Alan Vernon and Sean Kelly Keenan check out Terroni on Adelaide.

At Metro, Sandy Caetano reports on the coast to coast expansion of Cora’s breakfast chain, and Marcy Cornblum interviews comedienne Debra DiGiovanni about her favourite foods. Billy Munnelly looks at French wines and their new popularity. And for those who still haven’t figured out what to do for Mother’s Day, there’s a recipe for cranberry-topped pancakes. Just don’t make Mom clean up after you.

Would you eat meat created in a lab? Paul Terfenko of NOW looks at the issues surrounding PETA’s support of a genetically-modified meat created from animal cells without killing the animal. It opens up a whole pile of other issues, but if the kinks can be worked out (ie. taste and texture, the questions about the safety of GM foods), if offers a lot of possibilities.

In restaurant reviews, Steven Davey checks out Waterfalls in Kensington Market and is perplexed by the menu that offers a little bit of everything. Sticking to the Indian-style tapas works out better than the mixed bag menu of Italian and Greek dishes. Graham Duncan enjoys coffee at Espresso Mi Vida in the Junction, and checks out a Portuguese brandy in his Drink Up column.

At Eye, Alan Vernon and Sean Keenan Kelly check out the Harbord Room, the new space in the Annex with a fun sense of humour and a seasonal menu.

There’s a news piece at Metro about Canada’s contribution to the UN World Food Programme (look at us, not being chintzy misers like last year), and in the food section, yet another Gordon Ramsay piece. Billy Munnelly’s got great wines to go with BBQ, Rick McGinnis head to the Bier Markt for the white asparagus festival, and Marcy Cornblum interviews Iron Chef Cat Cora, who is in town to take part in next week’s Santé wine festival.