Here’s what’s been happening on the intarwebs this week…

Tim checks out Loons over at BlogTO, and reports back that it’s fairly mediocre. And because BlogTO’s restaurant reviews tend to show up as “announcements” in my RSS feed, I think I’ve been missing a few of their recent ones, like here where there’s two together. And although not restaurant specific, Greg has a post about those stupid obnoxious Yellow Pages darts that are popping up all over the city - like on the front of Grappa. Maybe it’s some kind of lightening rod thing to help ground and thus ward off the kiss of death they received by appearing on Restaurant Makeover.

Also at BlogTO, Jerrold checks out the Toronto Night Market - during the day, while at Spotlight Toronto, Suresh drops by at night. And what is up with all the pissy commenters on the Spotlight Toronto piece calling “copycat” because BlogTO also covered the event? There’s not some magic rule that says media outlets can call dibs on an event taking place in the city. That’s the great thing about there being so many blogs, magazines, etc - different perspectives. BlogTO - it’s great that your readers are so devoted, but that’s a bit embarrassing, no?

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday July 14th »

The internet has always been a place where people feel it’s perfectly okay to say things they wouldn’t say in real life because they can hide behind the anonymity of a screen. This has been the case since way back in the days of bulletin boards and usenet, and unfortunately hasn’t changed much in this era of blogs. And while we have a fairly open policy of what we’ll allow as far as comments go here at TasteTO, we still consider personal blogs to fall under the “my house, my rules” policy. I bring this up now because the big food story in the media last week was obviously Dinner in the Sky, and because someone was going around to various blogs and leaving bitchy comments in any case where the writer wasn’t completely thrilled with the event. I got a critical comment in my personal food blog because I didn’t seem to like it well enough for the commenter in question, although they must have been disappointed when they discovered the comment was screened and deleted. Personal blogs are not a public space for commenters to air their point of view, don’t come into my “house” and shit on my floor.

I’m not sure if my cranky commenter was the same person who left a comment on the post at Torontoist, but it seems like the event didn’t really please anyone - the people who got to go up were mostly unimpressed, and a lot of other people seem either angry at not being able to take part or angry that it blocked off the square. Comments were mostly positive on the BlogTO account of the event, but even then, there was griping about “privilege”, even though the event was free to anyone with an Amex card.

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday, July 7th »

TasteTO wasn’t the only publication to show up at Yummy Stuff for their grand opening on Saturday. Our pal Suresh from Spotlight Toronto was there as well, and he’s got a post about the sweet delights the shop has to offer. Suresh also has reviews of Waterfalls Tapas and Grill, as well as Veda TakeOut.

Over at Torontoist, Julie goes for a another Great Torontoist Challenge - this time dim sum. And Marc has an interesting piece on a couple of beverage companies and how people attending Pride (or anyone who doesn’t want to give their money to anti-gay organizations) might not want to support them by buying their products.

The National Post Appetizer blog holds a blind taste test with a number of Central Canadian beers - with the winner being Hockley Valley Dark. Joshua from BlogTO heads to Etobicoke for the Ribfest, and Eric of Menumental flips some burgers for Canada Day. David Lawrason of Toronto Life gets a little cheeky when he refers to the “river”-themed Vintages release as “Some Decent Wines We Put Together From Europe at About $20 So That We Could Spend Lots of Money on This Glossy Spread in the Catalogue.” Dude, isn’t that every release at the LCBO?

Christine of Gremolata travels to Holland Marsh to check out what’s growing within the mythical 100-mile radius, Noelle gives peas a chance, and there’s a piece on St. Andrew’s-by-the-Sea.

The First Fruits of Spring festival is in full swing and BlogTO offers a round-up of events. If strawberries aren’t sweet enough, Tim’s got a piece on Europa Bakery, and Wild Thing, a new cafe on Harbord Street. At Menumental, Eric dines at Cowbell.

Posted Toronto reports on Chef Mark McEwan’s new upscale grocery store set to open this fall in Don Mills. Sounds great, except - Don Mills? That’s a bit of a trek for lugging stuff home on the subway, isn’t it? Oh… right, car-free environmentalists from Parkdale are probably not McEwan’s target market. Also, long-standing Dooney’s Cafe in the Annex will be shutting down, although the space will remain a cafe.

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday, June 23rd »

I’m not really here. I’m off today with the good folks at the Gladstone Hotel to visit Chick-A-Biddy Acres CSA and write an article about their upcoming Harvest Wednesdays series, where I will do my best to not steal a chicken and bring it home as a pet. In any case, this all means that the post you’re reading was actually written on Sunday, so if I’m missing stuff that has been posted in the past 24 hours, rest assured, it will be included next week.

Speaking of chicken, and other meat, Greg at BlogTO previews the grand opening of the Healthy Butcher on Eglinton West, and Tim reports on the first day sell-out at Caplansky’s deli.

In the decidely “not meat” category, Julie at Torontoist compares edamame.

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday, June 16th »

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.

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday, June 9th »

Butter is better. Or at least, Julie Reitsma of Torontoist aims to determine which butter is better with her Great Torontoist Challenge. Also at Torontoist, Catherine Kustanczy visits Grace, home of modern farmhouse cooking where there’s sure to be some butter.

Tim of BlogTO reports on the closure of The Garden @ eleven; Shawn Micallef of Spacing rants about the city’s street food bungling; and Eric Vellend of Menumental offers a primer on umami. At Toronto Life, James Chatto recalls recent parties missed and attended and recounts his day of sitting in the shop window at the Cheese Boutique.

And at Spotlight Toronto, the May newsletter includes reviews of La Bruschetta, mini-reviews of a variety of patios, and a feature on hotspot restaurants. On the Spotlight Toronto blog, Suresh visits South Indian Dosa Mahal (I’m way overdue for a visit there); has some drinks at Dazzling Restaurant, and lunches at Wrap and Go. He’s also got a report on the closure of The Garden @ eleven.

Fine dining is not dead in Toronto, and Eric Vellend of Menumental proves it with his review of Amuse-Bouche. Vellend and his Dad check out a 9-course tasting menu and leave quite happy.

At Toronto Life, James Chatto tours the distilleries of Scotland, while David Lawrason features the wines of New Zealand.

Ivy Knight has a sausage party at Gremolata, and Noelle Munaretto has info on spinach, as well as an interview with tearoom owner Karen Hartwick.

And at BlogTO, Tim seems to be taking on all the restaurant reviews himself with pieces on Okay Okay, Cafe Next Door, and Rawlicious, as well as articles on Saving Gigi and Crema Coffee.

Living a mere stone’s throw from BMO field (and particularly the pubs where the football hooligans congregate before and after the games), Julie Reitsma’s Torontoist challenge this week was amusing to me. It’s a bit of an unfair comparison but her team of judges picks the best of the multi-cultural food offerings at BMO field. Some of the items are unfamiliar to the judges and they don’t get all of the connections between the food and the game - hint -I think the Cubano sandwich is meant as an homage to the many wonderful South American teams and players, and while Reitsma is correct in her assessment that curry fries aren’t Indian in origin, they are a very British dish often served in pubs, even here in Toronto (The Duke of York in the Eaton Centre used to offer the dish).

At Posted Toronto, Rob Roberts reports on the really scary stuff kids in city-run daycares get to eat each day. And Brianna Goldberg finds a local coffee shop acts as a community hub amidst a sea of condos.

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday May 19th »

The buzz this week is all about newly-opened Grace restaurant, in the College Street location where Xacutti used to be. Tim of BlogTO offers a first look of the space and the menu. Tim also reports that Noon restaurant has shut its doors. Kelvin checks out some events at last week’s Santé festival.

Val of Torontoist is psyched for Farmer’s Market season, and Eric of Menumental has foodie suggestions for Mother’s Day.

At Gremolata, Malcolm finds a critter wine he likes, and interviews Chef Charlie Ayers. Nicole enjoys asparagus season.

James Chatto previews a unique “street food” event at Toronto Life that will be part of the Luminato festival, and David Lawrason has a post about the Santé wine festival.

This week, we start our round-up with Posted Toronto, where Rob Roberts features one of Parkdale’s favourite spots, the Good Catch General Store.

Eric Vellend of Menumental offers suggestions on where to get good vegetarian food for meat-free day, part of David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge.

At Torontoist, David reports on how the Queen West Ben & Jerry’s was the only location to not take part in free ice cream day, with the shop closed tight and bailiff notices posted in the window. Wasn’t this also the location that closed down one day last summer because it was “too hot” to open? Seeking chilly solace elsewhere, Julie compares slushies. Earning her, yet again, the award for most devoted (brave/foolish) food writer in Toronto.

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday, May 5th »

Yesterday I watched Heston Blumenthal on the Food Network figure out a way to make ice cream hot on the outside but still cold in the centre. After much experimentation and chemical intervention, he found a way to do it, and I congratulated him through the screen, pointing out that he was now qualified to run the deep-fried ice cream station at ChiChi’s.

Which is to say that I’m not a fan of molecular gastronomy, mostly because it seeks to waste time finding solutions to problems that don’t need solving. Blumenthal’s quest for the “perfect” Baked Alaska was moot. His experiments comparing the insulating properties of various types of cake against roofing insulation were amusing but unnecessary. Hundreds, even thousands of chefs before him had already done the work. So despite the write up at Torontoist, I won’t be one of the folks lining up to see Dr. Herve This discuss the wonders of foam and meat glue. However, Torontoist has a post about a more down to earth food item with some vintage ads for bread.

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday, April 28th »

They love us over at Spotlight Toronto, where Suresh is doing spotlights on various sites including TasteTO and Chowhound. Thanks for the props guys, it’s great to know people appreciate what we’re doing.

At Torontoist, Julie does another Great Torontoist Challenge; this time it’s water, with my all time most hated bottled water, Dasani, coming up a winner. That stuff tastes like chemicals, yo. Also at Torontoist, Patrick looks at the new marketing scheme at Loblaw (no S) with upscale markets, and a savings on signage; Sarah’s Snappy Answers column is all about food; and there’s a Streeter about selecting eggs.

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday, April 21st »

Funny how people get different impressions of certain places. Last week we ran a review of Indian restaurant Chakra that wasn’t very favourable. But at Spotlight Toronto, Suresh attended the official opening and really loved the place. He also headed up to the opening of Le Pain Quotidien for some tasty bread.

Posted Toronto looks at the renovations that will change the face of the Five Thieves at Yonge and Summerhill, and the poor beleaguered plastic bag and the considerations to ban them from LCBO stores. And at Menumental, Eric Vellend looks at what customers can do to make sustainable seafood choices.

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday, April 14th »

I know they’re not doing it to annoy me personally, but sweet sassy molassy I’m done with the “Best Of” lists over at BlogTO. There’s yet more of the things, but y’all can go find them yourself. Eesh!! In real food posts, Joshua visits the Sweet Potato organic grocery in the Junction, Kelvin eats brunch at Eleven, and Nicole visits Ding Dong Pastries and Cafe. Also at BlogTO, Steve writes about an alleged discrimination issue at Everest on Queen, and learns the palate/palette/pallet lesson so dear to most food writers.

Posted Toronto reports that Susur Lee’s departure puts the kibosh on a new restaurant that was slated for Summerhill station. They also drop by O Nosso Tahlo where lotto-winning butcher Jose Lima was handing out free chicken to his customers.

Continue reading The Wide, Wide World of Web - Monday, April 7th »