CoopSpeak Eats

Having your CakeStar and Eat it too!

2011-10-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

How sweet it is. In a great leap of faith, two sisters who have spent their lifetime growing up in a family bakery business, decided it was time to take their own pathway in the world of baked confectionery. Located down in the rapidly reviving 'hood of Mimico/Long Branch/New Toronto, along the section of the Lakeshore we just call "the 'shore", you'll find a sweet, sweet spot called CakeStar.

I'm fairly certain that right from the day these girls could hold a spatula, baking has been in their blood. Barb Accogli & Monja Chiaravalloti, without question are among the superstar set of the cake making community in Toronto and the GTA. For me, personally, what I think makes them so darned good is not only their genuine commitment to making a great product but rather the fact that the core values that drive their passion is based on their love of family. Every time you wander into Cakestar, or even when you pick up the phone and call them to talk about a dessert, they embrace you and without even realizing it, you've become a part of the CakeStar family.

I am in awe of their talent and their drive to succeed. I've been fortunate to have an inside peek to their lives and their family and I'm touched and buoyed by the way that CakeStar isn't just about making cakes, it's about love and respect. To that end I'd also like to add that these girls have big hearts and support the community on an ongoing basis by supporting fundraising and charities events involving family based support organizations such as FAME, as well as raising funds for Autism research. I have always subscribed to the tenet that when you give good, you get good which leads me to believe that CakeStar will be wildly successful.

Recently I attended the social media opening for the store. What a fun evening. We stuffed Cannoli's, we dipped Cakeballs and we shouted out a big cheer for support and success for Barb & Monja. CakeStar is located at: 3431 Lakeshore Blvd. West in Etobicoke.
Store hours are: Tuesday to Thursday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Fridays 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturdays 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 pm. Sunday is strictly by appointment only. Barb and Monja can be reached at 416.259.9053 or by email at: cakestar@rocketmail.com If you click on the title of this latest blog installment it'll take you directly to the CakeStar website. Be prepared to have your mind blown away at the works of art that you'll feast your eyes upon. Or you can do what I have a tendancy to do....just wander in and give in to your sweet tooth cravings. Oh gosh....how I need a cannoli!!!! Quick, where are my car keys.

On any given day one will never know what they find in the pastry case. Traditional southern Italian styled Cannoli are filled fresh when ordered. I love, love, love that! Which means the pastry shells will never, ever be soggy.

There are cupcakes and cookies and those fun little Cakeballs. A super nice touch is how the girls have packaged up Cakeballs for me to use as gifts. These are the finishing touches that set CakeStar apart from everyone else. If you are a sweet tweet person or have Facebook then I suggest you follow CakeStar (their Twitter handle is Cakestargirlz). These sweet but wickedly evil Queens of Confectionery will paste up the daily special treat of the day. It takes sweet teasing to a whole new height but I love it!

A picture, as they say, is worth a 1,000 words. So check out these clips of Monja as she assembles and decorates a customized wedding cake. Life is sweet and so are these sisters!

Monja begins to build a cake!
Tools of the trade!

Voila! A wedding cake is born.

The Flower is on the Bloom

2011-06-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

The flower is definitely back on The Bloom on Bloor Street. I used to be fairly regular at this Bloor West destination but dining competition is fierce and it after a few visits at Bloom the menu lost its lustre for me. Then the lovely Mary Luz Mejia of Sizzling Communications, invited me to what I refer to as a "soft re-opening" of the restaurant for the local Tweeps and social media food goonies. How could I possibly turn that invite down?
A night to hang with my sisters in food crimes! I was so down with that.

Immediately I noticed there seemed to be a different, fresh vibe in the dining room. The wall colour isn't the only thing different at Bloom. The new man behind the doors in the kitchen, Chef Pedro Quintanilla, whose background in Cuban cooking, turned the menu on its ear with his blend of Latin dishes. Surrounded by my food tweeps we settled in for a glimpse to what we could expect from the newly refaced Bloom restaurant.

The hosts welcomed us with some lovely light cocktail offerings of Bloom Mojitos or the Blooming Buds. Both were refreshing and a great way to start up the evening.

The opening act was Cassava Frites garnished with Mojo dipping sauce. Anything with the word mojo in it is like that moment in the film "Jerry Maguire" with the old "You had at me at hello." line. It was a perfect Amuse Bouche and got my taste buds all roaring and ready to go.

Starters were a choice between Ceviche or a Spring Terrine. In my wisdom I buddied up with a Food Tweep and we struck and agreement to each order the opposite and share our plates so we could get to try it all. The Spring Terrine (chicken liver & foie gras) was sided with crostini, two crispy onion rings and stems of freshly steamed aspargus. Kudos to the kitchen for not turning the asparagus into stringy sticks of greeness. On an ethical food note, Bloom is committed to using sustainable fish, bravo to the management for recognizing the importance of a sustainable seafood supply. The fish was cured in lime juice, habanero peppers and cilantro. It had some attitude and I was down with that. Although the Ceviche we had that evening was a bit chewier than I prefer, the lime juice with the Habanero really kicked it up a notch. For me the winner was the Spring Terrine. I have since again tried the Ceviche, which really is a house specialty, and the second time was much better.

For mains, the choice was Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna Fillet with crispy spuds, roasted veggies drizzled with a tofu-wasabi dressing or a pan seared Flank Steak topped with a Chimichurri Sauce, sided with garlic mashed potatoes and ginger glazed carrots. The fish was cooked perfectly with the sesame creating a very dry crust. I have eaten my share of Chimichurri over the years but hands down the Chimichurri atop a seared rare sliced pile of flank steak was freakishly delicious.

Most restaurants make the Chimichurri in a food processor, turning it into what most would say looked more like Pesto. This Chimichurri had real body to it. It wasn't runny but rather sat like a firm condiment across the meat. I later learned from Chef Quintanilla that he hand chops the Chimichurri which explains the consistency. It also told me volumes about the calibre of the food he sends out of the kitchen.

While I liked the Tuna, I'm a meat loving kinda girl and the flank steak was a home run. Just writing about that Chimichurri on the steak makes my mouth water. A mouthful of that meat and those garlic mashed potatoes was a food love affair in my mouth.

Bring on the sweets! The evening choices consisted of Churros (insert drool strings here) with warm chocolate sauce and ice cream or a Cuban Dulce de Leche flan with Thyme. The Churros was much more tiny than what I am accustomed to. The killer though was the warm chocolate sauce that was edgy with a slight tang of heat and cinnamon. The Dulce de Leche flan was true to flan style and was pretty much spot on although I'm not sure I could taste the Thyme. The winner for the sweets of the evening, without question, had to be those crispy little Churros drizzled with that chocolate sauce.

Malivoire wines were the accompanying libations. They included a 2009 Pinot Gris, a 2007 (which by far and away was one of the best years for wine in Ontario) Pinot Noir and for dessert a 2008 Icewine Riesling was served. All worked well with the food but for me I was feeling the love for the Pinot.

I'm definitely adding Bloom back to my restaurant destination list. It's a great date spot, a great spot to get together with your girlie pals or just a lovely, low key spot to kick back and enjoy a decent meal. The new menu at Bloom is worth a look at. You don't want to miss out on that Chimichurri and the Churros are plate licking worthy! Like I said, the flower is definitely back on the Bloom!

Couple of quick notes; Bloom offers a BYOW with corkage of $10 bucks Tues-Thurs, $20 Fri-Sat.

Welcome to the Death Row Supper Club....reservations anyone?

2011-03-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

Sounds kind of ominous....the Death Row Supper Club.....

Supper clubs have become an underground food phenomenon where a bunch of people, most of whom don't know each other, buy up tickets (usually online) for an evening of dining, organized privately, often hosted by a Chef, in a private location. In Toronto the most well known supper club is Charlie's Burger, a dining club I might add, that actually asks you to fill out an application for consideration for the invite list. Tickets are usually on a first come, first serve basis, involve cash and in many cases there is often a BYOW option.

As ominous as the Death Row Supper Club sounds it really is about getting a bunch of chefs together where they get to create the best "last" supper they can come up with. There is a catch though, this supper club has a theme, which is geared to the locavore locapour movement that has taken hold in Ontario. I bought a ticket for the first official DRSC, which was hosted at Beast and the evening theme was the "Hunter's Feast". The highlight of this evening was centred around a wild boar. So five chefs, Scott Vivian (Beast Restaurant); Rossy Earle (Personal Chef, Caledon Culinary Challenge Winner, 86'd Monday Salsa Smack down Champ); Jason Bangertner (Luma & Canteen, O&B); Steve Wilson (Summit Golf & Country Club) and Tom Davis (The Stockyards)got together and divvied up a wild boar. Every single course served throughout the dinner had to have some connection to the wild boar. Damn, it's a good thing I like meat. There were 7 courses in total, with a wine flight served with each course. Wineries included 13th Street, Fielding Estates Winery, Lailey Vineyard, Ravine Vineyards, Rosewood Winery, Rosehall Run Winery and Karlo Estate. It was, without question, an epic evening, from the perspective of the diners.

So here's the sweet and low....

First course: Charcuterie along with a bucket of wild boar foie gras and a pimento cheese that was made from the braised boar hocks. I just love Charcuterie because it such an old world art and speaks to not wasting any of the animal, from head to tail.

The second course from Scott Vivian was a Guinea Hen & Wild Boar Face (yes, you read that right) Tourtiere. It is sided with Pickled Elderberry ketchup and a shaved Fennel Salad with crunchy little bits of boar in it. The pastry on this tourtiere was superb and the mixed meat filling had that hint of cloves that is so synonymous with tourtiere. The white crumbly mixture you see on top of the tourtiere, which looks like cheese, is actually a rendered version of foie gras with something added to it to make it white. This was washed down with some Fielding 2008 "Jack Rabbit Flats" Pinot Noir.

The third course came from the only rose among the thorns, Chef Rossy Earle, the only chick on this cook up roster. Chef Earle's offering was "Chupe De Chorizo" which is basically a Latin-American stew/soup. This was her throw back to her Panamanian roots. It featured wild boar chorizo, potatoes, chick peas which had been immersed in coconut and fire charred tomato red pepper broth. The two kickers of this course were the crunchy little bits of Chicharron in the soup and the dollop of a lime infused sour cream. On the side of the bowl was a small cup of Sofrito Chipollo, which is a kind of fried onions. The accompanying wine was a sassy little 2008 Syrah from Lailey which had the right kick of cinnamon in the wine to be the perfect blend for this tasty bowl of Latin American absolute goodness.

Chef Jason Bangertner, presented a hand minced game sausage "en crepenette". I can't even imagine the work behind the artisanal craft of hand mincing meat for sausage. Mind blowing. This was not to be outdone by a very usual Guinea Hen mouseline sausage that was almost white and was akin to eating meat mousse. These sausages were plated with a small piece of boar belly and some braised cabbage with a dollop of a grainy mustard which is a perfect side for sausages. We quaffed a Ravine Vineyards 2008 Riesling with this course. The lightness and acidity created a decent food balance for this course.

At this point, the meat sweats are beginning to take hold when Chef Steve Wilson brings out a Harvest Gold Mead braised wild boar shoulder, sliced up and plattered for family style service. This was sided with some wickedly evil Buttermilk Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Collard Greens with boar bits and a bowl of really fun "dirty" Hush Puppies containing carmelized onions and thyme, drizzled with infused honey drizzle. The question burning in my mind now is why did I not wear my fat pants. Just for the record I had a second serving on the pretty Rosewood 2008 Chardonnay Reserve as I dipped my dirty Hush Puppy into those butter laden mashed Sweet Potatoes.

Holy mutha of Gawd....I'm feeling like I'm about to give birth to a bouncing 7 lb. baby boar. Just when I think there is not a space left in my ballooning belly out comes Chef Tom Davis (who cooks up the best fried chicken in the city) and bam! He plunks down a plate in front of me with a buttermilk biscuit, drenched with wild boar and smoked apple sausage gravy, with a couple of pieces of Southern Deep Fried Quail perched atop. This is sided with Wild Boar Carbonara which was wild boar noodles with crackling and a poached Quail's egg. Someone please....just kill me now. Oh for the hell of it we'll just wash down this goodness with some Rosehall Run Winery 2008 Sullyswicker Pinot. I think labour is setting in....oh the stomach pain.

Naturally it ain't over until the fat lady sings. Bring on the doughnuts for dessert! Rachelle Vivian, pastry Chef at Beast, cranked out some killer doughnuts rolled in Wild Boar Bacon and sugar and then stuffed those little nodules of golden goodness with a Maple Curd.

At the end of the night I'd have to say that the highlights of the meal for me was the Chupe De Chorizo and the Southern Fried Quail on the biscuit. Not to take anything at all away from the participating chefs but these two courses just made this meat loving girl very happy.

I'd like to give a shout out to social media food maven, Joel Solish (Foodie411 for you tweeps!) and his co-organizer, Trish Gill for bringing this evening all together. Joel & Trish have formed a project called "Living. Loving. Local." with a focus on supporting local food systems. I understand that the DRSC will be meeting up about 3-4 times a year. I can't wait!

La Vida Es Buena

2011-02-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

Life is good. That is the translation of this latest installment of CoopSpeak Eats. Kensington Market is one of my happy places. Walking around there, even on a winter's day is like going into sensory overload. I always make sure to carry some extra shopping totes with me when I head through the streets. What can I say, I'm just a weakling when you put me on to these streets. Meat, cheese, fish, spices, baked goods and then your nose takes over. Akram's for Lahm Pies, Strawberry Baklava and Turkish Delights made with Rosewater. Meats at Pete Sanagan's, slabs of pie from Wanda's Pie in the Sky or empanadas from Jumbo Empanadas. These are my kind of streets. I feel very at home here on Augusta, Kensington and Baldwin Streets. As as kid, who grew up in the heart of the city, shopping on these corners was just a part of life. Now being in the 'burbs, while it might seem like an effort to haul ass down there, it is simply worth every single sight, sound, smell, taste and flavour.

Smell is such a powerful trigger. As I walk past Pancho's Bakery my snozz gets a scent full of cooking Churros. It is just too much for me and I'm ready to succumb to those evil fried tubes of pastry goodness but the throngs of people squeezing into the doors puts me off. I manage to just get inside the entrance of Pancho's and I'm beginning to feel the onset of claustrophobia. The heaviness of the wafting scents of frying oil only adds to the sensation of not being able to get my breath. I look up and I notice the stairs leading up to a small upper level that looks far less populated. Squeezing through the crowd I work my way up the stairs only to discover that there are other small food booths/destinations inside of Pancho's Bakery. This setting of a small business inside of another small business is very much of what you can expect to find in an authentic central America street food setting. You'll find small, one man food booths, each person selling their specialty foods, often a special family recipe. Something tells me I'm going to be grateful for the perseverance of pushing through the hoards of the Churro chuffing mob.

Meet Francisco "Paco" Alejandri. His booth is called Agave Y Agucate (which means Agave & Avocado). As it turns out our paths have crossed over at the Drake at 86'D Mondays. We had sat beside each other during a guacamole smack down, devouring Chicharrones together along with a little mountains of avocado goodness. Francisco has opened up his own petite table in Pancho's. It is difficult not to notice his space up there because he has muraled the wall behind him and it's an explosion of a gorgeous tangerine colour. His cooking station is spotless, with small mortal & pistol bowls, a couple of special tabletop burners, cutting boards, a small deep fryer and piles of fresh uncut ripened tomatoes, avocados, jalapenos, fresh greens & herbs. His chalkboard menu is tiny. There are about 6 items on it. Francisco makes one of my most fave Mexican indulgences, Tinga Tostadas, which is a version of a Mexican pulled pork on a tostada piled with array of fresh toppings. My daughter and I order a Tinga Tostada, a Verde Tostada.

I'm mystified by the presence of a big glass beverage dispenser. I ask Francisco about it and he tells me it is Hibiscus water. My eyes open wide. I have never had Hibiscus water but I was drawn to it by the brilliant ruby colour. Being a gardener I can appreciate the exotic beauty of the Hibiscus flowers. They are pretty and delicate, somewhat similar to Hollyhocks. We order a glass and I stand there watching as Francisco begins making our order and I slowly, somewhat cautiously take a sip. The drink was not chilled which means the flavors will flow through my palate even quicker. It was sweet but not cloying or perfumy. Can you call a beverage delicate? It didn't have any astringency like you'd find in lemonade or any tannin after taste like ice tea. I couldn't put my finger on the flavour except to say I'm calling Francisco to ask him if I could buy a couple of litres of it. Hibiscus water could be the base of a really beautiful exotic summertime cocktail and isn't that just like me to be thinking about what booze I could mix this up with! Imagine a gorgeous tall glass of this flower nectar, mixed with something sparkling, poured over crushed ice and garnished with some fresh flower petals. I am yearning for warm summer months just so I can invite people over for these drinks.

It was a pleasure watching Francisco lovingly prepare these tostadas. It is a labour of love. None of the veggies or toppings, other than the pork and the onions, which seem to be marinated in something that has softened them, has been pre-chopped. So I watch as Francisco cuts open a fresh avocado and carefully slices out three pieces for topping. The first layer of the tostada has fried black beans, he ladles a generous helping of the pork mixture and then he just continues to pile, topping after topping. He chops fresh jalapenos, he chops up fresh tomatoes. I am watching food architecture. That cream that is last splash on the very top, isn't your standard sour cream, there is something very different about it. This tostada has colour, texture, crunch, smoothness, heat, sweet and is filled with true TLC. I have never been a huge fan of pulped, refried beans but Francisco treats these black beans in a way that is kind to the texture and it strengthens the colour palate of the canvas that the tostada has become for the toppings.

The Verde Tostada is perfect for the vegetarians in the crowd. Francisco pulps the fresh avocado mixture, tops that with a slab of Queso Fresco and what I think is a roasted tomatillo salsa of some sort. We plunk ourselves on one of six rare chairs available in the whole place and eat our food watching the world of Kensington Market pass by the windows. We savor. We delight. This is fresh. This is good.

For all this freshly made goodness and a couple of glasses of Hibiscus Water the price tag is $12.50. La Vida es Buena and if you'd like to find out just how good life can taste you'll find Francisco "Paco" Alejandri cooking up his soulful Mexican food on the upper level inside of Pancho's Bakery located at 214 Augusta Avenue.

When You Wish Upon a Michelin Star.....

2011-01-26T06:30:00.001-08:00

Being awarded a Michelin star is to a chef what snagging a Grammy is to a rock star. It is the benchmark that says not only have you arrived but hot damn you are simply one of the best in the business. So when I got an invite from MaryLuz Mejia, of Sizzling Communications, to to sit in on a dinner up at the Stratford Chefs School being cooked by Michelin Star Chef Alexandre Gauthier, I started babbling and giggling moving straight into my food groupie mode. I felt like someone just handed me a pair of front row tickets for a Bon Jovi concert. Ok, ok, I know, I'm a middle aged broad, but Jon Bon Jovi still does it for me. Chefs are the food rock stars of my life.

During the theatre off season, the Stratford Chefs School, takes over three local restaurants, The Old Prune, Rundles & Pazzo and uses them as a hands on training ground for their students. To enhance that training experience the school has a Chef in Residence program where they bring in culinary super stars to work up close and personal with the students. This was the week that Chef Alexandre Gauthier, who brought along his own Sous Chef and Maitre d' with him, was strutting his culinary repertoire of eclectic French cuisine.

Hitting the road with fellow sisters from the food hood....

.... Jennifer Hall & Rossy Earle, we drove through a hellish winter's blast of a blizzard of blowing snow and ice to Stratford. The minute we arrived at The Old Prune all the white knuckle driving anxieties melted like icicles in a spring thaw. It only took seconds to realize that we had come to food nirvana. We were graciously hosted at our table by the school director, Kimberley Payne, who asked me if I'd like to go in to the kitchen to snap a few pictures. Oh my, a backstage pass. Up close and personal to a food rock star. I try hard not to giggle out of sheer joy. Life is good.

It was an interesting insight that being in the kitchen provided me, not only from a photographic perspective, but just to watch a chef superstar guide the line by coaching, instructing and sharing with the students. If you were expecting the f-bombs being lobbed around like celeb chef Gordon Ramsay then you would be greatly disappointed. There is a charming boyishness about Chef Gauthier, yet it's married to an intensity about how he conducts himself in the kitchen. He commands the kitchen, not by fear, but rather out of the pursuit of excellence. There wasn't a musical note of food cacophony happening on this kitchen stage.

Here is the evening's Menu unfolded.....

The starter course.....

....was a beef carpaccio decked out with ribbons of thinly mandolined apple slices and right after it was tabled the Maitre d' then spooned an egg foam on top. I'm just going to get right down to business. The starter was my favorite course of the whole evening. It had everything going for it. It had colour, texture and the flavours dovetailed to each other like a perfect symphony. For me, this course was pure music for my mouth. There wasn't a note off key. The beef was thicker than most carpaccio I've eaten and usually you can see through carpaccio but not this beef. The balance between the velvet like consistency of the beef against the sweet, cool crunchiness of the apple was spot on. The egg foam just seem to bring it all together and a splay of freshly cracked pepper atop the sweet apple gave this dish a slight edginess. It is food music with a sublime attitude.

The second course....

....was a white bean puree with foie gras, croutons and garlic butter. The foie gras sits on the bottom of the bowl and it's like digging for and discovering buried treasure in your food. It makes me giddy, like a child who just cracked open a Kinder egg or a box of Crackerjack and found the prize toy. The consistency of the white bean puree was thick, like a veloute and every mouthful either had a crunch of a crouton which seemed to me to have some sort of bacon like edge to them. Foie gras is rich but the puree tempers it well. A soup like this could be very overwhelming but again I'm getting the idea that Chef Gauthier is about balance and beauty.

The third course...

....was gnocchi infused with fresh sweet peas. The brilliant green of the gnocchi, obviously created through the combination of the green peas brings a pizazz factor to the plate. I must admit though I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to gnocchi. I found these gnocchi just a tad more dense and just a bit more al dente than what I'm used to and prefer but I can appreciate the playfulness of what Chef Gauthier is going for in this dish. What I also found interesting is how Chef chooses not to plate the gnocchi centred but rather off to the side of the plate. A waiter then pours additional pea juices on the gnocchi after the plate is served. It lifts the gnocchi to a different level, bringing more flavour to the serving.

The main course...

...was crispy, pan seared veal tongue with creamy wheat polenta and a pesto & caper butter. Now some might feel a tad squeamish at the thought of chowing down on crispy tongue but this charcuterie loving, don't waste anything from the animal kinda gal is absolutely down with this. It also speaks to the Chef's commitment about if you are going to use an animal for food, then use it all. Let nothing go to waste. The tongue was crispy on all sides and the meat had a consistency somewhat akin to liver. I would have loved to have a spoonful or two more of the creamy wheat polenta as the tongue meat is just a tad dry when you get to the centre of it. The pesto caper butter gives the meat a lovely glaze and leaves a lingering finish on the back of your palate.

Palate cleanser anyone?

The typical palate cleanser at most dinners I've sat through usually involve some sort of ice or sorbet based mouth cleanser. This was a whole different song. How about a small chunk of honeycomb drizzled with fresh lemon juice. In essence it was a chunk of nature's own candy. It was a simple, playful, finger licking, sticky stroke of food brilliance.

Some like it sweet...

....the dessert was like architecture. This is a dessert whose construction I'm quite sure would have impressed even the likes of Frank Gehry. A cylinder of white chocolate, about the size of a roll of coins, sits upright, filled and brimming with an ambrosial citrus cream. This decadent structure is anchored by pieces of tiny mandarin oranges and sprinkled with carmelized sugar bits. The sugar bits add a slight crunch to the smoothness of the citrus cream, again providing a contrast for texture. White chocolate is the least favorite of my chocolate choices but I can overlook that because this dessert is just simply pretty and I absolutely love the citrus edge of the cream. Again Chef plays off the side of the plate, not centering the dessert. It's a very savvy visual ploy on his part because it makes you really look at your plate from a different perspective.

And just when you think you can't eat another bite....

...at this point I'm pretty much feeling like the fat guy in the Monty Python film, "The Meaning of Life".....just one more tiny little bite. Around comes the Maitre d' and waitstaff with a trayful of uncut Petit Fours. There were two choices, white chocolate with orange or caramel. I opt for the caramel since I've just glutted myself on white chocolate and citrus cream. The waitress carefully cuts off a small piece, gingerly wrapping it in a piece of parchment and hands it over. A small bite, so sweet, so delicious. Please don't let me explode but if I do at least I'm one happy food oogling groupie who has been well fed by one incredible rock star of a chef. This is the part where you insert a sigh of contentment.

About the wine flights....

The evening libations are so kindly provided by Huff Estates, who hail from Prince Edward County. The pours included: a 2007 Peter F. Huff sparkling Cuvee; a 2008 South Bay Chardonnay; a 2008 Gamay Reserve and a 2009 Merlot. The really big surprise here is the sparkling Cuvee, it completely hit the bullseye on what a sparking wine should deliver. Then again, I shouldn't be so surprised as 2007 was a fantastic year for grapes in Ontario. Keep an eye for the release of this pretty little sparkler which I believe will be in the LCBO sometime this spring. It will definitely be on my to buy list. Initially the Chardonnay seemed average but after a mouthful of the white bean puree the wine seem to take on a life of its own. Both reds are still very young and I preferred the Merlot over the Gamay. Our student Sommelier, whose name escapes me, but who I affectionately think should be named the Red Ginge, did a bang up job of explaining about the grapes and the wines. One more reminder...keep an eye for that 2007 sparkling Cuvee. Its pure delight in a glass.

Some final notes, shout outs and pics....

A girl can wish upon a Michelin star chef and the only thing that could make that better was to have TWO Michelin star chefs in the kitchen and while I've been oogling and singing the praises of Chef Gauthier I would be remiss not to mention the other star in the kitchen. Chef Riccardo Camanini, also a Michelin star chef, flanked the headliner in this all star food extravaganza. Chef Camanini has been in residence at the school for a small period of time, not only to teach but to improve his English skills. The other culinary shout out goes to Student Chef John Di Battista who was kind enough to come around to the table for a very short visit.

I'd like to extend my appreciation to MaryLuz Mejia for steering us toward this culinary destination. I'd also like thank the school director, Kimberley Payne for being such a kind and generous hostess, as well to Lanny Huff of Huff Estates for bringing up that yet to be released gorgeous sparkly golden goodness in a glass and finally to fellow food blogger, Steve Stacey of Local Come Lately. I'm so jealous that you reside in Stratford! I took a ton of pictures and a picture as they say is worth a thousand words....or in this case worth a drive through a winter storm to a food destination that was well worth it. Enjoy the pics!

Comfort Food with Pure Elegance

2011-01-15T06:25:00.000-08:00

I love risotto. It is though, a labour of love to make it and it is a dish that while preparing you just cannot turn your back on. Once you the start the cooking process risotto becomes about as high maintenance as it gets but if you do it right it is pure food love and comfort on a dish. My favorite risotto of all time (forgive me Iron Chef, Mario Batali, it isn't your Risotto Milanese!) is a fragrant Wild Mushroom Risotto, inspired by the mushrooms of northwestern Italy.

I found this recipe years ago in a Bon Appetit magazine, clipped it out and tucked it into my recipe box. I knew it would be a lot of work and it took some time before I got up enough courage to try my hand at this dish. It took me a couple of tries to get it right. First it was too mushy. Next time it was too al dente but finally on my third kick at the proverbial pan I got it right. It was then I realized it came down to pan size. The first pan was too small, the second pan was way too large but the third pan, in between these two sizes was just right. I am sounding like Goldilocks meets Kitchen Confidential!

So here's the recipe, with a couple of slight alterations, which seemed to work better for me.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Yield: 8 first course servings or 4 main course servings

Ingredients:
5 cups of chicken broth (I've been using that organic chicken broth packaged in a tetrapack from my local green grocer)
1 package of dried Porcini mushrooms

2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2.5 Cups finely chopped onions
1.5 pounds of Cremini mushrooms, finely chopped (including stems)
2 large Garlic cloves, smashed and finely minced
1 Tablespoon fresh Thyme, finely minced
1 Tablespoon fresh Marjoram, finely minced (I find it challenging to find fresh Marjoram, especially during winter months. Use dried but cut amount to 1/2 Tbsp.)
1.5 Cups of Arborio Rice (I prefer it to Cannaroli rice)
one half cup of dry white wine
one cup of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (Please, please, please don't use that dryed packaged Parmesan. Invest in a small chunk and it keeps really well in the fridge. It simply worth every penny!)

Additional Toppings you may want to consider using:

White Truffle Oil (Tartufo Oil)
Black Tartufo (expensive little black mushrooms that come in a jar, found in most fine food stores)
Slivers/slices of fresh Parmesan
Fresh Parsley, minced & in sprigs

Preparation:
Bring broth to a simmer in a pot. Add Porcini 'shrooms to broth and simmer until tender (about 3 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, remove 'shrooms to plate and let cool. When 'shrooms are cooled, give them a good squeeze, return any of the juice to the broth pot, then chop 'shrooms finely. All the while keep your broth warm. You will note how the broth has gone from being yellow to a deep brown and the broth will be absolutely fragrant with Porcini scent.

In a large, heavy sauce pan, melt butter & oil over a medium heat. Add onions & cremini mushrooms and saute until tender (approx. 10 minutes). Add chopped Porcini 'shrooms and herbs and saute for about 5 minutes. Add rice. Stir thoroughly and saute for about 3 minutes. Add wine. Cook until wine is absorbed, stirring often, for about 8 minutes. Keep stirring. Begin to add warmed broth, a ladle at a time, stirring until broth is absorbed. Rice will begin to get more creamy. Continue to add broth, again only by a ladle at a time, continuing to stir, until you have finally finished stirring in all the broth. This process will take about 30 minutes.

Right as the rice is finished cooking, add in your freshly grated Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper. Immediately begin to plate the risotto. Top with additional trimmings as so desired.
I drizzle a few drops of White Tartufo oil, sliver imported black Tartufo Mushrooms and use a cheese slicer to slice off pieces of Parmesan.
This just raises the wow factor in this dish by about ten notches and is worth the extra cost if you are serving this dish for an elegant dinner party.

Finally, because this is a rice dish, one might be inclined to want to serve a white wine with it. Toss that idea aside and bring on a slightly cooled bold red wine. The strength of those mushrooms, in particular the Porcini 'shrooms give this dish enough backbone to stand up beautifully to any kick ass red.

This dish is a perfect dish for a chilly winter's night dinner. Enjoy!

This Boy Is One Long, Tall, Cool Drink of Water

2010-12-11T12:22:00.000-08:00

On Monday nights I hang out at the Drake. It's where most of the food community meet up since that is usually the night off of the chefs, the sous chefs, the waitstaff, the restaurant owners and all those people who just generally speaking, love to eat and drink. We've done everything from the Holy Guacamole smackdown to a Crunch & Munch for pickled food. Hell, there's even been Manhattan Monday. I say, bring it!

I have a regular crew I hang with. They are fun. Ivy Knight, I want you to know that this girl appreciates how much more fun you've made Monday nights. I'm going to do my very best to make it out to the cookie exchange.

So far the highlight of Monday night at the Drake (besides some of the best R&B tunes this side of the GTA) is the night I got to meet Michael Smith. At 6'6" this food dude/writer/tv chef is just nothing short of being one long, tall, cool drink of water. So here's my Michael Smith story. Rumour on the street was that Mr. Smith was gonna show up and bring something pickled to be judged at a smackdown. So I show up early. Hey, a girl likes to make sure she has a good table! So upon my arrival I'm told at the door I have to wait until 7 pm and that they are admitting Media first. WTF? Doh. I look at the doorman with my usual 'tude and say "dooood...we are Monday night reg's. We are your bread and butter. Don't tell me you are putting media before your regulars." Apparently they are. So I plunk myself down in the cafe, gnawing on a glass of wine, commiserating because I've been cast aside by someone with a media badge. Then all of a sudden I see 6'7" walking past the front window. I jump up from my table, hurdling over a couple people and tap him on the back. Sure enough it is Michael Smith. We smile, introduce ourselves and I tell him my dilemma of being cast aside and says "go get your stuff, come in me with". Oh lord, he had me at his smile. It was a fun night at the Drake. We crunched, we munched, we nibbled and we voted. Big props went to the Kaiser sisters who edged out Chef Smith's pickled caramel apples. You just can't miss this guy in a room, no matter where you stand, he stands heads above everyone else. Let me tell you, he's a personable in real life as he is on television. Him and Chef Lynn Crawford run neck and neck for the "what you see is what you get" personalities in front and behind those food network cameras.

I'm a silly food girl. I laughingly tell Michael Smith that he's the only guy I've ever met whose pantry I want to get in to. Kinda makes me sound like a dirty old lady but I don't give a hoot. It's Michael Smith and he's smiling at me, laughing at my comment about young guys like him keep old broads like me young at heart. I drag my friend, Chef Rossy Earle (of the Belfountain Inn) over to the bar to meet Michael Smith. I promptly inform him of her cooking status and then tell him she makes some of the best hot sauce I've ever eaten. I ain't letting her off the hook and I insist she bring over one of her bottles for him. This is Monday night at the Drake with Michael Smith.

I did make sure to get him to sign his cookbook that I had dragged all the way from Caledon. He is so obliging and he notes that several of the pages are flagged with stick it notes. Those, I point out, are recipes that I have tried and I tell him that so far my fave is the Barley Risotto. We talk food. We talk about his pantry. We talk about food and friends. This is my kind of my Monday night.

Some Like it Tart!

2010-11-21T08:24:00.000-08:00

No matter what you put into that little pink cup at Menchie's newly opened fro yo corner shop along the busy strip of the Bloor & Bathurst hood, it is simply all fun. Hey, how can you not smile at a fro yo called the "Original Tart". That just speaks to the old broad in me because this old foodster still has some 'tude left in her.
After all, I think I was the only blogger in the fro yo throw down that licked the Menchie's mascot. I have to give some big props to Maryluz Mejia & her partner Mario Stojanac of Sizzling Communications for luring out a bunch of social media online food bloggers to step up to the challenge and create a benchmark fro yo treat just for Menchie's. I called my entry "Some Like It Tart". I just couldn't resist the whole tart thing so this gal went right for the green apple tart & original tart combo, layered with little chunks of of cinnamon laden apple bits, and drizzled with caramel. For the most part, I've never been a fro yo fan. I've often found it cloying and this whole concept that it's healthier and lower in fat that ice cream is just silliness. Menchie's scored big points with me because it didn't give me that fro yo hangover that I often find myself feeling after indulging in these frozen treats. Pricing at Menchie's is also interesting as you pay by the weight. So you can go light on the waistline and the pocketbook at the same time. It is all up to you.

In total there were 15 entries and personally I think there should have been prizes for the judges. I got brain freeze just thinking having to plough through all that sampling, but hey, sometimes you just gotta take one for the team.

Menchie's isn't just a family friendly place, it's just a friendly place, period. There is something on their fro yo wall for everyones taste buds. There are chalkboards for kids of all ages, includng us old tarts, to leave their messages on and side boards laden with fro yo trimmings of candy, chocolate, crunchy bits, chewy stuff, fresh fruit and syrups. The possibilities are practically bottomless. I gotta give props though for the winning fro yo combo, Tropic Thunder, which was a delicious mixture, conjuring up thoughts of Pina Coladas. Only ingredient missing was Malibu Rum. Oh if only Menchie's was licensed!

My fave fro yo concoction name of the day was "Everything But The Bacon". I think food blogger Joel Solish, aka Foodie411, put everything but bacon in his pink cup. Perhaps Menchie's needs to take the bacon option under consideration. Bacon, maple syrup & pecans with their Banana Bread fro yo could be an awesome combo! Then again I'm firm believer that bacon makes everything better.
Highlights of the day for me was getting to hang with other online bloggers and food bro's enjoying the fro yo. It was fun indulging in treats with the tweeps. The final icing on the fro yo was that we all got treated to piece of Menchie's swag so at the end of the day, we were all winners. A girl can never get enough swag!

Menchie's, 511 Bloor St. W. (corner of Bloor & Albany Avenue)

Hands for Husking....a girl goes west!

2010-08-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

Living in Caledon, life with things like tractor pulls, fall fairs and local corn roasts just becomes a part of everyday life. These events are usually benchmarks of the seasons that we live with. Caledon is an enigma of a community. It is where urban meets rural, golf tees butt up against cow farms and the Forks of the Credit is not a restaurant but rather one of the most popular viewing spots in all of Ontario for the fall colours. Caledon boasts ownership of such landmarks as the Oak Ridges moraine, the Niagara Escarpment and one of my personal fave spots, the Badlands. How can you not love a community with a spot called the Badlands?

Last Saturday this girl went west, over to Valleywood which is basically the opposite western corner to where I live in Bolton. It's the other corner of urban sprawl of Caledon and last Saturday it played host to the Valleywood Residents Association Annual Corn roast. I was fortunate to get a personal invitation from the VRA Prezzie, the lovely Laura Genoway. I accepted immediately and then said "what can I do? Put my hands to work! Let me help out!" After all, I'm not just another pretty face ya know. :) So it all hands on the husking deck for this girl as I stepped up with a bunch of volunteers and we husked a small flatbed of corn for the event. I'd like to give kudos to Regional Councillor Allan Thompson and his family for donating all the corn to the annual event. Councillor Thompson grows it on his farm and has been kind enough to support this event for the past couple of years. I actually first met him over in my own hood, at the Bolton Farmer's Market, where he was hawking his corn. Six bucks for a baker's dozen or $.50 a cob. This is some damn fine eating. I'd also like to give a big thumbs up to Laura Genoway and her crew over in Valleywood. You sure know how to show an eastern Caledon girl a darned fine good time.

There was pig to be eaten, courtesy of Area Councillor Gord McClure, who cooked up the very first pig roast at this event! The pork was fantastic and I enjoyed every single mouthful. The field was covered with bouncy castles to be jumped on, sponges to be tossed and lots of local young musicians jamming with their bands. This is a multi cultural community which meant that naturally there were samosas to be gobbled up. I caught a break being strategically located next to that table.

At the booth I was volunteering at, it was all about the corn porn. I was using a crock pot with melted butter to help keep those cobs of golden deliciousness warm and tasty. Life doesn't get much better.

Finally this eastern Caledon girl would just like to say thank you to all the friends that I made last Saturday. There has been a lot of western versus eastern chatter in Caledon but what I learned was that we are all one community together. It was a pleasure to meet so many of my eastern neighbours and I look forward to getting to know them more. Up next....the Bolton Fall Fair and apple season! I can hardly wait! Here's hoping my western pals will come over to my side of town. I'd be happy to be just as gracious a host.

Candy Dandy Palooza, Flourgate & Nutella Cake!

2010-08-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

If you should be smart enough to spend an evening dining at The Big Ragu then be sure to ask the waitress for a drink called the Candy Dandy Palooza! Chef/Owner Carmine (pronounce that Car-meeeeeen-ay) Accogli (the G is silent) is a proud daddy to his delightful daughter, Amelie. Amelie is often seen hanging out in the restaurant until her Mother, Barb, one of the best cake makers this side of the Great Lakes, called CakeStar picks her up. I just happen to run in to them last night when I took my daughter Meg there for dinner. Amelie is a creative little soul who's artwork can be found on the front window of the restaurant. This week's creation is called the Candy Dandy Palooza, which is an olio of beverages stirred in together with a couple of pieces of peach candy tossed in just for flavour. Amelie concocted a special version just for Megan and I have to say, if you added a shot of vodka, this drink has potential! More importantedly though, this is one of the reasons I love the Big Ragu so much because with Carm & Barb, it is all about la familia! Amelie chattered our ears off with her list of 100 questions and then was kind enough to provide me with some new artwork for over my desk. Hey, a girl can always use her own Candy Dandy Palooza poster!
Ok, here comes the big revelation. Megan, with a very straight face and a very sincere tone, informed Chef Accogli that his pizza was better than the pizza she had eaten at Libretto. (insert gasp here) Yup, The Big Ragu had just served up a better pizza than the most talked about pizzeria in the city. Meg asked Carmine about the flour for the dough and the next thing we knew Carmine pulled up his chair and said "let me explain to you about flour, all is not as it appears to be...." Hence Flourgate. Thanks for the flour education Carm. It was insightful and it also shows how much you love the true art and the true craft of making food.
Finally, after an evening of filling our faces with Magic Mushroom salad, grilled calamari salad, Spicy, garlicky shrimp with almonds (super delish by the way!) and a gorgeous thin crust pizza laden with fresh basil, and washing this all down with a bottle of chilled Prosecco, the waitress hands us the dessert menu. I moan. Megan groans. No way can we eat dessert. Next thing you know out comes a double slab of Nutella cake that Chef has sent. Meg and I just look at each other. Hey, sometimes you just gotta take one for the team. This cake was dense, moist and brought back memories of savouring and devouring nocciolata during our last sojourn in northern Italy. More moaning, more groaning. Then just to really finish us off the Chef then sends out a martini glass filled with Tiramisu. If this doesn't make you feel like part of the family, nothing will. Mangia! Mangia! Mangia at the Big Ragu. You just can't miss in a place like this. Thank you Carmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenay!

The Big Ragu is located at 1338 Lansdowne Avenue (just south of St. Clair). Closed Mondays. By the way, the BR made Joanna Kates 2010 Top 100 Restaurants List for Toronto. If you truly love family and rustic Italian food and a Chef with a big heart then this is your kinda place. Ask for Carm and tell him MamaCoop sent you!

Friday Night Rights!

2010-08-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

Friday nights doesn't get any better than this! A quick stop at the Cheese Boutique and the end result is we find ourselves on our back deck laden with food treasures. Thunder Oak, Fifth Town, Smoked Applewood Cheddar, Riopelle, Serrano Ham, olives, duck pate, baguette and most importantly lots to imbibe with. This is Friday night right.

Ruby Watchco Squared

2010-07-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Ruby Watchco really is all that and a bag of chips. The food here is as honest as it gets. While you know in your heart there is a thread of pretentiousness that is the aura of this food harbour you simply give it up the minute you wrap your lips around one of their buttery, hot, freshly baked herb & cheese biscuits. All of a sudden you don't notice the noise, you don't notice the seen and wannabe seen's sitting all around you and any thoughts you have about Restaurant Makeover makes a swan song exit out of your brain. Those are some MoFo kinda biscuits. Ask for refills, they gladly oblige.

I've been to RW twice and in both cases I had pork. You know the schtick on this joint, one menu, daily change, etc. etc. etc. So at least by having pork both times I feel like I have a baseline for comparison. Our first visit we sat in the very front of the resto, on the second visit we sat right at the back, in front of the prep/platter area. Chef Lynn Crawford was running the kitchen during my inaugural visit and Chef Lora Kirk the next. Let's start by actually comparing those crazy cooking chef broads. The big question on my mind is who's got the better ink?

Meet the Chefs!

So here's how it panned out over the two dinners......

First Courses:
1st Visit - Mixed greens with smoked trout, heirloom tomatoes, marinated green beans, roasted beets, spicy sliced gherkins and a big fat dollop of egg salad on top. 2nd Visit - Thinly sliced zucchini salad with heirloom tomatoes, roasted beets, roasted peppers and a toasted almonds in a light citrus vinaigrette.

Winner: From an aesthetic standpoint the zucchini salad was gorgeous but I have to say the first salad with that gorgeous smoked trout and chilled egg salad had so many textures going on that I liked it better.

Main Course:
1st Visit - Sliced Pork Loin in a browned rosemary au jus sauce. It was very tasty but I found some of the inner pieces of the loin to be dry. Dry pork is never a good thing. 2nd Visit - Grilled Pork chops, with a tangy poached peach chutney.

Winner: Of the two pork dishes, hands down the winner was the grilled pork chop with the peach chutney. The grilled chop, which was two bones thick oozed with juice and was slightly pink.

Side Dishes:
1st Visit<Sides included a risotto with Chorizo and peppers. I'm a carbo junkie and usually love risotto but I just found this risotto left me wanting. A zucchini dish with cabbage, sugar snap peas, lima beans etc. was surprisingly delicious considering I hate lima beans with a passion (It's a throw back to my Mother who was English and cooked them into something you eat with a straw.)
My favorite side of the night was the seared rapini & wild mushrooms.

2nd Visit: Sides included a small casserole dish with sausages in it. Tasty yes but geez, how much meat can a girl shove down her gullet in one sitting. I loved the savoy cabbage slaw with bacon, dressed with a slightly creamy dressing, kind of playing up the Caesar salad slaw angle and it worked. The carbo zone this visit was a Polenta Potato concoction that had sugar snap peas, mushrooms and large pearl onions in it. It was slather worthy!

Winners: If I could pick my pair to have together I'd have to go with the seared rapini with mushrooms and the potato polenta with pearl onions concoction.

Cheese Course:
1st Visit - Fifth Town Cheese. It was soft and creamy like a Riopelle/Tallegio. It was served with a Grapefruit compote. 2nd Visit - Montforte Dairy Cheese which was very dry and hard, akin to a Parmesan. It was served with drunken raisins and shredded carrots.

Winner: I love Ruth Klahsen of the Cheese Goddess/Diva of the Montforte Dairy to bits but I have to go with the Fifth Town cheese as my top dog choice. The rich creaminess of the Fifth Town was just an aorta choker and Chef Crawford had this Grapefruit compote on the side that created the perfect acidic balance for this thick, creamy cheese. Big props to the restaurant for also providing a decent side amount of grilled bread to accompany the cheese.

Dessert:
1st Visit - Cherry S'mores which was actually more like dessert food porn. It was macerated cherries atop a base of graham crumbs, with a large thick wad of melting chocolate, topped with homemade marshmallow that had been toasted. 2nd Visit - Again with the cherries and the chocolate. Macerated cherries atop a brownie with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Winner: Gotta go with the Larry Flynt of desserts, the porn S'mores. So here's my food fantasy around these S'mores.... it involved Dirk Diggler from Boogie Nights and I get to recreate my own scene. K, 'nuff said 'bout that. I think you get the idea.

Libations:
The wine & cocktail lists are absolutely decent. I was really pleased to see some non Ontario wine options on the wine list. On our first visit we ordered a bottle of Prosecco and a bottle of Chianti. On my second visit I opted for a cocktail called the Charlemagne and a glass of an unoaked Chardonnay from Organized Crimes. Organized Crimes is an exceptional small NOL winery.

Our Waitstaff! >
Service was good. This place is hopping so these guys really earn their coin. Tables are really packed in so the staff works hard to hustle the food out from the back of this restaurant to the front of the house and I've sat in both ends of this restaurant so I've seen what they have to plough through. The staff are attentive and like the Chefs they work for they are extremely personable. (There is a certain pizzeria, who's rep is that they are supposed to be the best in the city, whose staff could take a lesson or two from the Ruby Watchco crew.) The RW staff don't do snooty. They are good natured and you never feel like you are intruding in on their day.

At the end of the day....I really dig Ruby Watchco. Our guests absolutely loved the dinners. They are still talking about their evening out. It's a happening spot with the focus on all the right things. Decent food with a local slant and a commitment to making sure that the customers have a great meal. You can check their website for the menus online for the coming week. Hope you enjoy your food as much as we did. Thanks to Chef Lynn & Chef Lora. You cucina cuties rock the house!

Mexico meets the Maple Leaf!

2010-07-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful sunny day at Harbourfront. The Tall Ships were in port and the demo centre was in full swing for a Canada Day food demonstration. MaryLuz Mejia of Sizzling Communications was a fun and fabulous host as she moderated a cooking demonstration by Chefs Luis Valenzuela (Torito) & Jose "Pepe" Hadad (Frida). It was an afternoon of Churros & Bunuelos topped with maple syrup as the chefs walked us through the steps of making these marvelous munchies. What a perfect way to celebrate the country's birthday!

RECIPE FOR CHURROS

Ingredients
For the dough:
2 cups of flour
2 cups of water
1/2 pound of butter
4 eggs
A pinch of salt

For dusting/stuffing & drizzling:
1 cup of sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
Cajeta to taste (you can purchase this in Kensington Market. Squeeze Cajeta into a condiment bottle with a pointed tip - you can get these bottles at the dollar store)
Pure Maple Syrup to taste

Instructions:
Dough Recipe:
Put water, butter & salt in a sauce pan & bring to a boil. Remove pan from the stove and add flour and mix vigorously. Stir in each egg one by one stirring vigorously. Put mixture in a piping bage (Tip cerrated, size #20) and pipe desired size of Churros into a deep fryer or a sauce pan of hot oil (temperature 375 degrees). Remove when Churros are golden brown.

Dusting/stuffing & drizzling of Churros:
Mix cinnamon & sugar and roll hot Churros in bowl to even coat with sugar mixture.
Squeeze Cajeta and pipe into one end of the Churro. Place Churros on dish and drizzle with maple syrup in a criss cross pattern over the Churros.
This recipe for Mexican Churros courtesy of Chef Jose "Pepe" Hadad, Frida Restaurant http://www.fridarestaurant.ca

RECIPE FOR BUNUELOS
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of water
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 egg
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. of cold shortening
Oil for Frying
2 Cups of Maple Syrup for drizzling

Instructions:
Place the flour in a large mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and add the egg, sugar and shortening. With your fingertips mix all the ingredients together. Add the reserved water, kneading until the dough is pliable. Let dough rest for 3 minutes. Divide it in to 12 balls and then roll out each ball to a thin circle. Cook it in olive oil, let it sit and then drizzle with maple syrup.

Recipe for Bunelos courtesy of Chef Luis Valenzuela, Torito Tapas Bar http://www.toritotapasbar.com

Welcome to the Inglewood Farmer's Market

2010-06-30T17:54:00.001-07:00

Located in the nook and cranny on McLaughlin Road just north of Olde Base Line is the Inglewood Farmer's Market. This little market is open every Wednesday from mid June to late September. I've been on a quest to search out the summer markets and try to enjoy the seasonal treats that Mother Nature puts on our tables. This is a small market, almost on the side of the road on a grassy knoll beside the Inglewood General store. Initially I didn't think there'd be much here for me to fill my tote bag with.... surprise, surprise. By the time I was finished the bag was brimming with local food goodness. I met a quirky gentleman who was selling homemade bagels with flour that he actually milled himself. At first I thought he was pulling my leg but I realized that he was actually quite genuine. Bagels were a dollar a piece and were primarily made of his ground whole wheat flour mixed with rye. I grabbed up a couple of his bagels so I'll be sure to check back in on them after I have them for breakfast tomorrow. There was a picnic table full of freshly baked breads. I couldn't resist Mrs. V homemade Banana Pecan loaf.
I also bought a loaf of a garlic sourdough bread. There was lamb and beef, both local, organic and ethically farmed. Strawberries and raspberries were the berries of the day so naturally I couldn't go home pintless. There were fresh flowers and lots of lovely preserves, pickles and jams.

I have to say though my favorite spot at the market was the mushroom lady's spot.
For $8 I bought what looked like a strudel and it was filled with mushrooms, ricotta, onions and herbs. I also picked up her version of a mushroom spanakopita which were 3 for $5. In addition to that I picked up a tub of her mushroom dip that was absolutely delicious. The 'shroom lady was hawking some pretty wacky looking mushrooms and it didn't take long for her booth to sell out.

Garlic scape was plentiful. I love the scape. Most people just don't know what to do with it. A good heads up is to toss it into a processor and make a version of garlic scape pesto with it which is superb on pasta.

My other fave buy of the day was some wonderful lettuce from the Caledon Farm. They were selling two types of packaged lettuce so I opted for the All Star Mix because it was the special of the day for $3. The lettuce was soft, similar to the consistency of Boston lettuce. Big props to the Caledon Farm as the lettuce lady took great pride in pointing out that their packaging isn't just recyclable but also biodegradeable! Bravo! The pretty little surprise of this lettuce mix were the tiny little edible flowers amongst the leaves. So delightful. So pretty. So delicious. .

Before I left the market I backed my car up into the parking lot and loaded it up with three pots of new lillies to add to my perennial garden, one being a dwarf lilly and the other being one of the most unusual lillies I've ever seen. All in all, I have to say I found the Inglewood Farmer's Market a quirky little spot, with fiddlers on the hill and children chasing puppies. This is most definitely a lovely little local farm market to stop in at. It was an Inglewood supper tonight with the Mushrooms in Pastry and some gorgeous side salad just lightly drizzled with olive oil, balsamic, smoked salt and freshly ground pepper. It was a perfect evening dinner.

A "Mangia Cake's" Take on Bolognese Sauce!

2010-06-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

Bolognese a la coopspeakeats!

The diva'fied version just for your pleasure.

Ok, peeps...you asked for it, you got it! Unlike most pasta sauces this manna in a pot has no oregano, no basil or no garlic which almost seems unheard of for Italian pasta sauce but trust me my little food gobblers, this sauce doesn't need it. This is a traditional Romagna styled Bolognese. This basic meat sauce is so damn good that you'll just want to lick the plate. Oh by the way, it freezes wonderfully and makes a handy quickie supper.

Let's get Started!

You'll need:

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
2-3 carrots, finely diced
2-3 stalks of celery finely diced
1 large onion finely diced
2-3 tbsp. of Olive Oil
2 tbsp. of butter
1 cup of milk
1 cup of white wine
salt & pepper
grated nutmeg to taste
2 jars of Italian strained tomatoes (those tall skinny jars) make sure
they have no basil in them....you want plain strained tomatoes

Now get your arse to the stove!

Get out your biggest pot.

Toss in the Olive oil & the butter and heat 'er up.
Toss in the onions, carrots & celery, cook until tender, constantly stirring.

Add beef & pork in. Cook until meat is completely cooked. Season with some
salt & pepper.

Add milk. Stir well. Grate in nutmeg. Nutmeg in Bolognese is a very northern
Italian thing. Trust me, it'll make this sauce pure magic. I'm liberal with
the addition but then again, I have a love affair with nutmeg. Cook meat until the milk has evaporated in to the meat.

Add wine. Stirring occasionally. Cook until the wine is evaporated in to the meat.

Add tomato sauce. Stir in well. Let sauce simmer a couple of hours. Stirring occasionally.

Voila! This is pure, simple heaven in a pot.

Bolognese a la coopspeakeats goes well with any cut of pasta. Please be respectful of this dish and be sure to serve your pasta with decent Parmesan cheese. Splurge on a nice little chunk of Reggiano or Padano parmesan at the grocery store. You'll be surprised at the difference it can make to your pasta dishes. On the Beaver we prefer our Parmesan freshly grated. Life is too short not to make your food dishes a "10"!

One small pasta tip....if you are using dried pasta, DO NOT rinse with water in a colander after cooking. EPIC FAILURE peeps! There is this silly thinking that you are rinsing off starch. That tackiness is what helps sauce stick to the pasta. All you are doing when you rinse off the pasta is making it cold and facilitating for a big 'ol puddle of water on the bottom of your pasta bowl.

One more small deet....this pasta deserves to have an big, bold, kick you in the ass red wine served beside it.

La dolce vita!

Getting me some South American loving in the rolling hills of Caledon

2010-06-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

There's gold up in them 'thar hills of the Caledon Niagara Escarpment. I'd take my fork over to that Credit river area any day of the week if Chef Rossy Earle of the Belfountain Inn promised to cook me up a batch of her Chupe de Chorizo. Talk about love in a bowl. It was a lovely summer evening as we headed over to the Belfountain Inn to join Mary Luz Mejia (maryluzonfood) and Vanessa Yueng (aphroditecooks), my tweet divas, along with their partners in organized food crime to enjoy a South American inspired menu by Chef Rossy Earle. The Amuse Bouche was a an Empanada de Pino. I could have chowed down a plateful of these mini empanadas made with lamb and beef and perfectly spiced. Next up was pure comfort in a bowl of Chupe de Chorizo which is basically a Spanish sausage, potato & vegetable chowder. The chorizo was not grizzly, fatty or chewy. You could taste that smoked paprika. I love how nonchalant Chef was when we asked about where the chorizo came from and she so matter of factly said "I made it of course.....". Oh of course, how silly of me to wonder where you sourced it. Then came my personal favorite course of the evening, a Steak & Palmito Salad. I'm going to be honest here, I've never been a big fan of hearts of palm but in this salad they work beautifully. This salad is strips of Argentinian styled Chimichurri beef atop a bed of hearts of palm, tomato salsa and a guacamole cream, dressed with a sweet onion vinaigrette.

Seafood Ceviche can be a wonderful thing, when it's done right. I've had ceviche that had me feeling like I was gnawing on rubber bands but Chef nailed it tonight. The ceviche was one of the best I've had in ages. Maybe it was the size of the serving. Sometimes I get to feeling like Goldilocks...too big....too small...just right. Then came the real test. My daughter Meg who lived in Chile for a year told me that Pastel de Choclo was akin to being Chile's national dish. Oh oh. Pastel do Choclo is the Chilean version of Shepherd's Pie except it is made with chicken and pork and topped with a sweet corn crust. This little individual casserole was really delicious. The crusted corn topping added a real sweetness to the finish and I have to say that this isn't anything like I thought it would be. One doesn't really think about this type of dish to be something connected to South America. We finished off the meal with a Passion Fruit Creme Caramel. My favorite part of this dessert was how the chef did a burn on the sugar and orange sauce on the plate because it creates such an interesting balance for the richness of the dessert. If there was a weak spot in this dinner I'd have to say it was in the wine flights. We are on the cusp of Summerlicious and I have to say, dollar for dollar, this food tasting, at $35.00 per person was an absolute bargain. Six courses, all beautifully presented was an absolute delight for this price point. Thank you Chef for this wonderful effort. I want you to know that my daughter Megan particularly appreciated it. Memories of Chile! It just warmed my heart listening to her prattle in Spanish with Mary Luz!

The Lackey, Kilikanoon Winery, Shiraz $17.95 @ bottle

2010-06-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

Australians are making wines that are pretty.....pretty darned good tasting...pretty darned good price point and pretty darned good lay downs. The Kilikanoon Winery is one of the more higher end estate wineries producing out of Australia these days and its not uncommon to find the bulk of what you can buy here priced in between the $30-$50 a bottle range. They are notorious for producing thick, lush, black currents in a glass types of wine and accordingly so go the price tag.
That is why finding their $17.95 Shiraz affectionately called The Lackey just made my day!

This 2007 Shiraz, which is very young, and can easily be laid down for a few years, only to have the age improves its drink-ability, is an absolute steal for the price. This baby has legs on her like Tina Turner. Long, tall and luscious. A good swirl around your glass is the first hint that this wine is like a 2' x 4' and has backbone. The Lackey ain't for the weak of heart. It's got a fruity bite of well ripened black currents and black berries together and you'll almost think that maybe you should get out a spoon and eat this wine like a fruit compote.

By far and away The Lackey is hands down one of the best red wine wines for under twenty bucks this side of the Great Barrier Reef. Be warned though, don't drink this wine unaccompanied without some noshing. It needs something akin to some hearty meat (lamb, beef, spicy Thai or some kick you in the ass cheese) or a well smoked charcuterie. This ain't no wine for the weak of heart or for those who tend to tipple Chardonnay. The Lackey 2007 is definitely what I call the Killer B's....big, bold and beautiful.

Make sure to open this wine up....by opening it up! Give it 30 minutes to breath before you start in on it. Decanting would also be recommended. Use large glasses, pour 3-4 ounces and move this fruit in a glass round and round. You'll find The Lackey in the Vintages section of the LCBO and the label shows a pair of Blundstones. :) At least it ain't a goat. G'day mates.

Meet my newest fave summer beverage!

2010-06-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

I absolutely adore Prosecco. Ever since I drove down la strada de Prosecco in the Veneto region, top down on our convertible (feeling a little like Grace Kelly!), wind blowing, sun shining....and prosecco to be drank. Some people call it poor man's champagne, I just call it fun in a glass. Last Friday night we attended a charity event called Wines of the World hosted by the Palgrave Rotary Club. Our fave booth turned out to be the only booth serving Prosecco and also a tasty little red wine by Killakanoon Wineries out of Australia. So here's the kicker!They did a little spin on the Prosecco and turned it into a Prosecco cocktail by adding a splash of an Apple Cider from Quebec. I loved it!

Just Another Day at the Evergreen Brick Works

2010-06-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

I hauled my daughter's arse out of bed this morning and hit the road for a Saturday morning road trip to the Evergreen Brick Works. She had never been there before but for me it's becoming my Saturday morning shopping stop. I bumped into Joel (foodie411) and later in the morning I had the good fortune to meet and gab with Chef Brad Long who told me he was building a new restaurant in the brick works development.

Lettuce is alive and well at the Evergreen Brick Works. With all the rain we've had the lettuce this year has been one of the best crops I've seen ages. There were more than a half dozen booths selling greens of one sort or another. From Garlic scape to Tatsoi Greens there is something for every ones taste buds. I couldn't resist the snow peas at Vickie's Vegetables and then when I saw the white asparagus at Cookstown Greens I knew exactly what I was having for dinner with those lamb kebabs. We munched on a cone of Jamie Kennedy's fries laden with fresh rosemary, sipped some dark roast fair trade coffee with Harmony cream, and shared a grilled cheese & caramelized onion sandwich. I most definitely have a few favorite spots at the market. There is an older couple who have a baked goods booth that I just cannot resist. Today I bought an apple loaf that was hands down the best loaf cake I have ever purchased from anywhere. This booth is just laden with breads, muffins, loaf cakes and Chelsea buns. I coughed up $24.95 for a 1 litre bottle of maple syrup which I'm good with. I must say though, $7.00 for a pint of organic strawberries is a bit outrageous. I meandered out the back of the brick works with my coffee, sat down and enjoyed the view of the pond. You almost can't believe that directly behind you, behind all this food goodness, lays the Don Valley Parkway. The EBW is my Saturday morning destination and whatever is seasonal on those days is what will end up on my dinner table that evening. I love me some farmer's markets.

Caledon Farmer's Market

2010-06-09T14:42:00.001-07:00

Live local. Buy local. Eat local. Caledon and its surrounding areas is home to some of the best farming/agricultural communities in Ontario. This past year there has been a real push on to develop the Caledon Farmer's Market so every Thursday, from June to October (3:00-8:00 p.m.) you'll find a hub of local farmers, producers, growers, artisans etc. hawking their wares at the Albion Bolton Agricultural Fairgrounds. I have always been true to the tenet about supporting my local businesses and the farmer's market is no exception to that rule. So you'll usually find me there on Thursdays, with my enviro-bags in hand, rummaging through what is seasonal for that week. Last week I couldn't resist the baby beets (I roasted them with fresh rosemary....delish!) and of course the bundles of sweet carrots. I stocked up on lettuce, peppers and got a gorgeous Acorn squash. My favorite produce booth at the market is Everdale Farms. It's an environmental farming centre of excellence that prides itself not only on its produce but its educational programs for farmers and for the public. I also learned that there is an actual Soapmakers Guild in Ontario, go figure. The bargains this past week included a grab of glorious Gladiolas (15 stems for ten bucks!) , those sweet baby beets (3 bucks a bunch of 20) and the peaches which are in full season. I realize that Bolton/Caledon is an out of the way spot for many but Agro-tourism is a growing trend across this province and often makes for a nice day out and about. If you get a chance I'd encourage you to stop in to the Farmer's Market. The fairgrounds that the market is held on is one of the oldest fairgrounds in North America.

The Stockyards

2010-06-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

Oh there is gonna be some good lovin for Momma tonight! Yowza! I was on my way back from a meeting at St. Clair & Yonge, trundling along in the construction when I hit Christie St. and before you could sing R-E-S-P-E-C-T I was hauling my junk into The Stockyards. I was starving for a bit of lunch and I figured might as well get my fill of 'smokin good meat. It was mid-afternoon so I caught a break and the place was winding down from the lunch mania.

After inspecting the menu and realizing that one of my man's most fav chowdowns includes Porcetta I opted to get some take-out that I could drag home for him and my daughter. I'm such a good woman. :) I bought three sandwiches: Porcetta; Pulled Pork and Smoked Pulled Chicken. I asked them not to put the meat on the bun as by the time I would get it home it would be sog city. When the guy at the counter took my order he was quite happy to help me out with my request. The girl behind the counter snorted "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat! Pack it all separately?!!!" as she screwed up her face at the inconvenience and extra work. I quickly shouted out "hey girlie girl....this food is gonna get me some good lovin tonight!". The place broke up in to hysterics. Then she replies "oh well in that case....no problem girlfriend!", shot me a big smile and a big wink. It's smoked meat in the sisterhood ya know!

I also order the fried Chicken because I've heard so much about it. It is 12 bucks and what you get are four pieces (half a chicken), a pile of crispy, golden fries and some slaw. The slaw I could take or leave. The fries were perfection although they need to lighten up on the salt a bit. Any haunting demons about KFC will be exorcised with this fried chicken. Be prepared to wait, the chicken takes about 20 minutes. They also have daily specials, today was a five buck burger.

I sidled up to the counter with a glass of the house Limeade to wait for my order and began gabbing with Rochelle, the manager. She told me that they've struggled to meet the rib demand because the smoker can only hold so many racks in a day. I don't suspect that problem will get any easier, the place just reeks of bbq flavour from floor to ceiling. I felt like Pavlov's doggy when I walked in the door.

On a whimsical side note, I had a major childhood flashback. They use paper straws at the Stockyards! I can't even remember when I last saw one of those green and white swirly paper straws. All of their packaging is green/biodegradable/ compostable.

They completely packed my sandwich orders separately so when I get home tonight my loved ones can put their own sandwiches together. I had bites out of all of the meat they packed up. As God is my witness I shall never, ever become vegetarian. Pulled pork & Porcetta should never taste this damn good. The sandwiches are coming out the door with me shortly to make their way to the hinterland that is known as Caledon. I have a feeling that Momma's gonna have a happy hubby this evening and you know what that means baby.....there's gonna be good loving for this woman tonight!

The Berkeley Cafe

2010-06-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

Gearing up for our annual event finds me on the corner of Berkeley & Queen again this spring and so we dash into the Berkeley Cafe for a bite of lunch and some respite from a long morning of meetings. My affection factor the BC has jumped a star and I've decided that as small and limited in their hours, this is just about one of my most favorite lunch spots in the city.

It's not cluttered with bric-a-brac like so many other garage sale decorated cafes that have popped up all over the city. There are no funky smells from old chairs and sofas and there are no greasy dust strings across old lighting fixtures. Is it a busy spot, yup, it is. A constant stream of coming and going for takeout, which in my opinion, tells you this is a place that makes decent food.

The soup of the day was a Mexican spicy chipotle lentil soup. I asked about getting it in a takeout container because I can never eat all this food in one sitting. The waitress suggests I order just a cup size. I jump at this suggestion and this soup was damn delicious, almost coming across like lentil stew. My lunch mate took one look at my soup and promptly ordered up one for herself. I ordered an egg salad sandwich with a side salad.
This was simply one of the best egg salad sandwiches I've ever had in a cafe. Red onion, fresh dill, lots of arugula and bean sprouts on super fresh whole grain bread. The side salad was pretty, bright and screamed fresh, fresh, fresh. Grated carrots, beets, big chunks of crunchy red peppers, spanish onions and cukes atop a bed of spring mix with a light, tangy vinaigrette.

My lunch buddy ordered up a spicy grilled chicken salad topped with feta and dressed with a lemony vinaigrette. In addition to this I had an Americano at the end of my meal. The bill total came to a whopping $15.40 for both us together. Best lunch bargain we've had in ages. Check out the pics. The Berkeley Cafe is one of my most fave lunch destinations and considering I'll be in that neighbourhood for the next few months I'm grateful that they are there! Fresh, delicious food and easy on the pocketbook. Thank you BC!

Wineplanks

2010-05-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

Cheese is the bread of my life so when I serve it up to my company and friends I always want to make sure that I do it justice. Cathy Davison is the owner and artisan behind Wineplanks. I first met her at the One of A Kind Show a couple of years back when I bought my first cheese board from her. All of her work is made from reclaimed recycled oak wine barrels. I'm usually not easily impressed by a lot of that recycled woodwork but her cheese boards practically whispered at me...."psssssst.....Christine....think Lemon Fetish....think Riopelle....think smoked Applewood Cheddar....."

I own two of Cathy's boards. I love turning them over and seeing the incredible deep rich red of the wood knowing that it has been the aging of grapes that has embedded their hues into the wood. How appropriate for serving cheese. My latest acquisition is a monster round board with a fork and a spoon being used for handles. These boards are beautifully constructed and the different colours in the wood grain give the board depth and character.

Cheese boards run anywhere from $80.00 - $115.00. This year I noticed the addition of a large round lazy susan styled cheese board which can be very handy. Care is quite simple, never, ever submerge into water, just wipe with a damp cloth. If you find the wood drying slightly then you just massage in some vegetable or mineral oil and let it sit over night.
Wineplanks are available at several retail outlets, one being Rosehill Wine Cellars where we bought our wine storage unit, located in Etobicoke. You can also order directly online from Wineplanks.

Lady Marmalade

2010-05-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure that most of the furnishings at Lady Marmalade were bought up in garage sales all over Leslieville. Sitting in there having brunch one can't help but to notice that you feel like you are at your Great Auntie Myrtle's kitchen table. I half expected my breakfast to be served on melamine plates. LM has a kitsch that is almost cartoonish but it works and it puts you into a comfort zone that is fun and laidback. It's clanging, banging and noisy but you don't notice and you don't care.

The lines ups to LM always seem to ooze right out on to Queen St. and it appears along that strip of Leslieville they are the only resto for blocks in either direction that this is happening at. We waited about 20 minutes for a table and when we left there was an even longer lineup waiting for a chance to get in the door. Lady Marmalade is a bona fide brekkie joint that has quickly found its niche among the pop spots of Joy, Lil Baci, Barrio and Sophie's, none of which I might add had a line up of any sort even though they were all open for brunch.I met up with my fella Yelptress, Shari "shut the barn door!" M. and my daughter Meg "My Mother has exquisite taste" M. for some Saturday brunch. I opted for the eggs/bacon/home fries; Shari went right for the Huevos Migas and Miss Meg was jones'ing for some Eggs Benny. Regular coffee with your breakfast is a bottomless cup (I love bottomless cups of the java on a Saturday morning!). Meg delighted in some tangy, tart, refreshing, lip smacking homemade lemonade and Shari slurped up and savoured a tall glass of some sort of Latte Machiato.My eggs were quite good, soft and buttery tasting. I hate when restaurants turn scrambled eggs in something rubbery and lumpy. I ordered brown toast and got three slices of that thin chewy rye bread which I love and I'm pretty sure it was Dimplifmier (sp?). Shari was savoring her Migas, at least it sure sounded like that with the big mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm's rolling around.

My first complaint about my breakfast is that the homefries suck. How's that for constructive criticism? The chunks of potatoes are way too large, not cooked enough and the seasoning makes them taste dry. I prefer my homefries in smaller pieces and just a tad crispier and of course since they are spuds, being cooked all the way through is a must. My second complaint about LM is that they won't do eggs sunnyside up. Hey, a girl likes her eggs the way she likes her eggs. I want them the way I want them.

All in all, I like Lady Marmalade. They rock the tunes, the joint is just humming, there is great art of the wall, the salt & pepper shakers at our table were a pair of little cowboy boots, the menu is quite large so there is something for every one (damn you vegetarians....yes there is some sort of effing tofu scrambled concoction on the menu). Next time I'm going for the french toast because it looked awesome!

Frida

2010-05-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Frida que adoro usted tanto! Usted tiene el lo mejor alimento mexicano en la ciudad. Como la revisión anterior por Kat, yo no pienso que 5.000 palabras es suficiente en escribir acerca de cuánto yo le adoro Frida! Ok, enough of my crappy Spanish, I think you get the gist. We loved Frida! My SO took his fav FARC girls out for a personal farewell to my food loving sister Deanna and we hit up Frida. After reading the three 5 star reviews we were practically salivating at the chance to check out this uptown spot out and Frida had her food mojo on full blast. For app's we had to have some of the guac with homemade tortilla chips. Guacamole has been so bastardized over the last few years in chain restaurants that they've turned it into lumpy green sludge but no so at Frida's. Guacamole is alive and well on Eglinton Avenue. Deanna wouldn't let our waiter take the plate away, even during dinner, just in case we wanted to scrape up the last few nodules of that avocado goodness. Our second app was slices of a spiced fried cheese (the name of which escapes my brain), it came on a plate with some home made tomatilla salsa and a plate of soft, warm, light flour tortillas. It was absolutely delicious.

Mains included a Quail Mole Poblano served atop a bed of rice that had grilled plantains, spring onions, brussel sprouts and baby beets all adorning the plate. The mole sauce was perfection in motion and I've eaten my share of mole sauce over the years but what is on the plate at Frida's is blue ribbon. My SO ordered up the Lamb Barbacoa. Initially he wanted the Halibut but was informed a few minutes later by the wait staff that this fish wasn't available. They apologized profusely and then comp'd him one of his Heinken's to make up for the inconvenience. As it turns out the Lamb was incredible. Moist. Pull apart easy. It comes with a cup of broth beside it that you are supposed to slurp in between mouthfuls of meat. The lamb is braised in Morita Sauce and is served with Salsa Roja and grilled vegetables.

Deanna ordered up a couple of appies instead of a main. Tostadas de Scalpion Yucateco "Dizk" are mini tostados of shredded flank steak topped with Habanero sauce and some sort of Mexican cheese. Crunchy, delicious and a filling app. In addition to this Deanna ordered Enchiladas Lamb Barbacoa smothered in Borracha styled sauce, onions, coriander and cheese. We washed this down with some of their house margaritas (traditional, mango, pomegranate).

While we may be the girls who love to eat the meat we also like to eat the sweets. Our gluttony won us over and we ordered up a plate of Churros for dessert. Churros are Mexican donuts, the difference being they aren't round but rather usually long finger length pieces. Please purge any Timmy's thoughts you may be having. Typically Churros come with some sort of hot melted chocolate but these came with Dulce La Leche and the plate was beautifully decorated with venetian cream and hearts. We have a heart on for Frida! Food presentation is ever present at Frida's. You can see for yourself as I've pasted up a bunch of pics from our food adventures.

The room is comfy and decorated in deep blues with splashes of orange & red. I'm sure Frida herself would have approved. There is a real comfortable vibe in the restaurant and they were playing some great dinner tunes while we stuffed our gullets! Big props on the nice bathroom! For a small restaurant I was surprised at the lovely amenities. The service was excellent and the young man who served us was helpful and patient while we routed the menu. If you are in to really authentic, delicious, well prepared Mexican food then Frida needs to be put on your "must go to" list. Finally, one small tidbit of trivia about Frida herself. Did you know that Frida had a love affair with jazz icon, Josephine Baker. Yup, my daughter text'd me that little nugget of information that she learned in one of her art classes at university. Glad to know that she is learning something at school.

LPK's.....Lescia's really the punk kid but man can this girl bake!

2010-05-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

Just for the record, LPK stands for Little Punk Kid and for those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Lesia, I'm sure you'll agree, its a moniker that she wears well, right down to her purple hair. Being a part of the Cupcake Crawl debauchery from last weekend is how I was introduced to this new addition to the Queen St. scene (Queen & Broadview....doors away from Dangerous Dans). There isn't a lot more that I can add to what has already been previously written but I would just like to mention the Lavender Buttercream Icing is beyond anything other kind of icing I have ever tasted. Ambrosial. Gentle. It makes you close your eyes and quietly hum that "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" thing. I liked this store so much that I have already ventured back there from last Saturday. Like Kat, mentioned, those Spicy Chevre Noir Shortbread are addictive and perhaps should be made illegal. I made mention of them in my cupcake review when I spoke about the store. It was also the only store along the cupcake route that I spent extra money in. I have been jones'ing for those shortbread bites for a couple of days and couldn't resist any longer. I pit-stopped in yesterday and bought two bags, one to take home to share with my honey and one for my right hand desk drawer at the office (muuuhhhhhaaaaaaawww ww). I purchased a half dozen of their Cornmeal Anise Biscotti because I love the consistency of cornmeal and these babies hit the spot with my morning coffee. I also caved and bought a small 4 inch Poppyseed cake....iced with....yes, you guessed it, Lavender Buttercream icing. Ok, so I'm going to hell but at least it'll taste good.From a price point, it's a straight up hard core kick in the pocketbook but when it comes to eating real food I'm willing to part with my money. If you read the ingredient tags on the LPK's products they all denote which each individual product is organic, ethical or fair trade. This is all about love and respect for real food. I'm so down with that. Finally, while I was at the store there was a guy there from Toronto Life who was interviewing Lesia about the shop. He spoke with me for a few minutes because she had mentioned to him that I had been part of the Yelp Cupcake Crawl. At the end of our conversation I said to him "if you don't write something good about this place I'm gonna have a to kill you." :)

Later peeps....my desk drawer is whispering to me....psssssssst.... .

Local Food & Wine Bar....another food haven in Parkdale

2010-05-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

Local Kitchen and Winebar is based on the philosophy driven by the slow food movement and inspired by the foods of Italy. For those of you not familiar with the SFM, this isn't about chewing your food 100 times before you swallow or making sure you keep to the 10 km. speed limit when going through the drive-thru. This is about hard core, right from the roots to our table reverence for the bounty we live on.
Basically put the SFM is"a fundamental respect for our food, where it comes from, and the people who help cultivate it." In other words, don't fuck with the food, use it in its purest form, don't waste it, don't add nitrates to it, don't mess with the earth it's grown in or raised on and least of all don't diss those who show it all the TLC it needs before it hits our tables.

LKW opened just this past September and is a matchbox sized spot on Queen St. in Parkdale. It seats a modest 29 bodies and for sure one can say they didn't sink their setup deniros in the decor because this is Parkdale shtick in its purest form. The menu is tiny, very tiny. Ruled by what is available by season and at the market.

The wine lists are Ontario based which is ok, if you like Ontario wines. I've gotten a lot better about drinking Ontario wines because the wine makers have gotten so much better at making them. While I understand the philosophy of supporting the locals, including the wine makers, I'm broken hearted knowing that I can't have a glass of Barolo or Barbaresco to enhance the lovingly prepared Salumi (this is the Italian equivalent of Charcuterie) board. The bite of a peppery Barbaresco would have been the perfect compliment to those little bowls of Caponata and mouthfuls of Soprosetta. We settle on wines from Daniel Lenko, one chardonnay, the other a white Cabernet Sauvignon.

My food winger, Lauren Wilson and I order a Salumi board as well as butter & lemon soaked crostini topped with a fresh anchovy. The crostini is sublime and the anchovy has barely any fish taste which catches us off guard. When you expect that big salty whack from an anchovy and you don't feel like you've been smacked in the face by Luca Brasi (who sleeps with the fishes) it's a surprise. The thyme in this dish only serves to enhance the lemon.

The salumi board, served atop a piece of petrified wood with butcher paper is put together by Mike Sangregorio, one of the owners. His partner, is Chef Fabio Bondi and he is at the helm of the kitchen. Together these guys produce the bulk of their own salumi for their charcuterie boards and he proudly fawns over the board as he does his GPS of the layout of meat. Of the five meats on the board, strangely enough our least favorite is their own cured Prosciutto. Lauren nails it perfectly when she sniffs the meat and says "I smell ammonia". Something in the taste of the prosciutto is off but the rest of the cured meats are excellent. Black walnuts on the side offer up almost a moss like taste to offset the meat.

The menu is minuscule and even more limited this evening than usual, probably due to the holidays and fresh supplies being limited. I opt for Smoked Potato Gnocchi with Tallegio & Rapini. I asked Mike about the smoked potatoes because this dish has an unbelievable flavour. He tells me that they have a coal smoker out in the back of the building and that they smoke the spuds before turning them into the mixture for gnocchi. The gnocchi are large. The tallegio is like melted butter and the slight bitterness of the rapini make for a good combination. This is an odd trilogy but it works. The smoke flavour isn't forced but rather gently infused into the dish and the more you eat it the more it grows on you. My only criticism of this dish is they would be better off to make the gnocchi just a tad smaller. Their size makes them feel heavier than they actually are.

Lauren chooses the Parpardelle with Pheasant Ragu and Swiss Chard. I can't seem to see the swiss chard in the dish and since the pasta is verde I'm wondering if they use the chard to make the pasta. The pheasant ragu is delicious, delicately balanced with tomato sauce. The wide ribbons of pasta are perfectly cooked, silky in their consistency, folded on to the plate, embracing the chard and the ragu.

I like LKW. I like what they stand for and I like what their food philosophies are based upon. I pitstop at Mike's prep station to talk about Northern Italian cuisine and for a moment I gloat over the fact that I've ventured into the heart of the Slow Food Movement in Bra, Italy. We talk about wild foods and Forbes and then that bastard tells me he is drinking a Barolo as he is prepping food!

LKW is also the home of Foodie Meets (for all you twitter fans). The hard core foodies often meet and partake of tastings here. Rumour has it that LKW is the place where the chefs such as Michael Stadtlander, like to dine on their days off. That is a true testament to LKW. Another Parkdale food haven is born.

Trevor Kitchen & Bar

2010-05-24T06:26:00.001-07:00

I invited an old friend to dinner and she really wanted to go to Trevor Kitchen & Bar. I hesitated because to me that little strip along Wellington is one of those chichi, pay through the nose, seen and want to be seen, one vodka martini over the line streets. I acquiesced to her request and managed to wrangle a reservation for 7:30 PM. I also decided to bring along my own bottle of wine as this was a special occasion and there wasn't an Amarone on the wine list.
Corkage at Trevor is a steep $35 @ bottle and for that I got a not so friendly waitress opening the bottle, while chiding me that they had a good wine list, after all, they were awarded the Wine Spectator Award. I wanted to remind her that to get a Wine Spectator Award all a restaurant has to do is send in their $250 bucks along with their wine list to the magazine and basically they yeah or nay the list. How is this an award for a superior wine list? Don't get me wrong, the wine list at Trevor is good but I wanted to enjoy a decent Amarone this evening. On Tues. & Wed. they wave the corkage but this didn't apply during Summerlicious. By the way, I really hate stemless wine glasses. Great for brandy & cognac, not so great for red wine and even worse on a warm evening in a restaurant with very little air movement.

When ordering at Summerlicious you have to order your whole menu all at once. The rule that we apply for ourselves is that we both pick different things, it's our hard and fast rule when we dine out at Summerlicious.

So here's what we picked: (First Course) Pan Seared Scallop with Corn beef Hash & Black Truffle Mustard; Ricotta Gnocchi with Wild Leek Butter & Chevre Noir; (Second) Northern White Fish with Wild Honey Mushroom & Bacon Vinaigrette; Steak Frites with Dry Aged Alberta Sirloin with brisket & onion gratin; (Dessert) Strawberry Tiramisu and Dark Chocolate & Caramel Torte with Peanut Butter Chantilly. Sounded like pretty darned awesome choices to us. What you think you see is not always what you end up with. The scallop was tasteless with a Dijon mustard sauce splashed on the plate and a small blob of well riced potato broiled beside it. I have no idea of where that corned beef hash went. I love gnocchi. It was dry, dry, dry. If there was butter on them it got completely soaked up by the bread crumb/parmesan topping they put on them. No way was there any chevre noir used in this dish. For sure this dish was left sitting under a heat lamp for the better part of ten minutes. The results of that is dry little rubber bullets in a bowl. White fish which hails from Northern Ontario is fabulous fish. This white fish was simply two small filets pan fried, with no treatment other than perhaps being floured first and plunked on top of a bit of green salad with some small cherry tomatoes halved around it. They cut the beef to look like it was a chunk of tenderloin and you just can't do that with sirloin. It was sinewy and tough. The topping was the same grainy Dijon sauce that showed up with the scallop. On top of that they had some grated cheese mixed with bread crumbs broiled on top. The frites weren't frites. I consider frites to be thin and crispy. These were basically fries. I have posted some food pics from our dinner, you can see for yourself.

So here's where my whining ends. The dessert at least left us with a positive finish. The strawberry tiramisu was absolutely lovely. Light. Gentle. Sweet but not cloyingly so. The dark chocolate & caramel torte was warm and decadent. I love the peanut butter taste against the chocolate. The chantilly was almost like ice cream against the rich chocolate.
The ambiance at Trevor is probably what makes it such a popular place. It's dark wood, white linen, beamed ceilings with squeezed in sofas in and about the room. If you are a woman who is prone to mid life hot flashes, be prepared, this room is warm in more ways than one. It got downright hot in there. The woman at the next table fanned herself the whole time she sat there. You could see perspiration on the upper lips of most of the guests, but hey, its a hip place so what's a little sweat, right?

I would be willing to go back to Trevor to try their regular menu. I understand that they do a whiskey menu and also specialize in terrines & pates. I said it earlier in a conversation post and I'll say it again. I hate Summerlicious.

Simply Splendido!

2010-05-24T06:03:00.001-07:00

It's great when you really love a restaurant but when a restaurant really loves you back it's a whole different ballgame. Splendido put a big heart on for my sister Yelper, Deanna and myself and showed us some big time loving. Deanna had chosen Splendido as her swan song high end restaurant before embarking stateside so we set off for Harbord Street with big anticipation. Chatting up our waiter Deanna let him know that Splendido was her choice (she was flipping back and forth between Sushi Kaji & Scaramouche) and that we came to eat!

I never thought I'd ever say this but I actually think I found a Charcuterie Board that I liked better than my most beloved Black Hoof.
Served up on a large piece of petrified wood the Splendido Charcuterie board is un-fucking-believable. Please excuse the vernacular, it is just difficult to put it any other way. The board could easily be shared by two people as an app. It's loaded with everything from Foie Gras parfait mousse, several types of house cured meats, macerated cherries, venison tartar, chicken liver pate, Lardo (or something akin to it), bread sticks wrapped in porcetta, poached plum and apple and on and on. This board has colour, texture, it's got sweetness, it's got savoury happening and it's got some bite with spice.

For mains I chose the Butter Lobster with chanterelle & mascarpone Risotto and Dea selected the Yorkshire Suckling Pig.
We opted for the wine flights to accompany our food. Tawse Winery was the featured wines and the flight included 4 different glasses (the flight is priced at $26) which said 2 ounce pours. So let the love begin...because they were very generous pours. Our waiter brought the first two (a Chardonnay and a Sauv. Blanc) and suggested to us to "save" the Chardonnay and as it turns out there was a wonderful reason for this. The waiter surprised us with a course of one of the most amazing pastas I've ever eaten. It was fresh Tagliatelle covered in shavings of Tartufi. Our nostrils were absolutely overwhelmed by the aromatic scent of the mushroom as he put the plates down. He told us that Chef/Owner Victor Barry had sent them out for us to benchmark this special occasion. We washed down our pasta with the honey coloured Tawse chardonnay. Oh Splendido, you really know how to show a couple of girls a good time.

Mains were stellar. Crackling pigs ear to be crunched and beautiful fresh lobster meat to be worshipped. The risotto was was an absolute thing of beauty. It was smooth and silky, kissed by mascarpone and flavour enhanced by the chanterelles.

We finished off the evening with the Lemon Meringue dessert. It was sweet and tart at the same time (much like us!) and was a lip smacker. So just when we thought we'd seen all the love we can handle, Carlo Catallo, the owner, who had already stopped by our table to chat wines, stopped by one more time, with some gorgeous late harvest Riesling in tow to enhance our dessert moment. He wanted to make sure we finished up our Splendido experience on a happy and positive note. Boy, this guy is one sweet talker.

What a night. The chef stopped by to ask us about the pasta and of course we fawned over him as if he was Brad Pitt. I left my heart on Harbord Street that night with a memory of simply one of the best dining experiences I've had the good fortune to indulge in.

My last words about Splendido would be that while it may seem pricey, you can indulge and enjoy some of their deliciousness by just sitting up at the bar, imbibing in one of their fantastic cocktails and ordering up a Charcuterie board for two. Then again, you might get lucky as Dea and I did, having the restaurant comp us the pasta and the dessert wine. Absolute class all the way.

Splendido, until we meet again...ti amo.

Arepa Cafe....a little Venezuelan harbour on Queen St. W.

2010-05-24T05:49:00.001-07:00

Started out for lunch with all intentions of hitting up TO's newest burger addition, Oh Boy, only to discover they were not flipping the patties due to a technical glitch with their grill. So we crossed the street to the other newest addition to this section of Queen Street, the Arepa Cafe.

The menu at Arepa is focused on Venezuelan food so we just went with the flow. My SO and I ordered up a couple of Arepas which are the Venezuelan version of a sandwich. They look like a large English muffin and are made of corn meal.
They are cooked on a griddle, then moved to a grill and then slit open, pulled apart and stuffed like a pocket. I ordered the pork & caramelized onions and my SO ordered the Cod with sweet peppers & onions. There are about 9 or so options of how you can have your Arepa stuffed from Tuna to Chicken to Cheese & Avocado. The Arepa is hot and freshly made to order and the average price is about $7 each.

For the most part we enjoyed them although I would have liked some condiments on the tables because my pork and onion sandwich was screaming out for a splash of Kozlik's mustard or something comparable. My other comment would be that they would really do the Arepa justice to side it with something, either some salad or some Venezuelan cole slaw (which is on the menu) because if you have any sort of appetite you'll be left wanting for more. Which is exactly what we found. The Arepa comes in a basket all by its lonesome self. It needs something to keep it company.

We also ordered a platter (all the proper Venezuelan names of the platters etc. is escaping my brain!) of flank steak with rice, black beans and fried plantain. The flank steak was delicious. It was shredded and mixed with some red & yellow peppers, onions and some sort of sauce. The only problem with it was there just wasn't enough of it. This platter was $11 and like the Arepa, my SO and I agreed, these were small servings.

My feelings about Venezuelan food is that it doesn't have the flavour pop of Thai or Indian foods. I like food with an attitude and I'm not just talking about heat, but foods that have truly distinct flavours that make you close your eyes and brings on the mmmmmmmm factor. The shredded flank steak was there but its meager portion disappointed us. The soup of the day was a butternut squash with honey and almonds. I didn't try it but I did ask the couple next to me about it and they really liked it. It did look like it had the consistency of a veloute.

The cafe itself is lovely. Bright, airy, spacious and spotless. The staff were super friendly and quite chatty. They also have some lovely little desserts and coffee which might make this a sweet spot for an afternoon cafe leche and something to tame the sweet tooth. I brought back some Alfajores for my office which were like two layers of thin shortbread with Dulce La Leche slathered in between holding them together. These were exquisite.

I'd like to wish Eduardo Lee all the best at their introduction to what he calls "Venezuelan urbanity" to the Queen Street core.

Medium Rare

2010-05-24T05:34:00.000-07:00

Any business that has a cow on the roof is a business that I want to know about. As one of the original FARC girls who love to eat the meat it is so appropriate that my 100th review here at Yelp is all about the carnivore in me. What just sweetens the pot for me is that it is also going to be an FTR (cha-ching!)
I have found heaven on earth and it's located on Dundas Street just east of the 427. Medium Rare is a fairly new player on the meat scene going up against the likes of the Healthy Butcher and Rowe Farms but as far as I'm concerned Frank Del Gobbo and his crew at Medium Rare have them beat hands down. MR is known to its customers for its butchery, its charcuterie and its great offering of prepared foods, hence they refer to Medium Rare as a cookery.

The real thing of beauty at this meat stop and their claim to true meat glory is that the butchery does a dry age cure of the beef. What's super cool is that they have put a window in at the end of the store where they have racks adorned with loins and prime ribs all tagged with aging dates. To quote one of my favorite sista FARC's (and I'll let you guess who that might be) SHUT THE FARM DOOR! I just can't believe what I'm seeing! I just stood there like a small child gazing all starry eyed into the old Eaton's Christmas windows with my little faced pressed up against the glass dreaming of what treasures might come my way.
Hey Santa, this girl's been quite nice (and maybe a teeny weeny naughty) this year so do you think you can leave a hunk of perfectly aged beef tenderloin under my tree? Perhaps a small prime rib 'o beef? Or maybe a New York strip...just a itty bitty one. Hell I'd do my best Eartha Kitt rendition of Santa Baby if I thought it'd get me some meat.

There is an endless selection of meats that are already vacuumed packed with seasoning such as the Chimichurri beefsteaks. They sell my most beloved Berkshire Pork in this store. The meat counter runs almost the whole length of the shop and this place is the mother lode of high quality, ethically farmed, hormone free, locally raised and harvested meats. Opposite of the butcher case is a full wall of upright freezers filled with everything from desserts to pot pies to seafood. I counted more than 20 kinds of sausages.

Fresh prepared foods are also readily available. I took home a bundle of giant Fred Flintstone sized beef ribs
and a container of roasted potatoes with prosciutto and herbs. I was told that they have a small smoker on the premises and the ribs I grabbed up had been smoked right there at the store. Frank Del Gobbo is my meat God. I am not worthy.

And for you grass eating, sprout munching bunch of vegetarians, yes there are things for you too. There is a beautiful line of freshly jarred soups and huge gorgeous platters of grilled vegetables.....whatever. Medium Rare has created their own branded line of food products. Kudos to them for making sure to cover all their food bases.

Medium Rare is my personal shrine to all things that are meat. I say hallelujah Brothers and Sisters and please pass the prime rib!!! It's my meat mecca on Dundas....amen.

Ajisen Ramen

2010-05-24T05:20:00.000-07:00

Note to self: Never a good idea to sit next to a bowl of Ramen soup that looks like a zombie prop from the movie 28 Days Later especially when you are severely hungover.

My Yelp buddies south of border, Janelle P. and her husband TJ hit up the mean streets of the GTA in search of good eats and when the invite showed up to join them for a bite I couldn't resist. Funnily enough it seems that every time I do get together with them we find ourselves eating Japanese food! I know the truth about these two though. As much as it appears they are chow hounds on the loose the real reason they travel north is for the love of hockey. I expect to see them a few more times before the winter has passed.

I was sporting a major hangover when Janelle sitting next to me got her Ramen soup and when she began to stir it up I felt queasy. Maybe I'm just one episode of Dexter over the line but I swore it looked like body parts floating in that bowl. This is supposed to be appetizing how?

I ordered Ginger Pork with Rice plate. I'll be damned if I could even remotely taste a hint 'o ginger. The only ginger in this place was the colour of the hair streaks on the young teen like waitress who took my order. The meat was slivered very thin, almost shaved and it was juicy and moist but it was completely void of any flavour or seasoning. If I wasn't already feeling the need to drink a gallon of water I would have asked TJ to pass the salt shaker.
What is up with the loud music? Ok, ok...enough bitching on my part. There are a couple of bright spots, one was price point. There was five of us there for lunch and the bill was less than fifty bucks. We sat there for a couple of hours and they never pressed us to hit the road. They kept topping up our tea which is great especially when you are feeling like I was feeling. Now if only I could shake the image of that Ramen bowl from my brain.

It's Mainly because of the meats.....Witteveen Meats

2010-05-24T05:17:00.002-07:00

Meat is serious business. You sell me a bad piece of meat and I'm gonna snap like a rabid Martha Stewart and beat you over the head with a day old baguette. Oh by the way, did I mention my husband was Italian? He knows knee caps pretty good. Budda boom budda bing. I'm a shopper who should come with a warning sign that reads "You fuck up my meat and I'll fuck up your meat".

Witteveen Meats is my go to place for meats when I'm making my Saturday morning grocery run at the SLM. The meat case is absolutely pristine and that is a big selling point for me. Even on the customer side of the glass you'll rarely seem any smudgy finger prints. Meat cleanliness is an important sign and tells me that these are people I want to do business with.
It was a frosty Saturday morning when my kindred spirit in meat, Shari M. and I hit up the SLM to stock up on our provisions and meat was one of them. I have been tutoring Shari in the fine art of making Bolognese sauce so she needed her some extra lean ground beef and some lean ground pork. I steered her in the direction of Witteveens which was perfect because it was kitty corner to the table and chairs we had managed to snag while giving some mouth to mouth to an absolutely perfect, juicy and fully loaded back bacon on a bun from the Carousel Bakery.

Witteveen Meats is one of the largest, if not, the largest purveyor of meats in the SLM. They sell some beautifully stuff pork loins filled with everything from fresh rosemary to dried fruits. Their French prepped lamb racks are a thing of beauty. Korean short ribs are fucking amazing and only take 3-4 minutes on the 'cue. There is every kind of beef imaginable available on the butcher counter. Price is accordingly scaled....tenderloin, grain fed, Alberta beef, it's all over the place. Yesterday they had strip loins on for 8 bucks a piece. I bought two and turned them in to Beef Strognoff, enough for two meals. I also picked up a fresh air chilled roasting chicken for ten buck which is about to get sodomized with a beer can and strapped to the Weber later today.

The best thing about hanging out at Witteveen Meats on a Saturday morning is the chance to have some potty mouth exchanges with Toronto Maple leaf hockey legend and all around bad ass guy, Eddie "Clear the track....here comes" Shack. He had Shari and I just splitting a gut laughing. Meat and laughter together, What a great way to warm up a freezing winter day.

Olde Yorke Fish & Chips

2010-05-24T05:17:00.001-07:00

There are plenty 'o fish in the sea but the ones that end up on the plates at Olde Yorke Fish & Chips are just a joy to be had, or in this case, haddock. Oh gosh, I think the punster that is Vivek is starting to rub off on me.

I finally made the pilgrimage to Olde Yorke and it was most definitely worth the effort. Shari M, my fellow meat diva and I continued on our travels to find the city's best fish and chips and I'm pretty sure we've hit the right fishing spot on Laird Avenue. OY has a really comfortable vibe about it and this is the sort of place my Mother would have absolutely loved. Cozy surroundings, straight up simple comfort food and nasty assed desserts, what more does a girl possibly need? Throw in the fact I can have a glass of the vino with my food and I'm as happy as a clam, or in this case, a clam strip.

I had the clam strips and they were great. A big, crispy pile of deep fried clams that were not remotely oily sided with a heaping mountain of golden hot chips, coleslaw and clam dipping sauce. Shari had herself a big honking hunk of fish that was so crispy when she cut in to it I could hear the crunch. Now this is the way fish and chips were meant to be.

To finish off the fish gluttony we shared a deep fried Mars bar for dessert. It was just downright ooey gooey nastiness. I had a bite and that was it for me. I lived the rest of that dessert adventure vicariously through Shari's best imitation of Sally's moment in the deli with Harry. It was food orgasms all around. (see the pics)

Dessert aside, if you are in the market for some serious fish and chips then this is the spot for you. We shall continue on our finding Nemo quest but I'm pretty sure in the end we'll both agree that the OY is absolutely one of the best, if not the best, fish and chip destination in the city.

The Pie Shack

2010-05-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

I have found a new house of worship on Queen St. E. and it's called The Pie Shack. Hallelujah, amen sista, pass the plate, I've been saved. This is my kind of temple. I could give thanks here on an ongoing basis. After a celebratory Decemburger victory scoff with Kat "my nails always look great" D. & Shari "love me, love my pussy" M. at the W Burger Bar (stay tuned for my review on that) we headed over to the Beaches for some Pie Shack loving with Tim the owner and his four legged pal, Campbell, the resident canine. If you haven't been to this pie shrine then I suggest you get baptized quick!

Comfort abounds at Pie Shack so any guilt you might experience from gobbling up pie with the trimmings quickly dissipates. Weems chairs and distressed tables, small sofas, easy on the eyes lighting and a cupboard full of board games just screams at you to hang out for a while. Tim the owner is an absolute charm and is the sweetest piece of pie in the place! Going to the Pie Shack is like going home to your favorite Auntie's house, you just know you are going to love it.
Pie here is fabulous and simple. It isn't the over the top 22 different choices you'd find over at Wanda's. Frankly I didn't miss having all those choices because what was there was stellar. Peach, Bumbleberry, Apple Cinnamon, Raspberry, Strawberry Rhubarb or Pecan....you can have with whipped cream or ice cream....or both. Tim serves you so attentively, encourages you to take your time, is quick to refill your coffee cup with a damn fine cup 'o java. Cloth napkins, all made just for the shop, that are crisp and homey just seal the deal on the comfort of this destination dessert spot.

I opt for the basic Apple & Cinnamon. A few minutes later Tim tells me that he has piece that is only 2/3 of a slice (it's the end of the day) and I tell him that is ok. He tells me to pick another pie and he'll lop off a piece and make it the equivalent of a whole big slice. He smiles and tells me that way I get to try two kinds of pie. I love this man. He knows a way to a girls heart.

The pie is delicious. The top of the pastry is super flaky, almost like puff pastry. It makes the pie light. There is no pie goop here, no syrupy fillers. Just beautiful sliced apples that still have some body to them. I also bought a piece of pecan pie to take home to my honey as Pecan pie is his favorite. I gotta tell you, whole large pecans filled the flan like crust and the pie isn't runny as some Pecan pies can be. The dense amount of pecans give it body and make it firm. The flavour of butter screams out from the pecans and even though we eat this pie at home the next day it is still fresh and delicious.

I'm going back to the Pie Shack. I'm waiting for the Lemon Meringue pie. Amen brothers and sisters....now pass the damn plate!

W Burger Bar

2010-05-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hostess: Good evening.
Me: Good evening.
Hostess: Do you have a reservation?
Me: A reservation?
Hostess: Yes, a reservation.
Me: You serve burgers here. I need a reservation to get a burger?
WTF? This ain't the Rosewater Supper Club. This is the first time I've ever been asked if I had a reservation for a burger. Damn, this place better have some great meat for this much attitude.

Ok, let's get this out in the open right off the bat. The W Burger Bar, all slick and tres mod is really just a jacked up burger version of Hooters a la beef. Now I see why all the previous guy reviewers like the wait staff. This is eye candy central here.

It was a busy, noisy Friday night when the girls who love to eat the meat, Shari M. and myself met up with Kat D. to celebrate my Decemburger victory. So I figured since this was all about the burgers then I should be going for the Ferrari of burgers....the big Kahuna....the Kobe Burger. So much expectations on my part. Such a big let down.

Our waitress, who appeared to be one Red Bull over the line, could do the speed dial routine on our order but seemed to take for ever to get a drink for anyone from the bar. When I first arrived I ordered the signature cocktail, The W. which is actually really refreshing and not cloying at all. (Vodka, Sloe Gin, Lime and sparkling grapefruit juice) I order....and 15 minutes later the waitress apologizes for not delivering yet because the bartender is totally swamped. The very same thing happens again to Shari...after a long wait for her libation it's the same old song from the waitress. Apologies and tells us the barkeep is super busy. Yet the table behind us sits down and the manager comes running over with a tray of shooters. Hmmmmm.

I order the Kobe burger and keep it simple because I want to taste the meat. Caramelized onions, mustard, relish, pickles. I said it before and I'll say it again, don't eff up Momma's burger. They completely missed the onions. While taking our order I suggest to Shari that we share some fries and Shari suggests we share Poutine instead. I say ok, I'll go for that. The waitress, on auto pilot and speed dial, for whatever reason brings us both poutine and the fries. Huh?

As for my Kobe burger it was bland. Kobe meat doesn't need much to give it flavour. Initially on the first bite it was tasty but that waned quickly. This was definitely a knock off Kobe burger and for this they charge $18.95. Steep price for sub standard meat. I've had Kobe before and it has a very distinct flavour but this burger was null and void of any flavour.

Meanwhile the table behind us gets their pitchers of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer minutes after ordering and Shari still waits upon her cocktail. Service is whacked. Totally inconsistent. It even took Kat practically waving her credit card to get the bill. Sure makes me glad that I didn't make a reservation at this place. We even had to ask for cutlery after she brought the food.

Whatever. The evening was saved by the great company and a nightcap of coffee and pie at our favorite Pie shrine out in the Beaches. Thanks Tim for saving the night for us. We got more attention from Campbell the dog then we did from our waitress at W Burger Bar and we didn't even have a reservation at the Pie Shack.

W Burger Bar - Two and a half stars and that was for the cocktail.

I'm a girl who loves to eat the meat!

2010-05-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

Meat. Sleep. Pray. Then give thanks to the higher powers for a dude named Darryl Koster (pink hair and all) for his love of creating the perfect smoked meat. Life is just too damn short not to eat such good bbq. Or as one 'smokin dude I know and adore would say...."Put a little south in your mouth!". Picture this. Out in the burbs. In a meat processing plant. Sitting in a room with 20 other strangers. You have one thing in common. You've come to eat smoked meat. Not just any smoked meat....Buster Rhino's smoked meat and more importantly hosted by the whacked up, jacked up, smoke head we know as Darryl Koster. Any guy who'd take a couple of pounds of Italian (pronounce that Eye-talian) ground sausage meat, wrap it in bacon and 'cue it is just one step over the smoked up line of sanity. If Darryl wasn't already married him I'd scoop him up in a second.

The girls who love to eat the meat met up (or in this case meat up) to indulge in one of Darryl's private tastings. For thirty bucks we not only go to gobble up meat but we got educated a ton about the difference of bbq. From the low and slow philosophy to the should I pull the membrane off those ribs to the difference between back ribs and side ribs....it was a moment.

So this was the menu....started with Pig Candy.
Oh gawd. Take me now I'm in bacon heaven. Then it was Atomic Buffalo Turds. Yup, you read that right. Jalapeno peppers, halved, stuffed with cream cheese and then wrapped in bacon and bbq'd. Oh like that wasn't orgasmic enough. We moved on to Bacon Explosion. That would be ground sausage meat wrapped up in bacon and sliced like one of those jelly roll cakes. The sausage meat is well seasoned with fennel and marries well with the bacon.

Then comes the smoked brisket on a bun, sided with simply some of the 'effing best potato salad I've ever eaten in a commercial setting. It was chock full of sweet potatoes, green onions and hard boiled eggs.

Potatoes are perfectly cooked and the spud salad is perfectly dressed with mayonnaise & mustard....not gloopy or cloying. Darryl encourages us to try the meat before we decide to slather sauce on top. Taste the smoke, taste the true flavour of the meat in its pureness. After that if you want sauce he's ok with that.

Moving on comes the smoked pulled pork. Natch there is coleslaw slaw on the side. Darryl informs us the traditional way of eating PP is to slather the slaw on top of the pork. My husband Dennis is beginning to moan. I'm looking around the room wondering if they have one of those emergency CPR resuscitation machines. If not I'll just leave him on the floor until I'm finished my sandwich.

This just ain't human. Out comes the ribs and the hush puppies. No, these arent' those nerdy Hush Puppies that you put your feet. Hush puppies are corn bread dollops deep fried and served on the side of the smoked ribs.
Now be forewarned. If saucy is your trip then these ribs ain't gonna work for you. This is about rub....and low and slow cooking. It is a snout-full of smoke. Dennis declares these are the best ribs he's ever tasted. I'm wounded....my ribs have always been the best he's ever tasted. I'm calling my lawyer first thing on Monday morning. I make a point of unplugging the charger on the plant defibrillator machine.

The swan song in this bbq extravaganza....smoked Mars bars. Yeah, you read that right. Darryl freezes them and them they put 'em on the cue. Check out the pics.
You'll see the grill marks on the back of the bars.

Ok, so what did I learn? There is food life in the 'burbs....I mean we are talking serious smoking effing cue here people. My priceless moment.....getting to meet (meat) Shari M's mom. Meat rules.
Meat. Sleep. Pray....for a chance to get out to Buster Rhino's

Delight

2010-05-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

"I have this theory that chocolate slows down the ageing process
.... It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?" - Unknown

Now that is a sentiment I can get behind. Or as one of my most favourite cartoon characters, Lucy Van Pelt from the Peanuts gang would say "All I really need is love...but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!" Most recently I was lucky enough to have a gift package of chocolate nirvana from Delight bestowed upon me as a thank you for participating in a panel discussion at a conference. Talk about a good taste thank you gift.

Delight is just that, a delight. This small little chocolate pocket tucked quietly away in the Junction on Dundas St. W. opened up a couple of years ago. I have frequented the shop on many occasion as it is not far from my work hood. They bake brownies fresh daily and when you walk through the door only to be greeted with the wafting scent of baking brownies it is easy to be seduced by the shop.

The proprietors at Delight take great pride in using only fair trade ingredients including Harmony Organic Cream and chocolate from La Siembra. The end results speak for themselves. The truffles are like butter in their consistency. It is melt in your mouth ambrosia at its very best.

There are a few seats in the shop so you can sit and enjoy a hot chocolate and double dose your chocolate desires with a warm brownie. Organic ice cream is also available, served up in handmade waffle cones. If you find yourself venturing out this way then I would encourage to stop in and treat yourself. As usual...my pic crazed self has pasted up a shot of those truffles. Be prepared to salivate.

The Big Ragu

2010-05-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

Eating dinner at Carmine Accogli's restaurant the Big Ragu is like coming home to an old friend's place or better yet dinner at Nonna's casa! The BR is an old restaurant spot (formerly Venezia) and stepping into it one can't help but to feel like you've really stepped into an authentic Italian experience. What a great change of pace from the College Street Italia chichi scene or the overly hyped overly priced Bene Note.

It was my husband's birthday so I invited friends to celebrate with us. I made a reservation which was a good thing because the BR is a small dining spot (between 30-40 seats) and the place was hopping. Right from the minute we got there Carm took care of us and treated us like we were la familia! :) He is so personable and his love for his business, the food he serves and the customers is so very evident.

We started with cocktails and asked Carm if he could bring us some antipasti. No problem. A few minutes later out came three plates. Two with assorted salumi's/prosciutto, artichokes, roasted peppers and olives. The last plate had three Italian cheeses and they were plentiful. Then he took his time to go over the specials of the day and answered any questions we had. In detail he talked about how things were cooked and what spices, herbs, wines etc. were used.

Three different salads got ordered.

A magic mushroom salad, a grilled calamari salad and a pear & Parmesan salad. All salads were fantastic but I have to say the magic mushroom salad stole my heart! Baked mushrooms with goats cheese atop a bed of arugula. Sometimes goats cheese in salad can drown the greens but not at the Big Ragu.

Our mains included the Braised Lamb of the day; a baked Cod and I opted for the provimi veal, pan seared in white wine and sage and then topped with prosciutto. It was a flavour explosion. The only downside of my veal dish is that that potatoes just weren't cooked enough, just a tad to hard still. The lamb was fall off the bone tender in a gorgeous sauce that was so good my friend next to me used a spoon to scoop up the last of the sauce.
The baked cod completely caught me off guard. I'm usually not big for cod, I find it smelly and salty but boy was this fish de-lish!

We ordered a side of rapini sauteed in garlic and olive oil and a bowl of spaghetti because leaving the Big Ragu without trying the pasta just wasn't going to happen. Everyone got to taste and we agreed the sauce was hearty, stuck to the pasta and had a slight edge of an arrabiata attitude. We washed down all this home styled Italian goodness with a couple of bottles of Chianti.

Carmine showed his class and his host who is the most side by bringing out a tray of glasses filled with Prosecco to mark the birthday occasion. Let me tell you something about Carmine, this boy can sing! He's got opera pipes! All of a sudden the lights in the whole restaurant go out and in the darkness out comes Carmen with a slice of cake and a candle and he is singing in this unbelievable voice, rendering his operatic version Happy Birthday. For the most part I usually find the singing birthday cake thingy kinda cheesy but at the Big Ragu it works. We finished off with coffees, espressos, cappuchinos. It was a great night.

So the low down was this: 4 cocktails, 2 beers, 2 bottles of Chianti, a table sized antipasti for six people, 5 salads, 6 mains, 5 coffees and the total of the bill with taxes came in at $350. We felt that for the level of food and service that the Big Ragu put out this bill was a bargain.

Check out the pics. If you are ever up in that neck of the woods (Lansdowne & St. Clair) then I would highly recommend you stop in and meet Carm and treat yourself to some really awesome, home styled Italian food.

The Tweeps gather for a Twasting up at Frida

2010-05-23T06:19:00.000-07:00

For those of us who live our food adventures vicariously through the 140 characters on Twitter there ain't nothing sweeter than actually putting down the iPhones and Blackberries and sitting down with one another to break bread.
I'm not quite sure who organized this tweeps twasting fest but I'm sure glad I unchained myself from my desk and headed over to indulge in Jose "Pepe" Hadad's evening repast. It was a delightful evening.
Chef was kind enough to include a few special items on the price fixe menu including the "head to toe" pig plate as an appie. How cool is that.