Party idea: Breakfast for dinner

This past weekend we had some friends over and we cooked breakfast items for dinner, complete with mimosas as drinks (and, had I not forgot to add triple sec to some of them, formosas as well). I've got to say, after doing a couple different dinner ideas for get-togethers over the last few years, this one was one of the most simple ones - and who doesn't like eating breakfast foods for dinner?!

The hit was, by far, the Filipino breakfast dish pandesal, which involved making pork adobo (not the Spanish dry rub kind with spices, but the Filipino kind that involves cooking the pork a certain way in a mixture of mostly soy sauce, vinegar and water and some seasonings - if anyone wants the recipe let me know in the comments section). Then the adobo pork is shredded with a fork and put on toasted sweet buns, known as pandesal (I've also eaten this dish untoasted and it's great either way).

So while Mark took care of the ridiculously-good pandesal, I made homemade waffles (Mark made an amazing homemade blueberry/triple sec compote for the waffles) and homemade quiche, and we cooked up some sausages too. Like I said in my intro, anything is an excuse for us to cook for people - this time it was just the fact that it's summer and we hadn't seen some of our friends in a while.

I'll be kind and won't post the hilarious reaction shot of one of my good friends to the pandesal - I think you can see him falling in love with a bun!

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Turnover of Toronto restaurants: A love/hate situation

I both love and hate the fact that I will never get around to all the restaurants in Toronto. On the one hand, there's nothing better than knowing I will live in this city the rest of my life (woohoo!) and will STILL never get the "restaurant blahs" because there is always something new and exciting to try. Maybe next on our list will be dining in the dark - shout-out to my coworker for letting me know this one will be opening soon: http://www.thestar.com/living/article/649452.

On the flipside, restaurant turnover in this city makes someone like myself a little nervous. I still remember running to the "Susur" part of Susur Lee's two namesake restaurants once we caught word that he was leaving for N.Y. He trained chefs in his place, but still, we needed the Susur Lee experience before he left forever (okay, really, I hear he still comes back to town now and then, but again, I'm a total food loser, and I had to get there before he left or else I'd somehow feel cheated... I know, not logical, but the propsect of missing out on good food makes me irrational!). So we frantically called day-in and day-out to get a reservation. We got in, and the food was pretty good, but I think I'm still haunted by the wall lined with Colonel Sanders statues painted all white (yes, THAT Colonel Sanders, the one of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame). I was also panicked (okay, really, I think I'm overexaggerating, but please don't pin me as shallow or bizarre for being panicked about a restaurant closing!) when I caught wind of Scaramouche potentially closing, and made sure to get there in time. That's where I tasted the best scallop of my life... see? I have reason to get crazy when I hear a true Toronto culinary institution might be closing! It might be the best food I've ever tasted! I even freaked out when an obscure Indian buffet near my house closed with no notice but I realized it had just moved further down the street, so I still have a chance to go there... I hope... oh wait, here comes the paranoia, maybe it closed today and I didn't even know haha!

I think turnover gives me all the more reason to want to document the places we've been as a public record of their tastiness.

All that said, here's a preview of what's to come:

• Our picks for the top three sushi restaurants in the GTA.
  
• An update on Mark's birthday dinner at Bocca on Baldwin Street (we've all had good lamb and bad lamb... we'll fill you in on what the lamb experience was like at Bocca).
  
• Some out-of-town photoblogging (we recently went to Moto in Chicago, home of reknowned gastronomic chef Homaro Cantu, and had a 20 course 5-hour-long meal. Pictures of every course were taken and Mark typed the info down on his phone so we'd remember what was in each amazing dish).
  
• Also watch for Taste of the Danforth updates in August plus some guest-blogging from other food-obsessed friends of ours.

Yours in food,
-Stacey

So who is behind Tasting Toronto?

Stacey Fowler

I'm a little obsessed with two things: Toronto and food. Luckily, my boyfriend Mark has the same obsessions. Thus, for obvious reasons, we decided to start this blog. We mostly hope to document our local culinary travels, and if there's a restaurant in Toronto you've been wanting to go to, ask us about it first - it's likely we've already been there or are planning to go and can fill you in!

Given my love of food, I will make any excuse to have as many friends over as I can cram into my apartment so I can cook, bake and mix drinks for them - I have a lucky set of friends! But when we're not cooking at home, Mark and I are out tasting what Toronto has to offer.

Enjoy and if you have any questions feel free to email us at TastingToronto@hotmail.com. Bon appetit!




Mark Rodas

Toronto is such a great city! It's big enough and diverse enough to foster a vibrant culinary scene. Many ethnic ingredients and foods once considered exotic are now readily available. I've heard a story of a huge Filipino food outlet that had to venture into more prepared meals as they've experienced increased competition from other general Asian groceries, and even No Frills.

We have myriad food and drink festivals throughout the year as well as an ever changing restaurant landscape. Sometimes I've regretted not going to an interesting restaurant sooner, only to realise that either it is no longer there or that the original reasons for going have either gone away with the prima donna chef or have succumbed to the economic pressures of expensive ingredients. I dearly miss some places like Solferino, which had the best pistachio gelato in town or the old Pizzeria Uno and the Fish House that both used to be on Front St.

Sometimes we find that food reviews in the papers may overhype a new trendy restaurant or unduly trash others. What better way to uncover the truth than to investigate ourselves. We hope you find our blog informative and entertaining. We most welcome comments and suggestions at TastingToronto@hotmail.com so that we can all explore and enjoy all that tasting Toronto has to offer.