This is how we RRROLL - Testing the Rimroller at Tim Hortons

So I wanted to start a post about winning both a coffee and a donut from 2 consecutive cups of large regular coffees I bought at Tim Hortons. Sweet... free breakfast! It got me thinking, "There's an awful lot of RRROLLing up the rim to win going on in the office, up and down the street, everywhere!"

Then I remembered that I saw this invention called the rimroller on an episode of Dragons' Den on CBC. It's essentially a keychain with a couple of blades inside that cuts a section of the coffee cup's rim and rolls it up for you. 'Sure beats doing it with your fingers, or your teeth for that matter.

I thought I'd go to Tim's today to test this gizmo out.

Let me tell you it's pretty cool. It doesn't increase you rrroll-up effieciency tremendously with 1 cup (what's another 10 seconds right?), though if you stood in front of a Tim's before work and did it for a dime per rim, you're sure to make your lunch money and then some.

There's a little problem with how narrow the cut is. As you can see from my test, there was only enough room for the French part. My sister also pointed out that you can't use it while there's still coffee in your cup. Apparently a lot of people are so eager to find out if they've won, that they start rolling the rim even if the cup's still half-full.

The verdict: If you happened to have the rimroller on you, it does make finding out if you've won a lot faster. And it's a really fun toy for you gadget geeks out there.

Posted by: Mark Rodas

Fine French Fare at Le Select Bistro

Le Select Bistro is widely regarded as one of Toronto's best French restaurants. For the quality of the food that you get, you'd expect to pay through the nose, which you surprisingly don't with Le Select. Is this how one of the patrons afforded the Aston Martin parked out front?... Well, maybe not. Le Select provides hearty French bistro fare at a reasonable price. The menu has relatively few items on it though, so we decided to try some dishes we normally wouldn't find at a typical downtown resto.



For les hors d'oeuvres, we had the Oreille de Cochon - crispy sow's ear strips served with lentils Du Puy from France's volcanic soils, and watercress; and the Tarte Nicoise - Provencal puff pastry tart with goat cheese, onion, tomato, olives and anchovies, served with an arugula salad.


Above: Oreille de Cochon - crispy sow's ear strips

The sow's ears were exceptionally good! I've had porcine ears before, but not nearly as good as this. The strips were thin and perfectly crisp, an excellent contrast to the salad greens. The tart had a flaky crust and a subtle but rich goat cheese flavour. The bitterness of the arugula complemented the depth of the tart's taste very well.

For mains we had the Joue De Boeuf Bourguignonne - beef cheek braised in red wine, with pork lardons and button mushrooms; and the Pave De Boeuf au Poivre - 8 oz centre cut filet, green peppercorn sauce with brandy and cream.

The beef cheeks were very soft and mildly gooey. This piece of beef gets tops for texture and richness, but there were flavour notes missing that could be found in typical steak cuts. Luckily we had one on hand, and with some of the best fries we've ever had. The key to the frites appear to be balanced seasoning and peanut oil. Think Miss Vickie's fries!

We finished off with Gateau au Chocolat - chocolate cake with Pure Caribe Cocoa and a passion fruit sorbet; and a Parfait Praline - frozen praline parfait served with a light chocolate sauce and almond brittle. I also had a cappuccino made with Maison Richard coffee from France (even the sugar was from France). The cake had a so-so torte texture, but was very chocolatey. The sorbet was wonderfully tart and refreshing, and went well with the chocolate.



I really like the decor of Le Select. The tin ceiling by the bar, the old light fixtures and the tiled floors downstairs made you feel like you were in a sepia photo in Europe. The warm lighting added to that effect, no doubt. I loved that the signs to the washrooms read "W.C." i.e. water closet. They even got that small detail down.

Click here for more bistro photos

Posted by: Mark Rodas



Le Sélect Bistro
www.leselect.com

432 Wellington Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 1E3
(416) 596-6405


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ALL MY SINGLE LADIES!

So we recently did a Couples Cooking Class but last night we went undercover for the Singles version! (Or tried to - our foodie friends Suresh, Joel and David kind of blew our "single" cover - or maybe that was Mark and I who blew it!) Here's our impressions of the Singles Cooking Class that Chef Vanessa Yeung from Aphrodite Cooks held at Nella Cucina:

THE FOOD

• Menu was similar to Couples class (and was delicious as always - last night was the first time I made couscous and I could not believe how easy it was to make!)
  
  
• The featured dessert was different - this time Preena Chauhan was there helping us make a chai pineapple bundt cake spiced with Arvinda's spices. It was moist and tasty, and was served with...
  
  
• Toronto's Frozen Vines KILLER Pina Colada Gelato! Honestly, best part of the night for me. I LOVED it. We got our hands on a list of all the booze-infused treats they make and were also told they experiment all the time and make items NOT on their usual menu - They also have some other wild flavours of gelatos and sorbettos, like Chilli Tequila Gelato, Limeoncello Sour Cream Mint Gelato, and Sangria Sorbetto - their list is really extensive and I highly recommend giving them a try.

ALL MY SINGLE LADIES!

• There were certainly more women than men - guys, this would be a good place to go to meet a lovely girl!
  
  
• If you didn't meet anyone special last night, Jean from No Loves Lost was holding a draw for her professional services.
  
  
• As with all Aphrodite Cooks classes we will be emailed all the recipes - great for singles who may want to impress future dates with their cooking skills!

Be the next Dinner Party Legends on TV!

Here's your chance to be the next dinner party super-duo on this new Food Network Canada show.


They're looking to cast the show ASAP. Each episode includes 3 teams of 2 people attempting to stage the BEST dinner party. 2 judges will render the final verdict.

For more information, contact Dan Pasqua at dpasqua@cineflix.com

Posted by: Mark Rodas

Cooking Class: Simple Dim Sum

To celebrate the Year of the Tiger, Chef Vanessa Yeung of Aphrodite Cooks held a Dim Sum cooking class at Nella Cucina featuring her Year of the Tiger dumplings.

These cooking classes are tons of fun. Not only do you get to socialize with other food lovers, you also learn new skills and recipes. Oh and did I forget to mention that you get to eat what everyone cooked!


Click on video to play

Chef Yeung and her mom Millie taught us all we had to know to make such yummy treats as bison potstickers, stuffed eggplant, vegetarian water dumplings and siu mai.



Click on video to play

I love siu mai! Though other kinds of dim sum may be more intricate and tasty, there's just something very comforting about steamed pork and shrimp.

The sweet and savoury pork stuffed pastry was also deeeelish!

The class was very informative. Dim sum turned out to be quite easy to make, with fresh, inexpensive ingredients. We were even talking among ourselves about how easy it would be to pull off making several kinds of dim sum with only slight variations of the same ingredients if you had to throw a dinner party in a pinch.

Click here for more cooking class photos.

Posted by: Mark Rodas

Additional links:
Aphrodite Cooks
Nella Cucina cooking classes

Sarah B. Hood's blog post
No 'Ugly Dumplings' here, Dim Sum recipes from Chef Yeung

Fondue Feastivul at the Esplanade Bier Markt

Here's a great date idea: "Me, Yu, Und Fondue" at the Bier Markt for their Fondue Feastivul.

I love how the Bier Markt runs these themed festivals throughout the year. At other times there's an Asparagus Feastivul and a Gamey Meat Feastivul. I also love how the Bier Markt makes my spellcheck go awry, haha Feastivuuuul...

The Bier Markt has 2 restaurants, but I always find myself at the Esplanade location. It's in the funky yet peaceful St. Lawrence neighbourhood, and it represents my idea of Toronto's original gastropub. The Bier Markt, along with another favourite, Beer Bistro, have an astounding selection of brews from all over the world. They also have the high-calibre food to match.

We started off with some Paulaner Dunkel, a smooth, malty Bavarian beer. It was dark, crisp, and fragrant, a great way to wake up the palate.

For apps we had the Cheese and Lager Fondue: appenzeller, emmental and raclette cheese, Stella Artois lager, asparagus, grape tomatoes, cornichons, and fresh baguette.


That was a big appetizer. I'm glad we shared. Needless to say we mopped up all the cheese with the baguette.

For our main, we shared the Surf and Turf: Atlantic lobster, AAA center cut striploin, asparagus, rosti potato, peppercorn demi-glace, with a Leffe Brune Ale broth.

The lobster looked pre-cooked, and was a little tough. A side of salted, melted butter would also have been nice, but was sadly missing.

The striploin on the other hand was amazing! It was so soft. We were also warned earlier by the couple sitting next to us who just had the same fondue that the green peppercorn sauce was to die for, and we should try not to fight over it. She was right. The sauce complemented the meat perfectly.

For dessert, Stacey had the Caramel and Toffee Fondue: ladyfingers, French macaroons, biscotti, bananas, strawberries, and housemade marshmallows.

I had the Belgian Chocolate Fondue: Valrhona dark Manjari chocolate, French macaroons, biscotti, ladyfingers, bananas, and strawberries.


The housemade marshmallows were great with the caramel, and the French macaroons were heavenly with the chocolate. That's gotta be one of the best chocolate sauces I've ever had.

Get thee to the Bier Markt.


Click here for more mouthwatering pics.


The Fondue Feastivul runs from Jan 13 - Feb 28, 2010.

www.thebiermarkt.com


Posted by: Mark Rodas

Have you tasted Toronto's cooking classes?

Sure, Tasting Toronto cooks at home, reports back on restaurant experiences, seeks out new ingredients/recipes and visits food festivals - but another part of discovering what Toronto's food scene has to offer is to learn directly from the very talented chefs who populate this city - the best way to do that is to attend a cooking class led by one of them.

Valentine's Day weekend we were at a couple's cooking class at Nella Cucina with Aphrodite Cooks. Looking around at the other couples, I realized this was a really cool bonding experience - cooking in your own kitchen is similar, but being in a professional kitchen is even more fun. I drooled the entire time staring at the KitchenAid Mixer and deep fryer, wishing I had my own at home! And even without the gadgets, you still come away with the recipes so you can dazzle your friends and family. Much cheaper than going to George Brown's culinary school (although if I won the lottery that's probably where I'd run off to)!

We were manning the dessert station: we made a delicious flourless dark chocolate tequila torte with banana/avocado sauce.

Click here for more pics from the evening!

Sunday morning we're doing a Dim Sum cooking class - we'll be sure to have mouth-watering pictures from that as well so stay tuned!