Distinguished Restaurants of North America conference

Last week Toronto played host to some of the continent's top chefs and restaurateurs at the Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA) conference. A couple of culinary highlights from the conference were the CN Tower reception at Horizons, and the Grand Gala at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

The CN Tower event featured Canadian cuisine, and had the Hon Peter Fonseca, MPP, Minister of Labour, opening the conference.











The Grand Gala at the Fairmont Royal York was an elegant sit-down event featuring a Japanese dinner paired with fine Italian wine. The Kaiseki dinner was created by Iron Chef 2002, Kimio Nonaga, with the assistance of Chef Ryo Ozawa of EDO Toronto.


What is Kaiseki?

Here was the menu for the evening:

OTOSHI – AMUSE BOUCHE
Vino Spumante – Pinot
Italian Black Truffle Flan

APPETIZER
2009 Il Vendemmiale Gavi DOCG
Four Composed Japanese Tastes
Home-made Sesame Tofu Spinach Mushroom Medley
Foie Gras Opium Poppy Seed Pate Satsuma Potato Beggar’s Bag

SASHIMI
2007 Roccanivo Barbera d’Asti
Kuroge Wagyu Tataki
Sliced Black Wagyu Rib-Eye with “Ponzu Sauce”
Shisso-Flavored Potato Salad

YAKIMONO
2009 Il Sensale Roero Arneis DOCG
Cherry Wood Smoked Miso
Marinated Canadian Salmon and Scallop

TOMEMONO
Rice-dusted Crisped Fluke with “White Snow”

SHOKUJI
2005 Barolo Sant’ Ambrogio
Duck Two Ways
Steamed Minced Duck
Japanese Mushroom Rice “Puck”
Simmered Duck Breast with “Hot-Spring” Egg

DESSERT
2009 Moscato d’Asti DOCG
Nonaga Original Japanese Cheesecake
“Kinako” & Black Bean Ice Cream
Fried sugar coated Sweet Potato

Chippy's + TeamBuy = YAY!

On Friday night we checked out the new Chippy's location on Bloor (the original, which is known for its rockstar clientele, is on Queen).



We had a sweet deal through a TeamBuy.ca trial - those who bought into the deal pretty much got one order of fish, chips, a side (sauce) and a drink for free, because the discount was so good it was pretty much a "dinner for two" deal. Very cool. Even without TeamBuy, Chippy's is a reasonably-priced place to go for a casual fish and chips experience, with decent portion sizes for decent prices - I couldn't even finish my fries because my piece of haddock was so huge. They have some unique "sides" (which I'd more accurately want to call "sauces" - the closest thing to a "side" is their mushy peas) but don't look for any gravy - the closest thing they have is curry gravy, which is moderately hot and quite tasty.

I also gotta give some love to the fries specifically because they were nice and crispy on the outside and so, so soft on the inside. Mark and I were imagining what a poutine made with those fries might taste like...

The haddock itself was flavourful and the batter was light and crunchy, which helped it to not feel as greasy as your usual fish and chips. But if you're someone who really prefers a ton of batter on your fish, you might find it a little on the light side at Chippy's.

The two guys serving up the fish and chips were really friendly and were playing some great tunes (and, probably by some people's standards, loud tunes, but hey, it fits the scene there). They were also experiencing a rush of TeamBuyers because the deal we all bought into expires Aug. 31!



All in all, I'd say try Chippy's for a cheap and cheerful dinner if you're in the Bloor / Bathurst area, and try TeamBuy if you're a foodie - every so often a good food deal appears that's definitely worth taking advantage of.

Yours in food,
-Stacey

Deep-fried butter and other artery cloggers at the Ex

What good reasons are there to go to the Ex? Sure there are good deals to be had, midway rides, games, the general sense of festiveness, and a celebration of the summer just passed, but the best reason to go by far is the food. It's not gourmet food, it's gimicky, often greasy, and always fun fairground fare.

Year after year, my Ex staples have been a corndog and an ice cream sandwich. But this year, I'm pushing the cardiac envelope with some sure fire artery cloggers. Here's the rundown:

Deep-fried Butter



This has been the talk of the town. It sounds decadently gluttonous, and elicits awe, disgust, fascination, and food lust all at once. It was good, but not spectacular, and certainly no where near as rich as foie gras or my favourite Filipino treat Sans Rival (essentially butter with a little meringue holding it together).

The frozen butter ball melts away while frying, so you're left with four hollow butter-soaked balls of funnel cake batter, sauced with chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and strawberry, dusted with icing sugar.

Chocolate-covered Bacon



What can I say? Pork definitely loves chocolate.

Deep-fried Mars bar



This was my favourite treat at the Ex. A hot molten Mars bar is a whole lot sweeter and richer than one at room temperature. You can certainly feel every bite buzzing your brain and teeth.

Twinkie Log



This looks nice, and sounds great in concept, but it was it was rather dry and unspectacular compared to the other items above.

Taco in a bag



This was a novel take on a taco salad. Interesting, but not very tasty, and not very easy to eat. It's a bag of Nacho Doritos with all your taco fixin's.

There was so much more food I wanted to give a go like Bouchard's "The Mexican" poutine, and deep-fried Mac & Cheese, but alas that's enough abuse for one day. Perhaps next year.





Click here for more photos

Downtown at the Night Market

This past weekend was the first T&T Waterfront Night Market. The night market came to Toronto from East Asia, via Richmond and Vancouver. This night market featured over 60 food and merchandise vendors, serving up an eclectic mix of treats including Taiwanese popcorn chicken, pineapple slush in hollowed out pineapples, tofuyaki, Thai desserts, bubble tea, Singapore beef jerky, and Filipino sago.







The signature items were the Tornado Potato, a jumbo potato cut into a long corkscrew and deep-fried, and the infamous Stinky Tofu... which is exactly what it's called.





Having the Night Market, the Taste of the Danforth, and the Festival of Beer on the same weekend certainly left many a liver crying.





Click here for more photos

Globe Bistro

Globe Bistro was among the top picks at this year's Summerlicious. We're glad we got a chance to check out their enticing menu.

Here's what you get for a $35 dinner:

Tom Collins Cucumber Gazpacho (vegetarian)
Lake Erie farms cucumber, lemon cress, preserved lemon, Canadian gin
or
Shaved Fennel & Purple Basil Cress Salad (vegetarian)
Spiced pistachio, taggiashi olive dust, orange gelée
or
Pickled Beef Tongue
Micro herb salad, ciabatta croutons, Flower Power sunflower oil,
or
Smoked Black Cod Brandade
Crispy shallot rings, smoked paprika essence, confit garlic crostini

***

Seared Cumbrae’s Flank Steak
Duck fat Yukon chips, vine ripe tomato, scallion, Triple Crunch aioli
or
Lake Erie Pickerel
Wild rice coriander salad, Millbank green peas, marjoram cress, earth chardonnay vinaigrette
or
Swiss Chard Torte Verde (vegetarian)
Best Baa Farm feta, charred tomato coulis, blonde frisée, chives
or
Ontario Rabbit Linguini
Maltese spiced, eggplant, roasted grape tomatoes, Monforte pecorino, thyme cress

***

Callebaut Dark Chocolate Torte
Espresso mousse, Cherry Lane Farms black cherry sugar
or
Ewenity Crème Fraiche Panna Cotta
Candied lemon zest, wild blueberry soup
or
Globe Summer Berry "Mess"
Vanilla spiced meringue, bacon infused whiskey, Ontario berries

Click here for photos with descriptions

Expressions of Brazil

Yesterday I checked out Expressions of Brazil, part of the World Routes summer festivals at the Harbourfront Centre.



There were lots of people sitting on the turf, enjoying music from Brazilian performers.



Though there were many cultural activities such as film screenings and drumming workshops, I went there primarily to sample Brazilian food. I was a little disappointed to not find much that was Brazilian, although there was a strong Latin American presence in the World Cafe.





It was a nice event for families, with the live entertainment, a chance to walk by the water's edge, plus the usual Harbourfront standbys of churros, fresh coconut, and a small bazaar. It also amazed me how you could hear the Toronto Indy buzzing all the way from Exhibition Place.

Tasty Thursdays

Food and farmers in the middle of the concrete jungle. I love how in the heart of the downtown Toronto, amid the towers of commerce, like spires from the fortress of solitude hides lunch-hour delights.



At Nathan Phillips Square, in front of City Hall, we have Tasty Thursdays. From July 15 to August 26. Enjoy $5 meals whilst enjoying some multi-cultural entertainment.




- Tandoori chicken burger




A couple of blocks away, on Thursdays from 11-2, is theBay-Adelaide Evergreen market, run by the people who brought us the Brickworks farmers' market.











Green Guide: Toronto Farmers' Markets