HARVEST 2012
PORK & BEER Bellwoods Brewery’s secret weapons
Inside Savour Stratford We love chardonnay!
Plus: Great ales, great joints, great times
Zoltan Szabo (p11) Konrad Ejbich (p32)
Chocolate + Candy (p28)
the
HARVEST GUIDE How to make the most of fall’s bounty
Fab DeCicco at Bellwoods Brewery
Now online at
citybites.ca
Plus! Apples + Food Dudes + Shrimp + Jewish Brunch + Bar Volo
N LO EW O K BICIC L E TA
The Bicicleta range symbolizes Cono Sur’s spirit of innovation, passion, commitment and respect for the environment.
Take the Path to a Greener Lifestyle To learn more visit
Enter for Your Chance to WIN a Trip for Two to Cono Sur Vineyards & Winery in Chile!* Enter Now! Visit: conosurseasonalfare.com
www.conosur.com
* Contest closes October 13 2012. No purchase necessary. Must be legal drinking age to enter. See contest website for rules and regulations.
REPRESENTED BY AUTHENTIC WINE & SPIRITS MERCHANTS
FROM From THE the EDITOR editor Lastabout summer we piled the family into Stephen the car I was halfway through beer expert and road-tripped around Ontario. We hit Beaumont’s new book The World Atlas of Beer, Sudbury, Goderich, Tobermory, Muskoka, co-authored with U.K. beer writer Tim Webb, Georgian Bay, Northumberland County, when I realized how little I know about beer. Kingston Niagara. I was struck by theas great Now, itand wasn’t my first drink of choice a diversity of landscaperipping and produce this young ne’er-do-well off my across parents great as then we explored farmer’s (whiteprovince, wine first, Beefeater as I gotmarkets older). and shops But Iartisanal do recallfood my first sipdedicated, of a truly obviously, flavourful to their regional bounty. beer. It was Bass Ale, from a bottle, and it We’ll do againUp thistoyear, more opened myiteyes. thatspending point, I’da little slugged time the Trentsuds Hillslike area of Northumberland, back in innocuous Molson Light and, where bought a modest off-the-grid due to we’ve a beerjust strike in Newfoundland, a lot of shack on a creek. We’ll be spending lot of Old Milwaukee (imported to thwart ariots in the time at Empire Cheese & reward Butter Co-op, owned streets). Bass became my for hard work, by dairy for farmers with rootsorstretching likelocal studying high and school exams sweeping back to 1867. TheyAnd stock an abundance of local the kitchen floor. it launched my taste for products, hand-made candies,my maple more tastylike brews, while ruining tastesyrup for and sauces, in addition to their award-winning the characterless mass beers that seem to have cheeses. ruled theEmpire last fewCheese decades.
Food Tour Visit citybites.ca for more is just one ofismany Salvation nigh, local as you’ll see when you read
tips on touring Ontario for
gems thatReport, make roadour Beer beginning ongreat p. 13. We’ve eats. Our website
be growing throughtripping Ontario sprinkledin a whole lotso more beerwill musings throughout the summer!
rewarding. There’s a whole out this issue, which we hope you’ll enjoy.
No. 43
Harvest 2012
No. 44
The Summer Essentials Guide 18 Four Great Things to Do Need ideas for summer eating and drinking? The Toronto Beer Report Here you go. 13 A Six Great Draught Picks A discussion over a few nice pints. 19 Taste of Historic Kingston Poutine, haute cuisine and everything in between. 14 The Hottest Taps in Town How Bellwoods Brewery does it. 20 Top Sparklers theStephen love of Cava: three great bottles to try now. 16 Wide World ofFor Beer Beaumont’s new beer atlas. 20 17 21
Fish Fry Take a tour forBar some delicious local celebration. ďŹ sh. The Case for Real Ale Volo’s Cask Days Small Pleasures Rating the best mini bottles of wine at LCBO.
Best Summer Beers Cool crafted quaffers. The Fall Harvest Guide
lot to discover and eat—out there, so get to it! Toronto’s beer — offerings just keep getting better
22
and better, and we thoughtCITYBITES CA it was time to put it $ICK 3NYDER %DITOR s DICK on record. There really is no excuse for drinking @citybites tasteless beer anymore. Thank the gods.
23 Beer Events Taste your face off at these fests. 20 Summer To Market, To Market A few farmers’ markets. 24 Edward County For the love of wine, and more. 21 Prince Harvest Menus Toronto restaurants get cooking.
Dick Snyder, Editor • dick@citybites.ca city bites magazine @citybites citybitestoronto
25 Best Ice Creams Rounding up some cool faves. 21 The Apple Report What to expect in the orchards. 26 Picnic Gear Great outdoor stuff from Victorinox. 23 Fall Harvest Events Foodie things to do. 24 How to Savour Stratford
city bites magazine
Regular Bites
citybitestoronto
5
Editor Dick Snyder/dick@citybites.ca Art Director Craig Sinclair/craig@citybites.ca Editorial Assistant Kait Fowlie Editor Dick Snyder/dick@citybites.ca Wine Editor John Art Director CraigSzabo Sinclair/craig@citybites.ca Director Vinous Aff airs Zoltan Szabo Editorial of Assistant Kait Fowlie Wine Editor John Szabo Contributors Stephen Beaumont, Andrew Brudz, Dan Donovan, Director of Vinous Affairs Zoltan Szabo Konrad Ejbich, Maia Filar, Kait Fowlie, Marc Green, Kerry Knight, Alan McGinty, Kate More, Sanober Motiwala, JohnKonrad Szabo, Ejbich, Contributors Stephen Beaumont, Dan Donovan, Zoltan Szabo, Temkin Maia Filar, KaitStephen Fowlie, Marc Green, Sarah Hood, Sanober Motiwala, John Szabo, Zoltan Szabo, Stephen Temkin Photography and illustration Konrad Ejbich, Ross Spencer, Dick Snyder and illustration Laura Berman, Malcolm Brown, Photography Sanober Motiwala, Ross Spencer, Dick Snyder Publisher Paul Alsop/paul@citybites.ca Sr. AccountPaul Manager Wendy Lyall Gardner/wendy@citybites.ca Publisher Alsop/paul@citybites.ca Account Manager Alexander Sr. Account Manager Wendy McCarthy/alecmccarthy@live.ca Lyall Gardner/wendy@citybites.ca Account Manager John Walker/johnmwalker@rogers.com Alexander McCarthy/alex@citybites.ca
photo: ross spencer
contents contents Harvest 2012
Email info@citybites.ca or visit www.citybites.ca Advertising Inquiries sales@citybites.ca City Bites Media Inc., 26 Dalhousie St. Suite 200, Toronto, ON, M5B 2A5, 647-827-1705. City Bites is published six times a year by City Bites Media Inc.
The CityBites guide to a great fall fair.
Starters Burning Kiln Winery
in Norfolk County. Regular Bites
6 5
Crumbs for eaters. Starters News The apple of Wanda’s eye. 7 Out&About The Farmhouse 6 Tavern. Crumbs Read before you eat.
8 7
Newsbites Out&About Summer Hop Barcocktails; takes Grow. on King West.
9 8
Testing We drink it so you Grow Consider garlic. don’t have to.
The Experts Experts The
10
Books Read ’em and eat.
9 11
Beer Events Head to HeadWhat’s Sake. brewing this fall. 12 Chef Q&A Indian innovator 10 Vikram Chef Q&A Vij. The Feasting Room’s Noah Goldberg. 13 Ingredients Montreal’s 11 SociÊtÊ-Orignal. Head to Head Chardonnay.
14 Dining Out The Filipino 34 One Last Bite
cuisine scene.get truckin’. Food Dudes
34 One Last Bite
The Stop’s Night Market.
28 Szabo on Wine 28 Szabo on Wine John Szabo’s food epiphanies.
31 The Gourmudgeon 31 The Gourmudgeon Stephen Temkin talks brunch.
29 Living on the Veg 29 Living on the Kait Fowlie onVeg gourmet candy.
32 The Ej 32 The Ej Ejbich toasts chardonnay. Konrad
30 Fishmongering 30 Fishmongering Dan Donovan on shrimp.
33 Libations 33 Libations Stephen Beaumont on local beer.
John Szabo on your sommelier.
Kait Fowlie visits Castro’s Lounge.
Dan Donovan evaluates salmon.
Stephen Temkin praises goat.
Konrad Ejbich on Bill C-311.
Stephen Beaumont samples ciders.
Cover photo by Malcolm Brown.
Cover: Icon Illustrations by 123rf.com Assistant: Melanie Baresic. Makeup: Amanda Blair Roberson. Harvest 2012
3
sd ur
a
ove y, N
m b e r 8 t h , 7p m 10 pm
g o t o a d e a food event
r. feast on delectables
that only the world’s best food market can offer. ema rket.c om
do good
ca
n
pu
rch
a se
da t th e
St. L
e enc r w a
enjoy all the food you can eat! Tickets on sale September 10th Charitable tax receipts available for 50% of the ticket price.
e nc aw r st l
vi a
d an 50 e$ ts ar be
feel ood g
or
Ti c k e
you’ll also be supporting And you can even park for free, which makes everyone
M
e a rk
t
the starters By Sanober Motiwala | @SanoberM
The Perfect Apple Pie
photo: Sanober Motiwala
Ask Wanda… she has a few tricks up her sleeve Nothing says fall quite like a freshly baked apple pie. And if you have a fondness for this comforting classic, chances are you have an opinion on how it should be made. Perhaps you swear by Northern Spy apples. Or secretly lament the extinction of lard in pastry kitchens. Maybe you refuse a slice unless it’s served a la mode. Or if you trace your roots to Yorkshire, England, then you say, an apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze. With so many opinions (and even more recipes) afloat, we turned to Toronto’s resident pie queen, Wanda Beaver, to find out what makes a perfect apple pie. Beaver has been picking fruit and turning it into pies since she was nine. On Thanksgiving weekend, she sells thousands of pies— wholesale and retail—out of her Kensington Market PIE EYED bakery, Wanda’s Pie in the Sky. Try all 14 varieties of apple pie at Wanda’s. Go on, do it! “The crust is the secret to the perfect pie,” she says. “The trick is not under-mixing at the beginning and not overmixing at the end.” As for the filling, she has a few more pointers. “You would never make a pie with Macintosh apples because they turn to mush. They’re good for applesauce. But if you made a pie with Spy apples and threw in a few Macintosh, that would make a nice juicy pie with crisp chunks.” Beaver’s pet peeve: unpeeled apples in the filling. Does that really need an explanation? Her menu boasts 14 variations of the traditional apple pie, including rustic (with pecans and raisins), apple-cherry (with oat crumble and almonds), Dutch (with sour cream and brown sugar crumble) and Swiss (with lemon-vanilla custard). The best thing about apple pie, she says, is that “unlike blueberry, which needs to literally set overnight otherwise it’s soup, apple pie Wanda’s Pie in the Sky can be cut and served a couple of hours out of the oven, while the 287 Augusta Ave. crust is crispy and the filling is soft.” 416-236-0018 Want to taste-test for inspiration before trying your hand in the wandaspieinthesky.com @WandaPieSky kitchen? You know where to go.
The CityBites Team Zoltan Szabo Zoltan has been working in the hospitality trade for more than two decades and on three continents. From operating his own small business in native Transylvania to working for leading restaurateurs, he has occupied just about every position in hospitality, from dishwasher, busboy and waiter; sommelier, wine director and general manager; and, nowadays, consultant, educator, wine judge and journalist. He has been sommelier at the Trump International Hotel & Tower since May. Zoltan placed third in the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers’ Best in Ontario Sommelier competition and won the grand champion title in The Wine Tasting Challenge, the world’s largest tasting competition. He has been involved with CityBites since the very beginning, and holds the title of Director of Vinous Affairs. He contributes his considered wine picks in his column, Head to Head (p. 11). Malcolm Brown Born in the U.K., Malcolm Brown is presently based in Toronto. He has been awarded more than 75 art direction and design awards, including 11 gold and 7 silver, across Canada. Over the past 20 years, he has art directed and photo edited many well-known Canadian publications, including enRoute, Adbusters, Outpost, Shift and Unlimited. He got his start as art director at Citytv and MuchMusic. Photography is an integral part of his work, and when he can add beer to the mix—as in shooting the cover at Bellwoods Brewery in Toronto—all the better.
Get in touch! Send emails to info@citybites.ca or snail mail to CityBites, 26 Dalhousie St., Toronto, ON, M5B 2A5. Letters may be edited for space and accuracy. Harvest 2012
5
crumbs
By Kait Fowlie | @kaitfowlie
... Mitzi’s on College moved out, and seafood resto Red Fish (890 College St., 416-733-3474, redfishresto.com, @redfishresto) took over the spot. Vancouver-trained chef David Friedman brings west coast inspiration to the menu and sommelier Jamie Duran (formerly of Fishbar) takes care of the vino
...
Korean tapas bar Urraca Resto Lounge
Read Before You Eat
647-349-9646, wildwingrestaurants.com, @Collegestwings) but still deals their signature sausages and meat pies
...
The Works Burger
Bar (1953 Queen St. E. Worksburger.com, @worksburger) opens its third location in the city, this time bringing their creative burgers to the beach
...
Tyler Shedden, who honed his skills in London’s
Gordon Ramsay has been announced as the chef de cuisine at the Four Seasons’ upcoming Cafe Doulus (21 Avenue Rd., 416-964-0411) set to open Oct. 5
...
Le Ti Colibri (291 Augusta St., 416-925-2223,
@leticolibri) moves in next door to Wanda’s Pie in the Sky and (19a Finch Ave. W., 647-748-7122, urracarestolounge.com, @UrracaResto)
introduces Kensington market to an uncommon fusion: French
opens up at Yonge and Finch and owners Sung Yeo and David Shin
Caribbean. Co-owner Matthias Laurin (of Urban Herbivore and
declare Christie and Bloor the outdated spot for Korean. We hope the kimchi love spreads
...
North of Brooklyn Pizzeria (650 1/2 Queen St. W.,
Fressen) will prepare French-style gratins, tartes and fritters
...
Eager Momofuku fans are forced to delay gratification as the
647-352-5700, northofbrooklyn.com, @northofbrooklyn), a by-the-slice
four new restaurants put off their scheduled open dates. Acadia’s
pie dealer opens from Alex Potter and Chris Getchell (of Pizza Libretto).
Matt Blondin, along with bartender Benjamin Deacon and Auberge
...
Kensington Market meat staple Sanagan’s
du Pommier maitre d’ Joel Centeno, will be joining the empire, which
Meat Locker (176 Baldwin St., 416-593-9747, sanagansmeatlocker.com)
will be moving into the Shangri La Hotel soon-ish (188 University Ave.,
Expect five pies done right
moves into the former European Quality Meats building, just a few doors down from its former digs. Along with the move comes a serious sprucing up and a selection revamp—fans can expect a selection of stocks, pates, and house-made sandwiches
...
Francisco Alejandri
(@AgaveyAguacate) called it quits for Agave y Aguacate, his Mexican
647-788-8888, momofuku.com)
...
Two more reasons Toronto foodies
should attend the TedX conference (416-877-0269, tedxtoronto.com) this October: culinary legend Susur Lee and cultured meat investigator Isha Data will wax about their contributions to the culinary world
...
In more Susur news, his new joint in partnership with sons Kai and
booth in El Gordo Latin Food Court (214 Augusta Ave., 416-205-9981),
Levi opened at the end of August on Dundas (777 Dundas St. W.).
when the lunch lineups became unmanageable due to the small
It’s called Bent, his wife Brenda’s surname. Bryan Gunness, former
size. (Someone tell Anthony Bourdain the joint is kaput; he’d spent some time there last month filming his show The Layover.) Keep an eye out for Alejandri’s upcoming pop ups
...
Gaucho Gourmet Market
closed for renos and reopened as a Wild Wing (614 College St.,
sous at Lee, is chef de cuisine
...
Dealers of fine Chinese Law Wah
Heen (108 Chestnut St., 416-977-9899, laiwahheen.com) expands their menu with a newly launched roster of vegetarian plates.
Email tips, opening soons and discoveries to info@citybites.ca.
food:
Wednesday November 7, 2012, 6 p.m. wychwood barns
•
601 christie street
toronto’s best chefs u n d e r o n e r o o f f o r o n e n i g h t o n ly in support of the stop community food centre
tickets: $250* e v e n i n g s p o n s or
Beast, C5, Café Belong, Canoe, Cava, Chiado, Cowbell, Frangipane, George, Gwailo, The Harbord Room, Jamie Kennedy Kitchens, Kurtis Coffee, La Carnita, Mildred’s Temple Kitchen, Monforte Dairy, Nadege Patisserie, Noce/Aria, Parts & Labour, Pizzeria Libretto, Sidecar, Soma, The Stockyards, The Stop, The Tempered Chef, Trevor Kitchen, Victor drink:
Cave Spring Cellars, Chateau des Charmes, Flat Rock Cellars, Frogpond Farm, Henry of Pelham, Stratus, Steam Whistle Brewery to purchase tickets go online at www.wott.thestop.org or call cara goodman 416 - 652-7867 ext. 222 or cara@thestop.org
us Fabulcot io n
li v e f ou n di n g s p o n s or
g o ld s p o n s or s
au
m e di a s p o n s or s
*Charitable tax receipts will be issued for $155 per ticket. Charitable #: 1191-92763-RR0001
6
TS.WOTT.CityBitesAd.FIN.indd 1
CityBites
23/08/12 10:55 AM
OUT & ABOUT
By Dick Snyder
Hip Hop
MORE HOT EATS... Thirsty and Miserable
A bleak stretch of King West gets beery The Story In a nutshell, Toronto needed a good beer parlor, and Rob Pingitore and James McDonald felt compelled to oblige. Pingitore cut his beer teeth at the old Smokeless Joe’s (pre-College Street), and McDonald just likes beer. So much, in fact, that he’s just come off a quest to drink 1001 different beers in a year. He killed it. The Space
It used to be the Libra Lounge, so in fact you’ve never noticed it. It’s next to Europe Bound, across the street from MEC. But never mind… once you get inside, you’re suspended in a true beer emporium. It’s dark, sparse, woodsy—and is decorated carefully but miserly with old things, perhaps even antiques. There’s a piano in the back, and a variety of paraphernalia.
The Scene
Serious beer drinkers, the occasional wandering tourist looking for the Holiday Inn, and known local beer fanatics. But don’t be shy, there’s little to no attitude or beer machismo.
photo: Ross Spencer
The Food
Bar Hop
391 King St. W. There’s no show here—it’s really about the awesome 647-352-7476 craft beers, 24 on tap and ever changing. Names like Augusta, Beau’s, Dieu barhopbar.com du Ciel, Denison’s, House Ales, Muskoka, Unibrou and Wellington. There’s @barhopbar also solid beer fare like oysters at good prices, especially for buck-a-shuck Tuesdays. Smart veggie picks like sweet potato pockets and veggie sliders balance animal-protein choices like cheesy bacon japaleno roll ups and black olive spaghettini with black tiger shrimps. There are sandwiches, mussels and “Jimi” mac and cheese. Dessert is “beeramisu,” fairly traditional but with the addition of Robust Porter. PIANO MEN Rob Pingatore James Naturally. CityBites_Fall2012_1_CityBites 12-06-22 4:25 PMand Page 1 McDonald sling good suds.
Thirsty and Miserable will leave you anything but. The beer selection is fit for a connoisseur, but the place has a dive-bar soul, right down to the table tops covered in graffiti etchings— which appeared within a few weeks of opening. But Thirsty and Miserable is far from contrived. Owner/hardcore guitarist Katie G. Warror is cool as hell. And she cares. She’ll make you pour your beer into a glass if it needs to be, even if you say you’re fine with just the bottle. And you’d better do it. 197 Baldwin St., 647-60-0134, thirstyandmiserable.ca
Burger Bar
Before Kensington Market’s recent delivery of passionate new drinking establishments, Burger Bar occupied Augusta Street—and a spot on the city’s Cask Trail—as a well-loved dealer of superior brew. Housing the brewing efforts of indie brewers Kensington Brewing Company, and also serving a selection of local craft beers, Burger Bar is all about community. You can be sure your pint is made with as much care as your burger and fry combo will be. 10 College St., 416-922-7423, burgerbar.ca, @theburgerbar
Six Pints Specialty Beer Academy
The naysayer purists hate the fact that Molson’s new Victoria Street digs—the former Duggan’s—is masquerading as a craft beer HQ. But let’s give it a chance, even if “academy” is a pretty lofty posture to adopt. It’s positioned as a partnership between Creemore and Vancouver’s Granville Island Brewing, and promises house-brewed craft beers, craft beer shop and a “world-class import division.” Could be kinda cool. 75 Victoria St., 416-366-1786, beeracademy.ca, @beeracademyTO
By Kait Fowlie and Dick Snyder
Organic Leaders for 28 Years! Natural Food Market • 348 Danforth Ave. 416.466.2129 • www.thebigcarrot.ca info@thebigcarrot.ca • the_bigcarrot thebigcarrotnaturalfoodmarket Harvest 2012
7
Grow
By Marc Green | @bufco
Pondering Garlic While it’s a bit too early to plant garlic, it’s just about the right time to be planning for it. Traditionally, garlic is planted in the fall for harvest the following summer, usually around the middle to the end of July. It being only September now, you will likely have time to get a crop of fastgrowing, cool-weather tolerant plants like spinach, tatsoi (a lovely, delicate Asian green) or radishes. Once these are harvested, say around the end of October, it’s time to plant next year’s garlic. Start — as you should with all new plantings — by feeding the soil. Use garden compost, organic and well-composted manure, mushroom compost, worm castings (a BUFCO favourite) or Better World Plant Food (another BUFCO fav). Remember, if the soil is lacking nutrition, there’s nothing for your plants to eat. Once the soil is fed, you can plant your garlic of choice. Some prefer garlic with fewer but larger cloves for easy peeling, such as Russian or Tibetan garlic. Others will choose garlic with strong flavour, such as Italian. Regardless of your personal preference, the planting process is the same. Break apart the bulb (called “cracking”), being careful to keep in tact the protective paper covering over each clove. If the flesh underneath is exposed, the clove will rot. Plant garlic cloves no closer than four inches apart with the pointy end up (roots down), and one to two inches below the surface of the soil. Once PLAN AHEAD planted, cover the with a Arlene Hazzan Green demonstrates the joys of garlic. nice, thick layer of mulch — straw works very well and can be composted when it’s removed next year. You may notice some growth from each clove before really cold weather forces them into dormancy. A little green sprout, two to four inches tall, is fine. Next spring, fight the instinct to remove the mulch. Leave it in place, the plant will find its way through and the mulch will help reduce insect invasions and aid in moisture retention, especially critical because garlic prefers less frequent watering. Check back here next spring for the continuing saga of garlic. We’ll explore garlic scapes, harvesting and storing your garlic so it lasts all year long. CB Marc Green and Arlene Hazzan Green run The Backyard Urban Farm Company. Visit them at bufco.ca.
8
CityBites
photo: Marc Green
Get ready to get planting
By Kait Fowlie
Toronto Beer Week Sept. 14 to 22
TBW is a whirlwind celebration of the city’s sudsy side. Wet your whistle on some hogtown history at the Old Toronto Beer Tour, take in the “Hopera” tribute to craft beer, or chat with brewers over tasty oneoffs at more than 40 participating bars. Various times and venues. torontobeerweek.com Great Lakes Project X Sept. 13, 6:30-9 p.m.
Get in on a one off experimental cask from the brewers of Toronto’s most distinctive seasonal beers and enjoy with a sampling of beer-themed eats. A one-time membership fee gets you access to each event, the second Thursday of every month. $10. greatlakesbeer.com Oktoberfest at Steamwhistle Brewery Sept. 17, 3-11 p.m.
Kick up your clogs for pretzels, pork rinds and pilsner at Steamwhistle’s Oktoberfest party, where the brewery gets taken over by lederhosen-wearing beer fans. The fun is as epic as the 1L steins. 225 Bremner Blvd. $20. steamwhistle.ca Rogue Beer Dinner at Beerbistro Sept. 19, 6 p.m.
Beerbistro hosts the official draft launch of Rogue Ales in Ontario with a 10-course dinner. Showing you support for the Rogue revolution has never been tastier. $125. 18 King St. E., 416-861-9872. The First Toronto Beer Lovers’ Scavenger Hunt Sept. 22, 12:30 p.m.
Round up three of your brew-loving buds and set off on a quest to track down 10 beer dealing spots in the city and accomplish mystery drinking tasks along the way. Accept this mission and a deliriously fun afternoon will ensue. $10. Locations TBA. torontobeerlovers.com
photo: 123rf.com
Cameron’s Cask Night Sept. 27, 6-9 p.m. Camerons Brewery, 6-9 p.m.
The last Thursday of the month, Camerons Brewery taps a ceremonial cask to serve alongside a spread of local fare. Top the night off with a tour of the awardwinning brewery. $20. 1165 Invicta Dr., Oakville. cameronsbrewing.com
Beau’s Vankleek Hill Oktoberfest Sept. 28 to 30
Dust off your green alpine hat - Beau’s All Natural Brewing 3-day Oktoberfest party combines 9 signature brews with Bavarian eats, malt sack races, sausage eating contests, a keg toss, and much more whimsical and traditional fun. $18. 92 Main St. W., Vankleek Hill. beaus.ca Cask Days at the Brick Works Oct. 27-28
Cask conditioned brews have only a few days to be consumed at their peak—these are the cask days. Bar Volo presents 100plus brews from more than 50 microbreweries for you to experience while they’re fresh! $35. Holcim Gallery, Brick Works. caskdays.com
We’re online! Visit us at citybites.ca! Sign up to hear from us.
BEER EVENTS
Harvest 2012
9
chef Q&A
By Dick Snyder
What Balls! It’s true nose to tail, people— can you handle it? Noah Goldberg is one ballsy dude—and not merely because of the likelihood of testicles appearing on his menu. No, the 29-year-old chef has asked Toronto foodies to take a leap of faith on the blind nose-to-tail menu that he puts on Thursday to Sunday at the Orbit Room. A Toronto native, he’s worked with Susur Lee, Daniel Boulud in New York, as well as the U.K.’s Anthony Demetre and Fergus Henderson. He calls his pop-up The Feasting Room, with an ever changing, ever evolving menu that features a different animal each week. He kicked it off in May, and he’ll wrap it up in mid-November, when he hopes to have a permanent location picked out. What, are you crazy? It’s a complete experi-
ment! We figured it out as we go, we evolve and change, and never repeat the same dish—
10
CityBites
even during the same week with the same animal. Every dish is different, every night. Why the Orbit Room? I was in New York and my visa ran out. I knew the guys and knew the kitchen wasn’t being used. Everything fell into place, and I put together a team. This is a litmus test to see how far we can push things in Toronto. Have Geddy and Alex been in yet? Uh, no
not yet, but I think they’re coming soon. You’ve been getting good media, a lot of it social. I put the word out on Facebook about our menus and in 30 seconds I reach 10,000 people. Other people do it for you! I’m a little surprised by all the attention, and it’s been gratifying.
BEAST FEAST Chef Goldberg cuts to the chase.
Are people surprised by the weird stuff? I’ve been
The Feasting Room
580a College St. getting mixed reviews, 647-785-3557 most of it positive, and thefeastingroom.com @thefeastingroom a lot of repeat customers. But Torontonians still seem a little shy. This concept, in New York and London, where pop ups and experiments are very popular, would kill it. Nose to tail, it’s the best way to eat meat! But you know we went to the beer fest, and we’re the only ones serving food from scratch—we had ox heart chili cheese steak and suckling Berkshire pig—and there’s lineups for Pizza Pizza! CB
Head to head
By Zoltan Szabo | @zoltanszabo
The Glory of Chardonnay From sparkling to lean, something for everyone REFINED
FOCUSED
LEAN
This refined beauty will be available in September, after five years of aging on lees. Recommend calling the winery now to reserve.
Terrific wine! It’s got poise, it’s tight, and it’s focused, with long aging potential written all over it.
These vineyards sit at 500 meters above sea level, the highest in the South of France. Apple, citrus, summer hay, hazelnut notes. Lean, fresh and clean.
ravinevineyard.com
familywinemerchants.com
ELEGANT
COUNTYLICIOUS
REMARKABLE
Excellent Chardonnay from the first nosing to the finish. Balanced and elegant.
Wild-fermented chardonnay aged in cherry, hickory, oak and ash barrels from Bloomfield’s Carriage House Cooperage. Aromatic, full and plush.
A southerly estates in South Africa, close to the sea in the beautiful Hemel-en-Aarde Valley appellation. One of my favourite South African Chardonnays, amen.
karloestates.com
trialto.com
2007 Henry of Pelham ‘Carte Blanche’ Blanc de Blanc Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula | $44.95
2009 Ravine Vineyard Reserve Chardonnay St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula | $40
2010 Gérard Bertrand ‘Aigle Royal’ Limoux, Languedoc | $67.47
henryofpelham.com
2008 Caledonia Australis Reserve Chardonnay Gippsland, Victoria | $39.95
2010 Karlo Estates Chardonnay ‘CHOA’ Prince Edward County | $25
lesommelier.com
2010 Hamilton Russell Chardonnay Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Overberg | $31.95
bernardin ad city bites_Layout 1 12-08-20 3:42 PM Page 1
Whole or Halved Tomatoes Tomatoes • lemon juice or citric acid • Salt, optional • Place the required number of clean 500 ml or 1 L mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside. Heat SNAP LID® sealing discs in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and sealing discs hot until ready to use. • Wash and blanch tomatoes. Slip off skins; remove cores and any bruised or discoloured portions. Leave whole or halve. • Place tomatoes in a large stainless steel saucepan. Add just enough water to cover; bring to a boil; boil gently for 5 minutes. • Add quantity of lemon juice or citric acid specified below to each hot mason jar before packing tomatoes. If using, add salt to jar prior to filling.
www.bernardin.ca
Jar size
Lemon juice
or
Citric acid
Salt, optional
500 ml 1L
1 tbsp (15 ml) 2 tbsp (30 ml)
or or
1/4 tsp (1 ml) 1/2 tsp (2 ml)
1/2 tsp (2 ml) 1 tsp (5 ml)
• Pack tomatoes into a hot jar to within 3/4 inch (2 cm) of top rim. Add hot cooking liquid to cover tomatoes to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of top rim (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more tomatoes and hot liquid. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining tomatoes and hot liquid. • When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process–boil filled jarsJar size Processing time* • When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, 500 ml 40 minutes then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected 1L 45 minutes work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands. • After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.
Preserving local produce for over one hundred years. Harvest 2012
11
Fall Flavor!
[
Since opening our cellar doors in 1997, we’ve been called a lot of things: bold, innovative, gutsy, obsessive, quirky, unique – even culty, and surely a few things unfit to print. Yet our vision has never wavered and the recognition we’ve earned over the years is a testament to the importance of sticking to your grapes. Cheers!
Harvest time is our favourite. Experience the fall season with our crew at the winery and stock up on some fantastic wines, perfect for the bounty at your dinner table or those few remaining weekend patio feasts. Tastings daily 10 - 6, and scrumptious weekend lunches are served up fresh on the deck.
Can’t make it to the winery? No sweat! You can find us at your local LCBO.
[
Serious wines from an irreverent bunch. Order online for delivery anywhere in Ontario! creeksidewine.com
Jordan, Ontario, Canada, Earth •
CEW
BEE
the
TORONTO
R
Where we are, and how we got here
REPORT Conclusion Being a spring brew, the spicy “pop” is starting to fade this late into the summer. Still, this is a unique, personal take on a strong Belgian style. Good with oysters. Junction Conductor’s Craft Ale 5.2% abv
ON TAP OF THE WORLD Toronto bars are getting hip to multiple ale offerings.
Six Great Draught Picks Toronto’s taps are overflowing with great local and global beers Herewith, we sit down with a few local beer experts to taste and discuss a few noteworthy draughts. Joining the tasting at King Street West’s Hop Bar are: CityBites columnist Stephen Beaumont, Toronto Sun beer writer Jordan St. John and Bar Hop co-owner James McDonald.
photo: ROSS SPENCER
Denison’s Weissbier
5% abv
Taste “This is a great example of a beer that would not have existed prior to people getting used to the idea of a beer that’s cloudy, that smells like banana and clove,” Beaumont says. The beer is fruity, refreshing, with a decidedly clipped finish that’s a touch bitter. Conclusion A small-batch beer of exciting quality. The subtle variations that this beer has shown batch to batch is not necessarily a bad thing. “It reinforces that there’s someone behind it, there’s a fingerprint on the beer,” says Beaumont.
Sawdust City/Black Oak/Cheshire Valley Daily Bread 4.5% abv
Taste Typical examples of the Belgian saison style should be “a little strong, with a slight funkiness, peppery, and a dry somewhat hoppy finish,” says Beaumont. Refreshing and quaffable, this smells like bread (hence the name) and has lovely spicy peppery notes. Conclusion “Because of the depth of flavour, saison is good with shellfish, seafood, cheeses, even works with southeast Asian food,” says St. John. “It’s a pretty damn good beer,” says Beaumont. Muskoka Spring Oddity 8% abv
Taste Beaumont declared Muskoka brewer of the year in 2011 because, as he says, “they made incredible strides forward.” This beer is strong, spiced and Belgian-inspired— flavoured with juniper, coriander and other flora gathered from around the brewery.
Taste “Good west-coast hop character: citrusy, piney. But they really kind of mellow that out with that malt character,” says Beaumont. “The malt persists totally and the hop persists all the way through,” says St. John. Smooth, balanced, and with, as St. John points out, “a continuity of flavours that make sense all the way to the finish.” Conclusion The quality, balance and continuity is remarkable. “Again, this is not something you would have seen 10 or 15 years ago.” The hoppiness is not overpowering, but is significant enough to make this a good pairing with a big fatty burger. Spearhead Hawaiian-Style Pale Ale 6% abv
Taste “Now here we have a beer style that doesn’t exist,” says Beaumont. Fruity, tropical, hoppy. Lots of good things—and, arguably, the bold taste of pineapple that may or may not be the result of the hops. Conclusion Some batches sport much more of a pineapple note, and there is much debate about whether there’s real pineapple in there or not. And what the heck is “Hawaiian-style” anyway? The conclusion among our group: Who cares? It’s good beer. Dieu du Ciel! Corne du Diable 6.5% abv
Taste A highly hopped beer from Quebec, with notes of red apples, ripe melon, stewed plum, pine/spruce, prune. A long, lovely, rich finish. “Reminds me a hell of a lot of American barley wines,” says St. John. Conclusion “It’s got great character— and is very indicative of how far we’ve come with draught beer in Ontario,” says Beaumont. The flavours are cohesive and evolved, and they change beautifully on the palate from start to finish. CB Harvest 2012
13
R BEE
By Maia Filar
The Hottest Taps in Town For everyone from beer nerds to stroller moms, it’s a love-in at Bellwoods
So Mike, how’d you get started? Luke and I met working as commercial brewers at the Amsterdam Brewing Company. We both had a similar vision for starting up a small craft brewery in downtown Toronto. When the possibility of taking these two spaces came up, there was the spark because they had the magical features and were in the right neighborhood. It’s so hard to find a downtown location where you can pull this kind of thing off. Before that, Luke left grad school in mechanical engineering to get into brewing and I have a background in biochemistry. We took over this space over in July of last summer, ordered the gear which took about five months to show up, and than we had five months to do all the prepping and started brewing in February and opened the first week in April. What’s your brewing philosophy? It’s a mix of Belgium and American in style. We make only ales. It’s not that we don’t like pilsner, we just aren’t set up for it. We are basically brewing the kinds of beers we like to drink. In operation here are German sours in the Berliner Weisse style, Belgian style where
14
CityBites
Bellwoods Brewery
we use Belgian yeasts and techniques to make beers like saison, a French farmhouse ale biere du garde, two different Belgian triples, and we have what will be a Flanders red-style sour beer in barrels that we hope will be done by our one-year anniversary. Our interest in Belgian beer is also represented on our bottle list. And we have American west-coast-style India Pale Ales, American style Pale Ales and American style double India Pale Ales. We have a Russian Imperial Stout coming for fall. We are on our 20th style since we opened. If we are running ten taps, eight of them you might not have seen a few months ago—so we are going to keep experimenting and do different versions of beers we’ve done in the past. And whatever we really like we might produce a bit more of, and do in the retail store or for restaurant accounts. How does all this reflect in your food menu? The kitchen is still a work in progress. We are trying to move towards more structured plates and pairing and have a better synergy between the brewery and the kitchen. Guy Rawlings, a good friend of Luke’s, started off the kitchen, and now Fab [DeCicco], who has been here since the beginning, is overseeing things and helping with the expansion of the production kitchen. The kitchen has been the biggest challenge because of the limitations [size, etc.], but I think it’s getting progressively better.
124 Ossington Ave. Our kitchen is tiny, 416-535-4586 so we are doing cold bellwoodsbrewery.com things. Charcuterie, cheese plates, composed salads… On the grill we’re doing more local BBQ patio fare like house-made sausages, flat iron steak, duck hearts, sardines, corn on the cob, pork. Things that are simple to do and go well on the patio.
Do you find it liberating to have only beer on the drink list? Originally we wanted to have wine for those people who were dragged here by a someone who really likes beer or can’t have gluten, but we found that we had tables of eight nursing a single bottle of white wine for two hours while there was a massive line of people with beer-nerd shirts on. Listen, we are a brewery and ultimately our customer is the beer nerd. We really like beer, it’s such an interesting beverage and it’s a great time to be a beer drinker because there is so much great beer coming out of so many countries and we are getting better access to it. What’s next? The biggest thing for us is actually finishing this out. Getting the brewery finished, we are actually working at 50-percent capacity, getting the rest of the tanks in, setting up the retail store. We are going to have a much better supply. It would be nice to have some representation in the LCBO and expand our restaurant accounts. We’d like to grow, but not at the expense of the quality of what we’re making. CB
photo: dick Snyder
When Mike Clark and Luke Pestl opened their craft beer joint Bellwoods Brewery this spring, they didn’t quite know what a hit they would have on their hands. A bar that appeals to beer nerds, neighbourhood newbies and parents with babes, Bellwoods started off with snacks cooked up by Brockton General alum Guy Rawlings and craft brews that had people lining up down the block. Now they have a new chef at the helm, Fab DeCicco (ex Canoe, Enoteca Sociale, Fat Duck), and are gearing up to get the space next door ready for a retail storefront and larger production kitchen. More beer, more food, more space… and yes, they’ll finally be able to cook fries— so stop asking! With Bellwoods leading the charge for— or rather, demonstrating the viability of— quality craft beer for the masses, we asked Mike to tell us how it all came together.
R BEE
By Dick Snyder
The Wide World of Beer Reporting from the global beer scene
Why this book, why now? Nobody has done this kind of overview of the global beer scene since Michael Jackson did it with The New World Guide to Beer [1988]. The beer world has been very much in flux, and it’s not that it’s any more stable now but it’s time to look at the old traditional places like Belgium, Germany, England and how things are changing there, and also to look forward to new places like New Zealand, Brazil, Italy. What’s driving the revival in quality beer? There used to be much more characterful beers. Then, as the brewery amalgamation took hold, the breweries adopted the fast-food approach to beer. So it’s not about how good the beer tastes, but how few it offends. Then when craft beer or microbrewery beer started to come back, the key is that it was happening in all fields: wine, spirits, food…. And beer is such a staple—it literally has sustained generations—it was only right that it came back. And we talk about extreme beers and outThe World there beers, but there’s Atlas of Beer nothing really new under Tim Webb and the sun. It’s about going Stephen Beaumont back to what some of (Mitchell Beazley, $35) the breweries were doing in the past have done, and in some ways making it much, much better. It’s also about simple pleasures. Craft beer sales boomed during the recession.
16
CityBites
Because it doesn’t cost a lot to appreciate a good flavourful ale or lager. Drink less, drink better—it’s all down to that. How many breweries are there in Canada? My guess is there are between 80 and 100 in Quebec alone, and about one and a half times that in the rest of Canada. So you’re probably looking at 200-250. In the better part of the year since I’ve written that map, Toronto and Ontario have become much more innovative. I mean, you’ve got sitting in front of you a smoked Berliner Weisse. A smoked Berliner Weiss would never would have happened five years ago—not a chance. So places like Bellwoods, places like House Ales—a little nano brewery that Bar Volo runs—and places like Flying Monkey and Great Lakes are doing weird, off-the-wall stuff. Some are more successful than others, but we’re on a learning curve. And it’s variety… when was the last time you walked into a bar with only two or three taps? You’ve got to have six, eight taps minimum, because you have to keep things interesting for people. What did you see as you started to delve into this? We saw craft beer appearing in places we never thought. We found really good beer in places we didn’t think of. Finding places like Frangó, a bar in Sao Paulo, which had been a beer bar for about 15 years, which is longer than there have been craft breweries in Brazil. They sell incredible amounts
of beer from around the world and from Brazil at extraordinary prices. And going to New Zealand was a massive eye opener. I became a massive fan of New Zealand hops, in the way the Kiwis use them. New Zealand hops are very trendy among North American brewers now. But North American brewers tend to whack a whole bunch of them in there and then nuance is kind of “well, we don’t need nuance, we’re North American brewers!” But the Kiwis, they have these wonderful tropical fruit flavours coming through in their pilsners, because they know how to use their hops. Where else? We’re just now getting some idea of what’s going on in Poland and Spain, which were so emerging when we wrote the book that we didn’t mention them that extensively. But now, Poland is getting a lot of buzz. You know, it’s the enthusiasm for it, all around the world. CB
HOP ON BOARD Stephen Beaumont’s new book delves into the craft beer renaissance.
photo: Dick Snyder
Toronto beer loves are enjoying a heyday, with more choice and more quality—in both imported and locally made beers—than ever in our history. Beer expert and CityBites columnist Stephen Beaumont captures these exciting and flavourful times in his new book, The World Atlas of Beer, co-authored with U.K.-based beer expert Tim Webb. The book starts with the basics of brewing and how to pour the perfect glass of ale, and moves on to a scholarly look at beer trends past and present. And the outlook is decidedly good for beer fans. We enjoyed a pint on the Bellwoods Brewery patio as we discussed the book.
By Kait Fowlie
The Case for Real Ale
BEE
R
photos: Ross Spencer
A tiny Yonge Street bar pushes the beer bar higher Toronto’s foremost craft beer destination wasn’t always a one-stop-shop for beer lovers. Bar Volo—the well-loved brewers, importers and party-throwing celebrators of craft beer—actually started off as an Italian-focused cafe in 1985. It’s a far cry from the beer hub it is today. Volo is still the same family-run operation, but thanks to proprietor Ralph Morana’s son, Tomas, a few changes have been made over the years. Swap the pastas for simple sharing plates, hang an ever evolving, graffiti-scrawled beer list on the walls, and make friends with top local breweries—and the bar grows bigger than ever imagined. The devoted following keeps coming back for the latest and greatest in craft beer, whether for a rare import or an adventure in rotating local kegs. The Cask Days event is one of Bar Volo’s most dynamic attractions. The weekendlong celebration of cask-conditioned ale brings out 100-plus specially made beers from across the country. Now in it’s eighth year, the festival has become an institution in the city’s beer scene. It’s also a really sweet party. “What’s cool about Cask Days itself is it encourages breweries to experiment with one-offs,” says Tomas. “There was a time in Ontario where there wasn’t as much experimentation. Now, there are a lot more collaborations between breweries, and beers made specifically for events. Cask Days really started that trend. People came to try something that wasn’t normally available at pubs all year round.” Bar Volo was the first organization to put on a cask beer festival in Canada. The festival adheres to the growing interest in locally brewed craft beers that goes hand in hand with the fresh food movement. But namely, it’s a manifestation of Bar Volo’s enduring beer CASK DAYS philosophy. Cash Days The 8th Annual harkens back to a time Cask-Conditioned when beer was made fresh Craft Beer Festival Oct. 27-28 with care, passion and Evergreen Brickworks took a whole community. 550 Bayview Ave. $35 caskdays.com “Before draft beer, all
THE BAR AT VOLO Serious about beer. Serious about real beer in real casks.
beer was served on cask, which is nonpasteurized, unfiltered, naturally carbonated beer,” explains Tomas. “Cask is noted as the purist form of beer. The only downside is that there are only a few days to consume it, because it’s essentially alive. We call the event Cask Days because you have to consume the beer in those days before it goes bad. It gives beer drinkers a call out to go to bars and drink it.” Well over 1,000 attendees answered the call at last year’s festival, which took over the University of Toronto’s Hart House. This year, the distinctive Evergreen Brick Works will serve as the backdrop, which will also celebrate some Toronto artists.
Bar Volo
587 Yonge St. “There’s going to be a lot of 416-928-0008 live painting, street art, and barvolo.com awesome DJs lined up for the @barVolo event. We’ll have some local chef friends set up in booths on both days,” he says. If that doesn’t appeal to your senses, Tomas would like to remind you that Cask Days is taking place on Halloween weekend—so you’ll probably be looking for a way to start the weekend off, right? “Before whatever Halloween party you go to, why not just start your day off at a beer festival with all your buddies then decide what you want to do that night?” Don’t have to convince us. CB
Harvest 2012
17
The Great Ontario Special feature sponsored by Dairy Farmers of Canada
Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese Within the rolling hills of Oxford County, Shep Ysselstein produces small-scale artisan cheeses in an authentic Swiss style using traditional recipes. Try: Gunn’s Hill Soft, Gunn’s Hill Hard, Gunn’s Hill Artisan Curd. 445172 Gunns Hill Rd.,Woodstock, 519-424-4024 gunnshillcheese.ca
Pine River Cheese Local milk is meticulously graded to make 14 varieties of cheese, including an 8-year aged cheddar and some organic varieties. Try: Colby, Monterey Jack, Caramelized Onion Cheddar.
Neustadt Springs Brewery A historic microbrewery in the old-world village of Neustadt. Pop by for a tour of the underground caverns and pure crystal springs. Try: Neustadt Scottish Ale, Neustadt Lager. 456 Jacob St., Neustadt 519-799-5790, neustadtsprings.com
635 Hwy 21 S., R.R. #4 Ripley, Huron-Kinloss, 519-3952638, pinerivercheese.com
Wellington Brewery Located in Wellington County, this vanguard brewery helped build Ontario’s craft beer scene in the 1980s. Their British-style ales are made with Canadian grown two-row barley malt and English hops. Try: Iron Duke, Imperial Stout, Trailhead Lager.
950 Woodlawn Rd. W., Guelph, 1-800-576-DUKE, wellingtonbrewery.ca
Railway City Brewing Co. Whether it’s a fruity seasonal pilsner or a full-bodied ale, each Railway City brew has a flavour as unforgettable as its name. Try: Iron Spike Blonde, Dead Elephant Ale.
Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery Seriously hoppy brews come in psychedelic looking bottles with quotes under each cap. Don’t let the whimsy fool you! Try: Flying Monkey Amber Ale, Hoptical Illusion Almost Pale Ale.
168 Curtis St., St. Thomas 519-631-1881, railwaycitybrewing.com
107 Dunlop St., East Barrie 705-721-8989, theflyingmonkeys.ca
windsor
Guelph
London
BARRIE
toronto
Mill St. Brewery Mill Street helped put Toronto on the craft brewing map when they debuted in 2002. Their Brew Pub, in the historic Distillery District, boasts an eclectic menu and 13 beers on tap. Try: India Pale Ale, Coffee Porter, Wit Beer.
Jensen Cheese Established in 1925 by Arne Jensen, a master cheese maker from Denmark. Cheddar is a specialty, using old-world curing processes to maximize flavour. Try: Mild Cheddar, 4 Year Old Cheddar, Vintage Reserve Cheddar.
21 Tank House Lane, Toronto 416-681-0338, millstreetbrewery.com
37 Evergreen Hill Rd., Simcoe, 519-426-4523, jensencheese.ca Upper Canada Cheese Co. Unique flavours come courtesy of a rare Niagara herd of Guernsey cows, a recipe developed by Trappist Monks and minimal processing. Try: Guernsey Girl fresh cheese, Comfort Cream, Niagara Gold.
Great Lakes Brewery Small batch brewing and local ingredients keep Ontario beer enthusiasts committed. Try: Devil’s Pale Ale, Crazy Canuck Pale Ale.
4159 Jordan Rd., Jordan Station 905-562-9730, uppercanadacheesecompany.com
30 Queen Elizabeth Blvd., Toronto, 416-255-4510, greatlakesbeer.com
Black River Cheese Old-world craftsmanship dating back to its 1901 beginnings as a co-op for local farmers. Try: Maple Cheddar, award-winning Mild Cheddar, and Aged Cheddar (up to 6 years). 913 County Rd. 13, R.R. #2, Athol 613-476-2575, blackrivercheese.com
Cheese & Ale Trail Muskoka Brewery Freshness and independence rule at the Muskoka brewery, where a selection of easydrinking beers is handcrafted in the heart of Muskoka. Try: Mad Tom IPA, Summer Weiss.
sudbury
Thornloe Cheese Old-fashioned techniques and fresh local milk from the district of Temiskaming give Thornloe cheese its trusted reputation. Try: Casey Blue, Evanturel, Temiskaming. 999697 Hwy 11 N., Thornloe 705-647-7441, thornloecheese.ca
13 Taylor Rd., Bracebridge 705-646-1266, muskokabrewery.com
Empire Cheese & Butter Co-Op The only cheese factory in Northumberland County, making cheese open-vat style for 135 years, to give maximum flavour. Try: Marble Cheddar. R.R. #5, 1120 County Rd. #8 Campbellford, 705-653-3187, empirecheese.ca
Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company Beau’s very first batch won best beer at the 2006 Toronto Golden Tap Awards, and an extensive selection has been racking up the accolades ever since. Try: Lug Tread Lagered Ale, Wild Oats series. Maple Dale Cheese Cheddars are a specialty and a crowd-pleasing fresh curd is made daily. The roadside store is packed with gourmet treats. Try: “Outrageously Old” 6 Year Cheddar, Fresh Curd, Roasted Garlic Cheddar. 2864 Hwy 37 N., R.R. #1, Plainfield 613-477-2454, mapledalecheese.com
10 Terry Fox Dr., Vankleek Hill 866-585-BEER, beaus.ca
ottawa
Ivanhoe Cheese Dating from 1870, this award-winning operation began as a dairy cooperative located in the hamlet of Ivanhoe. Artisan aged cheddars are a specialty. Try: Naturally Smoked Gouda, flavoured Monterey Jacks, Horseradish Cheddar. 11301 Hwy 62 N., R.R. #5, Madoc, 1-800-268-0508, ivanhoecheese.com
St. Albert Cheese Manufacturing Five generations of farmers have maintained St. Albert’s trusted recipes, from melt-in-your mouth curds to spiced-up cheddars. Try: Mild Cheddar, Cheddar Curds, Canadian Swiss.
Glengarry Fine Cheese A passionate family farm, making cheese from their own Holstein cows. Try: Figaro soft cheese, Lankaaster Traditional Gouda, Barely Blue.
150 St-Paul St., St-Albert, 613-987-2872, fromage-st-albert.com
5926 County Rd. #34, R.R. #1 Lancaster, 1-888-816-0903, glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca
illustration: nick craine
belleville
By Sarah B. Hood
the FALL HARVEST GUIDE Time to make a date with some fresh Ontario produce at a farm, restaurant or market near you.
To Market, To Market ... Most farmers’ markets close after the end of October. But Dufferin Grove Organic Farmers’ Market (Thursdays from 3 to 7) is one of the few that run all year. This is the market’s tenth anniversary, so there will be special celebrations on various dates, but the big official birthday party is scheduled for November 15, with servings of vegan carrot cake for all.
...
Another year-round market is The
Stop’s Farmers’ Market at the Artscape Wychwood Barns, which runs on Saturdays from 8 to noon. A great week to visit will be September 8, when they’ll be holding a corn roast with fresh cobs from Sosnicki Organics. Also on September 8, the market at Evergreen Brick Works
...
Sorauren Farmers’ Market runs on Mondays (3 to 7); but on
Sunday, September 16, they’re holding their second annual Ride 4
pledging to spend $10 a week on local produce), sign a 150-foot
Real Food 4 All: a 30-kilometre bicycle trip, farm tour and feast to
tablecloth devoted to local food and meet Lynn Ogryzlo, author
raise money for west-end Toronto food programs.
of The Ontario Table. On September 22, Second Harvest will be on hand to talk about the market’s new partnership to collect surplus
...
food for those in need. On November 3, the Día de los Muertos
is planning a Harvest Festival on October 7. The final market day,
festival marks the change from the outdoor to the indoor market
October 28, has a Halloween theme; expect jack-o-lanterns and a
with a community altar, Mexican music and Latin American food.
costume parade, while the market’s good food superhero NutriSue
...
Leslieville Farmers’ Market in the east end (Sundays, 9 to 2)
(recently honoured by Food Forward for her innovative kids’ Withrow Park in Riverdale runs on Saturdays from 9 to 1. On
September 8, they’re holding the annual Harvest Fest. The market
nutrition programs) will explore pumpkin lore.
also runs a series of “From Scratch” cooking classes at nearby
...
Eastminster United Church. On September 18, it’s Ethiopian cooking.
Toronto’s newest, ING Market on Yonge at Shuter. Open since mid-
Manning Canning presents a jamming class on September 24 and a
July, it runs on Thursdays from 10 to 6.
pickling workshop on October 15.
Already familiar with the established markets? Check out
More Market Info
Visit tfma.ca, farmersmarketsontario.ca and my-market.ca for up-todate event details on these markets and more.
20
CityBites
photos: Laura Berman - GreenFuse Photos
...
(Saturdays, 8 to 1) invites visitors to take the $10 challenge (by
This Fall’s Harvest Menus
10 to Follow
... Local chefs are making the most of Ontario’s bounty
the George Brown Chef School. On September 26,
with special seasonal dinners. On September 15,
the menu is in the capable hands of Chef John
Lailey Vineyard in Niagara-on-the-Lake (905-468-
Vetere, Sous Chef at Yours Truly. On October 10,
0503, laileyvineyard.com) hosts its annual harvest
Chef Charlotte Langley of Café Belong takes the
dinner featuring the “shuck truck” from Tide & Vine
helm. Each four-course dinner costs $85 including
@Greatlakesbeer
Oyster Company and a menu designed around Lailey’s
wine, with proceeds going to support student
new 2010 wines by Chef Jeremy Korten of Oliver &
scholarships in the college’s Culinary Arts program.
Connect with the local beer scene via this familyowned craft brewer.
Bonacini Café Grill, Blue Mountain. Tickets are $120.
... On September 16, Toronto’s Pangaea (416-920-
... Chef Michael G. Smith of The Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St. W., 416-531-4635, gladstonehotel.
2323, pangaearestaurant.com) brings the kitchen to
com) has been presenting a “Culinary Tour” dinner
the farm for a sociable limited-seating four-course
series this summer, with creative menus riffing on
dinner at The New Farm in Creemore cooked by
the cuisine of Toronto’s ethnic neighbourhoods. On
Chef de Cuisine Joel Labute and the Pangaea team,
September 12, the theme is Chinatown; Koreatown
to be priced around $55 including wine. “We’ll go in
follows on October 10. Despite their international
the morning and pick the vegetables we’ll have that
inspirations, the meals are composed mainly of
night,” says Labute. This is no fancy-dress occasion.
locally sourced ingredients like produce from Chick-
“I would say very casual; if it’s a rainy day, get your
A-Biddy Acres farm in Hastings. These four-course
wellies on!”
dinners are $110.50 including wine.
...
@DougMcNish Vegan chef and author of Eat Raw, Eat Well.
@karonlieu Food writer for The Grid mixes food news and observations with random bits of urban lore—and good humour.
@LocalKelly Kelly Hughes is the local food procurement officer to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. She’s got her pulse on all things local (and fun!) in this city.
The Rising Star Chef Dinner Series continues
... And don’t forget the biggest harvest festival of
at The Chefs’ House (215 King St. E., 416-415-2260,
them all, the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, coming
@MyMarketToronto
thechefshouse.com), the teaching restaurant of
up from November 2 to 11!
Not sure where to get your heirloom tomatoes or where to take your kids tonight? My Market has you covered.
The Apple Report When Ontario apple orchards were hit with a late April cold snap after a mild spring, it was predicted that about 85% of this year’s crop would be lost. What does this mean for families who like to pick their own apples? “Most pick-your-own operations will have some apples,” says Brian Gilroy, chair of the Ontario Apple Growers, but “it might be a little bit more like an Easter egg hunt than normal. Pick-your-owns and farmers’ markets are doing their best to have apples available; if they don’t have them onsite, they’re bringing them in.” Gilroy estimates that only about 2% of Ontario’s Empire crop survived, and McIntosh was also hard-hit. Damage varied widely even within a single orchard. “I was shocked,” he says. “In places it looks like a full crop, but when you walk about halfway down the row, there’s nothing on the trees.” The popular Chudleigh’s is warning visitors that only a few varieties will be pick-your-own; most will be “ready-picked.” In Bowmanville, “we have a lighter crop than normal,” says Fred Archibald of Archibald Orchards and Estate Winery. Normally, Archibald offers over a dozen varieties; this year it’s down to about six, including Gala, Ambrosia, Cortland and Idared. Many Toronto trees bore fruit, so Not Far From the Tree is still holding its urban harvesting outings. Volunteers who register at Notfarfromthetree.org can help pick from city trees and share part of the yield.
@OCTA_licious The province-trotting team from the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance always has the inside scoop. Also: @OntarioCulinary.
@springridgenow Need to get out of the city? Springridge Farm is place to go; whether it’s for monarch themed jam, strawberries or apples.
@tonyaspler Canada’s wine kingpin reports on local vinous activities.
@WellPreserved
Also, on September 16, the group will be at Spadina Museum for their annual City Cider event, picking apples and pressing them to make cider. Still, for fruit farmers, “it’s a year like we’ve never seen before,” says Gilroy. Is there an upside? Yes, according to Archibald, who says “the stage is set for a really big yield in every variety next year.”
Joel and Dana are not only pickle gurus, they’re also whip smart and wicked cool. They’ll have you picking your own cucumbers by next fall.
@wychwoodbarns A great community hub centered on all things food. Saturdays are a must visit at the barn for the farmers’ market and beer garden!
Harvest 2012
21
fall and harvest events
GE Café Chefs Series Oct. 11 to July 3, 6-9 p.m. Help support children’s educational food programs at Evergreen Brick Works while learning from Toronto’s hottest chefs with workshops, interactive cooking demos and wine tastings. $75 for single workshop; $650 for 10; $325 for 5. Fido Classroom,
NIAGARA’S
[WINE OASIS]
Centre for Green Cities, 550 Bayview Ave. 416-596-7670, info@evergreen.ca.
Sip & Savour Ontario Oct. 3, 7:30-10 p.m.
Canadian Chefs’ Congress Sept. 17 to Sept. 18 Head to the East Coast this fall and join Michael Stadtlander—along with more than 500 other chefs from across the country—for the third biennial congress, an industry gathering that this year adds a series of public events. Following the 2008 B.C. congress, the 2012 Nova Scotia event will showcase exquisite local cuisine while teaching participants about sustainable production and small farming practices. A CCC event special includes a ticket to the congress, along with the welcoming event of a Nova Scotia Fish Fry on the Bay of Fundy on Sunday, September 16 (5 p.m.) and a Home-grown Pig Roast (featuring Stutz Apple Cider from Grand Pre Winery) on Tuesday, September 18 (7 p.m.). Students get $50 off tickets.
Check out a quality showcase of VQA wines, paired with delicious food prepared by some of Ontario’s most renowned chefs. Wednesday, October 3 at the Distillery District in the Fermenting Cellar, 7:30 to 10 pm. $85. Proceeds support Houselink. sipandsavourontario.ca
Vegetarian Food Festival Sept. 7 to Sept. 9 Embrace your inner Herbivore and come check out the 28th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival at Harbourfront Centre. This year’s highlights feature new products and cooking demos from more than 100 exhibitors. 235 Queens Quay W. 416-973-4000. festival.veg.ca
Soupalicious! Sept. 30, 12-5 p.m.
campground, Grand Pre, Wolfville, Nova
Soup’s on! Sample a diverse assortment of signature soups created by some of Toronto’s most innovative chefs. Navigate the soupsampling stations and check out yummy stuff at the farmer’s market and environmental exhibitors. COBS bread is a supporting partner. Funds support Plant a Row Grow a Row. $10. Artscape Wychwood
Scotia. canadianchefscongress.com.
Barns. 601 Christie St. soupalicious.ca.
The Pinot Affair Oct. 13 to Oct. 14
Soupstock Oct. 21, 11- 4 p.m.
Get your crush on and visit Niagara to check out nine events from nine wineries (including Malivoire, Henry of Pelham and Hidden Bench), all celebrating the glorious pinot noir. Be seduced by yummy tastings, and decadent food and wine pairings. Tickets $40 + HST. Some events require registration.
Bring yer bowl and spoon (and napkin), and save the land while you slurp. Hosted by the Canadian Chefs’ Congress and the David Suzuki Foundation, Soupstock will feature 200 chefs (including Jamie Kennedy and Anthony Walsh) at Woodbine Park for an awareness-raising culinary event to fight the proposed Mega-Quarry in the Township of Melancthon. Woodbine Park, Lakeshore Blvd. and Coxwell Ave. soupstock.ca.
Evangeline Beach, Land of Evangeline
Henry of Pelham, 1469 Pelham Rd., R.R.#1, St. Catharines. thepinotaffair.com.
FINE WINES GOURMET FOODS ORIGINAL ART Information contact Peter Bodnar Rod peter@13thstreetwinery.com
905.984.8463
1 3 T H S T R E E T W I N E R Y 1776 Fourth Ave, S t. C at h a r i n e s 1 3 T H S T R E E T W I N E R Y. C O M
Harvest 2012
23
harvest guide
How to Savour Stratford The CityBites Guide to the Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival If a weekend of food, music, cooking demos and relaxed interaction with passionate culinary adventurers sounds like a good time, then the Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival is your best bet for fall deliciousness. Surrounded by lush farmland, and just a 90 minute drive from Toronto, Stratford has become a gourmet epicenter, and the annual fall festival has nurtured this vibe as it grows bigger and better every year. The theme for this year is “celebrating our culinary roots.” As a sponsor of this year’s event, CityBites has assembled a guide to some of the stand-out events that you won’t want to miss. But the best thing is, you don’t really need to plan. With so much going on, you can just wander and linger, and discover many tasty surprise along the way.
The Big Guns DAVID ROCCO The festival’s celebrity guest will lead cooking demonstrations on the Culinary Stage, presenting family favourites from his books David Rocco’s Dolce Vita and Made in Italy. Rocco’s passion for food and family is well known to millions of viewers of his international hit TV show. He takes the Culinary Stage on Saturday and Sunday. He will also be at the Culinary Cocktail Gala on Saturday evening.
David Rocco.
Breakfast with Culinary Champions This year’s Top Chef Canada winner Carl Heinrich teams up with Connie DeSouza, a finalist last year, for a quick-fire challenge over breakfast, while regaling the crowd with tales from the competition. Ingredients from Perth County. Sunday, Sept 23, Connie DeSousa and Chuck Hughes.
morning.
BBQ, Blues and Brews Regional country blues bands take the stage under a tent in historic Market Square while the Hog Tails BBQ Road Show provides the platters of smoky goodness. Think: southern fried chicken and Kansas City ribs. Ontario craft brews will slake your thirst. Saturday, Sept. 22, night.
24
CityBites
Savour Stratford Tasting The showstopper event is a walk-around tasting and meet-and-greet with all the chefs. New this year: the event takes place under the tent in Market Square. Chefs pair up with a regional farmer or producer in order to highlight their feature ingredient. Also new this year: a cash prize for the winner adds extra incentive! This sell-out event features 50 stations, 30 chefs and producers along with breweries, wineries and confectioners. Sunday, Sept. 23, afternoon.
STRATFORD INSIDER TIPS Wander and discover new friends and flavours along the Avon River, sampling and shopping at the Farmers’ and Artisan
TRY THESE THREE WINES:
... Watch for Mercer Hall Inn and Restaurant, Stratford’s hottest table ...
Markets
YALUMBA Y SERIES RIESLING LCBO#: 212753 | $15.10
The Cambridge Mill, which opened earlier this year in Cambridge, joins the festival with outstanding flavours
YALUMBA Y SERIES SHIRAZ VIOGNIER
... The butter
LCBO#: 624494 | $14.80
tarts from Madelyn’s Diner, a Justyn Bieber
THE LUCKY COUNTRY SHIRAZ
favourite, are set to cause a stir.
LCBO#: 145276 | $16.40
FOODIES TO FOLLOW
ALL AVAILABLE AT THE LCBO
Chefs and celebrity foodies unite! Stratford
www.bwwines.com | 416.531.5553
attracts the best of the best, so keep an eye out for great events by Ryan Donavan, formerly of Marben where he cooked with Top Chef winner Carl Heinrich
... Geoff
Hopgood, who hails from Nova Scotia and has been firing up Toronto with his wildly popular restaurant, Hopgood’s Foodliner
... Food writer and TV personality Elizabeth Baird ... Gourmet wunderkind Luke Hayes-Alexander, who has run the kitchen at Luke’s Gastronomy in Kingston since he was 15.
TUTORED TASTINGS With six tutored tastings on offer, it’s hard to choose. Events are Saturday only, and take place at the Tutored Tasting Tent in the City Centre. Our top three picks: 1. Bacon and Eggs Learn about different egg varieties and how to cure your own bacon, with Mike Booth (Rundles) and Janet Cox (Stone Meadow Farm). 10 a.m. 2. Sake and Sahimi Take a deep dive with the freshest seafood from Toronto’s Hooked, the eco-conscious fishmonger, and
Destination to the world’s finest beers.
Ontario’s only sake brewery, Izumi Spring Water Sake. 1 p.m. 3. Whiskey vs. Bourbon Delve into the rich and complex flavours of these signature spirits with Davin de Kergommeaux, author of Canadian Whiskey. 2:30 p.m.
What You Need to Know This year, the festival practically doubles in space, and takes over part of the City Centre, all the better to welcome an expected 30,000 guests. As always, the banks of the Avon River feature the Farmers’ and Artisan Markets, vendors and performance stages.
the.Rhino
1249 Queen Street West Grazing Parkdale for over 20 years facebook/therhinotoronto
Tickets A $5 wristband grants access to the Culinary Stage, Chefs Learning Centre and the Craft Beer and Wine Pavilion. Individual events start at $15, with Tutored Tastings running from $25 to $60. The Savour Stratford Tasting is $75 (VIP tickets are $125). Info Visitstratford.ca/culinaryfestival has completed event schedule and ticket information. Follow @SavourStratford.
Harvest 2012
25
experts: Szabo on Wine
By John Szabo MS | @johnszabo
Perfect Wine and Food Matches Let your taste buds celebrate with these mindexpanding pairings
There are certain foods you can count on to bring out the best in wine, like umami-rich mushrooms or ParmigianoReggiano (try with big robust reds or even vintage champagne). There are other foods that are guaranteed wine-slayers, like chili peppers, English mustard, sweet-sour-hot BBQ sauce, Kim chi and most vinegary, pickled vegetables. And then there’s everything else in between, which yields either good, better or best results with different wines. Here are a few surprisingly good matches, with some wines to try.
Ratatouille Vegetables and red wine aren’t usually considered simpatico, but this savoury, earthy, Mediterranean medley of eggplant, peppers, zucchini and tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbes de Provence is surprisingly friendly. Ratatouille goes well with the savoury, herb-tinged, soft-textured reds found throughout the Mediterranean basin; choose lighter reds if the tomatoes are sharp, and avoid oaky, turbocharged reds. Mature reds are also a fine option. Try: 2010 Trius Cabernet Franc
Niagara Peninsula | $14.95
LCBO #587964
Charcuterie Charcuterie, from the French chair cuit, or “cooked flesh,” includes items like cured ham, salamis and sausages, pâtés and terrines. But aside from really spicy sausages, charcuterie is eminently winefriendly. Salty and umami tastes combine with protein and fat, which conspires to soften wines and bring out fruit. Acid is the key to cutting that fat and salt (think gherkins or mustard). I go with lighter, zestier reds and crisp, dry whites or sparkling. Jammy, oaky wines are about the only less-than-great matches. Try: 2009 Henry Of Pelham Reserve Off Dry Riesling
Seared Pepper-Crusted Tuna Just because you’re a red wine drinker doesn’t mean you have to be a landlubber. While many oily fish are decidedly unpleasant with red wine, tuna—along with other meaty fish like swordfish—are among the exceptions. Cooking method is paramount; whereas tuna carpaccio or sashimi is better with white, grilling or pan searing shifts the match to red. Add the earthy, pungent bridge of black pepper and you’ve opened a whole range of red wine possibilities from lighter styles like pinot noir or gamay to full-bodied cabernet or syrah/shiraz. Try: 2010 Jean Paul Brun Terres Dorées
Beef Carpaccio Here’s proof of the limitations of the “red wine with red meat” dictum. The subtle and delicate flavours of raw beef are a better foil for white, not red wine. Crisp, dry whites are like the squeeze of lemon that usually accompanies the dish, though everything right up to judiciously oaked whites show well. It’s very hard to find a bad white wine match with carpaccio, and being a classy dish, it’s show time for wine, too. Try: 2010 Gran Lurton Corte Friulano
Côte De Brouilly
Beaujolais, France | $18.95
Trout Freshwater trout is not strongly fishy tasting, and thus works alongside a variety of whites. As with most dishes, preparation is key, so adapt the recipe to the wine you’re showcasing. Cream-based sauces work with either contrastingly crisp whites like riesling or albariño, or complementary creamy wines like chardonnay, pinot blanc, viognier or southern Rhône-style blends. Grilled or pan-seared trout is better with higher acid wines. Try: 2011 Königschaffhausener
Illustration: Pierre Lamielle
Vintages #235127
Uco Valley, Mendoza | $16.70
Vintages #66829
Vulkanfelsen Trocken Pinot Gris
Baden, Germany | $13.95
Vintages #597500
Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula | $15.95
Vintages #557165
Fondue is great to showcase aromatic whites like pinot gris, viognier or gewürztraminer. Cheese Fondue Swiss-style cheese fondue is wonderfully wine friendly, especially with whites (which are often better with cheese than reds anyway). Fondue is great to showcase medium-full-bodied, aromatic whites like pinot gris, viognier or gewürztraminer. In Switzerland they drink chasselas, of course, which points in the direction of crisp, light whites with higher acidity, too. Try: 2010 Helfrich Gewürztraminer Alsace, France | $18.95
Vintages #169748 John Szabo MS prefers his wine straight up and natural, and tweets @johnszabo. Looking for the best wine buying club in Ontario? Check out sommelierservice.com
Harvest 2012
27
experts: LIVING ON THE VEG
By Kait Fowlie | @kaitfowlie
A Better Chocolate Bar Toronto’s homemade specialists draw inspiration from the corner store staple boss, selling out multiple batches within two days. Way better than the 7-11 staple, and made with a secret ingredient: TLC. Whoever said love can’t pay the bills hasn’t met Tori Vaccher. “My favourite chocolate bar is Oh Henry, so I was like, ‘I gotta learn how to make caramel and nougat,’” she says. “We use almond and cashew cream so it has way more protein than normal cream and the fats are much better. All of our sugar is unrefined and fair trade. The butter isn’t hydrogenated and chocolate is dark chocolate.” Vaccher cares about her patrons’ experience, right down to the way they feel after they scarf the bar. In other words, she makes them all-natural and vegan (the same way she makes everything else she sells), but don’t let that fool you into thinking they’re not obscenely rich and decadent. The same goes for her PB Cups. “We use peanuts without salt or additives, and agave rather than sugar, then we mix our homemade gluten-free grahams with the peanuts so we make the peanut butter filling ourselves.” Tori is quite the inventor. Just being in her bakeshop is a magically delicious experience. From the outside, it looks like a pure white gingerbread house. Inside, it’s a crisp and clean fairy-tale palace. Giant silver whisks have been made into lighting fixtures and oversized candy-shop canisters adorn floor-to-ceiling shelves. It’s no coincidence that the fanciful place draws
SWEET DREAMS Tori Vaccher checks up on her chocolate.
menu inspiration from some of the sweetest childhood memories. Candy is popping up in some of the city’s most unique handmade spots. Check out the Chocolateria for some stellar handdipped chocolate potato chips and homemade Crunchie bars. Or head to Nadege Patisserie for some fresh nougat, handmade marshmallows or a personalized version of a Bounty bar made with shredded coconut and Valrhona chocolate. You may never want to unwrap a candy bar ever again after you experience these beauties. CB
CulinaryTOURS Book a tour for 2013 in Southwestern Ontario.
www.tourismoxford.ca www.oxfordfresh.com 1-866-801-7368 (Ext. 3354) 28
CityBites
kait fowlie is a freelance writer living in Toronto. She enjoys dive bars and park picnics. She also makes a mean vegan cornbread. Check out her Living on the Veg blog at citybitestoronto.tumblr.com.
photo: KnotPR
In desperate times, corner stores serve our need to feed. A dismal Danish or a lifeless muffin offer simple carbs to fill the void as we’re jumping on the streetcar in a tight jam. But we eat them and make believe they are their bakery-made counterparts. In a perfect world, all baked goods would be fresh, flavourful, and not sitting on a shelf in a sweaty wrapper, right? Why should chocolate bars and candy be any different? Must we just accept that there are no made-with-love versions of our favourite nostalgic corner store junk food? Sugar buffs will be happy to know that some of the city’s most creative bakers have been toiling over caramel-splattered blueprints to bring us a new kind of creation. More brazen than most handmade confections, these treats are directly inspired by the stuff your mom never let you have when you were a kid. Now, you can have them and still feel (kind of) like an adult. Tori’s Bakeshop 2188 Queen St. E. At Tori’s Bakeshop, 647-350-6500 homemade Oh Henry torisbakeshop.ca Bars, Peanut Butter @torisbakeshop Cups, and salted Chocolateria caramels occupy the 361 Roncesvalles Ave. glass display case along416-588-0567 thechocolateria.ca side scones and muffins. @thechocolateria They’re not your typical bakery staple, but the Nadege Patisserie 780 Queen St. W., unexpected goodies 416-368-2009 have been showing nadege-patisserie.com those muffins who’s @nadegetoronto
experts: Fishmongering
By Dan Donovan | @hookedinc
Be Aware of Shrimp Destructive farming and questionable fishing practices are widespread North Americans consume more shrimp than any other seafood. More than four pounds per year per person. So what do we know about making good choices here? Shrimp are decapoda, a group of marine animals with shells and five pairs of legs. This group include prawns, lobsters, crabs and crayfish. As often happens in the fish business, liberties have been taken with language and a lot of confusion exists distinguishing shrimp from prawns. Common usage has evolved such that generally the word prawn is used in Britain while shrimp is preferred in America. In some cases the word shrimp is used for smaller and prawns larger. Strictly speaking, shrimp are in fact distinct from prawns. They have different gill structures and they brood their eggs (that is, they cover or protect them as would a chicken). Both may exist in fresh and salt water and are found mostly worldwide. Langoustines and scampi are cousins, really, and more closely related to lobster— as are crayfish, or crawfish if you like. In North America shrimp is king, mostly frozen and packed in the U.S. with names like “jumbo” or “colossal” to describe their size. In Canada, we typically use a count
ECO SHRIMP Public awareness is resulting in cleaner shrimp-harvesting and -farming practices.
estimated at 20 pounds of discarded fish for every pound of shrimp. Almost a third of global by-catch is the result of shrimp fishing. Recent changes to fishing gear have made some improvements but the record remains deplorable. It gets worse. Shrimp farming is considered one of the most environmentally destructive aquaculture industries on the planet, destroying miles of mangrove forests to create farms that last only a few years before they must be abandoned.
photo: 123rf.com
Shrimp farming is one of the most environmentally destructive aquaculture industries on the planet. per pound, giving us enticing labels like 16-20s or U10s, which mean respectively 16 to 20 per pound and under 10 per pound. Shrimp have traditionally been caught wild, however since the introduction of “popcorn” shrimp by Red Lobster, consumption has jumped and now almost half the world production is farmed, mostly in Asia and Central America. Throughout the world there is mounting concern about the amount of incidental fish that are being caught, killed and discarded as fisheries target specific species. With shrimp trawlers, this by-catch is
The cost of this deforestation is the addition of one ton of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere for every pound of shrimp produced. For comparison, the average car produces about five tons per year. In addition to the environmental damage, farms employ a variety of antibiotics, fungicides and growth stimulants that have dire consequences for the workers and the surrounding properties, and may persist through to the cooked product. The good news is that increased public awareness has prompted new and better sources: small-scale wild fisheries that use
Shrimp Tips Check packages to see if preservatives have been added. Frozen is often better than fresh. Fresh shrimp are a real feat in our country, and a treat when available. Be mindful of fresh shrimp, though: It must come from an impeccable source. There is no need to devein shrimp that is properly cooked. Doing so, however, will remove any grit that may remain in the digestive tract.
hand nets with absolutely no discards, trawlers that have modified their gear or practices and land-based farms that don’t overcrowd, and that recirculate clean filtered water without the use of antibiotics and pesticides. CB dan donovan is a graduate of the Stratford Chef School and a veteran of the Toronto restaurant scene. He and his wife Kristin run HOOKED (hookedinc.ca), Toronto’s only seafood retailer 100% committed to sustainability.
Harvest 2012
29
Experience The Taste of
ONTARIO’S SPECIALTY CHEESE Ask For These Ontario Produced Specialty Cheeses Made From 100% Canadian Milk At Your Local Specialty Cheese Shop & Where You Dine. Niagara Gold St-Albert 7 Year Aged Cheddar Comfort Cream
Evanturel
ST. ALBERT, ONTARIO
St-Albert Cheese Co-operative Inc., enjoys worldwide renown for exceptional quality cheeses, which we have made for over 116 years. Since 1894, five generations of dairy farmers and craftsmen have worked to maintain St-Albert’s long tradition of quality. The products are all naturally aged. The unique taste of St-Albert cheese is internationally known, whether it be aged or mild cheddars or their famous curds.
Niagara Gold is a semi-soft, washed rind cheese fashioned after recipes developed by the Trappist Monks of the Loire Valley. This is a cheese with nutty, earthy overtones and mellow, buttery flavours. This luscious cheese is delicately mild and sweet when young and gains pungency and piquant qualities with age. The rind may be eaten or JORDAN STATION, ONTARIO trimmed depending on your taste.
THORNLOE, ONTARIO
Evanturel is a supple, bloomy rind cheese with a striking streak of vegetable ash running through it. The ash lends an earthy tone to this beautifully rich, mushroomy flavoured cheese with a fresh milk finish. The ash actually draws some
7 Year Aged Cheddar has a very pleasant stronger aroma and more slightly acidic note than a younger 5 year aged cheddar. This cheese has a drier more crumbly texture, given its low moisture content. When eating, you will get slightly acidic note that will develop into wonderful fruity milk note characteristics as it warms in your mouth. It will be slightly buttery and exhibit crystallized granules. Comfort Cream is a camembert-style soft, white bloomy rind cheese with a silky, creamy, golden interior. Rich flavours of fresh truffles prevail with an intense, buttery palate and a long, tangy finish. This delicate and luscious artisanal cheese is hand salted, hand turned and hand wrapped.
of the water out of the cheese, making it very creamy. Evanturel is an artisan cheese - handmade in very small batches.
Enjoy The Great Taste Of Specialty Cheeses Made From 100% Canadian Milk At These Restaurants: Canoe, Toronto 416 364 0054 www.oliverbonacini.com/Canoe.aspx Nota Bene, Toronto 416 977 6400 www.notabenerestaurant.com Royal York, Toronto 416 368 2511 www.fairmont.com/royalyork One, Toronto 416 961 9600 www.onehazelton.com
Black Hoof, Toronto 416 551 8854 Cava, Toronto 416 979 9918 www.cavarestaurant.ca Bymark, Toronto 416 777 1144 www.bymark.ca Drake, Toronto 416 531 5042 www.thedrakehotel.ca
Inn on the Twenty, Lincoln 905 562 7313 www.innonthetwenty.com Vineland Estates, Vineland 905 562 7088 www.vineland.com Cowbell, Toronto 416 849 1095 www.cowbellrestaurant.ca Harbord Room, Toronto 416 962 8989 www.theharbordroom.com
experts: The Gourmudgeon
By Stephen Temkin
The Jewish Brunch
photo: dick snyder
The left-wing secular Jewish brunch is built upon this bagel Recently, I hosted a family meal. Since the passing of my parents, this has become a rare event as my family is small, dispersed and, despite getting along exceptionally well, not terribly prone to acts of exuberant get-togetherness. The occasion was Sunday brunch, an event I normally resist with one exception: the Jewish brunch, or in the case of my family history, the secular left-wing Jewish brunch. Really this is lunch, but hey, it’s Sunday. If you’ve ever been to a Jewish funeral in the GTA, you likely know what the Jewish brunch is all about. Local caterer, Sonny Langer, has built a business on delivering a very good rendition of this meal with very short notice, an essential service as Jews are buried the next day after death. This is a meal served cold in a helpyourself, family style format. It consists of various spreadable “salads”—egg, tuna, salmon or, my favourite, smoked whitefish, all enriched with mayonnaise. Smoked fish can also be served intact, carp being particularly appropriate. Marinated herring (be sure to buy “schmaltz” herring) was often present in my family’s spread. However, in the fish department, the one essential is sliced lox or smoked salmon and its mandatory partner, cream cheese. Sliced tomato and cucumber will suffice for the vegetable category, and the meal concludes with a simple coffee cake.
What I’ve described above is an all-dairy, kosher Jewish brunch, but not the godless communist version. With no compunction to keep kosher, the left-wing secular Jewish brunch can retain the cream cheese yet also include the most delicious spreadable of all: chopped liver. If the meal weren’t already constipating enough, this is the coup de BAGEL TIME When you need it fast and good, get to Harbord. grace. But that’s good: leftwing indignation is most effectively expressed with a plugged colon. with a firm, resilient crust and a wellOf course, the platform upon which all developed, yeasty elastic crumb. Although of this is eaten is the bagel. And let’s be all of the elements of the Jewish brunch perfectly clear about this: if it’s whole can be assembled in advance, even the wheat or multigrain, flat or square, contains day before, these must be purchased fresh blueberries or chocolate chips, or is on the morning of the event. flavoured with cinnamon, it’s not a bagel. The Jewish brunch is a serious meal Furthermore—and here I tread on with a lot of hang-time, and may require dangerous ground—when it comes to the a regimen of postprandial revitalization. Jewish brunch, the wonderful if overrated Fortunately, as I come from a resourceful Montreal bagel just doesn’t hold up. One people with a higher-than-average per needs a more substantial, sturdier bagel, capita number of doctors, the remedy a bagel that can be a brick to this meal’s is well known: smoke a cigar, take a various forms of mortar. And that is the shvitz, have a nap, and then go out for Toronto bagel, or more specifically, a Chinese food. CB Toronto-style twister bagel. Good Toronto twisters appear to be on When not eating, drinking, the brink of extinction. As far as I can tell, or writing about eating and the only place where one can still find a drinking, stephen temkin credible example is the Harbord Bakery. makes fedoras. stemkin@rogers.com. Here, as it should be, the twisters are large
Harvest 2012
31
experts: The Ej
By Konrad Ejbich | @WineZone
Chardonnay Dreaming Have you tasted great chardonnay lately? Well, you should.
Chardonnay has a long and honourable history. Although it really does take a great winemaker to coax depth, elegance and complexity from this grape, it’s just about impossible to screw it up. (Winemakers, if you can’t make a decent chardonnay, toss away your wellingtons and learn to wait on tables.) Almost all chardonnays are palatable and drink well on their own or in spritzers, and they marry gracefully with a vast array of foods. Chardonnay has a long and honourable
32
CityBites
In the distance Lake Ontario sends cooling breezes to help boost the acidity in Tawse wines.
Chardonnay Stars
Three wines that struck a high note with me at the Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration last month. Note: Vintages may or may not have the 2010s in stock; check with the winery to be sure you get these exact bottles. Tawse “Sketches of Niagara” 2010 Chardonnay Niagara Peninsula | $19.95 Vintages 89037
Rosehall Run “Cuvée County” 2010 Chardonnay Prince Edward County | $21.95 Vintages 132928
history. The French have been using it for centuries to make their best and most expensive wines. Champagne, Chablis, Macon, Pouilly Fuissé, Meursault and Montrachet are just a few of the famous wines produced from chardonnay. Well-made premium chardonnays will display many layers of aromatic impressions. Young wines often show nuances of butter, vanilla, smoke (like well-toasted bread), asparagus, dill, sage, lemon, honey and beeswax. Older, oak-aged versions may also exude butterscotch, coconut, hazelnut, truffle and coffee smells. Over-oaked chardonnays (my pet peeve) exude the flavour of twoby-fours when they’re young, and used campfire water when they’re older. In wines not aged in oak casks— especially those from the warm climates of California and Australia—it’s not unusual to discover apricot, fig, papaya, peach, pineapple, orange or even a
Hidden Bench 2010 Chardonnay Beamsville Bench, Niagara | $32 Vintages 68817
tropical fruit salad of aromas. Ontario chardonnays generally have better acidity that those from hotter wine regions. Acidity gives wine its mouthcleansing freshness as well as its “cellarability.” Our local chardonnays are ready to drink after two to three years, but the best ones can keep for more than a decade. If you have the patience to wait, the rewards come in finesse, complexity and the occasional gustatory orgasm. I’ve tasted some fine bottles over the summer and most were produced right here in Ontario. Affordability is a personal issue. Good wines come at all price ranges. Great ones always cost more. CB Konrad Ejbich answers caller questions on CBC Radio’s Ontario Today the last Friday of every month. He is a member of the Wine Writer’s Circle of Canada and a prolific tweeter.
photo: Dick Snyder
While many members of the trade were touting “The Summer of Riesling,” I was deeply ensconced in the corner of my cellar where all the chardonnays lay in waiting. Although I love all those other white grapes—viognier, gewürztraminer, muscat, marsanne, roussanne and on the rarest occasions, sauvignon blanc—my heart belongs to fine chardonnay. The highlight of my summer was the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (a.k.a., i4c), which drew not just hundreds of wine lovers to the Niagara Peninsula, it also attracted many of the world’s finest winemakers and producers of outstanding wine... and dare I say, world-class chardonnay. Champagne maker Ayala brought along one of the more memorable bubblies of the year, its 2002 Blanc de Blancs. Most champagnes are produced from a blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, but Blanc de Blancs is made solely from chardonnay, the only white grape of the three. Despite little outbursts of dissent from time to time—you may have heard of the ABC (anything-but-chardonnay) movement—the world loves chardonnay almost as much as I do. There’s good reason for such dedication. For one, chardonnay is simple to pronounce— compare it with gewürztraminer, geisenheim and gezundheit—and easy to remember.
experts: LIBATIONS
By Stephen Beaumont | @BeaumontDrinks
The Proof is in the Ale Quality beer and groovy digs are finally giving the people what they want “Turn around and look,” I was instructed by Ralph Morana, owner of Bar Volo and organizer of the Cask Days cask-conditioned beer festival. “You’ve never seen anything like this in Toronto.” He was right. Our location was the front of the patio at the Bellwoods Brewery on Ossington, and the sight that met my eyes was that of some 80 people enjoying different house-brewed ales while dining on various small plates of food, all with the open brewery very much visible to the rear. It
photo: Ross Spencer
Bellwoods Brewery is a sign of how Toronto has been maturing of late, beer-wise. was a tableau not before seen in Toronto because Bellwoods is a brewery unlike any other in the city. Early brewpubs in Hogtown were traditionally minded affairs, with the breweries visible but typically removed from the main action, while late entries have tended to be slick, well-practiced
enterprises, such as the 3 Brewers on Yonge Street. Bellwoods is a brewery crafted much more in the modern U.S. fashion, with the brewery built first and the restaurantbar formed around it, sort of but not quite like an afterthought. The model has worked. Nightly upon its 5 pm opening, Bellwoods is packed, with lineups regular occurrences even midweek. It helps, of course, that their sometimes style-tweaking, occasionally inspired beers are, WHERE’S WALDO? for the most part, among the The people come in droves for good beer. best brewed in the city, like the licorice-y, boozy Lost River Baltic newcomers like Burger Bar and Thirst & Porter and tart-lean-dry-smoky Mash Pipe Miserable in Kensington Market, the eversmoked Berliner weisse. improving Brydens in Bloor West and Bellwoods is also a sign of how Toronto downtown’s newest star, Bar Hop. I mean has been maturing of late, beer-wise, at breweries popping up like weeds, and who least. From spending most of the late cares that most of them contract-brew 1990s and early 2000s as the poor brother at other breweries. And I mean everyday to Montréal—even Vancouver was at one bars and restaurants catching the fever point kicking our ass in terms of beer and replacing their Rickard’s and Keith’s destinations!—the city has finally reached taps with quality craft offerings. the point where we can hold our heads And I mean masses of 80 people at a high. As someone who has spent years time recognizing that funky digs and good voyaging to cities around the globe with ale trump smoke and mirrors, pretense far superior beer scenes, let me add that and posturing every day. CB it’s about time. Stephen Beaumont will be So, what do I mean by maturing? I mean promoting his new book, The the best beer bar circuit in Canada, a World Atlas of Beer, co-written collection which now includes such with Tim Webb, at the Cask veterans as C’est What, beerbistro, Bar Days fest Oct. 27-28, at the Volo and Smokeless Joe (now in new Evergreen Brick Works. Visit College Street digs) as well as vibrant www.caskdays.com for more info.
How to Buy Wine from an Agent
Buying consignment wines from an agent is easy. Go online and get their list. Phone or email your order. Wait for delivery. Repeat.
B&W Wines 416-531-5553 www.bwwines.com
B&W Wines offers a portfolio of iconic and boutique wineries: Penley Estate, Lillypilly, Two Hands and Jansz from OZ; Darioush and La Crema in California; Argentinean Bodegas Weinert; Barolos from Brovia, Rhone-Ranger Jean-Luc Colombo and Douro producer Quinta de Ventolezo.
Lifford Wine Agency 416-440-4101 or toll-free 1-877-272-1720 www.LiffordWine.com
2010 Winner - VINTAGES Portfolio Award of Excellence Serving the hospitality sector and private consumers in Ontario since 1985 with a focus on family owned and operated wineries that are equally as passionate about great wine as we are. Maison Louis Jadot, Felton Road, Felsina and Hollick, to name just a few.
Harvest 2012
33
One last bite
By Dick Snyder
Dudes on Fire The Food Dudes truck launch makes the scene
But honestly, we’re feeling a bit of road rage over the whole food truck fanaticism. Sure, if one rolls by, we’re all about some grab-and-go. But we’re not about to trek all over tarnation for a taco—one that we have to eat standing up. On the other hand, we do love a party. And the Food Dudes know how to throw one—in this case, to show off their spiff new rolling kitchen. The event cause quite the scene in the 99 Sudbury parking lot last month, with all kinds of edgy craziness like body painting, tattooing and a silent
34
CityBites
auction. Crazy shit! And the food was great too. The Food Dudes is the brainchild of Adrian Niman, who’s built up a major operation in just five years, going from a home-based kit to a full-service operation that can handle events with 2000 hungry gourmands. Smart, delicious, growing and conscientious—they partner with Cherryvale Organic Farms in Prince Edward County and donate services to charities like Second Harvest, Sick Kids and Camp Oochigeas. Slick operators with a heart. We’re down with that.
photos: Ted Chai
Hell, we love a good party.
Finally. A restaurant that’s all about the Cheese. We crafted an experience of artisan grilled cheese, fine cheese selections and charcuterie, mac + cheese, cheese fondue and other ooey gooey grub. Bring your friends and join us. Proud to serve and be 100% Canadian, Independent and Family-Owned + Operated.
BEER + WINE + SPIRITS
Yes, we're licensed. Enjoy a glass or share a bottle of local wine from Niagara or Prince Edward County. Try one of the local small-batch craft beers we have in stock, or spike our house-made soda with the spirit of your choice.
CATERING + EVENTS
Dinner party? Special event? Company function? We can help. We offer a whole host of delicious options from Cheese Boards + Pairings, to Grilled Cheese stations. For all our latest events check out cheesewerks.com/events
Check out cheesewerks.com/boardmember for more info.
ARTISAN CHEESES
GIFT BASKETS
ARTISAN BREADS
CHEESE BOARDS HOURS
56 BATHURST ST. • TORONTO, ON (Bathurst & Wellington) • 416.243.3327
cheesewerks.com cheesewerks
TUES-FRI SAT SUN MON
12PM-9PM 10AM-9PM 10AM-8PM CLOSED
/wolf blass canada 速Toronto International Film Festival is a registered trademark of Toronto International Film Festival Inc. used under license by Wolf Bass.