Issue 34 - Winter 2010/2011

| FREE | Winter 2010/2011

g atin r b ele

rs! a e 5Y

C

How to eat, drink and stay cozy

Winter

Survival

Guide

What’s wrong with duck confit?

The Truth About Honey

A gardener’s letter to Santa

A World of Chicken Soup

Plus! Books + Persian Pastry + Gourmet Gifts + karmic caviar

in N on EW ta ri o

DISCOVER OREGON WINES with Personality.

NAMED AFTER THE ROMAN GODDESS OF WINE • Luscious. Juicy.

Round and soft.

• A delicious blend of west coast Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel.

• Meditrina. There is nothing like it in this world. Or any other. +206888

$19.95

Retail

www.meditrinawine.com

A FLAVOUR GREATER THAN THE SUM OF IT’S PARTS • An inspired blend of 9 different grape varietals.

• Uniquely smooth and layered, with outstanding character.

• Think about how you might evolve. +206870

$19.95

Retail

www.evolutionwine.com

Dedicated to Creating World Class, Sustainable Wines. Located in the hills of Dundee, Oregon. | www.sokolblosser.com Represented by PMA Canada Ltd. | www.pmacanada.com | please enjoy responsibly.

from the editor Let me start with the thankful bits.

CityBites has survived the dreaded Year Five.

We all know that small business usually fail in the first five years of business. Well, we’ve almost paid off the bank, and we’ve almost paid off the rest of our bills, and we’re ready for the big time.

We wouldn’t have made it this far without the generous support of our advertisers and the food community, our loyal contributors (who toil away for the love of it, more often than not…) and all you readers who seem to like what we do and make time to read a well-written, well-researched article.

We hope to grow in 2011. Look for expanded page counts, more robust distribution, and a shiny new website. And please, tell us what you’d like to see in your city food magazine, be it printed, Tweeted, Facebooked or whatever. We’ll try to make it so.

Let’s not forget: There’s a lot of hungry people out there. Give to your food bank,

contents

community food charity, or just drop something in the bin at Metro or Loblaw’s.

Do what you can. But just do it.

Winter 2010/2011 Volume 6, Issue 6

Dick Snyder, Editor • dick@citybites.ca

Feature 17

masthead Editor Dick Snyder/dick@citybites.ca Art Direction Craig Sinclair/craigdesign@hurontel.on.ca Associate Editor Signe Langford Wine Editor John Szabo Director of Vinous Affairs Zoltan Szabo Contributors Stephen Beaumont, Greg Clow, Sean Deasy, Leanne Delap, Konrad Ejbich, Maia Filar, Arlene Hazzan Green, Marc Green, Valerie Howes, Kerry Knight, Rebecca LeHeup, Joy McCarthy, Mary Luz Mejia, Christine Sismondo, Photography Jeff Coulson, Signe Langford Publisher Paul Alsop/paulalsop@idmg.ca Managing Director for IDMG Donald G. House Account Executive Wendy Lyall Gardner/

photo: ©istockhoto.com/Acik

wendy@citybites.ca

5

NewsBites Exciting times on the city’s food scene.

6

Crumbs Hot spots, new spots and funky plots.

Email info@citybites.ca or visit citybites.ca.

City Bites Media Inc., 24 Dalhousie St. Suite 200, Toronto, ON, M5B 2A5, 647-827-1705.

www.citybites.ca City Bites is published six times a year by City Bites Media, a division of IDMG Inc. sales@citybites.ca

12

The Urban Farmer Dear Santa, we’ve been good gardeners all year….

13

Fresh Enviro-conscious caviars to get festive with.

7

Just Opened Two new joints to make you drool.

14 Books

8

The Gourmudgeon Whither fabulous duck confit?

9

Pantry Be like a bee and branch out. Try these honeys.

Subscriptions are $20 per year.

Advertising inquiries

Regular Bites

Stephen Temkin

Winter Survival Guide Fret not. We’ve rounded up the hottest things to do and eat and drink while you pine for warmer days. It’ll all be over before you know it.

10 Foreign Correspondence

Read ’em and eat!

16 Reality Check

The trouble with

“big” honey.

23 Libations

Stephen Beaumont on travels and such.

24 The Ej

Finally, says Konrad Ejbich, a real book on wine-food pairing.

A taste tour of chicken soups.

11

Stuff Epicurean products you need to have at home.

25 Szabo on Wine

John Szabo’s best wine brands.

26 One Last Bite

Chefs battle for chowder supremacy.

Cover: Actor Imali Perera chills on the patio at Ceili Cottage. Photo by Jeff Coulson.

Winter 2010/2011

3

YO UR

A

T

Available December 11, 2010 2004 BORDON RIOJA RESERVA RVA SPAIN | Bodegas Francos-Espanolass VINTAGES | 194753 | $18.95

90 points

GOLD

MEDAL “It's no surprise that this zesty Reserva was just awarded a Gold Medal in The Decanter Magazine World Wine Awards for 2010 as well as a 90 point score from Robert Parker.

From the Bodegas Franco-Espanolas, a winery with a history going back 100 years comes this blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha and Mazuelo that’s been aged to perfection, first in toasted American oak casks and then in bottle for a total of 2 years. The result is a stunning supple and rich Rioja that drinks like a wine at its peak.”

www.eurovintage.com

www.francoespanolas.com

the starters Good news for eaters

Feedback Re: Dinner Music by Stephen Temkin (CityBites, Fall 2010) Thank you for speaking up for those of us who are also noise challenged by Toronto restaurants. Not only is the noise level of the music ridiculous, what’s with the chair clatter? Why are all those hard surfaces that bounce noise so popular?

I was recently in a busy midtown Manhattan Italian restaurant with hardwood floors. Not only was there no music, but the restaurant put felt on the bottom of the chair legs.

What a concept! Like you, (probably) I won’t go to Canoe or even Giancarlo anymore.

And yet there’s poor Didier with a lovely quiet dining room and excellent cooking and the restaurant is nearly empty every evening that I’ve been there. So are you and I the only two in the city who want to go to a quiet restaurant?

Anyway, I’m pretty exasperated about it. Try taking older clients to a restaurant

Persian DelighT For nearly three decades only a handful of foodie-sleuths and Persian ex-pats have delighted in the gateaux, cookies, and cream puffs—stunningly beautiful in shades of mauve and burnt orange, adorned with delicate threads of saffron, tiny silver beads and pearls—from Shirini Sara Pastry House. A hidden gem, located in North York, pâtissier Vida Malek, who, along with her family was driven from Iran in 1978, has been quietly baking sweet little wonders, when once, she baked for The Shah.

in Toronto, like I do. I’m apologizing the entire time.

Please keep up the good work, complaining for the rest of us.

Joanne Dereta

1875 Leslie St., Unit # 6, 416 510-1050, shirinisara.com

Stephen, hooray, thanks for that terrific

Time for tea Hot tea on a cold winter’s day… How delightful! Grace Ursini will

restaurants to turn down the music, and

deliver comfort in the form of a tea party right to your door. She serves her delights in (and on) vintage china, which you can buy on the spot. (She’s also looking to add to her collection, so if you’ve got more than you need, get in touch.) Tea parties start at $35/ person for four, and drop to $25/person for a party of 12. Includes tea, china, silverware, food and sparkling wine. Totally Tea Cups & Tea, graceursini@rogers.com, 416-347-3441.

ec0-cowbell sets the standard And now the rest of the restaurants in Toronto can follow the leader. Leaders in Environmental Accountable Foodservice (LEAF), a third-party certification program, has recognized Mark Cutrara’s Cowbell restaurant as the first green restaurant in Toronto for its commitment to ten areas of sustainable practice, including food purchasing, supplies, energy use, water use and chemicals.

“I look forward for others to join the ranks,” Cutrara says. “Green can be more than compact fluorescents.” See leafme.ca for more.

raising $$$ for mount sinai We’d like to trumpet the effort of CityBites’ dedicated and selfless ad sales magician Wendy Lyall Gardner, who raised a load of cash for Mount Sinai cancer research. Kudos for bake-sale support go to: Frances Wood, Southern Accent; Martine Quibell, Robert Rose Books; Bill Haddleton, Select Wine Merchants; Mylen, Mourget Jewelery; Canyon Creek Chophouse; Dufflets; Dana McCauley, Janes Family Foods; Voula Halliday; Valerie Howes; Charmaine Baan, Bonnie Gordon School; Dave Kokai and Kathleen Finley, Loic Gourmet; Your Fired Ceramic Studio; Signe Langford; Paul Alsop and Alec McCarthy from CityBites; Ozzie Hlipka and David Lyall; and Andrew Gardner.

article. 150% in agreement. I’ve often asked then they treat me like the crabby old crank at Table 4. I think people are afraid to hear themselves think. Or chew.

Beth Kaplan

Send it back!

We love to hear from you. Send emails to info@citybites.ca or snail mail to CityBites, 24 Dalhousie St., Toronto, ON M5B 2A5.

Letters may be edited for space and accuracy.

Corrections The Fall 2010 issue of CityBites contained a few errors we would like to correct. The Victorinox Ceramic Cutlery Collection is available through Victorinox Swiss Army, 1-800-665-4095, swissarmy.com. The mobile knife sharpening company Sharp My Knife can be reached at 905-699-3693.

The correct address and phone for the Coffee Mill, with its outstanding apple strudel, is 90 Yorkville Ave., 416-920-2108.

Winter 2010/2011

5

crumbs

By Greg Clow

... After two years of licensing red tape and other drama, Jean-Pierre Challet (ex The Fifth, Le Select Bistro and Bouchon) and Jennifer Decorte finally opened their cozy Ici Bistro (538 Manning Ave., 416-536-0079, jpco.ca/restaurant) in mid-October

... With the Drake

Scoops + Tees ice cream and t-shirt shop closed after a great summer run, the space has been re-purposed and is now known as Drake BBQ (1142 Queen St. W., thedrakehotel.ca/bbq), a take-out joint with limited hours (Thur. to Sat., 6 pm until the meat runs out) and a short

... The owners of Brownes Bistro have taken over the lease of the nearby location of Terroni (1 Balmoral Ave.) that closed recently, and will be sticking with pizza and pasta when they reopen it in January under a name TBA

... Michael Potters announced that Harvest

(106 Bridge St., Picton), his much-acclaimed restaurant that helped establish Prince Edward County’s rep as a food destination, has been closed since Nov. 27 after five years of stellar food and service

... Another local culinary heavyweight, Marc Thuet, has closed up

News from restaurant row menu including pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches, a few sides

his flagship restaurant Conviction (609 King St. W.), although all

and sodas, and whoopie pie for dessert

three Petite Thuet bakery-cafés will remain open, and he and wife/

... Tawfik Shehata, recently

partner Biana Zorich intend to open a smaller restaurant elsewhere

departed from Vertical,

in Toronto in 2012

is taking his local-food

... The second phase of the relaunch of Marben

vibe to—wait for it—

(488 Wellington St. W., 416-979-1990, marbenrestaurant.com) has

The Ballroom, a new

come to completion with the opening of the more loungey Bavette

... Carnivores and vegetarians will both be

bowling alley slated to

in the downstairs space

open in mid-December

happy at Woodlot (293 Palmerston Ave., woodlotrestaurant.com),

on Richmond in the old

where there are two full menus to choose from: one meat-heavy,

Montana’s space

...

the other meat-free, and both equally impressive

Queen West outpost (492 Queen St. W., 416- 929-4900, lapalette.ca)

palace Dynasty Chinese Cuisine (131 Bloor St. W.) has closed to make way for Le Bistro, a new

to fly solo The Ballroom

a place that looks so nice you’d hardly guess that it used to be

set to open in the spring—and if the rumours are true, Dynasty may reopen in a new location around the same time

... A second location of

popular noodle house Kenzo Ramen (372 Bloor St. W., kenzoramen.ca) is now open in the Annex

... Also in the Annex, Axis Gastropub

(585 Bloor St. W., 416-539-9009) has replaced Rocco’s Plum Tomato

... The seemingly endless deluge of indie

coffee shops continues, with recent openings including Full of Beans (1348 Dundas St. W., 647-347-4161, fullofbeans.ca), Red Bean Espresso + Market (2118 Bloor St. W., 647-352-2326), Capital Espresso (1349 Queen St. W., capitalspro.com), and Sense Appeal (96 Spadina Ave., senseappeal.ca), the latter of which is attempting to stay a step ahead of the rest with daily tasting sessions and an emphasis on coffee and food pairings

... Chef Craig Harding (ex-Four) is now out on his own

with Campagnolo (832 Dundas St. W., twitter.com/ Campagnolo_),

endeavour from club and restaurant kingpin Charles Khabouth that’s

at Bloor and Markham

... The original

Kensington Market location of La Palette has closed, leaving the

Downtown dim sum

... Old school greasy spoon Harry’s Charcoal Broil (3230

Yonge St.) has closed due to retirement after more than three decades

a Coffee Time

... With their Globe and Earth restaurants both

doing well, owner Ed Ho and chef Kevin McKenna are hoping that 905ers are ready for a good dose of local and sustainable cuisine, as they head westward with Earth Mississauga (295 Enfield Place, 905-848-2121, earthmississauga.com)

... The part of us that retains

a bit of affection for run-down student dives with cheap beer and questionable food is slightly saddened by the Board of Health’s decision to shut down The Green Room (296 Brunswick Ave.) for good

... And finally, from our Begging For A Lawsuit Dept., new

Kensington Market eatery Craft Fat Burger (269 Augusta Ave., 416-551-6550) should be hearing from the lawyers of both local mini-chain Craft Burger and American chain Fatburger any day now.

GREG CLOW is the co-publisher, news editor, beer writer and head dishwasher at Taste T.O. (tasteto.com), a website that reports on anything and everything to do with food and drink in Toronto.

Aerating Pourer The pleasure of instantly enhancing the bouquet and the flavour of your favourite wine.

416.461.5211 501 Danforth Avenue www.thecooksplace.com

twitter@thecooksplace EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR EVERDAY OR SPECIAL OCCASION MEAL PREPARATION AND GIFT GIVING

SIGN UP FOR OUR QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER AT INFO@THECOOKSPLACE.COM TO RECEIVE TIPS, RECIPES, EVENTS AND SALES DETAILS.

6

CityBites

photos: (left) Courtesy of Menchie’s; (right) Signe Langford

Just Opened

By Signe Langford

Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt Oh, we’re a hearty people! Freezing cold outside, and still we line up out the door for more coldness—sweet, delicious, creamy, customised coldness. Yes, the product is truly yummy, and yes, the toppings are pretty awesome too (teeny tiny cubes of cheesecake!). What’s really cool is the back wall—a bank of self-serve soft-serve machines. Grab a cup, pull a lever and apply toppings. But, we suspect, it might be more than just the honestly good and all natural, bio-active yogurt that has the teenyboppers shuffling in, all Uggs, iPhones, and appetites. South of the border, the paparazzi know that hanging out at a Menchie’s in Hollywood or LA will pay off handsomely with a snap of say, Paris Hilton, Miley Cyrus, or even our very own Bieb, mouth agape, shovelling away. O.M.G. 511 Bloor St. W., 416-645-0222, menchies.com

Cake Town Further evidence that gentrification knows no bounds—thank goodness! Cake Town—a play on owner Nadya Harris’s hometown, Cape Town, and perhaps a suggestion that life for her is sweeter here—has popped up at the far reaches of the Danforth. It’s a pretty little spot bathed in sunlight and robins’ egg blue. Known as the Scone Lady, from her years on the outdoor market circuit, Nadya gets to offer more here. Her short and simple menu focuses on the best of Ontario—Muskoka Dry ginger ale, and butter tarts from the town of Magnetawan, an hour-and-a-half drive north of Huntsville—while giving a nod to her old home with heritage products from South Africa and her mum’s mini coconut macaroon cakes.

2039 Danforth Ave., 647-351-8696

=C@ <3E :==9

0/:/<17<5 B63 03AB =4 B@/27B7=< E7B6 7<<=D/B7=< e e e Q V O b S O c R S a Q V O ` [ S a Q ] [ j <7/5/@/ =< B63 :/93 =<

Winter 2010/2011

7

the gourmudgeon

By Stephen Temkin

Simply Ducky Labeling two-day old duck poached in its own fat as “confit” is a bit of a canard Way back when, as a neophyte gourmand bouncing around France—unfettered and alive and all that—I was somewhat obsessed with duck confit and sampled it as often as I could.

To my disappointment, much of it was mediocre. I concluded that this bistro classic was so routine in France that restaurants were buying it from some huge factory situated in a downtrodden former colony where cheap labour and lax regulation churned it out by the boatload.

That malaise has since been exported. Duck confit is now pretty standard fare in Toronto, and when I see it on a menu, I still can’t resist.

Although occasionally wonderful, it is all too often badly handled.

the liquid fat is cleansed of any residual juice or particles. The duck is then stored in a sterile container, again completely subMuch confit is an insult to the moulards who put their legs on the line. merged in the fat to eliminate contact with air. Kept in the fridge or a root cellar, it will keep for duck confit that was so blisteringly hot throughup to a year, although six months is perhaps out, I’m certain it spent time in a microwave. a less litigious recommendation.

That’s pretty shabby.

So where do restaurants falter? Well, first My biggest pet peeve is when restaurants of all, the duck benefits from its preservation. feel the need to gussy up the dish to give it Flavour and texture improve with several weeks what I call “chefiness.” This peasant fare is best of storage. More often than not, the confit left un-gentrified. It’s all about the duck, and served in restaurants is newly made and never duck confit is as ducky as duck can be. Simply actually stored in fat. If one is to be literal, it unadorned on a plate with a side of braised cabbage or stewed lentils, a glass of well-aged Madiran as its mate, makes life worth living.

This is the best time of year to make confit at home. Look for the legs of moulard ducks that have been fattened for the production of foie gras. The rural tradition of fattening ducks and geese is where confit originates, and isn’t confit at all, just fat-poached duck. really does produce the best results. You can Either excessive or insufficient salt is a identify these by their good size and thick common restaurant misstep, as is cooking coating of dense, creamy white fat. Any time; too long and the meat loses cohesion, butcher that carries fresh foie gras should be not long enough and it lacks the melting able to get this for you, as well as the extra tenderness that is key to its seductive character. duck fat you will need for cooking and storage.

Getting this right is essential.

And if you can add a little patience to the To crisp up the skin before serving, it is recipe, you’ll be rewarded with richer flavour. routine to fry the duck in additional fat in a When not eating, drinking, hot pan. This is fine, but I find the fried flavour or writing about eating and the resulting texture less appealing than and drinking, Stephen when the skin is crisped under a broiler. Also, TEMKIN makes fedoras. stemkin@rogers.com it is best served warm but not hot. I’ve had

Not that it’s difficult to make. Duck confit— meaning a conserve of duck—demands only three ingredients: duck, duck fat and salt.

Aromatics such as garlic, thyme, bay leaf and allspice are also employed, but their role is subordinate.

In a nutshell, pieces of duck—usually legs— are cured in a heavy sprinkling of coarse salt plus one’s chosen aromatics. After about a day, the legs are rinsed and patted dry, then gently poached completely submerged in fat. The duck is not allowed to brown.

When done, the pieces are removed and

8

CityBites

photo: ©istockphoto.com/JamesWhittaker

The rural tradition of fattening ducks and geese is where confit originates, and really does produce the best results.

pantry

By Signe Langford

Bees please!

Exploring honey’s many charms It’s an ancient food, drink, muse and obsession for cavemen and Pooh Bears. It preserves and sweetens our foods, and has insinuated itself into language, culture and religion. Bee keeping is depicted in cave paintings dating back to 7000 BC, and the ancient Egyptians even used it in the mummification process.

As a natural and powerful anti-bacterial, it’s folk medicine, too. It’s delicious in sweet and savoury dishes, and, not all are created equal. If the only honey spread on your morning toast is Billy Bee, then you need to get busy—dare we say, as a bee—expanding your horizons. Taste the difference a blossom makes. Experience the terroir of honeys from different parts of the world, from different bees, made from the nectar of exotic flowers.

Nativa Organic Rainforest Honey A blend of natural forest honeys from rainforest regions of both Brazil and Australia. It’s interesting—darker and richer in flavour than clover— without being too intense or too costly for all sorts of uses, from a cuppa to baking.

Nude Bee Honey Co. Launched out of a small warehouse in Kensington Market in 2010 by Edward Okun and Jared Cantor, Nude Bee offers local and Canadian varietal, raw honey, produced by independent beekeepers. The list of honey changes with the seasons, so there’s always something new and delicious to try. A portion of proceeds goes to the Save Our Bees campaign; visit honeycouncil.ca/index.php/saveourbees. photo: Jeff Coulson

$7.99 - $10.99/330g, online at nudebee.ca, 647-377-4524

Canada is home to 7,000 beekeepers who keep 600,000 colonies of honey bees.

CityBites_Oct:CityBites

9/30/10

Braswell’s of Georgia Cinnamon Honey The honey is lovely, and the cinnamon flavour is not overpowering. Spread on a warm, buttery scone, it’s divine. The ginger flavour just begs to be used as a glaze for pork or duck, and both come in beautiful, keepsake glasses. $8.99/226g at The Cheese

$6.99/375g at Shopper’s Drug Mart

Boutique, 45 Ripley Ave., 416-762-6292, cheeseboutique.com

Ein-Harod Apiary Avocado Blossom Honey As thick as molasses and almost as strong, this Israeli honey has an attention-grabbing burnt sugar flavour, and is just one of several exotic blossoms—Jordan River wildflower, starthistle, citrus, and Siziphus—from 80-year-old Kibbutz Ein-Harod in the Jezreel Valley. $6.57/250g at

Miel de Sapin Think of this wondrous, dark amber, honeydew from France as doublehoney. Processed first by Aphidlike insects, then a second time by bees. It’s super intense, with a flavour reminiscent of burnt maple syrup, pine woods and smoke. Fantastique! $16.75/

T & T Supermarket,

500g at Honey World,

222 Cheery St., 416-463-8113,

St. Lawrence Market, lower

tnt-supermarket.com

level, 416-214-0101, honeyworld.ca

7:09 AM

Page 1

CELEBRATING OUR

27

TH

ANNIVERSARY! SPECIALIZING IN ORGANICALLY GROWN, NON-GMO & ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE PRODUCTS.

www.thebigcarrot.ca ORGANIC JUICE BAR • NEW COOKING CLASSES • FREE NUTRITIONAL STORE TOURS

Natural Food Market 416.466.2129 Wholistic Dispensary 416.466.8432 348 Danforth Avenue (1 block west of Chester subway)

info@thebigcarrot.ca Monday to Friday 9:00-9:00 Saturday 9:00-8:00 Sunday 11:00-6:00 Winter 2010/2011

9

By Signe Langford

Chicken Noodle Soup Jewish penicillin, chicken soup for the soul, M’m! M’m! Good! A bowl of steaming, heart-warming, belly-filling chicken broth—made from the long simmered bones of a tasty old bird—holding something starchy and comforting like rice, noodles, matzo balls or potato. It’s one of the

It’ll cure what ails ya

world’s simplest foods and one of its most loved, and it holds a special place in our culture. Turns out Bubby was right, there’s an amino acid in there called cysteine and it’s similar to the bronchitis med, acetylcysteine.

Here are three of the most soul-satisfying versions we could find.

Caplansky’s Delicatessen

Hanoi 3 Seasons

The Real Jerk

356 College St., 416-500-3852, caplanskys.com

1135 Queen St. E., 416-469-3010,

709 Queen St. E., 416-463-6055,

Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls | $3.50

hanoi3seasons.com Pho Ga | $8.50

therealjerk.com Jamaican Chicken Soup | $4

From the outside looking in, to the uninitiated

Pho is Vietnamese soup—at once simple and

This spicy, curry-yellow broth packs a double

goyem at least, this mainstay of Yiddish cuisine

complex. Most often the broth is made with

whammy of carbo-comfort: chunky potatoes,

might look like really fatty chicken broth with

pork or beef bones, but Pho Ga is made with

and silky dumplin’s—and anyway, what’s

balls of mushed up crackers bobbing around.

chicken. The flavours are light, clean, fresh,

a dumplin’ if not a really fat noodle? The

Maybe that’s what it is, but who hasn’t crumbled

and bright with coriander, lime, and Thai basil.

humblest of tummy-fillers, it’s rich, flecked

a bunch of saltines into their soup,? Caplansky

Beneath the surface is a tangle of slippery and

with thyme, and full of tiny chicken bits.

simmers his chickens twice for extra rich broth

silky rice noodles, meat and barely cooked

(Second location: 93 Woodstream Boulevard,

and uses his Nanna (she finds Bubby too

veg. Slurping encouraged. (Second location:

Unit 1, 905-856-5375.)

matronly) Thelma Goodman’s matzo ball recipe.

588 Gerrard St. E., 416-463-9930.)

!noitanCrush, itseD eToronto’s niW nwotnDowntown woD s’otnoWine roT ,hDestination! surC .sunem deCrush cirp-lleWine w htiw Bar encombines iw dna doo extensive f fo egdelknowledge wonk evisnof etxfood e senand ibmwine oc rawith B enwell-priced iW hsurC menus. cop dnParticular a etalap yrattention eve tius ohas t gnbeen ihtempaid os htto iwthe ,tsilwine eniwlist, ehtwith ot disomething ap neeb sato h nsuit oitnevery etta rapalate lucitraand P pocket. .rab tnecaCrush jda ehtWine ni 05Bar ,moseats or gniup nidto nia 100 m epeople ht ni elpinoe the p 0main 01 otdining pu staroom, es raB50 enin iWthe hsuadjacent rC bar. .gninid ocWe serflalso a rofboast oitap arospacious odtuo suooutdoor icaps a patio tsaobfor oslalfresco a eW dining. ,ssalg ehtCrush yb senisiwyour 04 nKing aht eStreet rom htWest iw ,endestination iw rof noitanfor itswine, ed tsewith W temore ertS gthan niK r40 uoywines si hsuby rCthe glass, .enisiuc s’paired nosliWbrilliantly leahciM fwith ehCExecutive evitucexEChef htiw yMichael ltnaillirbWilson’s deriap cuisine. .unem rabCrush eht ffohas %0recently 5 gnirefflaunched o ,rab eht nai Cinq tpeS áá Sept qniC in a the dehbar, cnuaoffering l yltnece50% r sahoffhsthe urCbar menu. .krow fo kA eegreat w lufsway sertstoaunwind retfa dnafter iwnuaostressful t yaw taeweek rg A of work. tseW tWe eertlook S gnforward iK 554 .to noseeing os uoy you gniesoon. es ot d455 rawrKing of koStreet ol eW West moc.rabeni416-977-1234 whsurc.www • www.crushwinebar.com 4321-779-614 10

CityBites

photos: Jeff Coulson

foreign correspondents

stuff

By Signe Langford

Trudeau Twin Appetizer Spoon

Be your own caterer. These fine china spoons hold two bite-size hors d’oeuvres at once, and make you look like you really know what you’re doing and that you’ve got this whole holiday entertaining thing figured out and you never even broke a sweat!

Carolans Light Irish Cream Liqueur

All the creaminess, richness, flavour, and 50 percent less fat. Awesome in coffee, in a cocktail, over ice or ice cream. And just think, this holiday season you may only pack on five, not the usual 10, extra pounds. Hallelujah!

$11.99/set of 6 from iQ Living, 542 Danforth Ave., 416-466-2727, iqliving.com

$24.95/750mL at the LCBO. Recipe for Carolans Light Latte on p. 19.

Whisky Stones by Teroforma

This set of nine whisky Stones are milled in Vermont by the oldest soapstone workshop in the United States. Pop ’em in the freezer and a couple of hours later enjoy a wee dram, perfectly chilled, not watered down. $28/set of nine stones at La Merceria, 506 Adelaide St. W., 416-848-0057, lamerceria.ca

Hall’s Kitchen Vegetarian Soups, Stews, and Sauces

Slow food is good. Slow food fast— as in, open a jar and heat—is positively miraculous! We like that the ingredients are vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, local and organic. But mostly, we love that the big, chunky veggies are still firm and the small-batch broths are rich, satisfying and flavourful. $8.99 at Fresh & Wild, 69 Spadina Ave., 416-979-8155. For a full list of retailers: hallskitchen.ca

Karim Rashid SodaStream Starter Kit

Simple to use, convenient as all get out, and designer Karim Rashid makes it pretty! No more lugging cans of soda water—a tremendous waste of cash and carbon. A single $30 cartridge carbonates about 60 litres—then trade it in for a fresh one (by mail or at retailers). Kit comes with two refillable bottles, CO2 canister and two flavoured syrups. $139.99 at Sears Eaton Centre and Nella Cucina, 876 Bathurst St., 416-922-9055, NellaCucina.ca.

photo: xxxxxxxxx

For other retailers or to order online: sodastream.ca

Win with CityBites!

We have one Karim Rashid SodaStream kit to give away! Send your name and contact info to info@citybites.ca. Draw will take place Dec. 19, 2010. Winner will receive prize in January. Good luck!

Winter 2010/2011

11

the urban farmer

By Arlene Hazzan Green

Visions of Seedlings Get through winter with these great garden ideas The days are shorter, the nights are longer and the veggie patch, once ablaze with summer colour, has faded into shades of brown, gray, and white. In an act of self-preservation or therapy, the restless gardener starts making lists, pouring over seed catalogues, imagining the possibilities, and planning. The dead of winter is the perfect time to put your favourite gardening paraphernalia on your wish list. We’ve raked up a few tips and must-haves to help see you through.

Organic and Heirloom Seed Catalogue from Matchbox Garden and Seed Company

Start Planning! Local, organic growers Hanna Jacobs and Eric Rosenkrantz have assembled an intriguing, drool-inducing seed catalogue. Discover their unique collection of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, beans, herbs, flowers and more.

Window Sill Gardens

by EcoCulture Seracon

Seed packs $2 from matchboxgarden.ca or in the spring at the Sorauren and Trinity Bellwoods farmer’s markets.

A Gardeners Journal, $39.50

Keep Growing! It’s easy with these all-in-one growing kits that use organic heirloom seeds and earthfriendly Eco-coir (coconut fiber) as a soil-less growing medium. Just add water and in a few weeks you’ll have yummy greens, edible flowers, unusual herbs and more.

Starting at $20 from Blue Banana Market, 250 Augusta Ave.,

Garden Tools and

416-594-6600, bluebananamarket.

more at Lee Valley

com; or from seracon.ca.

Get going! You haven’t lived until you’ve ogled the gorgeous tools and gadgets at Lee Valley. It’s a wonderland of high quality goodies for the ardener. Here are a few of our faves.

590 King St., W, 416-366-5959, leevalley.com.

Lee Valley Garden Apron, $31

12

CityBites

Ergonomic Hand Tools set of 3, $34.50

Arlene Hazzan Green and Marc Green seek a simple country life in the big city.

Get gardening ideas and join The Backyard Urban Farm Company community at bufco.ca.

fresh

By Mary Luz Mejia

Jawny Bakers Newspaper Ad - OCT. 04 ’10

Eco-caviar Osetra, Beluga, Sterlet and Sevruga are in deep decline due to overfishing and habitat destruction, so savvy fisher-businessmen are stepping in with eco-friendly options.

Here are some great sources.

Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar

Cornel Ceapa’s inland farm raises both shortnosed and Atlantic sturgeon from New Brunswick’s St. John River, and he also harvests wild-caught Atlantic sturgeon for its meat and its glossy black-to-amber sevruga-like caviar. “The taste is buttery, nutty, lightly salty and just beautiful.”

(Caviar should never taste fishy, he says.

That indicates it was not processed or stored correctly, or at the right temperature.)

CITY BITES (4 COLOUR) 4.625” X 2.25”

$30 and up for 30 grams of the Acadian Classic Caviar from acadian-sturgeon.com; Summerhill Market, 446 Summerhill Ave., 416-921-2714, summerhillmarket.com; The Healthy Butcher, 565 Queen St. W, 416-674-2642, thehealthybutcher.com Calkins and Burke

This Oceanwise- and Seachoice-certified farmed B.C. salmon caviar appeals to North American preferences for a “cleaner, fresher taste,” says owner Fraser Rieche. He does wild caviar too. You may have already enjoyed his ruby-red, Coho Salmon caviar in Toronto’s sushi bars. The Arctic Char caviar produced in White Horse is a delicate, yellow-gold delicacy, and a new favourite of Chef Louis Charest, the Governor General’s cook. Char stocks are sold out, but you can pre-order for 2011. $10/100g for char and $15/lb wholesale salmon roe; 800-669-7992, calbur.com Aqua Gourmet

Montreal-made, 100 percent natural, kelpbased caviar contains zero-calories and comes in three flavours: sturgeon, salmon or truffle. You can bake and cook with it, toss it on a pizza, in a salad or set it out with the same fanfare as the real thing. $8.95/4 oz; 514-227-1120, aquagourmet.ca Akiwenzie’s Fish

Andrew and Natasha Akiwenzie fish the waters of western Georgian Bay for whitefish caviar prized by chefs “because it’s slightly salty and tastes fresh,” Natasha says. “It’s actually a beautiful pumpkin colour, and my sons love it because of how it pops on their tongue when they press the caviar to the roof of their mouths.” $18/oz in 2- and 8-oz jars at Wychwood, the Brick Works and Dufferin Grove.

Call ahead to check. 1-866-34-SMOKE, akiwenziesfish.blogspot.com Winter 2010/2011

13

Books

By Signe Langford

Read ’em and eat The Big Glossy Holiday Roundup of Delicious Food Books

Heston’s Fantastical Feasts

By Heston Blumenthal

In a wonderful twist of evolution, molecular gastronomy for its own sake is giving way— perhaps, creating the way—to high-drama, narrative, fantasies and nightmares. This is cookbook as history lesson wrapped in a circus act complete with pan-seared, blood-fattened leeches, an edible human skeleton, and tempura spam.

Verbatim: “I sliced a leech in two. It was firm inside. The blood had congealed. I put a piece in my mouth. ‘Hmmm,’ I said. ‘My first taste of goose blood-stuffed fried leech.” ($56, Penguin)

14

CityBites

American Cookery

My Calabria

By James Beard

By Rosetta Costantino

A classic tome by an American culinary hero. It’s beautiful in its simplicity and will become your goto reference for all those dishes that make up the foundation of North American food.

Verbatim: “While I do not overlook the grotesqueries of American cooking, I believe we have a rich and fascinating food heritage that occasionally reaches greatness in its own melting pot way.”

with Janet Fletcher

($43, Hachette Book Group)

Bobby Flay’s Throwdown!

By Bobby Flay, Stephanie Banyas and Miriam Garron

Companion to Flay’s TV show where he travels around the U.S. taking on local cooks—sometimes pros, usually not—and tries to beat them at their speciality. The show is actually watchable, and the book is full of silly, light-hearted fun… and recipes. Verbatim: “Captain D knows what it’s like to improvise a meal and has done so all over the world, from Japan to Iraq... he leads a company of 250 marines and every chance he gets, likes to treat them to a homemade meal.” ($31, Random House)

What could be more comforting and inspirational than gorgeous photos of rustic Calabrian bread, a centrefold of traditional, local salumi, a lesson in fern-wrapped, home-made ricotta, and a mouth-watering pizza of grilled zucchini and stuffed zucchini blossoms? Verbatim: “According to custom, a Calabrian girl was not ready to marry until she knew at least fifteen ways to transform flour and water into pasta.” ($40, Penguin)

French Food my Way

By Marc Thuet

Uh, with this dude, we can’t imagine there’s any other way. French culinary classics and techniques are the foundation for luxurious dishes created from local bounty. This is a serious book, for serious cooks, interested in Frenching chops and frogs’ legs, perfecting a velouté, or poaching bone marrow and eating raw duck. In other words, flexing some serious foodie muscle. Verbatim: “There’s something a little bit sad about the start of fall, when the sunshine goes away and the rains come—but then that makes me happy, too, because it means it’s time to dust off my guns and head to the woods and the wetlands.” ($39, Penguin)

At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple delectable

Simply in Season:

dishes from India, Pakistan,

12 months of Wine

Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka

Country Cooking

By Madhur Jaffrey

By Tony De Luca

The Ocean Wise Cookbook: Seafood recipes that are good for the planet Edited by Jane Mundy

Consider this a gorgeous, smart, deliciously compelling call to action.

It’s packed with pretty pictures, charts, advice on buying, keeping, cooking and serving seafood— and, of course, recipes from Canada’s top chefs.

Verbatim: “Many chefs who submitted recipes for this book used farmed seafood. Don’t ring the alarm—most of us have a misconception about farmed fish.”

Mouth-watering recipes and gorgeous photos should convince you to hit the QEW and visit De Luca’s Wine Country Restaurant in Niagara.

Recipes are seasonal, local, and divine. Some easy, some aspirational.

Verbatim: “Having a Mediterranean heritage has given me an intuitive understanding of what those three words mean.

There is beauty in simplicity. There is beauty in the seasons.” ($39.95, Whitecap)

($34.95, Whitecap)

World Cheese Book Compiled and edited

From the reigning queen of Indian cuisine comes another personal and practical guide, only this time, she’s speeded things up, reduced steps, and simplified recipes to mesh with our busy lives. Verbatim: “Lemon grass is grown on the edges of the more precipitous slopes of Sri Lanka’s numerous tea gardens.” ($40, Random House)

by Juliet Harbutt

A catalogue of happiness for any cheese-lover. Over 750 cheeses compiled by country, with history, tasting notes, descriptions of the cheese-making processes, and pairing and serving suggestions.

Did you know Japan is getting into the cheesemaking game? Verbatim: “Once eaten down in the pits by miners, the nickname of this cheese is Puant de Lille or the smelly cheese of Lille, because of its strong farmyard aroma.” ($30, DK Books)

Great Food at Home

By Mark McEwan with Jacob Richler

Not everyone can afford to dine at North 44, One and ByMark.

And perhaps doing the groceries at the McEwan’s boutique is out of reach. This book is the next best thing, though some of the recipes do call for extravagances like truffles, lobster, foie gras and can be long and complicated for the average cook. Verbatim: “Pallid factory chickens raised beakless in a fluorescent-lit barn are not the thing to showcase in our recipe for rustic roast chicken.” ($39, Penguin)

Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home

By Nigella Lawson

Three Sisters Around the Greek Table

By Betty, Eleni and Samantha Bakopoulos Following these recipes may be the only way to enjoy authentic Greek food in Toronto, and leafing through the pages is to truly understand that Greek cuisine— braised meats, roasted potatoes and cheese— is serious comfort food.

Verbatim: “Like love, good food is comforting.

For those preparing it, it is rewarding. For those who share in the feast, it is life-affirming.”

Oh, Nigella, you vixen, you temptress! Have you no shame, no sense of decency? Bright green grasshopper pie? No-churn pina colada ice cream?

Slut’s spaghetti? Verbatim: “My greed doesn’t confine itself to eating food. I love reading about it, too. My collection of cookery books is now nearing 4,000. ($55, Random House)

($34.95, Adelfes)

Featuring an extensive wine list that focuses on artsinal producers from Ontario and around the world.

“Co-owner Dave Billington leads a smooth, friendly staff and has put together a wine list that favours Ontario stars at bargain prices.” JAMES CHATTO, TORONTO LIFE 234 King St. East | 416.363.8447 | info@localfare.ca | localfare.ca 9HULWDVB&LW\%LWHV$GB$SULO LQGG

30

Winter 2010/2011

15

reality check

By Joy McCarthy

‘Canadian’ honey, eh?

16

The Original Coffee-Chocolate Pinotage from Diemersfontein Six Times Rated South Africa’s Favorite Red Wine “Prepare to be blown away,” The World’s Best Value Reds, Decanter Vintages Release: December 11, 2010 Item #956409, Price: $19.95

Come to a free “Spot Light Tasting” at some of Toronto’s top restaurants starting December 13 To find out where, follow @azureau on twitter.com

Winter in Wine country

TASTE THE SEASON

niagara-on-the-lake

Weekends in November

STOCKING DAYS OF CHRISTMAS December 1 to 31

Winter is a great time for wine enthusiasts, first-time visitors and lovers of Icewine Country to explore this unforgettable place. With the busy harvest season behind us and the crowds of summer gone, you’ll enjoy a serene touring experience. Visit our website for details on our lineup of winter events.

www.wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com

ER ENTLINE N O IN y

ICEWINE FESTIVAL

TO W

tr Coun Wine ter in nd a Win Weeke ckage!

Pa way Geta

January 1 to 31

a win ne to taway e r onli Ente ountry G !

C d Wine Weeken

Winter in Wine country

DAYS OF WINE AND CHOCOLATE

niagara-on-the-lake

Weekends in February

TWENTY-FIVE DISTINCTIVE WINERIES.

CbY ibZcf[YhhUV`Y d`UWY"

CityBites client

Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake

client contact

AD SPECIFICATIONS WHERE APPLIABLE

photo: Billy Bee

All honey is not created equal. For one, most of the honey we buy has been pasteurized, which means it has been heated to a high temperature, killing contaminants— and this is both good and bad. When honey is mass-produced and sourced from all over the world, it needs to be pasteurized to ensure it’s “clean.” The bad news is, the goodfor-us enzymes, anti-bacterial properties and nutrients can be zapped out too. Along with much of the flavour.

Keith Gibbons, president and CEO of McCormick Canada, says that Billy Bee is “the largest processor of Canadian honey in Canada.” The label says “a blend of Canadian and Argentine honey,” but the proportions remain secret. Gibbons confirms that Billy Bee contains honeys “…sourced from other parts of the world, always in compliance with Canadian standards.”

Why does buying local honey matter?

Local and raw honey is full of natural enzymes, anti-bacterial properties, nutrients, and mega-watt flavour, and it’s available at specialty shops and farmers’ markets. The majority of local beekeepers don’t need to pasteurize—they know where their honey is from and how it’s handled. If they do apply heat, as John Crowther from Clover Roads Organic Farm advises, it’s never to a higher degree than would naturally occur in the hive under the summer sun. They also allow the bee to decide when it’s time to harvest the honey. Harvest takes place after the bees have “capped the comb,” which means there is very little chance it will ferment or grow bacteria. Mass honey is harvested on a production schedule, which bees tend not to follow.

Erika Van Alten, retail manager at Dutchman’s Gold, producers of 100% Canadian honey, says raw honey helps to heal wounds, may prevent allergies, soothes a sore throat and may even reduce the risk of diabetes. Local honey is helpful with allergies because bees gather nectar from the flowers where you live. Eating that honey will help build your immunity against those very same flowers giving you a runny nose. But please remember, honey is not recommended for babies under one year.

Joy McCarthy RNCP, CNP (joyoushealth.ca) is busy as a bee with her holistic nutrition business. Got a food item that needs a reality check? Tell us about it: info@citybites.ca.

How to eat, drink, and keep warm and happy

Winter

Survival

Guide Go forth and eat!

Winter food events to keep you hopping

By Rebecca LeHeup

illustration: ©istockphoto.com/browndogstudios; photo: Jeff Coulson

December 4 Stratford Tasting Events Foster’s Inn, Stratford Join presenters Kristene Steed from Rheo Thompson Candies and Chris Giuliani of Chateau des Charmes on Dec. 4 for a wine and chocolate tasting.

Then, on Dec. 18, Kristene will be back at Foster’s with Scotch enthusiast Esther Brown for the fourth and final tasting of the holiday series, Scotch and Chocolate. Info at welcometostratford.com.

Foster’s Inn, 111 Downie St. Stratford, 519-271-1119 December 3 - 12 Lowe’s Toronto Christmas Market The Distillery, Toronto Noon to 8 p.m. daily, stroll along cobblestone lanes beneath twinkling lights and really get into ye olde Christmas spirit. This free fest recreates Old World charm while showcasing local handcrafted products.

The Distillery, 55 Mill St., 416-364-1177, torontochristmasmarket.com December 10 Terra Madre Day Wychwood Barns, Toronto Join Slow Food Toronto for Terra Madre Day at the Stop Community Food Centre. From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., help celebrate Ontario’s local food communities with deli-

cious dishes and familyfriendly activities.

The Stop, 601 Christie St., slowfood.to Apple Pie Trail The Blue Mountains, Grey Bruce County The Apple Pie Trail is a self-guided tour that welcomes visitor’s year round to discover restaurants, cafes, shops and farm markets that showcase the many taste’s of the apple in Grey Bruce County. applepietrail.ca December 18 Winter Festival Evergreen Brick Works One of Toronto’s only all-season farmers’ markets. Celebrate the solstice with food stations, buskers, a parade and more, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Ave., 416-596-1495, ebw. evergreen.ca january 14 - 30 Niagara Icewine Festival Various Locations, Niagara It’s all things icewine—well, actually everything wine—with winery tours, ice bars, nibbles like fire-roasted

chestnuts and a big, jolly Gala blowout.

For a list of participating wineries, visit icewinefestival.com weekends in feb.

Days of Wine & Chocolate Various Wineries, Niagara-on-the-Lake Enjoy both classic and unexpected pairings of VQA wines with locally handcrafted chocolates. It’s the ideal complement to a romantic weekend or a perfect girls’ getaway.

905-468-1950, wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com march 23 - april 16 Countylicious Various Locations, Prince Edward County Enjoy four weeks of culinary madness at Countylicious (613393-2796, countylicious.ca). On March 26 – 27, Maple in the County (mapleinthecounty.ca) is a sweet celebration of first harvest of maple syrup.

And for some fun while you learn, sign up for a country cooking class at From the Farm Cooking School. fromthefarm.ca

Hungry for more?

Visit ontarioculinary.com for ideas to keep you going all winter!

Rebecca LeHeup is the Executive Director of the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance). Follow her adventures on Twitter @OntarioCulinary.

Get a glow on at Ceili Cottage.

Cozy up at these smokin’ spots

Fire Places

By Leanne Delap

It is shocking to find so few fireplaces gracing restaurants and bars in this city, one that’s pretty chilly from about October to May. And that’s a shame, because, other than the promise of drinks by a roaring fire, the only thing that could lure me out of my cozy home on a cold winter’s night would be a hot man dandling a bottle of tequila. I do, however, cringe at the memory of a midnight long ago, when the legendary fireplace at The Roof bar on the 18th floor of The Park Hyatt (4 Avenue Rd., 416925-1234) seduced me into some ill-advised canoodling with a man far too young for me and who may have been in my employ. Today, the fire still dances merrily in the legendary room, the martinis are still turned out flawlessly by Joe, and the city view from the terrace still sparkles, while movie stars and local tipplers alike all do their ill-advised canoodling far above the city’s cares below.

I also have a very soft spot for The Fifth (225 Richmond St. W., 416979-3100). In winter the converted warehouse still has it’s prohibition secret feel, with entry off the service elevator. And the roaring fire bathes the whole dining area in a glow. Diamonds and sequins do look so much better by firelight.

More hot spots— I have some terrific memories of languid literally! city getaways at Hotel Le Germain (30 Mercer Dora Keogh, 141 Danforth Ave., 416-778-1804, allens.to St., 416-345-9500), where the lobby fireplace Mye Japanese, 143 Church St., is a great place to meet for a drink. I think Oakville, 905-849-8989, myerestaurant.ca you have to be staying on site to use the The Drake, 1150 Queen St. W., 416honour bar, but the beds here are so big and 531-5042, thedrakehotel.ca white and fluffy that I say skip dining out, C’est What, 67 Front St. E., 416-867-9499, cestwhat.com and camp overnight with a pizza in bed.

The Keg Mansion, 515 Jarvis St., Heartier souls gather ’round the city’s only 416-964-6609, kegsteakhouse.com outdoor fire pit on the patio of Ceili Cottage (1301 Queen St. E., 416-406-1301). Inside the bar proper is a scene of traditional Irish fiddling as well as traditional Irish pint chasing, and behind the bar, a tiny cast-iron stove smolders imported Irish peat.

Leanne Delap is a pyromaniac who writes about shiny pretty things. Her idea of perfect happiness is a face cord of well-stacked dry hardwood.

Winter 2010/2011

17

winter survival guide

Winter hot spots Rating the heat at Toronto’s

By Kerry Knight outdoor patios Canadians are too hearty a people to let Old Man Winter bully us indoors. Lucky for us, Toronto is blessed with a vibrant patio scene, even in winter, with many of this city’s restaurants and bars keeping their patios open all year. Some have heated floors and walls, some wood-burning fireplaces and pot-bellied stoves, but most joints erect a Tinman’s forest of propane-fueled “hot trees.”

We rounded up and rated a selection, based on the international scale of toques: The fewer the toques, the warmer the patio.

This Yorkville institution has been pulling pints for Bono every year when he pops in for a Guinness during TIFF. They also boast the most outdoor patio space in Toronto. Covered with thick plastic sheeting, this patio is the perfect place to tuck into a Kiwi lamb burger while snowflakes swirl harmlessly by. The Patio: Three patios, accommodating about 250. Designated smoking area.

142 Cumberland St., 416-968-2828, hemmingwaysbistro.com

Hey Lucy Café Pizza fired in a wood-burning oven is the main draw at this rockin’ joint, which brings fun, casual dining to the Annex, especially with $3.99 martini Wednesdays. The Patio: Licensed for 75, smoking permitted. 440 Bloor St., 416-967-9670, heylucy.ca

Utopia Café & Grill A wide selection of burgers—beef, bison, lamb, chicken and veggie—and poutine with merguez sausage and brie, or vegetarian with sautéed mushroom, goat cheese and veggie gravy. Sixteen years in, they also serve brunch on weekends till 4 p.m. They don’t take reservations, and the joint tends to fill up, but there’s usually room on the patio! The Patio: Licensed for 40, semi-enclosed so, no smoking. 586 College St., 416-534-7751, utopiacafe.ca

Harbour Sixty Steakhouse This is the spot for whooping it up on your father-in-law’s nickel.

At this magnificent 1917 heritage building-turned-steakhouse, feast on upscale grub like truffled mac and cheese, lobster and mango “martini”, foie-gras poutine or applewood-smoked salmon. Park yourself in front of the fireplace and light up a Cohiba Behike. The Patio: Licensed for 60, smoking permitted.

60 Harbour St., 416-777-2111, harboursixty.com

The Drake Hotel Come November, the Drake’s Sky Yard is converted into an après ski chalet, with a roaring fire-pit, and a weekend hey loft bar, serving up warm cocktails, marshmallows for roasting and spiced Ontario peanuts. Of course, order anything from foie gras to bologna from Chef Anthony Rose’s eclectic menu. The Patio: Licensed for 60, smoking permitted. 1150 Queen St. W., 416-531-5042, thedrakehotel.ca

18

CityBites

The Drake’s Sky Yard goes après-ski chic for winter.

Endless summer Come in out of the cold and get your market on

By Maia Filar It had to happen: frost, blustery winds, and snow has shut down most of Toronto’s beloved farmers’ markets. But there are a few places where summer lives eternal…

St.Lawrence Market

Toronto’s first market still reigns supreme with over 50 vendors offering great local meat, fresh (but foreign) produce, cheese galore, and more. We love the Ontario lamb at White House Meats and Mennonite chickens at Di Liso’s.

Open all year. 92 Front St. E, 416392-7120, stlawrencemarket.com

Fiesta Farms

The Green Belt is laid out before you in the stellar produce section.

Pick up local dairy products, meats and even organic hummus! Keep your eyes peeled for local chefs.

200 Christie St, 416-537-1235, fiestafarms.ca

The Big Carrot, Carrot Common

Much more than just a grocery store, this healthful little plaza in Greektown offers organic produce, a tasty salad bar of prepared foods, massage treatments, health food, gourmet coffee and more.

348 Danforth Ave., 416-466-2644, carrotcommon.com

Arx Fine Foods

This Lebanese gem in the ’nabe known as Lawrence of Arabia feels like a bazaar, with café, sweets, exotic fruits and veggies—fresh dates and pistachios, seven types of eggplant and the coolest zebra zucchinis perfect for hollowing out and stuffing. Hot out of the oven za’atar pitas make the trip to Scarborough totally worth it.

1909 Lawrence Ave. E. 416-755-5084, arzbakery.com

Summerhill Market

Yes, this yuppie Mecca carries expensive organic, local and heirloom produce, but it’s some of the best that big money can buy!

Meat and fish counters, prepared foods and gourmet goodies make grocery-shopping fun again— even in the dead of winter.

446 Summerhill Ave., 416-921-2714, summerhillmarket.com

Culinarium

Devoted entirely to Ontario products, this mid-town spot encourages patrons to get involved through tastings, cooking classes and farm tours.

705 Mount Pleasant Rd., 647-430-7004, culinarium.ca

Highland Farms

A 40-year-plus family business, this suburban chain has been doing the local thing for longer than most. Find dinner essentials, rarities and hard to find ethnic goods like Armenian cheese and Eastern European goodies.

Locations throughout Vaughan, Scarborough, Mississauga and North York, highlandfarms.ca

The Stop’s Green Barns Farmers’ Market

Real farmers, really good food, and vendor favorites like Vickie’s Veggies Farm and Monforte Dairy round out this Saturday-only, kidfriendly spot where you can’t help but run into someone you know.

601 Christie St., 416-651-7867, thestop.org

illustration: ©istockphoto.com/kathykonkle

Hemmingway’s

Make winter bright at Fiesta Farms.

Burns Fever

By Nigella Lawson

Slow roasted pork belly Excerpted from Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home (Random House) There are a few meals I can say I’m making that will make my children excited (or pretend to be), and this is one of them. Alongside there must be Pie Insides (which is what my daughter has always called leeks in white sauce) and for ultimate gratification, roast potatoes. Although I usually use goose fat for roast potatoes, I feel the pork belly allows, indeed encourages, the substitution of lard. I’m not convinced that with all that fabulous crackling you do need roasties as well, but I like to provide what makes people happy. I actually prefer noodles or a bowl of plain, steamed brown basmati rice, and urge you to consider either; and I love to sprinkle a little rice vinegar on my own plate of pork as I eat.

This is another of those recipes that you can get done in advance and then have the afternoon off, unworried. I have advised an overnight marinade, but if I’m making this (as I tend to) for Sunday supper, I often prepare it in the morning and leave it in the fridge loosely covered with baking parchment, or midday-ish and leave it uncovered in a cold place (but not the fridge) for a few hours.

Get kilted up and hit these bars

By Valerie Howes The toast of candlelit dive bars in his lifetime (1759 – 1796), Rabbie Burns is still revered as a poet and a Scottish national hero. He wrote enduring works such as “Auld Lang Syne,” “Tam o’ Shanter” and “Address to a Haggis.” And he rocked a frilly blouse. To honour the Bard this year, on Jan. 25, get blootered, get romantic and get a bellyful of sheep’s innards— literally—at these Toronto Scot-spots.

Serves 6 – 8 • 4 lb (1.75 kg) pork belly, rind scored • • • •

The Auld Spot

4 x 1 tbsp (15mL) tahini 4 x 1 tbsp (15mL) soy sauce juice 1 lemon juice 1 lime

You can dine to the droan of bagpipes, without having to yell across the table, at the Auld Spot’s intimate Greektown location. While it’s a piper in full garb (Hugh Bramley) who addresses the haggis on Burn’s Night, he keeps his instrument in its case. A recording of “Scotland the Brave” is played gently over the PA as the haggis is stabbed, and portioned out to a packed room of diners. The dessert menu features Granny’s high-cal classics, like sherry trifle. A short Burns reading and toast complete the ceremony. 374 Danforth, 416-406-4688, auldspot.ca

photos: (left) courtesy random house; (right) ©istockphoto.com/hammondovi

Get out a shallow dish in which the scored pork will fit snugly and in it whisk together Slow-cooked pork: easy, tasty, kid-friendly. the tahini, soy sauce, lemon and lime juice.

Sit the pork on top, skin side up. You should find the marinade covers the underside and most of the sides, but doesn’t touch the rind: that’s what you want.

Leave the pork in the fridge to marinate overnight, covered with foil, and then take out to return to room temperature before it goes into the oven.

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F. Get out a shallow roasting tin and line with foil. Transfer the pork to the roasting tin and cook it uncovered for 3 1/2 hours, then turn the oven up to 250°C/480°F and cook for a further 1/2 hour to let the skin crisp to crunchy burnished perfection.

Make Ahead Note: The pork can be marinated for up to 1 day. Cover and store in refrigerator until needed.

The Granite Brewery There’s a two-night Burns love-in at this homey venue, with its grand fireplace in the private dining room where festivities take place Friday and Saturday. In their 19th year of paying homage to the Bard, the Granite Brewery offers a beer-dinner menu, pairing the likes of Scotch broth with Ringwood Ale or haggis from Allen’s Scottish butcher with the house stout. Piper Kevin Patt of the 48th Highlanders Regiment offers the soundtrack to the evening and Graham Small makes his famously dramatic address to the haggis. $50, taxes and tip all in. 245 Eglinton E., 416-322-0723,

Winter Sips

granitebrewery.ca

Sommelier and citizen of the world Zoltan Szabo on what he’ll be sipping to keep warm this winter.

The Ceili Cottage

... Sandeman Vau Vintage Port 2000 ($29.95) It’s a warm embrace

Chef Kyle will minister to your hunger with his homemade “wee beastie”—the hero of a haggis-and-whiskey pairing menu. And before you tuck in, the main course will be heralded with pipes, and addressed by Kyle’s wife Lorraine, who like the Bard hails from Moffat. Post-dinner entertainment includes curling on the dinky rink set up out front. 1301 Queen Street E., 416-406-1301,

on a cold winter day. Blueberries, cassis, mint and violet aromas

ceilicottage.com

accompany a superb texture, and very well balanced.

Valerie Howes is a food editor from Scotland.

... Tawse 2007 Meritage ($57.95) Superb, rich and warm, and full of berry, sweet oak, vanilla crème brulée, chocolate and spice.

Perfect with wild game or simply for sipping with the one you love.

... Palazzo

della Torre IGT 2007 ($25) This winter warmer is deep, dense and concentrated. Black fruit preserves and floral accents and a superlong, warm, finish. An incredible bargain so stock up. It’s a long winter ahead.

... St-Germain Delice de Sureau Liqueur Artisanale

($49.95) This elderflower liqueur is all floral and exotic aromas, while the flavour is pure, sweet and simply delicious. Moderate alcohol, and in perfect balance, offering a lingering but clean finish.

... Krug

Grande Cuvée Brut ($269.95) This is what you ask Santa for! Full bodied with a superb complexity, depth and ample mousse, intense and persistent, yet so damn elegant and sophisticated. Vibrant star anise, pineapple, yellow apple, chalk, smoke, sweet musk, mineral.

All product available at Vintages as of press time.

Carolans Light Latte Just in time for the holidays, this light version of Carolans Irish Cream whacks half the fat out of the usual tipple.

Merry, merry!

• 1oz Carolans Light • 1oz Jameson Irish Whiskey • Whipped cream for topping, optional

Pour ingredients into an Irish coffee mug and fill with hot coffee.

If you’re feeling more naughty than nice, top with whipped cream

and enjoy while piping hot. A few chocolate shavings or candy

cane wouldn’t hurt, either!

Winter 2010/2011

19

By Tony de Luca

winter survival guide

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Hazelnut-Caramel Sauce Excerpted from Simply in Season: 12 months of Wine Country Cooking (Whitecap)

When I worked at the Chewton Glen hotel in New Milton, southern England, I was billeted with a wonderful couple, John and Mariam Upjohn. This is one of Mrs. Upjohn’s recipes, and it’s still one of my favourite wintertime “puddin’s.”

Serves 6 • • • • •

Ambiance Chocolat does it right. And rich.

Hot for chocolate What would a walk in snowy High Park or a day of skating at Nathan Philips Square be without the promise of a cup of blissfully belly-warming hot chocolate? We’re not talking about that weird powdered stuff from a packet or even that oily, wimpy, machine-made sludge. No, we’re talking about the real thing.

So, we polled CityBites’ Facebook fans for the best melted chocolate in a cup. Here’s what they told us.

Ambiance Chocolat Seventy percent French chocolate, 55 percent Belgian chocolate, 35 percent cream. ’Nuff said. 753A Queen St. E., 416-406-2462, ambiancechocolat.ca

Hollywood Gelato It’s made with Valrhona chocolate, so it’s not kiddie-sweet. It’s smooth, rich and topped with marshmallows. 1640 Bayview Ave., 416-544-9829, hollywoodgelato.ca

Soma Not only is the chocolate made from scratch—seriously, as in roasting and grinding and all that—can you think of more perfect surroundings than the cobblestone lanes of the Distillery, fat snowflakes drifting down, lights twinkling on bare branches?

Look, there’s Tiny Tim! 55 Mill St., The Distillery, 416-815-7662, somachocolate.com

Xococava Big props for the hot chocolate, and, they make churros for dipping—just the way nature intended. So, we’re thinking the perfect first winter date might be a little bubbly and tapas at Cava, then a stroll across the way for a bit of liquid love. 1560 Yonge St., 416-979-9916, xococava.ca

Chocosol Traders We’ve seen these earthy and earnest folks at markets around town, rubbing an ancient looking wooden tool between cocoa splattered hands, frothing and melting fair trade chocolate the old, old, fashioned way. 6 St. Joseph St., 4th Floor Cacao Loft, 416-923-6675, chocosoltraders.blogspot.com

20

CityBites

In a small saucepan, stir together the sugar and butter over low heat until melted and smooth. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture is golden brown and bubbly.

One of de Luca’s favourite Remove the saucepan from the heat wintertime puds. and, standing back in case the mixture splatters, stir in the cream until smooth.

Stir in the hazelnuts. Set aside until ready to serve. Warm the sauce over low heat just before serving.

Sticky Toffee Pudding • non-stick baking spray • 1 cup (250 mL) chopped pitted dates • 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda • 3/4 cup (185 mL) granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup (60 mL) unsalted butter, softened • 2 eggs • 2 Tbsp (30 mL) dark rum • 1 1/4 cups (310 mL) self-rising flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray six 3/4-cup (185 mL) ramekins with non-stick baking spray. In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/3 cups (330 mL) water to a boil over high heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the dates and baking soda until well combined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until light, creamy, and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the date mixture and rum, then add the flour, one spoonful at a time, continuing to whisk on low speed until well combined.

Divide the batter among the prepared ramekins, filling them not quite full.

Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of one of the puddings comes out clean.

Remove the puddings from the oven and let cool slightly.

To serve, loosen the edges of each pudding and invert the ramekins on 6 dessert plates, shaking slightly if necessary to release the puddings.

Drizzle hazelnut-caramel sauce over and around each pudding.

COLD APRICOT FLIP

By Christine Sismondo

Flips are a family of drinks that date back at least as far as the late 17th century. The warmth of brandy with the sweet tones of apricot remind that summer is not too far away.

Recipe makes two.

• • • • •

3 oz brandy 1 oz apricot brandy 1 egg 2 tsp sugar Fresh grated nutmeg or cinnamon for garnish

Put all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Dry shake (without ice) all ingredients except the garnish vigorously for one minute. Add ice and shake vigorously for another minute. Strain and pour into chilled glass. Grate fresh nutmeg on top.

Christine Sismondo’s book America Walks into a Bar: A Spirited History of America’s Taverns, Saloons, Speakeasies and Grog-Shops will be published

by Oxford University Press in June.

photo: (left) Jeff Coulson; (right) Courtesy Whitecap Books; (bottom) Christine Sismondo

By Signe Langford

Hazelnut-Caramel Sauce 2/3 cup (160 mL) granulated sugar 1/4 cup (60 mL) unsalted butter 1 1/3 cups (330 mL) 35% cream 1/4 cup (60 mL) toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Bubblicious The CityBites pro-am panel rates sparkling wines from around the world. Top performers are noted here.

Visit our Facebook page for more great sparklers. We’ll be posting individual reviews throughout December.

Scoring: 80-84 = good; 85-89 = very good; 90+ = excellent.

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut 90 | $42.65 Lovely fruity and savoury perfume. Toasty. Dry, austere, age-worthy.

Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Brut 2005 90 | $22.95 Outstanding and outstanding value. Solid, buttery, complex, lingering.

Vineland 2007 Brut 89 | $22.75 Shy nose, hints of lemon and

limestone. Complex, floral, balanced.

Huff Estates 2006 Cuvee 88 | $39.95

Big acidity, big flavours, big wine. Flinty, limestone. Thoroughly PEC. (huffestates.com) Jansz Premium Cuvee

By Dick Snyder

Serious Sparklers Henry of Pelham doesn’t make sparkling wine—they craft it The cool thing is this: The three brothers at Niagara’s Henry of Pelham started making sparkling wine from their estate-grown grapes back in 1992. Then they stopped. “We needed a full rethink,” says Dan Speck. Translation: The Speck boys don’t rush into anything. It was seven years before they’d release the first commercial vintage of their Cuvée Catherine non-vintage brut. Then, in 2002, they went into deep study, conducting 50 different “trials” as they experimented with grapes from different vineyards, time on lees, blending—basically manipulating every possible variable in order to set a baseline from which to observe the potential of their sparklers.

A big investment of time and money for a small winery, the gamble is paying off these many years later. At $29.95, the Brut and Rose Cuvées are consistently lauded and compared to Champagnes costing twice as much. Speck is particularly proud of his “late bottle disgorged” project, which demonstrates the age-ability of the 100 percent chardonnay juice that has spent six years on its lees (the yeast cell deposit that collects in the bottle over time). It’s during this process that much of the complex flavours integrate into the wine. These reserve wines will be released to the public, eventually. In the meantime, Scaramouche is pouring the 2002 Catherine by the glass. Get there, and taste the crafting of history.

To arrange a tasting Henry of Pelham’s brand new sparkling wine cellar, contact winery@henryofpelham.com.

88 | $24.95 Fresh citrus & apple, med-full body, super crisp and easy. Tasmania rocks! (bwwines.com) Yellowglen Pink 88 | $11.95 Very pretty! A tad sweet, but complex for the price. Delicious.

Henry of Pelham Cuvee Catherine Rose 86 | $29.95 Dry, with red fruit nose. Berries and baked bread. Complex. Long finish.

Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial 86 | $60.40 Big, alcohol a tad high.

Bracing, pleasant, some sweetness.

Wolf Blass Sparkling Brut

The Fine Art of Indian Cuisine

85 | $16.85 Clean, balanced, nice mousse.

Doughy, shy lemon notes. A bit sweet.

Santa Margherita Prosecco Superior 85 | $17.95 Round and full, with citrus

hints, but bitter on the finish.

Angels Gate 2008 Archangel Blanc de Blanc 84 | $19.95 Very shy nose, minerality on palate. Grapefruit notes. (angelsgatewinery.com)

Tasting panel: Dick Snyder, Signe Langford, Zoltan Szabo, Michelle Paris and Tihana Maucen.

All product available at LCBO/Vintages unless noted otherwise.

1522 Bayview Ave., Toronto. Ontario M4G 3B4 For Reservations: 416.489.4899 kamasutraindianrestaurant.com

Now accepting reservations for the holiday season Winter 2010/2011

21

If you’ve been looking for a memorable way to celebrate the season, look to the CN Tower. 360 Restaurant offers an award-winning wine cellar and innovative cuisine in an unsurpassed setting, making it an impressive choice for any festive event. Our special Holiday Lunch Menu, now an annual tradition, is also available December 1 st – 24th.

So, if you haven’t considered the CN Tower for a holiday occasion, it’s time to take a closer look.

See the festive possibilities at cntower.ca 360 Restaurant Reservations: 416-362-5411 Group Holiday Events: 416-601-4718

Libations

By Stephen Beaumont

Suds, sips and scenic sessions First, beer…

When six years ago Ralph Morana of Bar Volo started up his “Cask Days” festival of cask-conditioned ale, he and I also began a tradition of gathering in the wake of the event to kvetch about the generally unremarkable, sometimes dull and occasionally disastrous state of the beers on offer. This year, however, that tradition died hard, as the late-October event featured more and better cask-conditioned beers than ever before—enough, even, to impress visiting British beer writer Pete Brown, author of the outstanding India pale ale travelogue, Hops & Glory.

This year’s event was greatly expanded to take in numerous days and several locations over the course of the month. The final Volo-based fest showcased numerous stand-out brews, including eight of Morana’s own brews, produced in co-operation with other brewers on the bar’s tiny nanobrewing system, such as the 3.5% Marathon Mild, which is as sessionable an ale as you could ever desire. Volo’s Due Punishment Imperial Red Ale also impressed, as did Duggan’s #12 Ontario Ale, the St. André Parkdale Harvest Ale, Cheshire Valley Mild and Charlevoix La Vache Folle ESB from Québec.

But the point of all this is less to praise the laudable beers than point out the dogged determination and overwhelming faith exhibited by Morana in his maintenance of these difficult and, it should be added, barely profitable events. If you find yourself with a pint of fine, domestic cask-conditioned ale in hand any time soon—and the Ontario brewer is anyone other than Wellington or the Granite—then you probably have Ralph Morana to thank.

Then Whisky, or Wysgi...

As summer slowly gave way to autumn, and thence quickly to early winter, a trio of interesting, light-bodied whiskies crossed my desk and my palate, at least two of which are deserving of your dollars. The third, well, I’m still not entirely sure just what the hell it is!

The world’s only Welsh whisky, or wysgi, as they say over there, is Perderyn (pronounced “Pen-dare-in” I recently learned). It’s a tropical fruity spirit, with vanilla, peach and singed orange peel notes in its aroma and a floral, soft fruit character that makes me think of Meyer lemon, peaches and apricots and edible flowers. An easy sipper, it makes for a lovely aperitif served straight and possesses a high degree of food-friendliness.

Less expensive but also proportionately less complex and rewarding is Century Reserve, which comes to us from Alberta’s Highwood Distillers via its Century Distillers arm. Its spicy aroma points to a reasonably high rye content in the grain bill, while the light, sweet and perfumey body will please fans of CC and Alberta Springs, upping the flavour quotient of their tipple for only a few dollars more.

Also from Century comes the new White Owl, a 10-year-old whisky that has had all its colour, and a chunk of its flavour, it seems, filtered out of it. What’s left is a spirit that smells somewhere between a whisky and a vodka, with a simplicity that belies its age and a character, offering the mouthfeel of a whisky with the mixing utility of a vodka. A spirit more at home in a Caesar than a Manhattan, methinks.

And Finally, Travel!

As I type these words, I’m a mere two weeks returned from escorting a tremendously successful beer cruise up the Rhine with Scenic tours, and deep in the planning stages for my next hosted beer expedition. This time, we’ll be taking in the Beer Paradise of Belgium, visiting breweries large and small, supping in some of that quirky country’s quirkiest and best cafés, and finishing up at Belgium’s largest and most note-worthy beer festival, Zythos!

If nine days sipping some of the best beer in the world, dining on Europe’s most satisfying cuisine (and getting a good dose of Stephen Beaumont still reflects fondly on the first time luxury and culture in between) sounds like he ever saw the Grand’Place in your idea of a little slice of heaven, surf on by Brussels, surely one of Europe’s www.worldofbeer.com or call Marlin Travel most beautiful squares, if not at 416-366-1961 for details. CB THE most beautiful.

Fill Das Glas With Fünf!

Simple and accessible, Fünf makes wine fun and easy.

Its light, fruity and well balanced.

Perfect for any occasion!

Das Glas

Fünf Riesling $9.95 LCBO #175026 www.hhdimports.com

Winter 2010/2011

23

The Ej

By Konrad Ejbich

Taste Buds, Molecules and Magic The real science of matching wine and food Every year, a flood of mediocre wine books swamps the pre-Christmas bookstore displays. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a new volume of tasting notes for exceptional wines I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford, and another extolling the virtues of someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite cheapies at your local government liquor store.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bound to be a book of portraits of famous Bordeaux chateaux and an annotated A watershed book. Read it. atlas of Napa vineyards, with recipes. One book purports to teach you to be a wine expert in five easy lessons, the next one over will do it in four. Sheesh!

Once in a while, though, a watershed wine book appears amidst the plethora of copycats and original dreck.

Taste Buds and Molecules by François Chartier (McClelland & Stewart, $39.99) is such a book.

And book committees around the world seem to agree: the original French edition, Papilles et Molecules, won the Best Innovative Food Book Award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and picked up a Special Interest Award at Cuisine Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual Canadian Culinary Book Awards.

Subtitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Art and Science of Food with Wine,â&#x20AC;? it provides a revolutionary way of creating perfect food and wine pairings by isolating and identifying specific aromatic compounds within the key components.

Forget the pretense that this is a simple read. It is not. This is a science book that will not satisfy someone looking for quick pairings and easy answers. Chartier is breaking new ground here, and fleeting dabblers need not apply. This book will fascinate sommeliers, chefs, winemakers and serious wine/food aficionados everywhere. They will study it for years.

Chartier is breaking new ground here, and fleeting dabblers need not apply.

Chartier knows of what he speaks. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the only Canadian to win the Sopexa Grand Prix for sommellerie in French wines and spirits. An earlier book, A Table avec François Chartier, is a Canadian bestseller and his annual wine buying guide is now in its 15th edition. He consults with top chefs, including Ferran Adria of Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s El Bulli, the mecca of molecular gastronomy, and occasionally demonstrates his art as he did last month in a special class at Nella Cucina.

Chartier approaches his craft from a scientific standpoint by studying aromatic elements at the molecular level. His fundamental premise is that every food smell or wine bouquet is a collection of unique basic aromas, just as all the variations of the rainbow exist by combining three basic colours: blue, red and yellow.

With food and wine, though, at a molecular level, those basic aromas may number in the hundreds, or possibly, thousands. Wines that share aromatic elements at a molecular level with specific foods will harmonize to create perfect food and wine marriages.

Chartier gave me one example thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not in the book. He talked about the mind-bending affinity between raspberries and nori, a type of seaweed used in the making of sushi. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wrap some raspberries in a konrad ejbich is a member of the Wine lightly-moistened square of nori Writersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Circle of Canada. He writes for and try it as a single bite, like a bonStyle at Home magazine and answers caller bon,â&#x20AC;? he recommends. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now sip questions on CBC. Radioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ontario Today. some Beaujolais Nouveau which has Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s currently updating his Pocket Guide similar molecular notes. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s magic.â&#x20AC;? to Ontario Wines, Wineries, Vineyards, & Vines. follow twitter.com/WineZone Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m hooked. CB

24

CityBites

(&5 -6$,: 8*5)

580 )"/%4

/08 "7"*-"#-& "5 5)& -$#0 1SJDF -$#0 i5IJT OFXDPNFS SFE GSPN %PXO 6OEFS IBT HPU UPOT HPJOH GPS JU 5IF BSPNBT TIPX CBZCFSSZ CMVFCFSSZ DFEBS BOE TNPLFE CBDPO 5IF TNPPUI UFYUVSFE øBWPVST BSF CPME BOE SJDI 8JUI SJQF CMBDLCFSSZ BOE CMBDL DIFSSZ EFQUI BOE TNPLFE NFBU 5IF ÜOJTI VOWFJMT NJOUZ WBOJMMB BOE DIFSSZ MFOHUI WBOJMMB BOE DIF (PSE 4UJNNFMM 5IF 5PSPOUP 4UBS

1PJOUT 7JTJU PVS XFCTJUF GPS EFUBJMFE JOGPSNBUJPO BCPVU PVS XJOFT UBTUJOH OPUFT 7JOUBHFT TUPSF MPDBUJPOT HJGU JEFBT BOE NPSF

XXX CXXJOFT DPN

Szabo on Wine

By John Szabo

The Theory of Wine Relativity Availability + Consistency + Quality + Fair Price = Value It doesn’t take Einstein to understand that everything in the world is relative, including value. Value doesn’t mean inexpensive, necessarily.

Value exists at all price levels. Krug Grande Cuvée ($254.15) is a far better value than Krug Clos d’Ambonnay Blanc de Noirs 1995 ($4,529).

These wines, however, are not inexpensive. So, here’s a more practical list based on more accessible criteria.

To qualify on my value list, a wine must be: + Available. You can find it at local retailers (LCBO, obviously). + Consistent. Year to year, it performs regardless of vintage. + A relative value. Compared to other wines of similar styles or from the same region. + Delicious. Enthusiastically recommended for the pleasure it delivers. + Inexpensive. A glass-with-Tuesday-night-dinner sort of price.

Gonzalez-Byass Nutty

Cusumano Nero d’Avola

Solera Oloroso Sherry

Sicily, Italy | $10

Andalucia, Spain | $12.95

One of the leading producers in Sicily’s recent quality revolution, Cusumano’s authentic expression of Nero d’Avola is a best buy year after year. It used to be priced at $14.95 when sold on consignment—good job negotiating.

LCBO #143164

Non-vintage sherry is by definition consistent in quality, and the vast reserves stored in the soleras (barrels) of giant Gonzalez Byass make the Nutty Oloroso a sure bet. Plus, the level of intensity and complexity for the price can scarcely be matched by any wine, anywhere. Vintages #35204

du Ventoux Rouge Bodegas Castaño

Rhône Valley, France | $11.95

Hécula Monastrel

The southern Rhône is an excellent source of fine value-formoney wines, and La Vieille Ferme has been delivering on the promise for decades. LCBO #263640

Cono Sur Pinot Noir

Trapiche Broquel Malbec

Yecla, Spain | $13.95

Casablanca Valley, Chile | $10.95

Mendoza, Argentina | $13.65

Virtually everything by Chile’s Cono Sur is worth a look, especially the pinot noir, which over-delivers on quality year after year at a price that makes most other pinot producers green with envy. LCBO #341602

Among the vast sea of malbec exported by Argentina today, Trapiche maintains an edge in sheer quality, consistency and value for money. Vintages #17210

A wine as reliable as the sunshine and warmth of southern Spain, Castaño’s Hécula monastrel is a perennial favorite of experts and casual drinkers alike.

Vintages #718999

Penfolds Koonunga

Quinta dos Carvalhais

Hill Shiraz-Cabernet

Duque de Viseu Red

Montalto Nero d’Avola Syrah

South Eastern Australia | $16.45

Dão, Portugal | $13.95

Sicily, Italy | $8.95

Penfolds may be a large company, but they are among the top producers from a continent that prides itself on consistency of style and quality wines. The Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet has been a classic since its launch in 1976. LCBO #285544

A region that deserves more international attention, the Dão turns out some wines full of flavour and character at very fair prices.

The Duque de Viseu line from Quinta dos Carvalhais—both red and white—are always a fine value. Vintages #546309

Popular international star meets local hero. Montalto’s Syrah-Nero d’Avola is a wine of surprising depth and complexity for the price, not to mention age-worthy, as a seven-year accidental experiment recently proved. LCBO #621151

Vieille Ferme Côtes

Miguel Torres Coronas Tempranillo

Cataluña, Spain | $13.95

A juicy, spicy, highly food-friendly wine that won’t wow with depth and concentration, but then again it won’t matter because the bottle will be empty before you notice.

LCBO #29728 john szabo is wine editor of CityBites, buyer for the Terroni Group of Restaurants and reviewer for WineAlign.com.

Catch his wine picks and news via twitter @johnszabo.

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

Lifford Wine Agency

Profile Wine Group

416-531-5553 www.bwwines.com

416-440-4101 or toll-free 1-877-272-1720 www.LiffordWine.com

416-598-0033 www.profilewinegroup.com

B&W Wines offers a portfolio of iconic and boutique wineries: Penley Estate, Lillypilly, Two Hands and Jansz from OZ; Darioush and Testarossa in California; Argentinean Bodegas Weinert; Barolos from Brovia, Rhone-Ranger Jean-Luc Colombo and Douro producer Quinta de Ventolezo.

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. Cakebread Cellars, Maison Louis Jadot, Felton Road, Felsina and Hollick, to name just a few.

Like you, we are Passionate about quality wine. Our Passion.

At your service. Please check out our web site for our entire list… it is full of high quality wines at every price point.

Winter 2010/2011

25

one last bite

By Signe Langford

Sea change

photos: Jo Dickens

Chowdering down for ocean awareness

From left: Marben’s offering; winners Kouprie and Bendig from Pangaea; Jamie Kennedy with judges.

“Only the pure of heart can make soup.”

Beethoven said that. That must have been one damn fine bowl of soup. We think it’s fair to say that there were a lot of pure hearts—nine to be exact—gathered together in November at the Ocean Wise Chowder Chowdown held at The Fairmont Royal York, because there was an awful lot of really good soup. For a really good cause: to raise awareness of the plight of our oceans and to drive the message home that sustainable is delicious. Alexandra Cousteau was there—yes, that Cousteau, and the founder of Blue Legacy. Mill Street was there too... Betelgeuse BelgianStyle Tripel and chowder… mmmmmm. And the winner— other than you and me and the deep blue sea, of course— Pangaea chefs Martin Kouprie and Derek Bendig with their oyster-stuffed bun-topped shellfish with lingcod “bacon” chowder. Learn more about the cause at oceanwise.ca.

26

CityBites

Proudly one hundred years behind the times. $W &UHHPRUH 6SULQJV ZH OLNH RXU EHHU WKH ROG IDVKLRQHG ZD\ %UHZHG LQ VPDOO EDWFKHV LQ DQ RSHQ Á DPH FRSSHU NHWWOH ZLWK ORFDO VSULQJ ZDWHU WKH À QHVW EDUOH\ PDOW LPSRUWHG QREOH KRSV DQG VHOHFW \HDVW 1R DGGLWLYHV QR SUHVHUYDWLYHV QR SDVWHXUL]DWLRQ DQG QR FRPSURPLVHV

:K\ QRW WU\ RQH RI RXU IUHVK DGGLWLRQV WR WKH &UHHPRUH 6SULQJV IDPLO\ DYDLODEOH DW \RXU ORFDO /&%2 7KH %HHU 6WRUH RU À QH OLFHQVHG HVWDEOLVKPHQW

&KHHUV 7KH IRONV DW &UHHPRUH 6SULQJV