Good Food Toronto

Toronto BBQ Week 2016

2016-06-08T23:56:00.003-04:00

Toronto BBQ Week is happening this week! From June 6-12, BBQ restaurants will be teaming up with Samuel Adams Beer to offer a $15 BBQ and Beer deal. Each restaurant will be serving Samuel Adams Boston Lager, a robust lager that compliments the rich flavours of BBQ. I got a chance to preview 3 of these spots with a few of my friends- @goodfoodjess, @doctornom and @gooddrinkstoronto! We went on our own #BBQWeekTO tour on sunday night.

Greenwood Smokehouse on the Danforth was our first stop. They served Smoked Pastrami Short Ribs on mashed cauliflower. Amazingly tender smoked ribs on the bone. I highly recommend this one, tasted great with beer. $15 for Toronto BBQ Week (includes a pint of Samuel Adams Boston Lager)

We then headed to AAA Public House in East Chinatown, where we got to enjoy another round of beers on their sun filled Patio. For Toronto BBQ Week, they are featuring a Chopped Brisket Sandwich. Brisket is sautéed in BBQ sauce and served with a pickle and spicy pepper on top. $15 for Toronto BBQ Week (includes a pint of Samuel Adams Boston Lager)

Our last stop of the night was Hogtown Smoke in The Beaches. Everyone was feeling pretty full, until they brought out a super juicy Texas-Style Brisket Sammie! Oh man, this sandwich was delicious and came with choice of creamy coleslaw, purple coleslaw or fries . The cuts of brisket were quite fatty and had some tasty burnt ends. $15 for Toronto BBQ Week (includes a pint of Samuel Adams Boston Lager)

We had a great time restaurant hopping at these BBQ spots and you can do your own #BBQWeekTO tour this week too! Check out more info at torontobbqweek.com and here is a list of the participating restaurants :

AAA Public House
Barque Butcher Bar
Beer Bistro
Boots & Bourbon
Broncos
Campagnolo
Dog & Bear
Greenwood Smokehouse BBQ
Hogtown Smoke
Pai
Parts & Labour
Patois
Pukka
Smoque N Bones
The Harbord Room

Contest Alert: Menchie's Scratch & Win

2016-05-11T16:19:00.000-04:00

Spring is in the air and frozen yogurt is the perfect treat when it’s hot out. If you have eaten at Menchie’s before, you have probably experienced some of their 128 froyo flavours and 50+ toppings. Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt is launching a few new products this spring including 100% natural fruit smoothies and a new Skor frozen yogurt flavour.

They are running a contest with digital Scratch and Win cards where you can win instant win prizes or a grand prize 7 night trip for 2 to to the 5-star Dreams Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa in the Mayan Riviera. No purchase necessary and you can access the digital scratch card contest in the link below . When participants scratch, they’re scratching for instant win prizes including froyo discounts and each entry will also receive a pin to enter for the grand prize contest. The contest runs until Sunday May 15, 2016 11:59 EST. The instant win discounts can be used at any of the 106 Menchie’s locations across Canada. Menchie’s yogurt products are gluten-free, vegan, kosher certified and you can even get custom made cakes frozen yogurt and toppings.

Enter Menchie’s Digital Scratch and Win Contest

Cooking with Zwilling

2016-05-10T17:34:00.000-04:00

Written by Stephanie K aka @doctornom (Good Food Toronto guest writer)

I have come to the unfortunate realization that I have been dicing, chopping and cutting with a DULL knife my entire life!

I had the pleasure of attending a knife skills seminar led by Chef Jonathan Collins at the beautiful Montecito Restaurant located in the heart of the entertainment district.I walked in and noticed quirky Ghostbusters memorabilia dispersed throughout the 12,000 square foot, two-story restaurant. I later discovered Montecito Restaurant is a collaboration between Toronto native Hollywood direction Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Stripes, Meatballs) and Top Chef Master Jonathan Waxman.

The Zwilling J.A. Henckels event was in a curtained off area upstairs with produce, cutting boards and knives in front of each seat.

We started out the skills class by learning the proper way to hold a knife so that it is an extension of your arm. The pinch grip has your thumb and index finger grasping the hilt of the knife giving maximum control. I think most people feel like cooking takes a long time from having to prep all the ingredients. But it’s really amazing how a sharp knife and proper grip make for quick and easy food preparation.

The next part of the knives seminar was truly enlightening. That metal rod we all have that comes with our set of knives is actually called a ‘Honing Rod’ not a knife sharpener. Believe it or not we’re actually supposed to use the honing rod after every use to maintain optimal sharpness. Most people don’t, so when you’re knives get real dull that’s when a sharpening stone comes out to play. Whether you’re honing or stoning, 6 pounds of pressure is needed to sharpen your utensil effectively. You’d be surprised how much pressure 6 pounds actually is. Also, sharpening or honing at 15 degree angle is suggested but consistency is much more important.

(President of Zwilling J.A Henckels Canada Ltd, Mrinal Sharma demonstrating 15° angle)

Here’s a demonstration of how to use a sharpening stone. Start by wetting the stone on the coarser side and finish with the lighter less course (just like how you would sand a wall with coarse sandpaper followed by a finer one). Make sure you apply enough pressure along the entire edge of the knife creating a burr (on the opposite side) before flipping and sharpening the other edge. The burr is actually a small fold of metal that lets you know when you’ve ground the edge sharp enough. If carefully run your thumb on the opposite side you’ve been sharpening you’ll feel a slight catch from the edge, this is when you know to progress to the next side.

After this hands on knife skills seminar, we were able to grub on some of Montecito’s signature dishes while admiring the wide array of products the The Zwilling J.A. Henckels brand carries.

Healthy Eats at Chipotle

2016-05-05T14:41:00.002-04:00

Chipotle Mexican Grill is the go to place for many people in Toronto for quick burritos and burrito bowls. They recently launched a nutrition calculator and pride themselves in using fresh ingredients, without artificial flavours. I’ve been on a health kick the last few months, trying to improve my eating habits (not easy as a food blogger... LoL) and Chipotle has been a great option as you can customize exactly what goes into your bowl or burrito. The nutrition caluclator on their website is very useful for customizing a healthy Chipotle meal to fit into any lifestyle. This is especially great for those who count macros, as they provide extensive nutrition info including calories, protein, carbohydrates, sugars and fats. I have listed below some tasty calorie conscious combinations for Chipotle (under 600 calories), made up of their fresh farm sourced ingredients.

Burrito Bowl: 590 Calories
• Chicken
• Brown Rice
• Fajita Vegetables
• Roasted-Chili Corn Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Romaine Lettuce

Salad: 565 Calories
• Romaine Lettuce
• Barbacoa
• Fajita Vegetables
• Fresh Tomato Salsa
• Roasted-Chili Corn Salsa
• Vinaigrette

Burrito: 570 Calories
• Tortilla
• Sofritas
• Fajita Vegetables
• Roasted-Chili Corn Salsa
• Fresh Tomato Salsa
• Romaine Lettuce

Iögo Yogurt- Large Format Pouches

2016-04-08T19:16:00.002-04:00

Yogurt is a big part of my diet. I eat it in the morning, but also love it as a late night healthy snack. If you live in Canada, you have probably tried or heard of Iögo yogurt. Iögo just launched new Big Format Pouches for some of their tasty yogurt flavours. The new containers use a plastic pouch with a resealable cap, which allows you to use as much as needed and keep your yogurt fresh. The packaging can hold more yogurt (750g- 975g depending on the flavour), is flexible and recyclable. You can bend and squeeze the pouches to get out every last drop of delicious yogurt!

The big format pouches are especially convenient for cooking, making smoothies, or for people who just want a big bag of ready to eat yogurt in the fridge. Iögo’s big format pouches come in three varieties:

Iögo Original (975g)- Original recipe of creamy yogurt. Flavours: Vanilla or Strawberry

Iögo Probio (875g)- Probiotic yogurt with 25% less sugar than Iögo Original. Flavours: Vanilla or Strawberry

Iögo Greek (750g)- Thick and creamy greek yogurt with 18g of protein per serving of 175g

Iögo yogurt can be used in many recipes including smoothies and banana bread. My favourite way of eating yogurt is either by itself or mixing it with fruits and granola. Sometimes, I even like to mix different yogurts together for a really crazy snack. I recently made a Matcha Yogurt Parfait using the Iögo Original big format yogurt. This healthy yogurt treat can be eaten as breakfast, snack or even after dinner dessert. The addition of matcha green tea powder and fruits ensures you get a healthy dose of antioxidants and probiotics. Check out my Matcha Yogurt Parfait recipe and make your own at home (you can substitute items in the recipe to make your own custom Iögo yogurt parfait.

Matcha Yogurt Parfait

Ingredients:
300g Iögo Original Yogurt - strawberry or vanilla (~1/3 of the big format pouch)
5 Strawberries- chopped up
5 Blueberries
1 Tablespoon Matcha Green Tea Powder
1 Teaspoon Honey

Directions:
1. In one bowl, mix half the yogurt with the Matcha Green Tea Powder and Honey until smooth
2. In another bowl, mix half the yogurt with the chopped up strawberries (save some chopped strawberries to garnish at the end) 3. Use a tall, clear glass or cup and carefully layer the green tea yogurt mixture and the strawberry yogurt mixture
4. Alternate each layer, until all the yogurt is used up
5. Garnish the top layer with the blueberries and the strawberries saved from earlier
6. Take a picture of your creation
7. Eat

Kinka Izakaya at Church Street

2016-03-09T16:57:00.001-05:00

Written by Stephanie Loch and Chris Tran aka @ctfillah88 (GFT guest writer)

If you’re looking for the best authentic Japanese food in town, then Kinka Izakaya is the place. Not only is the food amazing but the service is excellent, proving their motto “serving people happiness” true! I was invited to a grand opening event there, not that the restaurant was new, it has been at 398 Church St. for a while, but the name was changed from ‘Guu Toronto’ to ‘Kinka Izakaya’ due to the ending of a franchise agreement between Kinka Family Inc. and Kitanoya Marketing Corp. The name ‘kinka’ means golden flower and symbolizes happiness in the Japanese culture.

Our first dish was an appetizer called ‘Gomaae’. The blanched spinach was served steaming with black sesame sauce drizzled on top. The tartness of the spinach was cut by the sweetness of the sesame sauce to create a juicy combination. The deep green also contrasted nicely against the black oil dressing.

Our next dish was hokkaido scallop sashimi called ‘hotate carpaccio’. It was served cold and had a wasabi dressing which added a refreshing kick. It was garnished very nicely with grated beet and lemon.

After that we had ‘Gyu shabu salad’. This salad consisted of iceberg lettuce, red, yellow and green peppers, and purple cabbage, the colours of the rainbow! Shabu-shabu beef was set on top with black sesame dressing. The beef was thinly sliced so each bite had a good ratio of meat to salad.

Moving on to the heavier dishes we had ‘karaage’, which is deep fried chicken. It was so tender and flavourful because it was marinated in soy sauce. The pieces of chicken were bite size so you could pop them in your mouth like popcorn if you like. Yes they were that good! But don’t forget to dip them in the garlic mayo dipping sauce before!

Next we had ‘kakimayo’ which is baked oyster with spinach and mushrooms. The oysters were dressed with a garlic mayo and topped with melted cheese. Literally mouthwatering!

Our next meaty dish was grilled beef short ribs known as ‘karubi’. They were seasoned with salt and pepper to bring out the real grilled flavour of the beef. The scallions dipping sauce added some extra flavour. The meat just fell off the bone!

‘Gindara’ was my personal favorite if I had to choose. This grilled black cod was marinated in miso as cod does not have a very strong flavor on its own. This gave the cod a buttery texture that was ‘oh so tender’. A yuzu miso sauce was also drizzled on top to really make this dish delicious. Our last main dish was called ‘buta kimchi bibimbap’ (pictured at top of article). It was served beautifully in a scorching stone bowl filled with rice (which created a delicious crust on the bottom), ground pork, kimchi, assorted vegetables and egg. The way it came sizzling to us added to the experience of this dish. The egg was soft inside so once broken it became like a creamy spicy sauce when combined with the kimchi.

Finally dessert! We were pretty full and satisfied by this point but there’s always room for dessert. This was a smooth almond tofu that left the palate feeling cool and fresh.

To wash it all down we had to try their beer mojitos which were served in big Sapporo mugs. A bubbly beverage with a hint of mint and lime made this drink dangerous! All in all, Kinka Izakaya is as authentic as it gets! With a loud and busy atmosphere you’d swear you had just stepped across the Pacific and into one of the best Japanese restaurants around. The kitchen is open so you can watch with amazement as the chefs cook up these delightful dishes and share them with you. Also you may pick up some Japanese during your visit there as you’re welcomed with a warm “Kon’nichiwa!” and parted with “sayonara!” Can’t wait to go back again or try their other locations including one in Montreal.

Kinka Izakaya Original
398 Church St.
(416) 977-0999
www.kinkaizakaya.com

21 Day #HealthyAroma Challenge Results

2016-03-03T15:07:00.000-05:00

I recently completed the #healthyaroma challenge and I must say, I feel great. For 21 straight days, I ate 2 meals from Aroma Espresso Bar each day. My diet consisted of high protein, low carb meals and my goal was to improve my lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise. For the third meal of each day, I tried my best to eat mindfully at food events or cooked healthy high protein, low carb meals. The #healthyaroma challenge was very successful as I was able to lose 13 lbs in 21 days. During this time, I also started an exercise program of cardio and strength training 3-4 days a week, including some pickup basketball. Check out the before and after pictures below. Pretty siginificant changes over the 21 days! Keep in mind that before the challenge, I had just gained some weight from a trip to Asia where I ate an insane amount of delicious food.

Day 1

Day 13

Day 21- lost a total of 13 lbs!

I approached my friends at Aroma Espresso Bar because I knew Aroma had a wide variety of healthy food options including a great selection of salads that would help me achieve my goal. One of the hardest parts about going on a healthy eating diet is meal prep and leaving this part to Aroma made it much easier. They have locations all around Toronto from downtown all the way to Vaughan and Markham, which was convenient for me as I spend my time travelling all over the city for food events and work as a physiotherapist. I was able to visit 14 different Aroma’s in the 21 days. I tried many different healthy items from their menu, including all 11 of their Salads, the Aroma Power Breakfast, Organic Oatmeal, Muesli and their Breakfast on the Go. Nutritional information for each menu item is available on their website which made it easy to help track what I was eating. There were a few items I enjoyed so much that they became a staple in my #healthyaroma diet. Here are my top 5 favourite healthy food items at Aroma Espresso Bar:

Aroma Hash- An all day Mediterranean style breakfast option with chicken, turkey and potato hash on top of arugula with a sunny side up egg on top of fresh in store baked bread. All of this sits on a layer of yogurt, sprinkled with za’atar spices and served with syrup and lemon olive oil dressing. You get a little bit of everything and the syrup tastes great but is optional if you want to be super healthy!
Aroma All-Day Power Breakfast- This was my go to item whenever I had the time to sit down and eat at the Aroma locations. The All-Day Power Breakfast is served with 2 eggs (any style), mixed greens, chopped tomato and cucumber salad, shredded carrots, a scoop of cream cheese, a scoop of feta, a scoop of avocado spread, 5 olives and your choice of fresh baked bread (I opted out of the bread almost every time to stick to my low carb, high protein diet)
Warm Chickpea Salad- This was definitely my favourite salad from Aroma. A salad loaded with chickpeas, tomato, cucumber, red onion, parsley, hardboiled egg, garlic croutons (I skipped the croutons during this challenge). It is served with a lemon olive oil dressing and tahini. The tahini, which is basically ground sesame paste really compliments this salad.
Freekeh Salad- This is one of the newer salads on their menu and incorporates many healthy ingredients. The Freekeh salad is Aroma’s most colourful salad and consists of freekeh (a super grain), black quinoa, sprouted brown rice, organic baby kale, tomato, cucumber, carrot, pickle, red onion, parsely, za’atara seasoning and a scoop of labneh cheese (a thick, creamy Mediterranean yogurt based cheese). It is served with their lemon olive oil dressing. I loved the variety of ingredients, especially the labneh cheese and pickles that add a lot of flavour to the salad. Each of these salads contains 7.4 grams of fibre!
Aroma Special Salad- I really enjoyed eating the Aroma Special Salad as a post workout meal. It’s a protein packed salad with mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, red onion, hardboiled egg, olives and your choice of flaked albacore tuna or feta cheese. Tastes best if you get half tuna and half feta! It’s also served with a low fat balsamic dressing.

Customization! Added Smoked Salmon to the Aroma
Special Salad!

There are lots of excellent healthy food options at Aroma Espresso Bar and customization is also available. You can substitute or add items to your meal like chicken, steak, tuna, cheese, avocado, or smoked salmon. Although I focused mainly on their salads, they also have a nice selection of sandwiches and soups. Throughout the diet, I skipped all of their delicious baked pastries but those alfajore cookies were super tempting every time I stepped into an Aroma store. It was not easy for someone like me to get through these 21 days. I love food a lot and am fortunate enough to be able to attend many food events and tastings where I did cheat a few times. The first few days were especially difficult as I had to fight cravings for snacking, but it did get easier and results were very encouraging. The real challenge will be to continue this healthy eating and active lifestyle. I lost 13 lbs and overall I feel more energetic and stronger. Aside from losing weight, I hope that this can help me kick start a healthier lifestyle long term and inspire anyone else to do the same. Special thanks to Loren from Aroma who helped make this happen! I had lots of fun sharing this project on Instagram and Snapchat and thanks to everyone who followed and especially those who supported!

21 Day #HealthyAroma Challenge

2016-02-04T19:16:00.000-05:00

Over the past few years as a food blogger, I have been very fortunate in having the opportunity to try restaurants around Toronto and attend media events on a weekly basis. I attend food events often, sometimes everyday of the week and it has led me to develop some unhealthy eating habits. On top of that, I recently came back from a trip to Asia, where I went a little crazy with all the delicious food and I gained 15 pounds. I run a Physiotherapy clinic (Good Physiotherapy) full time in addition to food blogging- a busy lifestyle that has taken a toll on my health. One of my goals this year is to improve my lifestyle through healthy eating and exercise.

I have enlisted some help from my friends at Aroma Espresso Bar to help me achieve this goal through the #healthyaroma Challenge. For the next 21 days, I will be eating 2 meals a day at Aroma Espresso Bar locations around Toronto. I will be exploring Aroma’s extensive salad menu and some of their healthy soup and sandwich items. My other meals and snacks will be left open for home cooking or watching what I eat at food events. As a Physiotherapist, I always preach active exercise, and I will be incorporating a progressive cardio and strength training program to my 21 day challenge. During this time, I will still be covering food in Toronto, but with a healthier focus. Follow me on Instagram (@goodfoodtoronto) and Snapchat (goodfoodtoronto) for daily updates!

Check out Aroma’s full food menu and nutritional information here.

Review: Francobollo Posto Italiano

2016-02-03T21:07:00.000-05:00

Francobollo Posto Italiano is a modern Italian restaurant, just north of downtown Toronto. They have been open for 1 year and are the newest restaurant introduced by Substance Food Group. I had a great time reviewing Terra, Substance Food Group’s flagship restaurant, so I came into this meal with high expectations. We reserved a table with fellow food lovers Clara and Monica from The Food Sisterhood so that we could share and try more dishes! Francobollo Posto Italiano is located in the upscale Avenue Road neighbourhood. The restaurant’s decor is very sheek and has a clean, modern feel throughout the narrow building that also gives it a homely ambiance. They have a nice selection of wines that are proudly displayed on the wall, which is where we started the night. There was a wide variety of menu items including some classic Italian dishes and lots of great seafood!

For appetizers, we ordered the Calamari Fritti, Buratta “Oscar”, Polipo Sottovuoto and the Cuori d’Anatra. Gotta love the Italian menu names! The Calamari Fritti was a crispy fried calamari with horseradish and sea salt. The Burrata “Oscar” was delicious and consisted of a giant piece of domestic Burrata cheese dressed up with charred asparagus, snow crab, roasted lobster bisque, dried tomato and almond pesto. The Polipo Sottovuoto was another favourite at our table- a 75° octopus dish with quinoa, butter lettuce, orange-red-onion-caper-mint salsa, all plated beautifully on a red endive. Duck hearts are rarely seen on Toronto menus, so we had to try the Cuori d’Anatra. This dish used pan seared free range duck hearts, roasted Brussels sprouts, guanciale and 10 year old balsamic.

We decided to try more seafood for the mains, as a Grilled Whole Seabream and Filet of Mediterranean Sea Bass were both available as daily specials. Both were tasty, however the seabream was especially impressive as a whole fish dish. Very fresh flavours as both fish were well seasoned and were accompanied with local veggies. Francobollo has a wide selection of pasta, and we decided to try the Linguini Vongole, an Italian classic made with manila clams, fresh tomatoes, parsley, white wine and aglio olio e peperoncino. Again, fresh ingredients stood out in each bite. We also ordered the 8 oz Grilled Angus Beef Tenderloin Steak with Bone Marrow and Wild mushrooms. This was a really nice cut of beef with a big chunk of roasted Bone Marrow.

If you like desserts, Francobollo does not disappoint. Their selection of desserts changes daily, so we had to try all the featured desserts. I really enjoyed the house made Tiramisu and the fresh baked Apple Turnover. There was also a Pistachio Cheesecake and 2 types of Tartufo- double chocolate and salted caramel. If you find dessert choices difficult, sometimes you just have to order them all. Treat yourself.

Since we were dining with fellow bloggers from The Food Sisterhood, our cameras were out in full force! I couldn’t have gotten these bright shots without some creative lighting help from Clara. It’s always more fun to eat with friends, especially when exploring Francobollo’s extensive menu. Francobollo Posto Italiano is a great choice for all occasions, with top notch service and impressive modern Italian dishes, heavy on seafood.

Francobollo Posto Italiano

1959 Avenue Rd

North York, ON M5M 2M5

(416) 481-3888

How To Make Tuna Tostadas from Earl's Restaurants

2016-01-28T13:11:00.001-05:00

Have you ever tried the Tuna Tostadas from Earl’s Kitchen and Bar? These delicious bites are a favourite appetizer item at Earl’s. A spiced piece of Tuna sits on top of a crispy tortilla, garnished with a tasty jicama slaw. The recipe was created by their talented team of chefs (aka The Chef’s Collective), and now they’ve opened their kitchen doors to show you how they're made! If you’d like to make your own Tuna Tastadas at home, check out the full recipe and behind the scenes Tuna Tostada video, including tips from Chef Ryan Stone. If cooking is not your thing, you can always visit Earl’s Restaurants locations across Canada.

We are also teaming up with Earl’s Restaurants for an exclusive Instagram Giveaway of 2 x $100 Gift Cards. Check out the full contest post and details on the @goodfoodtoronto Instagram page. Contest ends on Feb 4, 2016.

Cactus Club Cafe- First Toronto Location

2016-01-25T18:42:00.000-05:00

Written by Rayanne Y. aka @goodfoodscarborough (Good Food Toronto guest writer)

I had the opportunity to get a sneak peak of the Cactus Club Cafe Toronto located at 777 Adelaide Street West during their media event this past October. Cactus Club Cafe is a well established restaurant in Western Canada so I was very excited to see what they had in store for Toronto.

As I entered the restaurant, I was warmly welcomed by the hostesses. I was then ushered to the glass elevators that took me upstairs to the second floor. As the elevator doors opened, you can see that the area was tastefully decorated. The vibe is upscale, yet relaxed enough for a drink with friends or an after work visit with coworkers.

The friendly bartenders served the Cactus Club's signature cocktails which were thoroughly enjoyed by the guests. Their bellinis were delicious and on point. They served samples dishes from their menu that were created by Canadian Celebrity Chef Rob Feenie.

If you crave a lighter fare, the Tuna Tayaki is an excellent option. Seared Albacore Tuna, papaya slaw, pine nuts, yuzu vinaigrette and cilantro. The fresh ingredients really makes this dish very refreshing.

Rob's Crispy Chicken Sandwich was really tasty. Perfectly fried panko-crusted chicken with swiss cheese, sambal mayo, lettuce, tomato and onion. This was my favorite item I tasted that evening.

After sampling the food and drinks I went to check out the third floor of the restaurant. This floor had a rooftop restaurant feel and an amazing retractable roof which will be prefect for patio season. The lower floor had a classy sports bar feel and would be a great place to watch games with friends. I had a great evening at the Cactus Club Cafe.

My overall impression of this establishment was that it is conveniently located in the heart of the Toronto financial district and is a great place to relax, mingle and grab a few drinks and food after work or on the weekends. They offer exceptional customer service along with a great selection of food and drinks. Thanks for a great experience Cactus Club Cafe Toronto, I will be back for that chicken sandwich.

Bourbon Poached Persimon® with Finnish Pancakes Recipe

2016-01-15T14:48:00.001-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to learn, taste and create a recipe using Persimon® brand Persimmons. The Persimon® Rojo Brillante variety of persimmons are grown in Ribera del Xúquer Valley (Xúquer River Valley) near Valencia in Spain. They are available seasonly (October to January) in Metro and Sobey’s stores in Toronto. I purchased a box of Persimon® Rojo Brillante Persimmons, which are different than other varieties because the fruit is firm, sweet, and immediately ready to eat. This variety does not need ripening (ripe when firm), as opposed to other types of persimmons that need to become soft and ripe to be eaten. I liked these persimmons because I could wash them, cut them up and eat them without any special prep. They were mildly sweet with a little bit of crunch, kind of like a hybrid mix of a ripe mango and a crunchy apple. Persimon® persimmons are also rich in fiber, vitamins and only available seasonally in Toronto.

After snacking on some Persimon® persimmons, I got some help from dessert expert Jessica (@jellymean) to create a recipe for a beautiful Persimmon dessert.

RECIPE: Bourbon Poached Persimon® Finnish Pancakes

This recipe is split into 3 parts. Part 1 is for the bourbon poached persimmons, part 2 is for the finnish pancakes and part 3 is where the whole dessert is put together!

Part 1- Bourbon Poached Persimon® Persimmons

Ingredients (Bourbon Poached Persimon®):

2 tablespoons of Butter

¼ cup of Bourbon of your choice (we used Bulleit Bourbon)

½ tbsp of honey

2 Persimon® Persimmons Sliced (can save extras for snacking)

Instructions:

Microwave 1 tablespoon of butter in a microwave safe bowl
Add ¼ cup of Bourbon
Add ½ tbsp of honey and mix
On medium heat, melt small amount of butter on pan
Fry sliced persimmons on pan and flip when one side starts to char
Spoon over butter/bourbon mixture on top of persimmons
Cook until sauce reduces and gets sticky. Remove persimmons from pan

Part 2- Finnish Pancakes

Ingredients (Finnish Pancakes)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 cups milk

1 cup flour

Instructions (Finnish Pancakes)

Combine and whisk all ingredients until smooth. Optional: Run the batter through a sieve to get out all the lumps
Let the batter rest for 30 minutes (or overnight) in the fridge
Heat non-stick or lightly greased pan to medium
Pour in a thin layer of the batter just so it covers the bottom. Once it is golden brown on one side, flip and cook the other side to golden brown. These Finnish style pancakes are more similar to crepes than regular pancakes.
If you have a grill pan that would be a good nice grill marks on the persimmons. But if not a pan will do.

Part 3- Plating the Bourbon Poached Persimon® Finnish Pancakes

Place the bourbon poached persimmons (Part 1) onto the completed Finnish Pancakes (Part 2). You can have fun with this part and use more persimmons per pancake depending on your taste. Fold the pancakes however you would like and serve with vanilla ice cream for extra tastiness!

Read more about Persimon® Persimmons at persimonsays.com!

Ford X Actinolite Sustainability Feast

2015-12-12T13:02:00.001-05:00

Written by Anderson Leung (Good Food Toronto guest writer)

I was invited to a Sustainability Feast hosted by Ford (the motor company) and Toronto based restaurant Actinolite. At first these two could not be any more different from the outside. Actinolite is a restaurant that features freshness, seasonal, local, and sustainable food. Current ingredients available are what causes the menu to change weekly and seasonally. When I think Ford I see big inefficient American Cars that scream pollution. As the night progressed, I learned why this event was taking place and how these two came to collaborate. Ford has been using and is researching more natural ingredients to use in the vehicles. Whether it be the fibers to use in a seatbelt or foam materials in a car seat, Ford can reduce weight and costs by using readily available materials straight from nature.

A 7 course meal showcased a certain ingredient per course. Chef Justin Cournoyer of Actinolite and a Ford representative in the research side explained what each ingredient themed course meant to them. The ingredients were, and in order, Tomato, Wheat, Soy, Bamboo, Corn, Rice, Cane Sugar, Birch, and Coconut. Each dish being simple and straight to the point with each ingredient. Nothing fancy, just raw taste and focus.

Tomato|Algae
This appetizer was Tomato three ways. One of them was dusted in algae (also another ingredient Ford is researching) and the tomato flavour. There wasn’t an explanation of this dish until later but it was overall really good.

Soy|Milk
Everything in this dish was Soy based. The Soy Custard on the bottom, covered fried soy crumb, topped off with soy foam. All the different textures of the dish was best enjoyed in one bite. Soy is used in the foam materials in cars.

Wheat|Beer
This was an interesting dish. In a mini La Creuset pot came a tiny loaf of bread for two to share. The chef explained how he used the spent wheat from Burdock Brewery (Toronto) and created something edible. The whey butter that went with this dish was unreal, but the bread itself I was definitely not used to.

Bamboo|Shiitake|Kelp
Showcasing Bamboo, the chef used mushrooms and kelp to make a dashi like broth that intensified the natural flavours of each ingredient. The broth was quite oily, but If you like kelp and shiitake, it’s like a flavour punch to the face.

Corn|Crab|Tarragon
Probably my favourite dish of the night, the layers and textures of this stack just worked perfectly. Starting from the bottom with hot stewed corn, to a soft crab salad, a room temperature crunchy corn crisp, topped with a cold scoop of corn sorbet and tarragon. The intensity of the corn flavour off of this was amazing and the different textures and temperatures of this stack just made the dish more interesting.

Rice| Barley| Parsley
At the top was popped wild rice, a turnip and kelp flake, and pickled seaweed, over a bed of barley in parsley juice. This dish was surprisingly acidic and contrary to the presentation, kind of boring. It didn’t work for me.

Cane Sugar|Beef|Broccoli|Garlic
All local ingredients but the cane sugar, the caramel glazed organic and local beef short-rib was extremely tasty. The chef kept saying the word “beefy” to describe the flavour. There was no other word to describe it. I’ve never had beef taste so natural and intense ever. There was local broccoli and garlic on the side which were both also extremely flavourful. It was so simple, not much was added, but the taste was so amazing. This dish would convince people to go organic and locally sourced.

Birch|Pear|Chocolate
First dessert came out topped with a leaf you would see in any fall neighbourhood in Ontario. The story behind this is what made the dish so special. The leaves were from the chef’s childhood planted tree, where he dried and candied them for the dessert. From the bottom was pebble looking chocolate crumble, roasted pear in birch leaves, pear sorbet, and then the candied birch leaf. I tried the birch leaf first and it tasted a bit bitter but full of tea flavour. The dessert just looked so natural and was tasty from top to bottom.

Coconut|Lichen
I’m not sure what lichen should taste like so I couldn’t exactly find if it made this dish better or not. These were a white chocolate fudge ball dusted in coconut and reindeer lichen. The fudge was not too sweet, very creamy, and full of white chocolate flavour. Actinolite was a great experience where I personally learned more about ingredients than I think I would through just eating. Ford’s science behind using natural ingredients were interesting and looks like they’re stepping in a positive direction for vehicles in the future. The dishes showcased each ingredient extremely well and I would go back if I had the chance to see what Actinolite has each season.

Krispy Kreme- Day of Dozens Deal

2015-12-11T02:07:00.002-05:00

Here is a pretty sweet BOGO deal for Krispy Kreme doughnuts! In the world of Krispy Kreme, December 12 is known as Day of the Dozens (12-12), an annual holiday celebration of doughnuts that began on December 12, 2012 (12-12-12). On Day of the Dozens, when you purchase one dozen Original Glazed dougnuts, you get a second dozen free! Just show the coupon in this post at any Krispy Kreme Canada location this coming Saturday (Dec. 12) to get the deal. They also have some holiday flavours available right now including a chocolate filled santa doughnut, a red velvet cream cheese doughnut and a holiday sprinkles doughnut. The holiday doughnuts are nice but the original Krispy Kremes will always be my favourite. Check out the coupon below with a super cool and tasty barcode! #dayofthedozens

GTA Locations:

Toronto – 164 McCaul St. And 215 Harbord St.

Mississauga – 5920 Mavis Rd.

Terra Restaurant: Fine Dining Gem in North Toronto

2015-11-10T16:21:00.000-05:00

Terra Restaurant is a well known spot in the north Toronto area with a reputation for great Italian food and steaks! I was recently invited to dine at Terra for their 20th anniversary celebration and had a chance to taste some of the favourite menu items with my good friends Jess and Flo.

Our server, Patrick was very knowledgeable and his delectable descriptions of the food made me want to order every dish. For appetizers, we started off with the Bison Carpaccio- a delicious combination of thinly sliced raw bison meat, pesto, pine nuts, arugula, truffle oil, caper berries, lemon and slice of Grana Padano.

We also shared the Grilled Day Boat Scallops that came with crispy house smoked pork belly. The grilled scallops were paired with grilled corn, roasted sweet pepper, pea succotash, basil seedlings and covered in a pommery mustard cream sauce. I loved how they use so many ingredients for each dish, ensuring that each bite of food was filled with tons of flavour. We also devoured one of their specials, a cold foie gras dish served with ice wine jelly that added some sweetness to meal. For salad, I suggest the tasty Imported Burrata Cheese and Heirloom Tomato Salad. This was just the appetizers.

Terra has quite an extensive menu of delicious food and after getting some recommendations from our server, we decided on the Seafood Spaghettini Aglio Olio, Grilled Ostrich Fan and a 12 oz “USDA Prime” Rib Eye steak! Before our mains were brought out, we were given a scoop of Lime Sorbet to cleanse our palate- very nice touch. If you like seafood, the Seafood Spaghettini is loaded with a bit of everything- a grilled Nova Scotia lobster tail, prawns, scallops, Alaskan king crab, BC Salt Island spring mussels. The key to this dish was the simple olive oil pasta sauce, which brought together the seafood flavours very well.

The Grilled Ostrich Fan consisted of ostrich meat served medium rare and sliced. The meat was juicy, lean and had no gaminess. This was served with a red wine sauce on top of truffled honey mushroom risotto. We also feasted on a delicious 12 oz Rib Eye steak that was perfectly cooked to rare. Very quality cut of meat, and I really enjoyed the contrasting strong beef flavour from the USDA Prime Rib Eye cut compared to the ostrich meat I had eaten earlier. We also enjoyed a few different wines throughout the meal to pair with the great food.

We were feeling quite satisfied, but there is always room for dessert! We ended off our meal with a Creme Brulee, a Flourless Chocolate Torte and a Pecan Cheesecake. They also carry an interesting selection of asian teas, which helped us digest our luxurious meal.

Terra is a great fine dining option in the north Toronto area, perfect for those looking for something outside of the downtown area, with same or better quality of service. We really enjoyed the amazing service, delicious food and we’re looking forward to trying the Terra’s affiliated restaurants including Sarpa in Richmond Hill, Rusty’s in Blue Mountain and Francobollo Posto Italiano in North Toronto. All part of the Substance Food Group.

Terra Restaurant

8199 Yonge St, Thornhill, ON

L3T 2C6

(905) 731-6161

www.terrarestaurant.ca

Taste of Peru: Celebrating the Pan Am Games Handover to Lima 2019

2015-10-13T17:04:00.001-04:00

Written by Henry Truong aka @foodhubtoronto (Good Food Toronto guest writer)

The Taste of Peru Private reception hosted at the Stirling room was an amazing event of sorts. The event was held to celebrate the handover of the Pan Am Games from Toronto to Lima, Peru, where the next Pan Am Games will be held in 2019!

Chef Dennis Palma Cedeño and Chef Giancarlo Colombaro were on site to prepare delicious peruvian dishes/ Hord`oeurvres such as: Ceviche, Huacatay marinated lamb chops, Cocoa-macastriploin medallions, Peruvian quinoa prawns with ajipanca aioli, and Mango & Chia mousse. The drinks were another wonderful addition - Pisco Punch and Pisco Sour were extremely popular amongst the crowd at the Stirling Room.

Approximiately 200 people were in attendance, including Pan-Am athletes and dignitaries from Peru it provided a very welcoming and fun experience. Thank you Mark S. for the invitation to this great event! The Pan Am and Para Pan Am Games were a huge success in Toronto, so we're expecting great things in Peru in 2019!

Lobstahpalooza 2015

2015-09-25T17:17:00.001-04:00

Lobstahpalooza 2015 is happening this Sunday! Chef Matt Dean Pettit and Samuel Adams Beer will be hosting the giant Lobster Boil party in Kensington Market, behind El Gordos Food Market on Sept 27, 1-8 pm. If you haven't met Matt before, he is the big boss at Rock Lobster, Matty's Seafood Brand and also a die hard Blue Jays fan (playoffs here we come)! I had a chance to attend the media preview and it was lobster madness.

Tickets for Lobstahpalooza 2015 are $50 each and guests at Lobstahpalooza 2015 will be enjoying a tasty seafood feast, including oysters at the raw bar and a full East Coast lobster boil, with delicious sides. Rock Lobster Ceasars, Samuel Adams Beer and Thomas Lavers Ginger Beer will be available to wash down all the lobster. Tickets include 2 beer tickets! There will also be live bands, DJs, and a 50/50 Charity draw to support The Stop Community Food Centre.

The media preview I attended was a small outdoor dinner where we enjoyed a lobsters cooked by Matt himself. We devoured an entire lobster boil meal that consisted of a whole market lobster, fresh buns from Blackbird Baking Co. and mom's potato salad- possibly the most impressive potato salad I have seen. We also had a chance to try some retail packaged Lobster Rolls from Matty's Seafood Brand. These were delicious, especially considering they are ready to serve and readily available at Sobey's Supermarkets. The meal was quite messy, but more than satisfying! Special thanks to Matt for teaching me how to take apart my lobster- my lobster shucking skills have improved greatly since!

Photo Credits: Rey Pan, EatNMingle.com

Tickets be purchased at: https://lobstahpalooza2015.eventbrite.com

LobstahPalooza 2015 #saminhand
Sept 27, 2015
1-8PM
214 Augusta Ave, Kensington Market
Behind El Gordos Market

Introducing: McDonald's Mighty Angus Burger

2015-09-10T16:50:00.000-04:00

The first item on the Mcdonald’s menu in 1967 was a hamburger and since then, McDonald’s has served over 300 billion burgers to hungry customers worldwide! I have seen McDonald’s Canada introduce new items in recent years including different wraps and salads, but it’s safe to say that burgers are their “bread and butter.” This year marks the launch of the new Mighty Angus...a big, badass, beefy burger created with beef lovers in mind.

I was invited to attend the launch of the Mighty Angus at McDonald’s Head Office in Toronto, along with a handful of other bloggers and McDonald’s fans. The party took place at their head office’s in-house McDonald’s restaurant, where new items are created and where staff can grab food at work! A giant version of the Mighty Angus was available for guests to take pictures with and there was even a light box station with a perfectly stylized Mighty Angus for those looking for the perfect Instagram picture.

The Mighty Angus is McDonald’s Canada’s most recent addition to the permanent menu. It consists of a third-pound 100% Angus beef patty, sourced from Canadian farms. Quality of beef was taken very seriously when creating the Mighty Angus and a Canadian Beef Grading Agency representative is on hand every time McDonald’s makes Angus patties. I had a great time learning about the new burger and jumped at the opportunity to make my own Mighty Angus in their kitchen! I tried to sneak two Angus beef patties into my burger to create the Ultimate Mighty Angus, but unfortunately, it was removed during the quality control stage.

The Mighty Angus sits in between a sesame & poppy seed bun, topped with smoky Angus aioli, smoked bacon pieces, leaf lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese and grilled onions. It’s quite a hefty burger, loaded with the taste of beefiness and smokiness in each bite. It’s one of my current favourites from McDonald’s and I’m happy to see McDonald’s sticking to what they do best...burgers.

#certifiedmighty

Cooking with Graham Elliot and Walmart

2015-09-10T00:57:00.000-04:00

Written by Janice Choi aka @bluntfoodreview (Good Food Toronto guest writer)

On May 20^th I had the (probably once in a lifetime) opportunity to cook with chef Graham Elliot! Graham Elliot is a host on Masterchef US and Masterchef Junior, and was awarded two Michelin stars for his restaurant in Chicago – only one of fifteen in the US to have that distinction!

I arrived at Nella Cucina at 4:30pm, a stunning kitchen store with a kitchen and demonstration area in the upper level. I was quickly welcomed with a drink and found a station with 4 other ladies.

The event was hosted by Walmart to promote their fresh food offering. As the event started, we were given an introduction to Walmart and their fresh food department, which has been around for 8 years. They make all their bread in store every day, and are planning to offer fresh sushi at their stores!

Time to start cooking!! On the menu was Striploin Steak with Creamed Spinach, and Pan-Seared Salmon with Cabbage slaw and Whole-Grained Mustard. We were given beautiful Angus steaks and an assortment of pre-measured ingredients.

Graham Elliot was so friendly and down to earth. He came around to every station and chatted with us, gave a quick explanation and some tips on what we should do. Our team members were clearly not the greatest chefs so he came around and actually showed us how to shape and season our steaks.

While my other teammates worked on the creamed spinach (which was a bit of a disaster), I went up to the front to grill the steaks.

Once our steaks were almost done, we brought our creamed spinach up to plate and admired Chef Graham’s steak cutting skills. Cutting the steaks will allow your guests to see the how beautifully it’s cooked… unfortunately ours was slightly overcooked, but still very tasty!

Sadly we were nearing the end of the event and were running out of time for the salmon dish. We quickly mixed the slaw while Chef Graham pan-seared the salmon. In my opinion it was probably better that we didn’t cook this dish, it gave us the opportunity to taste Chef Graham’s cooking first hand. No doubt it was a perfectly balanced and mouth-watering dish!

Overall a very fun event and one I’ll never forget. I think my cooking skills may have improved just a little bit! Hoping to be able to visit Chicago and pay a visit to Graham Elliot’s restaurant Graham Elliot Bistro sometime in the near future!

New York Fries Golden Poutine Fork Giveaway

2015-09-03T18:03:00.001-04:00

Do you like Bacon? Do you like Poutine? Do you like Gold? New York Fries is celebrating International Bacon Day this Saturday (Sept. 5, 2015) with the launch of the Bacon Double Cheese Poutine, their newest specialty poutine. Make sure you cover your poutine/fries with their Cajun seasoning for extra deliciousness. In addition to adding this new poutine to the menu, New York Fries is also giving away 108, 24-carat gold plated poutine forks to the first person visiting locations across Canada this Saturday who can correctly say “Bacon Double Cheese Poutine” in Pig Latin. Each gold poutine fork also comes with a free Bacon Double Cheese Poutine! See below for more info. If you didn’t know already, Bacon Double Cheese Poutine in Pig Latin is properly pronounced “aconbay oubleday eesechay outinepay.”

How to win a New York Fries 24-carat Golden Poutine Fork on International Bacon Day

To win you must be the first person to visit a participating New York Fries location on September 5, 2015 and correctly say “Bacon Double Cheese Poutine” in Pig Latin. Two chances to correctly say the phrase. If the Pig Latin fails to flow after two attempts the next participant will have the chance to win it. For more info, including participating New York Fries locations, please visit: newyorkfries.com.

Estrella Damm Tapas Journey Toronto

2015-08-14T23:06:00.002-04:00

Between August 14-23, Estrella Damm beer is partnering with 20 awesome restaurants in downtown Toronto for the “Tapas Journey.” Each of these restaurants will be featuring a special Tapas Journey menu with 3 signature tapas dishes. For $20, you get three tapas dishes and a pint of Estrella Damm beer too! For a fun night, pick three of the restaurants that are close to each other and order the Tapas Journey deal at each restaurant.

I had the chance to check out the Tapas Journey menus at three restaurants: Los Colibris, Raca Cafe and Bar, Mata Petisco Bar. The food was creative, delicious and portions were quite generous for $20. I met up with a few of my Instagram friends (@bluntfoodreview, @doctornom, @hypebelly) at Los Colibris, an upscale Mexican restaurant at King West. We had a few extra Estrella beers there after the tapas meal and then headed over to parkdale to visit Raca Bar and Cafe for some of Chef Ivana Raca’s delicious creations. Raca had a beautiful outdoor patio in the back where we enjoyed more tapas and beer. Our final stop was the nearby Mata Petisco bar, a South American spot with the largest portions of the night! One of their tapas dishes was a plate of 4 cheese bread sliders! Check out everything we ate at these 3 spots. Beer is the perfect pairing with these small savoury dishes and a full pint of Estrella Damm Beer is included in the menu! Estrella Damm is also giving away 3 trips to Miami to attend the Estrella Damm Gastronomy Congress and meet Chef Ferran Adrià. Contest details at end of article.

Los Colibris “Tapas Journey” Menu ($20 for all three dishes + a Estrella Damm Beer)

Jalapeno Relleno- Picadillo-stuffed pickled jalapeno made with 32 different ingredients including pork, nuts, seeds, dry fruits, aromatic spices, herbs. A dish with a crazy amount of flavour!

Camarones A La Diabla- Corn puree, guajillo/arbol adobo, avocado, shrimp, grilled corn.

Pipian Verde- Chicken meatballs with pumpkin in based pipian verde

Raca Cafe and Bar “Tapas Journey” Menu ($20 for all three dishes + a Estrella Damm Beer)

Bone Marrow Arancini- Veal bone marrow stuffed arancini garnished with fresh herbs and Parmigianno Reggiano served with house-made pear jam. WOW! Bone marrow inside crispy rice balls pairs nice with the pear jam.

Bacon Wrapped Medjool Dates- Bacon-wrapped medjool dates stuffed with stilton and aged balsamic

Spiced Peruvian Pork Meatballs- Spiced pork meatballs covered in a Peruvian tomato pepper sauce

Mata Petisco Bar “Tapas Journey” Menu ($20 for all three dishes + a Estrella Damm Beer)

Coxinha Chicken Balls- Shredded chicken filling covered in milk buttered dough served with a malagueta pepper aioli

Cheese Bread Sliders- Brazilian cheese bread bun topped with catupiry-style cheese and smoked beef cheeks. Huge portions and a totally gluten free slider as the cheese bun is made with Cassava flour!

Tapioca Dice- Tapioca crumbles with coalho cheese served with a cumari pepper aioli

Participating Restaurants for the Tapas Journey from Aug 14-23: Barsa Taberna, Beast, Byblos, Carmen, Cava, East Thirty-Six, El Catrin, Kanpai Snack Bar, Los Colibrís, Mamakas Taverna, Marben, Mata Petisco Bar, Nota Bene, Patria, Raca Café & Bar, Salt Wine Bar, Taverna Mercatto, The Good Son, Valdez, Weslodge

Estrella Damm Gastronomy Congress Contest
Estrella Damm beer is giving away 3 trips to Miami, where winners will attend the Estrella Damm Gastronomy Congress and see Chef Ferran Adrià. For a chance to win, you need to visit any #TapasJourney restaurant between August 14th and 23rd and snap a photo of your passport stickers. You can ask your server for a Tapas Journey passport and they will give you a sticker when you order the #TapasJourney menu. Full contest details here.

Discovering Canada's Dairy Capital

2015-08-09T21:45:00.000-04:00

Oxford County is located in Southwest Ontario, less than two hours drive from Toronto. It is home to many farms, which also means lots of fresh and delicious food! I first learned about the farms and food in this area at the Ontario's Southwest City Fare event that took place at Wychwood Barns a few months ago. This event showcased vendors from the region, including restaurants, craft brewers, vineyards, cheese farms, and even maple syrup farms! This past weekend I was able to discover more about the incredible food in Ontario’s Southwest during my trip to Oxford County! Oxford County is known as the Dairy Capital of Canada and the Oxford County Cheese Trail consists of many cheese makers, specialty shops, restaurants and farmer markets.

It took us just under two hours to drive to Woodstock, one of the main cities in Oxford County and also where we would be staying for the night. We decided to check into our hotel at the Best Western Woodstock before heading out. The hotel was a Best Western Plus and everything was very clean and modern. I was surprised to see charging stations for electric cars and all the hallways were lined with pictures of Toronto landmarks (I like to think that they did this specifically for me!). I had a very enjoyable stay with their comfy beds and I even fit a workout into my trip at their 24-hour gym during this food trip.

We went to dinner at SixThirtyNine in Woodstock, a casual fine dining restaurant that you wouldn’t expect to find in small town Ontario. SixThirtyNine has been open for 10 years and recently underwent extensive renovations, including the addition of a Chef’s Table area where you can see the farm-to-table food prepped right in front of you. We had an eight-course meal, with dishes that screamed freshness. The dinner started with an Arancini Rice Ball with Handeck Cheese from a local cheese farm, Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese. The following dish was a Buffalo Mozzarella Salad with fresh hothouse tomatoes, tomato jam, olive tapenade and tomato water to sip as you eat the salad. We also enjoyed the Dry Aged Family Farmed Beef Tartar and Spring Fed Trout Crudo that looked like museum art. The dishes were beautifully cooked and crafted, but the incredible flavours of farm-fresh ingredients that you could taste in every bite were definitely the main attraction. We were then given a spoonful of Spiced Apple Sorbet, a tasty palate cleanser I could eat all day.

For mains, we tried the Roasted Pickerel with Fresh Veggies and the Lamb Trio. Again, you could taste fresh in every bite. The Lamb Trio consisted of Lamb prepared three ways on top of Peas (Roasted Lamb Leg with Butter Snap Peas, Lamb Scotch Quail Egg with Minted Forked Peas, Braised Lamb Tortellini with Pea Puree). We finished the meal with a Strawberry Souffle and Sorbet dessert. Chef Eric Boynar is a skilled chef who has created a special place at SixThirtyNine, which is run by Eric, his wife, his mother and a team of chefs with a passion for quality and farm-to-table food.

After dinner, we stopped by the Charles Dickens Pub in downtown Woodstock for a drink. They have a big selection of local and imported beers on tap and ice-cold beer is always nice on a hot summer night. Their food menu consisted of pub food and some more unique items like the Curry Poutine with fresh cheese curds from Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese. The next morning, we woke up early and went back to downtown Woodstock to visit the Dairy Capital Cheese Shop. They sell cheese sourced from a variety of local cheese makers and also serve hot food at their deli counter. We grabbed a coffee to wake up and then stopped by the Gunn’s Hill Cheese farm, also located in Woodstock. This is the site where they make cheese daily and also have a cheese shop where you can buy fresh cheese. Grab the cheese curds if they aren’t sold out! The farm is located on a beautiful property that includes rolling green hills and endless cornfields. It’s a nice quiet place away from the city to relax, and enjoy cheese.

Our next stop was Jakeman’s Maple Farm. Jakeman’s is a family owned and operated farm that produces some of the finest maple syrup from over 1,000 taps. They have been running since 1867, and have a gift shop on site for all your maple syrup needs. Jakeman’s Maple Farm is located right next to a provincial park, the Trillium Woods Trail. The park consists of a short 1 km trail, which allows for a nice walk to enjoy the beautiful forest and its massive trees. In the spring, the floor of this forest gets covered in white trillium flowers, which is how the park got its name.

We hopped back in the car and made the short drive to the Village Cheese Mill, a small boutique cheese shop located in Salford, Ontario. They stock a variety of local (Bright Cheese, Gunn’s Hill, etc.) and imported cheeses and also run a mini museum, where you can learn more about the history of the area. We decided to take a break from the farms and made a stop at the Elm Hurst Inn & Spa, as we were told it is a nice quiet place to walk around. The property used to be the grounds for a cheese factory and is now a popular place for events, weddings, fine dining and spa vacations. They offer modern amenities and spa services right in Oxford County and also have a fine dining restaurant in an 1872 gothic revival mansion.

We had eaten a lot of cheese throughout the day, but we needed some lunch, which led us to The Olde Bakery Cafe in Ingersoll. I ordered a Reuben Sandwich and was pleasantly surprised that it was a Panini-styled pressed sandwich with a crispy bun, and gooey cheese all over the corned beef and sauerkraut. The Olde Bakery Cafe is known for their fresh baked desserts including a variety of Pies, Fruit Squares, Muffins, and more. Fresh local ingredients are the secret to their delicious desserts. I was still craving more cheese curds, so we drove to Bright, Ontario. We visited Bright Cheese and Butter, Ontario’s oldest manufacturer of cheddar cheese. They are still in the same location as when they started in 1874 and Bright Cheese continues to produce quality cheddar cheese products for Ontario. We arrived at their factory store just before it closed and were able to buy some fresh cheese curds that were made that morning. The curds were delicious and squeaked when I bit them! Bright was our last stop and after a 1.5-hour drive, we were back in Toronto for dinner. I had an awesome time exploring Oxford County and hope to be back for more cheese!

If you’re looking to plan your own foodie adventure in Ontario’s Southwest, oswculinary.com is a great place to start. You can even enter to win a four-day Dream Foodie Escape valued at over $1,500 at oswculinary.com/enter-to-win!

This article was written for The Foodie Fifteen blog at oswculinary.com

Group of 7 Chefs X TABASCO Sauce

2015-07-15T00:01:00.000-04:00

Last week, TABASCO Canada held a party featuring some of Toronto’s top chefs who served dishes inspired by TABASCO Sauce. When I arrived at Propeller Coffee, I was surprised to walk into a mini food festival! The “Group of 7 Chefs” who were featured included Scott Vivian (Beast), Nick Liu (Dai Lo), Chris Brown (Citizen Catering), Bertrand Alepee (The Tempered Room), Steve Gonzalez (Valdez), Dustin Gallagher (416 Snack Bar/ Peoples Eatery) and Anthony Walsh (Canoe). These guys recently took a trip to Avery Island, Louisiana, the birthplace and home of TABASCO sauce. Using this trip as inspiration, each of the chefs created a delicious dish with TABASCO as a feature ingredient. The food festival atmosphere was really cool as guests could speak with the chefs as we tried their tasty food.

The event was TABASCO everything! There were bottles of TABASCO everywhere I looked. There was also a huge barrel of super spicy pepper mash, which TABASCO is made from. Silver Spoon necklaces were awarded to those brave enough to sample a spoonful of this raw pepper mash! Throughout the night, guests sipped on crazy TABASCO inspired cocktails including a Jalapeno Mojito and a Smoked Caesar. There was also a endless supply of TABASCO infused rum shots to keep the party going all night.

My favourite dish of the night was the Crab and Duck Gumbo that Chef Anthony Walsh made. It was a ridiculously delicious gumbo with salted TABASCO Sauce cornbread, smoked duck and crab meat that he covered in butter and flame torched in front of us.

Here’s the full lineup of the Chefs and Dishes that were featured at the #FeedYourOriginal event:

Chef Bertrand Alepee (The Tempered Room)- Croissant Po’boy with TABASCO Chipotle Sauce, Pulled Chicken and Apple Remoulade

Chef Steve Gonzalez (Valdez)- Caesar Ceviche with Snow Crab, Tomato, TABASCO Sauce, Clam, Black Pepper, Horse Radish, Raw and Pickled Vegetables, Latino 5 Space, Corn Chip Cilantro Chef

Dustin Gallagher (416 Snack Bar/ Peoples Eatery)- Olive Oil Corn Cake with Corn Sorbet, Salted TABASCO Sauce and Caramel Corn

Chef Chris Brown (Citizen Catering)- Avery Island Salt Crusted Wild Boar with Biscuit, White Gravy and Slaw

Chef Nick Liu (DaiLo)- Avery Island Salt Cured Pickerel with Tomato and TABASCO Dashi, Pickled Honey Mushrooms and Wasabi Green Peas

Chef Scott Vivian (Beast)- Boudin Balls with TABASCO Sauce, Pickled Celery, Chilled Collared Greens, Potlicker Aioli Chef

Chef Anthony Walsh (Canoe)- Fogo Island Crab and Duck Gumbo with Salted TABASCO Sauce Corn Bits

Thanks to all the Chefs for the great food and also to TABASCO Canada and iYellow Wine Club for organizing a super fun party!

Group of 7 Chefs celebrating at the @tabascocanada #FeedYourOriginal event last night! Cheers! @chefanthonywalsh @latino5spice @ninjachef @scottvivian @thetemperedchef @dusty416 @chrisbrowntoronto @iyellowwineclub #goodfoodtoronto #toronto #tabasco #torontochefs #chefs #groupof7chefs #propellercoffee

A video posted by Hubert L (@goodfoodtoronto) on Jul 8, 2015 at 9:00pm PDT

Eat Well Culinary Workshop: WORLD OF BBQ

2015-06-30T19:29:00.000-04:00

Last tuesday, I had the opportunity to attend the WORLD OF BBQ event co-hosted by Chef Matt Basile. I knew I was in for a treat, having already experienced delicious eats from his Fidel Gastros food truck and his Queen West gastropub, Lisa Marie! This was part of a series of Eat Well Culinary Workshops, where guests enjoyed different FARM TO FOOD experiences, with a focus on Canola Oil and Canola growers in Canada.

The event was actually in the form of a private backyard BBQ at the backyard of Dine Alone Records in downtown Toronto. The backyard, which is used for parking, was transformed into a farm themed BBQ. Guests were dressed in plaid, sitting on stacks of hay and wearing “I Love Canola” trucker hats! We had a chance to speak with and learn from Canola experts from Manitoba, including Canola Farmers and members of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association. I had no idea where Canola oil came from before and guests had the chance to make some Canola Oil during the “Canola Crush” activity. The Canola seeds don’t feel oily at all on the outside, but are filled with oil, which you can obtain by crushing individual seeds.

As we drank and mingled, Chef Matt Basile put together a 4 Country BBQ Feast with Canola Oil at the heart of each dish. The food was crazy good, with mountains of delicious BBQ meat and sides all brought out at once. He brought a giant trailer with a built in kitchen and 2 charcoal barbecues, for that extra delicious charcoal sear! Chef Matt explained how Canola Oil is especially good to use on a barbecue because of its high tolerance to heat compared to other types of oils. He also did a Chimicurri and Grilling Demo with canola oil- one of the best dishes of the night! “Chimichurri is meant to have spice, but not be spicy.”

Chef Matt Basile’s 4 Country BBQ Menu (Fidel Gastros/ Lisa Marie)

Argentina- Chimicurri Miami Beef Ribs

Phillipines- Adobo Grilled Tomahawk Pork Chops

Texas- Cowboy Tacos & BBQ Sauce

Portugal- Churrasco Smoked Chicken Wings with Hot Sauce

Sides- Roasted Corn with Salsa Verde, Kale Salad with Crumbs, Lemon, Capers and Parmesan

The BBQ took place at Dine Alone Records, who are also involved in the food business in the form of Dine Alone Foods. They have a line of Dine Alone BBQ sauce and Dine Alone 100% Organic Ontario Rye, a collaboration they did with Toronto Distillery Co.. Guests at the event enjoyed a refreshing ginger beer cocktail made with the Dine Alone Rye. These guys started off in music, but their love of food and drink has them branching out further. We also got to enjoy a Dine Alone branded Beau’s Lug-Tread beer... can’t go wrong with Lug-Tread! Traynor Vineyard wines were featured and the Traynor Sauvignon Blanc was a nice easy to drink wine with all the heavy BBQ food.

I had a great time at this event, while learning about Canola Oil and eating delicious food cooked with Canola Oil aka Canada’s Oil. Visit www.canolaeatwell.com for more info about why you should use Canola oil in the kitchen. Canola Eat Well is a joint partnership between Alberta Canola and Manitoba Canola Growers. Special thanks to the teams from Dine Alone Records, Dine Alone Foods, Fidel Gastros, Traynor Vineyard, Canola Eat Well, + Branding and Buzzing. Here’s some cool facts about Canola Oil:
-Canola Growers across Canada plant on average 20 million acres of canola each spring
-Good source of Vitamin E, K and Omega 3 fats
-Canola Oil contains half the amount of saturated fats compared to Olive Oil
-Canola oil is great for BBQ because it has a high heat tolerance (up to 242C/ 468F)
-Canola is Canadian! Choose Canola Oil because it's local, healthy, versatile!

Photo Credits: Jeffrey Chan

R&D Restaurant Opening Review

2015-04-14T20:25:00.003-04:00

Written by Dennis Ng (Good Food Toronto guest writer)

For those who are huge fans of Masterchef Canada, one would know that Alvin Leung and Eric Chong have opened up a brand new restaurant right in the heart of Chinatown. R&D Restaurant was opened up to the media on April 1, 2015 to allow the media and close friends to attend the grand opening of their restaurant. Boasted by 3-star Michelin star chef Alvin Leung and bringing his expertise from Bo Innovation in Hong Kong and London, this restaurant combines a blend of Chinese Asian foods and modern spices to bring together some of the best Asian fusion food this world has ever seen. I had the privilege to attend the opening to witness first hand the great foods made from these two master chefs.

When we got there, we were greeted by a couple of hostesses who took our jackets and led us to the bar. The place looked grand in the sense that there was a bar out front and about 15 tables in the back. We were given a menu as to what to expect for that day and for what was to come in the future. One could not help but notice a huge mural of Mao Tse Tung hanging in the back wall. The decor looked great with funky cylinder lights hanging from the roof.

At the bar they were serving three specialty drinks for the evening. Two of them we were told from the surrounding crowd that they were the real deal. The first one was the Pina Colada Bubble Tea and the other was the 510 Caesar. The Pina Colada Bubble Tea was pretty good. There wasn't a whole lot of rum in it and one could definitely taste the coconut milk and lime inside the drink. It was a pretty good pina colada from top to the bottom and went down smoothly. The other one was the 510 Caesar ($15.00) and this was far out. It was a regular Caesar drink however there was black garlic Chinese Shiitake mushrooms somehow blended in the drink along with some seaweed and some hoisin infused Worcestershire sauce. This drink was super amazing and an absolute must have. The drink tasted slightly thicker but all the extra flavors really made this drink a must have. I had never tasted a Caesar like this Caesar before. The only thing was that at $15.00, it might be just outside the price ranges of many of the regular folks.

Many of the dishes for this particular evening were the help yourself variety. Alvin was on hand to explain to us what each dish was and he even assisted in the making of his very own Chop Suey. One of the first dishes that we grabbed from the counter was the Ceviche. This was basically spot and tiger prawns and scallops mixed into what appeared to be a beautifully pureed guacamole sauce. The beauty of this dish was that the seafood presented were all nice and fresh and one could taste the absolute sweetness of the seafood that was present. The sauce was very smooth and pureed to perfection. It would have been a super appetizer and definitely of master chef quality.

Next to arrive were these wonderful fresh-from-the-oven BBQ buns. It is a huge trend these days where the BBQ pork buns are now made with the crunchy pineapple bun exterior. The buns were super hot on the inside when they arrived at the table. The pork meat inside was nice and juicy and had just the right amount of sauce in them so that one wasn't immersed in sauce as one was consuming the buns. One thing I was surprised too was that the pork meat wasn't overly salty or fatty which made this bun even more enjoyable to eat. The next dish I grabbed was the General Sanders' Chicken and this was a little bit funky in my mind. I love chicken but even this one was a little bit off the charts for yours truly. Basically it was chicken that was deep fried and placed on a HK style egg waffle with some maple syrup on the side. It was definitely very interesting. There were a lot of tastes that were mashed together all at once which I wasn't really too sure whether they worked or not. The only time I had eaten sweet fried chicken before were with Honey Garlic but this wasn't quite the same. I will give it full marks for its innovation however, just not too sure where it stood in my heart.

I found the Octopus tentacles to be a little bit on the dry and bland side. They were not chewy as they were grilled to perfection and there was some small pieces of eggplant added to its side There were not really any major sauces that one could dip the octopus arms into. It did have a smoky taste to it but that was probably the fact that it had just came right off the grill. As Alvin once said, he loves his dishes nice and simple and this certainly had his fingerprints all over it. The Beef Tongue was one of my favorites but it also had caught me by surprise. The beef tongue was very thin and tasted great but what knocked my socks off almost literally was the spicy hot sauce that came with it. I wasn't expecting it to be super spicy but the combination of a small piece of red pepper plus sichuan green sauce had quite the super kick to it. I actually thought it was jalapeno sauce that I was scooping into my mouth. The oyster itself certainly added a bit of a twist to the dish. It was certainly the first time I had an oyster on the same plate as my beef tongue. Overall, it was a great combination to have but yes, please be careful of the sauce.

The Brussels Sprouts and Ma Pao Sweet Potato Dish was another great combination dish that the gentlemen had served that evening. The creamy black bean butter sauce mixed with a small bit of rice was embedded inside a beautifully cooked brussels sprouts. The texture was smooth and the interior was super creamy. It was very delightful, almost tasting as if the brussels sprouts was melting in your mouth. The Ma Pao Sweet Potato was not on their regular menu or on their menu for that day. It was probably a late addition and it too blended well with the brussels sprouts in that it was nice and smooth and creamy. I wasn't too sure whether this will be on any future dishes or whether this was just a one time thing but it certainly could make an interesting appetizer to have. The brussels sprouts on the other hand was a definitely keeper for their menu. The Sweet and Sour Ribs certainly had a very interesting kick to it. A mixture of hawthorn, lemongrass and pineapple ginger slaw was added on top and beside the ribs. It was certainly the first time I have ever had this dish made in this way and it certainly was a great alternative to the original sweet and sour pork that is traditionally served in Chinese restaurants. I found the flavors to be much more stronger where both the sweetness and sourness were elevated to much higher levels. The ribs, not to be forgotten, were cooked to perfection where the meat had fallen right off the bone.

The Chop Suey comprised of about 9 different vegetables and what made this chop suey so special was that Alvin had used a special smoky plum sauce to mix all the vegetable together with. Afterwards, he placed the entire mixture into a piece of lettuce and voila, it was ready to be eaten. The wonderful and amazing part about this dish was that there were so many flavors and so many different vegetables in one's mouth that it felt as if there were fireworks going off inside your mouth. The smoky plum sauce was absolutely an amazing addition to the chop suey and brought out all the flavors out even more. I actually loved this dish and would highly recommended it to anyone who visits his restaurant.

The Crispy Smoked Milk was by far one of the highlight of the night and of course they saved it for the end. It didn't look too appealing at first and I guess they could have plated it better however the Crispy Smoked Milk was amazing and a definite must have if one ever went. The chef had created some sort of a homemade malted milk ice cream which was crazy delicious. It was sweet but not overly sweet and the filling inside the crispy shell was so smooth, so amazingly delicious and just so perfect that this was definitely the best dish for the evening. The chefs were absolute geniuses to use malted milk as it was unique and provided a whole new meaning to dessert.

Overall it was a fabulous evening. I had a chance to meet Eric, Alvin and Michael as they were all on hand to support the launch. Their food was definitely something that was worth going for. They also have a tasting menu that I believe that will be set for around $300.00 and will consist of ten courses that gave Alvin his three stars while in Hong Kong. Many of the dishes I had described tonight will be on his regular menu so when it opens on April 7, 2015 to the public go in and give a try. I don't think you will be disappointed. Overall it was a great evening. I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

R&D Restaurant
241 Spadina Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
416-586-1241
www.rdspadina.com