rgruby

Hi, My folks, who live there, like Black Trumpet on Richmond Row. High endish I think. There's also supposed to be a decent place around Masonville, in what was formerly a Burger King. It's on the northwest corner of Richmond and Fanshawe, and I think part of it is called Crave (there's two restos - one more casual, the other a bit higher end). I've been to neither, but again my folks thought it was decent. And it's in the north end. There's a Peruvian place (Rocoto maybe?) thhat is (or was - I'll get to that) that is alleged to be the best Peruvian place in Canada. (I read about it in the TO Star - the ambassador to Canada from Peru was the one calling it the best). Anyways, my parents and sister tried it out for brunch, and found it awul. Apparently it's moved, and may have slid downhill. Service can be iffy. But, maybe my familyy just hit it on a bad day. Good luck. Please repot back if you find anything worthwhile. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

the produce place on the lower level has freshh morels (and chanterelles) in season. Re: the dried kind, I'd suspect the answer to your question is yes, but I don't know for sure offhand. Do many (any?) of the SLM vendors have websites with contact info so you could shoot them an email directly? Cheers, Geoff Ruby

I was talking withh beer-writer (and beerbistro co-owner) Stephen Beaumont a couple of months ago and he thought that Toronto had the best cask ale scene in North America. I was very surprised to hear that, but, maybe it is. That being said, I have my doubts that cask ale is handled as well here as it is at the best places in the UK. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

I came across this list of cookbook shops on the web: Cookboook shops around the world I don't know how comprehensive it is, or whether it is completely out of date. For example, I'm Canadian, and I know it is missing at least 2 Canadian cookbook shops. But, I've never seen such a list before, so I thought I'd share. If anyone can contribute additions or deletions to the list, please do. Here's a couple of Canadian ones they missed: Montreal Cookbook store Vancouver Cookbook Store Cheers, Geoff Ruby

I think at one point I started a thread trying to assemble a list of all the Toronto and area food-related stuff in print. There may be a few ideas there, but of course only dealing with the Toronto area. I also second the Anita Stewart book if you're looking for something that covers the whole country, is new and in print (can't remember if it examines the far north though). There's also a newish (last year I think) book on Canadian artisinal cheeses by Gurth Pretty that might be worth checking out. I also just picked up A Century of Canadian Home Cooking by Carol Ferguson and Margaret Fraser. It's out of print (it was published in the early 90s). What may be of interest is a list at that back of the book of literally hundreds of Canadian cookbooks, sorted by decade. While I suspect that few of the books listed are still in print, and therefore doesn't really help you with your particular need, it does give some indication of what was historically available here. There's also a few cookbook shops that might be worth contacting. There's the Cookbook store on Yonge St. in Toronto. I know they have a website. (Here's a link to part of the Canadian stuff they carry: Cookbook Store, Toronto There's a store in Vancouver, but I can't remember the name of it. Books for Cooks maybe? I also seem to recall hearing about a place in Alberta (Calgary? Edmonton?) and possibly Montreal as well, although I'm not entirely sure about those. I know the Toronto store has a Canadian section. They could tell you what actually sells the best. Try the Food Network Canada website as well. Some of the shows that were made for the Canadian market have spinoff books. Good luck. Geoff Ruby Edited to add link

Just read (last week's Now) that Narula's has closed. Too bad - it was tasty and very, very inexpensive.

What are some of your favourite places to eat? I only manage to get down there every couple of years or so - been a while since I ate anything other than what you see here. BTW - i think the place we stopped for lunch was called Narula. Oh, I also said I suspected that some of the street eats may be illegal in Toronto. Upon further reflection, I think it may be legal to set up on the sidewalk if youre associated with an adjacent restaurant. So, some of the stands may be legit. And, the law is beinng changed anyhow - which may allow for things like corn on the cob etc. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

I took a bunch of photos in Toronto's Little India (Gerrard St running west (I think) from Coxwell for two or three blocks) just over a year ago. I read somewhere that it is the largest "Little India" in North America. Don't know if that's true or not, as it is actually not that big. Let's start out with some cookware: and looking the other way: Here's Rhea with a really big pot: Now let's look at some of the produce for sale: I think those are drumsticks in the front: Can't remember what these are called And, one of the the spice shops: Being around all those spices and luscious produce can build up your appetite. Time for lunch!: Rhea and her mom, Piyali My Bel poori (spelling)? In Toronto, street food is basically limited to hot dogs. But in Little India you can also find: Barbecued corn on the cob and tandoori chicken - I have my doubts as to whether eithher of those, but especially the chicken, is legal. Last but not least, a couple of shots of the crew in a sari shop, just to give you a bit more of a flavour of the area: And here's the crew: Piyali, Rachelle, Rhea and friend, and Mel The passage of time since I took these photos has dimmed my memory of the day a bit, but I hope this will give you a bit of a sense at what this neighbourhood is like. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

They catered the wedding I attended on the 7th. Apparently it was the last service they did, according to the groom. It was very tasty too. I'm saddened that I didn't have the chance to eat at the restaurant - and I hope the crew there land on their feet. It sounds like a definite loss for the Stratford community, at least for now. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

Ok, I think I've finally figured out how to post pictures. So, here's a bunch of befores of my kitchen. and finally Can you see why we wanted to redo our kitchen? Cupboards, what cupboards. We don't need no steenking cupboards! But actually, we do. Will try and post the after photos in the next few days, along with some of the little conundrums we face(d) - because as you will see, the kitchen is not quite finished, and we haven't really decided on what we're going to do in a couple of spots. Cheers, Geoff Ruby PS - thanks Judith for your technical assistance.

Lonnie, The downtown core is fairly compact - a couple of hours of leisurely wandering should give you a good idea of where you might want to check out. That being said, it doesn't appear that too much has changed in Kingston over the length of this thread (mind you, I've spent all of about 20 hours in Kingston, so my knowledge is somewhat limited). Luke's has a very interesting dinner menu, we had a good meal at Casa Domenico, and some others mentioned on this thread looked appealing if we'd had more time. There are three Cambodian places that I saw in my short time there. that might be something that you see a lot of elsewhere and would definitely be on the budget end of things. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

Dave, I asked upthread about Spanish and Italian ingredients. What about north African? Has any of this influence seeped into the countryside or is it confined to the larger cities. Merci encore for starting this thread! C'est fantastique! Cheers, Geoff Ruby

I feel your pain. Our kitchen was gutted Dec. 1. We didn't have running water in there again until late March (might've even been early April). And when the sink was finally installed, the faucet had a defect (it leaked) and it took over a week to get it replaced. We'd been piling up the dishes in anticipation of having a proper place to do them - and after nearly four months we had to wait another week. That sucked. Did I mention we also have a toddler? And that he lost his playroom during the reno as it was behind the kitchen. And that my wife's back blew up. Twice. Partly as a result of doing dishes in the laundry sink - a lot of bending over a low sink. I guess we knew that juggling the reno and the toddler was gonna be a challenge, but didn't anticipate the challenges of looking after the kid and the missus. Your issues with delays are pretty commonplace, in my experience. The price "inflation" I think is also not uncommon - but there should be a reason for it - some unexpected event that they can explain why it was unexpected and also explain why the new fee is reasonable. For all the major stuff, we had contracts, except the electrical, which was hourly. Our flooring estimate had three different price schedules depending on what they found when they ripped up the existing floor and what was going to need to be done to prepare for the new flooring. We ended up having to pay the middle price, but given what they had to do (remove the five! previous layers of flooring and subflooring, add new two by fours or sixes and level them etc.) I actually think we got a bit of a bargain. Our biggest delay was the countertop. They moved to a new facility over Christmas, and found out all their electrical (ie cutting) equipment needed to be re-certified. That little blip probably added at least 6 weeks to our reno. (Floors and cabinets were actually in before Christmas - so three weeks give or take. Despite the disruption, dust, noise etc., that stage wasn't that bad because it felt like progress was being made pretty much every day.) Not a lot happened for a few weeks. I ended up doing the painting because we had the time. What'd we do to survive it? Well, we ate a lot of takeout. Used disposeable plates and cups and ate a lot more stuff out of boxes that could be nuked. I also made a whole bunch of stuff and froze it before the reno started. We didn't eat great, but we ate ok. Barbequed a lot until the weather turned nasty as well. (Was thinking about trying to borrow a George Foreman as well). We have a massive toaster oven that saw a lot of use too. We also figured there'd be "surprises" along the way - and there were. One of the hard things for me was the fact that I'd thought I'd thought of pretty much everything - but I was constantly asked questions by the contractors that demanded immediate answers. Do you want x centered, what height should I put y, etc. Our kitchen is still not completely finished - partly budget, partly a little surprise behind a wall that I want to live with for a little while to see what we need or could do with the space, and partly exhaustion with the whole process - we need a break from it for a little while. But the kitchen is pretty much fully functional now, and it's so much better than what was there before. And, the memories of the reno do seem like a distant memory. I do have an appliance story - but it's getting late. Good luck with the rest of it. I know it's frustrating when you're in the middle of it, but a few weeks disruption is a short time if you'll get a more functional kitchen that you'll be using for years to come. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

Dave, Looking forward to this! Could you tell us a bit about what ingredients you recall seeing in the States but that you don't see there - at least not commonly? And vice- versa. What is the availability of ingredients from other regions of France. Or Italy or Spain for that matter? Just trying to get a bit of a sense how "regional" rural, regional France (or at least where you are) is. And, in the short time you've been there, have you seen any real changes in this. Thanks again, Geoff Ruby PS - Some day I'm going to resurrect your kitchen reno thread. I swear. I thought moving to a Mac was gonna make posting pictures here possible - but I haven't figured it out yet. Some day.

Well, I've had my counters in for three or four months now, and I'm still not sure I made the right choice. They look great when oiled (I much prefer the oiled look) but seem to need pretty frequent oilings - at least once a week or so. They don't seem to be needing less frequent oilings as time goes on, but I suppose it's still relatively early days yet. And, they are soft. Really soft. At least mine are. Opening a wine bottle, as several people have mentioned, makes little dents in the counter. After the counter is oiled, those dents disappear (well, they're still there, but you can't see them anymore). Yes, the counters get lots of little scratches, which (mostly) disappear after a fresh coat of oil. But I have to say, I didn't think they'd bug me, but they do. We have one little divot already. I think that over time, as there are more divots and scratches , I'll actually feel ok with them, as long as they aren't too big. But right now my kitchen isn't finished, so I kinda want things to be perfect. I do like the look and feel. Mine have quite a bit of greenish veining. Another question for those who've had soapstone counters for a while. Anything you don't do with them, or that you have had to find a workaround to not damage them? I'll give you an example of what I'm getting at. I mentioned above a concern for clamping a pasta maker or meat grinder onto the counter. What about using a pizza cutter for grissini or ravioli - something that needs to be cut and takes up quite a bit of counter space, for example. I think with my old (formica) counters I did stuff like that right on the counter. With soapstone, I think I'd put down an upturned baking sheet maybe. Not sure a towel alone would work. I'll post photos if I can ever figure out how. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

As the others have stated, no, Italians don't generally go for non-Italian food. And, yes, even within Italy they tend to stick with food from their region, from what I've seen. But, I suspect this is changing, albeit more slowly than elsewhere. So, on those few occasions they don't eat Italian, what do they eat? Well, for the younger crowd, there are McDonalds. And, the places I've been (the Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Florence & Rome), I'd say Chinese would have to be the most common ethnic eateries, but then, I didn't really see a whole lot of them either. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

Spent about 24 hours in Kingston last week with the missus, kid and dog. For dinner, sat on the patio of Casa domenica with the whole brood. Kid was being fussy/unhappy, dog the same. So we just ordered a couple apps and one main and asked that they all come at once. Had a pistachio crusted goat cheese salad, the charcuterie app (they called it carne e molto carne) and the main was tuna three ways. Everything was at least very good - the sausage on the meat plate was a bit dry. Tuna plate had carpaccio on a bed of arugula, simply dressed with EVO, sesame crusted tuna with potato chips, and peppercorn crusted on a bed of braised fennel with a slice of foie gras (I think I have that roughly correct). All very nicely done, nice presentations. Would like to return under more relaxed circumstances and have a full meal, although we were all pleasantly sated with what we had. And, Canadian celebrity citing with Kingston connections. Rob Baker, a guitar player with a rock band known very well to Canadians of a certain age, walked in with his family as we were exiting. Then we went for ice cream at one of the two nearly identical looking places around the corner. For lunch the next day we did takeout from Luke's. The missus had the smoked salmon sandwich - which was very good in her estimation. I had a chicken salad sandwhich and a soup - carrot puree with a blasamic glaze, dill and ricotta maybe (some sort of cheese). The soup was nice, but I didn't think my sandwich was anything special really. Not bad, but not amazing either. Nice bread on the sandwhiches though - I think made in house. But, it hit the spot, and then we were off to Ottawa. The dinner menu at Lukes does look interesting - lots of charcuterie and interpretations of old (ie middle ages back to Roman times) dishes. Again, would like to return for dinner. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

Just got back from a few days in ottawa myself. Will weigh in a little more expansively as time allows. Had a good meal at Wellington G-pub. Are the pate's you mentioned made by my friend Dave Neil? He told me he was getting a profile in the Ottawa media, but I didn't realize his charcuterie was available away from the resto. We tried to check out Sweetgrass for lunch yesterday but they aren't open for lunch on the weekend. I should have checked first. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

Anyone tried the Zuni Cafe method? Cheers, Geoff Ruby And yeah, I always do the horizontal cuts too - a good, sharp knife and a few minutes practice and it'll be second nature. Really ain't that hard.

Hmm. I was told the oven went to 550. I too would prefer that - hello oven manufacturers, some of us want high temps for pizza, bread making (naan especially in my case) etc. I know the ovens will do it and not get too hot on the outside surface if properly insulated - the self-clean cycle shows that. Is there some reason ovens typically only go up to 500? cheers, Geoff Ruby

Can I bump this back up again? I'm looking for pretty much the same thing - but only a dozen people or so, including our little guy (21 months). any other suggestions? Cheers, geoff Ruby

Yeah, there's lots of science and cookery books out there now. A decade ago, not so much. Herve This (lots more in French than English), Harold McGee (a must in any serious cook's library in my opinion), Shirley Corriher (although hers are cookbooks as well), Robert? Wolke, Hillman ? and Russ Parsons. Perhaps others. There are a few books about how to put flavour combinations together -so they venture into the theoretical - but most are cookbooks at the end of the day. Of course, there are lots of books about the resto biz etc, and some memoirs that might fit what you're looking for. (Julia, Jaques Pepin, and many, many more). There's lots of books about specific (categories of) ingredients. and wider ranging tomes such as Larousse Gastronomique and the Oxford Companion, and others. So yeah, there's lots. Maybe try searching food reference or similar topics in amazon or the websites for the larger online cookbook stores. there's a vast selection of this stuff. the Ruhlman books are superb - but I'm not sure what to suggest just because there's so much stuff that might fit what you're looking for. I can't remember who puts it out, but there's an annual anthology titled something along the lines of "best food writing of 200x". It might be woth checking out. Best of luck with your search. Geoff Ruby

Hmm. I think his website used to have the prices listed - it doesn't seem to anymore, at least I couldn't find them given a cursory glance. Anyhow, I remember the full 7 course tasting menu was @ $115 or $125 per person. That's before taxes and tip and doesn't include alcohol. Last time I went the vegetarian option was $75 or so, I think. That may have been just the 5 course menu though, and it was a couple years ago as well. But that should give you an idea - with tax and tip your're in for anywhere from probably a bit over $100 a head for vegetarian or @ $150 - 175 for the full non-veg tasting menu. I've never ordered a la carte there - it seems to still be an option, but I thought I'd heard he was phasing that out? Honestly, if budget was a deciding factor, i'd do the vegetarian tasting menu at Susur over Lee's. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

Here's the website: http://www.susur.com/ My experience - dinner for two, with a couple of beers, maybe a couple glasses of wine and a cocktail will run you $400 or so if you opt for the full-on tasting menu at Susur. If you did the vegetarian tasting menu and kept alcohol consumption to a minimum it might be half that though. Last time we went to Lee I think we paid less than $150 and we probably had a few drinks there, probably 2 or three glasses of wine (total, not each). For what it's worth, I think Susur is actually better value for your $ than Lee. Cheers, Geoff Ruby

When I worked briefly in Italy, I saw a practice I've never seen or heard of before or since. Until this thread :Respect your mother. In short, ice would be periodically added to the stock. They translated it as breaking the bones. Does anybody else have anything more to add on this? I haven't looked at McGee yet or Herve This to see if they have discussed it. Anybody else work in a restaurant where they do this? Cheers, Geoff Ruby