rgruby

Vdara opened today in the old Satori/ Habitat/ Future bakery space at Queen and Tecumseth. the chefs have done time at Centro, Tutta Bene, Greens, Chez Panisse maybe as well? The little blurb they had posted said it would be "upper bohemian" cuisine and lunch would be more of a soup and sandwich type menu. I did take a quick look at the menu - can't recall much offhand - other than a few things had cutesy names - like "trust me veg" - that you couldn't actually tell what the dish was. Cheers, geoff

Tylenol too, apparently. Advil is ok, as far as I know. Cheers, geoff

I haven't read the whole thread, so forgive me if I repeat anything. I was recommended a rat/mouse poison that supposedly kills the little buggers after one feeding. But, fear of having my kid or the dog get into the stuff left me looking for alternatives. I was told try bacon instead of cheese or peanut butter in a conventional trap. Stuff it in there so they have to work at it to get it out. I tried it. It works. good luck! Cheers, Geoff

Hi, I haven't paid all that much attention to the cookbook scene this year, but I'm keen to know what I'm missing. 'Tis the season for newspapers, magazines etc to pad their pages with cookbook roundups for the 2008 holiday season and also discuss other worthy cookbooks released earlier in the year. So, if you know of any, please let us know. The LA Times did one a few weeks ago. Which I can't seem to find on their website right now. Oops, spoke too soon. Here's the link: LA Times cookbook roundup I know there's a thread on egullet talking about cookbooks about to be or just released as well. Cheers, Geoff

Thanks all! Had a pretty good trip. Our stroller died near the Botanical Gardens about halfway into our visit. We knew it was on the way out, and planned to retire it after this trip - but we didn't foresee the cause of death. That little hiccup mad our lives a bit trickier. Didn't make it to APdC. In fact, our dinners were pretty uninspiring - tourist trap places on or around St Denis and Ontario. But, when you've got a young child, you eat at the nearest place you can find when hunger strikes. Unless you're a lot more organized than we were. Did make it to Jean Talon. Great market! Bought a lot of cheese at Hamel, and ham, sausage (and milkweed pod ketchup - haven't tried it yet) at Marche des Saveurs. Our lunches were good! Also had some pupusas from somewhere near Jean Talon market/ Little Italy. I had a few pints at Cheval Blanc and L'amere a Boire. Bought a few liquid souvenirs at Paradis de la Biere. I always enjoy Montreal. looking forward to visiting again. Cheers, Geoff

Merci beaucoup! Are there any liquor stores or depanneurs that are particularly good for beer, particularly ones from Quebec? Thanks again, geoff

Oddfellows has opened in Kei's place. Apparently run by the same folks - but it looks very different. One long communal table and a weird "oven" that hangs from the ceiling. I haven't had a look at the menu yet. Cheers, geoff

Well, Legend is being reborn as the Dog's Bollocks pub - looks like it's pretty close to being ready. Sartori has been shuttered, but apparently it's already bean leased. If they don't redo the deor, could be open pretty quickly. I'll try and keep you posted. Cheers, Geoff

Hi, I know this has been covered a bit before - but any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We're staying not too far from Lafontaine park. We walk a lot. So the east end of downtown and plateau areas in particular would be the most convenient. I haven't been to Montreal in ages, can't remember where we ate last time. That was before the kid though. Also, I think I remember hearing about brewpubs in that area. Can anybody tell me more? Is Au Pied de Cochon kid-friendly? If I were to hit one market, which one should it be? And which stalls in particular - mostly looking for Quebecois products or perhaps some local cheeses that aren't making their way down the 401 to Toronto yet. Actually, are there any specialty food shops that sell only (or mostly) Quebec products? If anybody has any other kid-friendly ideas, foodie related or not, please let me know. (He's three. He'll eat just about anything unless it's spicy.) I think the Biodome and insectarium are on the list, but really, he'd probably rather just go somewhere and watch for trains. Thanks! Geoff

I think that was me with the good for you foods are bad for gout. Sad, but true. I haven't pushed it lately, but the drugs seem to be workin'. Finally. Minor pain, but no real bad attacks for a while. May try a sardines and sangria combo next weekend if the weather gods are kind. that will be a real test. Wish me luck. Cheers, Geoff

And, has it caused any problems/ health scares? Here's a bit of background about a farmer in Ontario charged with distributing raw milk: http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/470777 Cheers, Geoff

The new place opens tomorrow - saw a sign in the window yesterday while out walking the mutt. Might have been called Madeline's? I think that was it. Didn't have any more info than that. Cheers, Geoff

Not much really right by the hotel. But lots of stuff a short to mid length walk away. Salad King/ Linda is about a 5 min walk south. Salad King is basically a cafeteria - but serves up quite respectable Thai for not a whole lot of $$. Very hectic at lunch. Linda is a much nicer room (just up the stairs - same kitchen) and has the same menu at lunch. More upscale menu there at dinner. Chinatown isn't far - not sure what I'd recommend there though. Maybe a bit far to walk - but a few places from the original Chinatown (along Dundas and Bay to University) are still there. I generally avoid the Church st (near your hotel) and King St (a short cab ride) strips. Really, anything downtown is going to be a $10 cab ride or less from that hotel. A bit hard to narrow things down. Ethiopea House on Irwin is pretty close to that hotel. There's four or so Indian places on Queen just west of University. Better can be had further afield. But, they're all ok. For Korean, Bloor west of Bathurst has a bazillion places. There's some ok Japanese not too far - Hiro on King E and EmaTei on St Patrick (I think) - been a while. Parkdale has a few Tibetan places - it's a bit further though. But not far from the Queen W hipster cocktail strip of the Gladstone and Drake hotels, the social etc etc. The Drake is supposed to have good grub too. College west of Bathurst has a bunch of mostly middling Italian joints, plus some cocktail bars and a few places that have patios. Cocktails near your hotel? I'd head up to Yorkville probably (Avenue road to Yonge, just north of Bloor. But, not really my scene. And, it's not an area noted for the quality of the food - although there are exceptions. Street food? Pretty much just smog dogs here. For now. Ok, for something fairly nice near your hotel I'm drawing a total blank. There's probably something reasonable along Church, but I couldn't tell you what it would be. A short (even $5-6) cab ride and a whole mess of options would be available. hope some of this helps. Cheers, geoff

Saw this in the news. bread & health study Just one study, but certainly seems to go against the conventional wisdon. Cheers, Geoff

Just wanted to bump this up in case anybody is interested. I'd love to go, but the downtowner sans car is making it unlikely. Hoping to hear a report if somebody does go. Cheers, geoff

Perigee under the new chef got a very positive review in last week's (might've been the week before's) TO Star. Sounds like they're still doing good work despite chef Riley's departure. Cheers, Geoff

I do love a Merla Mae jamoca almond fudge sundae! ← Sadly, never made it there on this visit. Partly cuz it rained every day except for Canada day - which was glorious sunshine the entire time. Next time for sure. Cheers, Geoff

Are there any specific foods/cuisines your kids like to eat? If your kids like Greek food, I'd suggest Mythic Grill on Albert. Unfortunately, they don't take reservations. Prince Albert Diner might be fun for kids, too, with all their milkshakes, etc. Or Joe Kool's during the day ( it' more of a bar at night). The kitchen sink nachos might be a bit of a novelty for the kids. ← Well, he's only 3. But, we did Italian yesterday, Ethiopean tomorrow, so he's up for pretty much anything as long as the spice level isn't too high. Loves hummus and cheese most of all. And anything we tell him is a treat. And Kools - brings back memories. Feast of the Maumaus - where are they now? Cheers, Geoff ← Since he likes hummus, I'd head to Barrakat. It looks like a fastfood Middleeastern place, but their food is delicious.. It's on the corner of Albert and Richmond, where the Eastside Marios used to be located. Their hummus is great, as are their mezzes, shawarmas, lentil soup. Massey's Fine Indian Cuisine on King east of Richmond is another option, since they have lots of mild Northern dishes. I really like their version of muttar paneer, and their makhani dal (with kidney beans). If you like coriander, they have a tandoor cooked fish that is quite good. Too bad Say Cheese is long gone! Your son also might like a trip to Merla Mae, for a soft serve sundae. It's now located on Adelaide near Huron. If I think of anywhere else, I'll post some more;) ← Went to Barrakat. Humungous servings for the price. The kid refused to eat anything, including the hummus. These things happen. Thanks for the tip though. Anybody tried Si Senor, a new Mexican place on Waterloo? Cheers, Geoff

I'd check out one of Anita Stewart's books, perhaps her most recent titled Anita Stewart's Canada. haven't really had a good look at it myself yet, but she knows her stuff. Here is her list of essential books with lots of (highlighted) Canadian content: http://www.anitastewart.ca/EssentialBooks.htm And in a frenzy of Anita Stewartness, maybe check this out too: http://www.flavoursofcanada.ca/ No relation to Martha that I'm aware of. Cheers, geoff

Staying hydrated - yup. Cherry juice - well, doesn't seem to hurt. Was getting it all the time about a year ago. Had started making my own granola. So, looked up on the web, and sure enough, oatmeal is a big no-no. In fact, a surprising number of "healthy" foods - lentils, asparagus and spinach, whole wheat bread, are not good for gout sufferers (in addition to the above-mentioned alcohol, offal, red meat, shellfish, etc.) The good news? Allopurinal seems to work for a lot of people. I've been taking it for about a year. But for the first six months at least, my gout seemed worse. I'm still taking it though. The bad news? If you do suffer from it, in most cases the severity and frequency of attacks usually increases over time. Also, if you have a mild case and want to take over the counter meds, be aware that both aspirin and tylenol can both aggravate it. So advil (or equivalent) is what you will want. I actually find that Advil works better for me than colchicine. I found indomethicin a bit like taking psilocybin or something - it made me feel really, really weird. Kind of out of body feeling, and with the added bonus of something akin to wolverines rampaging through my intestinal tract. Not a pretty picture for you, I'd imagine, and not a pleasant experience for me. Can't do it, even though it did seem to work for the swelling. Onto the eating and drinking. I've found that organically raised red meat almost always triggers an attack. The factory farmed stuff? Not with any predictability. Anybody else find this? Shellfish? Well, if I drink a bunch of red wine with it - I'll expect to pay, but don't always. Overindulge in alcohol - doesn't seem to have any direct cause and effect. But, overindulge and then abstain for several days and refrain from eating supposed gout inducing foods pretty much the entire time? I always have an attack. So, my experience is that attacks aren't completely random - there's a few things that do seem to have a fair predictive value of an attack, but often when I'll do all the stuff that should provoke an episode I get nothing. And vice-versa. I'd recommend, if this does turn out to be more than an infrequent occurrence, that you take notes of what you ate in the day(s) before the attack to see if you can discern a pattern. I've also found that the attacks can vary greatly in severity (from mildly annoying to wishing for death) and that where you get them greatly affects your mobility or lack thereof. I get them across the top of my foot a lot. Sore, but I can get around. Ankle of knee? Less good. I've had attacks lasting from a few hours to days. I just about never get the big toe anymore. Good luck with it. I'd talk to your doctor about something like allopurinal - especially if altering your diet to avoid all high-purine foods ain't in the cards. My sense is this can help moderate (but not eliminate) episodes in the majority of sufferers without requiring major lifestyle (ie diet) changes. Worth looking into, imo. YMMV. cheers, Geoff

I've mentioned it favorably at least a couple of times on here. I think it is a worthy addition to just about any kitchen library. It might be the best book out there dealing with how to build and balance flavors in a dish. Or at least how a then-modern well-regarded chef in a top NYC restaurant would go about it. There's a decent index on what is in season when (obviously from a NY perspective). he also distinguishes between what still is best thought of as seasonal (tomatoes) and what, although formerly a seasonal product, is now available in adequate supply and good quality year round (oranges). Ok, I didn't look those up, but you get the picture. I have not cooked from it recently. Most of the recipes I tried worked reasonably well. A handful at best though (par for the course for me). I think it's strength is getting you to think about flavor combinations the way a chef would. I think there's also a bunch of charts grouping various foods into the sweet, sour, bitter, salty (maybe more ?) camps. Somewhat useful for making substitutions. I also think it's from the time when Rocco seemed serious about cooking and having a big glossy tome that reflected that was de rigeur. So, I'm guessing a fair amount of effort went into it. Anyhow, I think it's worth picking up. Cheers, Geoff

And anybody gone in the past? Sounds like fun. They do have a somewhat uninformative website (torontonightmarket.com) My understanding is that this is basically a large hawker market set up in a parking lot in Markham two nights a year. I've never been, so I don't know a whole lot more about it than that. Cheers, Geoff

Are there any specific foods/cuisines your kids like to eat? If your kids like Greek food, I'd suggest Mythic Grill on Albert. Unfortunately, they don't take reservations. Prince Albert Diner might be fun for kids, too, with all their milkshakes, etc. Or Joe Kool's during the day ( it' more of a bar at night). The kitchen sink nachos might be a bit of a novelty for the kids. ← Well, he's only 3. But, we did Italian yesterday, Ethiopean tomorrow, so he's up for pretty much anything as long as the spice level isn't too high. Loves hummus and cheese most of all. And anything we tell him is a treat. And Kools - brings back memories. Feast of the Maumaus - where are they now? Cheers, Geoff

just gonna bump this up and ask about kid-friendly options. I suspect we'll only do a meal or two outside the grandparents place, but any advice appreciated. cheers, Geoff

Seoul City has just closed, Queen and Euclid. A new Thai place is opening in its place. That's about 10 or fifteen doors down from the former Butler's Pantry location mentioned above. Maybe another one can open up in the Legend/ Gypsy Co-op location and we can have three Thai locations within about a hundred feet of each other. Cheers, Geoff