prasantrin

I think it's called Albert Street Burgers--in the Exchange District, across from Fleet Art Gallery. I've never been there, but I'm hoping to try it this summer. I love a good burger! Usually when I'm in the Exchange District, I head over to the Underground Cafe for the best veggie burger I've ever had (I normally dislike veggie burgers, though). It's called a Sun Burger and is messy, but incredibly delicous!

Have you made your curry puffs, yet? And if you did, how did they turn out? I've been thinking of curry puffs lately. Mmmmmm...

Aside from bringing much needed tourist dollars to the city, Winnipeg is one great place to eat! I've been back for just 6 days and here's a sample of what I've eaten. My first dinner--at North Garden. $1 chicken (on Mondays, if you order $20+ you can order one of three chicken dishes for only $1), sweet and sour pork, fried rice with chicken and salted fish. We felt we needed some vegetables so we ordered off the seasonal vegetable menu. This was stir-fried bok choy with garlic. All those white bits aren't bugs, but garlic. I swear they used an entire head of garlic in this dish... Filipino breakfast from Juvian's! Except we were eating it for dinner...I had the tocino. When it's fresh, it's very good, but my tocino was a mix of fresh and older tocino. Comes with fried rice and two eggs (I had over-easy). My mother's Filipino breakfast--she had the fried bangus. Juvian's has the best fried bangus in Winnipeg, and it's especially good when you get the fatty part! Farmer Burger from the St. Norbert Farmer's Market. I've been eating these for breakfast for years! Topped with homemade relish, some chopped onions, mustard and, yes, ketchup! Not the ideal 8 am food (you smell for the rest of the day) but oh so good! More to come...

True! There was an influx of Iraqis a few years ago, but many moved elsewhere (as is common for immigrants/refugees who settle first in Winnipeg) and those still here are not the restaurant types, I guess. There was also a Lebanese place on Hargrave several years ago, but that did not last, either. While not North African, two of the Junior's hamburger places are owned by a Palestinian family. They have the best falafel in the city, in my opinion, and their homemade hot sauce is excellent. The last time I had the chicken gyros, though, I was not as pleased. Not quite as flavourful as it used to be (but it could have been an off day). My mother went to the Moroccan place shortly after they opened last year. The people were very friendly, she said, but the food was just OK. I think at the time she went, they had few customers (in general) so the food was not as fresh as it could have been. We're planning to try it again--have to do it soon in case they close! A new place has also opened on either Sargent or Ellice. I don't know where the owners are from, though. It looks like a casual place and advertises schwarma, falafel, baba ganoush, etc. Will probably get there later this week to try it out!

I don't think it has to go mainstream, but perhaps the desire to have it go mainstream is a result of that subconscious inferiority complex that so many Filipinos have. There used to be a joke going around BBS about different Asian ethnicities..."You know you're [fill in the ethnicity] when you..." All the other ethnicities ended with something like "...when you think you're the best in the world" but the Filipino one ended with something like, "...when you want to be American." Having people enjoy Filipino cuisine is one way Filipinos can feel better about their culture--it seems to me that so few (in or outside the Philippines) really do. About food...would you like to share your empanada recipe? I'm still looking for a good one!

Tocino is my favourite Filipino breakfast! I like longanisa, too, but only particular ones. I also like Filipino-style chorizo. I've never particularly cared for pancit, but love lechon and the big fried pork hock--can't remember what it's called now. Crispy pata? I love fried bangus, but only if it's from the fatty stomach part. Sans Rival is still my favourite Filipino dessert, though, even though it's not really filipino. Brazo de Mercedes is my mother's favourite. I was thinking...I think Filipino food is much better known in Canada than in the US. In places like Winnipeg, which has a huge Filipino population, there are plenty of cheap Filipino restaurants. The other day my mother and I were at a Filipino buffet, and most of the people eating there were caucasian.

Ahem. They're called Frosters at Mac's. Or maybe Frostees....I just had one on Tuesday--my first slurpee-type drink in more than a year, consumed along with my beloved Old Dutch BBQ potato chips. Just as good as I remembered...though the pepsi froster did really bad things to my ibs....

My job? I'm a teacher. In Japan. Nothing to do with tea, except that I love it. Except I actually prefer flavoured black teas, heathen that I am . It was just coincidental that the day I read this thread, I had just come back from a visit to Mariage Freres (my favourite tea shop in the world). A friend had ordered a Taiwanese tea that was listed as a blue tea. We searched through their book until we found out what blue teas were. In previous issues of their book, by the way, they use the term oolong, not blue. I'm not sure why they changed...maybe because blue tea sounds more interesting? The tea my friend ordered, by the way, was called Tarry Souchong from Taiwan. As a lover of flavoured, perfumed teas, it was an assault to my nose. To say it was smokey was putting it lightly--it smelled like someone was smoking some meat the whole time we were there. My poor chocolate tart, along with my lovely tea, were tainted with smoke. After that experience, I have come to realize that I'm not really a tea connoisseur. I just like my flavoured, perfumed black teas.

Wow! Who would've thought there were so many possibilities? Well...I guess y'all did, but I sure didn't! Now I'm going to have to experiment with all the different combinations--wines, brandies, etc. What a great excuse to buy more alcohol . Thanks for all the help!

Forgive me if this has been asked before, but... What liquids are usually used for rehydrating dried fruits to be used for baking? I'm looking for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. For example: Raisins--rum is the obvious alcholic option, but what juice or other liquid can be used for those who cannot tolerate alchohol? Grape juice? Cranberries--I tend to use orange juice, but are there any other liquids that go well with cranberries? What kind of alcohol could one use? Gin? Prunes--I've used rum, and it was fine. But there must be something better out there...more interesting, anyway. Figs? Blueberries? cherries? Apricots? Have I missed any? Those are the fruits I use most often in baking, but if there are any other interesting dried fruit/liquid options out there, I'd love to hear about them!

I'll go cheap on flour, pasta, canned beans (and sometimes on other canned goods like tomatoes, corn, pineapple), certain types of alcohol (rum--I only use it for rum raisins and strawberry daiquiris). Most of these things get used in/with other things so I don't really taste them. But I'll buy more expensive rice (I think most people who grow up eating rice every day can tell the difference between the cheap stuff and the expensive stuff), cheeses, fish...Anything that I eat in a simpler fashion, where I can actually taste it.

If one were to travel with smoked goldeye, why would it have to be frozen? Wouldn't it be good for at least several days, since it's smoked? I'm thinking of bringing some back to Japan as gifts, but if I have to freeze it, it may not be the best choice. I do have a Tilia so I could vacuum pack if necessary, but I'd like to avoid freezing.

Blue tea is, as I understand it, another way of refering to semi-fermented teas. I think oolong is one such variety.

Oops. When you wrote that you were from London, I had assumed London, Ontario...not London, England. I'm Canadian, what can I say?

Because they used Spanish peanuts? I never really understood the Cuban connection, either, though I don't think I even knew what/where Cuba was back then. I remember it as being one bar and it was in a brown paper rectangle thing, kind of like what Reese's peanut butter cups come in. And part of the chocolate would stick to the wrapper, so you'd have to lick it off. Well, I did... Edited to add: Glosette Peanuts and Raisins! I loved the peanut ones, but hated the raisin ones. Chocolate-covered peanuts/raisins are available elsewhere in the world, though, so I suppose those don't really qualify. However....Eat-More chocolate bars are definitely Canadian! I used to hate them when I was a kid, but I love them now! And according to the Hershey's Canada website, Pot of Gold chocolates are also Canadian...

I was afraid of that! Oh well. I still love them! How about Cuban Lunch? I used to love them when I was a child. I did a search, and could only find recipes involving chocolate, peanut butter chips, and potato chips, but the Cuban Lunch I knew was just chocolate and peanuts. Made by Paulin's. While searching, I found an article where the first two paragraphs discuss Canadian sweets. Also mentioned were Lowrey's Cherry Blossoms (I always thought they were disgusting), and Ganong's Roman Nougat (which i don't remember at all). Can we add those to the list?

I have finally found a Japanese sausage I can eat without gagging. They may be American, but they're made (or at least distributed) by Ito Ham. It's called Jones Dairy Farms Golden Brown. They're just like brown and serve breakfast sausages available in the US. I see from their website that they are an American product. Purchased from Costco, they work out to about Y200 per pack (8 sausages/pack, 3 packs/set). Quite good with maple syrup and pancakes . Speaking of pancakes, a friend was experimenting with different types of pancakes. She wanted to make a savoury pancake, so she cut up a few sausages and put them in the batter. Turned out to be fish sausage...

I always though Aero bars were British, as well. They sell a Japanese version. Haven't tried them, yet, as I've never really liked them! Canadian KitKats and Japanese KitKats are much more similar to each other, than to US KitKats. Fiddleheads are also available elsewhere in the world... So that leaves....sesame snaps! They've been a popular snack in my family for decades, and I've never seen them in the US, though the website I linked to is from the US.

I also need to add my vote for McD's pizza and their fried apple pies. I suppose, though, that my vote for fried apple pies doesn't really count, since they still fry their apple pies here in Japan. I eat at McD's a lot more in Japan than I ever did in Canada! They still fry them in Morocco, too...at least they did a few years ago. I know people think going to McD's when you're in a foreign country is a bad thing, but when it comes to fried apple pies, it's worth the dirty looks!

FYI Today is the first day of the St. Norbert Farmer's Market. And in just three more Saturdays, I'll be there scarfing my breakfast of a farmers burger with homemade sauerkraut. Yum!

Just this week, the New York Times has an article on doing Niagara Falls with kids. For wineries, they mention Hillebrand Estates as being at least a little child-friendly, food-wise. Edited to add: Inniskillen (sp?) is also mentioned as a winery with a number of things which can help keep children occupied.

Sorry! I should have clarified a bit more. I only use them when I'm pressed for time, and I know the people I'm baking for won't mind them. Otherwise I bake from scratch no matter who the cake is for. I've actually only used a boxed cake mix once in the last 5 years (possibly longer, but I only know for certain the last time was about 5 years ago)--to make one of those pseudo-baba au rhum-type cakes. It was pretty horrible, I thought, but as I had predicted, the people I made it for liked it.

If PamR doesn't know, and you're willing to wait a few weeks, I'd be glad to ship some to you! You'd also have to get FDA clearance, though, but it can be done! I think....

I second the vote for Sabor Latino's carne al pastor taco. I had it based on tammylc's recommendation, and it was fabulous! One of my top three favourite foods from my trip to Ann Arbor. I didn't get to make it to Jerusalem Garden, Earthen Jar, or Bev's Carribean Kitchen (which were all on my list for that trip). Maybe next time! But although you asked for ethnic places, could you hit Dimo's for a breakfast bagel (the one with sausage, egg, and cheese), take a picture, and post it for me? I have dreams about it....

I only use boxed if I'm making something for someone else, and I know they're used to things like boxed cake mixes. I'm one of those who can "taste the box"--at least for white and yellow cake mixes. I'm not sure if my taste buds can detect chocolate boxes...