Jake

I wish I'd read this over the weekend, I was at LY (picked up some tomatos, almost passed them by until a little old Italian lady stopped me and told me to buy some!) I'll definitely try the smoked salmon, we've been buying from Kristapsons for years, and I'm off it lately. It's still okay, but sliced very thick and it just doesn't taste the same to me. I guess another trip over to the LY plaza is in order. I love the columbian bakery in the same plaza as well.

It sounds like a good time for some shellfish, if your brother enjoys it. Skewered, marinated, grilled shrimp/prawns perhaps? Baby crab cakes? Cucumber slices with wasabi creme fraiche, topped with a large shrimp and a dab of caviar? Pan seared scallops (ocean, not bay) served over a carrot and daikon salad? Oysters on the half shell? Add Grand Marnier to the mousse for dessert, or time permitting between courses, a chocolate GM souffle? Edited to add: Have a wonderful time no matter what you cook, take lots of photos and laugh often. I'm sure the memories will be precious.

Yorkshire pudding. Seriously, I cannot control myself. At least 4 at a meal, often 6. Others who even dream of taking a second get the evil eye. Dipped in the blood off the roast plate is heaven, however I have been know to make a pan just for me, no roast in sight!

Parsley as a garnish does NOT count.

I'll believe you if you believe me! Interesting how everyone but Mike has chosen a liquid. It says to me that in this day and age with so much variety available it is not necessary to eat the same thing everyday. Of course, in many asian cultures rice would be the first choice I'll bet.

Greens! And you have to eat them too. Seriously, green beans with a compound butter (easy to blanche ahead and warm with the butter). Of course no one will bother with anything when they see the smoked bird..

I'll have to go with coffee as well -- I cannot think of anything else that I eat EVERY day, or even most days for that matter....Diet Pepsi and some form of alcohol would follow as close seconds but not EVERY day -- honest

I couldn't do without my chinios. It is easier than fooling around with cheesecloth and other strainers etc. Although I have been know to do the final strain through cheesecloth in the chinios....

I really like the selection at Queen's Quay. Summerhill is good, and closer to me tho. The fairly new one at Laird & McRae has a decent selection for a regular LCBO but they are seriously lacking in knowledgeable staff and getting a special order is next to impossible. KevV, they are the single largest purchaser -- and it is pretty impressive. I am quite amazed at the variety we have. However, that being said, because they purchase in such quantity, we do miss out on a lot of the smaller producers.

How about a good source for smoked duck breast -- at a reasonable price? I have found them at Royal Meats ($7.99 for about 300g), Pusateri's (don't ask - it was an emergency). I would like to get whole breasts, not the sliced vac pac stuff you see in some of the supermarkets.....any thoughts?

Thank you for those links, the food sounds wonderful. Obviously, last night was "Red Wednesday" with bonfires etc. in the park Is anyone here celebrating with any of the 7 dishes described?

Hi everyone. Popping in over here from Toronto to ask a question. I admit to lurking here often. I absolutely love all middle eastern food I've tried, and I'm lucky enough to have some friends who invite me to meals in their homes Anyhow, yesterday in mid-town Toronto access to a very large park was restricted and streets in the area closed for an Iranian New Year celebration. I was wondering about the food, are there special traditional dishes that are served for this, or food related ceremonies of any type?

Great photos. What was your overall impression of the food? Did you have any particular favourites? Were there wine pairings with each course? How would you compare the meal to other tasting menus in this city?

^Abra, that looks awesome!

It looks delicious, Michelle. I haven't had a chance to make it yet due to ongoing home renovations.....don't ask!!

It sounds delicious, there is a thread about uploading, I'll add a link when I get home....it is fairly easy from ImageGullet tho', even I can manage it! How would you comare your meal with other tasting menus in TO, or would you?

there was something in one of the papers this past weekend, with a photo.....sorry was just skimming and the paper got destroyed in the renos before I read it.

^I've heard similar rumours. That would be good, in my area. I used to eat at Avalon with a now deceased friend who introduced me to Chris' style of cooking. I loved it. I'll definitely want to try his new place. As for Didier....anyone been lately, I haven't even heard any discussion of it for some time.

do you perhaps have suggestions for restaurants better than the list of so-called best restaurants, or are we forced to narrow it down based on slowly eliminating the ones you think _aren't_ best? ← Of course, our favourite restaurants are personal opinion, but I think brab makes a very valid point here. That being, that Toronto Life giving overly generous reviews, or any other publication doing the same, or particular reviewers playing favourites allows for public misconception, and in SOME cases, the continuation of mediocrity or worse. I personally do not agree with a number of places on the list, or the placement of some others, it seems other people have issues with the list as well. Why? Are we happy to settle for "that's the best we can hope for" in Toronto? Would a larger number of critics and reviews change the rankings, add motivation to the restaurants themselves, increase satisfied customers from here and afar? And just for fun, how would the Toronto Life reviews stack up to reviews of the same places by critics from Montreal, NYC, LA, NO, Vancouver and Chicago? That would be interesting!

This was prepared in a tray, 2 different sizes. Thanks so much for the information, Paula. I am going to try and get back there this week to purchase one. If/when I do I will post a photo here if anyone would like.

I thought I had heard that Pusateri's had Voss.......

You guys are awesome. It definitely did not look like any type of lasagna, there were both sizes Michelle mentions, and it was definitely pastry not noodles, it didn't look like phyllo from what I could see, but I'm not sure. They do make most of their refrigerated/frozen items themselves. I guess this just means I'll have to go back and buy one for a taste test!

I was shopping in my favourite middle eastern store yesterday and saw trays upon trays of this in the frozen area. It was too busy to talk to the staff there, but I would really like to know what it is. It looked like some sort of pastry, but is it sweet or savoury. The woman beside me said she thought it was an Armenian dish, but I have no idea if that is accurate or not. I think I got the spelling right, can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Great post, and so true in so many ways. I am allergic to hazelnuts. No other nuts, just these. And I mean deathly allergic (throat swells up immediately etc.). I tell people. I never eat a storebought dessert (cake/pastry etc.) that could have come into contact with hazelnuts. My problem and I take care of it. I have a girlfriend who is "allergic" to cooked peppers, not raw just cooked. Some allergy, falls right into the "I don't like it" catagory. I served roasted red pepper dip at the last gathering I hosted that she attended. She ate it. Still says she's allergic to cooked peppers and patiently explained to me that I roasted the peppers so it was ok. As for making things with ingredients people don't like, if it's my SO, all the time, and he's learned to like a number of things that way. My brother? Yep! of course, if you can't tease your brother, then who can you? Anyone outside the family, I base it on the person and always have it be one of a number of dishes so it is not evident if they don't like it. While many people do have very valid, often life threatening allergies, I find a number of people have used the allergy as an excuse as well. Especially in restarants.

^That's great, doc. Look forward to it.