Jake

Not sure about red lentils, but green should work fine. Please let us know how it turns out or if the recipe needs any editing. ← Can't wait to try it.....and I love cilantro. I'm sure the recipe will be fine, you've never failed me in the past with the recipes of yours I've tried and loved.

Elie, it looks delicious, I must try it soon. While I realize brown lentils are authentic, what would you think, flavour wise, if one were to use green or red lentils? I ask because I have all the ingredients on hand, except brown lentils and it sounds like a yummy dish for dinner this evening.

If there are any known connections please let us know, Sadistick. Let's keep the thread on track and factually correct with regard to ownership and matters of public record, no mysteries and no insinuations, okay? I'd really appreciate it. Let's be clear here, no accusations. thanks.

Jay, thanks. Will check it out this afternoon. I picked up a portuguese red for about $13-$14 a couple weeks ago, Prancas (I think, sorry) that was absolutely fabulous, one of the best everyday wines I've had in awhile. It seems to me that there have been a fair number of good, well made wines at reasonable prices available lately. As for downward pressure on the big boys...I somehow doubt it, but what do I know!

Sounds great, I love congee. Thanks for the info.

Cute, boys. This is the chinese food in Toronto thread, hmm, not the avatar thread? Those are not chinese cleavers. Play nice.....please.

You mention typical Canadian food, try Canoe for dinner. It focuses on Canadian ingredients, and does it well. Lots of game, arctic char etc. and one of, if not the, greatest views of Toronto from a restaurant. For a blow out meal, short cab ride away, Perigee, chef's choice tasting menu, open kitchen, best in Toronto in many of our opinions.

My favorite drink of all time to drink is a Margarita - the infamous margarita. When made properly, a heavenly cocktail. Proportions in making the margarita are very important. Not too tart, not too strong...I also love making mojitos. I worked at a bar named Town on 56th st. in manhattan where i really learned how to make an amazing mojito. Hope they still continue on with the tradition over there. As far as spirits, I feel Grand Marnier is a very versatile spirit, I use it in margaritas as well as mojitos, for example, just to add a little extra fresh orange flavor. I just finished working for 10 Cane Rum, also a really wonderful spirit from Trinidad made from pure cane juice. Also very versatile - wonderful on the rocks and just as amazing in a cocktail like a mojito or cuba libre. Favorite vodka - Belvedere -- The come-back vodka: Smirnoff Gin: Tanqueray No. 10, Hendrick's (both infused with fresh ingredients) ← Ahh, the Margarita. One of my favourites as well. Interesting made with key limes instead of regular too. I think I prefer Cointreau or Triple Sec for orange flavour in them to GM though, GM seems to sweet to me. Tanqueray No. 10 - love it. Plan to have some as soon as I can get out of the office today. Do you strictly work for one company/distillery at a time, or do you often have projects on the go?

Sounds wonderful! Sometimes you really do get bored with the same old things. What are your favourite drinks, and what is your favourite spirit to work with?

I've eaten at Tutti Matti a few times, always had good food and service. In the middle re price range. The chef trained in Tuscany. Chinatown has some good options, if that's what you're after. I really like Chiado, very different for Canada. The sister place is Senhor Antonio and serves a tapas menu, I haven't eaten there. Japango on Elizabeth, or Hiro on King for Japanese in the downtown core.

Endy, you seem to know the #7 area around Warden -- can you suggest anywhere for lunch? Please, NO chicken balls! Spice is good.

Ah, Doc - you had to bring up haggis. Here goes that craving again. Guess I'll have to make a stop there this weekend! (Nope, no brussel sprouts, not with butter, maples syrup, bacon, shredded, fried or boiled. blech.)

Thanks for that, Kev. I might have to try it. I like the idea of smaller portions, I can choose more things. Many dim sum places I've been to are very heavy on shellfish items, my SO is allergic so it limits his choice. I like Cha Liu on Yonge north of Eglinton for dim sum.

Point, sadistick. All the General Tso's chicken I've had has had a good amount of chiles, hence spice. You're correct about how the menu describes the beef, again, I don't know what is traditional/authentic in szechuan/chinese food, just what little I've had. Try Rol San's beef (north of Dundas on Spadina, east side) and Swatow's General Tso (further south, east side again), take photos, let me know what you think!

I think it's fair to say there is a lot of good chinese food in Toronto and surrounding area, and there are a lot of us who benefit from it. I thought I would start a thread to document where we went, what we had and how we liked it. I'm hoping the thread will lead to some suggestions of dishes from those who know far more about the cuisine than I do. Last night we decided to go out for a quick bite as we are in the middle of some home renovations and there was no way there would be any cooking going on in the kitchen. There was a reccomendation by sadistick in the Late night options in Toronto thread for New Sky on Spadina south of College, so we thought we'd try it. For reference, our go-to places down there are Swatow, Rol San and Happy 7 and I have a documented weakness for spicy crispy ginger beef. We ordered based on sadistick's reccomendations: Hot & Sour soup. Nice flavour, not very spicy, the ingredients within were perfectly cooked, especially the tofu and the shrimp. General Tso chicken. To me this wasn't General Tso. It had nice flavour, but it was sweet. No spice at all, one or two chiles, not so much as a hint of heat. Eh. Crispy Ginger Beef. Again, nice flavour, sweet, nice meat, not too much sauce, NO spice. At all. Not a single chile or anything. Did nothing for me except leave me wanting Rol San. BBQ Pork Fried Rice. For my SO, one of his favourites. Now this was really good. Tons of pork, nicely fried rice, fresh crunchy peas, yummy egg. No complaints at all about this dish. So, would I go back? Not likely if only because we like the other places better, when we ask for spicy, we get spicy. The service was good, the people were nice, but I urge sadistick to try the Spicy Crispy Ginger Beef at Rol San and compare

From the other side of the kitchen: Cooking a labour intensive meal that causes you to spend most of your time in the kitchen can be a useful tool when the dinner party is for people you HAVE to host and/or problem guests (often family or in-laws). This can insure that you enjoy the gathering as well, if from a distance... 2nd tip: Never, ever worry about inviting people who may be more accomplished in the kitchen than you.....trust me, they don't care, they are just happy to be invited!

Courtside seats offer some edible food, I agree. The regular kiosks are on MY list of inedible things tho! Is Phil's bbq still open late for bbq pork sannies? As for inedibles, I would have agreed with you about some of this at one point in my life, but I realized if I tried it, I might be pleasantly surprised. My list of inedibles? One thing I can think of: brussel sprouts. Weird, huh? Doesn't matter how many times I cook or try to eat them, spawn of the devil they are.

Whoa, sadistick, you are starting to have a pretty long list of won't eats. So, we went for a little late night (okay, 9ish, not so late ) meal at New Sky last night. My SO wanted to go to one of our regular places but I said no, that this was an eG rec!!! We followed your choices on the menu and I will document it (I remembered the camera) on it's own thread later today when I can get the photos done....including whether or not I think you're batting 1000

I have purchased the Ottawa Valley butter from Cheese Boutique. The staff there told me it was the same fat content as the commercial. I would kill to find higher fat butter. Really.

Very, Sadistick. Thank you. You make an excellent point about these dishes not swimming in sauce, it ruins the dish in my opinion. Sounds like a trip there is in order in the near future. I will try to remember my camera for a few photos. I tried just keeping it in the car for awhile, but we always seemed to be using the other car when I wanted it, lol. I love the Hot & Sour soup at Happy 7. I've recently been told their frog legs are awesome, but haven't tried them yet. Frog legs sounds like great late night food to me!

Indeed, Jay, how true. And don't forget "hard" cider from all those orchards in southern Ontario....mmmm.

Allow me to quote Michael's post, he said it better than I could. Brooks, thank you, once again for allowing us a glimpse of reality there. Your writing remains so incredibly eloquent and passionate, you have made me laugh and cry over the past 6 months. My hearfelt thanks for sharing with us here. My love of southern food is likely well documented, my Fat Tuesday meal up here in the north was shrimp & grits....not traditional, but darn good.

Interesting. I don't read the Post, so I didn't see the article. Look forward to hearing more. We have a few people in the business on this board, perhaps someone will have more info.

At Your Service -- anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Okay, I admit, I'm not in advertising

Excellent point in that Ottawa has its own appeal and is different enough not to be able to compare it to Toronto or Ottawa. I have spent a lot of time in Ottawa and eaten at many places, some good, some not so good. For instance, I have eaten at Bekta a few times and have always had an excellent meal. Maybe not the best I've ever had, but one of the best in Ottawa certainly. Then again, I have had some of the best shwarma anywhere in Ottawa. I've heard good things about Black Cat, has anyone been?