creativeingredients

Thank you for the great replies. The list is very long and somewhat overwhelming. SBonner: In this listing, the Roda II Reserve is CDN$48.62 and the Road "1" is CDN$76.73. Does this make sense? Brad: The Alion is 2002 and CDN$76.18. sadistick: The importer is Halpern Enterprises. The price is CDN$30.25. We could certainly talk - love those Just Baked goodies! Are these all wines that should be put away for a while? By the way, I thought it was interesting to see a red Chassagne Montrachet from Domaine Ramonet. The Pinor Noir is CDN$24.92, which sounds pretty good. Thanks again.

Nathan: Would you expand on the pesticide issue? Thx.

I am trying to decide on some wine from an importers list of offerings. Has anyone tried any of these? Domaine Ramonet 1. 2004 Bourgoge Pinot Noir 2. 2004 Chasssagne Montrachet Rouge Boudriottes Paul Aine Jaboulet (Cotes du Rhone) 1. 2001 Corna Domaine St. Pierre 2. 2003 Corna Les Grandes Terrasses 3. St. Joseph Le Grand Pompee Bodegas Vega Sicilia 1. Pintia Tempranillo 2 Alion Bodegas Roda 1. Roda II Reserva 2. Roda "1' Foppiano (Sonoma) 1. 2003 Petite Syrah Jordan Vineyard & Winery 1. 2004 Russian River Valley Chardonnay Thanks for any info.

Interesting. I have never been that close-up and personal with a cow. Does alcohol clean those pathogens?

I am wondering if this is one of those painful 'blessings in disguise.' The gov has now given great publicity to the raw milk cause. I have been hoping to get a supply of raw milk for my family's personal consumption, as it contains the healthful enzymes absent in pasteurized product. I would also think that these cows are very carefully tended to in order to avoid any possible infection. In an operation where the milk is pooled, the only way to safeguard from infection is through pasteurization. When you think of the Ontario Milk Marketing Board's system of pooling milk from all the producers, there is no way of knowing where one's milk is actually coming from. I have driven by dairy farms in the country where they have a dairy operation alongside the corn fields, sprayed with pesticides. I do not believe the finished milk is tested for pesticides. In most food operations, Lot Codes are utilized to trace back food to its components. Organic milk was the first step in some separation from the 'pooling' concept. Hopefully this will be the next step. Thank you for bringing it to our attention!

beefconnections.ca Regarding Beef Connections, I ordered a 1/4 cow from them this year and it is fabulous! They have one farmer in the group who raises his cattle organically, and that is what I ordered. Great people to deal with. Next time I will specify thicker steaks.

OK - now I'm going to show my age. George's is where the original Monte Carlo's restaurant used to be. I am embarassed to say how many of those pizzas I consumed in my youth. The last couple of times I ordered from there I was disappointed though. VERY oily and the crust seemed more pastry flakyish than doughy. I'm thinking of Boujadi for this weekend. What do you think of Kengsington Kitchen?

Thanks for the suggestions. I will definitely try Konnichiwa. Any favourites that you would recommend we order?

Hello all. I am wondering if anyone could suggest any great places for ethnic dining that are not very well-known. I drove by a place on Bathurst St. called Istanbul, which looked interesting, but I know nothing about it. I am interested in Asian, Middle Eastern, African. As an aside, I found a great family pizza restaurant (with delivery!). Tomato Pie on Marlee. Their pizza is quite good (not as salty as some of the chains). The service is fantastic and sincerely pleasant. I hope to go in one of these days, but so far we've been ordering weekly. Their caesar salad is a step up from any pizza joint I've tried. Thank you!

This is a very interesting topic. I have never tried Pizzaville. How does that compare with say Camarra's or Mama's?

Thanks everyone. But the patio at Bymark is tempting. And that's the only reason i thought of Jump.

Thanks for the great suggestions. What would you think of Bymark versus Jump?

Could you think of a high end restaurant that might be walking distance from the Sheraton on Queen? Thanks.

That looks great! I did already book another venue. How's the food at vertical?

It really does seem hard to find Staub here. Jayt90 - where did you get your chinese knock offs?

Do you know of any restaurants with private dining rooms that would accommodate 30-40 people? Thank you.

Does anyone know where to find Staub cookware in TO? Thx.

Thanks for the great suggestions. That ought to keep me busy for a few weeks . I tried Small Talks on Bayview last night. Even though the patio is in the front, it isn't quite as noisy as some street patios because the patio is further back from the street. Overall the food and service were great. We had a problem with one of the meals (out of six) and it was quickly and graciously replaced. I hope the patio recommendations keep coming!

Since it is that time of year, I am wondering if anyone could recommend interesting patios for a good meal and nice glass of wine. My one pet peeve is that many of the patios are on high traffic streets, making conversation (and fresh air) difficult. Please let me know what you've discovered!

Poll: Who adds fat before each new crepe? I make crepes in either a blue steel crepe pan or an All Clad stainless steel frying pan. Either way I have to add fat before cooking each crepe. Seems to take me forever to get through the batter. The most requested filling is home-made nutella. My home-made product is much thinner at room temp and easier to spread than the real thing. The blue steel crepe pan seems to really splatter when the batter is added. Does anybody else find that? I make crepes almost every weekend and still don't seem to be 'getting it.'

Does anyone know where you could get the white chef towels used in professional kitchens? Thank you in advance.

Overall, a fabulous meal. The bison with vanilla sauce, was absolutely amazing. The only change we made to the tasting menu - nobody was a foie gras fan so we asked for a vegetarian course instead. Service effort was fantastic, but wine did significantly lag behind each course. The only disappointment was the seafood course, which was soooo salty. Good thing dessert was next. Would definitely go again.

I will try George next time. The Susur dinner is tonight. I checked with my guests and they are fine with the all tasting menu. Since we are in the dessert business, we usually order all the desserts for ummm "research." I will report back on the meal. Thank you!

Thank you for all the great suggestions. I decided to go to Susur because it should be quieter for conversation than Perigee. Is it now a tasting-only menu? They didn't mention that on the phone, but I am fine with it. Looks like it will be hard to decide between the vegetarian and the carnivorous menu.

andie: Thanks for that great explanation. Sorry to hear about your back pain. Do you find it interferes with your ability to cook for long periods of time? I am recovering from foot surgery and can't be on my feet much at all. I miss cooking.