creativeingredients

I'm curious as to everyone's finds about delivery food in Toronto. Other than Pizza, I've really come up empty handed. I've tried various Chinese places, but none have compared to Chinatown. I know there are lots more choices for take-out, but I need delivery. I'm in mid-town. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! I hungrily await.

KevV: I am also looking for good Thai ingredients. Where did you find the kaffir lime leaves, ghalangal etc.? I live in mid-town Toronto. Thx.

I'm not sure. Tonight is our last night here. If I go to the Los Olas strip I will check for it. I noticed an interesting Argentinean steak house on Los Olas, but may wait until the next time to try it.

I'm wondering if anyone has favourite spots along the Los Olas strip. Last night we went to Noodles Panini and it was great. The candy/fudge/ice cream store down the street was the perfect dessert. Thanks in advance!

2010: Did that butter contain sugar? Due to the high cost of milk products in Canada, many ice cream producers import butter oil/sugar blends to replace cream and bring their cost of goods down. As an aside, if a higher fat content butter is preferable in croissant making, I wonder if this would work. Melt the butter, remove some of the protein solids that rise to the top, pour the melted butter into little moulds about the size of butter pats, refrigerate or freeze and use as needed. Sort of a modified ghee. For that matter I wonder how ghee would work. Again it would bring the cost of goods up because 20% by weight would be lost. Maybe less could be used. Or maybe the flavour just wouldn't be as good. Just thinking out loud here.

I would appreciate any help in getting a nice bottle of wine for about $50 per bottle in the Florida area. In Whites, we love oaky Chardonnays and in Red, perhaps Pinot Noir or Australian gamay. Anything that is a 'drink now'. Thank you in advance for any ideas.

Are the Niagara wineries you mentioned available through stores in Toronto? Perhaps next summer I'll get a chance to visit. I did visit Stratus this past summer (just before their official opening, so they weren't totally set up for tours, especially in the production area). The wines were great - I loved their Chardonnay. I was very impressed with their environmental responsibility. All their heating and a/c is geothermal. I believe they said they do not use pesticides, but I could be wrong. The tour started at the top of the building where the grapes are brought in. I asked where the washing station was and they said there wasn't one. It seems that grapes for wine are not washed. What if there's fungicide or pesticide residue? Sorry - that's the food QC police in me showing. Anyway, after the first couple of glasses I totally forgot about it. ← Neither of the vineyards I went to are available through stores, thats one of the ways they keep their prices down. I had some of the stratus wines, but in my opinion, they are not worth the money they charge for them. At least, not compared to the two wineries I visited. ← I would think that NCT would deliver though. I've ordered cases in the past from Frog's Pond and it was delivered the next day. Would you consider NCT to be the better of the 2 wineries, and was it just the pinot that you liked?

I've been buying pretty much 100% of our beef and poultry from them since they opened. They are consistently excellent. This past weekend we had their sun-dried tomato pre-formed burgers and we regularly buy their seasoned burgers. Why can't I season ground beef like them? You pay a premium for them, but they are really good. Perhaps they use a higher fat content beef, as they come out very juicy. We also made osso buco with their beef shanks yesterday - the cut was just right. I've occasionally bought side dishes, which have been so-so. They are very honest about what is organic and what is not. After all, how does one really know if it's organic unless you check the certification papers yourself and cross-check it to the product you are actually buying. They have organic bison and elk, but I haven't tried it yet. They are hard-working honest people who deserve the success that they are enjoying.

Are the Niagara wineries you mentioned available through stores in Toronto? Perhaps next summer I'll get a chance to visit.I did visit Stratus this past summer (just before their official opening, so they weren't totally set up for tours, especially in the production area). The wines were great - I loved their Chardonnay. I was very impressed with their environmental responsibility. All their heating and a/c is geothermal. I believe they said they do not use pesticides, but I could be wrong. The tour started at the top of the building where the grapes are brought in. I asked where the washing station was and they said there wasn't one. It seems that grapes for wine are not washed. What if there's fungicide or pesticide residue? Sorry - that's the food QC police in me showing. Anyway, after the first couple of glasses I totally forgot about it.

I decided to get both - after all t'is the season for giving . So, the 2001 St. Emillion shouldn't be opened until after 2011? It's going to be hard to wait. I have a little wine fridge, so I guess that will be its home for a while. What about the 2002 Yatterna? Would it be good to drink now? This is fun - I'm going to order the 2006 Hugh Johnson pocket guide. Does anyone else have any favourite wine books?

Thanks for doing that search for me. Today I spoke with the consultant at the Davisville store. She told me that there was no Yattarna in Ontario (and I believed her). Based on your post, I phoned Laird and they have it. Since Sommerville is closer, I phoned them as well and they put one aside for me. So now I have one bottle of Yattarna and one bottle of a red Bordeux - 2001 Chapelle D'ausone from Saint-Emilion. It is mostly merlot with some cabernet grapes. I'm not sure I could choose between them, so I may have to get them both . Has anyone heard of Tyrus Evan Sirah? My husband brought home a bottle he was given as a gift today (2003). Is this something to put away? Thanks. EGullet rocks!

Jayt90: Thanks so much for your reply. I am located at Bathurst & Eglinton. It sounds like it would make more sense to move to a good French wine, if red. Would $100 buy an awesome Australian Chardonnay? I'm curious - What's Yattarna?

Thanks for the reply. I wonder if I could phone one of the consultants. I am not able to venture out right now due to foot surgery. I think my question is just too general. I was hoping for some ideas of wines that are out right now at my price point and delivering even bigger on taste. Just can't get away from maximizing the old price/value relationship.

I am looking for a bottle of nice wine to get for my husband as a gift (shared gift:)) I am looking for recommendations in the $100+ range. He tends to like merlots in reds and chardonnays in whites, but it could be anything "big tasting." Thanks in advance for any ideas!

I went to JOV on Friday night. I haven't been in years and noticed a big difference in the food and service. For a Friday night during the holiday season, it wasn't at all full. The good news is, there was only one seating, so we were able to linger for quite a while and were not at all bothered. We had squash soup, which was quite good, but surprisingly sweet (perhaps sweet potatoes were added). The bread basket had that pre-buttered sesame flat-bread that was oily. We both had the beef as our main - grilled steak + one braised beef rib with mashed potatoes and a baby carrot. This was all cooked well. The portion was small, but I prefer that. Dessert was so disappointing. A coconut panna cotta. It was a small piece of panna cotta in a big pool of coconut milk topped with canned pineapple. The chocolate dessert was much better with the typical flourless chocolate cake piece, another rich chocolate slice and some chocolate gelato. I remember the original owners being so particular about ingredients. Even the cream for the coffee was organic, adding to their food cost, and I was probably the only one who noticed.