vox

Aspirin please. The other problem I've got here is that you don't seem to have said anything without resorting to comfortably held assumptions of your own. And some of it's just confusing. ← okay, so you're disregarding what i've said because YOU don't understand it? and then accusing me of "intellectualism for intellectualism's sake"???? it's so typical for people to fear what they don't understand/haven't learned/been exposed to. what a reductionist perspective. at the very least, instead of clamping down out of ignorance and ego, why don't you try to read some bourdieu? instead of relying on second-hand information? other than that, what do you ACTUALLY have to say about my points? the true test of an intellectual is someone who doesn't fear what they don't know.

i think the issue here is one of discourse and ideology. the rhetoric of slow food has elements of a neo-colonialist pastoralism that i don't think can be denied. look at the writing in "gourmet" or "saveur", where the ACTUAL socio-economic conditions of the far-flung places the well-to-do writers and their (vicarious) readers travel to for the "local" food is romanticised for the consumption of a global (northern) elite. as if the small, peasant, artisinal woman in a small town in italy desires to be poor (ooops...i mean "rustic") and doesn't want the same access to capitalism that we all on this board luxuriate in. it's got nothing to do with "small family farms". jamon iberico is NOT available in most-non urbanized western settings. it takes extraordinarly (petro-based) resources to produce these "local" specialities and then go about selling them to the privileged. pierre bourdieu has written extensively on how taste is a mark of distinction.

do people think there are certain class dimensions to being a foodie? do you have to occupy a certain socio-economic bracket? be living in an urban centre? can someone who only eats at fast food chains be considered a foodie?

i don't necessarily consider wikipedia to be an authoritative source on etymology! why "food enthusiast" and not foodie? does foodie seem elitist?

inspired by a conversation on another forum, what do people think of the term foodie? it appears to be pretty divisive (jeff leal's comments a while back regarding the difference between foodies and chowhounds). a) how do we define a foodie against a non-foodie/chowhound, etc? b) do you self identify as a foodie? why or why not?

here's another one. anyone know of anyplace in the downtown core that sells paneer? i've tried alex farms on the danforth...no luck. little india is a little out of my way, i'd prefer to find something on the way to work (td tower, bay and wellington). kensington? the market? whole foods? yes, i've made my own, but i need something with a little firmer texture than what i can manage at home (given time/fridge space constraints) thanks!

for a business, "impress"/"expense account" lunch, you can do no better than canoe. the emphasis on canadian ingredients, plus the room and the view make it a must for people visiting from out of town.

anyone know where to find harissa? please and thanks!

i'm having pouding chomeur with vanilla ice cream. perfect for a wintry canadian evening.

thank you! keep the suggestions coming! i guess i'd be willing to stretch the budget up to 40 euros, not including wine... i'm a cook so i'm really interested in food across the spectrum, classic and contemporary that captures the spirit of belgium, i guess...

so far we're looking at one night at ramseys (if we can get in! *fingers crossed*), one night at st. john's, one night at new tayyab, and one night at either anchor and hope, the peasant, or drapers.

thanks so much! last question, are reservations recommended for gastropubs in general?

are reservations necessary at most places?

also, what's the difference between teh michelin red guide and the green guide? is the red guide simply the french version?

care to turn this thread into a suggestions thread? as noted, i'm a chef de partie at a fine dining restaurant in toronto, and thus, not left with a lot of time to be surfing the net and cross referencing suggestions. also, i'm on a fairly limited budget...i'm looking for great, iconic meals at around 30-50 euros/person. help please!

most guidebooks (lonely planet, etc) are written without the budget gourman in mind...and most are quick to point out that the dining scene in amsterdam has a dearth of good eats. i'm willing to spend up to 50 euros/person, prefer the 25-30 euro range though. any suggestions?

alright, folks. planning a four day excursion in march...limited budget so i thought i'd go for gastropubs and indian food... with one blowout meal...suggestions welcome. is ramsay all he's cracked up to be? any good chop houses? if you had to list your top four in each category...what would they be? i've been scrolling through the best of 2004 thread...but they're not arranged by category so a lot of the names mean nothing to me... thanks!

any options for budget travellers? i'm looking to spend 25 euros top on a meal...are tehre a lot of options, recommendations? i'd turn to guidebooks but they generally favour price of quality (not written by foodhounds/cooks). any help would be appreciated...also, recommendatiosn for bruges as well.

hi all... don't have a lot of time to be researching restos (i'm a busy line cook) but will be in paris for a week in march. which of the above guides is worthwhile? i've heard conflicting reviews on wells...mainly that she's too generous to subpar restaurants. and zagat's is reliable but tends to overly favour the expensive. i'm looking for value for my (hard-earned) dollar. any tips? thanks!

i kinda meant more from a food perspective...having known a few people who worked in the bonacini group and got moved around from place to place, and didn't have very kind remarks on it.

i'm about to start some serious adventures in bread baking. with that in mind, i'm interested in getting baking stones for my oven. now, i've read from a few sources (nancy silverton being one) that you can use unglazed ceramic tiles. what thickness should they be? is ceramic different from clay? will a hardware store be able to provide me with food-safe materials? or am i just better off getting a pizza stone?

hmmmm...i guess i kind of mean a slow-poached lemon in fat.

hi all... forgive me if this has been done before...i'm looking for different ways of making lemon confit (not preserved lemons)...for both sweet and savoury applications. cheers! i tried slow roasting lemons in olive oil, but they were still quite bitter...any tips?

i think that if you're going to offer an opinion on the bonacini empire, it isn't really right to do so until you've tried canoe, which is really their showcase place. jump and auberge and steak frites didn't ever really aspire to "fine dining" the way canoe does, and anthony walsh is an amazing chef. also, i don't think cheese plates are a rarity in toronto, most of the fine dining restaurants have them.

i really really love lipton's rice and sauce packets...probably from my university days...but they're little salt-injections that i can't say no to. i also love kraft dinner with cocktail weenies. and spam sandwiches...fried spam on buttered toast and corned beef hash they way they sell it in diners, the kind that probably comes out of a giant bag or can and fake gravy...the reconstituted from powder kind.