Kenk

I think you just have to imagine your eating in a dry county down south for now. Keep us posted. I would love to get some good BBQ in MTL. I like my BBQ moist and juicy. I have a brisket in my fridge geting ready for the smoker real soon for my own backyard BBQ.

This one is a no brainer. Elementry and high schools should not sell soft drinks chips and chocolate bars. The cafeteria meals should be balanced and the vast majority items sold should be healthy. If a kid is bringing in his own junk, or is going out for something not sold in the cafeteria, who cares and is none of my business. Although Canada seems to be deep in the throughs of the doghnut culture does not mean that a kid has to be sold doughnuts at school every day.

In Ottawa, Go to Nicastro's on Merivale Rd. and/or in the Byward Market.

I use the microwave to brew Indian tea. I put hot water from the coffee station in a cup of leaves, add milk and nuke it untill scum forms on the top and the brew is a deep brown. I have not added spices at work but will try soon. I have many other office recipes and methods to use office lunchroom appliances.

Hopefully this will lead them out of the business of selling horrible, crappy (Burnt, Vile tasting) coffee and inflict their skill on some other poor industry.

Here is a good source for moulard ducks. I didn't find the list of products but I have heard they have moulards. They sell mostly in the Ottawa region but are not too far from Montreal. Give them a shout. Mariposa Farm

It is probably preferable to use matjes herring that is not in vinegar. But if that all you have. I have seen german brands in plastic rectangular containers but I am not sure where you can get them near you. I really like the herring roe and the "soft roe". I do not see it often in the Schmaltz herring any more. I do see it in salted herring some times. Polish grocery stores are a good source for herring products.

The Schmaltz herring I am used to eating is similar to the description Gifted Gourmet posted. It comes in brine and usually also has some sugar in the brine. As the Schmaltz implies it tends to be fattier than the plain salted herring in plain salt brine. It used to come in barrels but is now found in plastic pails. To prepare it I like to soak in water for a couple of hours, clen it, and eat with raw onions, lemon juice, and kimmel bread or pumpernickel. The best ones have a creamy texture and a nice sweet background taste. I really don't like the herring in a jar packed in oil that is called schmaltz herring. I have had matjes herring in Holland, prepared on the street. The herring is filleted from whole and served with chopped onions. The herring is lightly brined and has a silky texture. I like the matjes herring that comes in a sweet and spicy (allspice, cloves,) sauce. I have had the Abba brand and an Icelandic brand. I have bought a version of matjes herring at Ikea. It is a good start to what you may want to do with your basic matjes herring.

I have always found Paderno to cost a lot of money even when found on sale. They always seem to be on sale.

I was not sure what Canada Prime was so I looked it up and found these two(and other) websites that describe the Canadian beef grading system. This is the CANADIAN BEEF GRADING AGENCY. http://www.telusplanet.net/public/cbga/grades.html Also you can see it here grading information at the Beef Information Centre. http://www.beefinfo.org/fs_grading.cfm Just for those who want to know difference between the US and Canadian beef grading; Taken from CANADIAN BEEF GRADING AGENCY.

The stubby is a much more practical bottle. It is much easier to carry a case of 24 stubbies under each arm than the long necks; they take much less room in the fridge. You don't need as any where as much vertical space. They hold the cold better, much less external surface area. The bottles are less likely to break and can be recycled with many more cycles. I also thought the Canadian breweries are still reusing and washing their bottles. I suspect this is still true. Another really practical use of the stubby is when you would see one in the movies you would know it was a Canadian movie and stop watching. This would save you a lot of aggravation.

Heritage Brewery in Ottawa is using stubbies also. The ones I tried are also not screw top. Good beer too. http://www.heritagebrewing.com/

My favorite pans are Iron and heavy Carbon steel pans. They are inexpensive, deliver good results, and are easy to maintain. Both these types of pans transfer heat well. When the pans are seasoned well they resist sticking very well. For really cheap Iron pan you can get good ones from Loblaws in the $10 range. These pans are lighter than Lodge but of a lesser quality. The lightness though will let people who don’t like the weight to use the pans. After seasoning the cheap pan will perform as well as the lodge. I got a 11” deBuyer heavy steel pan for $30 at a restaurant supply store. It is great and comes in many sizes and styles. http://www.debuyer.com/ Although All Clad and Cuisinart and Kitchen aid make very nice pans I prefer these less expensive pans. I can get my pans really hot and smoky without hurting the pan and not having to worry about discolouration of the stainless steel. I also encourage the baked on grease rather than worrying about figuring out how to scrub it off without scratching the pan.

One of the things that are really good in Toronto restaurants is that most places serve their hamburgers with fried onions. I wish it were as normal in Ottawa and Montreal. I am sure the best burger will be served with pickled peppers.

Sugarless chocolate Yuk.

I second the carbonara. I would use fettuccine. I like to add my eggs at the very end. I would take a serving of hot fettuccine mixed with the other heated ingredients, and crack the egg over the top, mix and serve. It is great this way.

Great post rgruby! This is the kind of discussion that is hard to find in the TO restaurant scene. I find you gave a good description of your meal while being respectful.

Woa Woa Woa! Please do not descend into this kind of name calling. Although phoenix12 might have over stated his opinion with respect to Chatto, the personal insults that followed are not appropriate. kymbrlee, and veggrl. Make your point please don't make it worse.

The last time I was in Toronto I had a really good goat pho at a very small place on Spadina near College on the West Side of the street (definitely not Pho Hung but located near by). They served sliced scotch bonnet peppers in vinegar on the side. It was great, Yum Yum Yum! Vietnamese Caribbean Fusion Cuisine. What is your favorite Pho place in the GTA and beyond?

In my experience the restaurant reviews in Toronto Life are not useful in ranking the quality of the restaurant. I do like to read the articles to learn what is out there but the reviews are not critical enough, the articles are only rough guidelines. When I did use Toronto Life to guide me to a restaurant I was usually under whelmed. A critical review would at least prepare me for what was there. I am going out to buy the April restaurant edition tomorow because I do like to read it.

Ohhhh! I didn't mean to imply that this machine is an appropriate home machine. I have only seen these machines in high volume operations. If it is only around $1000 great buy. I only guessed what model it was but I am close. I am impressed that the places that use these machines tend to make good espresso/capuchino. I use a Gaggia Espresso, my sister got for real cheap and then gave it to me ($0). It makes a very good espresso/capuchino. If I descend into complete coffee geekdom I would prefer a manual machine.

I had a very good espresso at La Vielle Europe cheese shop and delicatessen on the Smoked Meat - March Marathon. It came with a nice piece of chocolate. They serve it in a ceramic cup or paper cup. It was made with a automatic Franke. Something like this. Franke

Great description bigorre.

Yes I know, Toronto is certainly not New York! Why would I expect a good hot dog to be sold by the street vendors in Toronto? I don't! I don't buy them either! Getting a hot dog from street vendors in TO is more like getting a smoked meat sandwich in Montreal from Ben's rather than Schwartz's. By the way if I do get street meat, I would get a sausage. I like to get them warmed up without getting all hacked and slashed. I like to keep the juices in and keep the crunch from the casing.

I can easily criticize the street meat. Most of the hot dogs are no better than Shopsy/Maple Leaf. These are average supermarket dogs. I do not like the taste or texture of these dogs. More accurately I do not like the lack of taste or texture of these dogs. I dream of the day natural casing all beef hot dogs with a good balance of spice and texture are available. The one time I ordered from a chip truck in TO they handed me a portion of fries that had been sitting for at least 10 minutes and when I asked for fresh ones they dumped the cold ones back in the oil. I walked away! In Ottawa I have only seen fresh and excelent chips from a chip wagon, the hot dogs are even worse than those in TO. Most use Lesters, blech.