Days 31 and beyond . . .

[Fat Guy]

Here's what's going on for the Canada half of the Fat Guy World Tour:

http://canada.com/national/features/fatguy/

The "Fat Guy Eats Canada" project is something I developed with a Montreal Gazette editor. It consists of a series of six newspaper articles on regional cuisines of Canada, each of which will run in several newspapers that are part of a group called Southam -- this includes the Montreal Gazette, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, and a whole bunch of others. I'm also making television appearances in each major city I visit, on the local Global TV stations. And on Canada.com, there's a special "Fat Guy Eats Canada" page (see link above) where you can track my progress, read all the articles, and even see digitized TV clips using RealPlayer.

So . . . since the weekly installments I'm writing for Southam are quite similar in nature to what I've been writing in this special forum for the US part of my trip, I don't plan to write a separate set of entries here. I will however post the links to my articles here each week, and also I am of course here to answer questions, accept criticism, and otherwise play around.

Thanks!

[Beachfan]

Steve, I would have never guessed you were so photogenic based on your brim-down avatar!

The first question of the million I have:

Are Vancouver prawns better than the ones from the Redneck Riviera?

Second question:

If yes, do you know of a place that will mail order them?

Safe travels

Beachfan in Beachland

[Fat Guy]

The spot prawns I had in Vancouver this year didn't seem as good as the ones I've had in the past. Though I couldn't get anybody to admit it, I think it was a bad season. Or at least the season started poorly. Whereas the stuff I had in Alabama was awesome -- firm and sweet, unlike the mushier, granier spots. Vancouver is much more advanced in terms of freshness, though. You can be sure that most any shrimp you get in Alabama is going to be FAS (frozen at sea). In Vancouver on account of the huge Asian restaurant culture you get a lot of fresh ones. This makes a difference, all other things being equal. But this time around, as between FAS Royal Reds from the Gulf and fresh spots from BC I'd go with the Royal Reds. In a good year for both, I'd go with the fresh spots. I've never had a fresh Royal Red (my understanding is that they're only fished by two boats, and that both do 100% FAS in salt brine -- a very good method that most people wouldn't be able to discern from blind tasting), so I can't make the comparison directly. In terms of mail order, I don't know anybody in Vancouver doing it. I'd suggest contacting one of the Seattle seafood places in Pike's Place market. They tend to be geared up for mail order and as far as I know they fish the same waters and have access to the same stuff as the Vancouver folks.

[anil]

OK, so when are you gonna rap up your tour ? I'm feeling so

envious of your grand trip that it would take me a few lifetimes

and multiple-jobs to afford such a culinary trip  

[Fat Guy]

I should be done around June 25, and then I'll catch up on the writing.

[Bastard]

Steven:

I just checked out your updates after a long hiatus.  I am very impressed by your canada.com site and the TV clips.  You are now probably the most famous American food writer in Canada.  Good work!

Bastard

[anil]

Yo Steve, where art thou ???

"In hunger "

[Rhea_S]

But the big surprise is that Montreal has the world's best bagels.

-- from Fat Guy Eats Montreal

Hurray for Montreal bagels! I have had countless arguments with New Yorkers and other supposed bagel afficionados because I have always believed that Montreal bagels are the best. I may never win an argument since I'm such a wimp, but, at least, I know I'm right and it's in print.

[Fat Guy]

Anil: Right now, I'm in Halifax.

[Jinmyo]

Steve, how's the smoked salmon in Halifax?

[Fat Guy]

I didn't have any locally produced smoked salmon in Halifax. I tried several different examples out of New Brusnwick, where the industry seems much more visible, and it was excellent. I didn't have anything that compares to Petrossian's product, but the standard was very high nonetheless.

[PJhalifax]

Just wondering what restaurants you went to in Halifax. We seem to be becoming quite a restaurant town.

My picks are :FID, BISH, MAPLE, and BACCHUS. (in that order)

Thanks,

Paul Jackson

(PJhalifax)

[Fat Guy]

I mostly did low end, but had a great meal at Chives -- one of the best I had in Canada. Is Maple still going strong? The word on the street was that it had slipped.