Flexitarian's Profile
Calçots in Toronto?
I was in Spain and didn't come across these either but now, as a result of your post, I am salivating. I did find this info on Calçots. Apparently it is the way they are grown that creates them, rather than them being a different species of onion. So, one should be able to 'create' them in a Toronto garden, albeit it's a bit of extra work:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2009/06/spains-sweet-springtime-onions/18499/
Best French Bakery in West Toronto
+1 on Pain Perdu, and they do have the best mille feuille I have ever had, but I went there one morning last week around 10:30am to get one and they were all frozen. The baker told me he has to freeze them in order that they can be sliced (makes sense) and he said to wait 15 minutes before eating it in order to let it warm up. But 45 min later it was still half frozen! So, if you want one to eat right away beware of buying one in the morning or realize you have to wait a while to eat it.
Aside from that, he's upped his price on them since I bought one 3 months ago. I paid almost $6.50 with tax for one. Am I the only one who thinks the price is out of line (notwithstanding how good they are)? Also they looked smaller than they used to be. At that price I don't think it's a treat I am going to indulge in much any more.
Joanne Kates is leaving the Globe!
I loved reading her reviews and thought she was a pretty good reviewer. Sure, many of the reviews on here have helped me a lot with choosing restaurants and have been spot on many times and maybe she was off sometimes. But, you have to remember that the advice you get on here is a compendium of tens and sometimes hundreds of people who experience a restaurant and as a newspaper restaurant reviewer she usually was only able to visit a restaurant once or twice before writing a review. That has in it some inherent deficiencies in terms of process.
She didn't last as a reviewer for 38 years for nothing. I thought she had a good wit, was a good writer and found her reviews enjoyable. I wish her luck in her future.
Where to take wife for 10th anniversary in Toronto
Let us know how it went, and what the noise level was like.
Where to take wife for 10th anniversary in Toronto
Scaramouche is probably the best place. It's the quietest of them all, the food is superb, the view is great, they have tablecloths and their seafood is sustainable. Never disappoints.
ISO miniature milk-bottle creamers
Delivered to your door in Toronto, but not a Toronto source:
http://www.bakeitpretty.com/miniature-glass-milk-bottles/
Chia seeds in Central Toronto?
I buy chia seeds all the time, often from Costco. I am curious, though, how you know they are good quality? They're just little tiny seeds of varying colours. What do you go by to determine they are good quality?
ISO Fresh Eggs
I'd like that too. I've been on about 3 wild goose chases (no pun intended) for farm gate eggs in the last couple years and never was able to find the farm people spoke about as the whereabouts were too vague.
ISO Watermelon Seedlings
I grew melons (not watermelon but melon) 2 years in a row from plants I got from Urban Harvest (uharvest.ca) and, btw, they are not on Sorauren, but on the north side of King St east of Sorauren. I ended up getting about 5-8 melons per vine and a nice size. However, none were sweet at all. I am not growing them anymore. Must be something to do with the length of our growing season I guess. I also found the squirrels liked to pick at them.
Has Le Paradis Gone Downhill Recently?
Totally agree with the comments. I've been going there for years and was there just a few months ago. It won't super wow you but it won't disappoint either. Great food, good value for money, not really noisy, great homey feel and a French ambience you don't find in many other places in the city.
Roncesvalles area
Just had dinner at the Westerly this evening on Roncesvalles. Came in around 5:30 and they said they were already pretty well booked up but had one table left at the back (or the bar). Service was very good (except for getting the bill). The olive bread they serve with dinner is delicious. I had the wild mushroom gnocci with trubble oil and shaved cheese and it was delicious. My dinner date had the artic char and loved it. We then a chocolate dessert which was also great.
Highly recommended and obviously well liked as it was very busy early on a Sunday.
Summerhill Market - spring sale now on
Wow, that makes the prices only 10% higher than anywhere else ;)
Toronto’s Best Butter Tarts Aren’t in Toronto
Hmmm, I think the best thing is to contact the Official Authorized Butter Tart Certification Commitee as they have all the guidelines on which of the millions of different butter tarts recipe is the actual real official one (similar to, you know, the 'Champagne' district of France, the 'San Marzano' district of Italy, etc). It's the only way we will really know...
2012 alphonso mango sightings
The aroma and the taste of these mangos are unlike any other mango I have ever experienced. A real treat you can only enjoy for a few weeks each year. Try them and see!
Ruby Watchco or Woodlot?
I'd go with Woodlot too. I found (both times) that Ruby was too crowded, too noisy, the food oversalted, didn't like the share-y share-y communal aspect of having to split the servings and overall nothing special. At a much lower price point maybe.
As for the double booking this sort of behaviour just makes it worse for your fellow diners.
Nicola Potatoes?
Heading over to Fiesta Farms wasn't going through hoops, nor is planting them. There are lots of lower glycemic index vegetables such as the ones you recommended, but the point is that none of them are potatoes.
Best way to buy meat directly from farmers?
'despite' being grain fed? Grain fed is the norm and is the cheapest way to feed cattle.
Grass fed beef is the more expensive (and natural) way but is at least double the price or more.
Lemon Liberte - so good
Are you referring to Liberte? I checked the nutrional data for the Lemon Greek Yogurt 0% MF on Liberte's website and it shows, for a 170g serving:
Total Fat - 12g
Sat Fat - 8g
Trans Fat - 0g
I have emailed Liberte to ask what the other 4g of fat is but I suspect it is unsaturated fat.
Nicola Potatoes?
The Nicola seed potatoes are now available at Fiesta Gardens (part of Fiesta Farms) just off Christie south of Dupont. They are $6.99 for a bag of six and I just bought a bag today. These are the first low glycemic potatoes ever available in Ontario as far as I know and this is great for those of you who are diabetic or just want to lower the rate of sugar aborption into your bloodstream (sugar from traditional potatoes is known to be absorbed into the bloodstream faster than ordinary table sugar). Hopefully farmers will catch on and start growing these for sale in the markets.
Fiesta Gardens also had Russian Blue seed potatoes. I was attracted to the deep blue/purple colour and thought these would be great to serve at a dinner party.
There are many other sources for the Nicola potatoes listed in cswain's post above but this was the only source I found in central Toronto.
Lemon Liberte - so good
That's the problem. With what they add to the plain yoghurt it is practically candy (basically a jam with lots of added sugar is what they add actually)
I prefer to buy the plain versions of the yogurts where you can really taste what the yogurt is like unadulterated and then add my own fruit and sugar if I want. I have to say that Skotidakis Plain 9% M.F. Yogurt with just a bit of Forbes Wild Foods dark maple Syrup and maybe some fruit is simply out of this world.
Just sayin'!
Anyone know of any bakers in GTA that do ... kouign-aman
What does SLC stand for? Googled it but couldn't figure it out. Country? City? Market?
Red Fife and/or Einkorn Wheat berries
Thanks, yeah they always seem to have the flour but not the wheatberries. The vendors who sell at the markets probably grind their own flour so I will ask them if they can bring wheatberries for me next time, as well as check the two vendors Tatai mentioned.
which is your favourite Greek style yogurt, and why?
Agreed. But, having agreed and preferring Skotidakis 9% Plain Yogurt to all other brands I do occasionally buy Liberte Greek Plain Yogurt 0% M.F. at Costco and have to say it's quite thick for a 0%. But it's not as thick as Skotidakis and has no tangyness at all. Here's a chart from Liberte's website comparing its yogurt with other brands.
http://www.liberte.ca/sn_uploads/fck/AN.jpg
Although Liberte is 1/2 the calories for the same serving size, I'd still rather go with Skotidakis because it has that characteristic Greek yogurt tanginess and beautiful thickness.
The numbers Liberte lists for Skotidakis are wrong because if you go to the Skotidakis website they show a 175g serving as having 11g of protein, not 8g and they say their Yogurt is strained, yet Liberte says Skotidakis is not strained:
http://www.skotidakis.com/en/products/product-yogurt-plain-500g-9-percent.php
Strange that Costco carries Skotidakis Tzaziki and Jalapeno yoghurt dips and their feta cheese, but not the plain yogurt. If they did I would never buy Liberte. I've emailed Skotidakis about why not ages ago but never got a reply. Maybe I'll email Costco instead.
Wanting Really Good Baked Wings / Anywhere ?? Place To Sit In - Not Takeout
I bought some wings to bake for Super Bowl and got them at Cumbrae's on Church. Wasn't that expensive and soooo delicious.
which is your favourite Greek style yogurt, and why?
I see the 9% at The Big Carrot ($4.69) all the time and I was in Harvest Wagon on Yonge St near Summerhill yesterday and saw both the 0% and the 9% there for, surprise, only $3.99.
which is your favourite Greek style yogurt, and why?
Each to his own, but I think Skotidakis makes the best yogurt out there and I have tried them all. I buy the 9%. It is not cheesy, is nicely thick and is slightly tangy. In my opinion nothing beats it out there.
I have even done blind taste tests with friends and they preferred it too. I have not found the Toronto Star (although I love the paper) reviewers up to par often.
Red Fife and/or Einkorn Wheat berries
Does anyone know where I can get either of these? I don't want the flour but the wheat berries as I have my own grinder. I can only ever find the flour.
Native Pawpaws
Does anyone know where I can get a native Pawpaw sapling (also known as custard apple) and, better still for this year, does anyone know where I can buy the Pawpaw fruit when it is in season later in the summer/early fall?
For anyone who isn't familiar with this fruit, the native Pawpaw tree is indigenous to the Golden Horseshoe and produces a fruit that tastes tropical, kind of like a cross between a mango and a banana, and has custardy-like flesh. (Btw, not to be confused with papaya, which Jamaicans also call pawpaw). Incredible that we even have an indigenous fruit tree that produces fruit that tastes tropical.
The best butter and eggs available?
Does anyone know a source and in that I mean an exact address in and around the GTA where I can buy eggs like this from the farm gate? I've been on some wild goose chases (no pun intended) trying to get these types of eggs from the farm gate without an address and have not been successful because I never can seem to find the place without an exact address.
Olive Oil Recommendations?
Yes, a great olive oil (about $4-$5 cheaper at Lady Yorke, E side of Dufferin St, just south of Lawrence)
