Captain Maplesyrup's Profile
Olive Oil Recommendations?
Like I said before - give the 'bulk' bottled olive oil at the Cheese Boutique a try - they have Turkish oil for $12 L and a Greek oil for $15 / 500mL. The best thing is that you can taste them before you buy. The Prestines know the folks who make the oil and can guarantee it's authenticity. Tasting oil is the only way to know whether or not you are going to like it. Think of it like wine - unless you've tasted enough olive oil to 'know' that you prefer fruity Luccesse oil from Italy over nutty Barossa Valley oil from Australia - you'll have to try as many as possible. To keep the wine analogy going - have a table wine / oil that you can cook with - one or two 'good' brand-name wines/oils for salads, veggies etc and a few top-drawer oils (Vintages selections) that you can 'eat'. Make sure to store the oil out of the light and away from heat (just like wine).
What oil do you use for olive oil ice cream and gelato? [moved from Ontario board]
We're gonna get nailed for going off-topic but...try freezing straight olive oil in a shallow baking dish and make little frozen balls with a melon scooper. Serve it with some honey, fruit and biscotti for a really interesting dish.
Olive Oil Recommendations?
There are a few places in town where you can buy 'bulk'. I tasted the oil at Alimento at 522 King and it was very user-friendly. The Cheese Boutique usually has two or three different 'house' oils available - sometimes Turkish, Greek, Italian. If you have access to a car or are ok with long ttc rides try Highland Farms for a really great selection of moderately good-quality oils. They usually have one or two on sale and have a decent selection of vinegars et al. I use less-expensive oil to cook with, moderately expensive oil for salads etc ($15-20) and a few bottles of really good stuff for 'eating'.
Reasonably priced eats around the CN tower?
Try the CN Tower. Really - have a look at their (Horizons) pre-fix menu $32. The elevator ride to the resto is free with lunch and you won't have to line up with everyone else - you go to the front of the line and directly up the tower. That alone is worth the $$$ (it's $24 to ride the elevator, so your lunch really only costs you $8!!! plus drinks, tax and tip) After lunch (and a couple of rotations) you can go to the public decks if you want.
Who has the best wings in Etobicoke South?
Sorry for tagging an older post but...Orwell's is probably the most consistent and the atmosphere is friendly and the beer selection is good. Two places that might fly under the radar are The Crooked Cue (you don't have to play pool) - there is a cool/open bar area with plenty of seating that overlooks Bloor. The service is great the wings are fine and beer selection is very good. The atmosphere is not very 'pubby' - but it's worth a try for good wings. My other recommondation comes with this caveat: I have had the best and the worse wing at ... The Old Sod Pub. This is not for everyone - it is a drinking establishment and smells like it. The beer selection is ok - very middle of the road and commercial. I have had wings here about 20 times (I've lived down the street for 10 years). The best time to go is when they are moderately busy and the fryers have been working for a couple of hours. This is not a place to be 'first-in' or 'last-out' of. There is live music too boot. It's an old school tavern like the Wheat Sheaf or Grossman's. You may have the best wing feed of the year here - or not.
Corktown loses Pete's Cajun Pizza on Parliment
The little hole-in-the-wall pizza and wing joint at the corner of Parliament and Queen has closed. Landlord's notice dated 14 January in the window. Fantastic wings and strangely good pizza will be missed. Serbs making Cajun Pizza - crazy. They expanded a few months ago and took over the old Mr Tasty (Mr Testy) on the corner. A Profile of Excellence (complete with roman-coin-like portrait of Pete). Both places are now locked and closed.
Wine 101 offered by LCBO?
It totally depends on which store you are taking the class - the PC's (Product Consultant) teaching ability varies greatly. What location are you looking at?
Attention Hospitality Trade - February 6th The Feast Day of St Almand - what will you make?
If you are in the hospitality trade: if you work in hotel, bar, tavern, brewery, if you make, sell or import wine or beer or if you are a boyscout - St Amand is your Patron Saint - and his feast day is Saturday February 6th this year. If you know someone who is in the industry - convince them to throw a party-feast. This is a great excuse to throw one killer dinner party to bring in the new decade - in February no less.
Our Feast is shaping up to look like this...
Oysters and Champagne
Lobster or Dungeness Crab Bisque and Chardonnay - maybe PEC or Burgundy
Winter Greens and poached pear salad - Ontario off-dry Riesling
Whole - barbecue-roasted suckling pig with winter root mash and roasted veggies - Pinot Noir or Sangiovese
Benedictine Blue, nuts and dried fruit - 1994 Vintage Port
We'll work on the details over the next couple of weeks.
What will you be serving???
Le Cendrillon, World's Best Cheese?
Jayt90 - people, wine and cheese share some similar base elements which all smell the same - Parmesan has Butyric acid in it. Butyric acid is also found in armpits, vomit, butter and Parmesan cheese - Yum! In Burgundy wine - one of my favourites is when a wild yeast called Brettanomyces gets into the mix which is responsible for, among other things, something called isovaleric acid which has an unpleasant smell of sweaty animals, cheese and rancidity. Other characters associated with Brett include wet dog, creosote, burnt beans, rotting vegetation, plastic and (but not exclusively caused by Brett) mouse cage aroma and vinegar. Baryard, baseball glove and septic tank are all descriptors I've used when making wine notes. You'll also find it in Tuscan Sangiovese and some Tempranillo-based wines from Spain. Quails' Gate Old Vine Foch from BC is particularly pooh-ee if you are looking for that sort of profile. I've also seen it in some 'County' Pinot Noir - which would probably go well with Cendrillon....
"The Girolle" Cheese Shaver need help finding in the GTA.
A word about quality; make sure that you purchase a 'real' one. The original Girolle is swiss-made and uses maple wood that is FSC certified. Knock-off are just that - inferior wood and a metal blade will not make for an enjoyable cheese shaving experience. As they say in Scotland - 'tis a false economy to invest in cheap goods".
Le Cendrillon, World's Best Cheese?
I bought 5 pieces of Cendrillon at the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo on the 20th of November thinking that I would keep a couple of them until Christmas. I kept them in my 'cheese, beer and wine fridge' - that has only dairy and glass in it. The first couple of pieces were slightly tart, with good salt content and a pleasant herbaceous aroma and flavour - very nice snow-white centre. As the cheese aged it developed strong ammonia aromas (think bird cage) and a rather tart-sharp flavours that were difficult to enjoy - (and I am a huge fan of stinky Loire Valley Chevre and cheeses like Époisses de Bourgogne). The last piece (a month old) from the GFWE started to run a bit at the edge when it warmed to room temperature and exhibited an off-putting uric acid (cat pee) smell which even my most hard-core cheese-heads could not stomach. We threw the last little piece out. Bottom line - Cendrillon is wonderful when young but you might want to steer clear of more mature pieces. I'm not sure if all Cendrillon will age the same (time of year, humidity, initial milk quality etc). I'm off cat-pee completely now - in my Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc and in my Chevre.
"The Girolle" Cheese Shaver need help finding in the GTA.
The Cheese Boutique carries them.
Is all Vermont Maple the same
Up here north of the border we have several very distinct production zones - each of which has its own particular terroir. To put things into perspective: In Canada, maple syrup is produced in areas of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. These four provinces and 14 of the northeastern United States located as far west as Minnesota produce maple syrup for commercial use. Canada produces about 80% of the world's supply of maple syrup and the United States about 20%. Vermont make (about) 3.5 million litres a year, Ontario - about two or three times that. Both are dwarfed by the amount produced in Quebec; last year they 'officially' made nearly 30 million litres of the stuff and they have about 15 million litres in reserve (4 times Vermont's total annual production) My point with the numbers and volumes is: there is a lot of maple syrup out there and the less specific the label - the more generic the flavour. Product of Canada likely means that you are getting Quebec blended syrup, similar say to european French table wine. An excellent comparison can be drawn between wine and maple syrup - the more sight specific - the more terroir will show through. Mineral content and soil composition play a huge part in the flavour as does altitude and latitude, aspect to the sun, drainage etc. In Ontario, where I am, syrup from along the Niagara Escarpment (limestone) has a totally different taste compared with say the Ottawa Valley (alluvial glacial till) or syrup produced in Algonquin Park on the Canadian shield (granite). Production can maintain or change the the flavour profile of the syrup - long cooler evaporation maintains more flavour and fruitiness in the syrup - fast and hot 'cooks' the syrup and imparts caramel flavours. The time the sap comes off the tree really makes a difference as well - new syrup tends to be lighter, while late is darker and more mineral laden. Most units are stainless steel now - but you might run into a cast iron heater at older operations - that imparts a particular flavour to the syrup as well. We usually 'collect' maple syrup directly from farms and sugar shacks that produce it and we take a stab at making our own every year. Some of the best syrup, in my opinion, is produced by the Mennonite community in and around the Elmira area of south-western Ontario. If you ever have the chance to taste maple syrup that has been boiled off over an open fire - do it! It's rustic, smoky and primitive tasting. The Kortright Conservation Centre north of Toronto has an interactive maple syrup interpretative trail in the spring where they usually set up two or three cast iron kettles over open fire. There are similar events and fairs all over the northeast - check one out.
The specific gravity of commercial maple syrup will prevent it from freezing - so store it in the freezer until you crack the seal - then keep it in the fridge.
Romagna Mia - a quick review
I work in the neighbourhood and have been eating at Romagna-Mia (RM)since it opened. I'm also in the wine business and eat out a bit more than would be considered 'normal'.
RM's food is "on" 95% of the time and very it's affordable. Chef Gabriele Paganelli's frequent trips back to Italy keep him inspired and grounded. His Strozzapreti is generous and comfortable and the daily specials always deliver (last week I had bison stuffed tortellini that my lunch guest said was 'the best' pasta they had ever eaten). I make a habit of taking my family (wife and girls 12&15) there once in a while (we live in Etobicoke) so they can experience honest and wholesome food. The menu changes to reflect seasonal ingredients and cooking methods - including black truffles when available. RM is the one of the few restaurants that I trust enough to order their risotto. The only time that our food was poor, was a burnt pizza from the long-retired wood burning oven that used to take up space at the 'front-of-house' - all was not lost as they substituted the offending pizza with some fresh pasta.
A few weeks ago I took a guest there for lunch and we arrived about ten minutes before they were going to open. They let us in and gave us a table - with bread and water and told us they would take our order after they finished their lunch. There, at the table in front of the open kitchen the staff sat 'family' style around the table while Gabriele served them steaming dishes of fresh pasta. He sat with them and talked about the day's specials. What else could you want?
Why not a fifth star? The service can be a bit off some days when (for whatever reason) the place fills up unexpectedly and they are short-staffed. This is a chronic problem because of the location and the amount of walk-in (no reservation) business that they get. I've learned to live with 'the attitude' because the food is so fantastic and because I know that Gabriele's soul is in each dish. I've noticed that there is a new 'kid' in training who has served us the last few times -he's from Italy and hopefully he will stay around for a while. The wine list is a bit shallow and a heavy with consignment wines that you might not be familiar with - still, there are a few well-thought out choices that will complement anything on the menu - just ask the new Italian kid for help.
La Veranda opening @ Royal York & Bloor
There's a new owner and chef at Henry VIII, they are doing good gastro-pub fare and they have gotten rid of the white ATM!
Niagara Peninsula
The Kitchen House at Peninsula Ridge has reopened under Ross and Wendy Midgley (both of whom have remarkable food pedigrees) check out PenRidge's website for more details.
Buying Foraged Morels
Try W&T Mushrooms - North Farmer's Market at St Lawrence - hard to find Ontario shrooms as most come in from BC - where they grow like weeds.
Leonidas store w/ice cream in Leslieville - anyone been?
I don't know about Leonidas - but Ed's Real Scoop makes their own small-batch at 920 Queen East in Leslieville... Had the chocolate macaroon last week - yum.
Rolling Rock Beer in bars
Rolling Rock is owned by AB - Inbev and not available in Ontario. It's now brewed in New Jersey at the company's Newark facility and hasn't come from the glass-lined tanks of Latrobe PA since 2006. Cross-border shopping is your only option. Although you couuld call the LCBO's info line 416-365-5900 to see if you can private order it (legally). There will probably be some restrictions on minimum amounts assuming the brewery will even bother with a small order.
A private room to show a movie
JazzFM has a mini-theatre that they rent out - very cool space. Liberty Village has a few resto/bars for post-mortum.
M
Store that specializes in British goods?
Sugar & Co. Sweet Shop
West Vancouver.
604-925-0801
www.sugarandco.ca
They sell Romney's Kendal Mint Cakes for $2.29 each and will ship to Ontario....
My new favourite Asian supermarket
With FCS and T&T - pay close attention when purchasing produce that is labeled product of Canada or Product of Ontario - I witnessed "Local Ontario Hothouse Tomatoes" that had product of US stickers on them and Product of Canada Spinach that was actually from Texas...
Store that specializes in British goods?
urbandreamer - I've been looking for Kendal Mint Cakes two years in the GTA with no success - I have asked at trade shows etc - seems not enough demand and others have never heard of it. (my daughter got hooked on them when we were hiking in Cumbria and the Lakes two years ago). Had to have emergency rations sent here along with Yorkshire Tea. Good luck.
Yitz's still pretty good
I spent Sunday lunch at Yitz's for the first time in 6 or 7 years; I'd been 'warned-off' by someone who said it had gone down hill since being sold. I'm pleased to report that the washrooms were clean, the place has a good bustle to it and our sandwiches (my wife and I ordered Pastrami and Corned Beef and switch halves) were very solid. Service was attenive if a teeny bit slow. It was as good or better than I remember it. Maybe it was because it was freezing cold yesterday - but the place felt warm and comfortable. I'm downtown and can get to a number of places during lunch and can recommend Zoulpy's on King East, Zupa's on Adelaide at Charlotte and The Corned Beef House a bit further east on Adelaide - although the last few time TCBH has been understaffed and too slow for an hour lunch. Caplansky's is great but the set-up is so screw-ee that it will confound even the most seasoned smoked meat 'fresser'. Pay for your beer at the bar - different bill, tax and tip. Pay for your food at 'the counter' tax and tip... Will go back to Yitz's again.
Hot Chocolate in Packages
Coco Camino - Mountain Equipment Coop, The Big Carrot and other 'fine' food stores.
http://www.cocoacamino.com/
What's your most disappointing dining experience?
After the Gourmet Wine and Food Show walked the strip of big box tourist traps on Front and settled on Joe Bidali's. What a mistake! The 'Wild mushroom" bruschetta topping were limp, salty, overcooked button mushrooms and the "Fresh Roma Tomatoes" were obviously not; neither did they look or taste like tomatoes. To add insult to injury - this was a spur of the moment dinner-date with my wife and we don't usually get the opportunity to eat dinners out together. JB needs to rethink matching their ingredients to what is on the menu...
Best / favourite commercial butter
The shortbread season is here. Any thoughts on which butter is best? I know Gay Lea won the Grand Champion at the Royal this year (and they are an Ontario co-op). Are there any other good local choices?
