Culinary Curiosities

The latest restaurant buzz, including what’s opening, what’s closing, and where to eat, drink and be seen

January 24, 2012 | 4:03 pm

In a fit of hot dog hubris, Vancouver resto launches $100 bratwurst

The beast itself, all $100 of it (Image: Courtesy DougieDog)

Vancouver restaurant DougieDog Hot Dogs put out a press release this morning (which got picked up by the Canadian Press) announcing the latest in fast food extravagance: the world’s first $100 hot dog. The so-called Dragon Dog—a foot-long bratwurst steeped in 100-year-old cognac and topped with Kobe beef, lobster (!) and truffle oil—is a publicity stunt double-whammy: it arrives right on the heels of the Year of the Dragon, and it acts as a bit of promotion for the titular Dougie’s upcoming appearance on tomorrow’s Dragon’s Den (in this clip, Robert Herjavec lauds his “hot girls and hot dogs”). Owner DougieLuv tells us the attention has been nonstop since his announcement and warns that 12 hours advanced notice is required for an order, presumably to allow the Louis XIII to fully soak in. Of course, given what happened the last time someone attempted a novelty, $100 fast food item (we’re looking at you, M:brgr), we’re a bit worried that this operation might prove too big not to fail. Our fingers are crossed for Dougie.

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January 19, 2012 | 10:19 am

Meat grown in a lab could grace our plates by year’s end (but it probably won’t)

Could this be in our near future? (Probably not)

In vitro meat is one of those futuristic products that feels like it belongs to a future full of hovercraft, silver jumpsuits and Leonardo DiCaprio dropping into our dreams. Imagine our surprise, then, to see an article in the Daily Mail bearing the unapologetically emphatic headline “Artificial meat grown in a lab could become a reality THIS year.” The article suggests that 2012 could be the breakthrough year for lab-produced meat (which could help ease world hunger, animal suffering, climate change, etc.), and even contains an, ahem, scientific-looking infographic to show how the process works (it’s worth a click). If you ask us, that timeline feels mighty optimistic; researchers profiled in recent issues of The New Yorker and The Walrus indicated that we’re still some distance away from sitting down for a nice cut of vat-grown rib-eye (doesn’t that sound lovely?). Read the entire story [Daily Mail] »

(Images: steak, FotoosVanRobin; petri dish, JamesZ_Flickr)

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December 1, 2011 | 10:14 am

Digital pizza conjuring? There’s an app for that

It seems the once self-flagellating Domino’s Pizza is trying its darndest to put an end to home dough slinging with Pizza Hero, a devilishly clever iPad app. It starts as an innocent game, closer to Cooking Mama than Guitar Hero: using the touch screen, players select the toppings, slide the pizza into the oven, slice it and stuff it in a box for delivery (the central dough factory is notably absent). But hey, now that you’ve made the pizza, why not press a few buttons and have the real thing delivered to your home? Thankfully the app isn’t available in Canada yet, so Toronto’s children are safe…for now. [h/t Eater]

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November 18, 2011 | 10:37 am

VIDEO: Watch William Shatner show how deep-frying a turkey can go wrong

Noted safety expert William Shatner has teamed up with good neighbour State Farm Insurance to take up the annual tradition of warning Americans about the dangers of deep-fried turkey, just in time for next week’s U.S. Thanksgiving. This time around, they decided to go quasi–Terrence Malick, complete with portentous orchestral music, slow-panning shots and Shatner intoning as only Shatner can: “Fire, metal, oil and turkey are glorious when in harmony, but their power is unrelenting in careless hands.” Oh, and there are also some cheesy flame effects.

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November 15, 2011 | 5:12 pm

Is Rob Ford on the (hot) sauce? One crafty entrepreneur thinks so

(Image: Corbin Smith)

Our mayor’s sometimes-fiery antics have earned him immortality in culinary form: bottles of Rob Ford hot sauce were spotted at Blue Banana in Kensington Market two days ago (presumably Ford-brand gravy was a bit too obvious). Unfortunately, the condiment appears to be a pretty hot commodity—every bottle has been grabbed off the shelves, so at present we can’t tell you who manufactures it or what’s it’s made of (besides garlic and hot). We’d love to see it served at the next Ford Fest barbecue, but somehow we doubt that’ll happen—we’re not lawyers, but as far as we can tell, the sauce seems at least somewhat legally dicey. [h/t Torontoist]

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November 15, 2011 | 11:07 am

The bacon-everything trend reaches its tragedy and farce stage (parental discretion advised)

This morning, the world’s food editors, reporters and bloggers issued forth a collective shudder upon receiving the latest press release from J&D’s Foods. The Seattle-based company is famous for such creating novelty edibles as Bacon Salt, Baconnaise and, this year’s best April Fools’ joke (with us playing the role of the fool), BaconAir, a porky inhaler. But with their latest product, Baconlube, they’ve simply gone too far.

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October 31, 2011 | 4:51 pm

VIDEO: How to make some last-minute Halloween candy, molecular gastronomy–style

It’s 4:51 p.m. Do you have your Halloween candies in order? If not, perhaps the above video from the folks behind Modernist Cuisine will provide you with some inspiration. All you need are some Oreo cookies, isomalt, gum arabic, gelatin, olive oil and a fishing-lure mold. Oh, and an adorable little helper. (h/t Eater)

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October 24, 2011 | 12:42 pm

Cake Wrecks, the Internet’s favourite catalogue of cake catastrophes, comes to Toronto

A faithful reproduction of our national flag

Imagine serving a cake decorated with the words “Happy Hallowen, Trick or Troat.” Or perhaps sperm-shaped spirits. Or a ghost wailing “ooooooB.” These are just today’s atrocities on Cake Wrecks, a blog that catalogues the worst professional cakes on the planet, from egregious misspellings to stomach-churning colours to incomprehensible design choices. Blogger Jen Yates is making her first-ever stop in Toronto to promote the release of her second book, Wreck the Halls: Cake Wrecks Gets “Festive.”

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October 18, 2011 | 12:39 pm

Jessica Pollack explores pljeskavica, the “Balkan burger” (now at Hrvati)

Over at the National Post, Jessica Pollack digs deep into an unlikely 2011 food trend: pljeskavica, a meat patty–based dish common to various parts of southeastern Europe. Armed with a copiously annotated graphic, Pollack deconstructs the “Balkan burger,” spending a full fifth of the article on the lepinja, its unique, spongy bun (a sample: “the doughy bun has a spongy quality that lends an unexpected lightness, the closest references that come to mind being naan or the crust on Toronto hotspot Pizzeria Libretto’s pies.”). After tasting an authentic raw onion pljeskavica in Ottawa, she turns to a more Americanized smoked-mozzarella version at Toronto’s Hrvati Bar, the new Croatian watering hole with a menu by Rodney Bowers. It’s worth a read—not only will you learn what kajmak and ajvar mean, but you’ll also know how to pronounce them when you order. Read the entire story [National Post] »

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September 29, 2011 | 3:07 pm

VIDEO: Fresh ingredients to fully baked pizza in 90 seconds flat—from a vending machine

Although this is far from the first pizza vending machine out there, we’re rather tickled by how seriously this video’s narrator seems to be taking the whole thing. But we have to admit it’s pretty impressive: rather than simply reheating a pre-made pie, this automated pizzeria uses fresh ingredients and assembles it before your eyes. At full tilt, the machine can crank one out every 90 seconds—and if that seems too long a wait, the device comes standard with a 37-inch flat-screen TV to keep you distracted. The company responsible for this triumph of culinary engineering is Pizzametry, run by a New York jeweller and the retired CEO of a battery manufacturer. Five machines are currently in production. Sadly, no word yet on any orders coming from this side of the border. [h/t Eater]

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August 22, 2011 | 1:42 pm

Ex marks the spot: eight culinary innovations at this year’s Canadian National Exhibition (including deep-fried cola)

Four culinary delights at this year’s CNE (Images: Gizelle Lau)

In the days of yore, people flocked to the Canadian National Exhibition to see the year’s prize cows, pigs and horses. It’s only fitting that in these fallen fast-food times, people now gather round the warm, greasy glow of the deep fryers in the CNE Food Building. Indeed, gawking at the year’s fried fare has become something of an annual tradition, so we headed back to the Ex this year to bring you eight gut-busting indulgences, including this year’s headline grabber: deep-fried Coke cola.

See photos of all eight, along with a readout of our regret-o-meter »

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August 16, 2011 | 1:28 pm

Health-conscious Coca-Cola draws the line at deep-fried Coke, presumably for the children

Deep-fried cola: who could resist?

Every year people pile into the food building at the CNE to taste whatever new deep-fried wonder is being served up (also: food on a stick). The good news is that even after last year’s trailblazing deep-fried butter, the fires of culinary innovation are still burning strong in 2011, with one Exhibition-ist, Andrew Motta, inventing deep-fried Coke. The bad news is that The Man apparently can’t handle having his mind blown, so he’s sent his goons to stop this amazing invention.

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June 2, 2011 | 5:20 pm

The latest in the annals of crazy-looking animals: a bright blue lobster from PEI

Not the lobster in question, but equally blue (Image: Richard Wood)

In the latest installment in our never-ending search for Canada’s Next Top Crazy-Looking Animal, we are proud to point you in the direction of this really cool blue lobster, recently caught off the coast of P.E.I’s north shore.

CBC News reports:

Blair Doucette landed the lobster in North Rustico. Only about one in four million lobster is blue. The colour is caused by a genetic mutation.

Wendy Doucette, Blair’s wife, told CBC News in 30 years of fishing he has never seen a blue lobster. They are considering donating the lobster to a local aquarium.

We have to admit: if it were up to us, we’d be sorely temped to see how it tastes.

• Electric-blue lobster caught off P.E.I. [CBC News]

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May 27, 2011 | 11:41 am

It’s back: KFC introduces the Double Down 2.0 to Canada, now with slightly less sodium

It’s baaaaaacack: the Double Down returns to Canada on June 1 (Image: KFC Canada)

In what seems more like fodder for competitive eaters and Twitterers than legitimate news, KFC has just announced that the Double Down will be making a triumphant and greasy return to Canada on June 1. The sandwich, which features bacon and cheese squeezed between two pieces of the Colonel’s famous boneless fried chicken, seems more like something Man vs. Food’s Adam Richman would dream up in his sleep than a legitimate fast-food product—but, hey, there’s clearly a market for it.

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May 26, 2011 | 11:52 am

Check out liquid nitrogen–poached doughnuts and other molecular miracles from a recent Modernist Cuisine demo

John Placko uses goggles while working with liquid nitrogen (Image: Renée Suen)

What’s it like to sear caramel on a -34 °C anti-griddle, poach doughnuts in liquid nitrogen (around -196 °C), or use low temperatures to slow-cook food in vacuum-sealed pouches in a thermal immersion circulator (that’s sous vide for those in the know)? Although they may seem like leftovers from some ’70s sci-fi movie, these modern cooking techniques are starting to move beyond professional kitchens and into homes, buoyed in part by the March release of Nathan Myhrvold’s staggering six-volume Modernist Cuisine. In honour of the 2,500-page tome, The Cookbook Store hosted a two-hour workshop, which saw many of Toronto’s hottest chefs and industry tastemakers piled into Nella Cucina’s upstairs cooking studio, including Grant van Gameren (The Black Hoof), Nick auf der Mauer (Porchetta and Co.), sommelier Jamie Drummond, Dinah Koo (Koo and Co.) and Lucy Waverman.

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