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Mariah Carey champagne, U.K. considers butter ban, Kraft and Cadbury to merge

Oenophile Mariah Carey at the Toronto premiere of Precious (Photo by Karon Liu)

• U.K. heart surgeon Shyam Kolvekar will be less popular at the nation’s morning fry-ups after his suggestion that butter should be banned to save the increasing number of young people suffering from heart problems. Adults in the country eat 20 per cent more than the recommended limit of saturated fats per month, with butter being a major contributor to the problem. Kolvekar says butter can be replaced with more heart-healthy fats, like margarine and low-fat spread. Poor Julia Child will be rolling over in her grave. [The Daily Mail]

• With the Kraft and Cadbury merger coming ever closer to reality (U.K.-owned Cadbury has accepted U.S.-owned Kraft’s offer of $19.5 billion, but shareholder approval is pending), the British are fretting about what it will mean for their chocolate. The Guardian claims American chocolate has more sugar, less cocoa solids and uses different beans than British varieties do. While British bars do tend to be creamier, we are most concerned about the fate of Creme Eggs. [The Independent]

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| Leave a Comment » January 20, 2010 | 8:48 am | Fraser Abe

Bottoms Up

Toronto New Year’s Eve celebrations: a 10-part field guide

Choosing one New Year’s Eve event over hundreds of others can be daunting, especially when all the descriptions meld together with promises of a glass of champagne (read: cheap sparkling wine) and various misspellings of “hors d’oeuvre.” To help in the decision-making process, here’s a roundup of 10 very different events taking place on December 31^st.

(Looking for the best NYE prix fixe menus? Click here »)

: Venue: Gladstone
Dining options: Marc Breton’s hearty fare, including poutine, grilled cheese, ploughman’s board
Libations: Hotel bar stocked to the max
Atmosphere: The Skin Tight Outta Sight rock ’n’ roll burlesque troupe will be taking over the hotel, encouraging guests to put on their best “rock of love bus attire” (make sure those clear plastic platform heels have good traction on ice)
Entertainment: Singing and dancing by one of the city’s most popular burlesque troupes, partial nudity
Likely to happen at midnight: An MC will commence the countdown in an over-the-top, Rocky Horror manner with lots of double entendres
Who will be there: Aspiring roller derby athletes, musicians from bands no one has heard of, fans of the Pillow Fight League
Who should go: People who missed the burlesque boom of 2004
Avoid if: You have a stack of $5 bills you’d prefer not to part with
1214 Queen St. W., 416-531-4635, event Web site. $30 in advance, $40 at the door.
Photo by Skin Tight Outta Sight

: Venue: The Drake Hotel
Dining options: Five- or three-course meals, along with hors d’oeuvre. Expect such Drake staples as sushi and charcuterie
Libations: Obligatory glass of sparkling wine
Atmosphere: All-around warmth created by the hotel’s mood lighting and a sense of self-satisfaction from staying away from the downtown core
Entertainment: Jazz crooning by Elise LeGrow upstairs, DJs spinning in the underground. Basically, a re-enactment of K-os’ “Sunday Morning” video
Likely to happen at midnight: Quick cheers and air kisses followed by revellers crowding into the hotel rooms, where the real party begins
Who will be there: Twenty-somethings still in denial about the death of hipsterism, fashion students who skipped out on lunch at Freshii for an entire week to save up the entrance fee
Who should go: Those too old for the club district but too young for Yorkville
Avoid if: You have no idea what Owl City is
1150 Queen St. W., 1-866-943-8849, event Web site. $75, $99 with dinner.
Photo by Amber Dawn Pullin

: Venue: Watusi
Dining options: Four-course menu (unfortunately doesn’t include the famous chickpea fries)
Libations: Quirky Pearson-era cocktails: mojitos, piña coladas, Manhattans and Singapore slings
Atmosphere: Retro dance party without the hassle of having to dress up as Peggy Olson
Entertainment: DJ spinning near the back of the space, marvelling at the restaurant’s psychedelic colours, deciding whether to eat or dance
Likely to happen at midnight: Quick champagne toast, then back to partying like it’s 1965
Who will be there: Nearby residents and business owners, kids disenchanted with Queen West, noise narcs keeping the volume under control
Who should go: Mad Men fans
Avoid if: You still use the term “shagadelic”
110 Ossington Ave., 416-533-1800, watuzi.biz. $65.
Photo by Watusi

$Venue: Sneaky Dee’s Dining options: The famously cheap and huge nacho platter Libations: Cheap pitchers (and we don’t mean Roy Halladay) Atmosphere: Laid-back dive bar Entertainment: Sneak standby Shit la Merde will be spinning at The Garrison instead, but the DJ lineup will still maintain a similar sound Likely to happen at midnight: Brief pause just after midnight as everyone realizes they missed the countdown due to all the dancing Who will be there: The fraction of Torontonians who actually look good in skinny jeans, over-inked 20-somethings Who should go: Cash-strapped students, people who would rather wear hoodies and jeans than suits and dresses, revellers unwilling to trek to the Junction to swill bottles of PBR in an ironic fashion Avoid if: You’re over 30 431 College St., 416-603-3090, sneaky-dees.com. $10 in advance, $15 at the door.Photo by Allison Felus$: Venue: Sneaky Dee’s
Dining options: The famously cheap and huge nacho platter
Libations: Cheap pitchers (and we don’t mean Roy Halladay)
Atmosphere: Laid-back dive bar
Entertainment: Sneak standby Shit la Merde will be spinning at The Garrison instead, but the DJ lineup will still maintain a similar sound
Likely to happen at midnight: Brief pause just after midnight as everyone realizes they missed the countdown due to all the dancing
Who will be there: The fraction of Torontonians who actually look good in skinny jeans, over-inked 20-somethings
Who should go: Cash-strapped students, people who would rather wear hoodies and jeans than suits and dresses, revellers unwilling to trek to the Junction to swill bottles of PBR in an ironic fashion
Avoid if: You’re over 30
431 College St., 416-603-3090, sneaky-dees.com. $10 in advance, $15 at the door.
Photo by Allison Felus

: Venue: Ultra
Dining options: Surprisingly good and varied (vegetarian options!) three-course meal with such dishes as duck and roasted squash tourtière and beef tenderloin with marrow crust and parsley root purée
Libations: Not one, but two glasses of champagne for each person
Atmosphere: Dark club with glowing panels to accentuate the silhouettes of the well coiffed and fit staffers
Entertainment: Loud beats, macho guys giving bro hugs
Likely to happen at midnight: Lots of hooting and hollering
Who will be there: Male regulars breaking out the black party loafers, women in sky-high heels
Who should go: Party-goers who prefer not to go outside between dinner and clubbing
Avoid if: You are not a fan of Jersey Shore
314 Queen St. W., 416-263-0330, ultratoronto.com. $161.
Photo by Ultra

: Venue: The Burroughes Building
Dining options: Hors d’oeuvre (read: fill up beforehand)
Libations: Open bar
Atmosphere: Fancy-dress masquerade ball with a whiff of exclusivity
Entertainment: Eavesdropping, predicting who will make it into Govani’s next column, updating Twitter feeds every 10 minutes
Likely to happen at midnight: A collective toast, fifty-fifty chance of confetti cannon, aerial group photo reminiscent of the one in The Shining
Who will be there: Shinan Govani and the duo behind Greta Constantine will be hosting. And wherever Govani is, expect flocks of other local celebs and party page regulars to be close by
Who should go: Aspiring gossip bloggers, party photographers, the Salahis
Avoid if: You want to get wasted
639 Queen St. W., jen@styleforstyle.ca, event Web site. $100.
Image by Burroughes Building

: Venue: Nathan Phillips Square
Dining options: $3 hot dogs ($5 with fries)
Libations: Tim Hortons and Starbucks to offset the hypothermia—that is, if it’s even possible to get inside the coffee joints, which have to serve hundreds of people throughout the night
Atmosphere: Collective feigned enthusiasm to mask the bitterness of not having worn enough layers, kids asking how much longer till midnight
Entertainment: Scripted bantering by newscasters, an unidentifiable VJ, Shawn Desman/Danny Fernandes/Massari (it’s Karl Wolf this year), Jarvis Church, Anjulie, Kardinal Offishall, cast of Rock of Ages, the Mission District
Likely to happen at midnight: A good but modest fireworks display so as not to set the city on fire, followed by a massive evacuation at 12:01 in order to beat the traffic
Who will be there: Out-of-towners, fathers with shoulders strained from carrying their kids all night
Who should go: Junior high students venturing downtown for the first time without parents, boyfriends who want to be that guy who proposes on live TV, families composed of people who really get along with each other
Avoid if: You have a TV that carries CityTV
100 Queen St. W., event Web site. Free.
Photo by Photopia

: Venue: Hazelton Lanes
Dining options: Very small appetizers
Libations: The event is sponsored by Roberto Cavalli Vodka
Atmosphere: Conspicuous consumerism at its finest
Entertainment: A hodgepodge of DJs, Cirque du Soleil aerialists and a Cavalli fashion show, because nothing says party like a fashion show
Likely to happen at midnight: Polite glass raising and air kisses
Who will be there: The real housewives of Toronto, industry people ready to hand out stacks of business cards
Who should go: Fashion bloggers, Waldorf wannabes
Avoid if: You equate Jimmy Choo’s H&M line with Jimmy Choo’s actual line
55 Avenue Rd., 647-898-2554, event Web site. $60–$80.
Photo courtesy of Roberto Cavalli

: Venue: Ame
Dining options: À la carte in the evening, tasting menu at 9 p.m.
Libations: Wintry girly cocktails and hot sake
Atmosphere: Low-key setting where it’ll be more about the food than the revelry
Entertainment: Guy Rubino’s culinary flourishes
Likely to happen at midnight: Polite hand roll raising
Who will be there: Bay Streeters hacking away at their BlackBerrys, foodies who’d rather have a party in their mouths than at a club
Who should go: Ho Su and New Gen regulars looking to step it up a notch
Avoid if: You always order California rolls at sushi joints
19 Mercer St., 416-599-7246, event Web site. Tasting menu $85–$100.
Photo by Davida Aronovitch

: Venue: Casa Loma
Dining options: Hors d’oeuvre are included in the $75 entrance fee, but has anyone ever seen a server with an actual plate of food at these parties? The catering is done by the Pegasus Group, which also represents Nyood, Kultura and the interchangeable Philthy McNasty’s, O’Grady’s, the Wheat Sheaf and the Fox and Fiddle
Libations: Obligatory glass of sparkling wine (the event description says “champagne,” but we’re skeptical). The bar’s open until 2 a.m.
Atmosphere: The event promises “plenty of romantic make-out spots,” according to She Does the City (it’s that kind of party). Access is limited to the great room, the library and the conservatory, but we’re sure a few people will make it a mission to have a romp in the stable or the master bedroom
Entertainment: DJs spinning, watching people grinding strangers in a century-old house where children have Easter egg hunts
Likely to happen at midnight: Castle-wide PDAs
Who will be there: People who haven’t visited the castle since grade school, naughty librarians, history buffs
Who should go: People who need parking, kids who got shut out of the rave at the Don Jail during the summer
Avoid if: You expect a Clue-style murder mystery to unfold
1 Austin Terr., 416-524-4505, event Web site. $75.
Photo by Wanda Gould

Also: Check out our picks for the best NYE prix fixe menus »

| 4 Comments » December 22, 2009 | 8:41 am | Karon Liu

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Champagne declared healthy, Adam Platt picks the best tinned soups, least popular holiday chocolates

Best of broth worlds: ranking the canned soups (Photo by)

Best of broth worlds: ranking canned soups (Photo by Pablo Diaz)

• ’Tis the season for warm, hearty food—even canned soup. New York’s chief restaurant critic, Adam Platt, does a blind taste test of two dozen store-bought varieties. His discerning palate can tell right away which one is Campbell’s (“It’s immediately synthetic and metallic”), and his favourites remind him of childhood (“It makes me want to crumble up crackers in it, watch Leave It to Beaver, cry, punch my brother and stay home from school”). The winner: Wolfgang Puck Organic Classic Tomato With Basil. [New York Magazine]

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| Leave a Comment » December 15, 2009 | 9:15 am | Jon Sufrin

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Coolio gets a cooking show (yes, that Coolio), Rachael Ray bests Martha Stewart, recession ruins champagne sales

• Mid-’90s rapper Coolio has traded in rhymes for recipes. The Ghetto Gourmet now has an on-line cooking show and a new book called Cookin’ With Coolio. Mixing African-American and urban foods with such world cuisines as Asian and Italian, Coolio has crafted what he calls “ghetto fusion,” offering dishes like chicken lettuce blunts, Coolio caprese salad and cold shrimpin’. Although the rapper said he grew up in the kitchen, there might be an ulterior motive behind his food: “If I can get [a woman] to eat my food, I can [seduce her]”—meaning, we think, that he can follow a rump roast with some serious back. [Boston]

• We are sad to report that the tussle between food mavens Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray ended before it had a chance to get interesting. In the end, Ray won the Miss Congeniality belt, and Stewart was simply outclassed. After appearing on the Rachael Ray Show, Stewart condescendingly remarked on Nightline that while she herself is a teacher, Ray is a mere entertainer. Instead of slinging back insults, Ray gracefully acknowledged Stewart’s strong talents and admitted that when it comes to food she’d rather eat Stewart’s than her own. Now, Martha, could you teach us how to strike it rich on the markets? [New York]

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| Leave a Comment » November 21, 2009 | 11:50 am | Matthew Hague

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Airport food guide, Tim Hortons’ big move, Tyra Banks eats from trucks

On the fly: a typical airport dinner at Pearson (Photo by Ed Kohler)

• Harried travellers are often at the mercy of the overpriced, under-flavoured food on offer in most airports. Well, Michael Blackie has their backs—sort of. The globe-trotting Ottawa chef reveals some of the better eating options at terminals throughout the world. Montreal’s Trudeau Airport gets points for sandwiches; Vancouver scores high for Globe@YVR’s locavore-friendly menu (a 100-mile restaurant at the airport? That’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife). JetBlue’s new terminal at JFK and Heathrow’s Terminal 5 are notable for their luxury cuisine offerings. Sorry, Toronto—all you get is Wolfgang Puck, mentioned in the same breath as Tim Hortons. [Globe and Mail]

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| Leave a Comment » October 1, 2009 | 8:42 am | Fraser Abe

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Bacon-flavoured beer, the fattest city in America, the 50 best spots to eat the 50 best foods

• On a recent foray to Huntington, West Virginia (recently bestowed with the dubious distinction of being America’s fattest and most unhealthy city), celebrity chef Jamie Oliver says he was so appalled that the hairs on his arm stood on end. Residents there “have never had food from scratch in their life,” he says, adding that big corporations control all the food, making it difficult to obtain fresh produce despite the rural surroundings. [Sky News]

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| Leave a Comment » September 22, 2009 | 2:50 pm | Jon Sufrin

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Busting the bubbly, how not to be a “label whore,” suing Seinfeld

• It’s been a bad year for champagne: global sales fell by 19 per cent in the first half of this year. As a consequence of the reduced demand, grape growers have been forced to leave vast amounts of perfectly ripe grapes to wither on the vine. Philippe Gué, who supplies grapes to Veuve Clicquot, says he will be abandoning a third of his crop–enough for 20,000 bottles of champagne. [Independent]

• The Canadian government is set to abandon a plan that would have allowed the food industry to imbue junk food with vitamins and minerals. While the prospect of transforming Mars bars into superfoods is appealing, public health officials were apparently concerned that the move could instigate an increase in junk food consumption. On the bright side, we’ll be spared the predictably cheesy marketing slogans touting the health benefits of unhealthy snacks. [Canwest]

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| Leave a Comment » September 15, 2009 | 9:19 am | Jon Sufrin