New York restaurateur Scott Conant has written an open letter to Toronto, which was published on the Huffington Post this morning. His main intention is to plug his much-anticipated Hogtown location of Scarpetta at the Thompson Hotel, but the text also manages to illustrate that his multitasking is as strong on the page as it is in the kitchen. The letter is a masterwork of contradiction, managing to condescend, schmooze and charm all at the same time.
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Salt Wine Bar finally set to open on Ossington
Salt Wine Bar is the green-trimmed storefront just south of The Saint, pictured last summer (Image: Google)
The Saint is the only mystery resto left on Ossington. The much-anticipated Salt Wine Bar, which has been tantalizingly papered up since last summer, should be opening within the next few weeks. Owners say it will be a simple, competitively priced bar-eatery-store that will focus on cuisine from the Iberian peninsula, so expect Spanish and Portuguese products and dishes. Chef Dave Kemp, previously of the utterly un-Iberian Prego Della Piazza in Yorkville, will head the communal tapas-style menu. True to the bar’s name, cheeses and charcuterie—up to seven different types of prosciutto, including some house-cured meats—will be staples.
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The Kimchee Effect: four dishes that deliver a Korean kick
Why fiery Korean flavours are getting even hotter
Manhattan’s punk rock chef, David Chang of Momofuku fame, has almost single-handedly turned kimchee into the new salsa. The pungent pickle is everywhere: topping burgers, spiking cocktails—it’s even gracing the odd charcuterie platter. And other elements of Korea’s bold, beguiling—and previously intimidating—flavours have followed kimchee’s march into the mainstream. Here, the top Toronto dishes that deliver a creative Korean kick. Read the rest of this entry »
Details magazine takes on Toronto, barely leaves 501 streetcar
The Queen streetcar: delivering shoppers to shops, one stop at a time (Image: Anthony Easton)
Details magazine has named Toronto a mecca of “modern-art galleries, high-concept restaurants and fashion-forward boutiques,” but judging from the choices, it appears the writer barely got off the Queen streetcar. Don’t get us wrong—most of the choices are pretty good. The magazine lists Sydney’s (Queen and Manning), Klaxon Howl (Queen and Euclid) and The Gladstone Hotel (Queen and Gladstone) as three of its seven picks. Two others are Nomad (a block from Queen on Richmond) and Jonathan and Olivia (on Ossington, just steps north of Queen). The remaining two options are the furthest flung: Sam James Coffee Bar, all the way north on Harbord, and the Black Hoof, the wildly popular charcuterie hot spot on Dundas.
Look, it’s all right if Details doesn’t want to send its readers to other great areas—like Leslieville, Liberty Village, the Distillery District and Roncesvalles—but if it’s going to do a shopping guide, at least throw Yorkville a bone.
Escape Plan: five amazing Ontario getaways
Five off-the-radar summer destinations where you can eat, drink, fish, farm, bike or meditate to your heart’s content
Just Opened: Atlantic, where Nathan Isberg goes from Coca to crickets
Devotion to the ocean: Nathan Isberg at his new restaurant, Atlantic
There are two things that chef Nathan Isberg kept in mind when opening his new restaurant: he wanted to do it without investors and stay away from condo-land or whatever is deemed “the next big neighbourhood.” That’s why he snatched up a 33-year-old sports bar at Brock and Dundas West after biking past it last summer. With an initial budget of $600, he gradually transformed it into the cozy nautical-themed tapas-style restaurant now known as Atlantic.
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Best New Restaurants 2010
This time last year, the future looked awfully grim. We braced for restaurant closures and recessionary menus, but 2009 was surprising. Though we lost some good places (Perigee, Truffles, Alice’s and Gamelle, in particular), and mac-and-cheese quickly wore out its welcome, it was an exciting time to dine out. Anxious restaurateurs dropped corkage fees and slashed wine markups, while chefs cooked up imaginative prix fixe menus. It suited our mood as well as our wallets: these days, Torontonians want informality. We’re still hungry for local produce and nose-to-tail dining, chefs are once again finding inspiration in Italy and Japan, and the city is finally beginning to develop a serious cocktail culture. Most encouraging of all is the number of new restaurants opening. Here, the best of the vintage.
Chef survey lists the top 10 food trends of 2010
Celiac-safe beer: gluten is so 2009 (Image: Joe Lewis)
Health nuts and celiac sufferers, rejoice. A survey of chefs reveals that 2010 will be the year of simplicity, sustainability and gluten-free beer. The list of top Canadian menu trends isn’t terribly surprising, as environmentally conscious diners have been forgoing imported produce in favour of all things Ontario for several years now, but considering all the poutine, burger and charcuterie joints that have been popping up in the city, we’re surprised these lists don’t show animal fat a little love. (The full lists, after the jump.)
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Famous frites not on menu at Jamie Kennedy’s Gilead
Jamie Kennedy (Photo by Davida Aronovitch)
Jamie Kennedy had a rough year in 2009: he sold Hank’s and the Wine Bar, his Gardiner Museum restaurant took a more casual route, and he was essentially on the brink of bankruptcy. “I expanded too quickly,” he told The Globe back in June. “I was exposed to costs far out of balance with my revenue.”
Now Kennedy is making his way back to the kitchen five nights a week at Gilead Bistro, where his study in economy hasn’t gone unnoticed by The Star’s Amy Pataki (nor has the less-than-packed dining room). For example, Pataki notes that the bistro charges $3 for bread. Also, Kennedy sells charcuterie and soups through the Healthy Butcher and turns chicken and beef bones into stock that can be bought at Rowe Farms.
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How the charcuterie trend is affecting fashion
From the Black Hoof to Iris Schieferstein's Gun Hoofs (Photo via Design Milk)
Designers across the world are tapping into a macabre trend: creating accessories with animal parts. Designers are claiming that the pieces—rat’s head cufflinks, cow hoof heels and mink skull headgear—are a move toward sustainability, with artists espousing the notion that animals should be used in their entirety. In Toronto, Lori-Anne Krausewitz creates elaborate and macabre headwear from animal bones and hides, which she sells at such stores as Shopgirls and Model Citizen.
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Five 2010 trends to watch: we ask Jamie Kennedy, Anthony Walsh, David Lee and other chefs what to look for in the coming year
Bespoke bread from Marc Thuet (Photo by Renée Suen)
It’s no secret that 2009 was rough for restaurants—“It’s a year a lot of restaurateurs are happy to see go,” says C5’s Ted Corrado—but with the new year almost a month old, optimism is back on the table. We talked to some of the city’s top chefs about five culinary trends for the coming year.
1. Less Is More Read the rest of this entry »
Small, chef-run restaurants that are down-to-earth in both atmosphere and culinary style. Chef Jamie Kennedy, who’s focusing on the Gilead Bistro, a decidedly more casual restaurant than the Wine Bar he sold last fall, anticipates more “chef-driven” spots like J.P. Challet’s Ici Bistro and Grant van Gameren’s Black Hoof. Claudio Aprile, who’s working on his second restaurant, Origin, agrees: “I’m hoping that we see a lot more restaurants that are open kitchen, 30 seats, three line cooks.”
Black Hoof buys Berkshire pigs for restaurant
A wee little Berkshire pig (Photo by Xabier Cid)
In an effort to make charcuterie bastion Black Hoof more self-sufficient, the owners have purchased two female Berkshire pigs—tentatively named Brunch and Dinner.
“I chose Berkshire because the meat is just so dark and purple, it’s got the best marbling, and the fat content is the perfect amount (read: lots of fat),” writes co-owner and chef Grant van Gameren on his blog, Charcuterie Sundays.
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Best cookbooks of 2009, five tips for dining with kids, Paul Sorvino gets into the tomato sauce racket
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• Lucy Waverman’s list of the top cookbooks of 2009 has (like the Junos) both Canadian and international winners. Canadian authors Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann score for their locavore tome Earth to Table: Seasonal Recipes From an Organic Farm, though Waverman chastises them for not featuring any Canadian chefs. Prince Edward Islander Michael Smith gets a nod for The Best of Chef at Home: Essential Recipes for Today’s Kitchen. We’re intrigued, considering that Smith is incessantly advocating cooking without a recipe on his Food Network show. Internationally, chef David Chang of Momofuku (the name of his restaurants and book) gets a nod, as does Thomas Keller. [Globe and Mail]
Just Opened: The Hoof Café melds Grant van Gameren’s charcuterie with brunch favourites and bar food
Trot across the street: The Hoof Café overlooks the original (Photo by Karon Liu)
Last year, the Black Hoof’s tiny kitchen ignited the city’s love of carnivorous delights with its bold charcuterie plates and snout-to-tail ethos. Now, owners Jen Agg and Grant van Gameren are trying to make lightning strike twice with their imaginative take on brunch and bar snacks—both served at the new Hoof Café, located directly across the street from the original. “Everyone’s doing the same thing across the city,” says van Gameren, who finally has a kitchen larger than a janitor’s closet. “Why can’t you have rabbit or suckling pig eggs Benedict in the morning?”
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Harper eats seal, celiacs can’t get a break, home butchery on the rise
Seal test: Stephen Harper and some of his cabinet ministers dined on seal meat this week (Photo by Ted Buracas)
• Prime Minister Harper and some of his cabinet cronies dined on seal meat yesterday in Iqaluit. The seal industry was hit with a European trade ban in May, and we’re guessing the PM wants to show some solidarity. A nice gesture, but not as cool as raw seal heart. [Toronto Star]
• A 10-year-old girl and her father were slapped with a $50 fine in Manhattan this weekend for operating a lemonade stand without a licence. The girl’s father says they were approached by officials after selling 10 glasses in 20 minutes. The fine was later dropped. [UPI]
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