HOME February 10, 2012 The Magazine | Digital Edition | Subscribe | Newsletters
Advertisement
The comprehensive index of every blog post, magazine story and restaurant review that appears on Torontolife.com
(Image: Marc Majcher)
Just as Canadians were congratulating themselves on their nation-wide health consciousness for rejecting the allure of the Double Down comes the news that Canada’s national ambassador, Tim Hortons, is home to a snack that makes KFC’s sodium speedball look positively ascetic. The drink that Men’s Health has declared the “worst beverage in America” is available right here in the GTA, all thanks to Timmies’ penchant for brand partnerships.
Read the rest of this entry »
Rim-rolling epidemic to spread across the world (Image: saipal)
Tim Hortons is planning to expand its legacy (and its conspicuously poor grammar) to the rest of the world within the next four years. While the chain has a tenuous foothold in some parts of the U.S.—including 12 locations in New York City—Timmies execs will pitch an international growth strategy to the board of directors next month. The symbol of all that is Canadian also wants to break out of breakfast and snacks to boost sales at other times of the day.
Read the rest of this entry »
The double-double is no trouble (Image: Richard Hsu)
In a clamp down on fun at the Kandahar air field, a number of fast food joints that supposedly distract soldiers—Burger King, Pizza Hut and Subway, among others—are being shut down on Saturday. But, puzzlingly, soldiers will still be able to get their Tim Hortons fix.
Read the rest of this entry »
Three-time loser (Image: Shayne Kaye)
It’s that time of year again, when coffee aficionados ditch their independent coffee shops, and the streets are strewn with Tim Hortons cups. Yes, it’s time for Roll Up the Rim to Win. This year, however, McDonald’s isn’t sitting idly by as the country gets ready to roll. The Star reports that the fast food giant is handing out free coffee for two weeks. A spokesperson for McDonald’s says the promotion has nothing to do with Roll Up the Rim, but rather that it’s due to the increased exposure of the fast food chain during the Olympics, when commercial breaks offered nothing but McDonald’s, Visa and Government of Canada ads.
Read the rest of this entry »
A burger by any other name: a Big Mac from the last Olympics
Olympic attendees stopping in at the Four Host First Nations pavilion in Vancouver this weekend should look for “sliders” or “bannockwiches” (bison patties with wild mushrooms and Saltspring goat cheese between bannock rounds)—just not burgers. The organizing committee, VANOC, has decided to eliminate the word “burger” from the FHFN pavilion at the behest of McDonald’s, a major sponsor of the Games. Bill Cooper, VANOC’s head of commercial rights management, told the National Post that “there are a number of guidelines…at all designated 2010 Games celebration sites, of which the FHFN pavilion is one.” The rules forbid “certain brands or words that create special associations with our sponsors and their products.” The guidelines are enforced to protect sponsors’ “significant commitment and investment.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Confirming the obvious: Big Macs are "unnatural" (Photo by Geronimo De Francesco)
• Breaking news: Big Macs are unnatural. TLC’s Fun Facts section presents a list of the top 10 ingredients in fast food, including citric acid (#10), MSG (#6) and chicken (#1). Profiles of each entry reveal disturbing facts, like a statistic indicating that North Americans consume an average of 41.5 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup per year. [TLC]
• Alcohol motivated early humans to adopt agriculture, says archaeologist Patrick McGovern. The University of Pennsylvania scientist has discovered tartaric acid (a booze-related compound) in pottery shards at the 9,000-year-old Jiahu site in China. The first neolithic encounter with fermented grains may have occurred when someone ate a sprouted grain that had fallen into a shallow pool of water. Once consumed, the grain would have triggered the brain’s reward centres, causing our enthusiastic ancestors to domesticate crops in order to get their next fix. [The Independent]
Read the rest of this entry »
Nacho tacos from Taco Bell (Photo by Steven Depolo)
Taco Bell founder Glen Bell Jr. died on Sunday night at his home in Rancho Santa Fe at the age of 86, according to a press release sent out by the company. Bell created the Tex-Mex chain in 1962 in California, selling it to PepsiCo in 1978, meaning he’s not to blame for the creation of the Taco Bell Chihuahua or the Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet viral marketing disaster.
Read the rest of this entry »
Read the rest of this entry »
• 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]
Going smokeless: Nigella Lawson (Photo by Phile Guest)
• Food Network Humour has published a series of photos of famous cooking show hosts in their salad days. Our favourites are Paula Deen and her enormous bouffant hair, Nigella Lawson attempting Audrey Hepburn, and Anthony Bourdain’s long hippie hair. [Food Network Humor]
• Speaking of Nigella Lawson, the Daily Mail presents 50 tidbits about the kitchen kitten in celebration of her upcoming 50th birthday. Among the revelations: she washes her hair only once a week, she doesn’t wear “knickers,” she has a 32G bust, and her favourite recent purchase is a Slanket, to keep her warm on planes. We have more in common with the domestic goddess than we ever knew. [Daily Mail]
Read the rest of this entry »
Ratted out: Cora Pizza reopens after health inspectors discovered rats on the premises (Photo by The Pizza Review)
• U of T students, rejoice: Cora Pizza reopened its doors last week. The restaurant, a long-standing refuge of drunken university students, was closed due to unsanitary conditions (including, apparently, several dead rats and rat feces on the premises). With a history like this, we’re sure the customers will come flocking back. [CBC]
• Joanne Kates counts down Toronto’s top new restaurants of 2009, with fairly predictable results. Among her favourites are Buca, Black Hoof, the revamped Splendido, Osteria Ciceri e Tria and Mildred’s Temple Kitchen. The one wild card is Ba Shu Ren Jia, a Szechuan spot with a four-figure Steeles Avenue address. [Globe and Mail] Read the rest of this entry »
Get ready to hear a lot about Vancouver (Photo by PoYang_博仰)
• With the Olympics opening in mere weeks, the gaze of the world has been turning to all things Vancouver, including its food scene. The L.A. Times scoped out the culinary offerings, pointing out that the city’s “cuisine scene is practically an Olympic Village unto itself.” Their finds range from the predictable (like Vij’s, an Indian food spot so popular even Martha Stewart had to queue for a table) to the quixotically Québécois (Café Salade de Fruits). Canada’s western city appears to offer a world of food options—almost as rich and broad as Toronto’s. But until we get the Olympics, perhaps no one will ever know. [L.A. Times]
Read the rest of this entry »
(Photo by Karon Liu)
Though critics often dismiss Toronto for never being able to stand alongside London, Tokyo or Paris (City TV likes to remind us by playing the “Toronto is just like New York, but without all the stuff” promo for 30 Rock every 10 minutes), one good thing about being a mid-sized city is that our downtown core hasn’t turned into a Vegas-style tourist trap like Times Square or Shibuya. The recent closure of the garish Florida import Miami Subs shows that in Toronto, independent cafés, bars that seat fewer than 20, and family-run restaurants tend to triumph over the flashy and faddish. Here are nine chain imports that failed to flourish in the city. We’re saving the 10th spot for Cold Stone Creamery.
Read the rest of this entry »
Gordon Ramsay, before crevice removal (Photo by Dave Pullig)
• BrewDog, a Scottish brewery known for its highly alcoholic Tokyo beer (and for its barely alcoholic Nanny State beer, brewed in retaliation for being branded irresponsible), has launched what it calls “the strongest beer in the world.” Tactical Nuclear Penguin, as it is called, packs a punch almost as strong as hard liquor, weighing in at 32 per cent alcohol. A warning on the label advises users to enjoy the brew like “a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost.” [BBC]
• Under advice from Simon Cowell, Gordon Ramsay has undergone a painful procedure to have the deep grooves in his face smoothed out, the Daily Mail reports. The formerly craggy chef will have to repeat the procedure two or three times per year to maintain his new nubile glow. We can’t see this baby-bottomed visage as having a positive effect on his intimidation factor. [Daily Mail]
Read the rest of this entry »
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
© 2012. All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part strictly prohibited. Toronto Life is a registered trademark of Toronto Life Publishing Company Limited
Follow Toronto Life on Twitter, Facebook and via RSS