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Toronto Life - The Wire

The comprehensive index of every blog post, magazine story and restaurant review that appears on Torontolife.com

All stories relating to obesity

The Dish

Read All About It
December 2, 2009 | 9:18 am

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Waiters’ secrets revealed, the thieving of oysters, Loblaws to move into Maple Leaf Gardens

The puck stopped here: with the exception of Battle of the Blades, Maple Leaf Gardens has remained quiet for years

The puck stopped here: with the exception of Battle of the Blades, Maple Leaf Gardens has remained quiet for years (Photo by Ian Muttoo)

• After years of delays, a Loblaws supermarket is set to occupy part of the space inside Maple Leaf Gardens. The grocery giant bought the building in 2004—prompting a backlash from hockey fans—but financial issues kept the Carlton Street landmark dormant for five years. A $20-million contribution from the federal government, plus a contribution from Ryerson, which will place an athletic centre in the building’s upper floors, has finally got the wheels moving again. [Toronto Star]

• In a list sure to invoke the ire of New York Times blogger Bruce Buschel, Reader’s Digest speaks with two dozen servers to find out what secrets they would reveal if they could get away with it. Responses range from the vindictive (one server admitted to running soup spoons under hot water to teach cold soup complainers a lesson) to the didactic (don’t take the credit card slip with the tip written on it—the server won’t get anything). [Reader’s Digest]

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The Dish

Aprons & Icons
November 20, 2009 | 4:10 pm

2 Comments

Q&A: three minutes with Naked Chef Jamie Oliver

Caper Crusader: Jamie Oliver speaks at Roy Thomson Hall on Sunday

Caper crusader: Jamie Oliver speaks at Roy Thomson Hall on Sunday

Jamie Oliver will send foodophiles into full swoon this Sunday, when he appears Roy Thomson Hall to speak about his new cookbook, Jamie’s Food Revolution, and his first U.S. TV show, Jamie’s American Road Trip. In the latter, the spritely chef attempts to charm Fast Food Nation into eating fresh, seasonal foods. These projects have been keeping him busy lately; so busy, in fact, that when we caught up with him during his first visit to Canada, we had time for only three questions. But it’s hard to be annoyed when the answers, however brief, are delivered with that musical cockney twinge (see glossary below).

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The Dish

Read All About It
October 16, 2009 | 9:35 am

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Snow White copyright violated, British cheese outsells French cheese, Twitter starts selling wine

Hi, Ho: an Australian beer company's "Ho" White is in a tight spot with Disney (Image courtesy of adelaidenow.com.au)

Hi, Ho: an Australian beer company's "Ho" White is in a tight spot with Disney (Image courtesy of adelaidenow.com.au)

• In Australia, an ad campaign for Jamieson’s raspberry ale has re-imagined Snow White as a coquettish sexpot, and surprise, surprise, Disney is not amused. In the ad, Snow White—or as Jamieson’s has so cleverly renamed her, “Ho White”—is seen blowing smoke rings in bed with seven dwarves and no bra. The dwarves have also had name changes, like Filthy, Smarmy and Randy. [Sky News].

• Marks and Spencer is now selling more U.K. cheese than French cheese, and the news couldn’t make Tim Hayward happier. The British blogger calls it a “bloody triumph” in an otherwise dismal country. Hayward suggests that this cheese victory is reason for Britons to celebrate the end of summer with a spontaneous cheese-VE Day. [Guardian]

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The Dish

Read All About It
October 2, 2009 | 8:34 am

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Kobe beef dogs versus Shopsy’s, mac-and-cheese taste test, the science of successful wine labels

Hot dog, we have a weiner: Shopsey's beef bests Kobe's in a taste test (Photo by Matito)

Hot dog, we have a wiener: Shopsy's beef bests Kobe's in a taste test (Photo by Matito)

• A Kobe beef hot dog should be superior to the standard wiener, right? With high-end wieners recently making a splash in Toronto by being sold at the ACC (though those dogs are made of beef from North American Wagyu cattle, not the real Japanese deal), the Toronto Star set out to answer that question. The paper conducted a blind taste test of an array of hot dogs, including Kobe. The judges’ favourite comes as a bit of a surprise. While Kobe dogs hovered in the realm of mediocrity, plain old Shopsy’s dogs ranked the highest. [Toronto Star]

• Not to be outdone by the Star (see above), the National Post has done a taste test of the hot dog’s partner in crime: boxed macaroni and cheese. Their reviews of four brands, including Kraft Dinner and some other more obscure offerings, is intriguing on its own, but what is really fascinating are the reader comments. Many have submitted their far more interesting tips on how to cook KD and its doppelgängers “properly” (many point to ludicrously inaccurate cooking directions on the box). Some highlights: toss some jalapeños or curry powder into the mix, grate in some real brick cheese and use only a tablespoon of milk. [National Post]

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The Dish

Read All About It
July 21, 2009 | 9:26 am

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Fast-food copycat, street meat problems, Nelson Mandela’s eating habits

Finger lickin' facsimile: A man in Long Island claims to have reproduced KFC's signature recipe (Photo by El Gran Dee)

Finger-lickin' facsimile: A man in Long Island claims to have reproduced KFC's signature recipe (Photo by El Gran Dee)

• A Long Island man claims to have cracked KFC’s notoriously well-guarded fried chicken recipe. In fact, Ron Douglas—who until 2007 was a finance manager at a major Wall Street firm—has spent the past two years recreating a plethora of top-secret fast-food recipes and posting them on his Web site. [New York Post]

• Life ain’t easy for the proprietors of Toronto’s first ethnic food carts. Two months after the much-touted (but somewhat mismanaged) Toronto à la Cart pilot project began, several of the vendors are still working second jobs, and three are temporarily out of business while the city finds new locations for them. One has even refinanced her house to pay her start-up costs. Bad summer weather hasn’t helped matters, either. [Toronto Star]

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The Dish

Read All About It
July 7, 2009 | 10:17 am

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Seal meat on the rise, New Yorkers in the Junction, marriage linked to obesity

• Seal meat is the hot entrée at Montreal restaurants a month after the Governor General Michaëlle Jean horrified vegans by eating raw seal, proving that when it comes to good eating, diners are unmoved by cuteness. Perhaps PETA’s campaign to stop the consumption of fish—by renaming them “sea-kittens”—might actually backfire. [New York Times]

• Corey Mintz strives to prove that there are good Mexican restaurants in Toronto. His weekend review of fancy Frida, mid-priced Milagro and straight-up Rebozos reveals that authentic Mexican can be found at every price point. But while he made us crave citrus ceviche, we’d like to point out that all the restaurants he visited are all north of St. Clair. Luckily, Milagro has a second location in the entertainment district. [Toronto Star]

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