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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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The bacon-everything trend reaches its tragedy and farce stage (parental discretion advised)
Introducing: Hardys, the second southern barbecue joint to grace St. Clair West
Inside the front dining room area of Hardys (Image: Gizelle Lau)
Back in May, we reported on an upcoming barbecue joint, Hardys: A Hogtown Brasserie (its name a riff on Toronto’s pig-farming past) that was setting up shop just a few blocks west of barbecue stalwart The Stockyards. On Friday, the restaurant had its grand opening and we stopped in to check it out.
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A gourmand’s guide to haute dogs for the grill
Innovative butchers are digging up old family recipes and mixing exotic meats with offbeat flavourings
(Image: Christopher Stevenson)
Weekly Lunch Pick: the rich, crispy pork belly at Trattoria Mercatto
Crispy pork belly and marinated mushrooms on the patio at Mercatto’s new Eaton Centre location (Image: Renée Suen)
Lunch around the Eaton Centre usually means waiting in long lineups for food court fare, but the recent launch of Trattoria Mercatto—the fourth location of the Italian chain run by Top Chef Canada contestant Robert Rossi—provides a nice alternative.
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Four things we learned from the auditor general’s report on the G20
The auditor general’s report found a lot of, well, pork (Image: James Schwartz)
Back in the dim mists of time—about six weeks ago, during that whole election thingy—we took a moment’s pause from the debate over the strong, stable national Conservative government versus the coalition bogeyman to consider what might actually have been a relevant issue: a leaked version of the auditor general’s report on the G8/G20 summits from last summer. The full version was finally released yesterday, and it turned out to be pretty informative. Some highlights from the AG’s report, after the jump.
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The South Rises: Chris Nuttall-Smith on the best barbecue joints in the GTA
The city’s latest southern-inspired restaurants are serving up smoky, tender, chin-dribbling barbecue. Who cares if it’s not authentic? It’s good
(Image: Jess Baumung)
After two long and selfless weeks of debilitating meat sweats and overconsumption-related shortness of breath, a host of minor but nonetheless traumatic flossing injuries and at least three grossly inopportune bouts of smoky, tangy, disconcertingly succulent belching, the one thing I know for certain is that the GTA, once lamented for its lack of good southern-style barbecue restaurants, has plenty of excellent choices now.
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Just in time for Easter, a photographic tour of Toronto’s exceptional—and unusual—egg creations
Soignée Catering’s deconstructed BLT features a perfect 64-degree egg
Nutrient-dense, endlessly versatile, yet Platonically simple, eggs are truly one of nature’s perfect foods. While many chefs consign the simple orbs to breakfast servitude, others in Toronto bring them front and centre, whether in traditional dishes or more innovative concoctions. Here, 10 of the city’s most beautiful and delicious egg dishes.
Start the tour »
Menus start at $35 per person for a three-course meal.
Soignée Catering, 416-419-9880, soigneecatering.com.
Served as a pair as a first-course option on the restaurant’s three-course event menu, $60–75.
Didier, 1496 Yonge St., 416-925-8588, restaurantdidier.com.
$6.95/four, $9.95/eight.
Asian Legend, 418 Dundas St. W. (and five other locations), 416-977-3909, asianlegend.ca.
$4/pair.
Origin, 107 King St. E., 416-603-8009, origintoronto.com.
$1.
Ten Ren’s Tea Time, Unit 101, 111 Times Ave., Thornhill, 905-881-8896, tenrenstea.com/teatime.
$11.
Mildred’s Temple Kitchen, 85 Hanna Ave., 416-588-5695, templekitchen.com.
$1.
Swirl Wine Bar, 946 ½ Queen St. E., 647-351-5453, swirltoronto.com.
$4.80.
Guu Izakaya, 398 Church St., 416-977-0999, guu-izakaya.com.
$1.
Chiu Chow Boy, 3261 Kennedy Rd., 416-335-0336.
$0.85/tart.
ABC Bakery Shop, 3618 Victoria Park Ave., 416-493-3151.
Weekly Lunch Pick: a sumptuous tart with an earthy soup
The prix fixe at Biff’s: a parsnip and pork soup with a caramelized onion and anchovy tartlet (Image: Matthew Fox)
A favourite with financial district suits, Biff’s combines bistro decor—art nouveau posters, yellow walls, black and white photos, a large silver-framed mirror—with the Oliver and Bonacini group’s trademark polish. We go for the prix fixe: an onion and anchovy tartlet with a parsnip and pork soup.
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Introducing: Campagnolo, the new meat-loving spot on Dundas West’s carnivore row
The interior of Campagnolo (Image: Fraser Abe)
After 2010, it’s hard to remember what a sad little patch of real estate once existed along Dundas West, between Bathurst and Trinity-Bellwoods. Thanks to the Black Hoof and Hoof Café, the short strip has become something of a destination for enviro-conscientious meat lovers. New restaurants are capitalizing on it, too: Porchetta and Co. opened its doors this week, serving organic pork sandwiches, and before that, there was chef Craig Harding’s first solo venture, Campagnolo—a rustic restaurant with a farm-to-table ethos at Dundas and Euclid.
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How to make Canoe’s braised pork and split peas
Chef Anthony Walsh’s mother taught him how to cook pork so tender you can eat it with a spoon. Here’s his recipe
(Photograph: Edward Pond; Illustration by Jack Dylan)
“I started cooking when I was about 14, largely because I hate doing dishes. I have four brothers and a sister, and growing up, we’d always have friends over. All we’d do is eat, eat, eat. My mother—Ann Coughlin, a good Irish girl—would cook up this amazing pork for the masses; for her, it was like water off a duck’s back. Her conviviality mixed with culinary know-how is what inspires me as a chef to this day. Cooking for someone is one of the most intimate things you can do. You have to take time to take care of your guests. At Canoe, our version of her braised pork is about as comforting as it gets. We’ll never be able to take it off the menu.” Read the rest of this entry »
Feasting at the Ex: nine foods that stand out (for various hilarious reasons) at the Canadian National Exhibition
The Food Building beckons (Image: Ian Muttoo)
Since the kickoff of the 132nd edition of the Ex, deep-fried butter has dominated CNE-related headlines. There’s no doubt that it’s worth trying (we thought it tasted like a doughnut), but we felt there were other artery-clogging delights that were being overshadowed. We found eight other foods that equally piqued our interest, either because they’re the last thing we’d expect to see at the midway or because of their curious ability to make us feel full just by looking at them.
Here they are, with a quick thumbs-up or thumbs-down rating »
Best of the City 2010: 14 picks for the top food in Toronto
Leaf fan: Matchbox Gardens grows rare and wonderful lettuces (Image: Jay Shuster)
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A sticky situation: how to make Union’s finger-licking ribs
Chef Teo Paul describes his 20-year quest for the perfect ribs
(Photograph: Edward Pond; Illustration: Jack Dylan)
“Back in the ’80s, there was this place by our house, near Dupont and Davenport, called Mickey’s Ribs. The kitchen just did ribs to go. It took them an hour to make them, and they were expensive as hell—my dad would only get them as a special treat. They were unbelievably awesome. So for the past 20-odd years, I’ve been trying to recreate them. When I opened Union last year, I put side ribs on the menu and called them sticky ribs, because that’s want I wanted—that amazingly saucy, meaty, sticky goodness. But they weren’t sticky. For three months, the three other chefs and I talked about them every night. We played with the liquid ratios and tried different cooking times. Then, one night, because the oven was full, I put them on the bottom rack. That was the ticket. They worked perfectly. Here’s what you do.” Read the rest of this entry »
Barbecued meat causes cancer. How to avoid carcinogens but keep the flavour
That's all, folks: simply adding rosemary can reduce cancer-causing agents in charred meat (Image: Tambako the Jaguar)
There are still some things that don’t cause cancer (yet), but barbecued meat is not one of them. Charred flesh contains heterocyclic amines (HCAs), a toxic substance that bonds to DNA, causes genetic mutations, and has been linked to pancreatic, prostate, stomach and breast cancers. The good news is that HCAs can be greatly reduced—and flavours can be greatly boosted—by barbecuing old school.
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