We asked five creative chefs for the one ingredient that will instantly give home-cooked meals that intangible gourmet flourish
Fresh kaffir lime leaves from T&T Supermarket (Photo by Daniel Shipp)
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Bagged milk hits U.K., continues world domination
A small bag of milk from China (Photo by David Woo)
Just when we thought bagged milk was a one-off story during a slow news day, British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s announced this week that it will begin carrying its milk in bags rather than bottles, in an effort to reduce packaging and costs.
This comes a few weeks after a locally made YouTube video explaining the seemingly odd concept of milk bags became an overnight hit, with coverage on this blog, as well as in The Star and the Post. Salon writer Thomas Rogers argues that bagged milk is the future of dairy and hopes the U.S. will adopt bags, since they use 75 per cent less packaging and are recyclable and cheaper for consumers. But it’s not just Canadians who purchase milk in bag form: India, Poland, Hungary, South Africa, Argentina and China (where even beer is sold in bags) do the same.
• Milk in a bag at Sainsbury’s [Telegraph]
• The future of dairy: milk in a bag [Salon]
• Milk in bags: that’s so Canadian [Toronto Life]
• Milk in Bags, eh? [YouTube]
Loblaw, Ryerson and Joe Fresh Style will move into Maple Leaf Gardens
The exterior of the Gardens (Photo by Ian Muttoo)
Finally, some movement on the proposed deal between Ryerson University and Loblaw to rejuvenate Maple Leaf Gardens. Today the federal government said it would give $20 million to the project (the rest of the costs are to be shared by Rye High and the grocer), which will include the construction of an athletic centre, with a rink for the school hockey team.
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Joe Fresh Style show causes quite the commotion
Theodora Richards for Joe Fresh Style (Photo by Jenna Marie Wakani)
It’s almost unbelievable what a kerfuffle the Joe Fresh Style show causes at fashion week. It is one of the most well-attended shows, with extra-tight security before the event and a late start that had even Ben Mulroney squished while waiting in the crowd. Model Theodora Richards, daughter of Keith, opened the show and upped the star wattage, though she lost her shoe on the first walk. The show was a good reminder of the supremacy of affordable, attainable style, which, in this case, just about anyone can pick up at their local supermarket. The line’s designer, Joe Mimran, presented a pastel collection of schoolyard-chic pieces. There were sheer knee-highs, checked bloomers (hello, Bo Peep), wee purses and pink gingham shirts.
Like his wife did in her Pink Tartan collection, Mimran made underwear outerwear: a checked bra over a sheer top was paired with bloomers, and super-short shorts were, dare we say, panty-like. A few of the pieces looked suspiciously like one of Pink Tartan’s. But never mind—we’re happy we can score Joe Fresh’s sheer rosette tees for $16.
See all the looks from the collection after the jump, and check out Fashion’s interview with the designer here.
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Black garlic takes Toronto, Christopher Walken chickens out, the world’s largest hamburger
• Christopher Walken has posted a YouTube video showcasing his cooking skills. In the video “Man Makes Chicken With Pears,” Walken walks viewers through the whole recipe. Emeril he is not. His kitchen reminds us of our first apartment, complete with cat sniffing around the food. Our favourite quote? “I love this chicken neck,” he says with his trademark spookiness. “It’s great.” [YouTube]
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French not crazy about Julia Child, Maple Leaf Gardens has a future, top food-buying trends of 2009
Pricey ice cream takes hit in 2009 (Photo by Monsieur Gordon)
• Retail analysts have released a list of 10 Canadian food-buying habits in 2009, and they’re all of a totally unsurprising theme: cheaper (lentils instead of chicken), less (leftovers instead of groceries) and trading down (Breyers instead of Häagen-Dazs). Missing from the list: free (the dumpster behind Ace Bakery). [Globe and Mail]
• Julie and Julia premieres in France this week, and ex-pat Americans are shocked to discover that French people don’t really know or care about Julia Child or her cookbooks. In the words of one Parisian, Child’s culinary style is “the vision of a revisited France, adapted to the American taste, at a time when tastes were lifeless.” Sacre bleu. [New York Times]
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Julia Child revisited, dining with dogs, a new breakfast chain for Ontario
Forget the doggie bag: some Toronto restaurants allow pooches to eat right at the table (Photo by rmatei)
• Going out for a bite can be a problem if one’s puppy wants to come too. Writer Ivy Knight suggests that there are a few dog-friendly places to eat in town. Buddha Dog on Roncesvalles offers free all-natural hot dogs to their canine customers. The Williams Coffee Pub on Queen’s Quay will actually let your dog share a meal with you at (or beneath?) the table. [Toronto Star]
• To mark this weekend’s release of Julie and Julia, Michael Rowe revisits his 1997 interview with Julia Child, which happened back when he was writing for Fab, a Toronto’s bi-weekly for the gay community. Child thought he was writing for Romantic Food (no such thing) and that was probably a good thing considering her homophobic past. Tidbits include her revelation that she sees chocolate and marijuana as similarly sensual, her distaste for low-cal food and her belief that Martha Stewart’s critics were “probably jealous of her because she’s so good-looking and capable.” [Huffington Post]
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Supermarket heap: Gourmet grocers colonize the city
Grab and go: high-end groceries and prepared foods (like these at Market Longo) are suddenly everywhere (Photo by Davida Aronovitch)
There has been a sudden influx of gourmet grocers and grab-and-go eateries in Toronto. Many have been—or will be—created by the city’s elite restaurateurs and chefs in an effort to attract foodies who want to slash dining budgets without resorting to KD. Earlier this week, we reported that Oliver and Bonacini will offer a take-away service in the Bell Lightbox and that suburban staple Longo’s recently expanded its downtown holdings with a second Market Longo near Bay and Dundas. Sobeys opened another Urban Fresh store amid the condo forest surrounding Fort York, and top chef Mark McEwan is planning a downtown version of his eponymous grocery store at the Shops at Don Mills.
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Go Longo: The 905 grocer opens a second downtown location
Be prepared: The meals on sale at Market Longo (Photo by Davida Aronovich)
It’s rare that the suburbs trump downtown on the food front, but for years the 905 has had one thing over the 416: a surplus of Longo’s supermarkets. Most core dwellers are not familiar with the grocery chain (before this week, there was only one downtown), but if owner Roseanne Longo has her way, that’s all about to change. A new 7,000-square-foot Market by Longo’s opened yesterday smack dab in the middle of downtown, just west of Yonge-Dundas Square, on Elizabeth Street. The store has all of the chain’s signature touches—pretty baked goods, an extensive deli, fresh fish, prepared foods, and a policy to sell only produce that’s been hand-picked within 20 hours—all packed into a scaled-down urban format to feed those who can’t make it to Oakville (or Brookfield Place).
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Makeup under $10 that doesn’t suck
Joe Fresh lip stains. From left: peach, candy, sheer pink and watermelon.
It’s easy to believe that the cosmetics industry is recession proof—on Saturdays, Sephora stores are full of women forking out $30 for a tube of Dior mascara or Laura Mercier lip gloss—but we’ve found makeup that doesn’t require a taking out a second mortgage to purchase. Supermarket fashion label Joe Fresh launched a makeup collection last spring, and like its clothing line, the products are incredibly inexpensive (nothing is over $8). We liked all the cosmetics, but the strawberry-scented lip stains stood out. Available in six shades, the stains dry with a matte finish and do not come off on cups. We found that sheer pink gives a natural look, peach and candy provide richer colour, and watermelon and apple are great for more drama (wear them alone or under gloss for additional depth). The best part: they’re $6 each, a price tag that might just be worth switching cosmetics stores for.
Joe Fresh Style. 10 Lower Jarvis St., 416-304-0611, and others, joe.ca.
The $12 cup of coffee, the pizza vending machine and the cocaine-tainted cola
• In a few weeks, an Italian company will present its re-imagining of the vending machine. Rather than serving up coffee, chips or chocolate bars, the new gizmo will produce pizza—ready to eat after about three minutes of infrared cooking. [National Post]
• The world’s most expensive coffee—$500 per pound or $12 per cup—is coming to Canada. The high price is due to the process that prepares the product for sale: a cat-like animal in Indonesia must eat and pass the beans (the digestion “elevates” the beans) before they are washed, ground and brewed. [Vancouver Sun]
More recession-struck boîtes go belly up
Restos and the recession: the shuttering continues (Photo by The Truth about Colin)
Although the stock exchange is out of meltdown mode, restaurants are still suffering the aftershocks of recession. We’ve already eulogized Cru, Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner, Perigee and Cluck Grunt and Low. Unfortunately, the culling continues. Here, we round up another bunch of dearly departed.
• Minimarket, the hyphen-inducing Asian-fusion, tapas-style resto-bar on College, closed its doors at the end of April. The Supermarket mothership on Augusta promises to provide such Minimarket favourites as the tuna tataki.
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