James, Taylor sniff out the goodness (Image: BNN)
We knew the country’s post-Olympic patriotism would settle down, but not like this. The Business News Network spent nearly 20 minutes analyzing every last drop of the McDonald’s–Tim Hortons coffee war, and, long story short, they believe McDonald’s coffee tastes better than Timmies’.
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.
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Even dogs love Timmies (Photo by Michael Gil)
Unseasonably warm winter weather has been a boon to Tim Hortons this year, driving up the national coffee icon’s fourth-quarter profit by 32 per cent. In addition, new promotions (as if rollin’ up the rim weren’t a stand-alone winner) have offset the effect of price increases in Quebec, Manitoba, the Atlantic provinces and B.C. introduced earlier this year. Prices in Ontario had already been raised by roughly four per cent in August.
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The second instalment of their blog series for the National Post finds Toronto designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine in the midst of New York fashion week. First on their agenda is a stop at a Tribeca Starbucks, as part of the process of “assimilating into American culture.” (Perhaps the trek to the Times Square Tim Hortons was too far.) Next, the two discussed The City and the spectacularly petulant cattiness of Olivia Palermo and Erin Kaplan (two of The City’s main “cast members”) while shopping at Marc by Marc Jacobs and the Alexander McQueen store.
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A typical Ontario sugar bush (Photo by Mac Armstrong)
Maple syrup might be as iconic a Canadian food as Timbits, but the City of Toronto is discouraging residents from tapping, the process by which the sugary sap is procured. It’s strange that the city would even weigh in on the issue; who has time to tap, then evaporate the sap, especially when maple syrup is one locavore-friendly food that is always available on grocery store shelves?
It turns out that enviro-activist Laura Reinsborough and her Not Far From the Tree initiative, which normally harvests fruit from backyards and the urban forest, wants to take up the task. Reinsborough, whose efforts made our list of Reasons to Love Toronto in 2009, has started the aptly named We’d Tap That project in the hopes that homeowners will offer five to 10 Norway maples for tapping; their sap will be collected and boiled down for a community party.
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John Berman delves into the sticky world of poutine (Image: abcnews.com)
In the rare moments when Americans consider Canadians, do they still think of self-conscious, snowmobile-riding, backwoods-living lumberjacks out to stymie their convenience with vending machine–defying coins? Probably not—unless, of course, they work for ABC News, which recently posted this video profile of Canadian cuisine. The venerable broadcaster tells viewers that, although it would be impossible to spot a Canadian on Fifth Avenue (we are so unremarkable), our food is gaining popularity all over Manhattan. But what exactly does ABC consider “food” from the land of socialized health care and gay marriage? Why, Tim Hortons, of course, which represents all things Canadian: hockey, maple-covered doughnuts and curling (yes, curling). And then there’s poutine, that trendy Québécois concoction that was recently profiled in the New Yorker and that Lower East Siders are scarfing down by the kilogram.
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(Photo by Alan Turkus)
As Starbucks attempts to boost profits with its instant coffee and Tim Hortons’ profits tumble, Toronto’s indie café craze just won’t abate. We seem to write this article every few months—and with good reason. In the past 15 weeks alone, at least nine decent new cafés have popped up, with several more scheduled to open before Christmas. We visited the new spots and learned that the only thing they have in common is that they appeal to divergent tastes. From Leslieville to the Junction, here are the 12 latest spots to keep the city buzzing.
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Before and after: a McNuggets meal from McDonald's is transformed into a "McNifique" McConfit (Photo by Erik R. Trinidad of Fancyfastfood.com. ©2009 Trinimation)
More and more, we’re feeling that the Internet holds the solution to every problem known to man—well, every inconsequential problem. The latest we’ve stumbled across is Fancyfastfood.com, a photo-recipe blog that reveals how to convert fast food into haute cuisine. Each entry provides step-by-step instructions for systematically taking apart some nasty fast-food staple—a Big Mac, Whopper, Tim Hortons’ Canadian maple doughnuts—and rearranging it to resemble a gourmet-quality dish.
The recipes take a little legwork. One concoction involves grinding down the breading of a Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich into a fine powder, then mixing it with the accompanying chocolate milkshake and simmering it all down with some ketchup packets to form a mole sauce—a perfect drizzle for that now-naked chicken patty. Top it off with some organic cilantro (preferably locally grown) for that extra touch of irony.
On the fly: a typical airport dinner at Pearson (Photo by Ed Kohler)
• Harried travellers are often at the mercy of the overpriced, under-flavoured food on offer in most airports. Well, Michael Blackie has their backs—sort of. The globe-trotting Ottawa chef reveals some of the better eating options at terminals throughout the world. Montreal’s Trudeau Airport gets points for sandwiches; Vancouver scores high for Globe@YVR’s locavore-friendly menu (a 100-mile restaurant at the airport? That’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife). JetBlue’s new terminal at JFK and Heathrow’s Terminal 5 are notable for their luxury cuisine offerings. Sorry, Toronto—all you get is Wolfgang Puck, mentioned in the same breath as Tim Hortons. [Globe and Mail]
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