This customer scrutinizes his bills closely (Image: pasukaru76)

In today’s Toronto Star, Amy Pataki reports on the latest trend sweeping Roncesvalles: credit card machines suggesting a 20 per cent tip. At least, that’s the standard at the strip’s two newest restaurants, The Ace and The Westerly. Pataki quotes Ace owner Greg Boggs explaining, “It’s not a sneaky thing, nor is it an expectation. I always tip at least 20 per cent when I go out.” Of course, the two Roncy restos aren’t the only ones that have moved to what Pataki refers to as “the Manhattan standard”—at the three locations of Mexican restaurant Milagro, suggested tips come in at 16, 20 and, ahem, 30 per cent (the last for larger parties). Long-time Dish readers will remember the furor that broke out when then-MPP David Caplan (who happens to be the brother of Zane Caplansky) proposed a bill than would ban automatic gratuities on large parties (that effort died on the order paper). We wonder how Torontonians will react to this new nudge northward. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »

After living through decades of delicious but pretty much uniform street meat, followed by a city-backed pilot program that ended up a complete fiasco, Torontonians finally got a glimpse of the street food promised land in 2011, thanks mostly to a clutch of feisty entrepreneurs. A selective and entirely arbitrary roundup of the highs and lows of Toronto ephemeral eating in 2011, after the jump.

Things did not start auspiciously this year. First, we got wind of a new Food Network Canada program called Eat St., which, quite reasonably, decided to skip over Toronto entirely. Then we found out that the Bloor Street Transformation Project, while bringing fancy new granite sidewalks to the Mink Mile, pushed eight hot dog stands to the curb. As a BIA representative put it, “aesthetically we are trying to create a different street.” But then, miraculously, an auspicious wind blew in from the west, with news of two new food trucks getting ready to prowl the streets in Hamilton.

Soon, we started hearing rumblings of things picking up in our own backyard. Francisco Alejandri, once a chef at Scaramouche, Torito and Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar, decided to leave the highfalutin’ dining rooms of the city behind and open up shop in at his tiny Agave y Aguacate stall in Kensington Market. And our open-mouthed gawking at the underground markets popping up in San Francisco helped push Hassel Aviles to organize the shockingly successful Toronto Underground Market. Meanwhile, egged on by the food truck culture abroad and in wine country, Suresh Doss launched his smash hit Food Truck Eats events, which brought together existing food trucks and some of the city’s top chefs.

The floodgates were now open. July saw the launch of La Carnita, the city’s first pop-up taco stand, and Thundering Thelma, Zane Caplansky’s bright blue food truck. In the fall, Spiros Drossos started serving enormous breakfast burritos out of his Food Cabbie truck downtown, and four friends opened the Blue Donkey Streatery in Mississauga. Fidel Gastro’s, another roving pop-up restaurant, emerged soon after. Still, not all was well on Toronto’s streets. When Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi dropped by on his cross-country Cowtown promo tour, he made sure to point out the superiority of the trucks that roam his city’s streets. The man knew what he was talking about—after calling around to the various regulatory bodies, we discovered just how constrained Toronto’s trucks were compared to the free-range rigs of Calgary. And so, this year, our Christmas wish: could someone at city hall please take a look at what Calgary’s done?

Toronto’s food trucks are not permitted to operate on public streets in the downtown core

Somehow, inventive, high-quality food served out of a truck has become one of the hottest food trends across North America over the last few years, and Toronto entrepreneurs—like Suresh Doss of Food Truck Eats, or Zane Caplansky—are doing their best to keep up. But such ventures have succeeded despite some strict regulations that keep most trucks off public streets downtown. And although we have no desire to write yet another how-Calgary-is-better-than-Toronto article, that city is halfway through an impressive food truck pilot program that has 10 new trucks roaming the streets. We called around to find out how Calgary got started and see whether the same thing could happen here.

Calgary

Calgary’s momentum is the result of a perfect storm: several new food trucks emerged from the ether—including Top Chef Canada contestant Connie DeSousa’s Alley Burger—and petitioned the city, while Mayor Naheed Nenshi was already engaged in his Cut Red Tape program, which looks at eliminating outdated or misguided laws. Nenshi took a personal interest. “The mayor asked me to make it happen,” assistant Lorna Wallace told us, “and I said I would.” As the project manager, she gathered the relevant city departments together to see what was possible within the existing laws. The solution: exploiting the special permits that the department of traffic management was already issuing for festivals and other events.

Toronto

As a representative from the department of mobile business licensing explained, “Toronto is kind of behind the times.” Since a 2002 moratorium, the city is no longer issuing licenses to food trucks downtown. “We won’t even look at the application,” she said. The rationale? Traffic congestion, the possibility of hot oil splashing around and the feeling that there are already too many trucks on the road. Offerings on those precious few trucks used to be limited to traditional street meats, but with a 2007 amendment, people can cook up whatever they like (food carts, however, are stuck reheating hot dogs and hamburgers). “We don’t go and tell Red Lobster what kind of fish to cook,” said Jim Chan, manager of Toronto’s food safety program. He told us that the uninspired selection on existing trucks is a problem of will, not law.

All it took for Calgary to move forward was a motivated leader and a city capable of working together to bend some rules for a pilot project. Could the same thing happen here? Caplansky, owner of Thundering Thelma (and his eponymous deli, of course), told us he’s called the mayor’s office three or four dozen times and chatted with councillors John Filion and Cesar Palacio—to no avail. “We elected a mayor who ran on making Toronto more business-friendly, offering people free choice,” he said. “I don’t see why we can’t cut the red tape, be more like Calgary and get people what they want.”

(Thundering Thelma image: Caroline Aksich)

A proud Zane Caplansky outside his first food truck (Image: Caroline Aksich)

Toronto diners watching Dragon’s Den last night got to see a familiar face: Zane Caplansky, owner of the eponymous College Street deli renowned for its smoked meat sandwiches. Before divvying up some luscious-looking sammies, he pulled a tarp off Thundering Thelma, his big blue food truck, and made his pitch. Caplansky described his vision of an entire fleet of Thelmas, offering up 15 per cent of his company for $350,000.

Each dragon agreed that while the food was unbelievable, Caplansky’s business sense was way off the mark. At that point the truck was just a prop (the episode was filmed last spring), and Caplansky had not yet proven his concept on the streets. Kevin O’Leary called him “Insane Zane,” asking, “Bubby, are you out of your mind?” Jim Treliving said he could “think of five guys who would take your franchise in a heartbeat tomorrow morning.” But as for the food truck: “That scares the hell out of me.” Bruce Croxon initially made an (admittedly insulting) offer—$350,000 for a full half of the company—but pulled back on advisement from the other dragons. “I’ve done too many deals where I’ve fallen in love with a sandwich,” he admitted.

Caplanksy appeared on Metro Morning with Matt Galloway today, attempting to pass the ordeal off as a positive advertising experience and taking solace in how much they liked the food. “To have Kevin O’Leary say, ‘I’m from Montreal’—and I’ll tell you Matt, that sentence often does not end well for me—‘and this is the best smoked meat I’ve ever tasted,’ and to have them all say the same thing, that was my victory.” He went on to describe his efforts to change the harsh street food laws in the city. Touting his familial relations in politics, Caplansky ripped into David Miller’s big government “regime,” noting that an overhaul of street food would be easy PR for Rob Ford—“and he needs a great news story.”

• Food Trucks [Metro Morning]

Stadtländer argues that the quarry would result in the loss of prime Ontario farmland and would threaten local wildlife and the integrity of much of Ontario’s freshwater resources, since the proposed land is below the water table. “It’s some of the best farmland in Ontario, and it’s only 100 kilometres away from Toronto,” he told The Grid. “We are really only at the dawn of local food right now. The human population is growing and we really have to secure places where we can grow food.” Perhaps the best comment we’ve heard in reaction to the event comes from David Waters, an Orangeville real estate agent and Foodstock volunteer, who told the Toronto Star: “You can’t eat gravel.” Event details and tickets available here.

The list of contributing chefs is a staggering tour of southern Ontario locavorism:

Toronto:

Paul Böehmer and Milana Lise from Böhmer
Teo Paul from Union
Adam Colquhoun and Robert Bechard from Oyster Boy
JP Challet from Ici Bistro
Lola Kirk from Ruby Watcho
Jeffery Cladio from Scarpetta
Chris Brown from The Stop Community Food Centre
Jamie Kennedy from Jamie Kennedy Kitchens
Aaron Bear Robe from Keriwa Café
Fabio Boni and Michael Sangregorio from Local Kitchen and Wine Bar and Bar Salumi
Luis Valenzuela from Torito Tapas Bar
Victor Barry from Splendido and The County General
Albert Ponzo from Le Select Bistro
Hiro Yoshida from Hiro Sushi
Anthony Walsh from Bannok and Oliver and Bonacini Restaurants
Carole Ferrari from Locale Café
Carl Heinrich and Ryan Donovan from Marben
Michael Sacco from Chocosol Chocolate Traders
David Kokai from Loïc Gourmet
Anthony Rose from The Drake Hotel
Derek Bendig and Colen Quinn from Pangaea
Zane Caplansky from Caplansky’s
Evelyne Gharbirian from Hearty Catering
Rodney Bowers from Hey Meatball
Matty Matheson from Parts and Labour
Derek Zavislake from Merchants of Green Coffee
Keith Froggett from Scaramouche
Lorenzo Loseto from George Restaurant
Rob Gentile from Buca Restaurant
Patrick McMurray from Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill, Ceili Cottage
Joshna Maharaj
Steffan Howard from Palais Royale and Casa Loma
Kevin McKenna from Globe Bistro, Earth Rosedale and Earth Bloor West
Phillip Heilborn from Earth Bloor West
Trish Donnelly from Chef Donnelly Catering
Brad Long and Sarah Kuntz from Belong Café
John Higgins and Oliver Li from George Brown College
Daisuke Izatsu from Kaiseki Sakura
Christopher Palik from L-Eat Catering and Paese Ristorante
Daniel Muia from Mogette Bistro
Joe Levesque from the International Centre
Graham Pratt and Christine Fancy from The Gabardine
Giacomo Pasquini from Vertical
Aubrey Demers
Bertrand Alépée from The Tempered Chef
Fawzi Kotb from Veloute Bistro and Catering
Nick Laliberte from Poutini’s House of Poutine
Dawn Woodward and Edmund Rek from Evelyn’s Crackers
Jacob Sharkey Pearce from Two Brothers Inc.
Linda Burnside and Kevin Walters from Alternative Grounds
Alexandra Feswick from Brockton General
Diane Cartwright from Whole World Trade Ltd.
Jeff Brown and Jennifer Rashleigh from Delight
Lesia Kohut from LPK’s Culinary Groove
Anton Potvin and Nick Liu from Niagara Street Café
Johan Maes from Goed Eten

Durham:

Michael Schmidt and Chef Carey McLellan from Glencolton Farms

Mississauga:

Erica Trabulsi from The Culinary Art School of Ontario

Shelburne:

Rob Uffen from Rob Uffen’s Trout House

Rosemont:

Ross Midgley and Beth Hunt from The Globe Restaurant

Owen Sound:

Robin Pradhan from Rocky Raccoon Café

Creemore:

Michel Masselin from Chez Michel
Dave Nesbitt from Creemore Coffee Company
Don Akehurst from Sovereign Restaurant

Collingwood:

Gareth Carter from Men with Knives
Leona Nyman and Andrea Greyerbiehl from Azzurra
Jeremy Korten from Oliver and Bonacini Café Grill and Blue Mountain Restaurant
Mark and Christine Kraus from Espresso Post
Scott Chalmers and Andrew Barber from Simplicity Bistro
Christophe and Wispy Boivin from Tremont Café
Joelle Rogers from Tesoro Restaurant
Mike Duffin from One99 Broadway
Roger Genoe from Ravenna Country Market

Singhampton:

Martina Gómez and Jörg Neth from Haisai
Michael and Nobuyo Stadtländer from Eigensinn Farm

Orangeville:

Jason Reiner from The Mono Cliff’s Inn
Alex Johnston from Hockley Valley Resort

Flesherton:

Shawn Adler from The Flying Chestnut

Burlington:

Tobias Pohl-Weary from Red Canoe Bistro

Guelph:

Carin Balint from Garden of Vegan

Niagara:

Paul Harber from Ravine Vineyard
Janice Suarez
Ryan Crawford from The Stone Road Grille

Stratford:

Ruth Klahsen from Monforte Diary

Parry Sound:

Philip Patrick from The Ridge at Manitou

Barrie:

Matthew Flett from Georgian College
Randy Feltis from Oscars
David Keenan from At the Five
Daniel Hong and Anna Kim from Furasato Restaurant
Ceasar Guinto from Cravings Fine Food Market and Catering

Thornbury:

Shaun Edmonsteon and Jennifer Vipond from Bruce Wine Bar

Waterford:

Tracey Winkworth from The Belworth House

Aurora:

Jason D’Anna from Magna Golf Club

Ottawa:

Rob Fraser from Fraser Café

Saskatchewan:

Moe Mathieu

Nova Scotia:

Stefan Czapalay from Culinary Design Solutions

• Fully Stocked [Now Magazine]
• Foodstock fights mega-quarry with mega-feast [The Grid]
• In the forest with Michael Stadtlander [Toronto Star]

Zane Caplansky with Thundering Thelma (Image: Caroline Askich)

Nearly two months past her original launch date, Zane Caplansky’s new food truck—named Thundering Thelma—has come roaring onto Toronto streets. It wasn’t Thelma’s mammoth size (18 feet long, eight wide and eight tall) that held up the launch, but rather a swath of new red tape that was laid down in May, one month prior to the scheduled launch. Caplansky estimates that missing half the summer has cost him well over $100,000 in revenue, but despite this baptism by fire, he’s all smiles and excitement as he and his team gear up for their first day on the road.

Although the city held up the launch of the revamped ’98 Purolator truck (he spent $50,000 on that revamp), the current licensing situation allows Thelma quite a lot of road-roaming freedom. The new rules of the Toronto food truck game are fairly simple: they can only operate on private property inside the downtown core and can only be on public property outside the core. Between Bathurst, the Don River and Eglinton, Caplansky has struck up deals with parking lots and landlords who will allow the blue behemoth respite.

“There’s an old saying in the restaurant business: location, location, location. And the truck has all three,” he told us as he settled his truck onto Queen Street East, prepping for her debut at the Beaches International Jazz Festival, where it will be stationed until Saturday night. “We can go where the people are—breakfast, lunch or dinner.” Sunday night the truck will head west to T & T Supermarket’s Asian street food festival. After that, the plan is to prowl the Toronto streets, tweeting furiously about the truck’s next location—some nights they’ll be feeding partiers on Ossington, other days they’ll nourish sunshine seekers on the waterfront. There’s even a scheme in the works to go up and feed cottage country, but for now, everything’s a little up in the air while they feel out their new terrain.

The evolving menu includes smoked meat on rye ($7), a barbecue brisket sandwich ($7), regular or smoked meat poutine ($4–6), three kinds of salad ($2–4), a daily soup ($4) and a pickle on a stick. To handle high volumes at events like the Jazz Fest, there’s a curtailed festival menu offering the two sandwiches, fries, regular poutine and slaw. Thundering Thelma does have one specialty on offer that the Caplansky flagship location lacks: maple–beef bacon doughnuts (3 for $3). (Earlier this spring, Glory Hole Doughnuts started following Caplansky on Twitter; Zane loved the company’s name and asked owner Ashley Jacot De Boinod to join his crew.)

A second truck, a ’68 Airstream trailer, is in the works, but franchising across Canada and beyond is Zane’s ultimate goal. He even brought his six-wheeled blue giantess to CBC’s Dragons’ Den in a bid to get some corporate backing. Tune in this fall to find out what Montreal-raised Kevin O’Leary has to say about Zane’s smoked meat.

Start the slideshow »

Thundering Thelma, various locations (see the Twitter feed)

Strawberries, Diamond Rings and Zane Caplansky

1. ST. LAWRENCE MARKET STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL (FREE!)
It’s berry season in Ontario, and St. Lawrence Market is celebrating with its annual strawberry-focused fest. The morning’s events are split between how-to sessions (making strawberry-mint jam with Bumpercrop, say, or a cooking demo with celeb chefs Massimo Capra and Michael Bonacini) and taste tests (chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate strawberry shortcake and strawberry lemonade). You really can’t go wrong. June 18. St. Lawrence Market, 92-95 Front St. E., stlawrencemarket.com.

2. NORTH BY NORTHEAST
In recent years, NXNE has really expanded its offerings to become something of a cultural event. (Hello, film fest and digital media conference.) But it’s also the same gigantic, new music-focused fest we’ve loved for the past 17 years—that would be the seven days and seven nights of shows and parties bit—with a lineup that includes Devo, The Pharcyde, Fucked Up, Diamond Rings, the Dum Dum Girls and Braids. To June 19. Five-day wristband $50; events at Yonge-Dundas Square free. Various locations, 416-863-6963, nxne.com.

3. DELI DUEL 2 (FREE!)
There’s really nothing better than a down-and-dirty, brisket-to-brisket battle for “smoked meat supremacy,” is there? Okay, fine, maybe smoked meat is not the be all and end all, but we still think this fundraiser for the Stop Community Food Centre is worth attending. Caplansky’s, Goldin’s and The Stockyards put together their best sammie and attendees vote for their fave. June 19. Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St., thestop.org/event/19-jun-2011.

4. TORONTO SKETCH COM-AGEDDON
We’ve figured out this year’s annual sketch comedy showdown by the numbers: in the fourth installment of this comedic fracas, 45 troupes are competing over the course of five nights. They only have a handful of minutes to do their best funny, at which point they’re at the mercy of the audience and the terribly hard-to-please SketchFest Panel. To June 18. $10 per show, two shows for $12. Comedy Bar, 945 Bloor St. W., torontosketchfest.com.

5. TORONTO INTERNATIONAL PRIDE CUP (FREE!)
When we think Pride, we don’t really think soccer. But that’s our bad, because Downtown Toronto Soccer (one of the continent’s largest LGBT-friendly leagues) has been hosting a pre-Pride tournament for the past five years. Teams come from all over North America to play, so the competition is appropriately fierce and definitely worth checking out. June 17 to 19. Various venues, tipc.org.

6. TOPSHOP POP-UP
In case you hadn’t already heard (and if that’s the case, please turn in your Shopaholics Anonymous membership card), the Holy Grail of Brit fast fashion is coming (again). That’s right, Topshop is almost here. A store-within-a-store opens at The Bay Yorkdale in the fall, but impatient types—by which we mean us—can get a sneak peek at the soon-to-be-available offerings at this weekend-long pop-up shop. The venue? Two truck containers in a parking lot at Queen and Soho. Expect DJs and prizes. June 17 to 19. Queen St. W. and Soho St., thebay.com/topshop.

7. TASTE OF LITTLE ITALY (FREE!)
Consider this a public service announcement. Depending on how you feel about thronging crowds and diverted streetcars, run either toward or away from College West this weekend, because it’s Taste of Little Italy time. We like the live music from bands, choirs and other musical acts, but we love the eats—pizza, pasta, calzone anyone? June 17 to 19. College Street between Bathurst and Shaw, tasteoflittleitaly.ca.

8. THE LUMINATO MP3 EXPERIMENT (FREE!)
While the headphone disco movement never really took off, you can try your hand at the Luminato Mp3 Experiment, described as “a participatory street theatre phenomenon.” The concept is fairly simple: download the mp3 from the Luminato website, meet at one of two designated locations, and at exactly 12:50 p.m., hit play on your mp3 player and see what happens! Participants are encouraged to bring a camera and wear a red, green, blue or yellow shirt. We’re not exactly sure why, but we can’t wait to find out. June 19. Various downtown locations, luminato.com/2011/mp3.

(Images: Strawberries, Glen Young; Diamond Rings, Roger Zender; Caplansky, Renée Suen)

Torontonians have, by and large, gotten used to being behind the times when it comes to street food. But we didn’t expect Hamilton to quietly creep into the forefront of the curbside food revolution. This summer, two new food trucks, Cupcake Diner and Gorilla Cheese, are slated to start prowling Steeltown’s mean streets in search of hungry diners—and we have to say, we’re a little jealous.

This Thursday, sweet-toothed Hamiltonians can look forward to satisfying their sugar cravings with Natalie Ravoi’s cupcakes—baked daily with locally sourced, seasonal fruit, of course. The Star reports:

Ravoi, whose fiancé lives in Toronto, admits she looked at Hogtown first but immediately hit a wall with permits, bylaws and licensing. She found Hamilton’s rules for refreshment vehicles “reasonable and doable.”

The city is so keen on new business, it created the Business One-Stop that brings all the needed departments (like zoning and licensing) into one location. Hamilton already has hot dog carts (including one that’s doing crêpes), French fry trucks, ice cream trucks and catering trucks, and doesn’t restrict the type of food that can be sold.

A month after Ravoi’s pink Dodge Sprinter becomes a Hamilton fixture, Graeme Smith and Scott Austin’s renovated 24-foot Purolator truck is slated to hit the pavement. The cheese-loving duo is planning to offer customizable grilled cheese sandwiches featuring Ontario-produced Jensen cheddar. Smith told us that one of the signature sandwiches (still in development) would be “The Turkey Dinner”: roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and bread, with either gruyère or a medium white cheddar to seal the deal.

We were a little miffed the other week when we were dubbed a “beta city,” but if “The Tortoise and the Hare” has taught us anything, it is that faster doesn’t always mean better. This summer we’re expecting some serious hedonism; not only will Len Senater launch The Depaneur, Toronto’s first permanent pop-up resto (well, we hope so), but Zane Caplansky will also pave the way for Toronto street foodies when he rolls out his very own food truck next month.

• Hamilton’s food truck fever [Toronto Star]

Tomorrow evening, Zane Caplansky will put away the carving knives to host two seven-course Seders featuring traditional Passover foods (Image: Renée Suen)

Passover, the holiday commemorating the ancient Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt, starts tonight at sundown. During the Passover Seder, an age-old ritualized dinner derived from Biblical commandments, a number of symbolic foods are consumed to represent the themes of slavery, freedom and springtime, including: matzo (unleavened bread), a reminder of the haste in which the Israelites fled Egypt; maror (bitter herbs, usually horseradish), to represent the bitterness of slavery; beitzah (hard-boiled egg), a symbol of life; karpas (green vegetables, typically parsley), to represent hope; zeroa (roasted lamb-shank bone) to symbolize the sacrificial offering; and, our favourite, four glasses of wine to celebrate freedom. While the Seder is usually celebrated in the family home, a number of Toronto institutions are offering alternate options.

• On Tuesday, April 19, Zane Caplansky will be leading two Seders at Caplansky’s. For $45 ($20/child), Seder participants will be treated to a traditional seven-course meal with wine. Caplansky’s Seders are open to everyone, but reservations are required for both the 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. seatings. 356 College St., 416-500-3852, caplanskys.com.

Other GTA locations hosting public Passover Seders, complete with catered dinners and Haggadah readings:

• Chabad of Danforth-Beaches, April 18, 8:30 p.m. $50/adult; $25/child. Reservations required. 2273 Queen St. E., 416-809-1365, chabaddb.com.

• The Chabad House at the University of Toronto, April 18 and 19, 9 p.m. For undergraduates, graduates and faculty. Reservations required. 67 Sussex Ave., 647-722-3188, uoftchabad.com/seder.

• Partnership of Chabad Midtown, Miles Nadal JCC, Jewish Family and Child, April 18, 7:45 p.m. $70/adult; $35/child. Reservations required. 750 Spadina Ave. (Miles Nadal JCC), 416-516-2005, chabadMT.com.

• Those hosting their own Seders can turn to All the Best Fine Foods, which is carrying a number of holiday favourites, including: chicken soup with matzo balls ($13, serves four), spinach kugel ($1.95/100 grams), flourless orange-almond cakes ($16.95, serves eight), coconut macaroons ($11.95/18 pieces) and meringues ($6.95/24 pieces). 1101 Yonge St., 416-928-3330, allthebestfinefoods.com.

The leaning tower of Caplansky (Image: Jon Sufrin)

The “leaning tower of Caplansky” has been selling like a pile of hotcakes. Or, rather, a pile of challah French toast stacked three high and layered with cream cheese, blueberry jam and bacon (beef bacon, natch). The tower joins maple-dipped fried chicken, gefilte fish and a slew of veggie options to make up the new menu at Caplansky’s Delicatessen.

Zane Caplansky wants his new menu, which has been nearly six months in the making, to offer something for everyone. No longer is the College Street deli solely a haven for carnivores and smoked meat aficionados. The menu has expanded into vegetarianism with a ratatouille, an “overpowering” mac-and-cheese and a greatly expanded selection of salads. For fish lovers, Ontario rainbow trout is on offer, as well as gefilte fish—an option we’d hoped for when we first heard about the new menu over the summer. The gefilte fish isn’t made in-house just yet, but Caplansky says he has his grandmother’s handwritten recipe, which he’ll put into practice once the kinks of the new menu have been worked out.

While Caplansky’s was known to do omelettes on request in the past, doing so would often back up the kitchen. Now, Caplansky has his kitchen efficiently churning out all-day omelettes that come with latkes and rye toast. Of course, the classic sandwiches haven’t gone anywhere, and neither has the self-deprecation. A sign on the window states, reassuringly, “Great new menu, same lousy service.”

Anthony Bourdain at his book signing at Massey Hall (Image: Renée Suen)

Toronto chefs and foodies, take note: Anthony Bourdain, the reformed bad boy of the culinary world, beloved potty mouth and host of the Travel Channel’s No Reservations, will be featuring Toronto on his show. Bourdain made that announcement on his book tour this week when he stopped in at Massey Hall to promote his follow up to Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook. The globetrotting professional eater and drinker entertained and dazzled admirers during his 90-minute performance, downing bottles of Steam Whistle pilsner and drawing upon material from his memoir. Bourdain graciously entertained banal questions during the event’s short Q&A and took time to applaud Beast’s Scott Vivian, who catered the post-show VIP book signing. However, it was his announcement of bringing No Reservations to the city that drew the most hoots and hollers from the packed house.

The former chef noted that it was Vivian and a group of the city’s chefs—including Anthony Rose (Drake Hotel), Mark Cutrara (Cowbell), Nick Liu (Niagara Street Café) and Zane Caplansky (Caplansky’s Delicatessen)—he met at an event organized by Toronto Life contributor Ivy Knight (host of 86 Mondays) the evening prior that helped tip the scales in favour of Toronto. Bourdain informed us in a follow-up meeting that while season seven’s roster was already spoken for, Toronto will be in the lineup for season eight.

Catching up with Vivian after the show, we were told that Bourdain never truly considered bringing No Reservations to Toronto due to a lack of recommendations from chefs he met in Vancouver and Montreal, the only Canadian cities featured on the show to date. In response, Vivian noted the city’s interest in nose-to-tail dining, collection of small mom-and-pop restaurants, and ethnic neighbourhoods. “I wanted to let him know the food scene in Toronto is real. I told him I would be honoured—would love—to take him around and show him some cool places. Before he left, he shook my hand and said, ‘I look forward to making television with you.’”

Who has the testicular fortitude to take on city's best ballers? (Image: Gotham Nurse)

Caplansky’s Delicatessen is holding its inaugural “Battle of the Bubbies” competition this Sunday in search of the city’s best matzo ball maker. Chief mensch Zane Caplansky points out that the competition is open to anyone—not just bubbies—and there will be two categories to compete under: cannon balls (hard balls) and fluffy balls (soft balls). For the record, Caplansky himself likes the fluffy balls. The judges include Moses Znaimer, Bonnie Stern, David Sax, Lara Rabinovitch and Amy Wilson, so it’s quite clear that these people will know what goes in a good matzo, unlike most food competitions out there (remember when Antonio Sabato Jr. was a judge on Iron Chef?).

The competition starts at 4 p.m. on September 10 at the deli. Contestants must pre-register by calling the restaurant, which just celebrated its first year at its current digs.

Extra incentive: all competitors get a free lunch.

• Caplansky’s Deli

The classic: Caplansky's smoked meat sandwich isn't going anywhere (Image: Matthew Fox)

Eating one’s way through the short menu at Caplansky’s Delicatessen takes only a few visits—for now. Soon, the College Street institution will expand its meal options as owner Zane Caplansky is hard at work on a new menu. In his blog, the famed deli guru says that the selection is currently “dead simple” and that customers can expect a new maple dipped fried chicken, as well as the gluttonous-sounding Leaning Tower of Caplansky: three pieces of challah stacked with blueberry jam, cream cheese and beef bacon, topped with maple syrup.

Also in the works are tribute dishes to deli’s favorite customers, like The Geddy (verscht and eggs with lox, just like the Rush frontman likes it), and at least one dedicated to the restaurateur himself—the What Zane Eats comes with grilled verscht and chopped liver with onions and honey mustard.

That’s the extent to which Caplansky is dishing on his dishes. As for us, we wouldn’t mind seeing some blintzes, gefilte fish or even some entrée-sized latkes as a mitzvah to vegetarians.

• The New Menu Cometh [Caplansky’s Deli]

Meat awaits New Yorkers at the Black Hoof (Image: Greg Bolton)

The Times is a bit late on the meat craze, with its magazine recently running a travel piece on some of Toronto’s carnivorous hot spots. Writer Adam Sachs went straight for brunch at the Hoof Café and had the stewed rabbit with blueberry-buckwheat pancakes, grilled cheese with tongue, eggs Benny with suckling pig and even more tongue. He also visited Sanagan’s Meat Locker in Kensington before heading to Caplansky’s for a smoked meat sandwich, a meat-filled knish and the famously large poutine.

In a follow-up e-mail interview with owner Zane Caplansky, the meatmonger recalls selling his sandwiches out of the Monarch Tavern on Clinton before saving enough money to open his own place; Caplansky also says we can credit such chefs as Jamie Kennedy and Mark Cutrara with starting the snout-to-tail phenomenon. Looks like Hogtown’s living up to its name.

• Canadian Bacon (plus): Smoked Meat in Toronto [T Magazine - New York Times]

The Rosedale Diner
For the first time, the midtown institution is offering a $29 prix fixe Passover plate called Charoset and Chrain from March 29 to April 5. Such standbys as chopped liver, matzo ball soup, roasted chicken, braised short ribs, tzimmes (candied carrots) and potato kugel will be well represented.

Sweet Escapes
The Distillery District dessert palace is offering a chocolate truffle cake that contains eggs, butter, sugar, chocolate and nothing else. An eight-inch cake costs only $20 and is a good injection of flavour after eating matzo.

Oliver and Bonacini Café Grill
From Good Friday to Easter Monday, the Bayview Village restaurant (along with its Oakville and Waterloo locations) will be offering dinner specials. For $20, diners can enjoy a AAA black Angus strip loin with Yorkshire pudding, buttermilk mash and onion gravy. Rest assured, rabbit will not be on the menu.

Caplansky’s Delicatessan
A no-brainer. Zane Caplansky blogged last month that he’s booked to cater his first seder (he even offered to do the Four Questions but, sadly, was denied) and is accepting orders for gefilte fish, matzo ball soup, fricassee, braised brisket, smoked turkey and desserts. Goyum regulars, take note: it’s still kosher to drop by for a brisket sandwich and poutine.

Shopsy’s
Those who miss the old landmark on Front Street can head to the new Shopsy’s at the Sheraton at Richmond and York. For Passover, the deli has set aside a special menu that includes a breakfast with matzo instead of home fries ($10 or less), chicken soup with matzo ball ($5), gefilte fish ($6.50) and chopped liver ($6). Mains include brisket ($14), grilled salmon ($16) and, for kids with big appetites, two all-beef hot dogs with veggies to balance it out ($10).

Epic
The Royal York’s annual Easter brunch, to be held on April 4, will cost $70 per adult ($35 for kids and free for children under five) and feature smoked salmon and cured meats, dark chocolate fondue, hot cross buns, roast sirloin and lamb, and, to buck the trend, sushi and sashimi from the Benihana chef. Finicky tots can also work up an appetite in the play area, where they will be either entertained or horrified by the Easter bunny.

Globe Bistro
The intimate Danforth bistro is offering a $29 three-course brunch starting with scones and such apps as a mushroom purée with pickled fiddleheads, smoked trout with a slow-cooked egg, and maple lardon frisée salad. Mains include prime rib with potatoes roasted with duck fat, a root vegetable lasagna and baked French toast with ginger maple syrup. End it with a slice of carrot cake or a chocolate panna cotta.

(Image: FaceMePLS)