The Burger’s Priest, Toronto

On a mission to stifle a burger craving we found ourselves driving by a little place in the east end of Toronto known as “The Burger’s Priest” (Queen and Coxwell). I definitely cannot stress enough how small this restaurant is, but somehow it seats six and feeds many more. The place prides itself on keeping their burgers as simple as possible in order showcase their freshly ground beef and stay away from the previously frozen “meat” that is normally served in most burger joints.

A large griddle, a few deep fryers, a prep table and a cash register hide behind a slightly opaque partitioning wall that separates the kitchen from the dining area in this incredibly small restaurant. However, you barely have time to feel claustrophobic before the wonderful aroma of beef sizzling on the griddle takes over you and forces instant salivation.  The friendly service, warm atmosphere and catchy music all put you at ease despite the lack of available personal space.

So did they redeem the burgers, as their slogan promises to?! Well, to be honest, not entirely. The patty in itself was phenomenal, cooked to perfection and definitely secreting nothing but beefy goodness. One very important element they hadn’t overlooked was the lack of strong spices hiding the true flavours of the meat. Since the patties are fairly small in size, the double decker is definitely advocated and recommended. However, despite their tasty beef, the burger was assembled on fairly poor and generic white bread bun, making the whole sandwich a fairly messy let down. I really won’t even mention my true reaction to the slice of processed “cheddar” cheese that was hidden in the depths of my condiments but let’s just say, I wasn’t too impressed.

The entire menu is strictly based on their beefy burger and the vegetarian option of a protobello mushroom and cheese sandwich battered and deep fried. Your choices are very limited but it does make sense to limit possibilities in such a small restaurant in order to cater to all your customers as quickly as possible and free up some breathing room. All combos come with Yukon Gold matchstick fries which are divine and obviously a drink. Priced between 10 and 15 dollars the meal is definitely affordable but might not necessarily completely fulfill your hunger.

Overall, if you find yourself in need of a snack and are in that neighbourhood, the Burger’s Priest is definitely a place to stop by. Grab some cash as they don’t take any cards (or debit) and enjoy an above average burger.

Book Review – Sourdough: A Recipe For Life

It’s amazing. Loved it. It’s small. It’s cute.

Having recently begun baking my own bread, at work and personally, this book was given to me by Ryan, the butcher and charcuterie Yoda at Marben. He suggested I read it to get a better understanding of leavened bread and specifically sourdough. I assume he handed me this book so I could figure out why some of the loaves of bread at work looked like they had done a tour in Afghanistan. Though they tasted just as good as the others, they were just special, which made them my favourites.

Erin is absolutely inviting, professionally comical (if that makes any sense), witty, knowledgable, warm, passionate, patient, and detailed; she just plainly delightful.

The book is short, small, and straight to the point, with only one recipe. Takes the reader from the beginning (sourdoughs birth) to the end (the bake). Erin makes baking, sourdough, easy to understand and lets be honest bread can get pretty confusing (it always is in the beginning). Erin makes reading about baking and sourdough fun. And really isn’t that what baking is all about? I know it’s always fun to do, no matter the outcome.

Please check out this humble little book. Read it to the very end. The acknowledgments are hilarious. Then go into the kitchen and grab equal parts organic unbleached hard white flour and water and make a sourdough culture and bake some fresh home made bread. It’ll be some of the best bread you’ll ever come across.

Opinion on Mark McEwan’s Book – Great Food At Home

I was in the Coles bookstore in Brantford at the Lyndon Mall buying a gift for my mother, an early Christmas gift if you will, and thought I would walk by the cookbook section and see if anything would catch my eye, something that I may have missed on Amazon (love you Amazon, your the best). Unfortunately nothing did (again love you Amazon), but what did catch my eye was Mark McEwan’s new and only cookbook “Great Food At Home.” I have checked it out online but haven’t been able to actually look inside, so given the chance to see inside Mark’s first, and I’m sure there are more in the works, I picked up the book and immediately flipped to the back cover.

Now I can’t remember verbatim what the back cover said, but it wasn’t what I first expected, there instead of the usual reviews from other chefs, food journalists, or critics praising his opening to the cookbook circuit, there was this synopsis about the book; giving the reader an idea of what Mark likes to cook for himself, friends, and family when he is at home with no pretension and fancy presentation. Well that peaked my interest, I had to open the book and find out what recipes this culinary goliath in Toronto is offering the home (amateur) cook.

Opening the book to a random spot, about little over half way through, the first recipe I come across involves poaching a whole lobster in butter. Ok, so my first thought is, WOW is this guy is bold, he is going to try and challenge people. I then flip to another random page and I can’t even read the whole recipe description, all I can do is focus on the word…Truffle…

Hold on Mark, are you suggesting to us, that you take truffles home with you from any of your four restaurants, or grocery store and serve it to yourself and family? Or are you saying that you personally go out and buy them from your own pocket? Cause I’d assume that you’d go right into North 44, or Bymark, or One and walk right out with what you wanted.

What is the going rate for an average sized truffle these days anyway? White truffles must cost anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 per pound and black truffles must be from $400 to $600 per pound for the fresh stuff, of course. If anyone does know the most update prices for fresh truffles please comment and let me know.

Is Mark suggesting to the people who buy his cookbook that on a special occasion they should spend what must be a weeks pay for some and longer for others on a single ingredient for a meal? Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) did a census in 2009 citing the average earnings for Canadians before taxes and other deductions was $805 per week. That means that if an average income person wanted to cook dinner, for say his girlfriend, he’d have to make sure to pay all his bills for the month ahead of time, budget his meals for the remainder of the week and following week (most people get paid bi-weekly), figure out transportation for that period of time, etc…

Who is Mr. McEwan targeting his first cookbook towards? It seems like it may be a way for the people who frequent his restaurants to take this book back to their kitchens and recreate what they may have been cooked, possibly by Mark while he was still actually cooking, in his restaurants. No point in saying out right the calibre of guests that pass through the doors of his restaurants, needless to say, they wouldn’t have to budget around a single meal.

Then again I could be completely wrong about his venture into cookbook scene, I may have missed the point. I would love to know if I am. Please comment and let me know.

Thanks for baring with me through that rant.

Au Pied de Cochon – Montreal

Having recently visited Montreal, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Au Pied de Cochon and therefore a review of such a restaurant was inevitably due to appear on our blog. Although the locale’s name won’t sound too familiar, you may know the owner/chef Martin Picard from his Food Network Canada show “The Wild Chef” where he steps outside the boundaries of the kitchen to hunt and cook his meals as one with nature. He’s eccentric, burly, rebellious and sometimes downright strange but his food will definitely force you to overlook these minor details.

After spending a little too much time locating this restaurant (536 Duluth Est, Montreal) due to the lack of any sort of signage, one realizes that the only busy locale of the entire neighborhood must be Au Pied de Cochon. Upon entering you are greeted by a warm atmosphere, friendly service despite the hectic nature of a full dining room and a phenomenal aroma of a great meal. The decor is very natural with wood surfaces anywhere possible but definitely respects the chef’s identity by showcasing his adventures. One of the bar stools has a set of antlers as a backrest, the tables are decorated with fishing flies, hunting trophies hang all over the walls and in the bathroom one can enjoy footage of cows grazing in a field. The best part of it all has to be the open kitchen complete with a brick oven used for preparing all the meats. The bar runs alongside this beautiful and spotlessly clean kitchen ensuring the diners seated here enjoy a full show with their meal.

So let’s talk food! First of all I would recommend not eating for about a week before even considering having dinner at Au Pied de Cochon since the portions are gargantuan. It’s definitely a place to sample many appetizers and avoid the mains if you want variety otherwise you won’t be able to walk out. Before I begin with the dishes we tried, I would like to mention that the bread served with dinner was outstanding. A freshly baked sourdough bread was served with the restaurant’s special brand of Spanish olive oil (imported solely for the chef) was the perfect leeway to an unforgettable dinner. We started with the Tarragon Bison tongue which was sublime. Although the portion size of this appetizer was similar to a main in any other restaurant, we really couldnt get enough of this plate. The tongue was braised to perfection resulting in a tender and almost satiny bison and was served with plenty of creamy tarragon sauce.  This was followed by their Pigeon Offal appetizer salad, a simple dish but also very delicious. For the mains, I can personally recommend the steak frites which were absolutely divine. The fries are cooked in duck fat and therefore appear a little darker but are sublime especially when accompanying two perfectly cooked pieces of beef served on a bed of red cabbage and onions cooked in heavenly braising liquid. My companion that evening had the PDC (Pied de Cochon) cut of pork which mostly translated into half of a pig served with a garnish of jus and caramelized onions.  The portion was definitely extreme and could have fed three hungry people but, Regardless of size,  it was cooked to perfection and as delicious as all the other menu items we consumed. Despite our premeditated choices for the evening, the most popular dish in the restaurant was definitely the “Duck in a Can”. Somewhat self explanatory, this dish was presented in a can and came to your table complete with an opener. Definitely something worth exploring on our next visit. Although the dessert list at was as extensive as the rest of the menu, we found the thought of more food to be unbearable and unfortunately skipped this portion.

The wine list was highly extensive and the staff was very knowledgeable on this fact. Prices vary from $50 to several thousand dollars so a budget is definitely something to talk to your sommelier about. Similarly, their bar is fully stocked for any alcoholic preference of that night so asking the waiter for their drink menu is important.

Now for the downsides, not that there’s too many. First of all, for a busy restaurant of over 100 constantly filled seats they had a single bathroom. To make matters worse, it was located somewhat behind the bar and hard to find. I’m sure we weren’t the only ones accidentally walking into their wine cooler in search for the lavatory. Also found it somewhat strange that a bathroom with a single toilet would have three sinks beside it, but I guess it went with the eccentric theme of the whole restaurant. Secondly, the sommelier service was a little too stuffy for the relaxed and casual atmosphere of the locale. We were quickly dismissed and brought one of the most inexpensive bottles of wine without any second thoughts or questions about our budget. It was definitely insulting but not enough to ruin an excellent meal.

Overall, knowing our first glutton experience at Au Pied de Cochon, our next visit will involve several weeks of famine as a precursor to such a wonderful meal. I cannot wait to visit again.

One-The Glitz and The Food

Located in the heart of Yorkville, in the Hazleton Hotel, this glamorous restaurant offers a very diverse menu. I have to give it to Mark McEwan; the ambiance and location is perfect for those who want to “see and be seen”, so to speak. The rich and fabulous as well as tourists looking to soak up the Yorkville scene flock to One, and as a result, a reservation is almost always required to get a table.

Money is key at this fine dining establishment.  A full meal for two, including alcohol, is on the pricy side, at easily 250 dollars. I must say, however, that the food is impeccably presented and (almost) perfectly cooked. My only complaint is that main courses do not come with side dishes and must be chosen (and paid for) separately. The menu contains everything from caviar (Wild Canadian or Petrossian), to lobster, to oxtail soup (with bone marrow crostini!) to amazing cheeses and many others.

I was with 3 other friends when we came to One during TIFF and sat on the patio. I’m not sure if the waiter was occupied with more important diners, but the service was slow and it kind of ruined the ambiance. This may simply be due to timing (TIFF is hectic for this particular restaurant and hotel), or the fact that we were all 19, because other friends that frequent this restaurant have never complained about the service.

The food was, for the most part amazing. The 14 Oz ribeye with shallot and garlic confit was cooked to perfection and the seared dayboat scallops were absolutely amazing. The meatballs in the pasta dish, on the other hand, were crumbly and slightly overcooked. The frites with citrus garlic aioli were by far the best French fries I have ever tasted in my life; both crispy and not greasy…it was heaven. Dessert was the highlight of the meal (this isn’t just my sweet tooth talking), with the Chef’s Desert Platter containing a Banoffee pie, a strawberry shortcake and a chocolate and peanut butter tart. Diners can customize their own Chef’s Platter with any trio of scrumptious desserts, which adds a fun twist to the evening.

Overall, I would probably come back to One just to try more items on the menu, because for once in my life, I have encountered a restaurant where nothing that they can offer me seems to be unpleasant. I feel that this restaurant is a place where everyone needs to go at least once and truly get the alluring Yorkville experience and great food. After all, everyone wants to feel like a movie star sometimes…

KFC Double Down

It is now official the Double Down from KFC has made it way above the 49th parallel, as of October 17th. KFC has upped the anti with this apocalyptic sandwich. For anyone who doesn’t know what the Double Down is then please allow me to describe what comes with this insane sandwich, it you can even call it a sandwich in a traditional sense. You get two, count them two breaded and fried chicken breasts with two pieces of bacon, Monterey jack cheese, pepper jack cheese, and the Colonels sauce. Where’s the bun? Answer, the chicken fillets have replaced the classic bread component. A new era of sandwich has been born.

On the KFC website, http://www.kfc.com/doubledown/, they say that this sandwich has only 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 1380 mg of sodium if you get it the original way, if grilled the calorie, fat, and sodium intake fluctuate somewhat. If this is true, it is comparable to the Big Mac at McDonalds, and less in all categories than the Whopper from Burger King.

Nutritionists, food bloggers, food activists alike have gone on the offensive saying it is a heart attack “sandwich,” that it should be boycotted. But really how bad is it? If anything, I’d have to say that KFC is late to the artery clogging game by the big business fast food companies. All you have to do is take a look at the menus from the rivals to know that worse sandwiches are out there and have been from some time. For example, the Angus burger with cheese and bacon from McDonalds is almost 250 more calories than the Double Down, the Triple Whopper from Burger King is 1250 calories, and I’m convinced that anything from Taco Bell will shorten your life dramatically.

The only positive to draw on is that the Double Down is only here in Canada for a limited time, even the executives at KFC know that it isn’t going to profitable enough to keep it on the menu, so not to worry by 2011 it’ll be gone and we can forget it ever made it onto the market.

Here is a link to a review by Mark Schatzker, author of Steak: One Man’s Search for the World’s Tastiest Piece of Beef and contributor to The Globe And Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/the-double-down-reviewed-salty-salty-salty/article1764187/

Durable food products.

Super Size Me put McDonalds in the hot seat for what its food products can do to the human body. Here is another great little McDonalds experiment conducted over 6 months.

There has been a lot of backlash over this video and a quick search of the internet will pull up some pretty heavy news coverage including a response from McDonalds. The excerpt follows the video.

In Defense Of Happy Meals

McDonald’s menu items are freshly prepared in our restaurants. It is not possible to provide a detailed explanation regarding these claims without knowing the conditions in which these food items were kept. That said, we strongly caution anyone from jumping to conclusions.McDonald’s hamburger patties in the U.S. are made with 100% USDA-inspected beef. They are cooked and prepared with salt, pepper and nothing else – no preservatives – no fillers. Our hamburger buns are made from North American-grown wheat flour. Our world-famous French fries are made from potatoes and cooked in a canola-oil blend. These are the same foods that consumers buy every day in their local grocery stores – bread, meat and potatoes.

Bacteria and mold only grow under certain conditions. For example, without sufficient moisture – either in the food itself or the environment in which it is held – bacteria and mold and associated decomposition, is unlikely. If food is/or becomes dry enough, it won’t grow mold or bacteria. In fact, any food purchased from a restaurant or grocery store or prepared at home that lacks moisture would also dehydrate and see similar results if left in the same environment.

McDonald’s food safety and quality standards are among the highest in the industry. McDonald’s sources its ingredients from approved suppliers that adhere to strict standards for food safety and quality, including a controlled, well-maintained and clean environment throughout our entire supply chain. Together with stringent procedures for handling and storage, we work hard to minimize any exposure that would contribute to the presence of mold, bacteria or other microorganisms.”

-Source McDonalds

Amazon.ca

Thanks Rob, ever since he suggested I check out culinary related books on Amazon.ca instead of going to a Chapters or Indigo (same parent company for both stores) and paying more for the same books, I have become addicted to checking out books from this website. I have probably bought close to 25 books since Rob’s advice. Amazon is definitely an incredibly useful resource for look for and obtain any number of things but the books are where its at, for me.

The books I have received from Amazon have been in great condition, not damaged by shipping. They package the books in recyclable boxes with recyclable plastic bags filled with air to prevent damage to the purchase. The deliveries have been fast and timely. They have been on schedule every time I have ordered a group of books at a time. If you order over $39 from Amazon they’ll ship the books for free, right now they have a special, and have lowered that price to $25, thats a deal I may have to look into. Every book I ordered has been discounted from the original price, a price that other bookstores do not discount.

I have travelled around Toronto and have been to numerous bookstores and their price point is much much higher than Amazon. You’s have to sign up to their web newsletter to know when books or on sale, or sign up for their members cards (irewards card, for example) to receive a discount, basically giving away all your personal information in the process. Thats an option I particularly dislike.

In short I can’t say enough about the great service I have received from Amazon.ca, I would recommend the site to anyone, food related or not, for their book ordering needs. It beats the competition.

For the love of food

The culinary world is known to be grueling towards its devoted followers forcing them into hard labour, long shifts and very low paying jobs. It’s notorious for its late nights, heavy drinking and definitely attracting a lot of curious individuals into its realm. However, I recently realized that it evolved into something even more grueling right before our food crazy eyes. It has become a world of no job security, benefits or in many cases almost no income; without real justification for all these downfalls. Why do we do it?

Everyone believes that the journey towards becoming a self sustaining chef able to create and run your own restaurant should involve a harsh beginning where you were eaten alive by your superiors while on the line. But why is that? Why can’t a culinary career involve working only a  normal 8 to 10 hour day? Why do others get to walk all over you as part of an unnecessary initiation ritual?

Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to cooking in the industry I do agree with the brigade system that was set in place by our culinary forefathers where one needs to work their way up through all the ranks in a kitchen in order to the “ruler”. But why the abuse during the process?

The only way I can justify this phenomenon is by claiming a surreal love for food. Love for pleasing the senses of those around us with morsels of euphoric nourishment with only slight praise as our payment for our grueling work. But there may be more so therefore, this topic is certainly open for discussion since I may be missing the key element to this idea.

Ethical Food: Mechanically Seperated Meat

We take so much for granted when it comes to food.  So much so that many of us have lost touch with where and how our food is made.  While I understand that much of the food available is processed, there is a distinct  disconnect when it comes to understanding exactly what that means.

To make things clearer, here is a look at the world of mechanically separated chicken. While on the surface, the idea of using as much of animal as possible in an effort to avoid waste is a noble one, the addition of chemicals and artificial flavoring agents defeats the purpose all together.

Here is a great picture of some mechanically separated chicken.  At the time this image was taken, it was about a third of the way through its processing.

Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve—bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this.

There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be re-flavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color. (From Early Onset Of Night)

To illustrate the process in more detail, here are two clips.  The first clip seems like a sales video from the manufacturer of the machine.  Note the serene sound track and alarming lack of safety features.

The second clip is also a sales/info video.  I  enjoyed the montage at the end of the clip illustration how versatile this particular model separator is.  Again, this clip is accompanied by a wonderful soundtrack.

Macarons

Having always been fascinated about the art of making macarons, I’m proud to put up this little post as a tutorial for those wanting to try this process out. Just to clarify, I’m not talking about those fairly disappointing and overly sweet coconut confections but about the colourful and extremely flavourful french macarons. A thick and shiny shell, a gooey meringue and a silky ganache are only a few of the important attributes of a perfect macaron. So here are the instructions to making your own:

1. Weigh out your egg whites and place them in a mixer on medium-low speed. Weigh out sugar and water in a pot and bring to a boil. When your sugar syrup reaches 100C you can begin mixing your egg whites on full speed.

2. When the molten sugar reaches 117C it can be poured on top of the egg white mixture in order to make what is known as an Italian meringue. Make sure to trickle the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl gently while pouring it on the egg whites so they begin emulsifying and not splitting.

3. In a separate bowl mix equal parts of the finely ground nut of your choice (usually it’s almond) and icing sugar. Add egg unbeaten egg whites in order to obtain a fairly viscous mixture.

4. Once your meringue has cooled to almost room temperature (it needs to be whisked with the mixer for at least 5 minutes to come down in temperature) add 1/3 of it to your nut mixture and mix well. Any colour or flavour you want to add should be combined at this stage. Once the mixture becomes a little more fluid and easier to work with, add the rest of the meringue.

5. Mix continuously with a spatula until the emulsion has become very fluid and shiny. You should see your spatula’s trails in the meringue disappearing very quickly. This is the most crucial part of the macaron making process since it defines the sheen and the overall appearance of the final product. If the mixture is too thick then the macarons won’t flatten as much as they should and any piping mistakes become apparent. If the mixture is too thin, the final product becomes very flat.

6. Begin piping the mixture onto a silicone sheet keeping in mind that they will spread during the drying process so allow for ample room between each macaron. Once all have been piped, allow the trays to dry for approximately 1 hour until their tops are firm to the touch and not sticky at all.

7. Bake on a double tray (very important for the rising of the macaron) in order to form the perfect foot for approximately 12 minutes at 140C. Allow trays to cool and place in the freezer as soon as possible.

8. Prepare your ganache and begin piping it onto macaron halves. Make the cookie sandwich and return to the freezer until right before eating. Allow them to thaw out for around 5-10 minutes to enjoy their true flavours but any longer and the meringues become soggy.

9. Enjoy!