The building that houses the legendary Cookbook Store at the corner of Yonge and Yorkville has been sold to condo developers, Quill & Quire reports. But longtime store manager Alison Fryer tells us that this is not the end of the road for the store, which has been around for over 30 years.
A classic Chianti that needs some bottle age. Ruby colour; dry, savoury, cherry and sage leaf nose; well-extracted fruit, round and full on the palate with a dry, savoury finish and ripe tannins. Hold for two years.
The weather moves gradually from summer to autumn. One day it rains and the wind blows; the next it’s sunny and too hot for a jacket. In terms of beer, it’s an abrupt jump from the warm weather lagers and pale ales to the quite wintry porters and stouts. I feel we need a beer to stand in between.
From the outside, Osteria dei Ganzi doesn’t quite look like your average spot to grab dinner. The Italian restaurant is housed in a historical mansion commissioned by the Gooderham family in 1891. Inside, comestibles include charcuterie boards (with the likes of capicola and Parmesan), asparagus-studded pizza and a decadent take on tiramisu.
Boiling eggs is one of the first things that any aspiring cook learns in the kitchen, but peeling the eggs afterward can be tedious. Chef Nick auf der Mauer of Porchetta & Co. has a trick to speed up the process.
Food is providing the bridge back to pop stardom for Steven Page. The musician is on the phone to talk about The Illegal Eater, his hip new travel and food show on the national channel Travel + Escape, in which the former Barenaked Lady explores different cities’ buzzy underground food scenes.
An easy-drinking, budget-friendly Chardonnay from the Colchagua Valley. Straw coloured with a lime tint; minerally, spicy, apple nose with a custard apple flavour. Soft on the palate with a touch of sweetness.
As with any online horde, the beer-rating forums have their limitations and biases. But beers that maintain a 100-point rating on sites like RateBeer.com, such as the Chimay Blue, are widely considered to be world-class examples of their style and are definitely worth trying.
There are few meals prepared in the kitchen that don’t contain (or couldn’t be improved by) garlic. From pasta to roasted veggies, this flavour heavyweight can just as easily complement as dominate the taste of any dish. Here, chef Grant van Gameren of the buzzy Little Italy restaurant Bar Isabel shares his secret for perfectly minced garlic every time.
By now, anyone who’s anyone has heard of Rose and Sons. The compact eatery from former Drake Hotel chef Anthony Rose is where comfort food aficionados head to stuff themselves on cornbread, monstrous sandwiches and yes, gasp-inducing brunch come the weekend. It’s also a place to suck back a cocktail or two, regardless of the time of day.
“This is something that we’ve been playing around with for a little while,” says Ted Corrado, executive chef at the brand new Drake One Fifty. “I wanted to do a large-format rotisserie chicken for people at the new restaurant.” Playing younger sibling to The Drake Hotel, the 290-seat restaurant dishes out everything from escargots to seafood towers on its inspired menu.
There is no better way to get yourself revved up for Thanksgiving than with an old-fashioned hot turkey sandwich. Chef Grant van Gameren tells us which Toronto throwback diner is on the gravy train.
