The Case for Cooking from Scratch
The Coronavirus has exposed some serious flaws in our relationship with food, but in doing so, it allowed us to reconnect with cooking and each other.
Coronavirus: The Tipping Point for Our Local Restaurants
Over the past 3 months (!) of isolation, I’ve kept a pulse on my favourite restaurants and specialty food shops with dreadful anticipation. Having worked in the industry and once owned a food business myself, I can tell you that the traditional business model for an independent restaurant is not meant to withstand unexpected closures, especially one of this magnitude.
What Anthony Bourdain Was to Me
I remember walking through the streets of Bangkok last Fall among a never ending sea of locals dressed in black. We had just arrived on the first leg of our honeymoon, jetlagged, and confused.
Shops were closed for days. The streets surrounding important monuments were heavily guarded with limited access. Many bars, despite being open, refused to serve alcohol. It was the culmination of a year of mourning for the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, ending with his ceremonial cremation. After all this time, the air was sombre as people lined up to pay their last respects. Many still cried. While I had immense respect for their traditions and felt fortunate to be part of this significant moment in Thailand’s history, it was hard for me to understand their loss. To me, it was a strange thing to mourn the passing of someone you’ve never known in real life.
Beer: The Origin of Civilization?
Until recently, I never held beer in very high esteem. Growing up, I’ve always associated beer with frat boys, beer pong, and trailer parks. To me, beer culture was unrefined and encouraged gross over consumption, leading to boorish behaviour. I shared the Ancient Greeks’ preference for wine and low opinion of beer; it’s a barbarian’s beverage.
Day Drunk
It's a sunny Sunday afternoon and I've found a prime seat at one of the best places to drink in Toronto. The beer is cheap and free-flowing. The clientele, interestingly quirky. If I'm ever found holding an empty it is promptly taken away; what service! The catch is that I'm not at one of the trending patios in town. I'm in Trinity-Bellwoods Park, and it's time to get wasted.
But First, A Photo
"How difficult can it be to take a photo of a cup of coffee?"
I can hear the incredulous comments from a couple close to us. I agree, it's ridiculous. It's been more than five minutes since our drinks arrived and I've yet to touch one. In fact, it's quite impossible since we moved all of the necessary cutlery and accompaniments to a neighbouring table. A macabre roulette of orders has seemingly shifted each cup two seats down, then across. All in the name of taking the perfect picture. In this case, you could say I'm working; but how many people have had similar experiences when dining with friends?
The Many Roles of Food in Film
The sheer abundance of food documentaries and food series available on Netflix alone - a company that relies heavily on analytics to dictate its content - is an indication of the public’s obsession with food in visual media.
Inside Instagram
For the first time in my Toronto brunch career, I'm the first in line for weekend brunch. Well, nearly first. Already seated on the lone bench in front of the restaurant, Beast, is Ryan, Alex, and Kelly. Or, rather, the masterminds behind the food-centered Instagram accounts @eatfamous, @hypebelly, and @kellyforyou (respectively) are waiting for us. Beast puts out an impressive brunch spread - but the sheer pleasure of eating isn't the only draw. You could call it a working brunch, in a way: The 3 Spoons' first Insta-meet as a collective.
Afternoon Tea At Home
Bringing a touch of Downton Abbey to the home is easier than you think. Just keep that pinky down.
It's one of the defining features of British culture, along with crooked teeth, fish & chips (or chicken tikka masala), and surrealist humour. We're talking about tea time.
Gourd Life - Yerba Mate in Toronto
Yerba mate is the South American counterpart to tea and coffee slowly entering the Western mainstream. It's time to get wired like a gaucho.
My first encounter with yerba mate was during a sustained period of early (6am early!) gym-going before heading into the office. I needed a potent pick-me-up that didn't require me to run the coffee grinder, thus saving me from the wrath of waking up Kim. And, to be honest, a shot of espresso on an empty stomach isn't typically conducive to a couple hours of contact sports. Tea fit the bill, but its relatively lackluster caffeine content just wouldn't cut through the early morning grogginess.
The Toronto Bubble Tea Battle
Bubble tea and I go way back. It was the early 2000’s, not long after bubble tea emerged as a standalone commodity in Montreal. In the streets of our tiny Chinatown - a neighbourhood barely spanning 2 square blocks - my university friends and I spent most of our nights parked at famed bubble tea lounge, L2. There, we studied and played Big 2 into the wee hours of the night, all whilst slowly sipping radioactive-like liquids through giant straws out of colossal mugs that would put German beer halls to shame. Those were the good old days where $3.85 bought you your weight in bubble tea, and no one cared that it was mostly made of sugar and FD&C Yellow #3.
The Unapologetic Paella
The best paella I’ve ever had is my Uncle Gerard’s. Growing up in the suburbs of Montreal, it’s really the only paella I was exposed to. His special seafood paella was reserved exclusively for our annual New Year’s Eve family dinner; an event that I, sadly, consistently missed for almost a decade. Meanwhile, over the past 10 years, I’ve tried paella wherever I could find it, and found it mostly to be dry and overcooked with little exception. I didn’t miss family dinner this last New Year’s Eve and when I finally bit into my uncle’s paella after all these years, I was finally satiated. It inspired me to try making it for myself … again. I’ve made an attempt once; it’s a dish that is more so intimidating than it is difficult, in part because it requires the confidence to overcome the fact that no matter what you do, your paella is likely to offend a Spaniard.