Toronto Food & Wine Festival 2015

Amidst food and wine enthusiasts alike, I found myself soaking up the ambience that radiated at the world-renowned Evergreen Brick Works during the 2015 Toronto Food and Wine Festival. Setting afoot this venue for the first time, I was in awe of my surroundings – traces of rustic-industrial, country-chic and Mother Nature enveloped the entire vicinity.  As someone who is fascinated by both street art and food, I found that this Don Valley gem was the perfect location in marrying these two. Already recognized as the first organization to start building gardens across Canada, the Evergreen Brick Works also champions the coming together of community and food.  At this inaugural event, I witnessed first-hand how this was showcased – just as their motto advocates – with “good food, happy people, and a healthy city”.

Atop the media preview tour that I was there to participate in, we were greeted by our hosts, who gave us the general overview of the then forthcoming event. Spotted in the crowd were celebrity figures Roger Mooking (Everyday Exotic), Brad Long (Restaurant Makeover) and Gail Simmons (Top Chef).  I saw glimpses of how the three-day long event was planned to unfold.  Different sections of the Brick Works devoted to various special mini events, such as cooking classes and demonstrations, and Chef’s Talks, were primed and well-equipped. Lights strewn across in rooms, picnic tables and benches scattered throughout, and food and wine vendors abound, the place seemed ready for the throngs of people waiting to be entertained.

After the tour, with my plus one by my side, we hopped from one area of the Brick Works to the next. Our first stop was a Tutored Tastings session.  For that particular hour, author and wine connoisseur Ana Fabiano presented the history and offerings of Rioja.  Sipping on the five Rioja samples prepared for the audience, the wanderlust in me perked up at the vision of Spain and its vineyards on a screen across of me. Imagine being in the presence of the real deal – how majestic would that be?  Meanwhile, my friend immediately favoured the Faustino V Tempranillo Rosado 2014.  Had she been able to, she would have bought a bottle of this red wine then and there.  I can tell you that the greater part of our wine consumption for the day involved this brand (which continued on to the next part of the agenda).

Heading onward with our food adventure, we proceeded to the central hub of all things food and wine that weekend.  Dubbed as the Grand Tasting Pavilion, it acted as the epicenter of the main event, where the space was abundantly occupied with food and wine stations endorsing the vendors’ respective products.  Following is a sample of this vending population.

Appealing to those craving exotic and unique flavours:

Bombay Street Food

Of Indian origin, this Sev Puri is “a delicious, savoury staple of Mumbai street food.”  Akin to a tostada, crispy puris are topped with potatoes, tamarind and coriander chutneys and fried noodles.

Little Sister

Serving Indonesian fare with this Babi Guling – Balinese roast pork, pickles, peanuts on an ice berg wedge, my palette recognized a celebration of spices.

Black Angus

If you are hunting for some game meat, cupped within is their game toast featuring elk, water buffalo, caribou, and venison.

Dirty Bird

Popularized at the Kensington Market location, this chicken and waffle had a sweet and spicy sauce accompaniment that tickled the tongue.

El Catrin

Chorizo, potatoes, caramelized onions, and a special green sauce all fit in this one bite-sized mouthful.

Rasa

Easily one of my favourites, this simple but hearty piece of shawarma slider with hummus, tabouleh, feta, tzatziki, and pickled things left me both satisfied, but gluttonously wanting more.

Tori’s Bakeshop

Niche to organic and vegan eaters, this seemingly innocent baguette crostini layered with cashew chevre and smoked beets with Maldon Salt packed a delicious punch to my taste buds.

Pulse Restaurant

Quack Taco - this Singaporean duck ensemble, adorned with bamboo intestines, pickled beets, and Pulse’s special samba sauce, deservedly claimed its RSVP’d spot in my belly.

For some seafood fare:

President’s Choice

Bringing a taste of the ocean, a Nova Scotia scallop was atop a bed of butternut squash risotto, topped with pumpkin seed oil.

Reds Midtown Tavern

Scallops, shrimp, cucumber, tomato, sweet onion, and Serrano chili were served with chips

Mata

This swordfish ceviche with corn, cucumber, tomato, passion fruit dressing, and taro chips mirrored in taste the vibrancy of its colours.

For the sweets-inclined:

Green and Black

This UK-based chocolatier serves organic and fair trade chocolates – my plus one particularly fancied their dark chocolate with peppermint oil.

Holy Cannoli

Holy cannoli, it’s chocolate praline cannoli!

Tito Ron’s

Biting into this deep-fried coconut bae lumpia oozed with an explosion of coconut-caramel fusion.

Cluny

Mimicking the daintiness of its name is this rosewood wildflower honey & Riesling Savarine.

More than just wine was represented at the event to quench that thirst:

Just Craft Soda

Flavour combinations include Lemon & Lemongrass, Apple & Ginger, Pear & Vanilla, Cherry & Cinnamon, and Peach & Habanero.

El Catrin

Make no mistake – this tiny glass of margarita was a potent one.

Fire in the Rye

This rye in a can is best served chilled.

Lemon Lily

A Night in Paris tea with a floral aroma

Leaving Evergreen Brick Works with our stomachs full, that day of celebrating food was indeed a great and memorable one worth replicating.

- Pedestrian Pat

*All pictures taken by Pedestrian Pat

Taste of Toronto 2015

Another year has come and gone which means another Taste of Toronto has graced this city once again. In its second year in Toronto (as well as my second year in attending), it has proven to be one of the best and most popular food festivals in this city. If you’re interested in checking out my experience last year and for a more in depth look at what Taste of Toronto is all about, you can read my blog post about it here.

Taste Festivals have been happening in cities all around the world for years and is considered to be the world’s greatest restaurant festival. The festival concept began 10 years ago in London, England, and has rapidly grown into an international event with festivals in 20 cities around the world including Dubai, Amsterdam, Milan, Moscow, Melbourne, Dublin, Mumbai, Sydney, and Johannesburg just to name a few. Everywhere it goes, Taste represents a foodie’s dream come true: delicious food created by the city’s greatest restaurants, world famous chefs, superb drinks and outstanding entertainment, set in stunning outdoor surroundings.

Taste of Toronto had nothing short of any of that this year with many of the top Toronto restaurants participating in this year’s event. Many of the restaurants from last year have all come back such as Richmond Station, McEwan Group, The Harbord Room, Patria, and Guu. Among the new restaurants who participated in this year’s line up which also brought in some star power was R&D (owned by Eric Chong who is the winner of Masterchef Canada Season 1 and Alvin Leung, one of the Masterchef judges), and Morimoto Toronto (owned by Iron Chef and Michelin-starred mastermind Masaharu Morimoto who is set to debut signature dishes from his first highly anticipated restaurant venture in Canada). 

One difference I’ve noticed right off the bat from last year was you needed to purchase your crown card when you load up your money onto it, whereas last year it was free. It only costs an extra $1 so it’s not a huge deal, but something that caught me off guard a bit when I was charged that extra loonie. I also asked them whether you were able to bring in your old crown card from last year to use instead of buying a new one and the answer was you were not allowed. Hopefully with the extra cash raised from this, it can be put to good use when organizing Taste of Toronto next year. 

Here’s a look at all the delicious food I’ve tried at this year’s event. Note that the currency at this food event are called crowns and each crown is worth $1.

Los Colibris

Tostada de Pulpo Grilled Octopus - Basil, Jalapeno, Coriander Oil. Cost - 10 Crowns

The Drake

Grilled Lamb Ribs - Harissa Yogurt, Pea Tendrils. Cost - 8 Crowns

East Coast Fish Fry - Crispy Oysters, Jail Island Haddock, Tartar Sauce. Cost - 6 Crowns

Richmond Station

Station Burger - Beet Chutney, OKA Cheese. Cost - 10 Crowns

Funnel Cake - Vanilla Ice Cream, Stewed Fruit. Cost - 6 Crowns

Morimoto Toronto

Toro Tartare - Caviar, Sour Cream, Wasabi, Dashi Soy. Cost - 10 Crowns

Uni Carbonara - Quail Egg, Smoked Bacon, Parmesan. Cost - 8 Crowns

Weslodge

Fried Chicken - 5 Day Slaw, House Jalapeno Hot Sauce. Cost - 8 Crowns

Byblos

Charcoal Grilled Lamb Kofte - Lavosh, House Pickles, Toum, Green Schug. Cost - 6 Crowns

Little Sister

Babi Panggang Roasted Pork Belly - Fresh Chili Sauce, Bean Sprout, Red Onion Pickle. Cost - 8 Crowns

Winner of The Everyday Foodie’s Best Dish of Taste of Toronto 2015?

Morimoto Toronto’s Toro Tatare! 

Taste of Toronto has always impressed me with how well the festival is organized and the sheer talent it is able to attract with the vendors participating. Hopefully sometime in the not too distant future I may even be able to attend a Taste festival in another country across the world, but for now I am completely satisfied enjoying it in my own backyard. Looking forward to next year to see what Taste of Toronto 2016 may bring!

The Stop’s Night Market

With Taste of Toronto coming up this weekend I thought it would be fitting to write about another food festival in Toronto that is a little bit more under the radar which you may want to check out next year. The Stop’s Night Market is an annual fundraising event in Toronto where a mix of local restaurants, beverage vendors, and artists all come together to transform a public space into a tantalizing feast for your senses over the span of two glorious nights in June.

The unique thing about The Stop’s Night Market that sets it apart from all the rest is that it is all you can eat and drink! And when I say drink it’s not just water and pop. You can literally drink as much alcohol as you please throughout the entire night, beers, cocktails, and wines alike! However, most of the guests at this night market are not only here for the drinks, but for the delicious food that over 60 different restaurants have prepared. 

What’s the catch though that this is an all you can eat and drink affair? The ticket for admittance will cost you $100. However even with this price tag, the event sells out all the time and I for one am very glad that the organizers put out a limit on how many people are able to attend. To be perfectly honest, a lot of food festivals in Toronto has been an utter failure because of poor planning and execution. Do I have to remind you of recent examples such as the Mac and Cheese or the Grilled Cheese festival? If you do not pick the right venue and do not place a restriction on how many people can attend, what you will have is pure chaos where disgruntled guests will spend an hour waiting in line either just to get through the doors or partake in a small piece of food that was completely underwhelming and wasn’t worth the long wait.

What Taste of Toronto and The Stop’s Night Market does so well is the ratio of food and beverage vendors to the guests. With over 60 restaurant booths and 20 local beverage vendors spread over the two days, the wait in line for me to get some food or a drink was a maximum wait of 5 to 7 minutes. In fact, the wait time for me probably averaged around 3 minutes throughout the entire night. The food kept pumping out so the lines kept on moving!

As stated before, each ticket to get in will cost you $100 but it is all for a good cause as all proceeds raised in this event goes towards The Stop Community Centre’s critical food access and community-building programs. This year alone over $200 000 was raised for The Stop Community Centre which will go towards their programs such as their drop in meals, healthy food banks, perinatal programs, community advocacy, local food markets, community cooking programs, sustainable food systems education, community gardening programs, and their state-of-the-art greenhouse and compost demonstration centre.

To break it down even further, the $100 ticket purchase will provide our neighbours with either access to 20 meals in The Stop’s drop-in meal program, healthy food hampers for 4 families from their food bank, or increased access to their urban agriculture, community cooking, and education programming for children and adults in our community.

Beyond the philanthropic initiative, you will definitely get your moneys worth in terms of food and drinks. I have never been so full in my entire life after the night was over and for all the food and drinks I devoured, the bill at the end of it all would have easily been way over the $100 price tag. The pictures you are about to see below is every single dish and beverage I personally ate and drank at this event! By the end of this visual depiction, you will likely see why I got my money’s worth and then some.

Abokichi - Popcorn Chicken

Sea Witch Fish & Chips - Halibut Croquettes

Nana - Southern Fried Chicken

The 47 - Cevapi

Woodlot - Stuffed Grape Leaves

Mad Maple - Stawberry Rhubarb Rugelache

Broncos - Hot BBQ Chicken on a Bun

Rose & Sons - Ground Beef & Cow Heart Chilli Cheese Dog

Enoteca Sociale - Tuna Conserva

Hello Darling - Sweet and Spicy Tart

Barque - BBQ Pork with Chicharon

Cafe Bar Pasta - Chocolate Beef Ravioli, Ricotta Fritter

La Carnita - Chicken Escabeche Tacos

Babi & Co - Nasi Jinggo

R&D - General Sander’s Chicken

Richmond Station - Grilled Tomato Pita

El Caballito - Espuites (Street Style Corn Soup)

Sugar Mamma’s - Vegan, Gluten Free Chocolate Donuts with Sprinkles

Citizen Catering - Tongue on Toast

Table 17 - Crostini ala Toscana

Bar Fancy - Numbing Wings (by this time I was already so stuffed, but wanted to continue eating to get all my food pictures… it is hard work being a food blogger)

Mata - Coxincha (Brazilian Chicken Croquettes)

Carmen - Octopus Pinxtos (they ran out of Octopus)

Oyster Boy - Oysters (duh!)

Dundas Park Kitchen - (Chilli Chicken Papri Chaat)

Hey Meatball - Eastcoaster

Midfield - Smoked Eggplant Flatbread

The Stop CFC - Tempura Trout and Zucchini Slaw Slider

The Emerson - Ba La Lot

Dolin Vermouth - Dolin’s ‘n’ Such

Lake of Woods Brewing Company - Sultana Gold

Alchemy Pickle Company - Kombucha

Hidden Bench - 2012 Chardonnay

My favourites of the night go to the dishes from Sea Witch Fish & Chips, Mad Maple, Enoteca Sociale, Cafe Bar Pasta, and Rose & Sons. As you can imagine after seeing everything that was consumed, there is definitely no food or drink shortage here at The Stop’s Night Market. I also loved the fact that many of the vendors used local designers to create their one of a kind food carts which really showed off the chef/restaurant’s personality.

Now that The Stop’s Night Market is on your radar, mark this food festival in your calendar for next year and help support a worthy cause all the while eating and drinking till you physically can’t do it anymore. To end, I’ll leave you all with some words of wisdom for this event. Eat an extremely light lunch before coming to The Stop’s Night Market. Do come with a hungry stomach to capitalize on the monstrosity of the sheer amount of food and beverage choices you will have. You’ll thank me later.

LG G4 Unviel At Trump Tower

As a self proclaimed Foodie I would also like to think myself as a self proclaimed Techie as well. Even before I started taking pictures of food and journeyed into the realm of blogging, I was always at the forefront of the latest technology and gadgets I could get my hands on. I am what people call, the “Early Adopter.”

An early adopter is described as a person who starts using a product or technology as soon as it becomes available. It’s often times a role I don’t like to find myself in as other early adopters will know, it can be quite frustrating buying a brand new product that just hit the market only to find out that it has kinks and glitches galore.

Let’s see, some of the products I’ve “early adopted” in the recent past where I either pre-ordered it or purchased it the first day or week it was released were the Blackberry Torch, Samsung S4, the Blackberry Playbook, and the Pebble Steel. Some of the above products were great and gave me nothing but satisfaction and affirmation that I made the right choice in purchasing it right off the bat. Others **cough I’m looking at you Playbook cough** became painfully obvious that my role as an early adopter meant that my hard earned cash went straight down the drain. I was so excited about the first tablet that Blackberry offered that I was ready to shell out over $600 on its pre-order and the belief that everything that was promised about it worked the day I got it. Nope, after delays upon delays of false promises and pretenses, I quickly realized that I should have at least waited before I jumped in head first. As a matter of fact, I probably should have waited 6 months after the release date to find out that what I bought for $600 was now being sold for $200. Yeah, bad decision there.

Fast forward to May 2015 where my food blog is in full swing and my reliance on my smartphone is at an all time high. From keeping up to date with social media to taking food pictures at any opportunity I can find, my current smart phone (Samsung S4) is truly a tool I cannot live without.

Enter LG Corporation, a South Korean multinational conglomerate known to millions of people worldwide through their electronic, chemical, and telecom products. You probably even have one or two LG products that you own right now at home. Like any of the major international technology companies out there like Apple, Samsung, HTC, Sony, and Microsoft, LG has also made its mark in one of the most competitive industries out there right now for the battle of smart phone supremacy.

LG’s flagship smart phone line up is their G Series. The “G” was first introduced in 2012 as a branch of their old flagship LG Optimus series. The first purely “G-branded” phone, the LG G2 was unveiled in 2013 and two years later, LG is putting forth their most revolutionary smart phone yet, the LG G4. 

I was beyond thrilled when LG reached out to me (me… seriously?), and invited me to “test drive” their new flagship phone, the LG G4 before it even got released in North America! I follow many technology websites in my spare time such as Engadget and I have always wanted to be one of those people who had the opportunity to get first dibs on a new product before anyone else.

LG was holding an exclusive Toronto briefing at America Restaurant located at the highest floor of Trump International Hotel. Attendees had a chance to learn about the product directly from LG executives and were given our very own LG G4 to take home and test for a month.

When I first arrived I was immediately given my LG G4 and sat down to set everything up. The unboxing and first few moments of turning on a brand new gadget is always my favourite part. One of the LG tech experts came over to set up all of the more complicated aspects of it such as hooking up my phone to the Bell network. I have a working phone number and data to use as well! The phones we all received are unlocked phones flown from Korea since the LG G4 is still not yet released here in Canada, but I was told that the unlocked phone I have will be the exact same once it gets released in just a few short weeks here.

Once I got settled I soon realized that I was not at my usual food blogging event as I didn’t see any other food bloggers here. LG picked the select attendees from different industries where the LG G4 can be showcased in various venues and environments. I noticed there was a TV host present, businessmen, a concert goer, professional photographers, and then there’s me, the food blogger. I really felt honoured that LG chose me to represent the food blogging community! We even got ourselves some customized LG cards that were personalized to what we were each known for. For me, my LG cards were all personalized about food and restaurants! 

Throughout the night we were served some seriously delicious food from America Restaurant and we then sat through the power point briefing from the LG executives to give us a breakdown of all the new features we would find in our new LG G4 phones. The night ended with some cute little LG G4 cupcakes and chocolates that we were able to eat and take back home with us. 

I am still in the middle of testing out the LG G4 and have incorporated it with my daily life. It’s actually great to be carrying two smart phones with me all the time (one smart phone runs out of batteries, no worries I have another one!). So far the LG G4 has been nothing but positive and as a food blogger who relies on my camera, the camera on this phone is phenomenal and definitely one of the best out in the market right now.

Stay tuned for a more comprehensive review of the LG G4 after my testing is done! The LG G4 will officially be launched in Canada on June 19th, 2015. I have a few other LG events to attend this month so keep an eye out on that as well. Life’s Good. :)

Turn Up the Heat: Lunch and Learn Fiesta at Los Colibris

Most of my experience and knowledge with Mexican food is through Taco Bell. Wait, is that really Mexican food? Probably not. I’ve never been to Mexico before, nor have I taken part in a fiesta with a live Mariachi band so when the opportunity came up to do most of that (I say most because unfortunately I was not flown to Mexico for this…hahh) I knew I had to be a part of this! 

This private event was being hosted by the The Mexican Beef Exporters Association at Toronto’s first fine dining Mexican restaurant, Los Colibris in downtown Toronto. Executive Chef Elia Herrera provided some live cooking demonstrations of her signature dishes using the star ingredient, all natural Mexican beef, and shortly after the “learning” part of the event, lunch soon followed. 

The Mexican Exporter’s Association literally flown here from Mexico to take part in this event and I had the privilege of sitting with two representatives from Mexico City at my table throughout the lunch. The learning part of this fiesta was not just about the cooking though. A quick power point presentation was done by a few individuals from the Association that shared a lot of insight of the beef industry in Mexico. 

A lot of people don’t know that Mexico is actually one of the leading exporters of the highest quality beef in the world. Mexican beef utilizes a feedlot system, based on diets monitored by nutritionists that specialize in animal feeding. The Mexican Beef Exporters Association uses grains that provide special flavour to the beef guaranteeing that great Mexican beef flavour.

The production process is guaranteed by the highest standards of quality in operation and hygiene. Veterinarians from each country they export to endorse the Mexican meat quality. According to the World Organization for Animal Health and Mexican Authority: Mexico has never had any cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or “Mad Cow Disease” and also has never had any cases of Foot and Mouth Disease. 

Spotted: Anthony Farnell - Weatherman of Global News at the table beside me

With the knowledge that came with this event, a 3 course meal was prepared, and as stated before a live Mariachi band was serenading all the guests while we ate. It was such a pleasant atmosphere to be in and the live music really created an incredible ambiance that transported your mind and taste buds to Mexico. 

No food event is complete without some alcohol. Am i right? To compliment the 3 course meal, we were all given the Los Colibri’s cocktail, “Rosa de Maria.” 

Cazadores blanco tequila, benedictine, pineapple juice, lime juice, lagavulin mist, rosemary sprig

First Course

House Guacamole with Beef Strip-loin and House Made Chips

Second Course

Carne Apache de Tenderloin con Ciruela pass y Chipotle (Thin Slices of Beef Tenderloin with Prunes and Chipotle)

Third Course

Ribeye with Basil and Jalepeno Oil and Papas Bravas

Food events where you eat is great. Food events where you eat and learn is even better. Whether it is for a summer BBQ or a traditional family dinner, Mexican beef is always now going to be on my radar at my local supermarket. I’ve had it first hand and now I’m a convert. #ilovemexicanbeef

Special Thanks

The Mexican Beef Exporters Association

Los Colibris

Chef Elia Herrera