Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Rites of Spring - Brooklyn


If you're lucky enough to be in New York on May 2 be sure to check out what sounds like something a bit surreal. I'm sure this party will be absolutely nuts and impossible to get into.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Sally Shapiro

Here's Sweden's Sally Shapiro. I don't usually like italo-disco so much but this is a pretty catchy tune released in 2007. Check it out:

Official website here: Sally Shapiro

REVIEW: Kenzo Ramen Toronto

Kenzo is a ramen restaurant making up just a handful of ramen shops in Toronto. Why there are so few places to chow down on this delicious Japanese specialty beats me.

I've had authentic ramen in Japan and NYC and while Kenzo Ramen is pretty good, it's by no means authentic and pales in comparison to its compatriots elsewhere. The noodles are however made in house, as are the broths.

I ordered the Tonkotsu ramen, a pork-based broth served with the usual accoutrements: char siu (in this case, really tender pork with just the right amount of fat), beni shoga (pickled ginger), kamaboko (the pinky-swirly fish cake) and tamago (egg cooked in soy and pork stock). The dish was quite good and the stock was done perfectly, somewhat opaque (as Tonkotsu ramen should be), with some decorous fat globules popping up here and there as I kept eating my way closer to the end of my bowl of Japanese treasures.

While the meal itself was quite yummy and exciting in comparison to the usual fare at Japanese restaurants, you'll probably leave feeling like you don't need to come back in a big hurry.

Kenzo Ramen serves up ramen and other Japanese goodies such as gyoza, okonomiyaki and takoyaki.

Kenzo Ramen is located at 138 Dundas Street West @ Elizabeth Street.
Visit them here: Kenzo Ramen

Monday, April 12, 2010

Sometimes things just aren't what they seem to be....


They say you can't really get a decent Pinot under $20 and while I like to march to the beat of my own drum, I'm starting to believe this principle based on my recent pinot purchases in the last few months.

Seifried Estates 2008 Pinot Noir from New Zealand was released on April 3, 2010 and while it won a Silver Medal for Pinot Noir at the 2009 San Francisco International Wine Competition, and earned a full page spread on the back of the most recent LCBO vintages magazine, I think it falls a bit flat of what's expected. Although wine reviewers have scored this quite high, it tastes a bit "washed out" and thin on the palate and doesn't really sparkle or tantalize the tastebuds.

Here's Canada's master sommelier John Szabo's review:
Here's a nicely mature (even though it's an '08) pinot from little known Nelson next door to Marlborough. The nose has pleasantly ripe and smoky red berry and red plum fruit, while the palate offers a fullish, succulent, silky texture, above average flavour intensity and quite long finish. This punches well above its price point. (90)

Seifried Estates 2008 Pinot Noir is available at select LCBOs for a limited time for $19.95.

Jonté Moaning


Jonté Moaning is a classically trained dancer, choreographer, and singer extraordinaire based in NYC and Hiroshima. Originally from Portland, he got his big break when chosen to perform with Janet Jackson at her infamous superbowl fiasco in 2004. Since then, he's garnered attention from the likes of Beyoncé and has choreographed some of her videos and her last world tour.

Jonté's new album drops in Japan only in Spring 2010 but in the meantime, check him out here: http://www.myspace.com/jonteonline


Bitch you Betta!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

RIP Lech Kaczynski

REVIEW: Local Kitchen and Wine Bar Toronto

That Local Kitchen and Wine Bar made it into Toronto Life's top 10 best new restaurants list proves again just how misconstrued its view of this city's goings-on and culinary world actually is.

While the food at Local Kitchen and Wine Bar is quite palpable to one's sense of smell, the food just doesn't match up to what one perceives and what the palate expects upon walking in.

We started off with a house made anchovie, perfectly cured in a tangy, acidic vinegar and olive oil base. By far, the highlight of the night, served on a crostini with a sprig of thyme. We then moved on to a N'Duja Crostini (a Calabrian sausage whose name derives from the famous Andouille sausage) served with a side of Caccio Cavallo cheese. The sausage was reminiscent of chorizo but with a bit more kick and the cheese was quite mild in flavour as one would expect with most sheep's milk cheeses. Quite good, but nothing extraordinary. As the level of noise increased and our conversation became more muddled, our entrees arrived. First up was the pork belly with lentils, roasted parsnip and topped with a quail egg. While it was tasty, it was rather ordinary and the pork belly was not as tender as I would have liked. Next in line was the Arctic Char with roasted brussel sprouts and Guanciale (a bit like pancetta but stronger in flavour). Again, tasty but uninspiring.

Since Local Kitchen & Wine Bar specializes in house made salumi and pastas, it's fair to say this review may not represent what the restaurant is known for. On the other hand, if you're looking to be inspired by innovative flavours and cooking, this probably isn't the place to go.

Dinner for 2 with a bottle of wine $150 with tax and tip. www.localkitchen.ca

Pork Belly, lentils, roasted parsnip, quail egg


Arctic Char, roasted brussel sprouts, guanciale

Friday, April 9, 2010

Work Hard.....

Play hard.....

Dam FUNK! Hood Pass Intact

Happy Friday to all!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

REVIEW: The Cupcake Shoppe Toronto


Delve into decadence at the Cupcake Shoppe in Toronto, a great place to splurge on some super rich, super creamy, and highly addictive cupcakes (oh ya, forgot to mention they are also zit inducing, artery clogging, and bodyfat enhancing as well).

Upon first glance at this trendy boutiqueeee-bakery, which is oh so common in this particular area of town, one might cringe at the possibility of having to deal with bitchy, old Rosedale-ites, but I figured, what the hell, it's worth the risk. Made fresh on the premises everyday with wholesome "real" ingredients (it's a rarity!), these cupcakes might just live up to all the hype around them. Molten softness cake makes for a really delicate feeling in the mouth, complimented by a rich butter cream topping that tastes more like butter than cream, I must hand out. Flavours vary from day to day with some standards, but be sure to try the prizetaker, the caramel cupcake. Simply incredible.

The Cupcake Shoppe is located at 2417 Yonge Street. www.thecupcakeshoppe.ca

Mindfuckingly incredible...

I love steel drums and I love the movie "Naisu no mori" also known in English as "Funky Forest". Below is a clip of a song along with a choreographed dance sequence from the film.

If you're feeling trippy, be sure to rent "Funky Forest" and prepare yourself for maximum perplexion!

REVIEW: Dumpling House in Toronto

While a lot us enjoy our dumplings at dim sum on a lazy hungover Sunday, some of us can't resist this culinary staple and bust out for the deliciousness of a grease fest during the week. If you're one of these people that likes dumplings whenever, wherever, or even all the time 24/7, then keep reading.

Dumpling house on Spadina Avenue in Toronto's Chinatown serves up delicious dumplings available in two configurations: steamed or fried. Fillings range from lamb, pork and shrimp, vegetarian and seafood. The fried are really fantastic and the steamed, well, they're OK (kinda mushy and not that tasty, actually).

Other dishes that deserve mention are: hot and sour soup (one of the best in Chinatown), bean curd and cucumber salad, shanghai noodles and eggplant in spicy garlic sauce.

Prices range from $3-$9. Dinner for 2 with tax and tip $20.

Dumpling house is located at 328 Spadina Avenue, north of Dundas Street.

Fried Pork and Shrimp Dumplings


Eggplant in Spicy Garlic Sauce


Hot and Sour Soup

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Jaheim

Heard this great re-work of De La Soul's "Ring Ring Ring" on Powertraxx from Charlotte, North Carolina last night.

Here's Jaheim's "Ain't Leavin Without You" w. Jadakiss

The beautiful world of copper - MAUVIEL


Ever wonder what it's like to sear a piece of fish or meat, perfectly browning the outside while retaining a nice rare inside, all while doing your hair and fixing your make-up in the reflection of your pan ??

Now you can juggle your skills all at once with MAUVIEL. Copper is tops when it comes to cooking and at a low price of $300-400 for one frying pan, you too can immerse yourself into this world of shiny brilliance.

So why the hell is copper so good? Well, to begin, copper conducts heat better and responds faster to heat augmentation or reduction. MAUVIEL makes three lines of copper. They are, in order of price scale from lowest to highest, as follows:
-M'heritage tabletop (brass handles)
-Cuprinox style (stainless steel handles)
-Professional (cast iron handles)

Each line increases in thickness (insignificantly, in my mind) so there is not much difference between one line from another other than the handles. Furthermore, all of Mauviel's cookware has a lifelong guarantee.

It's almost a give-in to get the tabletop series as it is the most asthaetically pleasing and most MAUVIEL products such as turbotieres and champagne holders are made with brass handles. Do you really want to spend thousands of dollars on shit that doesn't match??!!!

While there are other companies that make copper such as Falk, Ballarini and deBuyer, Mauviel remains my favourite and has been, and continues to be family run since its inception in 1830. Also, all hand made!

Feeling inspired? Check them out: www.mauviel.com

A little Acid goes a long way...

Adonis is a pioneer of the Chicago acid house scene and is best known for tracks like "No Way Back" and "We're Rockin down the house".

Like most acid house tracks, he uses a 303 and minimal production equipment but "No Way Back" wins my heart over because of the warped repetitive vocal. Turn it up. Don't worry, this one isn't an ear-bleeder.

Check out his beats from 1986:

Oh South Africa, you got it goin on with the wine!


Be sure to check out the great new 2008 Lammershoek Chenin Blanc, just released in February 2010.

Goes great with spicy foods and has an astonishingly deep yellow colour. Score of 89 from various wine reviewers. Available in limited quantity at select LCBOs for $18.95.

Profile from winealign.com:
From old chenin vines near Paardeberg this is a rich, barrel-aged chenin blanc. The nose is a bit reserved with vague butterscotch, pear and spicy, cedary notes. Palate is medium-full bodied, creamy and smooth with good acidity. The wine’s power and pedigree is found on the finish, with spice, minerality and butterscotch carrying to excellent length. A bit hot and peppery.

REVIEW: Phoga Banh Cuon in Toronto


Have you ever been led astray by the plethora of Vietnamese restaurants in Toronto? Scared to go looking outside of your comfort zone of, let's say, Pho Hung?

Don't fret anymore for Phoga Banh Cuon is a place wherein one can seek comfort and solace (even on one's least courageous of days).

Specializing in Banh Cuon (see image above), this place turns out freshly made rice flower rolls, made to order, filled with delicate ground pork and wood ear mushrooms. Sounds amazing, no? It gets better, believe it or not. Douse these babies with delicious nuoc cham marinated with scotch bonnet peppers and garlic and you'll be set for life. All of this for only $6 a pop. Sound too good to be true? Check it out for yourself!

Phoga Banh Cuon is located at 1772 St Clair Ave West in Toronto and also has your standard fare of Pho and Bun. Come early on weekends as the place fills up quickly.

Sous wha ???

Cooking Sous-Vide. What did u say again? That's right, SOUS-VIDE! If you've ever eaten at a restaurant with a chef who is practicing a variety of cooking techniques, then it's likely you've encountered this term before.

I'll never forget the first time I was introduced to sous-vide. As someone who speaks French fluently, I was dumbfounded when I had to ask a waiter 3 times: "Cooked how the fuck?" upon introduction to that evening's dinner options. I never thought sous-vide was that hard to pronounce, but apparently it was!

Enough babbling about irrelevant anecdotes and on to the good technical stuff now. Cooking sous-vide essentially allows one to retain the integrity of the food product while cooking it at an extremely low temperature, usually in a sealed bag, immersed in a temperature controlled water bath. This can last for hmmm, let's say anywhere from 1-25 hours depending on the product, allowing for maximum tenderness. After this step, it's common to finish off the cooked product in a hot pan to reduce chances of food poisoning (certain bacteria don't get killed off because of the low cooking temperature).

While this used to be somewhat of a restaurant-only method of cooking, companies are now introducing DIY products for at home chefs.




DOESN'T THIS ALL LOOK DELICIOUS !!!

More funky shit

Check out Charo's Cuchi-cuchi. Oops, I mean check out her Vegas video for "Dance a little bit closer" on the old Fremont street.

Too bad disco orchestras don't exist anymore. Salsoul Orchestra was incredible and it would have been something else to see a full orchestra accompany any disco queen.




Did you know Charo is a classically trained guitarist and a comedienne extraordinaire???

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

As this is a first entry, I'd like to welcome you all to this fresh new piece of web-land. I've created this "blog" as a means to "practice" writing and to divulge my daily obsessions about music and food, and in some cases, random shit that I just feel like writing about or posting.

To begin, I'd like to share my obsession of the month: SHALAMAR. I've just recently discovered the greatness of this disco/funk trio comprising Jeffrey Daniel, Jody Watley and Howard Hewett. What most people don't know about this group is that Jeffrey Daniel is the original MOONWALKER, that is to say, he is the first to do the moonwalk and not Michael Jackson. JD did indeed teach Michael how to do "it" and has also choreographed a lot of stuff for him. Why he doesn't get the rec for this he deserves, I DO NOT KNOW!

Check out Jeffrey's dancing skills:



and with the rest of Shalamar:



Don't forget to turn up the volume!