Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Toronto BBQ Week 2016


Toronto BBQ Week is happening this week! From June 6-12, BBQ restaurants will be teaming up with Samuel Adams Beer to offer a $15 BBQ and Beer deal. Each restaurant will be serving Samuel Adams Boston Lager, a robust lager that compliments the rich flavours of BBQ. I got a chance to preview 3 of these spots with a few of my friends- @goodfoodjess, @doctornom and @gooddrinkstoronto! We went on our own #BBQWeekTO tour on sunday night. 
Greenwood Smokehouse on the Danforth was our first stop. They served Smoked Pastrami Short Ribs on mashed cauliflower. Amazingly tender smoked ribs on the bone. I highly recommend this one, tasted great with beer. $15 for Toronto BBQ Week (includes a pint of Samuel Adams Boston Lager)

 We then headed to AAA Public House in East Chinatown, where we got to enjoy another round of beers on their sun filled Patio. For Toronto BBQ Week, they are featuring a Chopped Brisket Sandwich. Brisket is sautéed in BBQ sauce and served with a pickle and spicy pepper on top. $15 for Toronto BBQ Week (includes a pint of Samuel Adams Boston Lager) 

Our last stop of the night was Hogtown Smoke in The Beaches. Everyone was feeling pretty full, until they brought out a super juicy Texas-Style Brisket Sammie! Oh man, this sandwich was delicious and came with choice of creamy coleslaw, purple coleslaw or fries . The cuts of brisket were quite fatty and had some tasty burnt ends. $15 for Toronto BBQ Week (includes a pint of Samuel Adams Boston Lager) 

We had a great time restaurant hopping at these BBQ spots and you can do your own #BBQWeekTO tour this week too! Check out more info at torontobbqweek.com and here is a list of the participating restaurants : 

AAA Public House 
Barque Butcher Bar 
Beer Bistro 
Boots & Bourbon 
Broncos 
Campagnolo 
Dog & Bear 
Greenwood Smokehouse BBQ 
Hogtown Smoke 
Pai 
Parts & Labour 
Patois 
Pukka 
Smoque N Bones 
The Harbord Room

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Contest Alert: Menchie's Scratch & Win


Spring is in the air and frozen yogurt is the perfect treat when it’s hot out. If you have eaten at Menchie’s before, you have probably experienced some of their 128 froyo flavours and 50+ toppings. Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt is launching a few new products this spring including 100% natural fruit smoothies and a new Skor frozen yogurt flavour. 

They are running a contest with digital Scratch and Win cards where you can win instant win prizes or a grand prize 7 night trip for 2 to to the 5-star Dreams Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa in the Mayan Riviera. No purchase necessary and you can access the digital scratch card contest in the link below . When participants scratch, they’re scratching for instant win prizes including froyo discounts and each entry will also receive a pin to enter for the grand prize contest. The contest runs until Sunday May 15, 2016 11:59 EST. The instant win discounts can be used at any of the 106 Menchie’s locations across Canada. Menchie’s yogurt products are gluten-free, vegan, kosher certified and you can even get custom made cakes frozen yogurt and toppings. 

Enter Menchie’s Digital Scratch and Win Contest

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Cooking with Zwilling

Written by Stephanie K aka @doctornom (Good Food Toronto guest writer) 

I have come to the unfortunate realization that I have been dicing, chopping and cutting with a DULL knife my entire life! 


I had the pleasure of attending a knife skills seminar led by Chef Jonathan Collins at the beautiful Montecito Restaurant located in the heart of the entertainment district.I walked in and noticed quirky Ghostbusters memorabilia dispersed throughout the 12,000 square foot, two-story restaurant. I later discovered Montecito Restaurant is a collaboration between Toronto native Hollywood direction Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Stripes, Meatballs) and Top Chef Master Jonathan Waxman. 


The Zwilling J.A. Henckels event was in a curtained off area upstairs with produce, cutting boards and knives in front of each seat.

We started out the skills class by learning the proper way to hold a knife so that it is an extension of your arm. The pinch grip has your thumb and index finger grasping the hilt of the knife giving maximum control. I think most people feel like cooking takes a long time from having to prep all the ingredients. But it’s really amazing how a sharp knife and proper grip make for quick and easy food preparation. 


The next part of the knives seminar was truly enlightening. That metal rod we all have that comes with our set of knives is actually called a ‘Honing Rod’ not a knife sharpener. Believe it or not we’re actually supposed to use the honing rod after every use to maintain optimal sharpness. Most people don’t, so when you’re knives get real dull that’s when a sharpening stone comes out to play. Whether you’re honing or stoning, 6 pounds of pressure is needed to sharpen your utensil effectively. You’d be surprised how much pressure 6 pounds actually is. Also, sharpening or honing at 15 degree angle is suggested but consistency is much more important. 


(President of Zwilling J.A Henckels Canada Ltd, Mrinal Sharma demonstrating 15° angle) 

Here’s a demonstration of how to use a sharpening stone. Start by wetting the stone on the coarser side and finish with the lighter less course (just like how you would sand a wall with coarse sandpaper followed by a finer one). Make sure you apply enough pressure along the entire edge of the knife creating a burr (on the opposite side) before flipping and sharpening the other edge. The burr is actually a small fold of metal that lets you know when you’ve ground the edge sharp enough. If carefully run your thumb on the opposite side you’ve been sharpening you’ll feel a slight catch from the edge, this is when you know to progress to the next side. 


After this hands on knife skills seminar, we were able to grub on some of Montecito’s signature dishes while admiring the wide array of products the The Zwilling J.A. Henckels brand carries.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Healthy Eats at Chipotle

Chipotle Mexican Grill is the go to place for many people in Toronto for quick burritos and burrito bowls. They recently launched a nutrition calculator and pride themselves in using fresh ingredients, without artificial flavours. I’ve been on a health kick the last few months, trying to improve my eating habits (not easy as a food blogger... LoL) and Chipotle has been a great option as you can customize exactly what goes into your bowl or burrito. The nutrition caluclator on their website is very useful for customizing a healthy Chipotle meal to fit into any lifestyle. This is especially great for those who count macros, as they provide extensive nutrition info including calories, protein, carbohydrates, sugars and fats. I have listed below some tasty calorie conscious combinations for Chipotle (under 600 calories), made up of their fresh farm sourced ingredients. 

Burrito Bowl: 590 Calories 
• Chicken 
• Brown Rice 
• Fajita Vegetables 
• Roasted-Chili Corn Salsa 
• Sour Cream 
• Romaine Lettuce 

Salad: 565 Calories 
• Romaine Lettuce 
• Barbacoa 
• Fajita Vegetables 
• Fresh Tomato Salsa 
• Roasted-Chili Corn Salsa 
• Vinaigrette 

Burrito: 570 Calories 
• Tortilla 
• Sofritas 
• Fajita Vegetables 
• Roasted-Chili Corn Salsa 
• Fresh Tomato Salsa 
• Romaine Lettuce