How many restaurants do you know that don't take reservations? I'm pretty confident that in the coming years you'll know of more and more. And you'll probably also be frustrated on occasion having to wait for a table. But at least you'll most likely get a table. That was not the … [Read more...] about No Room at the Inn: Chang, Boulud, Restaurant Reservations and Respectful Dining
Everything Else
Win 2 Tickets to “May I Be Frank”
Head on over to my article on Midnight Poutine to in two tickets to a doc about a guy who turns his life around with raw food. This isn't some health-seeking hippie. This is an urban Brookynite, overweight, middle aged man. If he can do it... ...well, theoretically anyone could. … [Read more...] about Win 2 Tickets to “May I Be Frank”
Montreal Mirror Article: “The Point does lunch”
This used to be a link to my article in the Montreal Mirror from last April (2012), but when the Mirror closed, the site went down. So here's the full article. It may have been edited before publishing, but I think this was the final version. It's lunchtime in Pointe St-Charles. … [Read more...] about Montreal Mirror Article: “The Point does lunch”
Becky Selengut at the Queen Anne Farmers Market in Seattle
Twitter is such a great thing. I just wrote that. It's too late to take it back. I met Becky Selengut through her book "Good Fish." I was on a sustainable fish kick at the time. The kick turned into a lifestyle, and here I am, still eating squid, mackerel, and wild Pacific … [Read more...] about Becky Selengut at the Queen Anne Farmers Market in Seattle
Modernist Cuisine Cryo-Shucked Oysters and How to Avoid Embarassment at an All-You-Can Eat Oyster Buffet
In this video, Chef Anjana Shanker of the Modernist Cuisine Cooking Lab in Bellevue, Washington shows me how to shuck oysters the easy way - with liquid nitrogen: Okay, so maybe not the "everyman" method of shucking, but it sure is efficient. All you do is pop them in liquid … [Read more...] about Modernist Cuisine Cryo-Shucked Oysters and How to Avoid Embarassment at an All-You-Can Eat Oyster Buffet
Multiculturiosity Cooking and Canning Demo this Sunday at the Ile-des-Soeurs (Nun’s Island) Farmers Market
I'll be at the Nun's Island (Ile-des-Soeurs) farmers market this Sunday at noon doing a cooking demo, followed by a canning demo. Pop by the market to sample some Indian cauliflower with ginger, grilled zucchini or organic Toulouse sausage with Quebec canteloupe, and sweet leeks … [Read more...] about Multiculturiosity Cooking and Canning Demo this Sunday at the Ile-des-Soeurs (Nun’s Island) Farmers Market
Smoked Maple Syrup and the World’s Best Pastrami in the Modernist Cuisine Competition BBQ Smoker
This smoker has never seen a Carolina BBQ competition as far as I know. But that's what it was built for - the most tender brisket and ribs that side of Texas (I joke!).* It was built for the Modernist Cuisine lab to do exactly this - make the best pastrami I've ever eaten. It … [Read more...] about Smoked Maple Syrup and the World’s Best Pastrami in the Modernist Cuisine Competition BBQ Smoker
Homogenizers, Pacojets, and Other Things You Only See Online
You can buy lots of amazing gourmet food online. You can also choose to buy the equipment online that makes it amazing, and make your own. Well, sometimes you can. Like a dehydrator. You can buy a dehydrator to make crackers or fruit jerky, for example, but a pacojet and a … [Read more...] about Homogenizers, Pacojets, and Other Things You Only See Online
Like a Kid in a Candy Shop: Lychee-Black Sesame Marshmallows and Olive Oil Gummy Worms at the Modernist Cuising Cooking Lab
I grew up in a city that didn't have a candy shop. We had one-cent candies and nerds you could buy at the convenience store, but the closest I got to an actual candy shop was the store in the Halifax airport that sold 20 flavours of candy canes when I was 10 years old. Now, … [Read more...] about Like a Kid in a Candy Shop: Lychee-Black Sesame Marshmallows and Olive Oil Gummy Worms at the Modernist Cuising Cooking Lab
The Ultimate Dairy-free Vanilla Gelato and What Seattleites Don’t Know About Coffee
The first sous vide vacuum sealing I did at the Modernist Cuisine lab wasn't to cook anything. It was to reseal an airtight package of vanilla beans. The first time I used a pacojet, however, was to whir up some vanilla gelato. This lab is known for making pistachio gelato. It's … [Read more...] about The Ultimate Dairy-free Vanilla Gelato and What Seattleites Don’t Know About Coffee