(posted 03-17-09)

Bring on the kebabs.

But don’t stop there. Biryani, jerk chicken, souvlaki and other ethnic bites will soon be available on the streets of Toronto, seriously upping the ante for the tube steak peddlers.

Finally, after years of lobbying for more diverse food on our fare city streets, which actually reflects the people and palate of Toronto, us folk who love to dine al fresco, will have a bit more choice this coming spring.

And hopefully it’s only the beginning.

For far too long hot dogs have defined Toronto’s street food, mainly because rigorous provincial health regulations make it nearly impossible to sell anything else. Wieners, and the like, are pre-cooked, seriously lowering the risk of food-borne illnesses. Thankfully, there’s a hardworking group of passionate foodies in this city (Councilor John Fillion and chef Brad Long among them) who’ve plugged away tirelessly to change what dishes can be sold on our streets.

Announced as a pilot project by city hall, dubbed Toronto al a Cart, the program selected eight new street vendors from a pile of 19. The new vendors will be stationed at hotspots around the city and offer hungry passersby Thai, Korean, Afghan, Middle Eastern, Greek, Persian, Caribbean and Eritrean cuisine.

But don’t fret, the eight lucky applicants selected had to win over a tasting panel of city chefs, as well as navigate tough food safety, nutrition and legal terrain in order to win one of the coveted spots.

It’s not all smooth sailing though. For this program to take off people have to fork over their lunch money, which in these recessionary times is one of the first things to go as more people brown bag it to work.

Competition is high.

You can score a hot dog for as little as $2 on the street—these vendors will be hawking their fare around $5, and for as much as $7.

And apparently the tubular vendors are not very happy with al a Cart at all. See, they were closed out of the competition even though their organizing party said it would take little to retrofit existing carts that would be safe to offer different foods. Still, they weren’t allowed to submit applications and feel they’ve been black balled from the process.

Look for some real street-based food fights to wage in the coming months. You’ll probably find them going down at the locations below—where the new vendors will be facing off against old. Let the games begin.

• Mel Lastman Square (Thai: pad thai with fresh rolls)

• Metro Hall (Afghani/Central Asian: chapli kebabs)

• Nathan Phillips Square (Central Asian/Persian: biryani)

• Nathan Philips Square (Greek: souvlaki)

• Queen’s Park (Middle Eastern: chicken/beef kebab wraps)

• Roundhouse Park (Eritrean: injera)

• Yonge and Eglinton (Korean: bulgogi with seasonal kimchi)

• Yonge and St. Clair (Caribfusion: jerk chicken)

(posted 03-10-09)

It’s Tuesday. I don’t know about you but I certainly feel like a cocktail. Not that I have much to complain about. Life is good. I’ve recently returned from a week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where, as any good hedonist knows, is a fantastic place to enjoy cocktails. And I myself, along with my traveling companion Mr. Jamie Slater, a.k.a. “Ida Slapther” indulged several times over in delicious blended margaritas—delivered direct to our very favourite palapa.

While out for dinner at one of our new favourite restaurants, Joe Jack’s Fish Shack, we sampled the house specialty a few times over, a tasty and refreshing ginger mojito. We needed the digestive aid of the ginger to help sooth our bloated bellies.

On our first visit to Joe’s I ordered the self-proclaimed “famous seafood chowder”. A hot and hearty bowl of soup isn’t something I normally crave in 20˚C weather but I’m a bit of stargazer, especially when it comes to food. I had to see if this was indeed the Meryl Streep of chowders or just a tart of a soup named Paris, meant to seduce pink-faced tourists like me.

To my culinary delight this soup had balls to back it up. A tomato-based, Manhattan-style chowder so complex and layered in its seasoning I don’t know where to begin to describe it. It’s like sitting around a campfire and someone throws a bag of spices onto the fire which may or may not include fennel, cumin and paprika. Then someone else throws on a bag on dried poblano peppers and a bushel of tomatoes.

Into that smoky and charred broth is pieces of melt-in-you-mouth octopus, swollen shrimp, pacific lobster and mahi mahi—all locally caught and fresh beyond comparison.

The abundance of affordable fish and seafood in the markets in PV is one of the reason’s Joe Jack came to PV from his two successful digs in San Francisco and Los Angeles and opened his eponymous resto.

Lucky for us.

His fish and chips have become legendary in the three years since he opened and while neither Ida nor I tried them, we can both hail praise for the battered fish tacos. Three huge pieces of mahi mahi, thick and crispy coated, topped with a smooth and refreshing avocado and coriander puree, smoked-pepper salsa and crunchy slaw. For less than $10 CAD, it makes over-indulging very affordable.

There’s a vibe about Joe’s that instantly puts you at ease. A vibe that brings you back. Well that and a waiter Ida and I called Jaun.

It’s a vibrant place and servers are constantly running past with tall glasses of sangria; delivering dessert glasses filled with Joe’s amazing ceviche; or doling out thick pieces of coconut pie. Had we ever had room for dessert it would have graced our table too.

Thankfully, it gives us good reason to return. Well, that and Juan.

www.joejacks-fishshack.com

(posted 01-21-09)

How can you think of food at a time like this? Seriously, I’ve been hard-pressed to find something worthy of posting to this space. Food, while inspiring and comforting, joyous and necessary, seems, well, a little lame right now. Trivial and frivolous even.

America swore a black president into office yesterday and the world has been changed forever. Barriers overcome. Doors opened. And a wave of hope and inspiration swept out over the Washington Mall to the rest of America and the world at large. We watched history unfold live on TV, or the internet, or on the radio—and that doesn’t happen everyday. It doesn’t even happen every year.

On Monday a CBC Radio reporter lamented that she wasn’t around for Woodstock or Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, but that she felt the energy in D.C. from all the pilgrims who made their way from out of state or out of country for the inauguration, and it must be similar to those other historic events.

Whether or not Obama make’s a good president is beside the point. It’s not going to be an easy ride, that’s for sure and he’s gonna piss off some people, but it’s not really about that. Not right away. He’s sending out a message of hope and rallying change and that’s some powerful stuff. He’s an A-class motivator and if he can keep up his reign of inspirational enthusiasm he might just have a chance at leaving an A-class legacy.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Not even Barack could inspire hope for investors yesterday as the Dow had its worst Inauguration Day drop in history. Though starting at the bottom has its advantages. Just ask Dubya. Wait, right. He started at the top. Forget it.

One thing about yesterday’s inauguration that I find strangely abrasive is all the mention of God. Two ministers were included in the event and Obama himself mentioned the Holy One at least a dozen times during his 18-minute speech. As a Canadian it grates a little. Just like Trudeau said “the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation”, so it applies to the temple, mosque, basilica, or what have you. Who cares about God? Is He going to win the war on terrorism or pull the real estate market outta the outhouse?

It got me thinking. America is cool with a black president, and is open to having a woman in the White House. Heck they might even go so far as to elect an openly gay man or a Korean-American lesbian (hey you Maggie Cho!) but what the hell would they do if an atheist ever tried to make a run for it? I’m thinking all those doors that just opened might get closed, dead bolted and barricaded pretty damn quickly.

It seems His Holiness really does wield a lot of power in that country. He brought along hurricane Katrina, the freakishly steroided Carrot Top and oh-so-slimming Spanx. Perhaps he could also see the benefit of removing his presence from the Oval Office? Maybe take a chapter from His Canadian constituents who believe that political decisions should be just that, political, and not confused with spiritual judgment.

If Obama has taught us anything it’s that there’s always hope. Even in America.