I saw this recipe on Roger’s TV show this week and gave it a shot myself, with a few exclusions because I was crunched for time. Served with some sauted spinach that had a dash of sesame oil.

E-Pan is part of the new flux of restaurants that are invading the existing Chinatown on Spadina. It’s modern new look is clean and very friendly to Chinatown newcomers. Gone are the plastic sheets on the tables for quick cleanup and the floors are nice and clean.

The food there is above average, but not the best. Prices are higher than the “cheap eats” places but also the incident of rat sightings are probably a lot lower at a new place such as E-Pan. I would rate it a solid 7 in both food quality and value. Not as cheap as a meal at Swatow but comparable to Lee Garden. Because it’s north of most Chinatown restaurants, it’s easier to find street parking out front.

E-Pan
369 Spadina Avenue
416-260-9988

I’ve been trying to learn a lot more about wines in the past year. Only recently have I discovered the Amarone - a favorite of one of my close friends. This week, the LCBO Vintages site has a special focus on the Amarone and Ripasso. As part of their “Understanding” series, they provide a general overview of this lovely wine:

UNDERSTANDING AMARONE

It’s fairly simple. Each producer determines the drying time of their grapes. Ideally, the grapes should raisinate in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment to prevent rot. The dehydrated grapes are pressed and fermented dry. Since over 50% of each grape’s liquid (mostly water) is lost to the dehydration process, the flavours of the final wine are intensely concentrated and the alcohol level is anywhere from 2-5% higher than a typical table wine. The secret of this wine’s resurgence is directly related to the popularity of intense, fruit-forward New World wines. Amarones share some of the flavour profile of California Zinfandel or Australian Shiraz, but with a more refined balance between the complex aromas and flavours.

My two favorite Amarone’s are from Masi and Villabella ‘Fracastro’.

In bad economic times, fast, junk food satisfies North Americans. Dominos stated higher sales in the past two months, McDonald’s has to hire additional people, even Canadian Pizza Pizza is reporting more orders than seasonal averages. Now poutine has come full force to Toronto. Smokie’s Poutinerie is conveniently located above another late-night food spot, Burrito Boyz. If “comfort food” is now in, these guys are poised to be successful. Plus they have a wicked location for the light-night crowd.

They open in November.

Tucked away on the east side of Bloor Street, away from Yorkville, is this small sushi spot. It is a modest size and located along the IBM building at Bloor and Church. It was recommended by my friend and I’ve returned twice since going there initially.

The sushi is very nice and fresh. Most of the rolls are more authentic than my staple, Sushi Inn. There is a large appetizer menu that offers everything from the best Gyoza’s I’ve had to tempura and edamame. None of the dishes stand out as being really creative, but their preparation and freshness really make this a great place to go to.

Because of it’s location, Ichi Riki is not as busy as some of the Yorkville hot sushi places. However, its size means that it can still pack up and on a Thursday night, all the tables were filled at 7pm. This place is now one of my “go-to” sushi places.

Cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving? Defrost it a bit earlier and soak it in a brine. Brining a turkey will add moisture and flavour and prevents it from drying out. To make a brine, add a cup of salt into a gallon of water. Make sure the salt is all dissolved then you can add flavoring. The flavouring can be almost anything from peppercorns, sugar, spices, garlic, herbs, etc.

Let the turkey soak in the brine for at least two hours and overnight if possible. In the fridge make sure it’s submerged so that the turkey doesn’t dry out. If you cannot fit it, cover the unsubmerged turkey so it doesn’t dry out.

Ok, I have to preface this restaurant review because it happened late at night, after 5 hours of various trips to various bars, and there was some excellent beverages consumed beforehand. Nevertheless, the after trip was to a lovely vietnamese pho restaurant about halfway from the King West clubs and core Chinatown at Dundas.

The food there was great, but what food isn’t good after a night out. Pho is definitely a lot healthier than many late night chinese food choices. Some of us ordered pho, others ordered bun, but the result was still a nice meal, full tummy, and a cab ride home.

The interior is about average for a pho place, which means don’t bring your girlfriend’s parents here. Dated furniture, cheap chairs and bad lighting make the place with $5 pho still worth it. I love these places!

Xe Lua
254 Spadina Road

I’m slowly getting through my picks from Adam’s Wine List. I’m not much of a wine expert but having someone give recommendations based on what they have drink is a pretty efficient way to learn. For the past year or so I’ve been focusing on wines from Italy and France as a way to immerse myself in a specific wine region to learn the regions, grapes and their respective tastes. This week’s wine was a 2007 Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages.

Without realizing it, this was one of the “newest” wines I’ve tried in recent memory. I’m no wine expert and I’m surprised I tasted what I considered to be a newer wine taste, but it was still very pleasant. It was less fragrant than last week’s 2006 Banfi Centine but the taste was not as developed. I’m thinking that this would be a better “keeper” wine for it to develop more. It’s still not a bad wine at all, and I recommend it, but definetly feel it would get better with age.

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This is one of the Italian wines on Adam’s List. My friends and I had it with a home cooked Indian dinner last night. The 2006 Banfi Centine was very aromatic when I opened it - right away I noticed it had a sweeter, fruity aroma compared to my normal go-to wine: Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The wine tasted great and was very balanced. To me, this is a great wine to bring to dinner with family or friends because it is very versatile. It’s not super dry nor super fruity tasting and is great value at $17.95.

Adam is better at describing it’s taste: “strong flavours of blackberries, black cherries, and a hint of spice”. Wine Spectator’s James Suckling: “Very rich and ripe aromas of blackberry and earth follow through to a full-bodied palate, with soft tannins and a long finish. Shows lovely flavors. One of the best values from Tuscany this year. Best after 2007. Score - 88.”

This was the second time that I had been to Red Violin. It’s a brazilian steakhouse where the meats are delivered to you freshly grilled on skewers and then served sliced at the table. The have a great salad buffet that includes mussels, shrimps and smoked salmon - but you need to exercise restraint here because if you fill up too much, you won’t be able to enjoy the wide selection of mains that will arrive at your table.

On the skewers are various grilled meats like garlic beef, roasted chicken, sirloin, ribs, pork - all prepared in different ways and brought to your table on large skewers. The wait staff brandish large slicers and cut a piece to your satisfaction and you pick it up with tongs provided at each table setting. It’s one of the best venues for ‘meatatarians’.

The dessert is a skewered piece of pineapple that is roasted with butter and cinammon - it’s DELICIOUS. I warned everyone to leave room for dessert as it is really quite fantastic. It’s such a simple dish but done so well.

Red Violin is highly recommended.