Levain Bakery is a tiny bakery on the Upper West Side of New York and is famous for its cookies. The first time I walked by their tiny below-street-level location, there was a line out the door and around the corner. Since I was on my way to meet the rest of our group, I didn’t […]
Lazy Pickles, or Japanese Cucumber Salad
These are not really pickles, but rather a Japanese cucumber salad. This dish received its name of Lazy Pickles from one of my lunch buddies at work, who moved to Toronto from Ukraine a couple of years ago. The food she brings for lunch are amazing treats that seem to come from a time forgotten by most […]
Toronto Eats: Pho at Golden Turtle Restaurant
On a sunny weekend in April, Ryan and I walked down Ossington for pho in Toronto. Golden Turtle Restaurant, or Rùa Vàng, is one of two Vietnamese restaurants on the Ossington strip, and our brother says it’s a front for the Vietnamese mafia. Could be, since they only take cash. But the pho is amazing.
Japanese Canadian Chow Mein
This chow mein is not really a Japanese dish – it is strictly Japanese Canadian. Japanese food generally doesn’t use onions (other than green onions) or celery. Our dad’s side of the family is Japanese Canadian – our great grandparents came to Canada in the early 1900s and our grandparents were born in BC. They […]
Okonomiyaki – Japanese Cabbage Pancake
Okonomiyaki is a specialty of Osaka, the second largest city in Japan and also it’s foodie capital. Tomiko and I first tried it at an okonomiyaki restaurant when our aunt took us to Osaka in 2006. The word ‘okomiyaki’ means ‘grilled as you like it’ and is a cabbage pancake, but it tastes so much better […]