Intermix coming to Toronto this fall

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9:21 am

After years of playing hard to get, American fashion retailer Intermix is finally making its way across the border this fall with the opening of a 2,500-square-foot flagship on Bloor Street. According to Women’s Wear Daily, Intermix CEO Khajak Keledjian hopes this is the first of many international store openings in Canada and elsewhere.

The store offers a unique experience to shoppers, who can browse through relevant pieces from established European collections as well as up-and-coming young designers all under one roof. Intermix has sold brands like Stella McCartney, Fendi, Valentino, Jimmy Choo and Givenchy.

Intermix prides itself not only on being a store, but also a way of life geared towards well-heeled girls on the go who want everyday affordable clothing mixed with special designer pieces. According to Sari Sloane, Intermix’s VP of Fashion, this “high-low” concept helps women put together an “unexpected, highly-styled combination of clothing.”

The arrival of Intermix isn’t great news for Toronto stores like The New Trend, which provide a similar shopping experience. Still, we’re hoping this will be a chance to grow our relationship with Intermix from a flirty fling to more of a long-lasting love affair.

[Delectably Chic]

Bar Salumi adding pizza to the menu, Parkdale gloats

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2:45 pm

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Bar Salumi may have started as an overflow spot where waiting patrons of Local Kitchen & Wine Bar could have a drink and maybe a quick snack, but it’s branching out and building its own identity on the Queen West strip. And that’s a good thing for Parkdale residents, because Bar Salumi will soon be adding pizza to its menu.

“The bar is still an overflow space for the Local but we wanted Bar Salumi to have its own identity, so we got the oven and added pizza to the menu,” explains Fabio Bondi, chef and co-owner of Local Kitchen and Bar Salumi. The Italian oven came in on Tuesday, and five pizzas should be on the menu by next week.

“We wanted to add to the menu without losing the idea of a traditional piattini – which is a word we made up, though piattino means saucer or small dish in Italian, we just thought it sounded better than ‘tapas’ – so we went with pizza,” he adds.

But we aren’t talking run-of-the-mill pizzas here. One example is the Sfinciuni: “Anchovies and pecorino romano – a smoked cheese from Palermo – are kneaded into the dough and the pizza is topped with (among other toppings) sweated onions, breadcrumbs, more pecorino romano and parsley.” The pies will cost $12-$16.

The pizzas will be Sicilian-influenced, with the crust and dough a little thicker than your average pizza. Bondi says that they prepare their own salami (only outsourcing when absolutely needed), cure their own sardines and make their own tomato sauce.

For now, Bar Salumi will keep serving food from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. (they’ll keep the place open for drinks if patrons are there) but it may start opening for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays – stay tuned.

Richard Nixon opera comes to Toronto

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10:07 am

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John Adams’ Nixon in China is an operatic rendition of Richard Nixon’s famous five-day journey to China in 1972. The COC begins its run of the show tomorrow, with baritone Robert Orth in the role of the former U.S. president. We got a hold of Orth for a quick chat.

What is the key to impersonating Richard Nixon?

I do a few poses … I walk with the shoulders up. He had a lot of tension in his shoulders. That and the wig.

How much of the opera is true to history?

All of it, really, though there are guesses in some situations as to what went on.

What would Nixon say about the show if he saw it?

Oh dear [Laughter]. I would hope he would like it. What he was proudest of was his trip to China … I suspect no one likes to see themselves in less than glowing light, and while we don’t mock or poke fun, it does show him with his warts.

Nixon in China, Four Seasons Centre. Feb. 5 to 26

Edge: From Orangeville kid to WWE champ

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9:18 am

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Toronto’s testosterone levels are set to spike tomorrow when WWE Smackdown comes to town. We caught up with Edge, the current WWE heavyweight champion, who opened up to us about making it big, the Edgucator (his signature move) and his Mount Everest aspirations.

How did a boy from Orangeville become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion?

I won a contest by the Toronto Star. You had to write an essay about why you wanted to be a wrestler, and the winner would get free training. So I thought, "OK, this is my shot." So I wrote this essay and the manager said, "Come on down so we can take a look at you." So I went down the next week, no insurance on my car, made it down there. They called me and said, "OK, you’re the guy, we’re going to train you for free." Coming from a single-parent household, I would not have been able to afford the $3,000 at 17 years old to start. I would have eventually done it somehow, but that sped up the process massively.

What was your argument in your essay?

I basically said I’m willing to starve to make it. It didn’t expect it to be all limousines and things like that. I assumed it was going to be pretty lean for a long time, and maybe for the entire career. But I just wanted to do it.

And was it pretty lean?

It was pretty lean for the first five years or so. A good payday was $75 a night, but you’d have to usually drive 20 hours to get to it, so you’d spend more than that in gas. I remember doing shows in little pubs and taverns in Toronto where I’d pay for my wrestling licence, which was $75, and then get paid $40. You did it to cut your teeth and get some form of experience and just get your name out there.

What was your big break?

I went to college for radio broadcasting at Humber with the mindset of "OK, this will help me with my delivery and my timing," because you’ve got to hit a radio spot right at that point — "OK, 30 seconds, you gotta hit it!" — and so if I got injured wrestling at least I had a backup plan. A week after I finished college, with my marks hanging over my head so I was stressed, I got a call from WWE. They said they needed someone to fill in at Copps Coliseum. I didn’t have a car and my buddy had to come pick me up. I was 22 and just went out and did what I could to make an impression. After that I went to Japan, all across Canada to get more experience, but at least [the WWE] knew I was alive. About a year later, I got signed.

But then in your WWE debut, you legitimately injured your opponent, right? Yeah, I had probably the worst debut you could imagine.

How awkward was that conversation afterwards?

Well, they took him to the hospital so I didn’t even get to talk to him. The really awkward moment was where the ref was like, "He’s knocked out." And I’m like, "Oh god! This is my debut?" I think you can actually see me say, "Oh sh*t". And I was genuinely concerned for him, too. After that, there are only two ways to go: up, or out of the company. Luckily, they kept me around.

Your finishing move is called The Edgucator. Remind me how that one goes?

Well, I have a few. The main one is called "The Spear," but yeah, I cheesily tried to incorporate "Edge" into as many moves as I could. There’s "the Edgecution," "the Edgucation," "the Edgumatic." I also have "the Con-chair-to," which is hitting a guy with two chairs, but now because we don’t hit people in the head with chairs, I do it to the knees and stuff like that.

Man‚ you need a brand manager for all these moves.

Yeah — you know I think I do have a brand manager I’m pretty sure. Somewhere in the hierarchy of this company there’s a brand manager for me.

So now that you’re the world heavyweight champion, what’s next on your to-do list?

Honestly, it’s going to sound stupid, but this is the tenth time I got it. I always said I’d do it once, so anything else from here is like bonus. Honestly, now I’m starting to think of things I want to do after. I want to train and make an attempt at Everest. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do it, but I think it would be cool to give it a shot. I still love it, it’s the greatest gig in the world for me, but I know my body can’t keep up with what my mind is telling me.

Are there any surprises in store for your return to Ricoh Coliseum? Well, I’ve never been to Ricoh, not for a Marlies game, not anything, so I’ll try to plan something out. I think it might be a fans’ choice match, where they get to decide what they see. So that should make it fun. I’ll find some way to make it fun. I’ll get a hockey stick or we’ll use the boards or something. I’ll find a way to put some Canadian flavour in it.

WWE Smackdown, Ricoh Coliseum, Feb. 5.

Beer makes a splash in Toronto’s cocktail scene

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8:37 am

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Move over, old Red Eye, there’s a new brew in town. Although beer has been used as a cocktail ingredient in old faithfuls like Black Velvets and Boilermakers, as well as the lesser known Bière Flambée mixtures from Europe, only now is it starting to shine on Toronto’s cocktail lists. Attributed partly to both a broadening public interest in mixology and the diversity of flavours now available from a myriad of craft breweries, beer is making quite a splash with the city’s cocktail enthusiasts.

Frankie Solarik, award winning mixologist of Queen West’s Barchef, notes that the lively effervescence and herbaceous complexity of many beers offer an inspired bartender a lot to work with. Solarik currently includes beer in one of his featured cocktails, the “Jimmy Cliff,” which boasts a delicate, unmistakably hoppy “gingerbeer” foam. He admits he’s entertained special requests for beer mixtures in the past. His guideline for a tasty beer concoction? “As with any cocktail, harmony is key.”

Noted Toronto-based beer writer Stephen Beaumont also stresses the importance of maintaining a certain equilibrium when mixing with beer, using other components to “add to the flavour of the beer in a way that maintains its integrity, while crafting a drink that is not necessarily better, but different.” Does he think that beer cocktails could break the mould to become Toronto’s next big beverage trend? “So long as we have mixologists working in creative ways, beer will have its place at the cocktail bar. We’re just starting to experience the cocktail renaissance in Toronto, so I’d say we still have quite a ways to go.”

Free Americanos at Sense Appeal this Friday

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3:20 pm

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For anyone who hasn’t tried Sense Appeal, a recently opened indie café on Spadina, tomorrow would be a good time. The café is giving away free Americanos all day in celebration of 100 Facebook “likes.” They’ll be doing the same thing, with a different menu item, for every 100 “likes” to follow.

The Americano they are doling out is known as the “S,” which has “an almost cult-like following,” says co-owner Peter Adamo. Made from Fazenda Sertãozinho beans, from Brazil, Adamo tells us the “S” has notes of caramel, marzipan (a crushed almond confection) and milk chocolate. We could take his word for it, but there’s really only one way to find out for sure.

Sense Appeal Coffe Roasters, 96 Spadina Ave., 416-907-8524

New site connects foodie friends through Facebook

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11:50 am

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These days, Google is the king of on-the-fly recipe searches, but deciding which website and recipe to go with still requires a bit of legwork. For something more instant-gratification friendly, Foodily was launched yesterday by a couple of former Yahoo execs. The new site compiles recipe search results side by side, like recipe cards, and also integrates Facebook. Because what is cooking without social networking, anyway?

We tested it out with a quick search of “pig’s face,” since Toronto seems to be all about pork these days, but didn’t find anything. Not to be defeated, we continued with a search of “pork chop,” with better results. Suggested recipes from Jamie Oliver, Martha Stewart and Serious Eats came up, easily navigable, with images to boot.

One interesting aspect of Foodily’s search engine is the ability to easily find recipes without certain ingredients – helpful to those with allergies or those who have simply run out of onions and don’t want to go to the store.

All of it links to Facebook, so a potential dinner night can be made into an event — where friends can comment and collaborate — while recipes your friends “like” will appear first in the search results. The efficacy of that feature, though, probably depends on one’s taste in Facebook friends.

[Slashfood]

Snowmageddon 2011: five items to help you survive

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3:17 pm

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It may have been a little less dramatic than we expected, but Snowmageddon 2011 is finally here. Somehow, we’re going to have to cope, but that should be doable with the right gear. Below, five items to make the unthinkable (snow in Toronto) easier to overcome, and where to get them.

1. Snowshoes
These will make getting to work possible, because nothing is worse than having to
miss work due to a snow day. Also, if and when society collapses due to excess snow,
anyone in possession of snowshoes will be at the top of the food chain. Atlas 925 Snowshoe, $148.99, Europe Bound Travel Outfitters

2. Parka
Aside from being practical, parkas are ridiculously fashionable in Toronto these
days. We suggest taking the road less traveled and getting anything but a Canada
Goose. Combat camo suggested, in case Snowmageddon brings Armageddon with it. Canadian Army Extreme Cold Weather Parka, $279.99, Save More Sport Store Ltd

3. Avalung
Being able to breathe while completely submerged in snow is always helpful. This
Avalung will allow anyone to laugh in the face of the blizzard to end all blizzards
(well, maybe not laugh, but at least breathe through a tube for a while). Black Diamond Avalung, $123.00, Mountain Equipment Co-op

4. Duct Tape
As everyone knows, duct tape can fix just about anything, and its value
during a crisis should never be underestimated. We would say duct tape is
probably more important than the towel. Since everyone should have duct tape
sitting around anyway, how about a book for how to use it properly? Stick It!: 99 DIY Duct Tape Projects, $12.64, Amazon.com

5. Chef Boyardee Mini Ravioli
Those who become trapped indoors indefinitely will be glad to have stocked up on canned food, and
Chef Boyardee is the pimp of canned food. We also recommend taking this time to
finally see what The Sentimentalists is all about. Chef Boyardee Mini Ravioli, $1.29, Metro

The Fantasticks: Soulpepper tackles little show that could

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10:27 am

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Of course, not every classic musical needs a cast of several dozen, any more than classic films need a cast of thousands.

One of the most charming, witty musicals is The Fantasticks, which opened off Broadway in 1960 and was performed consecutively 17,162 times until 2002. The names of its creators, Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, have never achieved the fame of George and Ira Gershwin or R & H. But so what? I trust that Soulpepper director Joseph Ziegler and his cast will do it justice.

This is a tiny, perfect show — with lovely songs and touching lyrics — and I feel that I can safely predict that it will be a delight. And I can hardly wait to see how they handle the “rape song,” in which an abduction of the young girl takes place. Always edgy, if funny, a half century of raised consciousness about the rights of women has made this once-uproarious song exceedingly awkward. Let’s see what the great minds at Soulpepper do to save it.

The Fantasticks runs Feb. 8 to Mar. 24 (soulpepper.ca).

The Hoof Café to close, reopen as Black Hoof & Company

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11:51 pm

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Dundas West is the carnivore’s gift that keeps on giving. This time, the insanely popular Black Hoof brand is set to expand in April, when The Hoof Café – originally a brunch-centric sister to The Black Hoof – will become Black Hoof & Company, a full-fledged dinner restaurant with two tasting menus (no a-la-carte). Contrary to previous Black Hoof ethos, tables at BHCO will be available for reservation.

Toronto Star columnist and longtime Black Hoof fan Corey Mintz announced the news yesterday on Charcuterie Sundays, The Black Hoof’s blog. While clearly excited about the upcoming expansion, Mintz writes with a bittersweet tinge: “Personally, I’m upset at losing the only place I go for breakfast." We have a feeling he’s not the only one.

Geoff Hopgood and co-owner Grant van Gameren will team up in BHCO’s kitchen, with Colin Tooke taking up the chef’s hat at The Black Hoof.

The Hoof Café’s last day of service is Feb. 28.

[Charcuterie Sundays via Eye Weekly]

Haute chocolate!

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3:37 pm

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This Valentine’s Day try one of my decadent, yet lighter chocolate desserts. These recipes contain at least half the fat and calories of store-bought or restaurant versions. And don’t forget that there is more evidence to suggest that dark chocolate may be good for you.

Miniature decadent chocolate mud pies

Chocolate and cashew cream cheese pie

Easy lower-fat mocha brownies

Lab grown meat: the future of haute cuisine?

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11:42 am

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As Veguary descends upon Toronto (for the uninitiated, it’s kind of like Movember, but for aspiring vegetarians), we find this news from Reuters: scientists in South Carolina are trying to figure out how to grow meat from scratch. Picture a steak that’s grown in a lab with the latest bioengineering technology. Sounds gross, but it could come in handy when the world runs out of food in 2050.

Currently, the scientists are using embryonic cells from turkeys to grow animal muscle tissue, but they believe they’ll eventually be able to do it without genes. Not only that, but the grown meat will be customizable according to flavour, fat content and texture. The possibilities are daunting. Test tube Wagyu beef? Petri dish rack of lamb? Organic would become totally passé.

As for the gross-out factor, scientist Nicholas Genovese makes a pretty good point: “There are a lot of products that we eat today that are considered natural that are produced in a similar manner," he told Reuters. “There’s yogurt, which is cultured yeast. You have wine production and beer production. These were not produced in laboratories. Society has accepted these products.”

You had us at "cultured yeast." We’ve already got our bibs out.

[Reuters]