Taste of the Danforth 2010 ― Toronto, ON

[Pt. 1] ― $3 ELK TACOS f/ Globe Bistro
[Pt. 2] ― $1 PINEAPPLE SLICES f/ some random grocery store >> too tangy/refreshing!!!
[Pt. 3] ― $3 CHKN ROSEMARY PIES f/ Ouzeri >> the shhhhhhhhhhht! YUMM-O!
[Pt. 4] ― $2 LOUKOUMADES f/ Athens Pastries
[Pt. 5] ― $4 LAMB CHOPS f/ Mezes

Taste of the Dan just wasn't the same this yurr. Not enough food stalls participating = madd crazy stupid line-ups at any food stall serving skewers/pitas. Ugh. And it wasn't kool that walking down Danforth Ave. felt like trying to get through a club the whole time. CLAUSTRO! Oh well, gotta bigup Toronto for having multicultural food-y events like this. Still.

Caribana 2010 ♥ Food Stall Lovin'

Ali's West Indian Roti Shop had a food stall at this year's Caribana... and here I am trying their Corn Soup and Doubles. Wondering what Doubles are? A sandwich of two fried flat breads filled with curried chickpeas, called "channa," Doubles are a popular street food in Trinidad. And your fave Doubles joint in TO is....?

Despite my satisfaction with the Corn Soup, my buddy Richard dissed it. He said it was severely bland, under-seasoned and unlike anything close to what one would find in Trinidad. As for the Doubles... well, the quality was poor likely because the food stall had about 20 hungry people waiting in line for them. As such, the plan of action is to hit up Ali's actual Roti Shop and try their Doubles once again. Let's hope the second try's a charm.







So I told the cane juice man that I grew up in the Philippines, which is untrue. Hah. What is true is that my moms used to cut up sugar cane sticks for me to suck/chew on. The fibrous stalks would tickle my teeth! Still, in its juice form, cane juice is one of the most refreshing, natural drinks I've ever had.

A $0.33 Masala Dosa, LIVE.

'Nuff locals were crowding around this kid's hole-in-the-wall. Certainly, the food must be something special. I ordered one masala dosa "to go," proceeding to eat it sitting on a wooden plank of some sort, a mere 5 metres away from the kid. As we picked at the crispy dosa with our hands, hungry, dosa-eating men stared in awe. Who does this Asian foreigner think she is, relishing the spiced potatoes enclosed within her dosa so fervently? Varanasi is full of narrow, winding lanes like the one above. 'Round each sharp turn, there exists yet another sari shop, convenience store or food stall. Go ahead — get lost. Just around the corner, a black, flea-ridden cow plots his next move, hoping to charge right into you.

Edward Pond Photography

Someone please whisk me away to India once and for all. Edward Pond's photographs are making me drool... at the sight of pink popsicles and popped papadums of course!

Team Manila Lifestyle

It's about time Filipinos started representing! Team Manila Lifestyle is a clothing and accessories brand that celebrates the urban culture of Manila. I'd rock these t-shirts and these coin purses, would you? (Yes, they're coin purses. No, they're not skirts. Haha.) The typography on these products isn't particularly arresting, it's true, but what the hey — they make me smile. (I'm not keen on the use of Helvetica.) See the girl eating fishballs on a skewer? Yeah, I wish that was me. She actually kinda looks like me. It's the hair.

Japadogs, Japadogs, get your Japadogs!

The Spicy Cheese Terimayo Japadog — photo taken by macrohead



Gotta love the cute, yummy aesthetic of the menu on Japadog's website. What is a Japadog, you ask? The Appetizer calls it "a hot-dog-style bun with a variety of exotic fillings." Exotic, eh? Apparently, during the recent 2010 Van-City Winter Olympics, Japadog kiosks had madd line-ups! And who wouldn't wanna try a Terimayo Japadog — a "jalapeno & cheese smokie" with seaweed on top? Too bad so sad for those of us who reside in Toronto :( The Japadog is only available in Vancouver, my friends. Torontonians could only wish T.O. street food offered anything minutely close to something as audacious and drool-worthy as the Japadog.

SHELLEY vs SAVEUR: Hot Doug's Foie Gras Hot Dog

Q: Which photo was taken by moi, the lowly amateur, and which photo was taken by Saveur?



A: The photo on the left was taken by Saveur, and therefore food-styled to the utmost. The photo on the right has endured zero food-styling, was taken by moi and straight up keeps it real. 'Cuz in reality, the sausage was NOT longer than the bun, the foie gras mousse was NOT chopped up all carefully and evenly, and the truffle aioli was definitely NOT daintily squirted atop the hot dog. Eff perfection in food photography.



Ahh, the rants & raves about Chi-City's Hot Doug's. As an out-of-towner, figured I might as well GO BIG cuz I mos def didn't wanna GO HOME. And this is how, $9 poorer, I came to try Hot Doug's infamous Foie Gras & Sauternes Duck Sausage w/ Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel. Wasn't blown away. Kept havin to pick the skin of the sausage out of my mouth. And the foie gras mousse? 'Twas velvety & feta cheese-y in texture... yet a tad funky, taste-wise. Woulda been content with the dog SANS the mousse. Better yet, woulda been content had I ordered the Pete Shelley Veggie Dawg, which was only $2.75. Wompers!