Bar Ape: What Summer Tastes Like
It was a Friday in June, on one of the hottest summer days I could remember. While it was already past 5:00 PM, the sun was still strong and no matter how many times I changed positions, I could feel the imprint of my sandals being burned onto the skin of my feet.
Sake With Gushi
"Isn't it customary to never pour yourself your own sake?" I ask as I concentrate on filling four small cups up to the brim.
We're on our fourth bottle of sake and it's starting to have an effect on the accuracy of my pouring. Tonight, I'm drinking with Shinji Yamaguchi and his partner - in both life and business - Blessie Maturan.
It's A Me And You Thing
Step inside the nomadic kitchen of the Me.n.u. Food Truck and experience the culture of Asian street food, re-imagined.
Inside Instagram
For the first time in my Toronto brunch career, I'm the first in line for weekend brunch. Well, nearly first. Already seated on the lone bench in front of the restaurant, Beast, is Ryan, Alex, and Kelly. Or, rather, the masterminds behind the food-centered Instagram accounts @eatfamous, @hypebelly, and @kellyforyou (respectively) are waiting for us. Beast puts out an impressive brunch spread - but the sheer pleasure of eating isn't the only draw. You could call it a working brunch, in a way: The 3 Spoons' first Insta-meet as a collective.
The Birth Of Clarke's Bread
It’s 1:00am on a Saturday night. Or is it early Sunday morning? Nick and I are waiting in a dark alley in North York. Cutting across the back parking lot of a weathered strip mall, we’re startled by what seems to be a motion-sensored light above an open door, leading to an empty lit staircase. Weird. There’s no one there. If you didn’t know us any better, you’d think that we were first-time buyers of a crooked drug deal.
Toronto's Essential Artisan Bread Guide
There’s nothing like a piece of warm bread slathered in slowly melting butter.
Or a hearty crust softening as it bathes in the remains of a rich stew. Or a baguette being entirely devoured before you know it, one bite at a time, each morsel a faithful craft for the decadent cheeses and earthy pâtés carefully selected for your board. We are a bread-loving household, but we were also a bread-fearing one not long ago. For years, Nick was Paleo and I regarded bread as a treat, in the same way a triple chocolate cake is a treat. Eating bread was a guilty pleasure. But what were we guilty of, exactly?
The Tea Merchant
The story of the tea merchant is among my favourite.
It’s a tale of alchemy - of a destiny foretold and fulfilled. It’s the worldly legend of an extraordinary globetrotting heroine who travels far and wide to collect enchanting treasures, blending these natural wonders into teas of ethereal beauty for all to share. The story of the tea merchant is among my favourite because it is true.
The Toronto Bubble Tea Battle
Bubble tea and I go way back. It was the early 2000’s, not long after bubble tea emerged as a standalone commodity in Montreal. In the streets of our tiny Chinatown - a neighbourhood barely spanning 2 square blocks - my university friends and I spent most of our nights parked at famed bubble tea lounge, L2. There, we studied and played Big 2 into the wee hours of the night, all whilst slowly sipping radioactive-like liquids through giant straws out of colossal mugs that would put German beer halls to shame. Those were the good old days where $3.85 bought you your weight in bubble tea, and no one cared that it was mostly made of sugar and FD&C Yellow #3.
Finding Your Appy Place
The most wonderful time of the year is here. No, it’s not the snow, the gifts, the gingerbread everything, the ugly sweaters, or the equally ugly crowds programmed to spend to Mariah’s “All I Want for Christmas” on repeat. I am not a fan of excessive consumerism, but I am a fan of excessive consumption and the merriment that ensues. The holidays are one of the only times of the year when we are not just invited, but expected, to eat everything.
Fresh Coffee, Fair Trade, Green Business
It all started with the search for better coffee. A little over three years ago, I moved to Toronto’s Riverside neighbourhood. Before my bags were even unpacked, I ventured to find my new local coffee house. I sure had my priorities straight. Merchants of Green Coffee was one of only two in the immediate area, hidden on the side street of a side street. When I walked in and looked around, I knew immediately that I had found a home.
The Best Toronto Cafe Workspaces
In a world where remote work is becoming the new norm, ‘anywhere’ is now the new office. And while this lifestyle sounds pretty sweet, it comes with its own intricacies. The biggest challenge for independent workers is setting boundaries; when there’s barely any physical separation between work and home, the mental line separating work from life begins to blur.
The Secret Life of Roselle
I remember the first time I bit into Roselle’s ethereal Banana Cream Pie Éclair. It was my birthday cake (or rather, my birthday pastry), a year I had ironically decided that I didn’t want cake or anything sweet for that matter. I wanted croissants. Lots of them. So the 3 Spoons set out on an adventure, walking from Corktown to West Queen West, to eat every notable croissant along the way.