Assis Toi: It’s five o’clock somewhere…

For the latest episode of Assis Toi, I sat down for a beer with Chris Reynolds from Stillwell Beer Bar.

Located on Barrington Street, Reynolds and the rest of the crew have a great devotion to beer in all its forms. In their infinite wisdom, they decided that a form that might work for me is a lambic beer.

Essentially, lambics are beers brewed with wild yeasts that are present in the air. In this case, it was an Oude Kriek Vielle, a fruit lambic made with cherries.

The instant I tasted it I understood it, or rather it understood me.

My brain didn’t register that I was drinking a beer – something generally malty, yeasty – but something dry and crisp, with a mild sourness in its finish, but not unpleasantly so.

Take a listen to Chris wax poetic about beers in the latest episode of Assis Toi, which you can stream here. or download the podcast here.

Cheers!

Assis Toi: Oishii Agedashi!

Oishii means “yummy” or “tasty” in japanese, and agedashi tofu is tasty indeed.

But more importantly, agedashi tofu is a great example of washoku, a tradition in Japan that encompasses the knowledge, practices and making of food. Washoku was recently added to the United Nations Intangible Cultural Heritage List, but by many accounts, the knowledge and traditions around washoku are in danger of being lost.

All the Goss: July 16

Grab your favourite condiments and get ready to party! There’s a Food Truck Party on July 31 at the Museum of Natural History. There’ll be tons o’ trucks: Cheese Gypsy, The Firefly Feast, FoodStruck, The Food Wolf, Halifax Press, Ol’ School Donuts, Tin Pan Alley. And Lemon Dogs and Mortiscycle, the edible sideshow will also be there. CKDU will be providing some tunes, so there is a $2.00 cover to this party. And, of course, the Museum is right there, ya ding dongs. Get a hot dog and get some culture, already.

Ray’s Lebanese is re-opening tomorrow in Burnside. Get thee to 75 Akerley Blvd!!

July 30 will be sad day for macrons in Halifax, as MŌDA Urban Dining is closing down. The owners, Melissa and Matthew Pridham, are moving to Bermuda. The space will have a new restaurant opening this fall, with new owners. Stay safe, umlauts.

A coffee shop is dropping anchor in the middle of Pro Skates at the beginning of August: Anchored Coffee! See what I did there? They will have a 20-seat cafe tucked away in Quinpool’s coolest shop, along with some outdoor seating. This cafe is going to be focusing on trendy ol’ toast as well. The bread will be courtesy of one of the fanastic bakers from The Canteen and will served with homemade butters and other tasty spreads. If that toast is more than, like, two dollars, I’ll be serving up some real attitude right back at them. The other plan is to make super tasty snacks that are the mostessest like Hostess’s, making homespun versions of corner store favourites like Twinkies, Joe Louis cakes, Pop Tarts, and Rice Krispie squares. Those goodies will be baked up in the Halifax TIBS bakery, special for the Anchored cafe.

Certainly Cinnamon is hinting at some big news on their Twitter (@cinnamonmanHFX). WHAT IS IT????

Those adorable kids at Hope Blooms got a letter from Prince Charles because they gave him some salad dressing, making each of those kids cooler than Cool Hand Luke.

The Mic Mac Bar & Grill has closed its old location and should be open for business in the new place on Friday! I’ll miss you, sticky tables and gross floors! You were the best! RIP!

A new all-day-breakfast place called Robie Street Station is opening in the old Jane’s on the Common spot, with a little take-out joint called Robie Street Express next door. Yay! Nice to see something in that rad space again.

Apparently Bootz in Burnside — the revamped Rodeo Lounge — has also closed. I guess I’ll never see my dream of a Super Friendz reunion show there, which is a real bummerz.

Also done: the Bluenose II Restaurant up on Bayers Road.

And, after two weeks in business, Sushi Jet has closed. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL J/K J/K J/K NO IT HASN’T!!! I just couldn’t resist that big of Granville/Salter humour. It is, however, all-you-can-eat sushi, which is something I didn’t know until today. I’m guessing it’s a tribute to the fact that that building is an all-you-can-close restaurant location?

 

Assis Toi: Remembering Rose

The whole time I was working on this story, all I could to was think of this song by the B-52’s. And no, you’re not about to click on Rock Lobster.

This time “Assis Toi” heads off to visit Crystal Ross from Gateaux Rose. Gateaux Rose isn’t a bricks-and-mortar cake shop, it’s a side project that Ross does on her off hours to keep her sanity. Or maybe her day job functions to fund Gateaux Rose. In any case, Ross was kind enough to sit down with me to teach me how to make a proper buttercream. Not that stuff you find on cupcakes, which is just butter whipped with sugar and flavourings. No, we’re talking whipped egg whites, sugar syrup and flavours that sing, rather than scream.

You can stream the episode from Information Morning Nova Scotia’s website, or you can download the podcast here.

On a personal note, I once tried to make this very same recipe and totally screwed it up. I then took a class with Ross where I discovered my fatal flaw: I hadn’t read the instructions properly and tried to use cold butter. Room temperature butter is a must to make this work. Otherwise, expect to whip your buttercream into oblivion before it reaches the right consistency.

Ross flavouring some buttercream. Image courtesy of Michelle Doucette/Gateaux Rose

Assis Toi: A Feisty Succotash

First, a promise: I will try my best not to make corn-y puns in this post.

For the second episode of my summer series for CBC Radio, “Assis Toi”  invites listeners to Prince Edward Island, as Bedford resident Nancy Johnston takes us for a trip down memory lane as she talks about summer corn boils on the island.

But soon listeners are taken for a walk around my neighbourhood in Dartmouth and head to The Canteen. There I meet up with Feisty Chef Renée Lavallée, who whips up a beautiful summer succotash and gives great tips on how to use every last morsel of corn in your pantry.

Renée Lavallée’s summeru succotash, (photo via Feistychef.ca)

You can find a version of the succotash on Lavallée’s website here.

You can stream the episode on Information Morning’s website, or you can download the podcast on iTunes here.

Bon appetit!

All the Goss: July 9

In our commitment to casually lean against every grapevine we stumble upon and then print all the goss that’s fit to ip, we have a little follow-up to our first batch of babble and gabble. That was quick, huh?

All the Goss: July 7

With the recent sale of Highland Drive Storehouse to the Getaway Farm dudes, this seemed like a good time to go over some new joints in Halifax. There has been a lot of action. So it seemed like a good opportunity to unleash a new section on Passable: GOSSIP. I love gossip, you guys!!! Let me tell you this great story I heard about Renée Lavallée… just after the cut… You’ll NEVER BELIEVE IT……

News: A Highland Getaway

Meat lovers unite!

Fans of Getaway Meat Mongers will now have two locations to serve their needs, according to a press release. The gang from Getaway have recently purchased Highland Drive Storehouse, previously owned by Jessi Gillis.

Located on Kaye Street in the Hydrostone neighbourhood of Halifax’s north end, Highland Drive will be keeping its in-house butcher, Bryton Bordage, as well as its staff, with Gillis transitioning out of the business.

You can read more information about the change at Getaway’s Facebook page.

The Return of "Assis Toi" to CBC

Last summer I had the occasion to do a food series for CBC Radio’s Information Morning in Halifax.  It was called “Assis Toi” and featured interviews and stories with local food lovers and producers, where listeners could learn how to make sausages with butchers to what it’s like to cook for scores of tree planters.

This season will continue with that tradition, dealing with everything from a baker who named her company after her cake making grandmother, how a japanese restaurateur decided to bring izakaya-style food to Halifax, all the way to the trials of eating while undergoing chemotherapy.

The episodes will air every tuesday on Information Morning, in mainland Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.  I’ll be posting each episode here on Passable as well as recipes from the episodes when possible.

The first episode I head up to the corner of Agricola and Charles in Halifax’s north end, where I meet up with chef Lauren Marshall from enVie, a vegan restaurant in Halifax. Lauren whipped up a kale melonade drink, as well as a three grain salad with arugula pesto. So tasty. You can find the recipes for those items below, and you can hear Lauren by going to Information Morning Nova Scotia’s website, or download the podcast here.

 

Lauren Marshall’s Three Grain Salad with Arugula Pesto

Serves 4

*Arugula Pesto recipe*

Ingredients:

3-4 cups arugula

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup walnuts

2 Tbsp maple syrup

Sea salt and pepper to taste

1.) Place all ingredients in a food processor except for the olive oil, pulsing until it forms a smooth paste, wiping down the sides occasionally.

2. Slowly stream in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

*Three Grain Salad Recipe*

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked and cooled wild and brown rice blend

1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa

1 handful organic mixed green

Juice of one lemon

1/4 cup arugula pesto

1/4 cup chopped raw pecans

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1 apple diced small

Pinch red pepper flakes

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

1.) Mix all ingredients together, reserving the salad greens for plating.

-Lay grain salad on top of a bed of greens. Mix up and enjoy!

Lauren’s Kale Melonade

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 honey dew melon

1/2 large head of kale

1 green apple

1 lemon

1 lime

1. Following manufacturer’s instructions for juicer, juice each ingredient, and blend the juices. Enjoy!

Alternatively you can use a blender. If so start by blending the melon then add the juice of the lemon and lime. Pick all the leaves off the kale and remove seeds from apple. Blend with some ice and enjoy a smoothie instead!