Thoughts on being an Engaged Citizen

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be one of 240 attendees at ChangeCampTO.  The intent of the conference was to bring creative people together to create a grassroots movement to improve citizen engagement.  The event attracted an incredible diversity of people from seemingly all walks of life.

As Mark Kuznicki commented in his opening remarks, the recent explosion of social networking tools and touchpoints is unprecedented.  Our ability to converse and connect with each other has taken a leap not seen since the invention of the printing press.  The collective objective of the people in the conference was to find a way to use these tools to transform civic apathy into action.

The deliverable from the conference was meant to be a “ChangeCamp-in-a-Box” – basically a recipe book that anyone could use to begin the conversations around civic engagement in their community.  The ideas for these recipes were segmented around issues of time and space (same time/same place, different time/same place, etc).

My group was tasked with devising a mechanism for getting people together and engaged in the same time and same place.  Despite the fact that this is the most “traditional” of meeting styles and that a lively discussion ensued we still struggled to decide what our kit would contain.  How do you get people to the meeting?  Do you want to attract everyone or a discrete group?  What do you do with everyone once they’re there?  How do you measure progress?

I’ll save the substance of our idea for another post.  The issue I was left thinking about was that while our idea was interesting I’m not clear on how it can be translated into action.  Am I really going to run around my community engaging my neighbours in a discourse about the upcoming municipal election?  Perhaps I should – but somehow that approach doesn’t sit well with me.  My dislike of “going it alone” is what drove me to go to ChangeCamp in the first place.

So the central issue that ChangeCamp then highlights is: how do you tap into the energy of all the creative people that were assembled and enable them to succeed?  I think it’s unfair to leave the burden of answering this question solely on Kuznicki’s shoulders.  Why should he be responsible for working out the next step?  If we claim to be engaged then that’s how we should act – not simply wait on the sidelines for someone else to have a good idea.  Nevertheless, the challenge remains to maintain and grow some of the cohesiveness that was found at yesterday’s conference.  I, for one, am looking forward to the challenge.

Quick Bite at Madras Pantry

Thought I’d go check out the new hot spot near Trinity Bellwoods on my way home from softball last week.  Having never even conceived of eating a dosa in burrito-form I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.

The space itself has a warm, informal and welcoming feel to it.  Beyond the food there are sales of a variety Indian spices, foods and products (even, amazingly, Neem toothpaste).  The communal table welcomes groups of friends to have a seat and socialize while eating.  Unfortunately, we were in the mood for ordering and leaving which was the main reason for wanting to try the dosa-to-go.

We picked up a butter chicken and a masala dosa.  The masala dosa was the better of the two with a great balance of savoury potatoes and crisp watercress.  The slightly bitter, toothsome feel of the dosa itself provided great context and mouthfeel for the whole dish.

The butter chicken dosa, while reasonable, tasted a bit out of kilter.  The butter chicken seemed to create a slightly bitter forenote that was extenuated by the dosa throwing off the overall flavour balance.  Again, the textures and combination of the watercress worked very well but the butter chicken seemed to be lacking, well, butter.

Either way, a return visit is definitely warranted.  Next time, perhaps, it will be the jerk chicken.  The szechuan beef seems like a bit of a reach for me but only time will tell.  When you’re in the mood for food to go and you happen to be in West Queen West, Madras Pantry certainly is worth giving a whirl.

Alice's Restaurant

Went for dinner yesterday to Alice's restaurant on College. It's a sparse dining area with some wonderful photos from a local photographer (oversight on my part by not finding out the name). Chef Jason Pekka Woods has cooked at Toque, North 44 and other places so he knows his way around.

First, the good. I started with a sea scallop appetizer. The scallops were well cooked with a satisfying crust and were paired with grilled apples, rocket and what I believe was strawberry puree. The dish was well executed overall but the fruit puree was too sweet and generally tasteless (hence the "I believe" in the previous sentence). A sharper raspberry with higher acidity would have played better with the grilled apple.

The main was a lamb shoulder confit on a bed of rice with other accompaniments. As in all confit preparations, the risk here was that the meat would be dried out and unfortunately chef Woods' lamb was not completely spared. While it was generally tender there was a distinct, unpalatable dryness towards the centre. Also, oddly, the lamb was couched on top of a candied orange slice (?). Normally this would have been fine but since the restaurant seems to market itself around seasonal, local food this was a bit of a cop-out (I fact admitted by Woods himself during a pleasant discussion after the meal).

The big disappointment in the evening was with the wine list. Chef Woods is attempting to cobble together an Ontario-only wine menu but unfortunately the wine does not match the quality of the food. Three bottles were put away with gusto: Legends pinot noir, an unremarkable syrah whose name escapes me and something called an "arcanum" (Peninsula Ridge Estates, 2001). All of them suffered from the same narrow, impoverished flavour profile. As always, Ontario wines continue to disappoint with their lack of character, overall thinness and simplicity. If I go back to Alice's I will most certainly be bringing my own wine.

That being said, will I go back? Possibly. The service was top notch, the food - while not mind blowing - was certainly reasonable and the pricing was not outrageous (it helped, of course, that I wasn't buying). Still, given the competition in this space (including restaurants close by on Ossington) it may be some time before I return.

5th Element

How many Indian restaurants are there in Toronto? I'm sure that thought crossed the mind of Executive Chef Johnee S. when he opened 5th Element on Bay just south of Bloor. The answer to this question seems to be: too many. So in reply I found myself at a restaurant that fused classic French cuisine with Indian inspiration. The results were quite remarkable.

The meal began with a small amuse bouche that was a tiny bowlful of the "chef's soup". It was flavourful and reasonably well-balanced however it had a noticeable grit that stuck in the throat at times. Also, as a side note, to call an amuse bouche a "course" (i.e. we were apparently having a 4 course meal) is a little ridiculous. Undeterred, we moved on to the appetizer which was a few grilled bay scallops draped under some smoked salmon. This was accompanied by a soulful, savoury reduction with hints of ground coriander, garam masala, and other notes of traditional Indian flavouring.

The main was essentially an Indian inspired riff on lamb osso buco and was very well executed. Cooked to perfection, the meat fell off the bone and the rich sauce was easily sopped up with light bed of mashed potatoes. Oddly again, 5th element doesn't seem to believe in serving bread - which makes absolutely no sense to me given that India and France must have hundreds of different types.

Unfortunately, the meal was let down a little at the end with the dessert. Despite having built up the meal with some truly inspiring ideas, the dessert on the prix fixe menu was a blatant cop out. Creme brulee, chocolate mousse, and a gulab jamun were the only choice. Maybe it's time to bring in a pastry chef to work on the tail end of the menu?

All in all, I very nice meal and worth repeating (uninspiring dessert aside). There's nothing like trying food where you can see the chef is pushing boundaries and Johnee S. is an obviously talented chef (although, from our brief meeting with him - a shy one too). Worth trying if you're tired of buffet butter chicken and you want to have some Indian with creativity and intelligence.

Toronto the Grimy!

Probably one of the funniest articles I've ever read about Toronto.

"Yes, Toronto has lots of people from lots of different places who don't always understand or like each other. Some of us find the confusion entertaining, a live screwball comedy with a multiracial cast. Another benefit is the happy truth that a great number of Torontonians, coming from elsewhere, are, blessedly, folks who have never heard of Nickelback, sung that god-awful Barrett's Privateers song in a fake Irish pub, found curling anything but weird, or revered the stale stylings of Michael Bublé. They bring their own bad art to town, and are happy to share."

Read more here.

New Favourite Resto?

Ah... how could I forget to mention this? So it seems I may have a new favourite restaurant as of a couple of weeks. The Code Gal and I went off to La Palette and had what I can only describe as a spectacular experience. Beyond the fact that the food was sensational (more in a second) the service and atmosphere were also top notch.

I opened the meal with walnut-crusted camembert with cranberry coulis and pear slaw. The combination of warm and cold, crunchy and soft, savoury and sweet were remarkable. The dish was so well conceived I found myself reflecting about each bite.

Next up was a plate of wild game. Although there were many to choose from I went with lamb, wild boar, bison, and horse. Once again, the focus on simplicity was the key to this dish. The meat was grilled to a perfect rare and bedded on mashed garlic potatoes with a veal stock and wine reduction. Nothing over the top but all perfectly done.

What really made this place however was how it just felt like you had found a local jewel when you sat down. A place that isn't on every tourist's list of restaurants. Maybe even a little foodie haven... :)

Daily Dose of Imagery

I just found this site which belongs to Sam Javanrouh, an imaginative and talented photographer. Absolutely worth sharing. Now if only I could shoot like that!