For Your Pleasure

Ribs. Lots and lots of messy, gooey, sticky, saucy ribs. I love 'em. I love the way they fall off the bone as I pick them from the plate; the way they make everyone at the table an awkward, messy eater without judgement; the way they can be so wonderfully complimented by a cold beverage on a hot day; but most of all I love the way they can bring people together.

Now, I've been to my fair share of rib fests over the years, and at each one I have found myself somewhat disappointed; not because the food is lackluster or scarce or distasteful, not in the least; the food, in fact, has always been the one and only thing that keeps me coming back. No, it's always been the venue that disappoints me. I get so built up on some huge event that's supposed to wow anyone who sees it; I get so invested into the giant billboards each travelling ribster has set up, their gaudy signs an impossible to ignore invitation that my taste buds can't resist. It's all sold and presented as a perfect example of my eyes being too big for my stomach. Yet, for some strange reason, it never is.

In my experiences, rib fest has always been in some small, shut off corner of a downtown strip where one to two hundred people stroll for 30-minutes of their Saturday afternoon while listening to some local talent play the grassy "stage" before they head off on the rest of their day elsewhere in the city. This, my friends, is where Guelph has changed my expectations for the better.

Put on at Riverside park, the Guelph rotary rib fest is, in a word and by comparison, huge. Instead of one hundred people, there were one thousand. Instead of a grassy stage, there was a concert venue; and instead of spending an hour strolling through overly flashy and impossible to live up to signage, there was an entire evening that could very easily have stretched into a full weekend's worth of eating, drinking, exploring and conversation.

Of course, through all the smoke and haze of two dozen smokehouse and grill stations, it was difficult to decide on which rack to go with, but therein lies the beauty of a festival and the natural instinct to go with friends and share the tidings from each plate. Hickory, mesquite, spicy, smoked, grilled, basted, wet or dry there was no shortage of flavour or option; something for everyone, save for the vegetarians I suppose, and everyone seemed happy.

Granted, most things worth doing tend to come with a price, and while admission was free, the food was certainly not. But in situations like rib fest I think it justifiable to cast aside those hesitations of footing the bill and just enjoy the company of the city and get into the spirit of unhealthy eating, if only for just one night.

I thank the organizers, the vendors and the crowd of this year's festivities for showing me that such an event can live up to it's "in you face" advertising and the borderline cockiness that goes along with saying "Our ribs have won more awards than their ribs, eat here!" I'll be back next year for sure, building my appetite between now and then, thinking of which booth I'll hit up next.

Cheers Guelph

Phil

And The Frog Says:

It happens every year; no matter what city you are in, what province you were born, or whether you prefer smoked over a slow-roast, ribfest is an ignorable and glorious tradition involving "healthy" competition, an endless supply of fall off the bone deliciousness, and the camaraderie of our fellow epicurean and good local brew.

There are but three days between now and then, and the anticipation seems a cruel tease this writer can hardly bare. Obviously I will have much more to say on this matter once I get my hands on some of the goods Friday evening. In the meantime, however, check out the site below to fill yourself in on all the details.

See you at Riverside Park!
Phil

http://www.ribfestguelph.com/

The Cryptic: Recipe Time

Spring Rolls

After staring down the barrel of yet another craving, I sifted my way through many references, dug through cookbooks, navigated websites and picked my own brain to try and come up with what I considered to be the perfect spring roll. Unfortunately, no 1 recipe had me sold or convinced that it would be that harmonious blend of savoury, sweet and spicy.

That being said, I decided to walk blindly into the grocery and guide myself through a list of seemingly obvious ingredients to just see what I could come up with. The result was, in my opinion, a spring roll tasty enough to warrant an entry. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.

The ingredients are easy to find, quick to prepare and fun to eat. So Without further ado, here is my creation:

What You Will Need (makes 4 spring rolls, great appetizer for two)

6 24-30 shrimp, (meaning there are 24-30 shrimp per pound), peeled and de-veined

2 medium sized carrots, finely grated

2 green onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup cabbage, shredded

1 cup bean sprouts

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp ginger, minced

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

Salt and pepper to taste

4 spring roll or egg roll wrappers

1 tbsp peanut oil

Vegetable oil for frying

Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Start by cutting the shrimp into small pieces, I like to leave them a little bit chunky so I know what I'm eating when I bite into it later. Next, boil the bean sprouts for one minute, drain, and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the shrimp until they just turn pink, remove them from the pan and leave aside for now.

Return the pan to the burner, toss in carrots, cabbage and green onions, saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add in the garlic, ginger, oyster sauce and sesame oil, saute for another minute, then return the shrimp and bean sprouts to the pan, season with salt and pepper. Mix together well, transfer the mixture to a colander and allow to drain and cool.

For the sauce:

In a small sauce pan, bring the vinegar just to a boil and add in the sugar. Once dissolved and clear, add the garlic and pepper flakes, reduce heat to minimum and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a nice bowl for dipping.

Back to the rolls:

Divide the mixture evenly amongst the wrappers and fry in vegetable oil for about 30 seconds or just until the wrappers turn golden brown (remember, they will continue to brown after you remove them from the oil so don't over do them!) Drain on paper towel, dip into sauce and be happy.

And that's it! Not much to it but the results it yielded left me quite content.

Again, I'd love any feedback from attempts at this recipe, I hope it finds you well.

Cheers!

Phil

To Those Things Undiscovered

As a practice, The Locale has been around now for some time, well past the one-year mark, and along the way I have had both the pleasure and the joy of sharing the project with many friends; some old, many new, but all with the similar interest for exploring the unexplored. Because it has been around for the time it has, and because of the growing audience and participant support, I have decided to offer a re-introduction to any readers who may be wondering what this is all about, how it started, and, most importantly, what might make it worth reading.

I suppose the best place to start would be to tell you briefly about myself and how I came to be your narrator. Well, after studying the culinary arts and travelling abroad, I gained not only a passion, but, perhaps even more so, a respect for undiscovered terrains. Not so much for overseas and cross-province exploration, but rather in our much more immediate surroundings. Through neighbourhoods, forests, alleys, side streets, shops, bars, houses, the lives of others far more intriguing than my own, I gained appreciation for all the things I'd taken for granted for so many years; I finally realized that adventure didn't need an airline ticket. I came to a realization that the concept of "new" is not one that needs to be feared or avoided.

We are all very well aware that change is the only constant in our lives, so why don't we embrace that and apply it to our every day? Why don't we make change a challenge for ourselves? Something to enjoy, to share, to write about or speak of at our next get together. It is within this construct of "new becoming familiar, becoming loved, becoming tradition" that I accepted the challenge to overcome and embrace what I once called fear, but now call opportunity.

And so that's essentially how The Locale started: as a newcomer to Guelph, completely unfamiliar to what the city had to offer, I thought it wise to journal my experiences as I sought them out; hopefully in such a way that could benefit not only other newbies, but also long-life residents who have potentially been missing out on that backyard goldmine they've been avoiding or putting off for so many years.

Since its inception, I've hiked trails, foraged through poison ivy, canoed and kayaked, dined on vegan delicacies, toured the halls of great kitchens, spoken with chefs, and experienced music the likes of which I'd never thought to previously enjoy. It has indeed been a ride of memories and great reflections, but, of course, not all of my adventures have been positive ones. In fact, there have been quite a few occasions that define the just opposite, stewing in their own negative juices, begging to be forgotten and cast out to sea; but that's not the point of this project. I don't want to venture out into a world so that I can tell you where not to go, I'd rather find those gems and remind you of their worth, invest into them with you so that their value can grow and only get better with time.

So, yes, as you read you will undoubtedly note much praise being given, and little to no insult dished out unto any particular thing, person or place; as far as I'm concerned, an establishment will do well to promote its own poor reputation without my help; and so with that in mind, read on with the trust that those experiences I do choose to post or publish are worth it, and that they are words I will stand by until the end.

And so for those dedicated followers: a reminder to you that my goal remains the same as the day I started, and a great big thank you for helping me in continuing to achieve it. Your emails, notes, messages and comments are all greatly appreciated and taken to heart. For those reading for the first time: I hope to keep you interested, to spark a sense of adventure in you, to trigger that craving you didn't know you had, as well as to hear your insights, your reviews, your suggestions and passions along the way; I believe that as a collective we may be able to navigate throughout this fair city on nothing but positive experiences and contagious interests.

Be it recipes, restaurants, music or reviews, The Locale promises to keep its mind open to the unfamiliar. Bring it on Guelph, bring it on.

Cheers all.

Phil

Gastronomically Challeneged

Long weekends are meant for adventure. Be it local or afar, I try my best to return to work on Mondays armed with at least one story that includes the phrase "I tried this for the first time." So, when I walked into Mcewans gourmet food market in Don Mills on Saturday, I was determined to find some culinary delight to share with my readers.

I wont go too far into detail about what Mcewans is; suffice it to say that renowned chef Mark Mcewan has opened an incredible grocery filled with a great selection of local, organic, curious, hard to find and sometimes rare items that you likely wouldn't easily find at your regular shop spot. Ostrich, for example, is something I'd yet to see at my routine store, and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to get that "new" into my weekend. Here's what came of it:

Grilled Ostrich Steaks with Fingerling Potatoes

What you'll need (serves 2):

Ostrich steaks, about 1 1/2 - 2 inches thick

1/2 lb fingerling potatoes (in addition to their pleasing aesthetics, fingerling potatoes, though similar to new potatoes, offer a much more complex and rich flavour)

1 tbsp Herb de Provence (dried basil, marjoram, sage, savory, rosemary, thyme and lavender)

2 Large portabello mushrooms

1 heirloom tomato, sliced 1/4 inch thick

4 oz bocconcini or buffalo mozzarella, sliced the same as tomatoes

Olive oil

Grape seed oil

Salt

Pepper

Heat on half of an outdoor grill to medium high

Fingerling Potatoes

Wash and bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water, allowing to simmer for 7-8 minutes. Drain the potatoes and toss with a generous glug of olive oil, salt, pepper and Herb de Provence. Place the potatoes on the top rack of your grill and allow them to roast for about 30 minutes.

Ostrich

These couldn't be easier: bring them to room temperature, season with salt, pepper and olive oil just before placing on a hot grill (salt brings out juices from whatever it touches, if you season too far before cooking you will end up with dry salty meat) and cook for about 3 minutes per side for rare/medium rare. Remove from the heat, tent with foil and allow them to rest for as long as you have cooked them (6 minutes on the grill means 6 minutes of resting)so that the juices can relax and your taste buds can be happy.

In flavour and texture ostrich is a lot like beef tenderloin and so should be cooked and treated the same, never, under any circumstances, cooking past the mid-rare stage.

Portabello Mushrooms with Heirloom Tomatoes

Remove the stems from your mushrooms, brush the tops with a paper towel and, using a paring knife, scrape some of the dark brown gills away from the flesh of the mushroom. Drizzle with grape seed oil, salt and pepper and place mushroom stem side down on the grill for about 2 minutes. Turn the mushrooms, top each with 2oz bocconcini cheese or buffalo mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes. Allow to cook for a further 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

I may also suggest serving this with corn on the cob, perhaps with an herb and Parmesan butter. Mmmmmm.....

Now then, I understand that perhaps not everyone would be so eager to try the meat of an animal so uncommon, but that's the fun of adventure isn't it? Not knowing can sometimes lead to great discoveries and, if nothing else, at least a story to tell.

I've done a touch of research to make this dish possible without having to travel as far as Don Mills, and it would appear that White Rock Ostrich Farm in Rockwood, Ontario, is a good place to start. I'll make my way there soon and let you know what I can find; I do see they have ostrich eggs on their site...steak and eggs anyone?

Cheers!

Phil

http://www.whiterockostrichfarm.com/Directions.htm