Susur takes Manhattan
You’ll find Susur Lee in the kitchen at Madeline’s, his recently revamped west-side resto, through mid-October the celebrated chef won’t be opening his New York City supper club until later that month. Dubbed Shang and located in the trendy new Thompson Hotel on the now-fashionable Lower East Side, the highly anticipated joint was originally skedded to open during Fashion Week three weeks ago. The New York press is having a field day whipping up the buzz, labelling the modest Mr. Lee “a rock star” and “the Vongerichten of the Great White North.” That’s a compliment, btw.
Farm feast
On October 5, Crosstown Kitchens hosts FarmStart Feast, a fundraiser in support of local farmers on a sustainable spread just north of Brampton. The $75 ticket includes food, two drinks and shuttle bus service from Kipling subway station, and are available from the Crosstown, er, kitchens: Amuse-Bouche, C5 in the ROM, Marben, Perigee and Torito. For more information: crosstownkitchens.com.
Woolly Bulli
Local foodies are already foaming at the mouth in anticipation of the upcoming meet ‘n’ greet with Spanish superstar chef Ferran Adrià, whose El Bulli on the Costa Brava is regarded as one of the best restaurants in the world. Adrià is best known as one of the inventors of molecular gastronomy.
The foam gnome is interviewed October 8 at 4:30 pm at the Isabel Bader Theatre. A signing for his new book, A Day At El Bulli: An Insight Into The Ideas, Methods And Creativity Of Ferran Adrià (Phaidon) follows. Advance tickets are $95, which includes a copy of the book, and are available from the Cookbook Store.
Sweatier Betty
The outrageously popular and extremely space-challenged Sweaty Betty’s opens a spinoff watering-hole mid-October. The name? Red Light. Located on Dundas just west of Ossington in a former Vietnamese video store, the new joint will have a rock ‘n’ roll bordello look.
“It’s going to be a touch nicer than Betty’s,” says co-owner Nic Savage. “The same but different.”
Changes, besides an all-vinyl jukebox stocked with vintage 45s, include a menu made up of takeout flyers from nearby restaurants.
“If you want pizza or sushi or Chinese food, we’ll call them up and have it delivered right to your table,” Savage says. “We’re not going to be the kind of tight-ass bar that you couldn’t walk into with a sandwich you bought somewhere else and have a beer.”
Green markets
Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation have just launched a website that allows locavores to type in their postal code and find the nearest farmers’ market. Customers can go to greenbeltfresh.ca to track down the very best of the season’s bounty at more than 60 markets across the province, 22 of them in Toronto. As well, the site boasts an interview with organic guru Jamie Kennedy and links to local restaurants, Cowbell, the Harbord Room and Big Mamma’s Boy among them, that support local farmers by using Ontario-grown food.
