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Articles by Jon Sufrin
Why we can't stop eating ultra-processed foods
Why we can't stop eating ultra-processed foods Jon Sufrin | CBC Docs | Posted: January 16, 2025 2:48 PM | Last Updated: January 16 Image | 1384617341 Caption: The documentary Foodspiracy looks at how corporations make ultra-processed foods practically irresistible — and how these foods impact our health. (jenifoto/iStock) Around the world, the risks of developing diet-related health issues such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease are rapidly rising.
Is Toronto witnessing the end of the daily restaurant critic?
At the end of 2019, the Toronto Star parted ways with its veteran food critic, Amy Pataki, who had been reviewing the city’s restaurants for nearly 18 years. She made the announcement abruptly, in the final paragraph of a year-end restaurant roundup, so that an inattentive reader might easily miss it. Her reviews, she says, weren’t generating enough web traffic for the daily to justify the considerable expense of having a full-time food critic.
Place your Tibets
I knew I had entered a region of oddballs when dusk hit and I found myself in a café called Pink Floyd – that was the actual name – with two new companions I had just met on a monkey-riddled footpath nearby, and the conversation veered into ayahuasca ceremonies, trances, shikantaza meditation, reincarnation and being taken over by spirits. A region of oddballs indeed – which is probably why I was enjoying myself so much.
I invested my life savings in a digital currency. Here's how I lost it all
I invested my life savings in a digital currency. Here’s how I lost it all It wasn’t entirely my fault! By Jon Sufrin | November 6, 2019 By Jon Sufrin | 11/06/2019 In the fall of 2017, I started to hear about cryptocurrency everywhere—the news, social media, even at my local barbershop. Bitcoin had skyrocketed from $900 to $10,000 per coin in under a year, making millionaires out of early investors.
Toronto's most exciting new BBQ outpost also happens to be illegal
Every week, west-end resident Alex G. prepares for an intense weekend of barbecuing. He simmers down a secret sauce centred around ketchup, molasses and brown sugar. He pats down hunks of pork ribs with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and other spices. He trims beef brisket before injecting it with beef broth, then he’ll apply a salt-and-pepper rub just before it goes into the smoker.
On the sidewalks of Mexico City, street food is everything
I knew going in that the street food in Mexico City would be unreal, and a portable sidewalk butcher shop confirmed it.
Is Niagara’s Pearl Morissette Canada’s best restaurant?
Chef Daniel Hadida doesn’t much care for lemons. He says relying on them is boring and that it signals a lack of creativity. Much better to ferment something acidic himself, like an emerald-green asparagus vinaigrette that somehow, magically, tastes like yuzu. “Lemons are lazy,” he says.
The Philosopher Chef
Sandro Pehar Fire-roasted cherry tomatoes with foraged spices on Spanish-style coca bread Sandro Pehar Artichoke ravioli cooked with white wine, carrots, celeriac and garlic Sandro Pehar 1 of 3 / Anyone who ever ate at the erstwhile Atlantic restaurant on Dundas West knows that it was not, exactly, a standard eating establishment.
The Atlantic's Nathan Isberg on why he doesn't really believe in menus, set prices or restaurants
Q&A: Nathan Isberg, the Toronto restaurateur who doesn’t really believe in menus, set prices or restaurants (Image: Jon Sufrin) Around four years ago, Nathan Isberg opened The Atlantic, a stark, uncompromising seafood spot on Dundas West, near Brock Avenue. The cerebral chef has always had a soft spot for experimentation: he likes cooking with crickets (his latest invention: cricket charcuterie) and prefers to serve diners himself, rather than hire a formal waitstaff.
Meat of the Matter: The Great Vegan Debate
In the winter of 2012, Shamez Amlani, co-owner of La Palette, a French bistro on Queen West, received a letter from a man named Harold Michaels in Los Angeles. Scrawled out with the penmanship of an eight-year-old boy, the letter expressed frustration, shall we say, that La Palette serves horse meat on its menu. “Dear executive director,” the letter begins, civilly enough. “Me and my family will never come to your restaurant if you serve horse meat!” Then, the tone darkens.
The culinary influence of midtown's Roberto Martella
A look at Grano owner’s amazing contribution to food and culture in Toronto By Jon Sufrin Published: Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, 03:54 PM Roberto Martella and wife Lucia Ruggiero-Martella In November of last year, a sizable cadre of Toronto’s most influential people gathered at a sold-out dinner to pay tribute to a midtown legend.
Inside the life of restaurateur Roberto Martella
A look back at Grano owner’s amazing contribution to food and culture in Toronto By Jon Sufrin Published: Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, 02:50 PM Roberto Martella and wife Lucia Ruggiero-Martella In November of last year, a sizable cadre of Toronto’s most influential people gathered at a sold-out dinner to pay tribute to a midtown legend.
Meet Toronto's local food waste warriors
From a Forest Hill techie to a free library foodie By Jon Sufrin Published: Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, 11:00 AM Road to Zero Waste creator Laylo Atakhodjaeva and husband Shabeeb Hasan In the last few years, food waste has emerged as the king of all first-world problems, an ugly reminder that while some people live in poverty, others live in extreme excess. According to statistics from the City of Toronto, 57 per cent of all household food waste from across the city is edible.
Inside the life of Sash Simpson
Inside the life of Sash Simpson The incredible journey of a former street kid in India who became the chef of North 44 and is now set to open his own Summerhill restaurant and wine bar By Jon Sufrin Published: Thursday, Dec.
Beer and Oysters: The Growler guide to pairing them | The Growler – Ontario's CRAFT BEER GUIDE | ON Craft Breweries | Breweries In ON | ON Craft Beer
In her seminal 1941 book Consider the Oyster, M.F.K. Fisher contends that oysters, due to their sheer versatility, can be paired with pretty much any beverage. “One man can drink wine with them, another beer, and another fermented buttermilk, and no man will be wrong,” she writes. When it comes to oysters and beer, Fisher’s approach—doing whatever makes you happy, essentially—is a valid one. But a pairing easily benefits from a bit of deeper thought.
Training for the Boston Marathon - in Southeast Asia
My first Boston Marathon wasn't what I thought it would be. I'd planned to set aside any performance goals and just enjoy one of running's great events. Instead, it was about surviving brutal conditions — pouring rain and nearly freezing temperatures, a fierce wind and a very real risk of hypothermia — and getting to the finish line in one piece. But my road to the start line had been full of new and unexpected challenges, too. So I was ready.
In India, there's mindfulness when you least expect it
It was my fourth week on the road when the India funk kicked in. This is when the lustre of the most enthralling country on Earth gives way to smog, crowds, contaminated water, scammers, endless traffic and a wealth gap so wide even Hanuman couldn’t leap across it. I was languishing in the holy coastal town of Gokarna, on the serene Kudle Beach. Gokarna is a placid town just south of tourist-riddled Goa, dotted with beaches and temples, about as idyllic as travel destinations get.
Raising vegetarians: Do your kids really need meat?
Shortly after the birth of her daughter Isabelle a few years ago, Toronto vegan Laila Upeslacis found a pediatrician and indicated that she planned on raising her child on a plant-based diet. At first, the pediatrician was concerned. It would be best to keep Isabelle on a non-vegan diet for her first five years of life, the pediatrician said, to ensure that her nutritional needs were adequately met. But Upeslacis consulted a nutritionist and did her research.
Post Interview: Talking minimum wage, marijuana and more with Premier Wynne
New initiatives show Premier Kathleen Wynne is ready to buck the conservatism trend with policies that appeal or pander to the province’s social activist base — especially in big cities like T.O. — with policies not unlike those of the NDP. Are you surprised at the backlash to some of your policies? Do you feel that there is a bleed over from rising conservatism in the U.S.? I wouldn’t say so.
Food feature: Prawn stars
Shrimp are one of those foods that are as troublesome as they are delicious. Want to support slavery? Look for cheap frozen shrimp from Asia, as there is a good chance they were caught or peeled by modern-day serfs. Want to hasten the destruction of the planet? Buy shrimp that were harvested through bottom trawling, which pulverizes the ocean floor and results in high amounts of bycatch. The easiest solution, for those of us who care, is to never eat shrimp. But that’s never going to happen.
Toronto’s new seafood-in-a-bag trend doesn’t just taste bad - it’s also worrisome
Do you love seafood? Then I have some bad news for you. The Captain’s Boil — a new seafood restaurant that piles copious amounts of seafood into plastic bags, drowns it in sauce and drops it on your table — is expanding rapidly in Toronto. Do you really love seafood? Then you know it’s pretty much perfect as is. Oysters and clams are best consumed raw and unadorned. Fish does not need more than a spritz of lemon as seasoning. Lobster is fine on its own, or with a bit of butter.
Coming soon to Kensington Market: J&J Bar-B-Que, a Texas-style smokehouse
As Toronto’s love affair with smoked meat deepens, local restaurateurs are increasingly becoming drawn to Texas-style barbecue. The latest to tread this path is J&J Bar-B-Que, an upcoming restaurant is set to open in Kensington Market this spring. Co-owners Jonathon Lucas and Jay Moore — who have partnered up with the owners of the nearby Cold Tea to finance their operation — appreciate central Texas barbecue for its simplicity.
Taco, taco man: David Sidhu of the Playa Cabana empire
It was the spring of 2011, a time that Toronto food types could refer to as the pre–Grand Electric era. Back then, tacos had not yet become the city’s collective obsession, and going out for Mexican food usually meant eating mediocre Tex-Mex or hanging out at some too-authentic mom-and-pop shop. Toronto entrepreneur Dave Sidhu — 35 years old at the time — had just pulled out as a co-owner of Chimichanga, a now-defunct chain of Mexican restaurants. Financially, he was a wreck.
Is Gordon Ramsay opening a restaurant in Toronto? The real question should be: Who cares?
Gordon Ramsay came to Toronto a few days ago, and he ate here. Apparently, he liked it. There should be nothing surprising about this fact, since we all know that Toronto has many great restaurants. Ramsay’s visit, of course, has resulted in speculation that he might be looking to open a restaurant here. He even tweeted that he’s “looking into it.” This, too, should not be a surprise, since many world-renowned chefs have chosen to open restaurants in Toronto.
Songs for Glass Island: An entire concert on instruments made of glass
Starting tonight, a group of experimental musicians in B.C. will give a series of performances using instruments and objects made solely from glass. The project sees three musicians from Victoria's Experimental Music Unit — Paul Walde, Tina Pearson and George Tzanetakis — collaborating with Camille Norment, an American-Norwegian artist known for her skills on the glass armonica (more on that strange instrument later).
Grant van Gameren is opening a new spot in Parkdale
According to city records, chef Grant van Gameren is opening a new eating establishment in Parkdale, in the space formerly occupied by Salvador Darling at 1237 Queen St. W. The existence of the upcoming business was confirmed using easily accessible information from the City of Toronto’s website. When contacted about it via text message, van Gameren did not confirm or deny the new project.
'It's so obvious': Canadian artists weigh in on Grand Prix D'Angoulême sexism 'debacle'
When Montreal illustrator Julie Delporte saw the nominee list for this year's Grand Prix D'Angoulême — one of the most prestigious lifetime achievement awards in the comic book world — she was incredulous. The previous year's list was short on female nominees, so Delporte had hoped the prize, which will be announced Wed., Jan 27, would take the opportunity to be more inclusive. She was wrong. This year's list was exclusively male. "I was already a bit upset by last year.
Michael Hunter to open Antler
A quick survey of chef Michael Hunter’s Instagram account proves he’s passionate about wild game and foraged foods—things he didn’t often get to play with as the executive chef at Reds Wine Tavern (a downtown mini-chain from the same restaurant group that owns Jack Astor’s). Last week, he announced that he’s left Reds to continue his wild food advocacy at his own spot, Antler, opening later this year. “For so long, I’ve been working for corporate restaurants, and I can’t do that anymore,” he says.
The Atlantic is closed
After five years, and almost as many conceptual changes, The Atlantic has closed. When it opened on Dundas West in 2010, it offered a simplistic seafood-and-vegetable-focused menu—aside from the occasional hay-smoked cricket. But chef and owner Nathan Isberg slowly stripped away its parts: first he eliminated menus and set prices, then he ditched alcohol. Now he’s laying the restaurant to rest.
What Matt Blondin's been up to| Toronto Life
It’s been well over a year since the talented (and typically outspoken) chef Matt Blondin and catering company/food truck operators/Rasa owners The Food Dudes announced they’d be opening the snack bar Junk (not to be confused with Junked Food Co.). But the restaurant hasn’t materialized, and Blondin has been conspicuously quiet. What’s the deal? “I’ve fallen back in the past couple of months to focus on what makes me happy and what makes the staff and the clientele happy,” he tells us.
Q&A: Guillaume Côté, the Toronto dancer who's using video to keep ballet relevant
When famed Canadian dancer Guillaume Côté set out to co-create an unconventional, technically dazzling ballet film, he could never have anticipated the response. Since its release in 2011, Lost in Motion has garnered nearly two million views, a stunning result for a classic dance form that's struggling to stay relevant.
Q&A: Jen Agg, Toronto's most loved and loathed restaurateur
Since opening The Black Hoof in 2008, Jen Agg has established herself as one of the most influential—and divisive—restaurant owners in the city.
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