Thursday 31 October 2013

Another Douche Hangout or A Cool new Venue for Everyone Else?

(Image: EFS/Facebook)

EFS, the new King West club from the owners of Bloke and 4th, opened its Hamptons-style rooftop bar and hookah lounge in July. With patio days drawing to a close, the space has now unveiled an impressive indoor attraction: a 5,000-square-foot nightclub with room for up to 600 party-goers. The new space combines barn board and Edison bulbs with sleek leather banquettes, polished concrete floors and a smattering of colourful pop art. With driving beats, stiletto-clad wait staff and throngs of well-groomed twentysomethings, it should fit right in on King West—and likely divert some clientele from nearby Weslodge and Spice Route.
EFS, 647 King Street West, 416-477-5460, efstoronto.com

Hello Foodies - its about to get interesting!

In this edition of Foodie Fortnight: creepy-crawly canapés, a culinary ode to Patrick Swayze and three more food events coming to Toronto in the next two weeks.
Beer and Bugs
http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/food-events/2013/10/29/foodie-fortnight-oct-29-2013/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=foodie-fortnight-oct-29-2013

This spooky Halloween soirée celebrates the creepy-crawly protein recently hailed by the UN as the solution to world hunger. Attendees can sample five crunchy cricket canapés, each paired with a craft beer selected by Canada’s only Master Cicerone, Mirella Amato. According to one organizer, crickets taste a bit like shrimp, only “nuttier.”

Oct. 31. $25. Victory Café, 581 Markham St., eventbrite.ca

Whisky Live

The eighth annual event includes dozens of rare and premium pours, a buffet dinner and tutorials on everything from barley-growing to distilling. For an extra $20, connoisseurs can sign up for master tasting classes on specific whiskeys, like Johnny Walker or Tweedale Scotch.
Nov. 1. $85. Westin Harbour Castle, One Harbour Square, whiskeylivena.com

A-OK Foods: Day of the Dead

The soon-to-close Queen West ramen shop pops back up in early November for Dia de Los Muertos (i.e. Day of the Dead), a multi-course Mexican fiesta in honour of the Latin American holiday. Drink pairings are included.
Nov. 2. $100. A-OK Foods, 930 Queen St. W., facebook.com

Splendido Black Truffle Dinner Series

The Toronto fine-dining institution’s new prix-fixe menu for fall includes a Matsutake mushroom salad, seared foie gras and egg yolk ravioli—all topped with copious shavings of the coveted fungi.
Oct. 15–Dec. 31. $85. Splendido, 88 Harbord St., 416-929-7788, splendido.ca

Youngblood Dinner at the ACC

An evening event at the ACC inspired by the cult-classic 1986 hockey movie Youngblood, starring Patrick Swayze and a baby-faced Rob Lowe. The sports-themed dinner showcases a cohort of culinary youngbloods, including up-and-coming chefs from Canoe, The Drake and Richmond Station.
Nov. 10. $95. Hot Stove Club, Air Canada Centre, 50 Bay St., Suite 500, uniiverse.com

Really? Toronto Life says it may be time to strat hoardigng Sriracha!!!

The factory that makes the crack-like hot sauce Sriracha may be forced to close if a group of 30 residents that live near the California production facility gets their way. Some people in Irwindale, a small city near L.A. where the Sriracha plant is located, apparently suffer through waft after waft of burning pepper smells, which cause involuntary crying and pique-induced headaches. The city has asked a judge to close the factory if it doesn’t do something to control the fumes. “If the city shuts us down, the price of Sriracha will jump up a lot,” said David Tran, CEO of Huy Fong Foods, which makes the ubiquitous “rooster” sauce. But take a deep breath (unless, of course, you live in Iwindale). It’s not time to panic—at least, not yet. The judge will rule tomorrow about whether or not Huy Fong Foods can continue to produce its 200,000 bottles per day and avoid a steep increase in price. [L.A. Times]

Will the rooster remain this plentiful? (Image: Memphis CVB/Flickr)

What has the world come to?

Warning: Your Sriracha Supply Is in Serious Jeopardy

Uh oh ... Sriracha maker Huy Fong Foods is in trouble.

Apparently, the hot sauce odor wafting from the company's Irwindale, California, factory has nearby residents complaining of burning eyes, irritated throats, and headaches. The strong smell forced one family to move a birthday party indoors, and some residents had to leave their homes temporarily.

Now, Irwindale is suing. In a complaint filed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday, the city requested that Huy Fong Foods suspend Sriracha production until the problem is fixed. The city reportedly met with the company earlier this month, and Huy Fong agreed to take action. They've since changed their tune, denying the problem and arguing that employees working at the plant have never complained.

A lot could be at stake. Roberto Ferdman at Quartz paints a chilling picture of hot sauce apocalypse:

The company uses only fresh chilies to make Sriracha, which means it has to process them within a day of picking. And all of over 100 million pounds of chilies it uses each year are harvested and processed in a two to three-month period in the fall, which is right about now. So any setback could hit its production for the entire year.

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2013/10/your-sriracha-supply-serious-jeopardy/7406/

Friday 4 October 2013

The Hyderabad Foodies -

What an impressive Group
http://hyderabadfoodiesclub.wordpress.com/about/about-the-club/

See what the Hin

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Food/food-on-my-mind/article4558084.ece

Food on my mind

The Hyderabad Foodies are a vibrant bunch with whom you can explore the hottest eating joints in town.

If you are a true-blue foodie, there is very little that can lure you away from food. This theory proved to be true last Sunday when 65 people showed up regardless of the hot sun to treat themselves to pan-Asian cuisine at Mekong. A closed group on Facebook, Hyderabad Foodies started out small, where people came to discuss about food, as the group discussion suggests, “of all kinds of tastes and shapes”. As of today, the group has more than 1200 members. The ‘closed’ attribute of the group gives a serious edge to the group and helps in avoiding the onslaught of spam. The group was started by Benny Sumer Yanthan, a PHD student at HCU; the idea was later picked up by Vargab Bakshi, a training specialist at Mart Jack. Another member, Vishnu Rao, but popularly known as ‘Sankalp, the foodie’ has been organising and co-ordinating the meet-ups.

Making friends

Initially the group was only about connecting online, sharing recipes, reviews and a spot where users could post their latest finds; all that changed for the better when they came up an idea of actually meeting up and enjoying a meal together. Thirty two people showed up at Ebony Boutique Hotel for the first time and the numbers have only gone up since. Vargab says that earlier it used to be about one meeting per month, but over time advertisers looking for customers have begun to help them in organising more meets. “Sometimes we meet more than three times in a month. Not everyone can make it to all the meets, but there is always a good number that does show up,” he says. Vargab claims to have made many friends thanks to the group, “Meeting people via food is great fun,” he says. Vargab joined Hyderabad Foodies because of his uncle and was soon voted as the administrator by other members. Sabhyasachi, one of the older members of the group often comes with his wife Mousumi and son, Soumabha to the meets and says, “People in our group have particular interests and are very knowledgeable when it comes to food.” He adds that almost every weekend there is a plan to meet and eat. Sabhyasachi’s son, Soumabha points out that many restaurants and business owners have started approaching the group to try out their outlets. The Facebook page itself helps budding restaurateurs in advertising. Neomi Francis who runs a business along with her sister, Nymphea says that Foodies is popular because more people are connecting through social media than the brick and mortar way. Kamal, an ‘IT guy’ has made many friends thanks to foodies, “I want to get a taste of all the cuisines I can and meet all the people I can,” he smiles. Soumav studies in BITS Pilani and makes sure he comes to every foodie meet when he is in town.

Good for business

Sunil Indurthy of the newly launched Hazel Ice Cream Café in Gachibowli is organising a limited-seating foodies meet on March 30 for group members to come and try his ice-creams at a discounted price. “This way I get to hear actual feedback on the food and I can make changes if necessary,” he adds. Joydeep Majumdar, Executive Assistant Manager of Greenpark Hotels and a member of the foodies club feels that it is a symbiotic relationship that is budding. “Hyderabad Foodies offers a wide network of food-lovers who give restaurants a good word-of-mouth publicity,” he says. Vargab Bakshi however is sceptical and feels that an overdose of business might corrode the charm of the group, which is simply about a common passion for food but takes comfort in that fact that there is absolute freedom to be vocal about your likes and dislikes and no one is forced to write positive reviews on websites.

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Peek into Peek.com

Every Fall, Vouge Magazine comes out with their biggest issue. I wait all year for this moment and the second the magazine hits the newsstands Im there! Ill spend a full weekend reading the fabulous articles, drooling over the couture and soaking in all the culture, fashion, trends the world has to offer. What struck me in this year’s Vouge was an article about a travel website called Peek.com. At first I thought – oh look, another travel website – but after visiting Peek.com I quickly realized it is a site unlike any other. Co-Founder, Ruzwana Bashir, has done a fabulous job with this one stop shop travel hub. A self-proclaimed travel junkie, Bashir has taken it on herself to explore pockets of the world and distill the experience in a way that we can digest and comprehend. There is something for everyone! You will save time, heartache and frustration by visiting this site - I challenge anyone that says otherwise. Check it out and let me know what you think!

http://www.peek.com/

H20 "It’s a good drink. It’s cheap, it does us lots of good.”

Why not drink more H2O ? Its free, it tastes good and its healthy, so why the drama? Take a peek at this article from the Globe and Mail.

Are we really supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day? By: CARLY WEEKS

The Globe and Mail Published Tuesday, Oct. 01 2013, 5:00 PM EDT

Michelle Obama wants you to drink more water. Technically, she was speaking to Americans enamoured with calorific, sugar-loaded beverages when she made her pitch for H2O in Watertown, Wis., in September. But the message – everyone can benefit from drinking more water – resonates on this side of the border.

There’s one key component missing from the U.S. first lady’s plea, however. Just how much water should we drink, exactly?

The answer isn’t so simple.

The eight-glass-a-day myth

Ask anyone how much water the average person should drink in a day. Nine times out of 10, the answer will be eight glasses a day.

Maybe they heard it from a gym teacher, read it in the latest diet book or found it online. It’s accepted as a given – but that doesn’t make it true.

Health Canada doesn’t have a recommendation for water consumption. Instead, the department simply advises people to “drink water regularly.”

But the idea that we all should be chugging back eight glasses is so ingrained that few people stop to think about where that pearl of wisdom originated.

Luckily, Dr. Margaret McCartney has. In 2011, McCartney, a general practitioner in Glasgow, Scotland, wrote an editorial published in the British Medical Journal that turned conventional thinking about daily water needs on its head.

McCartney pointed out that there is no clear evidence that simply increasing the amount of water we drink each day is good for our health. And that the idea that everyone needs to aim for eight glasses a day is not rooted in science. She said there’s no point worrying about a recommendation that has “mythological origin.”

“If we drink according to thirst and comfort, I think we’ll be absolutely fine,” McCartney said in a recent interview.

So where did the eight-glasses-a-day notion come from?

A 2012 article in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health tells how the first recommendation to drink eight glasses a day may have been a footnote in the 1945 U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Despite the non-existent scientific evidence backing that particular recommendation, the idea stuck.

Don’t drink your calories

However, no one should mistake the questioning of water-intake guidelines for an argument against water consumption.

“I do think we need to drink more water in an effort to drink less sugary drinks,” said Dr. Michael Joyner, a physiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Fruit juice, sports drinks and pop are often singled out by public-health advocates as a contributor to the rising rates of obesity in Canada. Those beverages are often packed with sugar and are high in calories and provide no real nutritional benefit.

Earlier this year, a study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health said sugary sweetened drinks contribute to 180,000 deaths around the world each year. Despite the messages about the potential harm, sugary beverages remain popular. For instance, according to a 2008 Statistics Canada report, more than half of boys and 35 per cent of girls between 14 and 18 drink pop on any given day.

In response to criticism, many beverage-makers are putting clearer labels on their products and are promoting consumer education.

Joyner said Michelle Obama’s move to promote the consumption of water over other beverages should be commended. But people should let their thirst dictate how much water they drink each day, not a meaningless guideline or promotional campaign.

“It really varies based on environmental conditions,” he said. “If you’re out in the middle of a desert or involved in a lot of heavy physical activity … you probably need to be drinking a lot more [than eight glasses],” he said.

Straight from the source

Health professionals aren’t the only ones who would like to see us drink more water. Bottled-water companies (many of which are owned by makers of pop and sports drinks) also deliver the message that H2O is good for health. Obama’s campaign, called Drink Up, is sponsored by numerous bottled-water makers. McCartney has been a vocal critic of Hydration for Health, an international initiative to promote water consumption. The campaign was created by multinational corporation Danone, which sells several brands of bottled water, including Volvic and Evian.

McCartney, who wrote about Hydration for Health in her BMJ article, said the growth of the bottled-water industry is concerning, because transportation and the leftover plastic bottles create unnecessary waste and environmental concerns.

“I’m not a fan of using bottled water,” she said. “I think that there’s a lot to be said for drinking tap water. It’s a good drink. It’s cheap, it does us lots of good.”

Welcome to my Hood!

Leslieville (finally) gets bona fide destination dining

Name: Bero

Location: 889 Queen Street East

Phone: 416-477-3393

Website: bero-restaurant.com

Price: Four courses, $56; seven courses, $84

Atmosphere: Mid-range: White linens, good crystal, a little bit of barnboard – Leslieville at its elegant best. Warm, sometimes over-earnest service.

In a quiet Leslieville room that dark blinds shroud from Queen Street’s eyes, the pleasures come unexpectedly. Here is a shard of Spanish goat’s milk cheese that’s veined like onyx, served with creamy orange curd and a date cut into a thin disk, like a slice of sausage, and a scattering of cracked espresso beans. Here’s a drift of icy grapefruit granita on bass sashimi, crystalline sour cold, clean oceanic sweet and radiating green heat from a swoosh of burnt scallion puree.
The cannelloni are wrapped in braised leeks here, filled with meaty duck and mushrooms and cocoa nibs. The tomatoes are whipped and sweetened and gelled into marshmallows. The corn comes as a pudding, the onions deeply caramelized in golden-fried beignets. What’s unexpected is that an untested cook ,who’s learned as much from books as from time spent in good kitchens, can accomplish this. What’s unexpected is how extraordinary so much of it tastes.

The restaurant is a partnership between front-of-house bosses Andrew Bridgman and Giulio Marconi, and Matt Kantor, its 44-year-old chef. Mr. Kantor is from Poughkeepsie, in upstate New York. He worked as a business consultant and software developer until 2003, when he enrolled at the much-respected Culinary Institute of America. He met a Canadian and moved here five years ago. Mr. Kantor did some catering around the city while also working as a software developer. He later cooked private dinners under the name “Secret Pickle Supper Club.”

He hasn’t cooked in a single Toronto restaurant before Bero. “But I’ve eaten in a lot of them,” Mr. Kantor told me, adding, “I’m a tourist. A food tourist.” His last position in a kitchen of any renown was a six-month work placement at Picholine, in New York. That was nearly 10 years ago.

Yet Mr. Kantor’s pan-European and modernist-inspired plates at Bero, served in either a four-course or seven-course tasting menu, don’t lie. Against long odds, he runs one of the most creative, most refreshingly risk-embracing kitchens in the city right now, with the skills to support its imagination. Did I mention that it’s in Leslieville? At long last the neighbourhood has a bona fide destination restaurant. That is highly unexpected ,too.

Mr. Kantor doesn’t much do what’s conventional in his kitchen. Witness the gazpacho he made late this August. In place of tomatoes and cucumber, he made the soup’s base from intense pureed peaches and a few drops of sherry vinegar. He laid a tuile that tasted like shortbread and star anise across the bowl’s rim, and dressed it with crushed pistachio, dots of yogurt, tiny orbs of fresh peach, a powder made from Spanish ham. That onion-stuffed beignet was for the mopping up. It was an odd dish; beautiful to look at, profoundly tasty.

So was his octopus: a single braised tendril tossed with coriander, cumin, Spanish sweet paprika and lemon zest. It came with miniature purple potato chips that looked a lot like sausage rounds, but tasted like the bottom of a bag of Old Dutch barcbecue-flavoured. Whether by design or accident, the likeness was brilliant. He added sea asparagus for freshness, a few drops of olive oil and coriander flowers, an artful puff of smoked potato. Sublime. The peeled heirloom tomatoes and fried capers in a salad got a foam that tasted of blue cheese. Also, that tomato-flavoured marshmallow. I liked it. My dinner date, uncertain, said, “This is daring.”

There was a corn pudding one night, with those leek-wrapped duck cannelloni. Its texture was creamy, smooth, as light as corn silk. The flavour was pure and intense.

Another night’s bone marrow-enriched gnocchi dissipated into an earthy, beefy fog when you ate them. A friend of mine who, like Mr. Kantor, is a fan of modernist cooking techniques, wanted to know how the chef had done it.

“The gnocchi are made from bone marrow?” my friend asked. “What magical chemical makes that possible?"

"Flour," Mr. Kantor answered, smiling.

Flour and an uncommonly light touch, as well as a kitchen brigade that’s come into its own in the last month. My first time at Bero, six weeks into its life, there were a few clumsy dishes: a mackerel plate with unbalanced flavours, a pork dish that tasted forgettable when so much else had been superb. Mr. Kantor has since appointed a chef de cuisine, hired from Acadia, and two line cooks from Auberge du Pommier.

By the middle of this month, the flavours were consistently clean and sharp, and as with those gnocchi, the technique was impeccable. Yet while Bero works as a kitchen, it needs brushing up as a restaurant.

In place of the charming waitress who said “bernier” for “beignet” in Bero’s early days, there was a different charming waitress the last time I ate there, who didn’t much know the menu when I last ate there, who couldn’t describe the wines. It’s not her fault. Why invest in elegant dishes and flatware and linens for every table and an ambitious kitchen, but neglect to properly train the staff?

The tables are constructed so that their legs go precisely where yours should go.

Those blinds that make Bero its own environment on the inside and mysterious for passersby aren’t entirely working. The room needs to be livelier first (walk-in traffic could help), the service smarter, more effortless and graceful. Fancy food requires service that stops time and suspends belief, or else it risks feeling precious. The soundtrack could be better, too – it skews too frequently to Harry Connick Jr. and Madeleine Peyroux, to soft, jazzy piano and sepia-toned vocals from the 1990s, to romance music, as though Grandad finally got that Cialis prescription and now he’s DJing. Maybe you like that. I didn’t quite know where my hands should go.

These are mere distractions, though, and largely neutralized by the quality and the boldness of Mr. Kantor’s work. For instance: the moist, gooey chocolate cake one night that was served with halva, and a mildy bitter, undeniably vegetal sorbet. Is that … eggplant? It took a moment’s attitude adjustment to appreciate the oddly symbiotic pairing: each taste a foil for the other one, the two of them together a head-scratching joy. (My dinner date: “It’ll never make 31 flavours.”)

Or perhaps more pedestrian, another night’s Savarin cake: dense, delicious yeast cake soaked through with Lillet and purled with pastry cream. It came with a crunchy, toasty, dehydrated squash crumb as a garnish and a scoop of Italian plum ice cream, tweaked with cracklings of black pepper.

Weird, yeah? Wild, more like it. And the last thing you’d ever expect.

No stars: Not recommended

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/restaurant-reviews/leslieville-finally-gets-bona-fide-destination-dining/article14570595/?service=mobile

Ever wonder where Montrealers Hangout....well here you go!

QUESTION:

Don’t we all want to live a little bit like Montrealers?

ANSWER:

A resounding yes!

This is a wonderful read - musician Murray A. Lightburn gives up the inside scoop on MTL and where the locals go to eat, shop and hang out!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/destinations/where-to-eat-and-drink-like-a-true-montrealer/article14604943/?utm_source=Shared+Article+Sent+to+User&utm_medium=E-mail:+Newsletters+/+E-Blasts+/+etc.&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links

Where to eat and drink like a true Montrealer

Let’s get this out of the way. A lifelong Montrealer, musician Murray A. Lightburn is a St-Viateur man.

“I’ve gotten into arguments with New Yorkers who think New York bagels are better than Montreal bagels,” says the frontman for indie band the Dears. “You’re out of your mind. No way. You can’t get a better bagel.”

Lightburn recently released his first solo effort, MASS:LIGHT An Electronic Pop Opera. The father of two shares his favourite hang outs in the city – some subtly influenced by his eight-year-old daughter. “If you were to live in Montreal these are things you would do on a regular basis,” he says. And don’t we all want to live a little bit like Montrealers?

Biarritz

That’s one of our favourite joints. The best part is that we don’t really feel self-conscious about bringing the kids. If you want a romantic dinner, you can do that, but if you want to bring the kids, you can do that, too. It’s run by Stéphane Bouzaglou. He’s a really phenomenal cook. He has a really artful, but simple punchy-with-flavour style. It’s tapas-style. Biarritz is near the border of France and Spain, so the restaurant is influenced by that region. At the same time he adheres to seasonal stuff. We had this dessert the other day that was lemon curd with basil and blueberries and mini-bits of meringue. It was delicious. 4801 St. Laurent Blvd., restobiarritz.com

Bar Pam Pam

On the flip side, there’s this bar around the corner from my house called the Pam Pam. It’s a little on the downtrodden side with quite a hilarious jukebox, pool table, a lot of VLTs. They serve one beer. So when I go there and ask for the usual there’s Vieux-Montréal. You get these pitchers and maybe you’ll buy a bag of chips. I don’t think it’s for everyone. But I like it. I don’t want an umbrella in my drink. I don’t want bitters made at home. I just want Vieux-Montréal on tap at a bar that is a stone’s throw away from my house. 491 Rue Jean-Talon West

The Pick-Up

The Pick-Up is like a mega go-to mostly for lunch, sometimes for breakfast. It’s part depanneur, part restaurant, so it’s kind of unconventional. It’s probably the only ‘hipster hangout’ where I feel very comfortable. I appreciate how welcoming the place is. My daughter will sometimes insist we have to go to Pick-Up for a grilled cheese sandwich. She loves going there. 7032 Rue Waverly, depanneurlepickup.com

St. Michel Flea Market

It is only open on the weekend. As a family we love to junk shop. We love a garage sale. We like finding old treasures. It’s two floors of relics, junk, old stuff, a lot of analog stuff. It’s phenomenal, and it’s surprisingly not picked clean. I found an Olympus XA point-and-shoot camera. It has such a wicked lens. On eBay it’s $80 to $150. I paid $15 for mine. I was so giddy when I got this camera for $15 I almost had tears in my eyes. My daughter will buy the odd Tintin book, the odd necklace. 3250 Cremazie Blvd. East

Jean-Talon Market
This is a twofer: If I’m going to the market and I haven’t had a coffee yet, I’ll go down to Dante to this place called Caffé San Simeon, which is near the market. I’ll go get a coffee. I’ll go get my beans. Then I’ll go over to the market. And within the market, I have a few go-tos. It’s where I do a lot of my grocery shopping. There’s the cheese guys. There’s the potato guys. There’s literally a mushroom guy. He has all kinds of other stuff but his main thing is foraging for stuff around Quebec. Caffé San Simeon: 39 Rue Dante, caffesansimeon.com; Jean-Talon: 7070 Avenue Henri Julien, marchespublics-mtl.com

This interview has been edited and condensed.

An arguement for the legalization of private wine, beer and spirit sales in Ontario!

This is a great article that I found in the Globe and Mail regarding the legalization of private wine, beer and spirit sales. As a matter of principle I agree with the state (or the LCBO in the case of Ontario) monopolizing the sale of alcoholic beverages as a way to control consumption of alcohol generally and collect revenue from sales. The problem is there has been little to no transparency about how the LCBO operates, how much it generates and where the funds are being spent. It is difficult to support the monopolization of alcohol sales when we have no information about the viability and benefits of a state monopolized system. Until we have more transparency I vote for the deregulation of wine, beer and spirit sales.

Why beer and wine in Ontario should be more convenient !

Tom Moher believes it’s a matter of time before every province legalizes private-store wine, beer and spirit sales. As a vice-president at Mac’s Convenience Stores, an Ontario/Western Canada chain owned by the largest convenience-store operator in the country, Alimentation Couche-Tard, he’s paid to think that way. He’s also lately stepped up a public lobbying effort in Ontario to see that that future comes sooner rather than later.

His timing seems shrewd. Saskatchewan recently relaxed its government grip, announcing it would leave future expansion in private hands. It joins British Columbia and Nova Scotia among provinces with similar private-public liquor-store systems, and Quebec, where beer and wine are sold next to chips and coffee in convenience stores. Alberta did away entirely with government stores 20 years ago.

Perhaps most significantly, in Ontario, the trade group representing most wineries – frustrated with limited liquor-board shelf space for its growing output – last year broke with traditional neutrality on the issue and began publicly beating the drum for private wine shops, a significant move for a powerful industry lobby group. And Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak has thrown his support for grocery-store alcohol sales, with just a minority Liberal government now standing in the way.

The Globe asked Moher to defend his case for convenience-store sales.

Why the renewed call for wine, beer and spirit sales in private stores now?

It’s what our consumers are telling us they want. Sixty-seven per cent of residents in Ontario say they want to see beer and wine in convenience stores.

Is there growing support in the rest of the country where liquor boards still monopolize the markets?

I think that the provinces that do not have a privatized alcohol system in place are looking at the options available. I think they recognize that [privatization] meets the needs of consumers better and it can provide better revenue for the provinces. Most notably, it can reduce the capital spent by provinces on building their own government-run stores.

Liquor boards have long argued that governments need to monopolize retail sales to ensure maximum financial gains from alcohol to fund things like health care and education. True or false?

There is a study that was completed back in spring [by Anindya Sen] out of the University of Waterloo that showed that, if alcohol retailing in Ontario was expanded, it could produce greater profitability and revenues to the province.

Do you anticipate that increased competition would lead to better prices?

People in Ontario recognize that if they travel into Quebec, they find lower retail [prices]. I can’t speculate what the future would be in Ontario, but I can cite a compelling study, again by Professor Sen at the University of Waterloo, where he studied the difference in prices of beer – identical products in Quebec and Ontario – and found that the [higher Ontario prices] allow the Beer Store, which is a foreign-owned [quasi-monopoly] entity in Ontario controlled by three major brewers, Anheuser-Busch InBev of Belgium, MolsonCoors of the U.S. and Sapporo of Japan, to collect as much as $700-million annually in incremental profits. Those are incremental profits that leave the province.

Liquor boards have argued that they are uniquely qualified to guard against sales to minors. But stores like Mac’s already sell age-restricted products, such as cigarettes and lottery tickets. What’s your response?

I’m very disappointed when I hear that comment. In a study completed in 2011, the Beer Stores, LCBO and convenience stores were checked on the sale of age-restricted products, and when it came to that study, the pass rate for the LCBO was in the mid-70s. It was in the low to mid-80s for the Beer Store. Convenience stores across the province actually scored in the low 90s. And I’m very proud to say that Mac’s – this is something that we invest heavily in, the training, follow-up in terms of our own external age-testing by qualified shopping companies – posted a 94-per-cent success rate.

What about the late closing hours at convenience stores? Over the years, I’ve received letters from readers insisting that late-night liquor sales by convenience stores would put the country on a fast track to social ruin.

I think we don’t need to venture too far to answer that question. Many of us have had experience travelling to Quebec and I don’t think we see the type of behaviour that those people may suggest. I think what it boils down to is that the people in the province of Ontario are simply being asked to be treated like adults.

What can we realistically expect in terms of product selection if convenience stores outside Quebec were allowed to sell booze? In certain neighbourhoods in the United States, it seems like the selection ranges from Bud Light to Sutter Home White Zinfandel and not much in between. Pretty dismal.

First and foremost, we’re not suggesting that the LCBO go away. I think they do a great job when it comes to their Vintages [fine wine] selection and certainly the facilities they build. However, they’re not convenient. Given the size of the footprint of convenience stores, we would have a reduced selection. But where I think we have a big opportunity is in more local wines or craft beers. I think we’re very fortunate in Ontario that we have some great craft breweries. And our wine areas, whether it’s Niagara or Prince Edward County, are becoming world-renowned. So, I think we can celebrate that.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/wine/a-retailer-makes-the-case-for-beer-and-wine-in-corner-stores/article14612147/?utm_source=Shared+Article+Sent+to+User&utm_medium=E-mail:+Newsletters+/+E-Blasts+/+etc.&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links

Food Diaries of an NRH (Non-Resident Hyderabadi)