Walking through Beaujolais

Perhaps you've heard of this summer's requisite summer holiday? The "staycation," a clumsy if apposite description of holidays spent at home, thus summing up the prevailing mood of impecunity. Farewell conspicuous consumption, hello stomping through mud. If you're revisiting some of life's simpler pleasures, but have jettisoned the idea of staying at home I'd highly recommend signing up for a vineyard walk in France. Deploy a bit of ingenuity and you can avoid the extortionate fees 'wine travel' companies charge for a swanky gourmand holiday - after all, it's perfectly possible to be frugal and still have fun.

Our escape from the "staycation" took us to southern Burgundy. My father, a fiendishly fit Scandinavian Francophile, suggested that we join family friends in Macon last summer for the annual 'promenade gourmande' up in the picturesque hills of Beaujolais. Certainly I love nothing more than hiking through mountains or walking briskly along the seafront, but a walk with the explicit intention of, well, eating and drinking had thus far eluded me. It goes without saying that this 5km promenade is the ideal way to feast sans guilt which is just as well given Beaujolais' reputation for producing delicious food and easy-drinking wines.

Our wine and food walk began at the civilised hour of 11am on a blissfully sunny Saturday. The village of Chiroubles saw 750 participants showing up at 15-minute increments to avoid a scrum at the start of the walk - most were Beaujolais locals, along with a respectable contingent of Brits, Swiss, Belgians and us. The continentals donned rather serious-looking hiking boots; totally unnecessary as we were facing a 5km walk through gentle rolling hills, not the vertiginous heights of Mont Blanc. Quand mme, good idea to wear comfortable walking shoes as the terrain is varied enough to exercise one's feet. Loose-fitting clothing, with all that scoffing, is essential - we may be feeling the pinch from the credit crunch over here but happily the portions in Chiroubles are generous!

After receiving pouches to hang around our necks containing a wine tasting glass, notes on the wines and a menu we were off. Our first station was 5 minutes into the walk, in case anyone was in need of sustenance. The promenade was inaugurated with an 'Aperitif Chiroublon', local Beaujolais wine with a smidgeon of Cassis, and a few nibbles of 'grattons', or pork scratchings. So far so good.

From station 1 we meandered our way through the valley and up to the second station where music was already playing. A super garlicky sausage whetted the appetite and was complemented by a chilled sample of Beaujolais Blanc 2007. Not a spectactular wine, but drinkable, particularly with the garlic-rich saucisson!

Thereafter started the incline, albeit a gentle one, to our third station - we started marking the vineyards at this stage, and the route was well-marked so no danger of veering off into a neighbouring village. At station three we were greeted with a tarte paysanne, a simple egg and ham tart, with salad, and a glass of Chiroubles. By this stage the Belgian contingent were merrily singing along to the local musician and a real festive spirit had infused the walk's
participants.

We certainly needed the sustenance for the steep-ish climb that awaited on the way to oue fourth station at Verdy. This took us mostly uphill and through some spectacular steep vineyards. Arriving at Verdy we were treated to a delicious cuisse de canard braise avec sauce Chiroublonne. Or braised duck leg with Chiroubles sauce - a real delight. Needless to say this was accompanied by another glass of Chiroubles, and involved listening to more music. The view of Mont Blanc in the distance made for the perfect backdrop to our 'summit' lunch.

We certainly needed a walk after the duck - thankfully there was a good stretch between the summit and station five - the cheese station in Pontheux. The wines got better - and older - here, and the quality of local goat's cheeses on offer was second-to-none. I could happily have stayed there for the remainder of the afternoon.

Our final stop was to sample the Ambassadeur sponge cake with raspberry coulis and a pink crmant de Bourgogne. This was actually a let-down, especially after the cheese and main course. The cake was fine, but superfluous - by this stage everyone was so stuffed that some simply prepared fresh fruit would have capped the day perfectly. Also the crmant was too tart for the cake and tasted rather acrid after all the reds we’d been enjoying.

Still, the verdict was unanimous: we all decided we would definitely do it again. The walk was well organised and all the vintners and their families who manned the various stations were incredibly hospitable, even with us pesky foreigners. They would be in a cheerful mood though, after everyone had completed the promenade, all the organisers and locals of Chiroubles had a party in the evening to look forward to.

The next promenade de Chiroubles is on July 11th this year (2009) so do sign up on their website if you're planning to be in the area. We drove across, stopping off in Epernay, and Troyes, but you could also go via Eurostar to Paris and then connect with a local TGV train to Macon or fly to Lyon and hire a car.

Eating out tips for Toronto

I really didn’t have much idea what to expect of Toronto. I knew it was ridiculously cold in winter and that it was hard to buy liquor (not a good combination) and that you could eat pretty good ethnic food, especially Japanese. But nothing quite prepared me for the range and scope of the city’s 5000+ restaurants. Here’s where I managed to get to in the 4 days I was there (thanks to taking in more than one venue at every possible opportunity)

High end dining
We were lucky enough to take in two of the city’s best restaurants, Canoe and Nota Bene. Canoe is literally high end - it’s on the 54th floor of the TD Bank tower, a stomach-churning 60 second ride in an elevator but the views over the city are just breathtaking. Like most Toronto restaurants it’s relaxed with great service. The star dish for me was the Raw Bar (right) which contained all sorts of original elements such as scallop ceviche, lobster salad and a selection of East and West coast oysters.

Nota Bene is more casual - an interesting blend of Asian and the rich French-style cooking much loved by Torontonians. Our sampler menu included a fragrant, refreshing Yucatan hot and sour soup, Asian-style crisp Quebec duck salad, butter-poached Nova Scotia lobster with cauliflower pure, an outrageously rich suckling pig and boudin noir tart and Quebec yoghurt panna cotta with rhubarb.

Try to take in both.

Museum and Gallery restaurants
All galleries and museums are paying more attention to their food offerings these days but few are as sophisticated or as well designed as Toronto’s. Top of the tree is C5 at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) which could easily be classified as a fine dining restaurant. We only sampled chef Ted Corrado’s main courses but I was impressed by a well-crafted combination of chilli-crusted venison tenderloin with sweet potato pure, roasted beets and feta cream.

At Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner, Toronto’s ceramic museum, you can enjoy one of Toronto’s best known chef’s creative take on the Quebec speciality poutine. Normally a combination of chips, gravy and curd cheese, it is topped here with red wine braised beef brisket, Monforte dairy Cheddar and crme fraiche. They even have a wine pairing for chips (Henry of Pelham Cuve Catherine Brut), surely a first. In fact every dish on the menu, as is common in Toronto, is paired with an accompanying wine.

Frank at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario - above) is named after its world-famous architect Frank Gehry and occupies a beautiful open plan space in the building. The menu, devised by head chef Anne Yarymovich, is light and elegant, taking its clue from its surroundings. Our brunch featured a salad called 'Study in Reds' and a ‘Still life with pear, pancetta and fig’ but there were tempting egg dishes and sandwiches too

Ethnic
There are plenty of opportunities to eat ethnic in Toronto: it’s highest ranked restaurant, according to Zagat, is the Japanese Sushi Kaji but for an authentic Torontonian experience walk round the Kensington Market and nearby Chinatown areas with all their small ethnic shops and restaurants. We had some excellent dim sum at Bright Pearl which specialises in seafood

Fast food
The other great market is the St Lawrence Market in the heart of the downtown area where you can eat the famous Peameal Bacon sandwich, much beloved by visiting celebrities according to purveyors Carousel Bakery. It’s a sweet-cured bacon, coated in cornmeal and served with honey mustard. Wash it down with apple juice or Coke.

Although not a Toronto institution you should also sample a regular poutine (rather than the upmarket one at Jamie Kennedy’s above). Smoke’s Poutinerie at 218 Adelaide Street is reputed to have the best selection

Brunch
If you want to get away from tourist hotspots head to the Niagara Street Caf whose cooking is based on naturally reared and organic produce. Take the edge off your hunger with a plate of potato rosti with bacon jam and crme fraiche or some apple raisin bread and butter. Follow with Welsh rarebit, biscuits Benedict, omelette of the day (pickled aubergine the day I was there) or a Breakfast Tartlette of scrambled eggs, chorizo, caramelised onions and goats cheese.

Chocolate nirvana
For the best hot chocolate in town, some classily presented chocolate gifts and a chance to see chocolate actually being made head for SOMA Chocolate in the Distillery district.

Cheese heaven
And while you’re in the area you might also want to visit Taste of Quebec which stocks cheese and other products from the region. If you’re really dedicated to the cause take a cab out the quirky Cheese Boutique where you can try European cheeses you can’t even find in most European cheese shops.

For beer fans
Toronto’s take on cuisine a la bire beerbistro actually outclasses some of the restaurants I’ve been to in Belgium and Northern France. Even if you don’t have time to eat there drop by to try the excellent collection of Canadian beers they have on tap. For a fuller report see here.

Booklovers
There’s a great cookbook shop at 850 yonge street called the Cookbook Store with practically every good food book you can imagine (including mine which is why I’m recommending it with such enthusiasm!)

Didn’t get to but was recommended
Splendido (Nota Bene chef David Lee’s original restaurant) Scaramouche, North 44: three more top end restaurants Black Hoof - Toronto chef’s favourite hangout. As the name suggests, based on charcuterie. (Atelier Huet is another good venue for meat-loving francophiles)Mildred’s Temple Kitchen - another popular brunch spotJamie Kennedy’s Wine Bar one of the city's best hangouts for wine lovers.

Steak and Malbec Part I

I’m in Argentina for the next few days taking part in the Masters of Food and Wine, a glitzy showcase for the Argentinian wine industry. Today we’re in Buenos Aires, tomorrow we fly to Mendoza for two days of tastings and dinners. None of which is exactly conduicive to thoughtful reporting so forgive me if some of the next few days posts are written more in the style of a blog

Earlier today I got into training with a lunch at what else but a steakhouse called Don Julio in Palermo Soho, one of the most fashionable neighbourhoods of BA. We were presented with a platter of their six or seven different cuts which included ojo de bife (ribeye), bife de chozo Angosto (strip sirloin) and vaclo (flank), a cut so huge that they actually offer half a portion. Which is of course the same size as a full portion back home.

I ordered a medium rare (jugoso) ribeye which was on the menu for an quite incredible 30 pesos (6), cheaper than pork, chicken or sweetbreads.

We had two Malbecs with it - a deliciously sweet supple La Madrid Gran Reserva Malbec 2005, full of rich dark cherry fruit and a more austere, slightly tighter wine called Ruca Malen - the 2006 vintage.

Predictably they tasted different with the steak - and with the accompanying chimichurri salsa, a punchy combination of parsley, onion and garlic. The La Madrid was the most immediately and obviously appealing but the Ruca Malen really came into its own with the meat and was more refreshing as the meal went on.

My first thoughts are that I would go for the La Madrid style with a more heavily charred steak and the Ruca Malen style with a less charred one but these are early days. There will undoubtedly be more steak and more Malbec so I’ll let you know how my researches go.

Which restaurants will survive in 2009?

Slightly off-topic but as a long-standing food and drink writer I thought you might be interested to read my thoughts on the type of restaurants that I believe will survive the current recession

Looking back on my predictions a year ago, most have come to fruition but who would have guessed just how deeply the recession would bite in such a short time? Certainly not the people who were behind the spectacular new shopping and eating complexes like the Westfield Centre in West London or Cabot Circus in my home town of Bristol which increasingly look like extravagant follies.

Still, I'm not as convinced as the rest of the media that we'll all be eating at home. People still haven't got the time and in some cases the skills to cook every night. Here are the eight types of restaurants I reckon will survive:

Celebrity restaurants
I don't so much mean restaurants frequented by celebs - though that too - as the new generation of mid-priced restaurants run by celebrity chefs - Jamie's Italian, (Raymond) Blanc's Brasseries and Maze Grill (Gordon Ramsay and Jason Atherton) among them. A Big Name is reassurance, in many people's view, that they're spending their money wisely. (Not that I think they're always right)

Neighbourhood restaurants
There are all sorts of reasons why neighbourhood restaurants should flourish - they tend to be cheaper, there's no need to take the car (so no drink-driving problems) but above all the level of personal service you get if you're a regular. If you're feeling credit-crunched it's good to be cossetted.

Well-established restaurants
They've seen it all - hard times as well as good ones and know how to deal with the downturns by making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Examples of two long-distance runners: Le Gavroche in London and Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham

Restaurants which offer small plates
A trend for the past few years but one that will really come into its own in 2009. Forget the 3 course meal (unless it's a thrifty fixed price lunch) What you need is a place where you can go and have a couple of plates and a good glass of wine. Like the excellent new Bocca di Lupo in Soho.

Wine bars
For the reason given above plus the fact that as supermarket selections get more and more restricted we all need somewhere to go and enjoy an interesting glass of wine. For me one of the best openings of 2008 was Terroirs, the brilliant new West End wine bar set up by the enterprising Caves de Pyrène

Traditional curry houses
Not the flashy new top-end ones but yer local Indian. Eat in or takeaway.

(Some) top-end hotel restaurants
The super-rich are always with us and they have to have somewhere to go so I don't see an end to luxury dining. But where? The premier league such as the Dorchester and the Grosvenor House should survive but I wouldn't put my money on less illustrious names with similar prices.

Seaside B & B's
Especially those offering half board. (Which I suppose makes them D, B & Bs) With the euro at parity with the pound why travel further afield? Despite the weather last summer expect a revival of the English seaside guesthouse (noughties-style)

The likely casualties

Upmarket sandwich bars
Taking your own lunch to work will be so 2009

Mid-priced chain restaurants
If we eat out we'll save it for a special occasion. Chain restaurants which have survived on the basis that people were eating out three or four times a week will struggle. Particularly if they offer mediocre food.

Large country house hotels
Unless they're very hip and cater for the super-rich (see above). Too far to go, too expensive.

The good news
In a frantic bid to keep our custom, restaurants will be falling over themselves to offer us deals we can't refuse so expect brilliant cut-price lunch offers, 2 for the price of one dinners and free glasses - or even bottles - of wine. Every cloud, as they say, has a silver lining . . .