Julia Child revisited, dining with dogs, a new breakfast chain for Ontario
• Going out for a bite can be a problem if one’s puppy wants to come too. Writer Ivy Knight suggests that there are a few dog-friendly places to eat in town. Buddha Dog on Roncesvalles offers free all-natural hot dogs to their canine customers. The Williams Coffee Pub on Queen’s Quay will actually let your dog share a meal with you at (or beneath?) the table. [Toronto Star]
• To mark this weekend’s release of Julie and Julia, Michael Rowe revisits his 1997 interview with Julia Child, which happened back when he was writing for Fab, a Toronto’s bi-weekly for the gay community. Child thought he was writing for Romantic Food (no such thing) and that was probably a good thing considering her homophobic past. Tidbits include her revelation that she sees chocolate and marijuana as similarly sensual, her distaste for low-cal food and her belief that Martha Stewart’s critics were “probably jealous of her because she’s so good-looking and capable.” [Huffington Post]
• Loblaws is paying $225 million for the 17 Canadian locations of Asian supermarket, T&T. Galen Weston—the geeky but lovable CEO—has led the industry by introducing Canadians to ethnic inspired freezer-meals. While we’re not sure Weston can convince everybody to BBQ squid, we think the authentic Asian market shows enormous potential for the grocery giant’s future. [CBC]
• American breakfast chain Rise and Shine (soon to be rebranded as Sunny Street Café) is planning to open three or four stores in Ontario next year. The Ohio-based company thinks Canada is an underserved breakfast and lunch market and a safer bet than the U.S. right now. The ambitious 15-store chain hopes to open 15 to 20 stores in Canada by 2012. [Biz Journals]
• The president of the Philippines has run up a $20,000 bill at New York restaurant Le Cirque. Such extravagance would likely be considered bad form by most Filipinos, considering G.P.D per capita is only $3,300 (U.S.). Beware politicians, New York restaurants (or at least the New York Post) tend to brag about big bills. [New York Post]
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