FROM THE EDITOR
Visit your neighbourhood restaurant, talk to the chef, eat something and think about it.
AFTER 10 ISSUES OF DINE, I have learned a lot about our readers. They are a confident and savvy group. Sophisticated people who travel the world on business and pleasure, and are knowledgeable and interested in the wines they drink and the foods they eat. They enjoy the benefits of their neighbourhoods and beyond, and share in community. And foremost, they appreciate reading an educated point of view before making plans for dinner or a trip to an exotic destination. We offer new ideas to our readers through our editorials and our advertisers. My greatest compliment after a recent, lengthy feature on Italy was the reactions of readers who said, “I don’t need a travel agent, I am going to follow exactly what you did.”
The world has changed in the last 10 years. Texting, social media, breaking TV news from the front lines locally and abroad have given new meaning to our lives: instant gratification. Time is becoming our most valuable personal asset, as Lewis Carroll wrote in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, “we have to keep running as fast as we can, just to stay in the same place.”
And yet, as the world becomes a smaller, more accessible place, we are all taking advantage of the possibilities and enjoying more of it. Our senior writer, Adam Waxman, has shared his love of Bluegrass, which led him on a road trip through Kentucky to sample Bourbon and listen to music. From the Kentucky coalmines to the California sun, he explored the iconic areas of Berkeley, Sonoma, Napa and Monterey. In his annual pilgrimage to Japan, he has shared with us some off the beaten track destinations.
The popularity of cruising continues to grow, and it is one of my favourite forms of travel. Could I live on a cruise ship for months at a time? My cruise on Silversea to Central America has given me the answer. And whether you have been to Paris many times or if it’s your first time, the city offers its own unique attitude of exhilaration and pleasure.
This year, the dining scene in our country has exploded into a cohesive form of gastronomy. Chefs across Canada have a sense of self and their local produce, and find a joy in carving out their own niche in the culinary community. No longer is our cuisine imitative. We have developed our own techniques, our own recipes and our own food and wine pairings. Once I fumbled when asked about our cuisine, and answered, “well, it’s the same as American, but eaten a little further North,” this absolutely no longer holds true. Proud to say, we have wonderful Canadian cuisine. Visit your neighbourhood restaurant, talk to the chef, eat something and think about it. Canadian Cuisine.