From The Publishers
We live in interesting times. We are a society hungry for new travel experiences and adventure: the little known destination, the foods untasted, the beaches untrod, and the cultures unexplored have introduced themselves to the world, and invited us to come on down. From the beaches of Los Cabos to the Mongolian Steppe, from the Dolomite Mountains in Italy to the the familiar comfort of Miami, we have travelled by planes, trains, automobiles, boats and motorcycles and are excited to share a few good stories with you.
Customs of food and drink are fascinating, and in this issue we have taken a culinary trip around the world, seeking authenticity. Venetian cuisine is unique and has little resemblance to the Italian cuisine in our back yard. Occupied by Austria, Venice became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, but the Venetian style self propagated. Miami cuisine has incorporated the bright flavours of Cuba. Dining in Los Cabos gave us a thrilling taste of the traditional and modern Mexican cuisine. And pizza? Well that belongs to the world now. Sorry Italy. Exploring our own country, we fell in love again with Quebec City, barely escaped frostbite in Winnipeg in January and regained a sense of pride in our capital, Ottawa. In Toronto, Yorkville has been revived with a full body makeover, buffed and polished and placed on the market for millions. Hard to believe that this is where once hippies congregated and asked for spare change.
We are not inspectors searching for cracks in the armor of the hospitality and travel universe. We are story tellers who want to share our fascinating experiences that we believe will make you say, “Hey, I want to go there.”
You’ve got bread, and a toaster of some kind?” Asks Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces, before telling the waitress to hold the chicken between her knees. Today, forget about “No Subsitutions.” We identify ourselves by our diets. Are you a vegan, a flexitarian, paleo, or gluten-free? Menus have to not only cater to our individual food groups, but they must also be allergy-tested and keep up with our travel interests. Entrees are dinosaurs in the face of bold flavour-forward sharing plates. The more globally inspired, the better. Everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel, and menu innovations are its spokes, as are creative mocktails for the growing number of teetotallers. Consumers demand environmental sustainability and restaurateurs seek technological efficiencies. What’s a chef to do? Of course, the elephant in the room is cannabis, and we’re all waiting with bated breath for the great puff that industrious entrepreneurs have been preparing for like the countdown to a rocket launch.
We’re seeking new experiences to shake the doldrums. Ambience and décor in Toronto dining are determining the second date. Value-packed family travel across Ontario is booming. Regional tourism organizations throughout Japan are polishing off enticing initiatives for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. With feverish curiousity we crave what we’ve never tasted, where we’ve never been—that final frontier: “To boldly go where no one has gone before.” From the heights of Spanish gastronomy to the highs of Portland’s bud-tending, and the lines only seen from the sky above Peru, is where we travel written in the stars? We hope you’ll enjoy our journey through the backyard of Ontario to the hinterlands of the world.