Eating Vegas (and happy Canada Day!)

A few weeks ago many of the world’s celebrated chefs gathered in the 35 C alfresco heat at Bon Appetit’s Vegas Uncork’d Grand Tasting at Caesars Palace, part of the sold-out annual culinary weekend where more than 30 events are packed into four days, with some 60 restaurants, 50 chefs and 30 sommeliers snacking, chatting and swilling together. At the Grand Tasting, the biggest and splashiest of the weekend’s events, I positioned myself at the end of the red carpet, where I asked everyone from Nobu Matsuhisa to Gordon Ramsay what their favourite dish is at their own Vegas restaurant -- plus a dish they enjoy at a friend’s Sin City table. Then I feasted on their top picks during a chefs’ grand tour, which ran in the Globe & Mail this week.

This trip actually changed my mind about Vegas. I had been a couple of times before, and wasn’t a fan. Too much of too much – people with gallon-sized colourful frozen drinks strung around their necks, other people chained to the one-armed bandits for days -- the whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way.

But as I learned, it needn’t be so. Book a nice hotel – I highly recommend the new Cosmopolitan (it’s super cool, has great restaurants, clubs and swimming pools, and it's the only hotel on the Strip whose rooms have private terraces), go for a couple of nice meals, read by the pool, take a swim, do some light shopping, and you’ve got yourself a really enjoyable weekend. 

That said, you know where I think the restaurants are even better than in Vegas? Canada! And with the fireworks, swimming, hot weather and good grub, this long weekend has been almost Vegas-like, and mighty enjoyable too.

Happy 145th B-day, Canada.

Trend Alert: Canadian Eats

The more I travel the more I learn that every area in Canada has its signature dish. From Acadian country’s Rappie Pie (pictured here) to Thunder Bay’s Persian doughnuts, while these recipes are everyday eats within a town’s borders, they're mystically almost unheard of elsewhere. Still, they are all part of the edible social fabric of Canada, where a tasty new chapter has just begun.

No ifs ands or buts about it, Canada is having a moment. It started with our winning ways at the 2010 Winter Olympics and continued when our economy didn’t tank as badly as the rest of the Western world's. Now, part of the trickle-down effect is our blooming indigenous culinary scene.

Canada is a young country with no true old guard to speak of. For this reason, our chefs tend to be youthful, multi-ethnic, homegrown, experimental, and their food, proudly delicious. Which is why right now is an exciting time to be a Canadian chef, or (better still) a Canadian restaurant-goer.

The first Bannock restaurant launched in the flagship Hudson’s Bay store in Toronto this fall, with a focus on traditional Canadian comfort food (everything from bannock pizzas to poutine and chicken pot pie). Then there’s chef Michael Stadtlander’s off-the-grid woodsy dream that is Haisai in Southhampton (the godfather of Canadian cookery, chef Stadtlander has also spearheaded the important cause of stopping a proposed mega quarry.) Vancouver has the Oakwood (try the Nanaimo bar custard for dessert) while other Canadian anthems include Martin Picard’s seasonal Caban au Sucre, as well as his meaty Quebecois comfort food temple, Au Pied de Cochon.

There’s also Edible Canada, which opened on Vancouver’s Granville Market, and Halifax’s Chives Canadian bistro, which just celebrated its happy 10^th. These are just a few examples; the good news is that there are many more.

But for money, the restaurant that has it all – great looks, creativity, hot chefs, and overall deliciousness, is chef Aaron Joseph Bear Robe’s aboriginal Keriwa Café. Judging from brunch alone, from the basket of freshly baked goodies and homemade preserves to the brown butter eggs Benny (why have I never had this magical take on hollandaise before?) with its local Red Fife biscuit base, crispy homemade bacon, not to mention the cleverly tasty roasted root veg tossed with salad side, I’ll be shocked if someone can find a better brunch in town.

Or, a more Canadian one.

And the winners are...

The year we launched enRoute magazine's Canada’s Best New Restaurants feature, I was nominated for a James Beard Award in the category of best restaurant critique (any time I can mention that award I do), and was up against Alan Richman at GQ, which is where I met him, which made the whole evening worthwhile even though we both lost to some bitch from Bon Appetit.

After two years of eating, my friend Chris Johns took over the reigns, criss-crossing the nation for five or six years, and he did a great job at it. Now comes Sarah Musgrave, and in some small way I’m glad there’s a woman at the table again. You know; a little more salad, a little less pork belly. Plus, she’s an awesome writer, and the author of the bestselling Montreal restaurant guide, Resto A Go-Go.

Between Sarah’s words and the photos by Virginia Macdonald, who shot our big turkey dinner in the current issue of House & Home, this year’s November food issue looks amazing.

I was a panelist again, meaning I handed in a mitt-full of restaurant picks that I had eaten at over the course of the year that I considered to be contenders for the top spots. I happened to mention to Sarah, while we dined on a so-so meal at Ame (during her summertime cross-Canada chowdown) that, having visited Haisai, I honestly couldn’t see anyone beating out chef Michael Stadtlander's dreamy new restaurant.

Fast-forward to this week.

Soon after the awards were announced, Sarah came clean: “Okay, Amy, you bit your tongue but I could see it in your eyes, and I do recall you said something like. "I mean, just the decor alone..." Still, you have to experience it to believe it.” I couldn't agree more. She says that Haisai is total woodlands fantasy, and that the food is so real, so grounded in place. “I found it incredibly intimate and masterful - that ham! That ham! – it's like being invited to take part in Stadtlander's creative process.” And that's what makes him Michael Stadtlander.

For the first time, enRoute is trying out a live chat about the Top 10 restaurants on Monday, Nov. 1 at 11 a.m. - fun stuff because the public can pose questions to two lovely ladies: Sarah Musgrave and enRoute’s editor-in-chief, Ilana Weitzman. Click on this link to sign up.