ETHICAL GOURMET / Remind me to Tell You About the Time I Looked in the Heart of an Artichoke

Please read my updated review http://ethicalgourmet.blogspot.ca/2015/05/garlics-of-london-successfully-combines.html  Garlic’s of London From Scratch – Modern Rustic Cuisine with Local, Seasonal, Superb Ingredients 481 Richmond St, London, ON N6A 3E4 519-432-4092 dine@garlicsoflondon.com www.garlicsoflondon.com

Stratford, Ontario Best Out of Town "Local" Restaurant 2013 Best Out of Town New Restaurant 2013 Guilty Pleasures at Stratford’s Monforte on Wellington  Redux By BRYAN LAVERY      Another renaissance of sorts is now afoot just off the town square in the premises formerly occupied by the Evergreen Terrace on Wellington Street in Stratford.   The new Monforte on Wellington is a casual seasonally –inspired osteria featuring an ever-changing selection of artisanal cheeses, charcuterie, and pastas, salads, soups, preserves, pickles and other signature specialties, prepared by chef Phil Philips and Monforte’s culinary team.      Chef Philip’s worked in the kitchen at Bijou and has trained under the tutelage of Jamie Kennedy. The kitchen pushes the farm-to-fork philosophy even further, and develops a synergy between the local terroir and the diner, no doubt, inspired by the resolute cheesemaker, Ruth Klahsen, whose deep-rooted affection for all things sustainable

  Bryan Lavery's Picks   LONDON ONTARIO’S TOP RESTAURANTS in 2013   See Updated Mini Reviews on  http://ethicalgourmet.blogspot.ca/2014/01/london-ontarios-restaurant-roundup-2014.html   Best London Ontario Restaurants: The City's Most Delicious Offerings http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/09/22/best-london-ontario-restaurants_n_5851492.html?1411408428 “We must pass our unbiased impressions on to the readers, while alerting the dining public to the diversity of choice on the culinary scene.”   For those of you who are reading this blog for the first time, the objective has been to offer a professional insider’s perspective and to contribute to the enthusiasm and discussion about the local and regional culinary culture at large, and about the restaurant community in particular. Seemingly, restaurant blogs the world over face a similar predicament. Are rating restaurants purely a question of taste? And within that there lies the matter of ingredient

Not All Farmers’ Markets are Created Equal Among the Questions to be Clarified Include:  What Constitutes a Farmers’ Market?  Which Farmers’ Market will be Eligible? A big question on everyone’s mind is what will be the qualification and restrictions on which markets will be allowed to sell VQA wine?   Will customers be able to sample, taste and buy?   No doubt, both the farmers’ market and the winery will have to meet additional licencing requirements for approval through the LCBO. The term farmers’ market has been used to describe many different types of facilities whose mission is to foster community well-being and local economic development through the establishment of a venue for local and small business incubation. This creates an economic multiplier effect to neighboring businesses, and a place where the community have greater access to safe, healthy, locally- produced and environmentally friendly food and where growers and producers can market their goods directly to

The Sale of VQA Wine at Ontario’s Farmers’ Markets Apparently, Ontario will be revamping provincial liquor laws to permit VQA wines made from regulated homegrown grapes to be sold at farmers' markets.  On Dec 16, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, who doubles as agriculture minister, announced a $75-million program to enhance the province’s wine and grape industry, which will allow the sale of certified VQA wine at farmers’ markets. Many in the industry recognize this advance as a great concept but wonder if the proposed pilot program is still too restrictive and protectionist by limiting it to only VQA wineries. The announcement constitutes a minor victory, with the long- term goal to have the Province of Ontario ditch prohibition-era LCBO regulations and join the rest of the country by revamping dated liquor laws. British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec already allow sale of local wines at farmers’ markets.  The announcement although welcomed has be