Black is poppin' big time in Toronto lately and I'll never be mad at that. The newbie magazine aimed at us called Sway is still around after like, 5 issues and not only is it free but it actually has the shiny high expectations you'd expect from paid circulation mags. The cover alone is such heavy glossy paper it makes me gloriously dizzy. Sorry - magazine journalism student!
A group of investors is currently in negotiations to change the face of Toronto's waterfront with a so-called Africana Village that will commemorate Black's contributions to Toronto and Canada.
And a new resto has opened downtown, apparently since December of 2006, called Harlem.
In Sway magazine they describe it as "soul food fusion". I do not. Although a lot of the focus I give to stories on this blog are soul food oriented when they're not I'm not gonna insist on slapping the soul food label on them. The recipes I will be trying will run the gamut of cuisine but if it's not soul food I won't tell you it is. As Judge Judy says, "don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining!"
Call me a purist but take a look at the menu below and feast your eyes on veggie samosas, quesadilla filled with jerk chicken, Chinese noodles with peanut sesame sauce (sounds Thai to me), curried tomato spread, and the fact that almost everything comes with mangoes.
There are arguments to be made that jerk is related to soul food and that the cuisine does in fact incorporate aspects of Caribbean culture. I disagree. Soul food and Caribbean food are similar variations on different themes. Slaves brought over to the Americas brought with them their unique methods of preparing food. In the Caribbean and parts of South America, they put an African spin on Spanish cuisine (which in itself was derived in part from Arab cooking), adding a dash of Native islander knowledge of local plants (spices included) and animals. The exact same thing occurred in North America with cuisine that was modified primarily from English and Scotch-Irish cooking. With that in mind, England had not yet become the curry capital of Europe and hence curry is not a traditional aspect of soul food nor are mangoes.
The dinner menu posted on the site isn't any better:
Sigh.
But the name of the restaurant is what irks me the most. If this was simply a Black restaurant named almost anything else I'd be down with it (although I find the menu quite repulsive, boring and lacking meat - I'm just sayin'!) but that they are trying to trade off of an inherently American name to sell what's essentially Caribbean food with a dash of top-selling-watered-down-world cuisine like quesadillas.
Tasty fresh fruit pumpkin seeds and citrus in a lime molasses dressing on a bed of spring greens? Harlem?
Fried plantain, avocado and Chèvre with herbs and lemon dressing in a whole wheat tortilla?
Harlem?
"The Harlem" sandwich recipe: Swiss cheese, ham, and jerked chicken, with mango mustard and avocado. WTF?
That ain't soul food or fusion. Oh snap, I forgot they do have sweet potato biscuits (home made) on the menu that come with a bowl of soup (curried French onion no doubt, to keep up the multicultural bastardization).
Why would you name a restaurant Harlem - knowing the image that people would conjure up based on that name is 180 different than your concept? Sure the press the eatery is getting focuses on the decor as Harlem-esque but where's the proverbial beef? It's like that other restaurant in Toronto, irritatingly named Soul Food that is Carribbean plain and simple. Why? I think it's deceptive at worst, and just plain sneaky at best. if I went out of my way to reach their spot only to find out that it's not as advertised according to the name, I'd be pissed.
Now it's not all bad, and I hate feeling like a big bitch for callin' out a brother who's trying to make a business. It's always nice to see a Black guy use his talents in creative ways - especially non hip hop related ways. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE hip hop, but the world has gotten so that people think that's all we can do.
Co-owner Carl Cassell is an exceptional artist, who's work flanks the restaurant walls. I'd love to own some of it one day. He's done big things with his (more appropriately named) Irie Food Joint on Queen St. West an kudos to him for for strivin' to be more and not stoppin' at one success despite protestations from others. Because of course I'm not the only one causing ruckus albeit for completely different reasons although in one such instance it does concern the restaurant name. It's appalling but not surprising that in the Sway article it's noted that neighborhood locals tried to take issue with the restaurant by calling into question the negative connotations associated with the name Harlem. *snort of derision* (my argument is better.)
Even more hilariously, according to Wordmag (predecessor to Sway - less glossy but more hip hop) the restaurants site is that of the former swingers club (yes you read that right) called Wicked. Apparently neighbors in the seedy decrepit area of Richmond & Church Streets would prefer the upstanding caliber of patron that frequented a sex den than Black professionals imbibing cocktails at a shiny new vibrant venue.
But then my neck swings back to the annoying if not disappointing point that on the events page of Harlem's website, with the title "barmaid beauty" is a White girl. I can already hear the cries of disdain from any White people who stumble on this page but the fact of the matter is if you're gonna have a Black business, widely touted as being owned and run by by 3 brothas, filled with Black art, serving so-called Black food, and named after a historically Black neighborhood, it'd be nice to not have the White girl show up first on the events page. I guess a White bartender will at least guarantee a few Black male patrons at the very least. LOL
I will be patronizing Harlem Restaurant soon and report back on whether their God-awful (sounding) menu is at the very least tasty.
A bit of Harlem in Toronto? A lot less than you'd think
Soul Food the Magazine
Okay, so I've been way too much take-out lately since I've started back at school part-time and a new job simultaneously. As soon as training at work settles into a comfortable rhythm I'll be back on the cooking track but in the meantime I have been coppin' some information about soul food happenings. Like for instance, are you aware that there exists a magazine dedicated to it? Apparently it's pretty although I managed to miss the first issue but I’ve sent for it.
It's pretty decent. I know that may not sound like a ringing endorsement but coming from a magazine journalism student that's damn good for a start up.
It's published by Today's Black Woman; the same people who do Hype Hair so hopefully it’ll stick around for longer than my long lost Suede mag.
Keep in mind that I love the concept, love the recipes, and love the abundant information. My main beef with the magazine though, is that the pictures aren’t' nearly the high quality caliber you expect from a food oriented magazine. A lot of the pics are great work and the food looks scrumptious but then there are way too many that look like they were done with my no-frills (and downright antiquated) Kodak easyshare CX7300. That's not cool. Chef G. Garvin is on the premier issue cover and damn he's fine – I hafta have that one! Thankfully the cover shot doesn’t mess with his sexy good looks.
In the second issue there's an adorable photo spread inside with Tichina Arnold and her daughter Alijah that looks much better in quality.
They do a brief overview of chef Marcus Samuelsson and include 3 recipes from him. I don't even like peanuts on my pad thai so I'll have to take baby steps towards Chef Samuelsson's dishes.
In the celebrity dish section the gorgeous Amel Larrieux say she makes her kids a dish made of “yams, onions, and brown rice sautéed in sesame oil, sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg”. Um, Blech! I was always under the assumption that sesame oil was primarily used as a flavour enhancer at the end of cooking not for sautéing. *shrug* But either way, her dish is so not gorgeous. It sounds downright disgusting actually. She always took me as that kinda mother-earth, granola eater though, so it didn’t really surprise me.
Tyra Banks would not call the models fierce in this magazine, especially one dude who seems to not know where the camera is/can’t focus his eyes on a particular subject. He doesn't look particularly interested in the other models or the food. It’s nice to see Black models have another venue but dang!
The story entitled Cool Kitchen colors is especially wack. Not only because the pictures are horrid and unprofessionally executed, but the colors consist of drab dark brown wood and southwestern-style peach colored walls. Boo.
There’s a story on cookware where they question 2 chefs on the merit of stainless steel vs. non-stick. One chef sounds like he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talkin’ about and the other sounds reasonably aware. For instance, they ask the chefs about the rumors surrounding chemicals from Teflon and one dude says he doesn’t think “that there’s much that could harm you”! Um…ok.
And I’ll even give it to the guy that he’s a Cajun chef so he might not have an occasion to use particular cookware for particular dishes, but I’ve also been under the assumption that a chef is a chef is a chef (accreditation and all that jazz). So when the other chef says there are particular instances where non-stick pans are the general rule (omelets, delicate fish, or cheese dishes) and he answers in the negative, I’m perplexed.
LisaRaye and her mother make a disgusting looking dish of chicken and dumplings that calls for 2 spices, salt and pepper. Huh? And I’m all for glamour in the kitchen but LisaRaye wears a white lace outfit for her cooking chores while her mother wears black embellished with colorful embroidery…to work with flour! Maybe I’m just a messier cook or my suspension of disbelief just wouldn’t take, looking at this cooking “demonstration”. They were cute though!
I know from reading this you might think I don’t recommend the magazine or that I’m a little harsh but I wholeheartedly do and I am only harsh because I want it to get even better. Trust me, staring a venture like this takes time to work the kinks out and I have faith that this may be the next sleeper hit of the publishing world. And since most of the stories appear to be written by one woman, I’m seriously thinking about offering my editorial services…for a chance to meet G. of course!Pick up Soul Food Magazine at your local bookstore (where they’ll have a better selection of specialty publications). In Canada find it at Chapters/Indigo.
