I hate to open a can of worms (or a can of duck) here, but I am a little miffed that there is a Toronto/Ontario category but not a Montreal/Quebec category, when the latter has a far richer and more original set of cuisines, as well as more notable restaurants. Where is Toronto’s Joe Beef, AuPDC, Schwartz’s, La Banquise? Its bagels, its poutine, its tourtiere, its smoked meat?
And does TO even have a steak seasoning named for it?
I know, i know. One could also make a case for Vancouver eclipsing Toronto, food wise, and being of more interest for us West Coast types. And then…
I wouldn’t mention Caplansky’s in the same sentence as Schwartz’s , and I’m not a Montrealer or a major Schwartz’s fan. ; )
But on the topic of steak spice, Toronto does have a respectable steak seasoning - Barberian’s Steak Spice, even if it isn’t named after the city. I like it better than McCormick’s Montreal Steak seasoning.
I love dining in Mtl, and my buck goes farther for better food in Mtl than TO, but I hope we won’t be big city dining rivals on this site! I look fwd to seeing what you make of your Mtl /QC board .
I don’t think welcoming Atlantic Canadians will be detrimental to our board - but of course if any significant number should show up, they could have their own board! There has always been a problem with largest cities dominating regional sites - and in Québec this is compounded by the fact that far fewer people in Québec City and other centres are fluent in English.
But even on the Ontario board at Chowhound (just for example), I’ve always found it hard to get responses about the Ottawa (National Capital) region, where I have family and work colleagues.
By the way, I said “Atlantic Canada” rather than “Maritimes” because the Atlantic also includes Newfoundland.
Please, no food fights! I always enjoy my visits to Toronto in culinary terms - just wish they had byows like we have, with no corkage fee - and our Toronto (and other Ontario) friends enjoy their visits here.
“I recommend a regional forum for the Atlantic region, Quebec, Ontario, the prairies and BC. Quebec, Ontario and BC have a lot of foodies and the prairies and the atlantic region are unique enough to warrant their own board. There might not be a ton of people right now but there will never be any if there are no structures to welcome them!”
Having empty forums might look weird but I think its better to have an empty Toronto board waiting for someone to comment than none at all. Having no Canadian regions also tend to send the message that this is a US only board.