I’m home from the World Fantasy Convention now—well, not completely home, as we’re on Day 8 of no Internet, and I’ll be spending lots of time in cybercafes until this is fixed—but before the week gets away from me, here are some pics to represent the final day of WFC. I hope to eventually get around to a full con report …

… someday.

Waiting for the banquet to begin with Nalo Hopkinson

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I was up until nearly 3:00 a.m. last night, and once again have no time to share with you in any detail the fun I had at this year’s World Fantasy Convention. That’ll just have to wait until I get home. Until then, let these five photos stand in for the friends and food and general good times I had.

Deep-fried soft dumplings of Berkshire pork at Lai Wah Heen

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Since I’m having too much fun at the World Fantasy Convention in Toronto to write up a full report just yet, let these six photos suffice for now to let you know what my first day was like.

Vatican City burger at Burger’s Priest

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And when I write that I’ll be eating in Toronto during World Fantasy Con, I mean, yes, I’ll be eating in Toronto during World Fantasy Con … which though it bills itself as a Toronto convention, is actually off in Richmond Hill. But I’ve rented a car so I can head off on foodie expeditions, bringing along with me as many other victims volunteers as I can stuff in the car.

Assuming, of course, that the coming Frankenstorm doesn’t mess with my plans.

All six of these buzzworthy destinations are in Toronto, about a half an hour away from the hotel, and some have asked—how can I dare to tread so far from the convention itself? Won’t I be missing out? Nope! When I go, with four or five others in the car, it’ll be like I’m taking the con with me!

So … what’s on the menu?

Thursday’s lunch: The Burger’s Priest

When I asked for advice on which Toronto burger joint was the best, the responses got so heated you’d think I was in a conversation about the presidential election. But a consensus soon formed around The Burger’s Priest, which has a secret menu not posted at the restaurant. Which means you can only order something like The Vatican City—”a double cheeseburger squeezed between two grilled cheese buns”—if you find out about it online. (more…)

Next, the restaurant which reinvents itself several times each year, offering up a cuisine for several months that then vanishes, never to be seen on the menu again, has asked over on Facebook what we’d like to see in the future. So far, the query has received 772 comments, which represents an even greater number of suggestions.

Since I learned during my Sicilian meal that Next serves the platonic ideal of whatever concept they’ve chosen—so much so that I was moved to purchase Kitchen Table tickets for its Kyoto dinner—I feel very invested in the outcome.

So which three menus should they serve in 2013?

Here are the most intriguing suggestions so far. (more…)

I’ve been to Bryan Voltaggio’s Volt, his high-end restaurant where Irene and I experienced a seven-course anniversary dinner tasting menu. I’ve also been to Voltaggio’s Family Meal, for which the chef created a menu devoted to comfort food like chicken and biscuits and fried green tomatoes. So I figured it was time I tried out Lunchbox, his attempt at a gourmet sandwich shop.

And since I’d planned to head over to Maryland today to meet with a master tailor who could perfect the fit of those two jackets I first showed off at Chicon7, this seemed like the day for it.

I arrived at exactly 11:30 a.m., right when Lunchbox opened, so I was the first customer of the day. When I entered, I was welcomed enthusiastically, with one of the women behind the counter offering to explain the various sandwiches, since they weren’t your usual Subway grinders. I probably should have let her go ahead, just to see her shtick, but I’d studied the menu at home, and so already had an idea of the sandwiches which most called to me.

The two that seemed the most tempting were “mom’s meatloaf: tamarind ketchup, gruyere, onion marmalade, ciabatta” and the “pork shoulder: ham, pickle, gruyere, pickled cabbage, egg yolk, cilantro-lime, baguette,” though I must admit the “tcb: nutella, bananas, potato bread” looked tempting as well. (See what I mean about Voltaggio trying to put the “gourmet” in sandwich shop?) (more…)

As I told you a couple of weeks ago, I fell so in love with Next restaurant while in Chicago last month that I was unable to resist booking a Kitchen Table for its current Kyoto menu, which only runs until the end of the year.

One reason I wanted the Kitchen Table, which seats six, rather than the other tables for two or four, is that it’s the only table per seating that gets a few extras unavailable to the other diners. (And you know how much I love my amuse bouche.) And while searching on @NextRestaurant over at Twitter—because I’m hungry not just for food, but for learning more about the food which will be satiating that hunger—I discovered that a fellow foodie by the name of MaryMary had tweeted the following photo.

The pic seemed amazing to me, and not just because the duck made me think, “Get in my belly!” No, it was the caption:

“Duck, served out of a 200 year old duck”

I knew that even the settings on which Chefs Achatz and Beran served their food was mind-blowing, but a 200-year-old bowl? Astounding.

Why am I bringing this up to you, especially since most of you will likely never get to enjoy this meal? Because I’d like to hear from you—is it possible for a meal to be spoiled? (And no, I don’t mean that way. I mean the other way.) (more…)

On Sunday, September 2, 2012, Adam-Troy Castro, lover of spicy food and author of the Gustav Gloom novels, slipped away from the Chicago Worldcon and traveled to Bricks, where he attempted to eat a painful pizza, which consists of spicy pepperoni, purple onion, fresh jalapeno, garlic, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and lots and !LOTS! of hot sauce.

I was one of his sadistic friends who journeyed to witness (but not to partake in) this act of masochism. But just because you weren’t there, doesn’t mean you have to miss the madness.

Check out Adam’s agony below.

If the poor guy’s pain proves to be too much for you to watch, just skip ahead to 15:50 to learn how it all turns out and see him sum up his ordeal.

Those of you who’ve been paying attention know that when I travel to conventions, I hate to eat in hotel restaurants and do my best to track down memorable eating experiences. And since it looks like all of the places I plan to hit during November’s World Fantasy Convention are a distance from the hotel, which is in Richmond Hill, about half an hour outside of downtown Toronto, I’ll be renting a car—the first time I’ve ever done that internationally.

But as you’ll see below, it should be worth it.

The Black Hoof

The #1 restaurant I want to hit during the con is The Black Hoof, which is a cash only, no reservations establishment. But with a menu featuring such delicacies as roasted bone marrow, beef tendon & grits, foie & nutella, and spicy horse tartare, how can you pass it up? Adventurous eaters, please raise your hands if you want to tag along. (more…)

When I’m at home, I tend to eat rather spartanly, but when I travel the convention circuit, I like to make each meal matter. I do my best to avoid remaining in a hotel for a meal, or getting anywhere near a chain, unless my dining companions demand it, and aim for unique eating experiences representative of the particular city I happen to be in. Which is why I’m so often relying on the advice of people like Man v. Food‘s Adam Richman (who led me to my favorite hamburger ever—The Thurman Burger at the Thurman Cafe in Columbus) or on Yelp reviews (such as the ones that got me to Sugar Ray’s Bakery in St Petersburg).

Chicago, which hosted the 70th World Science Fiction two weeks ago, was going to be a bit more challenging than my usual gastronomic adventures, because the two restaurants I most wanted to visit—Next and Alinea, co-owned by three-star Michelin chef Grant Achatz (though of course co-owner Nick Kokonas and chef Dave Beran also deserve kudos)—don’t take reservations.

And by not taking reservations, I don’t mean they’re the kinds of places you walk up to and stand in a long line to get seated. I mean that in order to get in, you need to buy a ticket, the same way you would to the theater or a rock concert.

Why would a restaurant do such a thing? Because apparently, demand was so great that when Alinea would announce a particular month’s block of tables was available for reservations, the calls would crash their Chicago area code, the tables would fill within the hour, and they needed a full-time staff whose only job was to say, “No, sorry, we’re booked.” And at one point Next had 19,000 diners on its waiting list.

To quote Alinea:

Alinea has 3 people answering phones six days per week answering hundreds more phone calls than we have reservations available. It is a disappointing and frustrating process for our customers and staff alike.

And as for what Next has to say:

Unlike an a la carte restaurant with many walk-in customers and dozens of menu items, Next is creating a truly unique dining experience and doing so at an amazing price. By eliminating no-shows, requiring pre-payment, and varying the price by time and day we are able to create a predictable and steady flow of patrons allowing us to offer a great deal more than would otherwise be possible at these prices.

So—tickets, a concept which frees up the staff to do what it does best, create mind-blowing meals.

If you’ve never heard of either of these restaurants, you’re probably wondering why there’d be such a demand. There are two very different reasons. (more…)