Canadian Crossing

New Canada Food Guide sidesteps food lobbyists for better nutrition perspective

The revision of the Canada Food Guide took 12 years but brought some significant changes. The new guide focusing on protein options and de-emphasizes meat and dairy. The guide encourages water as a beverage of choice. More importantly, the approach also doesn't suck up to food interests, either from growers or food companies.

Cooking at home is also encouraged.

The Trudeau Government has promised that revisions won't wait another 12 years.

The meat and dairy people aren't thrilled with the new guide. You can consume meat and dairy and lentils and tofu. You can even get protein from vegetables and plant-based foods.

The fruit juice people aren't thrilled with the new guide. Doesn't mean you can't get an occasional glass; just be more conscious about your fruit juice consumption. One of my favorite tricks is to mix 50-50 of water and juice. A great way to get flavor with your water and less juice consumption.

BalanceofFood.com Canada food coverage

For more on this topic, check out the story from our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com.

photos credit: Health Canada; CTV/Health Canada

The art of the double double

We are sorry if you came to this article looking for NBA basketball or if you were chasing an In-N-Out burger with 2 beef patties with 2 slices of cheese.

This double double is about something truly Canadian. For those not familiar, a double double is a coffee with 2 creams and 2 sugars at Tim Hortons. The fun part is that they put in the cream and sugar so you get the drink without the extra work.

During the 2018 Windsor International Film Festival, I decided to be a part of that Canadian experience. To give some perspective, I am not a coffee drinker. If you are looking for someone to tell how great anyone's coffee is, you are on the wrong blog post.

I ordered the Simply Sausage biscuit, 2 chocolate Timbits, and a small double double. I did order the drink to get the hockey trading cards too.

Canadian ads from fall 2018 NHL Center Ice free preview

My double double was quite hot. I opened the little flap but couldn't get it to close properly. I brought the drink into my first film of 6 films that day, so the caffeine would be helpful.

I did let the coffee cool off a bit. When I went back to the coffee, the drink was warm but not hot.

The double double was pretty satisfying though a bit on the sweet side. I could drink the coffee, which isn't always true for a black coffee. In the future, I might want to play with getting a double single (2 creams, 1 sugar) or a double (2 creams). The Double Double did accomplish what few cups of coffee can do: mask the taste of coffee so I could drink it.

Tim Hortons poutine donut serving up bad Canadian stereotypes to Americans

There are non-coffee ways to feel Canadian. They don't always involve donuts or poutine or donair but often they do. Eating ketchup chips or all-dressed chips or having fries with gravy are gateways to feeling Canadian. Lamb burgers seem Canadian. A double double might be the quickest and cheapest way to feel Canadian.

photo credit: me

Canadian ads from fall 2018 NHL Center Ice free preview

Jon Hamm is not Canadian but Hamm does play someone who thinks he's Canadian in an ad for Skip the Dishes. As you might guess, Skip the Dishes is a Canadian app for ordering food from restaurants.

In the ad, Hamm is lying around going through a to-do list while his young worker is polishing chopsticks. Hamm teases him about being American; the young man responds that Hamm is also American. "Then why do I like hockey so much." Hamm also teases the young worker for not knowing poutine.

Hamm, who is actually from St. Louis, has a fancy to-do list: Rename vintage yacht; Call eyebrow consultant; Take fashion risks; Get a price check on Capri; Polish chopsticks; Question reality!

Cigarette ads are banned in the United States. The Go Vype ads that ran on CBC aren't selling nicotine but rather the device to consume nicotine. Even if CBC appears on a few U.S. cable systems, these are not technically cigarette ads. Still, they would be a surprise to U.S. audiences who aren't used to this kind of advertising on television.

The ad is certainly inviting, a lifestyle ad as opposed to showing young people coughing rather loudly with physically exhaustive gestures.

Canada didn't wait until October 17 to run public service announcements (PSA) against driving high. In this PSA, kids are going to a party. A young woman is taking a selfie with an app to change her appearance. The teenage driver looks a little out of it. The PSA ends with a car crashing into them.

Don't get high and drive.

Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon return as Tim Hortons spokespeople. In their latest adventure, Crosby is driving a zamboni in the Tim Hortons drive-through, ordering 2 double-doubles, a chocolate dip, and NHL trading cards, available with a drink purchase.

A separate ad noted that Tim Hortons now serves breakfast all day, something to consider on a Canadian road trip.

Whistler is rather famous for skiing so that would explain why I haven't been to Whistler. The area does look pretty. The distance is quite far, about 2½ hours up Highway 99 aka the Sea to Sky Highway.

videos credit: individual companies and organisations

Canadian ads from 2018 MLB Extra Innings free preview

We don't usually get too much Canadian advertising bounty from the Rogers Sportsnet feed of Toronto Blue Jays games. Most of the ads are for non-Canadian entities and self-serving Rogers promos. The small amount we got in the 2018 MLB Extra Innings free preview is worth sharing.

This pro-pipeline ad from the government of Alberta was very upbeat, matching a solution for every potential problem. There was the nice dig about "being less reliant on the U.S." This ad ran a couple of times during the 6 Blue Jays games available in the free preview.

While Canadians have a single-payer health care system, prescription drugs costs are not covered. The Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) primarily covers those 65 and older in the province. This Shoppers Drug Mart ad centres on this demographic offering to add $2 in savings to the ODB.

A $30 double bucket from KFC Canada sounds alarming compared to the $5 "meals" in the U.S. version. As we have noted before, even fast food is more expensive in Canada. This ad is also a contrast because the people in it are having fun as opposed to having various comedians badly impersonate the creator of Kentucky Fried Chicken. This is the time that we remind people that the real Harlan Sanders moved to Canada in his later years and ran KFC Canada even after he sold the U.S. business.

videos credit: Rogers Sportsnet/MLB

How to celebrate Canada Day 2018

Canada Day is Sunday: the 151th anniversary of the agreement of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia to form the Dominion of Canada. This is also why older people might refer to Canada Day as Dominion Day.

This will be a long weekend for Canadians with most places taking Monday off to acknowledge the holiday.

For those who thought marijuana would be legal on Canada Day 2018, there was never an official announcement. The date is October 17. Canada Day 2019, just not Canada Day 2018.

So how should you celebrate Canada Day 2018? Here are a few suggestions and thoughts:

Trade battles have opened eyes to pros and cons of Canada supply management

Where in the world is Kelly Knight Craft?

G7 summit in Charlevoix, Quebec comes on heels on tariffs from Donald Trump

The Canadian tariffs in retaliation for the steel and aluminum tariffs by the United States will kick in on Sunday. Canada has been dealing with tariffs on softwood lumber and the Bombardier tariffs before the newest tariffs. Donald Trump is threatening to blow up the auto industry on both sides of the border. Maybe you should consider buying an automobile while you have the chance.

If you are planning to sell your used car, you might want to hang on to your car a bit longer. Used car prices should significantly go up if people can't afford new cars.

Americans should stock up on Canadian maple syrup and other Canadian products that will get more expensive starting on Sunday.

Yes Georgia, Canadian drivers licenses are valid in the United States

If you're in Canada and are considering travel to the United States, you might consider that you could get caught up in a traffic stop with border patrol officers searching for foreigners. That includes Canadians.

We've heard reports on stops along Interstate 93 in Woodstock, New Hampshire and Interstate 95 in Maine. This is one of the many crackdowns we've seen as the rules are interpreted to mean Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers can addresses anyone within 100 miles (160 km) of the U.S. border. The border mark is also defined as an ocean and, in a bizarre interpretation, the Great Lakes.

The checkpoints are clearly a violation of the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Given the current power structure, the Constitution isn't seen as a deterrent.

As we are reminded by the case in Georgia, Canadians should travel with their documents while driving in the United States. Understand your rights is helpful and don't be intimidated by the officers.

If you think you can avoid them by driving, CBP officers have also been boarding buses.

Jogging along the border won't be as severe for Americans and Canadians as what happened to Cedella Roman, the French woman who was visiting her mother in White Rock, BC. Roman inadvertently went over the border during her job and spent 2 weeks at a U.S. detention centre. This is also a reminder that when jogging or even walking, you should have your travel documents.

Our guide to legal marijuana in Canada

Outside of Quebec, Manitoba, and Nunavut, Canadians could take the time to figure out how viably they can grow up to 4 marijuana plants when marijuana becomes legal on October 17. Your province might be open in terms of numbers of outlets (sorry, Ontario) but growing the product at home makes a lot more sense. Your hydro bill will go up significantly.

Quebec thinks of July 1 as Moving Day. Newfoundland and Labrador celebrate Memorial Day on July 1. The province was dealing with snow this week at the end of June. Other Canadians are dealing with temperatures higher than 30°C (86°F).

Balanceoffood.com Canada food policy coverage

You don't have to celebrate Canada Day with poutine. Really. Not a requirement. Ketchup chips and all-dressed chips are a great way to add Canada to the plate. Learn how to make a tourtière, or meat pie. Enjoy Beaver Tails in Canada and certain U.S. markets. Drink a Canadian beer. Canada has more than just Labatt's. Molson, and Moosehead.

United Shades of America focuses on Canada

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We have a lot of Canadian films to recommend for spending time on the long weekend. They can also be helpful on the U.S. side with its holiday on Wednesday.

Americans can watch Private Eyes on Ion and X Company on Ovation. You can find old Schitt's Creek episodes on Netflix as well as Meditation Park and other Canadian films.

You can catch up with the United Shades of America episode on Canada.

ESPN2 has a CFL doubleheader tonight. The CFL doesn't play on Canada Day this year but there are plenty of games this weekend.

The CBC will have Canada Day celebrations from Ottawa. Most of them are on TV but some are radio-based. There are Canada Day celebrations throughout Canada and in select cities in the United States.

photo credit: Town of Huntsville, ON

Trade battles have opened eyes to pros and cons of Canada supply management

"And they buy our milk at Sam's because Canadian milk is very expensive. True story."

This quote came from a Detroit-area woman who commented on Canadians for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in 2013 as Al Madrigal hosted a segment on the (now-named) Gordie Howe bridge.

I haven't bought much milk in Canada but I can tell you Canadian milk, in bags or in jugs, is expensive. Canadian eggs and poultry are also quite expensive.

Doug Ford will be the new premier of Ontario

Andrew Scheer is the new Conservative Party leader

I knew the high prices were due to Canada's supply management policy, which limits production and ensures good prices for farmers. Funny how Doug Ford campaigned in Ontario on lowering prices for average people on gas taxes and beer, but never mentioned dairy, eggs, and poultry.

Conservative MP Maxime Bernier ran for his party's leadership race on getting rid of supply management. Bernier narrowly lost to Andrew Scheer; Bernier got removed from the shadow cabinet after his views resurfaced on his Web site. Even among conservatives, Bernier is in the minority.

Where in the world is Kelly Knight Craft?

G7 summit in Charlevoix, Quebec comes on heels on tariffs from Donald Trump

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue went out of his way to say Canada's supply management system wasn't the issue. "The United States is not about trying to get Canada to ditch its supply management system." Donald Trump's tweets scream otherwise.

The supply management system, like softwood lumber, was never a part of the NAFTA deal.

Let's be clear that American farmers are also subsidized, a fact you rarely hear in U.S. media coverage of the Canadian supply management system.

For the Trans Pacific Partnership, Canada did allow for more imports on dairy, but only 3.3%. The United States pulled out of the Trans Pacific Partnership.

While the supply management system has felt like a third rail in Canadian politics, we have had discussions about the policy itself and whether that policy is still relevant.

How Canada's supply management system works (cbcnews.ca)

The supply management system keeps smaller Canadian farms in business. Contrast this to Wisconsin, a state that lost 500 dairy farms in 2017. Another 150 have quit milking cows so far in 2018. The overall numbers of milk-cow farms rests at around 7,600 — down 20% in the last 5 years.

The Canadian system is designed for internal consumption, so Canadian exports aren't a significant number.

The American subsidies help consumers more than farmers; the Canadian subsidies help farmers more than consumers. The surprise is the Canadian approach isn't supply management or subsidies, but that they make average Canadians pay. No wonder Canadians cross the border for cheaper American milk.

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Donald Trump coverage

One drawback to the supply management system in living in Canada is the difficulty in finding European-style butter in Canada. According to this article, Canada allows a limited supply of European butter that is usually grabbed up by bakers. That is good news for consumers buying Canadian baked goods but not good news if you want to use the richer butters at home.

The Canada CETA trade pact with the European Union is currently held up by Italy with its own food issues. Hopefully, that deal will involve more European butter for Canada.

Balanceoffood.com Canada food policy coverage

There are definitely drawbacks to Canada's supply management on dairy, eggs, and poultry. The U.S. system has a lot of flaws, as the folks at our sister blog BalanceofFood.com know all too well.

Canada did negotiate slivers of trade in the TPP and likely will in CETA. The fact that supply management has been outside NAFTA speaks to the difficulty with negotiating these trade concerns. The U.S. has an advantage in that its media will only cover outrageous figures from its government instead of comprehensive trade policy. Canada has an advantage in that there is no way they can compromise on supply management, no matter its flaws. Standing up to the bully isn't easy but way better than capitulating because the bully will then come back for more.

video credit: YouTube/pincstuff
photo credit: Dairy Farmers of Canada

Anthony Bourdain takes CNN's Parts Unknown to the mysterious land of Newfoundland

"We're surrounded by water and we're not really a seafood-eating place." — Dale Jarvis, Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador

Anthony Bourdain does his best to eat the seafood and wild meat of Newfoundland in the latest chapter of Parts Unknown on CNN. Newfoundland is the second province in Canada to be featured on Parts Unknown, besides Quebec. Bourdain reaches into his knowledge base of Quebec to bring in Joe Beef's Frédéric Morin and David McMillan. Joining these masterful eaters are head chef Jeremy Charles and restaurant manager and sommelier Jeremy Bonia from Raymonds in St. John's.

"How Canadian is Newfoundland?" Bourdain asks Jarvis. Jarvis spoke of the history of Newfoundland before joining Canada in 1949. He talked about the perception of the "goofy Newfie" and how there is a real shift as to how Newfoundlanders perceive themselves.

Bourdain goes into the history of cod and then the cod moratorium back in 1992.

Bourdain points out one crucial difference between Newfoundland and Quebec: In Newfoundland, you can shoot wild game and served that in restaurants where that "would get you arrested in Montréal."

The 5 of them go off to hunt moose in Buchans, over 300 miles (500 km) from St. John's. The weather starts out good but turns quickly "4 seasons in one day." They don't get to shoot a moose but there is an already dead moose being savored including moose ribs. They also enjoy a cured ham from Martin Picard of Au Pied de Cochon in Montréal.

As the crew is enjoying moose, cans of jellied foie gras, and other wild game, the Joe Beef gentlemen confess that they have never been to Newfoundland before this trip. "It's not a prime travel destination." Bourdain told Anderson Cooper in a separate interview that Morin and McMillan encouraged him to visit the island.

Dildo, Newfoundland gets The New York Times treatment

Canadian notebook: Newfoundland and Labrador developing anti-book reputation

Newfoundland is a mysterious, majestic vacation escape

Eating seal meat does not get Don Cherry's seal of approval

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

They do spend time on a boat catching fish and diving for scallops. They return to Raymonds to feast on a local seafood tower. They also had heart of caribou tartare, rabbit, partridge, a reinvented Jiggs Dinner (more on this later) as a pasta dish, and chanterelle ice cream. We will get our share of sea urchins along the way in this episode and even fried swim bladder of a cod.

Your humble narrator has been to Newfoundland so I had already discovered scrunchions, which is salted pork fat that are crisped up. Bourdain was very excited to discover scrunchions with the fish stew. He has taught us much but I could have taught him the joy of scrunchions.

They sat down to a Jiggs Dinner at the Big R diner in St. John's. The Jiggs Dinner was described as boiled salt beef, cabbage, turnips, potatoes, and pease pudding with lots of gravy on top.

That meal also included fried bologna, liver and onions, fried clam strips, and pan fried cod tongues. I've also had cod tongues though they were less tasty than scrunchions. They didn't identify Newfoundland dressing, but I did recognize the fine seasoned bread crumbs.

The crew have a segment where they throw axes. Bourdain and the Joe Beef guys are really not good at throwing the axes.

The show ends with a screech ceremony. I wondered about this because I didn't participate (timing never worked out). You get the story of how the ceremony works. They get a taste of Newfoundland steak, which turns out to be fried bologna. The bartender tells the story of John Cabot landing in Newfoundland. The story of screech stems from the trading of cod with Jamaica for rum, essentially screech. The final part of the ceremony is the kissing of the cod and then downing a shot of screech. Would be rather difficult to include an hour on Newfoundland and not mention screech.

They do take part of the hour to stop off at Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French archipelago south of the Newfoundland. Flying there from St. John's takes about 45 minutes. They enjoy a feast on the island featuring stuffed squid.

Come From Away wins a single Tony award for best direction

Come From Away earns 7 Tony nominations

Come From Away hits Broadway, shows how Canada helped out after 9/11

The show is only an hour but some missed moments: Cape Spear, the eastern most point in North America; Gander or some mention of what happened on 9/11 now featured in the Broadway play Come From Away; places such as Dildo and Paradise that really exist; eating seal meat; and George Street, home of the most bars per block of any street in North America.

videos and photos credit: Parts Unknown/CNN

Canadian ads from 2017-2018 NHL Center Ice free previews

The NHL Center Ice free preview normally gives the U.S. audience 3 hearty time periods to sample Canadian ads. We only had a week in October instead of 3 weeks. The midseason preview was hidden during the Olympics so we don't know when the preview started and thanks to glitches, have no idea when it officially ended. Springtime brought 8 days worth with a glitch on the last day of the season.

So we decided to combine bits of ads from all 3 previews. The CBC Comedy Tuesday promo ran last fall but seeing the promo does give fans a chance to honour the "I'm not retiring" Rick Mercer Report.

McDonald's made a pair of ads that are artistic but have little to do with its fast food core. We saw an ad for milk that still leaves us scratching our heads.

The newest Tim Hortons Roll up and Win ad (above) is the latest reincarnation of a game Canadians know where Americans have no clue.

The Smirnoff Canada ad promotes that Canada is for everyone. Canada prides itself as a multiculturalist country. Drinking spirits is not the usual path for a common denominator, but I love the spirit (pun intended) of the ad.

Swiss Chalet reminds me of restaurants growing up where you got fed a lot of food, even if it wasn't gourmet. The idea that a fairly boring family would get excited about Thursday ribs at Swiss Chalet might be a friendly poke within by the chain.

Cross-promotion is rarely funny even with funny people. If the CBC Comedy Tuesday team were going to convene, they would meet at Kim's Convenience. The folks from This Hour Has 22 Minutes are buying a gift for Shaun Majumder. Mr. D is sampling a bottle of water. Appa is yelling at Rick Mercer because he can hear Mercer's rants behind the store.

The winter version would have Schitt's Creek looking for gourmet mustard and Workin' Moms trying to find a more adult type gift.

I don't know Kelsey Roadhouse or its food. Being around 40 years is nice but not a big deal. I do love the time travel back to 1978. The time travel feels Canadian, though I can't say why.

McDonald's Canada offers a Big Mac with Bacon. We've seen ads before but these avant-garde ads in black and white are outstanding and totally irrelevant to the product. Adding bacon always sounds better than it is, especially coming from a mainstream fast food chain. Why are McDonald's Canada ads so much more interesting than the ones from McDonald's in the United States?

McDonald's Canada picked up the cowboy theme when promoting Angus beef in earlier ads. To introduce Montréal Steak Spice BBQ Angus, the cowboy is on a horse moving the puck down what looks to be a frozen St. Lawrence River in Montreal. The goalie has Montréal on the mask though he is definitely not a Hab. The Montréal goalie stops the cowboy's shot with a great save. I want this to be a short film instead of a commercial for a burger I will never likely eat.

CanadianCrossing.com advertising coverage

We love the humour of previous Dairy Farmers of Canada ads, but this kiss cam ad feels weird but not in a good way. This ad seems racist in that the large woman prevents a mixed-race couple from kissing for the kiss cam. But the ad seems to be about the woman preventing young people from kissing in public. Because the young man kisses the large woman as does the young girl, you have enough indirect kisses to probably still be okay except that the kisses are non-consensual. What does this have to do with milk? Can't solve that dilemma. The other ads from the Dairy Farmers of Canada are sharp and on point. Tried to find this ad on the Dairy Farmers of Canada YouTube page. To no one's surprise, the ad isn't there.

Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon are back together to help out Jeff from Kelowna in the latest Tim Hortons ad. Jeff from Kelowna just netted the OT winner in Game 7. The three of them are in the locker room. MacKinnon gives him the A for alternate to the captain. Crosby gives him the C for captain. Then Jeff from Kelowna wakes up at Tim Hortons.

Dad was a Molson brewer. Now his son is a Molson brewer. Dad says you should work hard. Dad is proud of his son.

Springtime is a good time to plant the seeds for summer travel in places such as Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Prince Edward Island. They don't look this good now but in a few months, they will be beautiful and peaceful.

video credits: companies and organisations in the ads

The New York Times introduces Americans to butter tarts and more Canadian food

For those who think Canadians are just like Americans, I usually introduce two words to refute that argument: butter tarts.

The New York Times is using its large influence for a bit of education on Canadian food.

As someone who has hosted a panel on Canadian food, I love talking about butter tarts, tourtière, peameal bacon, oatcakes, poutine, maple pie, and the Caesar.

You can find the whole Canada Issue collection here. But here are some of our notes about the articles.

Preserving an Indigenous Way of Life

We touched on this topic last month when writing about Ku-kum Kitchen in Toronto spotlighting indigenous food. The article touches on a number of issues, including Ku-kum Kitchen. The story of Algonquin chef Cezin Nottaway leads the story, talking about reestablishing traditional food on indigenous lands.

One interesting fact: In 2014, the Quebec government proposed a plan to make an exception for 10 restaurants to allow them to serve game meat killed by licensed hunters. Those restaurants would have included Au Pied de Cochon and Joe Beef in Montréal. The plan ultimately did not work out.

They say you learn about a people's history by what they eat. You also learn about their history when you read about trying to take that food away.

The Great Butter Tart Debate

The beautiful dessert at the top of this article is a butter tart. If you haven't been to Canada, you might not know what one looks like.

They are very simple based on the ingredients: primarily brown sugar, butter, and egg inside a tart shell. They can come runny or firm. I've seen them plain, with raisins or top, or with nuts. I tend to like pecans on them; the nuts bring a contrast to the sugary dominance.

The article talks about the origins of butter tarts and as a contrast to the Nanaimo bar.

Poutine has tried to make inroads in the United States while butter tarts are pretty much invisible south of the 49th parallel. Canada's gain is America's loss. As the article notes about butter tarts:

"They are a humble treat, made with ordinary ingredients, and spectacularly delicious."

It Came, It Quenched, It Conquered Canada

We should dedicate this to the ignoramuses at IFC who insisted that the Baroness von Sketch Show change Caesar to a Bloody Mary in a sketch about cottage country. They don't drink a Bloody Mary in cottage country but they do drink Caesars. Too bad that this article counts too late. They and you should read this account on how the Caesar cocktail came to exist.

Toronto Suddenly Has a New Craving: Syrian Food

People who live in big cities claim they have food from all around the world. Toronto always seems to do better than average even among big cities. Syrian food making an impact in Toronto is yet another example where if you visit Toronto, you can eat around the world.

A Door to a Parallel Culinary World

Can't personally speak for this combination of Japanese-influenced Italian food in Vancouver's Chinatown. However, for those who think Canadian food is just more rural American food, this is one of numerous examples to the contrary.

Canadian Whisky’s Long-Awaited Comeback

From Ontario, Cool-Climate Wines of Beauty and Vision

When non-Canadians think of alcohol, they might consider Canada's many fine beers. But as the newspaper notes, ignoring Canadian whisky and wine is not a smart option. And yes, Canada spells whisky without an e unlike the American whiskey.

Ku-kum Kitchen offers up chance to learn more about indigenous Canadians through food

IFC should applaud the unique drink that is a Caesar

Experiencing distinctly Canadian foods

Podcast link to Canadian food event is now online

CanadianCrossing.com food/drink coverage

You can also access Canadian recipes via The New York Times but you need to be a subscriber to access that information.

photos credit: Ian Patterson/Bryce Meyer both for The New York Times

Ku-kum Kitchen offers up chance to learn more about indigenous Canadians through food

If you eat veal at an Italian restaurant or goat at a Middle Eastern restaurant, you won't run into protests over the meat you are eating. Add some seal to your diet and you might get a side of protest.

My search for a seal burger in Newfoundland came up short when I traveled there in 2015. Thanks to a relatively new restaurant in Toronto, I wouldn't have to go that far to finally score some seal.

Ku-kum Kitchen in the Davisville neighbourhood in Toronto specializes in all sorts of meats common to the indigenous diet such as elk, caribou, and goose. Salmon and trout are also on the menu, but we've learned that fish doesn't draw the level of protest as meat attracts.

The owners point out that the seal meat comes from a commercial source from professional hunters, as opposed to an indigenous hunt. The source of that hunt has drawn some of the protest against serving seal.

From my limited knowledge, since the indigenous population is limited in how they can use the whole seal to make money to survive, fewer seals are being hunted through indigenous hunts. Those people who would benefit financially from selling items such as mittens made with sealskin would also benefit if more restaurants in the Canadian south would serve seal meat. The prices at Ku-kum Kitchen are much higher than ones you will see at Swiss Chalet or Boston Pizza.

For the record, I don't know if I will like seal. I might not. But I feel like that trying seal will help me understand a population that I am slowly learning about in this world.

Angry Inuk film review

Eating seal meat does not get Don Cherry's seal of approval

The temptation of sealskin mittens from Canada

Newfoundland is a mysterious, majestic vacation escape

Eating my way across Canada

Traveling to Newfoundland in 2015 helped awaken me to the issues behind the seal hunt. Seeing Angry Inuk at the 2016 Windsor International Film Festival added to my knowledge and my interest.

I agree with the protesters that I would rather have seal meat from indigenous hunters. The protest mentality did lead to the reduction in indigenous hunting, so I do have less sympathy for the protesters.

If I were up in Iqaluit in Nunavut, and someone offered me seal, I would try it. That appears to be the spirit of Ku-kum Kitchen: these are foods eaten by Canadians even if they live far away from Toronto. Given the price of the food that is flown into Nunavat and the other Canadian territories, they should be eating more animals germane to that region.

We can learn so much about any society through food. Saltless bread, tripe, and rare steak can easily be found in Florence and Tuscany in Italy. A goat stew might lend some perspective as opposed to a beef stew in North America. I would rather have seal than tripe, but I might like both foods.

The current menu at Ku-kum Kitchen has an Arctic Trio appetizer with beet-cured salmon, seal tartare, and smoked rainbow trout for $22 Canadian. In earlier reports, the seal tartare came with crostini and a quail egg. Sounds good.

There was a counter protest against the original protesters. The counterprotest was design to educate those protesters about the realities of the indigenous diet. Too often, the indigenous population in Canada and other countries is ignored or forgotten. Eating the indigenous food of any population is a great way to understand.

photo credit: Ku-kum Kitchen, Toronto