Dear reader,
Who out there loves—like really loves—panettone? To look at the shelves of supermarkets right now, the answer would appear to be everyone. Even Vogue—yes, the magazine—has released its own line of the Italian holiday loaf. (I regret to inform you that Toronto Life will not be following in their farinaceous footsteps.) But, when I put a panettone on my desk earlier this week and invited my co-workers to help themselves, I had very few takers. One ate a slice only because she hadn’t brought lunch and our cafeteria was minutes away from closing. She begrudgingly chose panettone over the only item still available: corn chowder.
And there was nothing wrong with this particular panettone—it was actually a fine specimen of the traditional citrus-and-candied-fruit variety. But, at its essence, panettone is just sweet bread, sometimes dry, often boring and always presumptuously large. There are many other ways I would prefer to consume empty calories during the holidays. I did, however, notice that Cheese Boutique is selling a savoury panettone that incorporates tomato, mozzarella and oregano, which brings it into pizza bun territory, and I could get on board with that.
In today’s newsletter: what’s on the menu at two new Financial District restaurants, inside the kitchen of Gia’s Jennifer Coburn—and absolutely nothing to do with panettone.
