It's a (Joe) Mallozzi Christmas tradition! Dinner at one of my favorite restaurants - Au Pied de Cochon - with my sister and Daisy. But beware! It's not for the fainthearted! Akemi and I being affectionate. Les cromesquis - deep-fried morsels bursting with liquid foie gras. And, for Akemi - the mackerel. The French onion…
October 22, 2016: Toronto’s Best Katsu Curry and Ice Cream Sandwich Coffee!
While in Osaka this summer, I had one of the greatest katsu curries ever at Rika Shokudo. Katsu curry, for those not in the know, is thinly sliced pork fried to golden perfection served a bed of rice and alongside Japanese curry which is a thicker, somewhat sweeter version of Indian curries. Today, I discovered…
September 20, 2016: Tokyo Day #6!
Well, I spent most of the day thinking and worrying about my french bulldog Lulu and how best to proceed with her soft palate surgery, then the other most of the day thinking and worrying about the show's third season. In the case of the latter - I mean, sure, I know where I want…
September 17, 2016: Tokyo Day #3! Oh, and that Dark Matter season finale!
Tonight, following the season premiere of Z Nation, it's the season 2 finale of Dark Matter. This episode changes everything. Trust me. Fans are going to be feeling passionate after this one. And, while you're all watching Dark Matter, I'll be continuing my Tokyo travels. Yesterday, we took the shinkansen from Osaka (arriving in a lightning 2.5…
September 16, 2016: Goodbye, Osaka! Hello, Tokyo! Again!
I always found it interesting that, despite the crazy amount of food I would eat every time I visited Japan, I would return home actually lighter than when I left. At first, I assumed it was because I'd lost heavier muscle mass and gained comparatively lighter body fat BUT when I started measuring said body…
September 15, 2016: Osaka Day #2!
Good morning! The hotel (Intercontinental) upgraded us to a suite complete with kitchen so we took advantage by picking up some items at the local farmers' market and shops and making breakfast. Giant figs, two types of dried mushrooms, Okinawa sea salt, garlic & thyme olive oil, three types of dried pepper, local honey, local…
September 14, 2016: Osaka Day #1!
We got into Osaka a little after 6:30 p.m. last night, checked into our hotel, then headed out in time to watch the stores close. We were so chocolated out that we skipped dinner. I know, I know. A rarity for me. This morning, however, we were out bright and early. As were many eager…
September 13, 2016: Making chocolate! And television!
The plan was to enjoy two weeks off - after riding the non-stop production carousel since summer of 2014, stepping away from prep and post and scripts and notes to just, finally, get away from it all for a modest 14 days before jumping back into it. A simple 2 out of 150 weeks to relax,…
September 12, 2016: Tokyo Day #1!
September 11th back west but the 12th here. This blog entry comes to you from the future! So, the fallout from Friday night's Dark Matter double-header continues to resonate. I'll hold off talking about it until our international fans have had a chance to catch up but, suffice it to say, if you found the ending of…
September 5, 2016: Mission! Daredevil: “Born Again”!
It's hard to believe we'll be heading back to Toronto in about a month. And just when I was settling back into the swing of things here in Vancouver, revisiting my favorite book shops and discovering amazing new restaurants. At the top of the latter list is Mission on West 4th. I discovered this place while…
August 10, 2016: All-new Dark Matter promo and links! Stargate pizza party!
An all-new episode of Dark Matter is only two days away. This one was directed by Jason Priestley and features guest star David Hewlett as the crew's colorful handler, Tabor Calchek. This episode features some fun Tabor/Android interactions, a transfer transit-themed op, a big reveal about that mysterious key card, and a shocking ending. Theres' a sneak…
May 15, 2016: Dinner with Ellen and Adam! More Dark Matter BTS pics!
Yesterday, Akemi and I continued our Goodbye Tour by hitting Lamesa Filipino Kitchen with two of our favorite fun new Toronto friends, Ellen and Adam. Besides being super cute herself, Ellen shares Akemi's affinity for super cute things so the two of them really hit it off. As for Adam, he's incredibly easy-going and down-to-earth.…
January 15, 2015: Sleep ‘n schnitzel!
"Hey, Joe!"said Ivon. "Pretend you're sleeping." "Oh, no,"I said. "I couldn't." "Come on!"he said. So I shut my eyes and pretended I was sleeping. "No,"he said. "Rock your head back and open your mouth like you're in mid-snore." "Okay,"I said, rocking my head back and opening my mouth like I was in mid-snore. "Goofier-looking,"he said.…
January 10, 2016: A rare rest day!
Today was the calm in the eye of the hurricane, that brief respite before the inevitable storm that will be tomorrow's BIG extended action sequence. When I said that this was our most ambitious episode to date, I was, for the most part, referring to THIS particular scene. Can't wait to see stunt coordinator John…
December 26, 2015: Dinner at H4C!
The last time she was in Toronto, radio personality Sarah Bartok (sister of far less popular Dark Matter Consulting Producer Ivon Bartok) threw me a few Montreal restaurant recommendations. At the top of her list was a place called H4C. I immediately texted my sister and requested it be placed on the reservation rotation for my Christmas…