Food for Thought with Alex Bielak - Local Bytes

It may surprise you dear readers, but sometimes these columns don’t come easy. There are so many things to write about, but sometimes, like a roast, they just need to marinate a while before they’re ready for the oven. So it was with this piece. The individual elements were there, but they needed to sit together awhile before they melded. And I needed to find that perfect last touch to make it all sing. 

I’ve been reading (an overstatement as I only manage a page or two before I fall asleep) a book called ”The Locavore’s Dilemma – in praise of the 10,000-mile diet” by Toronto-based “globavores” Pierre Desrochers and Hiroko Shimizu. The book has attracted its fair share of controversy, but I believe it makes a compelling, heavily-footnoted, case for why many hard-core and uncritical locavores (proponents of the SOLE (Sustainable, Organic, Local and Ethical) and/or 100-mile or less diet) are misguided.

So, probably because I’m reading about the dilemma, I’m attuned to the topic and I’m noticing it everywhere. There was a good piece called “From Field to Table” by Andrew Vowles in the October 2012 Urbanicity all about seeking out local fare. Meanwhile, in the October 18th, 2012 edition of my local paper, the Flamborough Review, Catherine O’Hara has a column about ethical local eating and supporting area farmers.
In the same edition, my local MLA, currently pro-rogued Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ted McMeekin, has a column titled “The $10 challenge.” In it he talks about the newly introduced “Promoting Local Food Act,” noting that if we shifted only ten bucks of our weekly grocery bill to local food it could “increase Ontario food sales by $2.4 billion and create 10,000 jobs.” Sounds like a good plan to me. 

Clearly there are lots of arguments pro and con, enough for another column once I’ve digested it all. However, for now – and to forestall criticism, let me say that while I do consider my French fleur de sel and Lorenzo Caponetti’s Italian Extra-virgin Olive Oil indispensable kitchen staples, I also love to pluck a tomato off a vine in my garden, shop for local produce at farm outlets, or discover a restaurant that serves locally sourced fare. 

Wouldn't it be nice if there was an app for that? Well now there is. Almost.

I was at a Tourism Hamilton event (it was a busy week) where a free, new “Discover Hamilton” app for I-this-and-that was demonstrated. It is designed to give visitors and locals alike “a comprehensive mobile guide to inspire travel across Hamilton’s diverse communities and tourism attractions.” At least those with I-Phones, Pads and Touches! Blackberry users are apparently out of luck (in more ways than one), and an Android version of the app is just being contemplated.

Part of the rationale may be that 95% of visitors to the visitors to www.tourismhamilton.com are apparently Apple users (as reported by Kevin Werner of the Metroland West Media Group). This either says something about the reach of Apple, or that the tourism folk have some work to do in attracting a broader demographic.

For instance, despite his enthusiastic endorsement on the app website, Mayor Bratina won’t personally have direct access to it himself as, having checked with his office, he doesn’t have any of the aforementioned Apple products. Too bad. Fortunately, I do.

I downloaded the app and it does make a great visual splash as it opens. Among the videos that roll in the background on the Ipad (but not the Iphone) are cascading waterfalls, our cityscape and the escarpment, and local attractions like the Lion Safari, HMCS Haida and Supercrawl. “It’s like Facebook events and Urbanspoon all in one!” says an enthusiastic (and suspiciously uncritical) commentator on the app reviews section.

There are several sections (e.g. where to stay, what to do, events and itineraries) with useful tabs to show what’s happening, and when. It’s clear there is great potential here with more content “coming soon.” I’m sure there could be more itineraries than those relating to the War of 1812.

For Food for Thought readers the attraction is that there is a “Where to Eat section” showing restaurants near your location. It is split into types of food, but, unlike Urbanspoon, the app does not link to reviews or give an indication of price. It does however have an info flag giving an address, but oddly not a phone number, for each eatery. There is also a brief description and access to directions and individual restaurant websites.

The Gourmet Food Truck section is under seriously under- populated at present. When I asked whether it tells us where the trucks are going to be, really useful information for a truck, the fellow demonstrating the app said someone else might be working on that type of application. We are also missing farm outlets for now.

So while I really want to applaud loudly for this great initiative, it almost seems like they launched before it’s really ready. Hopefully they will soon extend its reach to all platforms, and supplement missing data quickly, so that local roots can truly be fed by a global app.

For more great pictures, click here

Alex (Alex can be reached at fft@thehamiltonian.info ) or on twitter @AlexBielak

Food for Thought logo, designed and kindly donated by Ninka Bielak. Ninka can be reached at ninka.bielak@gmail.com.