If you’re familiar with Vietnamese food, you’ll probably know the vermicelli noodle dish called Bún. The easiest way for me to describe the dish is to call it a fish Bún. Lots of fresh herbs, even dill… The photo perhaps describes it better.

The menu is comprised of dishes selected by super-friendly owner Hai Luke from his homeland of north Vietnam.

• Download and unzip NOW Restaurant Guide for iPod (ZIP, 400K)
• In iTunes, enable disk use for iPod
• Connect your iPod (2002 model or newer)
• Copy the Guide into your Notes folder
• Unmount iPod
• Browse to Extras » Notes
• Wait for it to load
• Select NOW Reviews
• Read’em and eat!

Content by NOW Magazine. Programming by (my Python hero) Jakub Labath. Concept and design (if you can call it that) by me.

If you are new to iPod Notes, check out some of my other creations:

• Foodland Ontario Produce Availability Guide for your iPod
• Sustainable Seafood Guide for iPod

1. Ensure machine has enough filtered water, fill if not
2. Press in espresso machine’s power button
3. Get two mugs
4. Remove coffee beans from cupboard
5. Grind beans
6. When espresso machine ready light appears, release an inch of water from wand into cup to prime machine and heat cup
7. When light appears again, pour empty shot into other cup to simultaneously heat portafilter and cup
8. Fill basket full with freshly ground coffee, tamp and mount
9. Place mug under portafilter
10. Press in steam button, wait ten seconds to increase heat
11. Press out steam button and then press in brew button
12. Brew for 22 seconds max
13. Press out brew button, put mugs aside
14. Press in steam button
15. Get a heavy glass
16. When light appears, open wand to release wet steam into glass with towel on top until light turns off
17. Get pitcher from freezer, attach thermometer, fill 1/2 way with milk (below spout dimple)
18. Submerge wand into milk, open wand fully, remain just under surface to hear slight sizzle sound, steam milk until it reaches 160° and turn steam off before removing wand to avoid mess.
19. Bang down pitcher to remove big bubbles, swirl 10 times
20. Pour milk into mugs
21. With towel on heat-proof glass, turn off machine and release remaining steam into heavy glass until near silent. Shut off, enjoy coffee.

Parts

1. Water fill cover
2. Steam valve knob
3. ON/OFF button
4. Brew head
5. Steam wand
6. Water tank with Max Line
7. Power cord
8. Drip tray grate
9. Drip tray
10. Accessory Drawer
11. Tray Base Drawer
12. Ground coffee basket
13. Pod coffee basket
14. Pod coffee pressure insert
15. Starbucks Rapporto filter
16. Brew head cleaner
17. Measuring spoon
18. STEAM button
19. Ready light
20. BREW button

Peak

• Asparagus
• Cucumber – Greenhouse
• Onions – Cooking
• Peppers – Greenhouse – Red, Yellow & Orange
• Rutabaga
• Tomatoes – Greenhouse

Available

• Apples – McIntosh, Cortland, Empire, Spartan, Red Delicious, Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Idared, Crispin
• Rhubarb – Field
• Carrots without tops
• Lettuce – Greenhouse
• Mushrooms
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Sprouts – Bean & Alfalfa

Download the Ontario Product Availability Guide for your iPod

• The less than $1,000 machines can’t compare to the well-maintained $10,000 café machines you’re used to drinking coffee from.
• You don’t want access to that much espresso where you live and like to sleep. You’ll wreck your nerves and stop sleeping.

I have heard excellent things about big-food mega-power Nestle’s Nespresso machine. They are very low-maintenance, well-priced and produce very good coffee. The only problem is that you can only get your fix in special coffee-filled capsules from them. You are tied to Nestle for your daily coffee.

Coffee is one of those politically sensitive substances like sugar, cocoa or even bananas. Nestle has published a paper (PDF) on Fair Trade, but they are not participating on moral grounds — they don’t believe it is a solution to poverty.

No matter what you believe, you are making a commitment by supporting razor and blades business model product.

Now back to the useful stuff… If you are interested in the home game edition, you will appreciate that Consumer Reports has published some ratings on home espresso machines, and contrary to regular protocol have provided access to the ratings section for free.

Consumer Reports Buyer’s Guide: Espresso makers

• Overview
• Ratings
• Expresso 101

• Link: Restaurants in Chinatown

Here’s my dubious designations for best Chinatown Spots:

Best Dim Sum, Rol San

• The lineups don’t lie. Rol San has found the magical balance of freshness, quality and price. Eat in the back room for the incandescent lighting advantage. On weekends be prepared to wait unless you’re there by 11AM. Rule of thumb is 3N + 1 (order three dishes per person, plus one).

Best Salt and Pepper Squid, Xam Yu Seafood

• Just north of the LCBO, this seafood-focused spot features standard dishes done solidly well.

Best Vietnamese, Pho Hung

• On slow days you’ll find the staff unboxing fresh herbs shipping in from Vietnam. I am amazed at the quality of the beef in their noodle soup. The owner will not disclose his source or methods.

Best Dinner, E-Pan

• New spot with that seems to be trying hard to impress. Well done dishes. Very friendly and clean.

Best Late Night, Rainbow Restaurant

• On the north side of Dundas just west of Spadina, this largish Hong Kong style restaurant does dishes well late into the night. I recall ordering cold tea once with my best wink, but it never arrived.

Sushi, Simon Sushi

• Lately we’ve had a few misses but it’s usually just above par with what’s available in Sushitown on Bloor.

Best Name (see photo)

Kom Jug Yuen Restaurant, available in larger sizes on Flickr.

Best Name Special Mention. M.Y Chafing Dish

• Now called M.Y Hot Pot, M.Y Chafing Dish is a basement joint where I’ve never eaten but was nevertheless inspired to craft this pseudo haiku.

There is a dish

which is chafing

and it’s yours.

Why did ZeeMaps buy dinner? Well, my feedback on their interface ballooned into more involved consulting. I love their product and I was happy to provide some suggestions for free. They were happy to implement many of the suggestions and offered to pick up dinner which was amazing! This was one of those storybook win-win situations that would not have been possible without the Internet. ZeeMaps, more designs are coming!

What tapas did we have? Smoked trout and avocado mayonnaise potato salad. Julia’s first ceviche. Grilled king fish. Crab croquettes. Flatiron steak. And tongue and cheek; literally braised tongue and cheek. Amazing. Including some drinks and delicious desserts it was a really nice night. Thanks ZeeMaps!!!

I scraped their list of 163 locations mentioned in the show and made a Google map with my new favourite web tool ZeeMaps.

• Street Eats Locations Map

Most are in the GTA, so click the cluster near Toronto, magnify in, and enjoy!