First things first: why the name "32avenue"?  Legend has it that a certain puffy-looking dog climbed onto a keyboard and miraculously typed it out.  Another legend says that in a fit of gastronomic euphoria, the founder of the site randomly threw food at the keyboard and somehow the name spelled out on the screen.  Either way, we just think it's cool that the name rhymes.

So what makes us so special?  Well, for one, we just speak our minds, and write whatever we want to write.  Each contributor to 32avenue has their own unique writing style and tastebuds - there's no common standardization.  It just so happens that people like what we write.  Or maybe only our friends read it.  We're not sure why we're popular, but we'll take it.

Lastly, we don't profess to be pros.  We're just regular folk who happen to love food.  We don't get special treatment in restaurants, we don't have the pressure of writing a daily review for a newspaper.  We're just like you and whoever's next to you right now.  If anything, this is just a hobby.  In reality, we're so unique that there is no competition.  No games.  Just food.

So without further ado, here is the vaunted roster of contributors to 32avenue:

Justin is the founder of 32avenue, the mastermind genius behind it all, the head honcho.  Ever since July 2003 when he was inspired to write his very first review on Revues au Jus, he kept thinking big.  He soon discovered that he could use his two favorite hobbies together to expand his restaurant reviews: eating and travelling around the world.  Thus he spearheaded the evolution of 32avenue, and with the help of his fellow foodies, continues to enjoy writing reviews simply for the hell of it.  After all, as one of his wise professors taught him: "Life's too short not to enjoy good food and wine."

Justin hails from Toronto, Ontario and is a proud Canuck.  He graduated with his bachelors from the University of Toronto, with stints at the University of Hong Kong and Oxford University, before completing graduate studies at the Anderson School of Business in UCLA.  Ever the metrosexual businessman, he's especially adept at taking over the world, with his immediate goal of buying Manchester United and moving them to Toronto.  He enjoys long walks along the beach at sunset, candlelit dinners and blatant sarcasm in his spare time.

In reality, he's just a nice, dopey guy who really, really likes to eat.  Really.

Adrian’s love for food comes from eating, of course, but also from cooking. One of her favourite pastimes is cooking with good friends - at all hours of the day. From peeling cold soybeans in Thunder Bay (to make soybean milk from scratch) to baking banana muffins in the middle of the night (purely on a whim), she’s willing to help you in the kitchen with pretty much anything.

These days, Adrian’s fond of Thai curries, Middle Eastern tapas and everything that’s French cuisine. While she enjoys fine dining at a swanky bistro as much as the next guy (Bymark, Susur, Auberge du Pommier are memorable), she’s equally appreciative of the $5 rare beef Pho she can get around the corner.

She was born in Hong Kong, with sojourns in Toronto, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo before currently settling in Philadelphia.  Although she appreciates just about any kind of good food, her travels have acutely trained her discerning tastebuds - she favors healthy comfort food - the more "authentic" the recipe with fresh ingredients, the better.  Above all, however, she will never forget the out-of-this-world Otoro at the Tsukiji market in Tokyo.

She has a cute, puffy Bichon Frise dog, Casper, and specializes in restaurant reviews for the United States and Asia.

As an amateur food connoisseur, Renée had her first culinary epiphany at the tender age of four with her first sushi roll.  Influenced by the creative geniuses of her mother, who first introduced Renée to the concept of fusion cuisine, appreciation of fine dining, quality ingredients, and the development of a discerning palate, she has the useful ability in the dissection of a dish using all five senses for at home recreations.  This appreciation has proven itself useful and is apparent in her reports of overall culinary experience.  Her aunt, an amazing chef of Asian cuisine, has exposed Renée’s tastebuds to all things Southeast Asian, from street foods to dishes with great "wok-hei", helping round out her overall try-everything-before-making-a-judgement approach to dining.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, with stops in Hong Kong, China and Calgary, Alberta before currently residing in Toronto, Ontario, she had the chance to pursue great multicultural gastronomic explorations in those cities as well as in many other countries in her various world traveling experiences.  Currently a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, Renée also had a stint at the George Brown Culinary School and loves the science behind the food.  She is aware of how good fine food can be, appreciates service and ambiance that one pays for when dining out and hopes that her dining experiences can help make (and not break) a memorable eating occasion (because a stomach shouldn’t be wasted on food that’s sub-par).  

Neither a foodie nor a food snob, but more of a food nerd, Renee’s a tad on the verbose side when speaking of one of her great passions in life (um, food that is...and bread)...just wait until you ask her about her research!