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05/01/12
The world’s 50 best restaurants were announced yesterday, and Canada has plenty of reasons to rejoice. Our bad — what we meant to say is that Canada has no reasons to rejoice, because not one single Canadian restaurant made the list (again). It gets worse: Canada didn’t even get a mention on the top 100, when in 2010 we at least had Cambridge’s Langdon Hall at number 77 and Calgary’s Rouge at number 60.
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04/30/12
Toronto franchise Big Smoke Burger (previously known as Craft Burger) announced today that it’s planning on making inroads into the U.S. and other global markets, starting with a Manhattan location set to open later this year. The team behind that location is looking to eventually open 50 Big Smoke Burgers in the New York and Chicago area.
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04/30/12
Spirithouse, which opened last week in the King West area, is the work of the people behind the Toronto Institute of Bartending — and they insist it’s not just another cocktail bar. Instead, owner Len Fragomeni says this drinking spot is dedicated to getting guests to sample new and unusual drinks.
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04/30/12
At Alimento Fine Food Emporium, your grocery bill can quickly add up with the many choices of fine products such as meats, cheeses and biscotti. But you can get in and out with lunch in hand for $5.38, taxes in — no small feat on King West.
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04/27/12
A new documentary by Brilynn Ferguson delves into the world of Secret Pickle Supper Club, a travelling supper club in Toronto that shuns expensive bottle service and other pretentions, focusing instead on creating an original and top-notch dining experience.
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04/27/12
Popular Korean franchise Bulgogi Brothers is opening its first North American location in Richmond Hill next month, offering several types of bulgogi (including the slightly creepy heart-shaped version) along with other Korean standards such as galbi, bibimbap and cold noodle soup.
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04/27/12
Southbrook was the first winery in Canada to be certified as biodynamic by Demeter. Connect is a blend of major Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc in almost equal proportions. Deep ruby in colour, it offers a bouquet of cedar, blackcurrant and vanilla oak with a floral grace note. Medium-bodied, fruity and spicy with black fruit flavours and supple tannins. Great value. Food match: meat loaf or lamb burgers
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04/26/12
North Toronto is smokin’ these days, both literally and figuratively. In recent months, the area around Yonge and Lawrence has seen a slew of new restaurant openings, including Riz, The Burger’s Priest and now a 4,000 square-foot smokehouse called Stack. It’s been busy since it opened.
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04/26/12
Spring, that fickle tease, is finally upon us. Fittingly, Crème Yvette, a proprietary French liqueur that’s flavoured with violets and berries, is budding all over Toronto’s seasonal cocktail lists.
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04/26/12
Last week, first-time restaurateur Neil Dominey opened The Fuzz Box, a Danforth shop that could be the first in Toronto to specialize in Nova Scotia-style donairs. Yes, Nova Scotia has a very distinctive donair, and whatever you do, don’t call it a shawarma. These gooey, meaty, awesomely trashy wraps were recently put in the limelight when Geoff Hopgood started making and serving them at Hopgood’s Foodliner.
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04/25/12
In today’s marketing ploy news, Wendy’s has announced that it is launching a petition to make poutine Canada’s national dish. We can’t imagine what motivated the fast food giant to commit to such an endeavour, but we’re sure it’s not self-serving in the slightest. On a side note, Wendy’s is adding poutine to its menus across Canada.
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04/25/12
Nestled between two vibrant greengrocers, Marcy is the latest addition to Roncy’s increasingly popular strip. After running Lala Bistro for some 15 years in the same space, owner Beata Kowalczyk felt it was time for a bit of a spring cleaning.
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04/24/12
Doing one thing well seems to be the motto for many Toronto restaurants these days, and now David Adjey is looking to get in on some of the action. The celebrity chef (Restaurant Makeover, Iron Chef America) is teaming up with Danny Farbman (What A Bagel) to open The Chickery, an upcoming Spadina restaurant serving chicken, sides and not much else.
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04/24/12
So maybe the owners and chef of Toronto’s new Singaporean street food restaurant have never actually been to the country that inspired Hawker Bar, the latest addition to the still-expanding Ossington strip. But so what? Folks from Singapore have told them they’ve nailed the flavours down pat. And one thing is for sure: the team behind Hawker Bar is not wet behind the ears.
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04/23/12
“It’s definitely not pub food!” laughs Ben Heaton (Colborne Lane, One), chef and co-owner of The Grove, one of the latest additions to the Dundas West food scene. Joined by co-owners Fritz Wahl (Senses) and Richard Reyes (One), the trio offers up something the city’s palate is unfamiliar with: modern English cuisine. Siphoning the stodginess out of English fare, Heaton lightens up classic dishes and elevates them to a whole other level.
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04/23/12
A few months ago, Geoff Hopgood’s long-awaited restaurant opened on Roncesvalles. For those of us dying to taste Hopgood’s cooking since the closing of Hoof Café — raise your hand if any mention of Hopgood gets you nostalgic about his fried chicken or the suckling pig eggs Benny — Hopgood’s Foodliner is where you can pay homage to the man that made brunch worth lining up for.
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04/20/12
There’s a newbie in North York’s Koreatown strip: Kayagum. Situated in the space previously occupied by The Party Restaurant at Yonge and Finch, it sticks out among the plethora of other Korean options we have in this town, not least because starting next week it plans to stay open 24 hours a day.
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04/20/12
No question, this is the best value Pinot Noir at the LCBO. The wine is ruby-coloured, offering cherry and red berry notes on the nose with a thread of minerality. It’s fresh and easy drinking, light to medium-bodied on the palate with just enough spice and fruit to make it a great bargain wine. Food match: mushroom tart, roasted chicken.
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04/19/12
If there’s one piece of German beer trivia that just about everyone knows, it’s the 500ish-year-old German Beer Purity Law that once limited the ingredients brewmasters in that country could use. The law is no longer legally in effect — ingredients other than the original barley, water and hops are fair game — but it still holds a lot of marketing sway. This is why you won’t see a cherry beer from a German brewery.
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04/19/12
Gone in 60 seconds? Not quite, but a new Yonge and St. Clair takeout spot aims to serve lunch in 90 seconds or less. Panier Rouge is a European-style grab-and-go that recently opened in the neighbourhood. According to owner and British expat Richard Fogel, it’s a common concept across the pond. But here, he says, there’s else nothing else like it.
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04/18/12
The website of a new resto-bar opening in Little Italy says, “If you don’t know who Johnny Jackson is… don’t ask.” We tried asking anyway, and predictably didn’t get a response. Still, the website offers a hint as to what’s taking over the space previously occupied by Strangelove and the very short-lived Bloc 22.
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04/17/12
Sure, seeing the words “melting pot” in conjunction with the GTA is disconcertingly cliché, but in this case it’s warranted. The Melting Pot, North America’s largest fondue franchise, is opening its first Ontario location in Richmond Hill this month, and the man behind the project is owner Corbin Tomaszeski of Restaurant Makeover and C5 fame.
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04/16/12
The food Gods have been kind to Little Italy as of late, and there’s more yet to come. College Street is about to get its very own incarnation of Easy Restaurant, Parkdale’s retro-inspired daytime diner. Owner Peter Morrison expects to open his new venue by early May.
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04/16/12
Torono’s insanely popular pop-up taquería La Carnita is a pop-up no longer. As Corey Mintz reports on Toronto.com, La Carnita has found a permanent home at 501 College Street, in the site of the just-closed Briscola Trattoria.
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04/16/12
Mexican food is all the rage in Toronto these days, and at Pachuco, traditional Mexican cuisine meets new flavours. Located on the Danforth, next door to Embrujo Flamenco and hidden away downstairs, the space is Mexican through and through: small tables, lots of people, neon lighting, Mexican Coca-Cola (featuring raw cane sugar) and tequila. And where there’s tequila, there are margaritas.
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04/14/12
Tromba, the new tequila from young Toronto entrepreneur Eric Brass, is rapidly becoming a favourite among the city’s bartenders. Smooth and fresh, this tequila has been receiving deservedly loud praise and has inspired a slew of tasty concoctions from the creative minds and nimble hands behind bars at places like The Drake and Yours Truly.
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04/13/12
After several years of showcasing simple, sometimes rustic cuisine, Toronto’s restaurant scene may be about to embrace a little extravagance. That’s according to Donna Dooher, exec chef at Mildred’s Temple Kitchen and chairperson of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association.
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04/13/12
This very attractive bubbly from B.C. is grown on the highest vineyard in the province. It has a pale straw colour with an active mousse.
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04/12/12
As buzz around this weekend’s anniversary of the Titanic sinking moves into “fevered” territory, a number of Toronto eateries are marking the occasion by reviving some Edwardian fine dining. Perhaps most likely to give you the feeling of elegance from that gilded age (you know, before all that stuff with the iceberg) is an afternoon tea at Yorkville’s upscale Windsor Arms Hotel (18 St. Thomas St., 416-934-6022).
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04/12/12
St. Lawrence Market’s popular fish joint, Buster’s Sea Cove is launching a food truck, to join the ever-growing list of mobile dining options in the city. Starting this month (the date hasn’t been finalized) hungry downtowners will be able to get their lunchtime fish and chips from a blue-green Buster’s truck at Queen and Jarvis.
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04/11/12
For many Toronto flyers, the words “airport dining” conjure up images of poking around in a pile of limp coffee-shop sandwiches or ramming some fast food in their mouths on the way to the gate. But that may be about to change. Pearson Airport has just announced a huge revamp to its dining options, with plans for eight new restaurants from some of the Toronto’s finest chefs.
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04/11/12
Good news for Toronto’s cooking-averse party hosts — Parkdale hotspot Parts & Labour has started a catering service. Offering what it calls an “eclectic” selection of nibbles, the service is aiming to bring street-food style to the city’s party scene.
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04/09/12
Call it old school but there’s something undeniably comforting and delicious about a cream pie (and, well, pies in general). They’re great for spring when the weather’s just cool enough to make you crave the creaminess of the pie, and not so warm it feels heavy. And it just so happens spring also marks the beginning of the bustling season in Kensington Market.
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04/06/12
A mature blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha and Cabernet. We don’t often see wines of this vintage at the LCBO and certainly not at this price. Dense purple in colour, this Spanish wine has an oaky, red berry and cedar nose, but it still retains its youthful spicy, red cherry flavour thanks to its lively acidity.
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04/05/12
Beau’s All-Natural Brewing Company puts out a seasonal beer every three months, and this spring they’ve released an India Pale Ale that they’re calling the Beaver River I.P.Eh?
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04/05/12
It’s fair to say that restaurateur Megan Whiten knows how to spot a hot neighbourhood before it heats up. Back in the day, she opened The Beaver on Queen West, years before Parkdale was the city’s place to be. Now, having sold The Beaver in 2006, she’s taken on a quiet strip of Jane Street just north of Bloor and opened Camp restaurant.
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04/04/12
Agave y Aguacate may be a bare bones stall in Kensington Market, but owner-chef Francisco Alejandri is putting out some of the best Mexican food in the city. It’s not surprising, considering his resume: he trained at the Stratford Chefs School and worked at Splendido, Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar and Torito. We asked him for the dish that helped spark his passion for cooking.
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