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08/31/12
For those willing to a bit of trekking, the Indie Coffee Passport is a good way to save some coin while exploring Toronto’s coffee scene. Now in its third year, the passport costs $25 and entitles the bearer to a drink at 30 different shops over seven months. This year, the indie coffee action starts tomorrow.
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08/31/12
This is a full-throttle Chardonnay from the Okanagan. Straw coloured with a smoky, toasty nose of citrus with barnyard notes; full-bodied, dry and elegant with rich apple and green pineapple flavours supported by oak.
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08/30/12
Holy Chuck Burgers is known for its twisted humour, but too much obnoxiousness is apparently a bad thing. According to the Toronto Star, a rush of customer complaints has prompted the restaurant to take two burgers off its menu: the Half-Breed and the Dirty Drunken Half-Breed. It seems the names were intended to be taken literally, since the burgers were half beef and half bacon. Unbeknownst to the owners at the time, “half-breed” is also a racial slur.
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08/30/12
Here’s something Toronto doesn’t need more of: caffeine. But it’s getting more of it anyway. Awake, a new chocolate bar from local entrepreneurs Matt Schnarr, Dan Tzotzis and Adam Deremo, provides a solid caffeine kick — about 100 mg of the stuff, which is roughly equivalent to a cup of coffee (a 250mL can of Red Bull, by contrast, has about 80 mg).
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08/30/12
We Canadians can get pretty smug about how our beer compares to what’s made in the US. The problem is that we only have the upper hand, really, when it comes to the mass-market end of the spectrum. Our Blue is a bit less sweet than their Bud, light beer is less forcefully marketed here and old-guy brands that retain a bit of flavour — like Labatt 50 — live on thanks to our marketplace, where the brewers own the retailer.
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08/30/12
With its tongue-in-cheek name and capricious attitude, Glory Hole Doughnuts is the latest culinary addition to Parkdale’s booming foodscape. The west end’s Rizzo to Leslieville’s Sandy (a.k.a. Paulette’s), this doughnut shop is the work of Ashley Jacot De Boinod, a pastry chef who’s cut her teeth at Buca, Scaramouche and other restaurants around the city.
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08/29/12
Last year we told you about celebrity chef Susur Lee’s upcoming outpost on Dundas West. After much anticipation, Bent finally opened on Friday, and at the helm are Lee’s sons, Levi and Kai Bent-Lee.
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08/29/12
Originating as a pop-up, La Carnita is the hottest thing to hit Hogtown since, well, Grand Electric. Spinning out tacos, ceviche, spicy street-style corn and much more, this College Street eatery has had a proper homestead for a few months now — and it’s packed to the rafters as soon as the doors open.
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08/28/12
A mainstay of the St. Clair West dining scene for over three years now, The Stockyards is Tom Davis’s temple to barbecue. Seating just under 20, the narrow space is outfitted with terra cotta floors and barn-board ceilings, with throwback curiosities adding a lighthearted touch. Patrons can either get the goods to go, or mow down on the messy sandwiches, burgers or ribs while seated side-by-side along counter tops.
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08/27/12
After much anticipation, pop-up food vendor Fidel Gastro’s officially launched its food truck last Thursday. The business began as a way for owner Matt Basile to serve his open-ended take on Cuban sandwiches — hence the name — when he couldn’t get financing for a restaurant.
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08/27/12
The Cheese Boutique has been a longstanding draw for both chefs and regular folk on the hunt for the perfect fromage. And while plenty of other gourmet options for the cultured palate abound, it wasn’t until earlier this summer that the shop decided to open a gelateria.
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08/27/12
A few months ago, we were one of the first to tell you about Kinton Ramen in the once-tranquil Baldwin Village neighbourhood. Judging by the lineups outside, it seems that the city just can’t get enough ramen — even in the dead heat of summer.
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08/24/12
Amidst the cacophony of the east end’s streetcar track upheaval sits Rakia Bar, an ode to — you guessed it — rakia. Owner Dusan Varga is a walking encyclopedia of the stuff, offering up a crash course in his bevy of brandies for anyone who has an ear to spare. While the original location sits in Belgrade, Serbia, this Leslieville outpost is the first in North America.
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08/24/12
Gewürztraminer is the Shredded Wheat of wine: you either love it or you hate it for its overpowering perfume. I love it, especially the Featherstone made in Niagara, which is very Alsace in style. The 2011, now at Vintages outlets, has that characteristic grapefruit, lychee and rose-petal nose. It’s off-dry, ripe and sensuous, soft on the palate with good length.
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08/23/12
Brioche Dorée, a Parisian-style bakery and café with over 500 restaurants worldwide, is opening its first downtown location this fall at 650 King West, near Bathurst. The chain currently has over 35 locations in North America, many of which are found in airports (Torontonians who want to indulge, currently, have to head to Pearson). Brioche Dorée specializes in exotic French offerings such as “croissants,” “crêpes” and “brioche.”
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08/23/12
Great Lakes bills itself as Toronto’s original craft brewery, and this year it’s doubling down on the nostalgia by selling a commemorative 25th anniversary beer every season. The second beer in the series is a Belgian saison, which was released this week.
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08/23/12
Although Kensington Market has just suffered the loss of the beloved Agave y Aguacate, Mexican food aficionados can stop their fretting. Come September, Seven Lives is poised to open at the El Gordo food court at 214 Augusta, and it will be keeping its focus trained on seafood tacos and street-style eats.
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08/22/12
A luxury coffee shop concept from Italy known as C House Lounge Café is opening at least two locations in Toronto this year, one in Yorkville, which set to open this summer, and another on Queen West, which is looking to open by fall. The Yorkville location will mark the franchise’s first foray into Canada.
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08/22/12
We’ve just received word from Maléna’s press camp that the popular Yorkville restaurant has been sold. The restaurant’s final day of service will be on Aug. 25, after which time owners Sam Kalogiros and David Minicucci will focus all of their efforts on their other restaurant, L’Unità (they plan to be open seven days a week by fall). Maléna’s new owners haven’t been revealed yet, but they will be reopening the space as a new restaurant in October of this year.
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08/22/12
L’Unità has been a mainstay of the city’s glitziest ’hood for some five years now. With exposed brick walls, dark woods and Fellini flicks playing behind the bar, this inviting Yorkville space affords an intimate setting for after-work cocktails and chitchat.
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08/21/12
These days, Toronto’s food trucks are launching as one part of a complete business service. And the new Food Dudes food truck follows this trend: when it launched at a well-attended party at 99 Sudbury last week, it joined a catering company of the same name and a restaurant (Bloke & 4th) from co-owners Adrian Niman and Brent McClenahan.
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08/21/12
Now that the nights are brisk and the midday sun has been tempered, it’s the perfect time to make the haul over to the islands. A mere ferry ride away, Toronto’s cluster of islands is an ideal place to escape the city pace and indulge in a little exploring by foot, bike or canoe. Though carting around a picnic basket seems idyllic, we opted to grab a sandwich on the patio of the The Rectory Café.
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08/21/12
Most people don’t pay attention to the doors when they walk into a restaurant; they just want to get through them. At the newly opened House of Moments on Carlaw Avenue, it’s worth taking a moment to admire the $700,000 worth of ancient doors that founder and artist Hamid Kouchak brought in from India. He’s even thinking of applying to the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s most expensive coat check door; his rings in at $50,000.
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08/20/12
Tacos were Mexican once, before they met beef bulgogi and fried chicken. But Terry Nicolaou and Krystian Catala are keeping it real with their new Gourmet Gringos food truck, which offers Toronto a taste of authentic Latin American food from Mexico, Central America and South America. This newest food truck had a soft launch at last week’s Street Food Fridays event at Scadding Court.
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08/20/12
Overlooking the Royal Ontario Museum’s crystal, Museum Tavern, tucked upstairs above Over Easy, has opened as a play on the classic American tavern. Behind it are restaurant veterans Kyle and Glen Kristenbrun, whose father, Tom Kristenbrun, was the owner of the now-shuttered Bistro 990 and other Toronto institutions like Bemelmans (now a Hugo Boss) and El Mocambo.
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08/20/12
The masterminds behind CHEESEWERKS, co-owners Kevin “The Big Cheese” Durkee and Tom Douangmixay, have created a temple to cheese across from the Thompson Hotel at Bathurst and Wellington.
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08/17/12
After Torontoist reported that the much-lauded Agave y Aguacate had closed, we got in touch with owner/chef Francisco Alejandri to find out more. Alejandri says that there is trouble going on at the Kensington Market food court at 214 Augusta, and that he and other vendors are no longer operating at the venue. For his part, Alejandri says that ongoing cleanliness issues that were beyond his control spurred his decision to leave.
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08/17/12
While Hogtown has undoubtedly been gripped by pizza madness, gourmet slices to go are something that we haven’t quite mastered yet. North of Brooklyn is here to change that. Hidden behind Queen West’s Hero Certified Burgers, this tiny pizzeria means that you won’t have to make the haul down to Williamsburg to satiate that craving for thin-crusted goodness.
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08/17/12
A dry rosé is the perfect summer wine. Not only does it look good in the glass but it’s refreshing, too. This is a versatile wine to match with food — and it’s inexpensive. This blend of Refosco and Raboso is light cherry in colour, with a nose of strawberries and a taste of candied raspberry that finishes fresh and dry. Chill it lightly before opening.
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08/16/12
From its humble beginnings, Hops & Robbers IPA has become the little beer that could — get itself into the LCBO, that is. Only eight weeks after launching at the government retailer, it’s now stocked in over 270 stores across the province. That’s more than any other beer that I’ve covered for a First Draught post, even though some have been around for years.
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08/16/12
Three years after setting up camp in the city’s most lively market, Sanagan’s Meat Locker has flown the nest and moved a hop, skip and a jump away from its original — but tiny — home. Following much praise from the city’s carnivores, owner Peter Sanagan felt that branching out was the next step. “Honestly, it’s being able to get to more people,” he says.
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08/15/12
Brought to you by the people behind Leslieville’s cheap ‘n’ cheerful The Avro, Handlebar is Kensington’s latest divey offering. Across from other sundown spaces such as Augusta House and The Boat, this aspiring NXNE venue is a new part of the community’s burgeoning nightlife scene. Hardcore biking enthusiasts Bruce Dawson and Rachel Conduit wished to expand westward, and after examining various ’hoods, the Market was deemed the place to be.
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08/15/12
Here’s the latest from Daniel Boulud’s press camp: the celebrity chef has named Tyler Shedden as the chef de cuisine of the upcoming Café Boulud at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel.
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08/15/12
Heralding the start of our weekly cocktail column is the Manhattan from — where else? — Cocktail Bar. Part of restaurateur Jen Agg’s mini-Empire, this Dundas West watering hole offers up a slew of booze-soaked beverages for the cocktail connoisseur.
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08/14/12
Toronto is experiencing a crush of new restaurants that focus on one food item, so it was only a matter of time before bacon got its due. Enter Rashers, a new shop set to open in Leslieville next month, which is straight to the point about its concept: “It’s good bacon, on good bread, put together by a good chef,” says co-owner John Clark.
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08/14/12
Now that summer’s reached its turning point, hopping aboard the 501 for a trek to the Beach has never seemed more appealing. Following a stint on the sand, why not cool down with a sandwich at Tori’s Bakeshop? Having just blown out the candles on its fourth month, Victoria Vaccher’s east end bakeshop and café is a sly purveyor of all things vegan.
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08/13/12
Chef David Friedman and General Manager Jaime Duran, co-owners of Red Fish restaurant, are no strangers to deep-sea dining. Previously of Fishbar — the trendy fish-focused offering at Dundas and Ossington — the duo are now taking their aquatic inspirations a couple of blocks northwest to their brand new sustainable seafood spot at the corner of College and Delaware.
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08/13/12
Opened back in March, Chantecler has played a big part in the revitalization of Parkdale, offering a little more finesse and fine-tuning than you might expect on this block, which is often overshadowed by its tacos.
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08/10/12
Oscar Wilde once wrote: “The only horrible thing in the world is ennui.” So when boredom strikes, the obvious thing to do is to gather a group of people, dress up as bananas and invade nearby bars on masse. And yes, that is actually going to happen in Toronto later this month when Banana Bar Crawl descends upon the city.
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08/10/12
Sitting somewhere in the middle of no-man’s-land and the boonies is Picea997, a pizzeria devoted to all things Neapolitan. Surrounded by industrial buildings and artist studios, this casual eatery joins the likes of mainstay Universal Grill and newbie Actinolite in Dovercourt Village; otherwise, pickings are pretty slim. Owned by Kristen Brown and her son, Ty Nesbitt, Picea’s main draw is it’s hefty brick pizza oven.
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08/10/12
The Minervois region of southern France produces bargain-priced reds that are great candidates for barbecue. Currently at Vintages is the 2009 Château la Grave Expression — a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Carignane and Mourvèdre — which is a great buy. Dense ruby in colour, it has a smoky nose of blackberries and licorice and the flavour of raspberries. It’s remarkably elegant.
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08/09/12
Before opening their first restaurant, Urraca Resto Lounge, owners Sung Yeo and David Shin knew there could only be one spot for their Korean fusion tapas bar: Koreatown at the corner at Yonge and Finch. So that’s exactly where they opened about a month ago.
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08/09/12
Enjoying Wellington Brewery’s Arkell Best Bitter is a study in not judging a beer by its cover. With a double-barrel name like that and its deep amber colour, who would guess that this is a very drinkable light beer?
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08/08/12
While it may sound like something out of A Clockwork Orange, Moo Milk Bar is a decidedly family-friendly destination in the Beach. Opened last week by New York City expat Danielle Oron, the shop specializes in a combo that oozes childhood decadence: cookies and milk.
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08/07/12
Reds Bistro & Wine Bar has been a financial district institution since 2000, but the restaurant will soon undergo a significant rebranding. The current incarnation of Reds will close for renovations at the end of August, and if all goes according to plan, it will reopen three weeks later as Reds Wine Tavern.
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08/07/12
Smack dab in the midst of Koreatown’s barbecue joints and noraebang spots, Sky Blue Sky is a little bite of sandwich heaven. Named after a Wilco album, this second-storey eatery is the work of Wilco aficionado Chad Comfort. Likely to be found sporting — what else? — a band T, Comfort has extended his all-encompassing love for the group into the décor, the music and the sammies themselves, all of which are named after different songs.
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08/03/12
With its giant sunshine-yellow doors beckoning passersby, Weslodge Saloon, King Street West’s latest addition, is hard to miss. The project of nightlife mavericks Charles Khabouth and Hanif Harji, this brand new joint is already beyond bustling — and it’s just over a week old.
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08/03/12
There are two distinct styles for Sauvignon Blanc: the crisply dry wines from the Loire Valley, with their tart, gooseberry character, and the fruitier, tropical flavours of New Zealand. This Chilean wine leans toward the latter. It has a nose of passion fruit and mango; it’s richly extracted, with herbaceous and mineral notes adding complexity to the sweet, almost creamy fruit. It finishes dry.
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08/02/12
Marie Crawford, personal trainer, health-food aficionado and owner and founder of Riverdale’s Pulp Kitchen, has been in the juice game a long time. Along with two prior incarnations of Pulp Kitchen (both also in the East End), Crawford has owned and operated a juice bar in the neighbourhood since 1996.
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08/01/12
Parkdale’s latest restaurant, Kanji Sushi & Sake Bar, opened quietly last month just a hop and a skip from Chantecler and Grand Electric. With prime real estate at the corner of Queen West and Brock, Kanji’s concept is Japanese fusion, which is not so familiar to this particular neighbourhood.
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08/01/12
Sitting pretty amidst the hustle and bustle of Chinatown East, Andrea’s Gerrard St. Bakery is a welcome reprieve from the street-side chaos. Owner Andrea Mut, who opened her shop last week, offers up a selection of fresh baked treats, sandwiches and coffee for the person dashing around town.
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07/30/12
The Hoof Café used to serve up one of the most decadent and innovative brunches in town before it shuttered in 2011. From a “breakfast-appropriate” charcuterie platter to bone marrow beignets to French toast covered in foie gras, The Hoof Café, courtesy of East coast wonder-chef Geoff Hopgood, was a premier destination for nose-to-tail breakfast.
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07/30/12
There are few things in this world that I am as unabashedly passionate about as fried chicken. While in NYC, I’m partial to Momofuku Noodle Bar’s fried chicken meals (which they say is for four to eight people, but is really for 10 hungry people) or Harlem’s Red Rooster further uptown. For something closer to home, there’s The Stockyards’ fried chicken dinner, complete with slaw, or Chantecler’s cold fried chicken, served on lettuce wrap Sundays.
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07/26/12
I have an unfortunate thing with chicken wings. I wish I didn’t. Wouldn’t it be great if I couldn’t get enough kale … or rapini … or Brussels sprouts? Good luck with that. As for the chicken wings problem, dining at Hawker Bar was an opportunity for major backsliding.
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