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09/30/11
Real soup. Once you’ve made it from scratch, there’s just no going back to chicken noodle in a can. This weekend, explore the countless ways to make and enjoy soup at Soupalicous, taking place at the CNE both Saturday and Sunday.
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09/30/11
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is steadily growing in size as it is in status, and swiftly coming upon the heels of its elder transatlantic cousin, Festival de Cannes, in France. And, as the festival’s program widens, so does the frequency of its celebratory soirees and the number of pop-up restaurants/lounges.
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09/30/11
You either love Gewurz or you hate it. If you love it, this is the wine for you. Deep golden colour with a greenish tint, it has a spicy nose of lychee and rose petals. It’s rich on the palate, fleshy and perfumed, finishing dry with good length. Food match: smoked salmon, Muenster cheese.
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09/29/11
Dundas West is on an absolute tear these days, and if the latest word on the street is true, things are only going to get better. A lot better. According to sources in the industry, Susur Lee has secured a building at Dundas and Markham: the site of the erstwhile Le Corner at 777 Dundas West.
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09/29/11
The sights and flavours of Italy will soon be found tucked away in the heart of Yorkville. Inspired by regular visits to Italy, local shop owner Gianni Salvati (of Salvati Fashions) is set on bringing the culture, food and ambience of Italian cafés to Toronto with Caffé Bacio.
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09/28/11
My father taught me many things — including how to properly enjoy a good drink — but there’s one topic on which I fear we’ll never see eye-to-eye: bourbon versus rye. For him, it translates to America versus Canada. But September is National Bourbon Heritage Month, and despite Pop’s indignation with my anti-patriotic tastes, I can’t help but gush about the boundless merits of my favourite spirit.
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09/26/11
Located at Av and Dav, L’Unità is as Yorkvillian as ONE or Sassafraz for the quality of food and service, but it’s also decidedly Annex-esque with its laid back Italian osteria-wine-bar vibe. Romantic tables in the back with low-hanging, bare light bulbs also make this a great spot for a first or second date.
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09/23/11
A blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot fermented in stainless steel. Expect a bouquet of cherries, black licorice and leather with a truffle note. Full on the palate and rather supple, drinking well already, very pleasant and really well priced. Lots of flavour here. Food match: tomato-based pastas, fresh Parmesan.
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09/20/11
Though a product of trial and error, the menu at Off the Hook, the Danforth’s newest fish fry joint, aims to impress the most diehard a-fish-ionados. Prior to its grand opening earlier this month, 22-year-old — and first time restaurant owner — Steven Karataglidis spent days in a test kitchen mixing together what he calls his “all-time favourite flavours.”
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09/19/11
Since its opening on Sept. 9, Cabbagetown’s new F’Amelia has been full of eager diners. Owner John Dawson (formerly of Leslieville’s Table 17) and partner Todd Vestby have been getting lots of help from their growing staff to keep up with demand. Meanwhile, Dawson’s wife coined the name of this new, family-oriented, northern Italian restaurant on Amelia Street.
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09/19/11
Opened in March 2010 under the ownership of chef Claudio Aprile, best known for his molecular-style cookery at Colborne Lane, Origin offers a hip, boisterous space for a more affordable tapas-style menu of contemporary cookery.
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09/16/11
Beaujolais from the named villages in the north of the region have more complexity and concentration than Beaujolais from the south. You can serve this deeply-coloured wine at cellar temperature with meat or chilled with fish. On the nose, you’ll experience ripe black cherries, spice, violets and an earthy note. Well structured. Food match: ham, roast chicken.
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09/15/11
Dawn Chapman grew up eating the best the countryside had to offer. Her grandparents owned a farm in Midhurst, Ont., so for her, eating fresh, local, organic food was not something she talked about, it was simply a way of life. Now that she’s living in the city, she's planning a café that aims to show people that “the countryside is closer than you think.”
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09/14/11
When Len Senater got out of the graphic design business to get into food, he knew that he wanted to eschew the traditional restaurant model. Most restaurants are too impersonal, he says, plus, the financial risks are too high to get truly creative. After taking over a run-down convenience store at College and Dovercourt and spending months on the renovation (“it was more like an exorcism,” he says), Senater opened up his hybrid creation, The Depanneur, in late August.
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09/14/11
The Prohibition, otherwise known as the “Noble Experiment,” may have been one of the most deceptive eras of the past century. Far from noble and anything but dry, Prohibition, as North Americans know it, was a roaring jumble of bootleg booze, bloody black market feuds, speakeasy ragers and sultry, underground jazz.
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09/13/11
A good first impression starts the minute we make our reservation at Café Belong, Brad Long’s new restaurant at Evergreen Brick Works. Would I be celebrating anything special?, the woman on the phone wonders after confirming a date and time. I am tempted to reply yes, that I am rejoicing in the long-awaited opening of your restaurant, which was delayed repeatedly for almost six months — but I hold back.
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09/12/11
I’ve spent a good portion of my life in Chinatown, waiting for a seat at Rol San. That’s because I’m obsessed with dim sum. It’s a family thing. Somehow, none of the employees there know me on a first name basis yet, but that’s fine. I don’t go to Rol San to make friends. I go there for dim sum. At Rol San, I’m a behemoth, like a blue whale that needs to consume countless tiny sea creatures to sustain itself.
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09/09/11
Sherry, I’m convinced, will soon make a comeback. It’s the perfect pre-dinner drink and a great accompaniment for a variety of foods depending on its sweetness level. This one is bone dry with a nose of dried apricots, almonds and camomile. There’s a hint of saltiness on the nose; it’s fresh and lively on the palate with great length. Food match: grilled sardines; Camembert.
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09/07/11
David Neinstein will smoke just about anything. We’re referring, of course, to barbecue. The chef and co-owner of Barque Smokehouse has one of the biggest smokers in the city to play around with, and while Barque’s menu is anchored by tried and true standards, Sunday night is crazy night. That’s when Neinstein — who’s even tried smoking watermelon (fail, apparently) — busts out smoked olive penne, smoked hummus or even smoked banana milkshakes.
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09/06/11
There were two things Tina Leckie, owner and chef of the newly-opened Café Fiorentina (and a former sous-chef at Célestin), says she wanted in a restaurant. The first: a location on the Danforth. The second: a brick and copper décor. So when Leckie got the keys to the old Dash Kitchen space at Broadview and Danforth in late June, she worked on the other half of her goal.
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09/06/11
Opened earlier this summer, William Tavares’ Fishbar is the city’s newest, trendiest spot for all things from the sea. At the small raw bar, a daily selection of oysters sourced from all over Canada sits on ice, ripe for the shucking. On the menu, tapas-style dishes range from starters to cold plates to hot dishes, many of which use Ocean Wise product: seafood that is sustainable and ocean-friendly.
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09/02/11
After $48-million and 14 months, the Eaton Centre’s swanky new Urban Eatery is now open, welcoming finicky foodies and junk-food-aholics alike. Here, five reasons to take a break from retail therapy and grab a bite to eat.
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09/02/11
For some time now, Chef has been asking me to go to a place called “Arcadia.” But with the last days of summer at our door, I have been putting in my best effort to keep both us, and dinner, in the backyard. This is not only because I’ll miss the sound of our neighbour’s garden waterfall when the fall chill comes and we’re forced back indoors, but because we have a virtual forest of greens in the garden to get through before the season’s over. It wasn’t my choice to plant five varieties of lettuce.
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09/02/11
François Lurton is a flying winemaker who makes wine in Argentina, Chile, Spain and France. He’s something of a Sauvignon specialist. This wine is very pale straw in colour with a herbaceous, green plum nose, soft mouth feel and a gooseberry flavour with tart acidity. Good value. Food match: grilled scallops, Caesar salad.
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09/01/11
With a freshly-painted rooster perched atop of what once was the Chick ‘n’ Deli, locals can stop wondering what happened to their long-standing chicken institution. The newly-named People’s Chicken is now open for business. After 30 years under its previous moniker, restaurant and rooster alike received a well-earned refresher prior to re-opening to the public last Thursday.
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09/01/11
People are particular. This is why an entire vernacular exists solely for ordering drinks: dry, perfect, stirred, shaken, neat or stuffed. Roll your eyes and call it high maintenance, but sometimes, it’s magic. Case in point: just such an exacting set of taste buds were supposedly responsible for the creation of Italy’s classic bittersweet aperitivo, the Negroni.
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