When you can include Pizzeria Libretto, Grand Electric and Burger's Priest in your list of restaurant news, you know it is a bigger than average week for openings in Toronto.
Just Opened
- Yesterday was opening day for A3 Napoli from the owners of Pizzeria Libretto. There goal is to replicate an authentic Neapolitan snack counter and they seem to have distilled the essence of pleasure food: pizza, fried snacks and fried pizza.
- Increasingly hip Leslieville now has a comic book shop and cafe combo. The Sidekick opened this week at 1374 Queen St. E.
- Grand Electric Muskoka has opened for another summer season in Port Carling and will be adding Frankies Surf Club — think summer fashion boutique plus Greenhouse Juice and Phil & Sebastian coffee — on June 20.
- ​Check off one of the three new Burger's Priest locations for summer 2015. The requisite Twitter announcement came down noting that Friday was opening day for the outpost at 212 Adelaide St. W. (at University). When we talked to Shant Mardirosian, the founder of the much-loved chain, back in March his plan was to keep this one open until 4 a.m. on weekends.
- Either this weekend or next, the second location of Caren’s Wine Bar will set up shop in the old Petit Castor spot in Rosedale.
Coming Soon
- South Etobicoke gem The Pie Commission will be a little closer to the rest of us when they open a second location at Dundas and Claremont later this month.
Restaurant Coverage
- Joanne Kates reviewed R&D, the new Spadina restaurant with strong MasterChef Canada connections. She was not impressed.
- Long-time Toronto favourite, the Corner House, is making a comeback of sorts. That restaurant's last owners before it closed are taking over the uptown location of John and Sons.
- The House of Chan is moving to a new home on Eglinton West, but how did it have a lasting influence on Toronto's current crop of steakhouses?
- This week, Karolyne Ellacott stretched the defintion of "lunch pick" (for good reason) to select the French toast from Mitzi's Cafe.
- We had the first peek inside A3 Napoli.
Changes and Other News
- The Toronto Star broke the story that Kate Burnham, a former pastry chef at Weslodge, has filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal alleging that she was sexually harassed by three of her bosses at the INK/ICON property.
