By Stephanie Dickison Terroir Symposium - Canada’s leading hospitality industry symposium, which brings together the elite of Canada’s culinary industry – has added a new feature this year that you don’t want to miss. A bespoke series of six collab dinners with six of Toronto’s best restaurants and exceptional international guests and chefs has been curated to deliver completely unique, knock-your-socks-off experiences. On Tuesday, May 12 and Wednesday, May 13, 2015, be one of the few to attend these interactive, innovative experiential dinners where you can:
- Listen to renowned author Mark Schatzker discuss his new book, The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor at Jump. You’ll never look at food the same again.
- Be transported to the seaside thanks to a team of Newfoundland and Labrador chefs, from Chinched Bistro, Oppidan, Grates Cove Café, Bonavista Social Club and Five Brothers Cheese at Beast. You’ll practically hear the ocean in this one.
- Be taken through a Taiwanese tasting menu by critically acclaimed New York City based food journalist, Jim Poris of Food Arts.
- Not only meet Douglas Quint and Bryan Petroff of Big Gay Ice Cream, but play Big Gay Bingo! Bingo doesn't get more epic than this.
This is your chance to see your heroes at work, to meet chefs and authors you wouldn’t have the chance to otherwise. Save yourself traveling to the airport, airfare and hotel costs and taking time off work. Take advantage of attending these one-of-a-kind events. All held for your convenience in top Toronto restaurants. No doubt they are going to rock your world. Tickets are now available online. You’d better get them fast, because these masterfully curated events are bound to sell out in a hot minute.
By Stephanie Dickison Did you know that Canada’s most concentrated apple growing region is just 90 minutes north of Toronto? From Creemore to Collingwood, through Blue Mountain Village and on to Meaford, The Apple Pie Trail - launched in 2008 - features 40 stops and 12 adventure partners offering the best in local culinary experiences, vineyards, cideries, galleries, museums, artisan products and orchards. Outdoor adventures include hiking, biking, paddling and - helicopter tours - all coupled with food and drink pairings. A new addition this year – a Stay and Play package at The Westin Trillium House. Also new for 2016 - stops in Creemore, Stayner and Meaford. Take a look:
- Mad Maple Country Inn & Agriturismo This well-known inn offers cooking classes for 8-12, as well as other culinary events.
- Creemore Kitchen Your hosts? Proprietors and Chef Caesar Guito and Sam Holwell.
- 100 Mile Store Pick up natural, organic fair trade and artisanal products including apple cider, fresh vegetables, meats, cheeses, soaps and salves.
- Giffen’s Country Market Giffen's has it all, including homemade breakfast and lunch in the Market Dining Room, 17 types of apples, pick your own fruits, homemade butter tarts, and seasonal wagon rides.
- Creemore Farmer’s Market The market is open every Saturday morning from Victoria Day weekend to Thanksgiving.
- Stayner Music Market & Park It Shop for local produce, prepared foods and handmade crafts.
- Andrew’s Roots Restaurant (Meaford) Local chef Andrew Barber creates menus inspired by fresh, local ingredients, served in a casual fine dining setting.
Take a trip to apple country this summer. It's as easy as... well, you know.
By Stephanie Dickison While restaurant openings are a tad quieter this week, the weekend is brimming with delicious food events and activities. That, and The Ex opens tomorrow. Wheeeee!
By Stephanie Dickison August is half over, so you’d better embrace the rest of summer while you can. It’s easy, with all that’s going on this week! But first, today is Julia Child’s birthday. Let’s just take a moment and celebrate that, because without her, we wouldn’t have the appreciation for French food and even cooking at home that we do today, and we certainly wouldn’t have spent hours at the stove working on our Boeuf Bourguignon either. And of course, she paved the way for women chefs. Something also worth celebrating, hence my Top Women Chefs piece earlier this week. Okay, now let’s dig into this week’s resto activity:
By Stephanie Dickison The George Brown College Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts is world renowned for its culinary program, but you should know they host incredible events as well. On Thursday, October 16, 2014, come out to Culinary Cities of the World. An exclusive festival recognizing the world’s leading culinary cities, this year, it features the food, wine and culinary contributions of Paris and Lyon. Not only will you get a chance to try French-inspired dishes by 15 local celebrity chefs in the walk-around food market, you’ll get the chance to see guest of honour Chef Alain Ducasse, one of the best chefs in the world and innovators in the field. You’ll also get to hear an announcement regarding the training of future generations of George Brown College culinary students, and nibble on dishes from Toronto chefs such as Jason Bangerter (Langdon Hall), Alexandra Feswick (The Drake), and Anthony Walsh (Oliver & Bonacini). You don’t want to miss an opportunity like this. A limited number of tickets for the French Culinary Market are now available for $75 each. Bon appetit!
By Stephanie Dickison Wow, what an exhilarating week! The city is alive with exciting things to do and new restaurants to try out. And thanks to the long weekend, you’ve got extra time to enjoy it all! Here’s this week’s dizzying round up:
By Stephanie Dickison This Friday, May 8th, Fran’s celebrates its 75th anniversary with throwback 1940 pricing: From 11am-3pm on Friday, Fran’s Front St. location will offer a special menu including a 25 cent Banquet Burger and a slice of homemade Apple Pie for just 15 cents. Fran's began with Buffalo-born Francis "Fran" Deck moving to Toronto with the dream of opening a restaurant with good food at good prices, served all day every day. His dream became a reality on May 8, 1940, when he opened a ten-seat diner at 21 St. Clair Ave. W. Deck created the "Banquet Burger" (originally called the "Forest Hill," after the upscale neighbourhood) which is the term used across the globe. Calling it simply a 'bacon cheeseburger" just doesn’t invoke the same excitement. In 2001, Mr. Joon Kim purchased the Fran’s corporation from the Deck family. He currently manages each location with his sons Richard, Roger and Robert, keeping the family business a family business. Recent accomplishments include a new location at the CNE Food Building last September that caused a craze with the Thanksgiving Waffle. Soon to come - a new food menu, the introduction of an Ultimate Milkshake menu, the publication of a graphic novel/cookbook debuting this fall, and several more locations. Stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the celebrations - and specially-priced food - this Friday.
By Stephanie Dickison It’s finally patio weather! Which arrives just in time for celebrating finishing your taxes. Or drowning your sorrows because you haven’t. Either way, the term “Beer me,” has never sounded so good. The other fantastic news? There are a slew of new restaurants to try and events to fill your calendar with. Check it out:
By Stephanie Dickison Food is always at the forefront of my mind, so with the arrival of any national holiday, I start to panic – what’s going to be open and where can I eat? With Canada’s Day quickly approaching, I thought it best to put together a guide of some places around town that will be open to serve you. This is of course not a complete list of all restaurants in the city (it’s on my lengthy to do list), but there are a host of choices to satiate whatever you are craving. Please note that the Dine.TO offices will be closed Canada Day, so contact the restaurants directly if you have any questions. As well, some restaurants have just indicated that they are open, with no specific details or hours. They are noted below. In the menatime, Happy Canada Day in advance!
By Stephanie Dickison I hate being cold. So going to a place made out of ice is not the first place I’d head to. But seeing as Canada’s first and only permanent icehouse had finally arrived, I was curious. Would I like it? Or more importantly, could I hack it? Chill Ice House is kept at -5°C, but don’t worry – with your admission, you get a blue or red thermal cape (capes are huge for 2015, so you’ll be fashionable too) with faux fur trim and gloves, made exclusively for CIH by CMFR. Once the freezer door opens, suddenly, the temperature and light change. It’s definitely cold, but in a kind of refreshing way. Perhaps more shocking is the sensation that comes with being surrounded by completely transparent ice and the colour it takes on in the light – intense variations of blue. Like being weightless or in a vacuum. Or space, perhaps. At 1200 sq. ft., the layout is similar to a studio apartment, except this one has ice tables, curtains, bar, DJ booth, seats and glasses. There’s also a VIP ice booth and signature tables sponsored by Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch, the exclusive Scotch of CIH. And to keep things visually stimulating, there’s a floor-to-ceiling chandelier and various sculptures that will constantly change (currently the CN Tower, Stanley Cup and Olaf, from the insanely popular kids movie, Frozen). Fumbling around for money for drinks isn’t a concern: you get a NFC tech microchip bracelet that keeps track of all your purchases (there are souvenirs too – “Keep Calm and Chill On” tees, drinks ice mold, etc.). All drinks come in ice cocktail glasses (hence the gloves), made by drilling holes in blocks of ice. With 13,500 stored on the premises, go ahead and drink up. Once you’ve had your fill of the cold, step into the warmth of the speakeasy lounge out back. As the fireplace channel plays on flat screens above, relax and enjoy drinks, including warm ones like Glenfiddich and hot apple cider, Hot Toddy and a Highland Coffee. Neighbours Thompson Hotel, Cheeseworks and Wabora provide tapas-style snacks, and in the works: food trucks parked outside every week. And for those of you that can’t resist a good bottle, the Glenfiddich “Bottle Keep” Program allows you to bring your own. They'll keep it for you and it will be available upon your next visit. But back to the icehouse. What has been accomplished here is pretty astounding. Far from a ramshackle igloo, it’s a breathtaking work of art. Brothers Gresham and Nic Bayley have traveled the world creating icehouses (Toronto is the 15th) and ice sculptures, on behalf of the family business IceCulture Inc., that’s been going for the last 30 years. And while ice carving and building might sound easy to you, here’s what went into the building of Toronto’s Chill Ice House: It took approximately 186,000 lbs. of ice with over 546 different pieces of carved ice fused together. Only reclaimed Lake Ontario and Lake Huron water was used. Made at a plant in Ontario, the ice blocks (made from a combination called “snice” - snow and ice) were shipped in individual boxes to the icehouse. The brothers unloaded the impossibly heavy skids and use chainsaws on all angles. The mortar or “cement” to fill in between the pieces is a combination of snow and water called “slushing." Then, to fuse together the pieces, they used a blowtorch, sanded it and then poured water over it. The brothers continually maintain the ice, so the icehouse is always in tip top shape. You’ve really got to go and experience it for yourself. You might discover you’re more of an ice lover than you thought. I certainly am. Open seven days a week, the whole family is welcome from noon to 8pm. From 8 pm to 2am, age of majority only.
By Stephanie Dickison You don’t need to head out of town or to a cottage to have a memorable long weekend. This year’s Victoria Day weekend (Friday May 20 to Monday May 23) includes a host of great festivals and events right here in the city. Check it out: Brewer’s Backyard On Victoria Day Monday, celebrate Queen Victoria’s Secret at Evergreen Brick Works. The event includes a lineup of Ontario brews, food by Dirty Food, FeastTO, and Sugar Mammas and a special beer created by Sawdust City for the occasion. Halal Food Fest Did you know that Halal Food Fest at the International Center is the largest in North America? Visit and sample food from over 100 vendors May 21 and 22. Rib Fest & BBQ Bash The biggest backyard BBQ is coming to Yonge & Dundas Square this weekend featuring the best rib teams in Canada. The event takes place Friday and Saturday. Toronto Farmers’ Markets Many of Toronto’s Farmers’ Markets are now open, with some opening this long weekend. Toronto Festival of Beer Spring Sessions This Saturday and Sunday, Spring Sessions brings the cottage to the city with a ton of beer and lots of food including eats from The Pie Commission, Oyster Boy, and Ted’s World Famous BBQ. Veggielicious The fifth annual vegetarian festival continues until Sunday May 22.
By Stephanie Dickison Starting Monday June 27, Union Summer, presented by TD, will host a food and culinary market with 20 food and drinks vendors lasting all summer long until Labour Day, September 5. To keep things interesting – and so there’s always something new to try - there will be 20 vendors, with a change over happening at the end of July. Mobile carts selling items such as candy, ice pops and fresh flowers for sale, will also rotate. From burgers to seafood, South American to Italian, there are a host of dishes to try this summer. Thirsty? Sip on seasonal cocktails, craft beers and local wines at P&L Catering’s licensed area from Thursdays to Sundays, noon to 9pm every week. The current line up of restaurants and vendors includes:
- Barsa Taberna
- Burger’s Priest
- Death in Venice
- Eva’s Original Chimneys
- Fancy Franks
- Fresh Off The Boat
- Grand Trunk Road
- Gushi
- Heirloom
- Lahuna Poke
- Loaded Pierogi
- Mad Mexican
- Mata Petisco Bar
- Momofuku Noodle Bar
- Oats & Ivy
- Pilot Coffee Roasters
- Spacco
- True True Pizza
- Urban Herbivore
When: Open daily from Monday June 27 to Monday September 5, 2016 Where: Sir John A. Macdonald (SJAM) Plaza at Union Sation - 65 Front St. W. Times: Monday-Friday: 7am - 9pm Saturdays: 11am - 9pm Sundays: 11am - sunset
By Stephanie Dickison While Winterlicious hasn’t arrived quite yet – it begins January 29 and runs through to February 11 – tickets for the 2016 Culinary Event Series are now on sale. The 11 distinctive events in the series include everything from high tea to a journey to the Azores. The schedule is as follows:
By Stephanie Dickison Graham Elliot is returning to Bravo's Emmy award winning franchise "Top Chef" as a host/judge after nine seasons as co-host and judge for Fox's "Masterchef" and "Masterchef Jr." The Chicago chef and Culinary Director of Lollapalooza, shares his favourite Toronto restaurants, ideal food day, and much more in this month's celebrity interview.
By Stephanie Dickison Our city is brimming with restaurants offering every cuisine imaginable. Walk just a few blocks or travel a handful of subway stops and you can sample cuisines of all kinds - nibble on Ethiopian, dig into Filipino fare, and tuck into Greek delicacies, to name just a few. This summer’s food festivals showcase some of the city’s best flavours all in one location. This weekend, travel to an Asian night market in Markham, Indian street food festival and try a range of cuisines including Hakka Mughlai, Tibetan and Nepalese at the Festival of South Asia. And don't forget there are over 220 pre-fixe menus to try during Summerlicious. The season will see more ribfests, beerfests, food truck fest and night markets, so get ready. And August alone brings with it: a Filipino street eats competition, Sri Lankan food fest, celebration of Brazil culture, Pan American foods, jerk fare, three days of Greek food, a vegan fest, fun eats at the CNE, hot and spicy dishes, African and Caribbean cuisines, a Manilla street fest, two days of just desserts, Tamil plates and Taiwainese cooking. There’s also a ton of coconut and cider to be had. It’s a lot to try and keep up with so be sure to check out our July Calendar of food and drink events and our upcoming August calendar, published at the end this month. We’ll be bringing you coverage of all the summer happenings, so stay tuned here for daily news and events and be sure follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
By Stephanie Dickison On Wednesday, April 20th, 2016, simply dine out at one of the restaurants below. Participating restaurants for A Taste for Life will donate a portion of their gross proceeds from the evening to support Fife House and people and families living with HIV/AIDS. The options are endless - choose from steak, Thai, Greek, Nepalese, pub fare, French, Spanish and so much more. In addition, diners can participate in a raffle with fantastic prizes:
- First Prize: Rainbow Cinemas VIP Pass. Unlimited entries for two people. (Value: $2500+)
- Second Prize: Six person private dinner catered by The Food Dudes. (Value: $1200)
- Third Prize: Round trip ticket for two on VIA Rail from Toronto to Montreal. (Value: $700+)
A Taste for Life participating restaurants include:
- 120 Diner – 120 Church St.
- 7 Numbers – 307 Danforth Ave.
- Acqua Dolce – 50 Prince Edward Island Cres.
- A la Carte at the Gardiner – 111 Queen’s Park
- Allen’s – 143 Danforth Ave.
- Alleycatz – 2409 Yonge St.
- AVIV Mediterranean Restaurant – 328 Dupont St.
- Basso Pizzeria – 320 Queen St. E.
- The Beverley Hotel – 335 Queen St. W.
- The Blake House – 449 Jarvis St.
- Braised Restaurant & Bar – 896 Queen St. E.
- Butter Chicken Factory – 556 Parliament St.
- Byzantium – 499 Church St.
- Café California Restaurant – 538 Church St.
- Café la Gaffe – 24 Baldwin St.
- Casa Barcelona – 2890 Bloor St. W.
- Church St. Garage – 477 Church St.
- The Churchmouse – 475 Church St.
- The Corner House Irish Pub - 1801 Gerrard St. E.
- Edwards 1290 – 1290 Queen St. E.
- Eulalie’s Corner Store – 1438 Gerrard St. E.
- Fabarnak 519 – 519 Church St.
- Focaccia – 17 Hayden St.
- Gorkha Palace - 1855 Dundas St. E. (Mississauga)
- Globe Bistro – 124 Danforth Ave.
- Hair of the Dog – 425 Church St.
- Hawthorne Food & Drink – 60 Richmond St.
- Hey Lucy – 229 Carlton St.
- Jump Restaurant – 18 Wellington St. W.
- Ki Modern Japanese + Bar – 181 Bay St.
- Le Montmartre French Restaurant – 911 Sheppard Ave. W.
- Leslie Jones – 1182 Queen St. E.
- Lolita’s Lust – 513 Danforth Ave.
- Magic Oven – 1450 Danforth Ave.
- Magic Oven – 347 Keele St.
- Midi Bistro – 168 McCaul St.
- Pan on the Danforth – 516 Danforth Ave.
- Peartree Restaurant – 507 Parliament St.
- Quattro 4 Ragazze – 1792 Danforth Ave.
- Queen Mother Café – 208 Queen St. W.
- Rasa by the Food Dudes – 196 Robert St.
- Rendez-Vous Restaurant Bar & Café – 1408 Danforth Ave.
- Sambucas on Church – 489 Church St.
- Sassafraz – 100 Cumberland St.
- Sawasdee Thai Cuisine – 895 Church St.
- The Shore Club – 155 Wellington St. W.
- Signs – 558 Yonge St.
- Smith – 553 Church St.
- Spacco Restaurant & Billiards – 2415 Yonge St.
- Tabule Middle Eastern Cuisine – 810 Queen St. E.
- Tabule Middle Eastern Cuisine – 2009 Yonge St.
- The Thai Room on Carlton – 243 Carlton St.
- Wish – 3 Charles St. E.
We’ve put together a handy guide for you with the entire list and each restaurant's information. To make a reservation, please contact the restaurants directly.
By Zoe Renglich Baking can sometimes seem complicated and daunting, but, the more you learn, practice and test recipes, the more confidence and freedom you will have to experiment in the kitchen. Here’s my advice on where to start:
By Stephanie Dickison Toronto’s restaurant scene is jumping! Not only do we have amazing new openings to tell you about, Summerlicious launches today. To help you decide between 200 restaurants, we’ve got an entire guide devoted to it, as well as our picks for top 5 places! World Cup continues to capture our attention. Check out our full guide of places to watch the game. And if you haven’t already, visit the newly renovated Market Street, next to the St. Lawrence Market. Read more about Toronto’s new dining destination. Okay, now let’s get you up-to-date on what’s just opened: Ossington Stop 1164 Dundas St. W. Late night snacks and drinks that won’t break the bank, all in one of the city’s coolest ‘hoods? Expect this place to do gangbusters. Little Sister Indonesian Food Bar 2031 Yonge St. Quince Bistro owners (and if you’re old enough to remember, Stork on the Roof!) Jennifer Gittins and Michael van den Winkel entice diners again, this time with Indonesian small plates. Swoon. Lucky Red 318 Spadina Ave. The Banh Mi Boys opened their new bao place on Wednesday. No doubt these sammies will be just as lusted after as their first ones. Pearl King 291 King St. W. Opening on King at Blue Jays Way (location, location, location), Pearl King offers “dim sum, tapas, and drinks.” Uh, you had us at dim sum. Braised Restaurant & Bar 896 Queen St. E. Sam Scanga, owner of Lolita’s Lust, has created a stunning space on Queen East that opens today. Focusing on local and seasonal products and “raised and braised” dishes, they’ll be open for lunch and dinner and come mid-July, weekend brunches. Just Falafel 831 Bay St. This is the first location in Toronto for the UAE falafel chain. And probably not the last. And in other news: daishÅ introduces its patio, available for lunch, dinner or drinks. Note: Seating on the patio is available on a first-come, first serve basis at lunch (Monday - Friday) and dinner (everyday). You voted Glas Wine Bar the Best Vegetarian Restaurant last year (FYI, they serve meat as well), but have you been recently? There are new dinner and Sunday brunch menus to tuck into, the restaurant is now available for private events, and just announced - pop-up dinners are happening soon! Stay tuned for details. E11even is now serving Sunday brunch, with all items under $20. Michael’s on Simcoe is now open on Sundays. p.s. We'll be at PintxosTO on Sunday! See you there? p.p.s. And be sure to start voting for your favourite Toronto restaurants. This is where you get to say where the best places are in the city!
By Stephanie Dickison
You've heard the stories: people opening a restaurant and fighting to keep them open. You've walked by them in your neighbourhood: seeing the owner standing at the window of the empty restaurant looking for potential guests.
With so many restaurants opening and closing, it's a battle for not just new restaurants, but even those lauded by critics as we've seen in recent months (Hudson Kitchen, The Grove).
East end restuarant Back of House has been struggling since its opening. Owner/Chef Charles Crothall has had everything from not enough food to equipment breakdowns occur since its opening last spring.
This teeny spot on Carlaw at Queen seemed just days from closing. And then local resident Christopher Mitchell stepped in and started a campaign to keep doors open. Mitchell launched Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Back of House Edition on Monday and so far, at time of publication, has raised $1,861 dollars. The goal is the raise $7,000 by April 6th, just over a week away.
Mitchell says the "food was out of this world, the chef was young passionate and able. And the concept was bold and challenging." And he even went so far as to bring Crothall some "locally sourced ingredients so he could open for breakfast."
Mitchell says that Crothall has run out of time and product and "anyone donating of $18 or more will purchase you a meal for free."
Is the well-meaning effort of neighbours helping neighbours enough to keep a restaurant afloat? Is that enough to run a restaurant? Will Back of House be able to stand on its own two feet after this surge? Only time will tell.
In the meantime, let us know what you think.
By Dine.TO
Search for your favourite restaurants on Dine.TO and vote for them. 36 popular categories to pick from. One vote per establishment. Voting ends September 30th. A valid email is required as you will have to confirm your vote. Thank you for participating.