Advertisement

Toronto Life - The Wire

The comprehensive index of every blog post, magazine story and restaurant review that appears on Torontolife.com

All stories by Eric Vellend

The Dish

From the Print Edition

12 Comments

All-Beef Party: Toronto’s 25 best burgers ranked in order of heart-stopping, messy magnificence

25 BEST BURGERS

Nine years ago, Mark McEwan scandalized Torontonians with his $35 truffled Bymark burger. That was before words like “grass-fed,” “heritage” and “dry-aged” entered into the burger lexicon. The city is now crammed with craft burgers, and carnivores no longer flinch at steep price tags. Competitive chefs bring in whole cows from nearby farms, bake their own buns, smoke their own bacon (twice), replace ketchup with tomato chutney and source the most pungent cheeses they can get their patty-flipping hands on. Thankfully, the mom-and-pop shops haven’t been artisinalled out of business—there are still plenty of sublime greasy-bag burgers around, as well as a few new-school diners ironically replicating them. Here, the very best of the city’s boundless burgerdom. See all 25 burgers after the jump »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

Comments

Flavour of the Month: eight sublimely sloppy breakfast sandwiches

Toronto chefs are reimagining the McMuffin with house-made breads and luxurious ­ingredients

Flavour of the Month: Morning Glory

Check out eight of the city’s best breakfast sandwiches »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

Comments

Life of Pie: 10 of Toronto’s most mouthwatering pies and tarts

Life of Pie | Holiday Special

Hit the ’nog and let the city’s best bakers do dessert

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

18 Comments

Into the Fold: Toronto’s eight best tacos, from the traditional to the tricked-out

Here, the best of the spicy, messy bunch

Start the slide show »

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

1 Comment

’Wich Craft: how the city’s ice cream sandwiches stack up

’Wich Craft

(Image: Christopher Stevenson)

Ice cream sandwiches have become the city’s chicest sugar rush, proving there’s no junk food too humble for the gourmet treatment

Start the slideshow »

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

1 Comment

A gourmand’s guide to haute dogs for the grill

Innovative butchers are digging up old family recipes and mixing exotic meats with offbeat flavourings

Links

(Image: Christopher Stevenson)

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

14 Comments

The Bucket List: Eight of Toronto’s best joints for fried chicken

The city is in a fried-chicken swoon lately, as nostalgia-stoking chefs strive to perfect the juicy, salty, crackling classic.

The Bucket List

Start the slide show »


Read the rest of this entry »

The Goods

Weddings

Comments

Weddings Week 2011: our top 10 list for fabulous finger foods

Eating finger food in formal wear can be tricky. Give your guests small portions with big flavours

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

5 Comments

Kneadful things: a guide to the best restaurant bread in town

With artisanal flours, custom-made ovens and full-time bakers, restaurants are turning the pre-dinner breadbasket into an indulgence in its own right

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

5 Comments

The 10 best pickled foods at Toronto restaurants

Pickled things—lovingly brined, jarred and served by the city’s star chefs—are the hottest grandmotherly food since cookies and milk. Here, the best of the puckery pack

See the list »

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

10 Comments

Toronto’s best house-made pastas

Factory-made linguine and penne just don’t cut it anymore. These days, it’s all about making it in‑house. The silky ribbons and plump pockets chefs are crafting from flour, egg and a little elbow grease are ridiculously good. We slurped our way through the city to find the top five.

1. Buca’s duck bigoli
Hand-cranked duck egg noodles are coated in a sublime ragú of soffritto, tomato, duck legs and giblets, then swirled into a towering nest rivalling Marge Simpson’s beehive. With mascarpone and basil, it’s nothing less than pasta perfection. $19. 604 King St. W., 416-865-1600.

2. Mistura’s chitarroni all’astaco
Venice meets the Maritimes in this concoction of guitar wire–cut spaghetti, sweet chunks of lobster meat, melting leeks and tomato concassée. A plate-licking emulsion of briny butter zinged with a hint of ginger cranks the volume to 11. $22 or $36. 265 Davenport Rd., 416-515-0009.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

Comments

Flavour of the month: 13 ways that local chefs are cooking with corn

We love what Toronto chefs are doing with corn this season. The sweet summer staple is showing up on menus not just boiled and buttered, but grilled, ground, pureéd, roasted, even nitro-zapped. Here, the best places to get your fix

(Image: My Yen Trung)

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

15 Comments

Glazed and Enthused: 13 of Toronto’s best doughnuts

Fried dough is suddenly everywhere, infiltrating dessert cards and pastry cases and threatening to dethrone panna cotta as the sweet du jour. From rounds to holes, beignets to churros, here are a baker’s dozen of the city’s best

Start the slide show »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

5 Comments

The Kimchee Effect: four dishes that deliver a Korean kick

Why fiery Korean flavours are getting even hotter

Manhattan’s punk rock chef, David Chang of Momofuku fame, has almost single-handedly turned kimchee into the new salsa. The pungent pickle is everywhere: topping burgers, spiking cocktails—it’s even gracing the odd charcuterie platter. And other elements of Korea’s bold, beguiling—and previously intimidating—flavours have followed kimchee’s march into the mainstream. Here, the top Toronto dishes that deliver a creative Korean kick.

Read the rest of this entry »

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement