If Bohmer really wants to get in touch with the neighborhood, he should probably walk around and get to know it first. Sure, his shop is high end, and I’m sure it’ll offer many wonderful products – but at the end of the day he’s basing it on an American gourmet foods chain, this is a family neighborhood, not Yorkville . Venezia is a small family owned business specializing in homemade, traditional treats. It might not be as pretentious as Bohmer but, it has been repeatedly placed on Toronto Life’s best lists for its bread. Just to recap – how many of Bohmer’s products have made it on that list?

It might get up on stage (that of Ossington), dress up and look the part… but when its time to deliver, something’s just off. I have a number of beefs with this place (and I was very excited to hear about it at first, actually gave it 2 tries, and had it fall flat on its face both times).

1 – THE FOOD. Any place that shamelessly namedrops Stadlander and Eigensinn over and over better deliver the goods! Shame on me for expecting similar standards. The food does nothing except add to TO’s list of over-priced, over-hyped, nicely decorated, but poorly executed restaurants. The food is COOKED to perfection (veal cheeks that fall apart, pickerel skin that’s perfectly crispy), but the FLAVOURS are nowhere to be found. Same old story – if i’m spending $200 on dinner, give me something new, or at least impress me with something that tastes great! It wouldnt hurt to be satisfied at the end of a meal.

2 – THE SERVICE – actually, our waiter was very informed, professional, and helpful – although I’m not sure why they keep pushing the veal cheeks when I’ve never seen one person either finish the dish, or say that they enjoyed it afterwards (my gf calls that dish “Michelina’s veal cheeks” – looks like a prepared thanksgiving day entree with the amount of mashed potatoe they serve you)

3 – THE OWNER – is it antisocial? is it pretentious? is it…. who cares? the days of snooty restaurant owners not acknowledging their customers is long gone. Both times there (one time with the private room reserved all night even), Bohmer couldn’t spare a minute of his time to (not even socialize, perish the thought), but even ask us how everything is… He came into the room, adjusted the thermostat, and sauntered out again. No nod, no welcoming gesture…. pulse? I would probably honestly be thinking this guy was the sh’t if he was snooty like that AND cooked great food. Unfortunately, he doesn’t (but appears to think he does). Oh, and if you ask for bread, the response is, “The chef won’t serve you bread”. I understand the no-nos of cheese on fish, or anything else that potentially ruins a dish… but come on… no bread??

I hesitated for a minute before I asked for a glass of water… luckily they obliged.

So Bohmer will stick around for a while – not by any sort of culinary merit – read large place on Ossington thats not hard to get a table at, and is ok for cocktails (almost like Ossington’s version of Spice Route!!! haha). I wont go back.

ps. Black Hoof’s foie gras kicks the duck out of Bohmer’s hyped version any day

Somewhat of a disrespectful and ignorant statement considering the long standing Venezia Bakery is across the street at 114 Ossington, packing them in from the early morning hours to early evening. Sure it’s no Dean and Deluca but for many people in the surrounding neighbourhood, it’s a daily go-to spot. I’m looking forward to seeing what the new shop has to offer and no doubt it should do well, but as someone who has the time to make their own vinaigrette, I will probably continue to frequent Venezia far more often.

Right now, the closest place to your spot to get bags of organic milk is the College Metro. Residents of “Gourmet Gulch” can’t actually get their grocery shopping done on foot. This irony is, of course, annoying. And, I hope you can understand, this creates some resentment toward the merchants.

Provide this service, and people might actually come in and buy your luxury vinegars. Otherwise: resentment.

You probably will lose money on the milk: the various under-capitalized variety stores around won’t carry it for this reason. But in your case, that’s not the point: think of the bags of organic milk as a loss-leader or enticement or good-will gesture.

Please shut up.

Thank you