Power lunchers and after-work diners are the bread and butter of Summerlicious. Here, 22 Toronto Life picks for where to go. Read the rest of this entry »
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Charles Khabouth’s new Bloor Street bistro, La Société, to open in June; two more Khabouth restos in the works
Charles Khabouth beneath the just-installed stained-glass ceiling at La Société (Image: Gizelle Lau)
A few months ago, we announced that Charles Khabouth of Ink Entertainment would be taking over the space formerly occupied by dim sum staple Dynasty Chinese Cuisine. After five months of renovations, the new restaurant, La Société, is set to open on June 15th, and we got a sneak peek to see what it was all about.
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Roger Mooking—of Kultura, Nyood and Bass is Base fame—to take on Michael Symon on Iron Chef America
It seems MC Mystic is back. No, Toronto chef Roger Mooking isn’t reprising his role as rapper and percussionist in Juno-winning, ’90s R&B group Bass is Base. Instead, he will be riding his funkmobile over to Kitchen Stadium to take on Michael Symon on Iron Chef America later this May. Mooking is no stranger to food television—he’s the host of Food Network Canada’s Everyday Exotic—but the executive chef at Queen West’s Nyood will be facing some pretty high expectations following Montreal’s Chuck Hughes’ recent victory against Bobby Flay (Hughes was only the second Canadian chef ever to win on the series, Rob Feenie being the first). Symon has battled against two Canadians in the past, beating Ame’s Guy Rubino in season 6 and earning a draw against David Adjey in season 7. We’ll be tuning in to watch Mooking compete—and hoping for a little beat boxing and fake rain.
• Coming up on Iron Chef: Pasternack, Todd Stein, Mooking [Eater]
Greatest Hits: Chris Nuttall-Smith picks the 25 most delicious dishes of the last year
Enoteca Sociale’s octopus and fava beans
The 25 most delicious dishes tasted this year, ranging from lowbrow comforts (potato puffballs) to high-minded masterpieces (tea-smoked duck)*
*Availability of dishes varies according to season and changing menus Read the rest of this entry »
The Best of Winterlicious 2011: Toronto Life’s 62 favourite restaurants
(Image: Renée Suen, from the torontolife.com Flickr pool)
January is upon us, and for many hungry Torontonians, that means one thing: Winterlicious. The menus are less predictable than previous years—crème brûlée’s out, lentils du Puy are in—so even the ’Licious haters might have a reason to take advantage of the festival this year. We’ve already named the 12 menus that we think are the best bets, but that doesn’t begin to cover it. Here, find Toronto Life’s 62 favourite Winterlicious restaurants, complete with menus, reviews and reservation numbers.
Winterlicious runs from January 28 to February 10. Reservations are accepted from January 13 onward (January 11 for American Express users).
12 best bets for Winterlicious 2011: our chief critic goes through the menus so you don’t have to
A steak dinner at Noce (Image: Renée Suen)
Big-spending downtown Torontonians have taken in the past few years to whining about Winterlicious, but the two-week dining festival, running from January 28 through February 10, remains popular for a reason: it offers great value, particularly if you choose your reservations well. Here are a dozen of Toronto Life’s best bets. They’re older, more established places, generally, with kitchens that clearly care. And though we haven’t yet tasted the restaurants’ 2011 Winterlicious menus, they’re full of interesting, delicious-sounding picks.
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Where to get a TIFF drink: the film festival’s 44 spots with 4 a.m. licences
The arrival of TIFF always demands answers to three crucial questions: which celebs are coming to town, what are the best flicks to see, and where can we get inebriated at ungodly hours of the night? The first two we’ve taken care of here and here, and now we have the nearly complete list of venues with extended hours for TIFF. The news is good: last year, around 25 bars and restaurants were approved for extended hours; this year, about 44 will be serving late. The selection is more varied, and with spots like Gabby’s and Hey Lucy on the list, it’s decidedly more casual. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario tells us that the list could expand as more venues get last-minute approval. Here, the 44 bars officially licensed to stay open until 4 a.m. »
Six food trends we hate
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Every year, Toronto Life’s April edition names the current food and restaurant trends we love, hate and those with which we have a love-hate relationship. Here, in no particular order, are our hated trends for 2010
Just opened: Koko! brings casual Japanese and Korean fare to Yorkville
Unexpected ingredients add creativity to Aayama's menu (Photo by Signe Langford)
One of Yorkville’s newest residents is, surprisingly, a relaxed, sharing-style restaurant of unpretentious and affordable Japanese and Korean fare. Called Koko!, which is Japanese for “here,” the business is the brainchild of Sang Kim, who recruited Shin Aoyama as head chef (Aoyama studied under Hidekazu Tojo, one of Vancouver’s great sushi masters and the owner of Tojo’s).
Kim, whose impressive résumé as a restaurateur and consultant includes Ame, Ki, Edo, Lil’ Baci, Fellini’s Shoe, Tasty and Blowfish, admits that serving the food of his homeland is new, but he’s confident. “I have a top chef, and we’re not going to be pushing the envelope too much. We are going to be quality and accessibility driven. We’re not doing exotic modern Korean cuisine.”
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Toronto New Year’s Eve celebrations: a 10-part field guide
Choosing one New Year’s Eve event over hundreds of others can be daunting, especially when all the descriptions meld together with promises of a glass of champagne (read: cheap sparkling wine) and various misspellings of “hors d’oeuvre.” To help in the decision-making process, here’s a roundup of 10 very different events taking place on December 31st.
(Looking for the best NYE prix fixe menus? Click here »)
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Venue: Gladstone
Dining options: Marc Breton’s hearty fare, including poutine, grilled cheese, ploughman’s board
Libations: Hotel bar stocked to the max
Atmosphere: The Skin Tight Outta Sight rock ’n’ roll burlesque troupe will be taking over the hotel, encouraging guests to put on their best “rock of love bus attire” (make sure those clear plastic platform heels have good traction on ice)
Entertainment: Singing and dancing by one of the city’s most popular burlesque troupes, partial nudity
Likely to happen at midnight: An MC will commence the countdown in an over-the-top, Rocky Horror manner with lots of double entendres
Who will be there: Aspiring roller derby athletes, musicians from bands no one has heard of, fans of the Pillow Fight League
Who should go: People who missed the burlesque boom of 2004
Avoid if: You have a stack of $5 bills you’d prefer not to part with
1214 Queen St. W., 416-531-4635, event Web site. $30 in advance, $40 at the door.
Photo by Skin Tight Outta Sight
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Venue: The Drake Hotel
Dining options: Five- or three-course meals, along with hors d’oeuvre. Expect such Drake staples as sushi and charcuterie
Libations: Obligatory glass of sparkling wine
Atmosphere: All-around warmth created by the hotel’s mood lighting and a sense of self-satisfaction from staying away from the downtown core
Entertainment: Jazz crooning by Elise LeGrow upstairs, DJs spinning in the underground. Basically, a re-enactment of K-os’ “Sunday Morning” video
Likely to happen at midnight: Quick cheers and air kisses followed by revellers crowding into the hotel rooms, where the real party begins
Who will be there: Twenty-somethings still in denial about the death of hipsterism, fashion students who skipped out on lunch at Freshii for an entire week to save up the entrance fee
Who should go: Those too old for the club district but too young for Yorkville
Avoid if: You have no idea what Owl City is
1150 Queen St. W., 1-866-943-8849, event Web site. $75, $99 with dinner.
Photo by Amber Dawn Pullin
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Venue: Watusi
Dining options: Four-course menu (unfortunately doesn’t include the famous chickpea fries)
Libations: Quirky Pearson-era cocktails: mojitos, piña coladas, Manhattans and Singapore slings
Atmosphere: Retro dance party without the hassle of having to dress up as Peggy Olson
Entertainment: DJ spinning near the back of the space, marvelling at the restaurant’s psychedelic colours, deciding whether to eat or dance
Likely to happen at midnight: Quick champagne toast, then back to partying like it’s 1965
Who will be there: Nearby residents and business owners, kids disenchanted with Queen West, noise narcs keeping the volume under control
Who should go: Mad Men fans
Avoid if: You still use the term “shagadelic”
110 Ossington Ave., 416-533-1800, watuzi.biz. $65.
Photo by Watusi
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Venue: Sneaky Dee’s
Dining options: The famously cheap and huge nacho platter
Libations: Cheap pitchers (and we don’t mean Roy Halladay)
Atmosphere: Laid-back dive bar
Entertainment: Sneak standby Shit la Merde will be spinning at The Garrison instead, but the DJ lineup will still maintain a similar sound
Likely to happen at midnight: Brief pause just after midnight as everyone realizes they missed the countdown due to all the dancing
Who will be there: The fraction of Torontonians who actually look good in skinny jeans, over-inked 20-somethings
Who should go: Cash-strapped students, people who would rather wear hoodies and jeans than suits and dresses, revellers unwilling to trek to the Junction to swill bottles of PBR in an ironic fashion
Avoid if: You’re over 30
431 College St., 416-603-3090, sneaky-dees.com. $10 in advance, $15 at the door.
Photo by Allison Felus
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Venue: Ultra
Dining options: Surprisingly good and varied (vegetarian options!) three-course meal with such dishes as duck and roasted squash tourtière and beef tenderloin with marrow crust and parsley root purée
Libations: Not one, but two glasses of champagne for each person
Atmosphere: Dark club with glowing panels to accentuate the silhouettes of the well coiffed and fit staffers
Entertainment: Loud beats, macho guys giving bro hugs
Likely to happen at midnight: Lots of hooting and hollering
Who will be there: Male regulars breaking out the black party loafers, women in sky-high heels
Who should go: Party-goers who prefer not to go outside between dinner and clubbing
Avoid if: You are not a fan of Jersey Shore
314 Queen St. W., 416-263-0330, ultratoronto.com. $161.
Photo by Ultra
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Venue: The Burroughes Building
Dining options: Hors d’oeuvre (read: fill up beforehand)
Libations: Open bar
Atmosphere: Fancy-dress masquerade ball with a whiff of exclusivity
Entertainment: Eavesdropping, predicting who will make it into Govani’s next column, updating Twitter feeds every 10 minutes
Likely to happen at midnight: A collective toast, fifty-fifty chance of confetti cannon, aerial group photo reminiscent of the one in The Shining
Who will be there: Shinan Govani and the duo behind Greta Constantine will be hosting. And wherever Govani is, expect flocks of other local celebs and party page regulars to be close by
Who should go: Aspiring gossip bloggers, party photographers, the Salahis
Avoid if: You want to get wasted
639 Queen St. W., jen@styleforstyle.ca, event Web site. $100.
Image by Burroughes Building
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Venue: Nathan Phillips Square
Dining options: $3 hot dogs ($5 with fries)
Libations: Tim Hortons and Starbucks to offset the hypothermia—that is, if it’s even possible to get inside the coffee joints, which have to serve hundreds of people throughout the night
Atmosphere: Collective feigned enthusiasm to mask the bitterness of not having worn enough layers, kids asking how much longer till midnight
Entertainment: Scripted bantering by newscasters, an unidentifiable VJ, Shawn Desman/Danny Fernandes/Massari (it’s Karl Wolf this year), Jarvis Church, Anjulie, Kardinal Offishall, cast of Rock of Ages, the Mission District
Likely to happen at midnight: A good but modest fireworks display so as not to set the city on fire, followed by a massive evacuation at 12:01 in order to beat the traffic
Who will be there: Out-of-towners, fathers with shoulders strained from carrying their kids all night
Who should go: Junior high students venturing downtown for the first time without parents, boyfriends who want to be that guy who proposes on live TV, families composed of people who really get along with each other
Avoid if: You have a TV that carries CityTV
100 Queen St. W., event Web site. Free.
Photo by Photopia
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Venue: Hazelton Lanes
Dining options: Very small appetizers
Libations: The event is sponsored by Roberto Cavalli Vodka
Atmosphere: Conspicuous consumerism at its finest
Entertainment: A hodgepodge of DJs, Cirque du Soleil aerialists and a Cavalli fashion show, because nothing says party like a fashion show
Likely to happen at midnight: Polite glass raising and air kisses
Who will be there: The real housewives of Toronto, industry people ready to hand out stacks of business cards
Who should go: Fashion bloggers, Waldorf wannabes
Avoid if: You equate Jimmy Choo’s H&M line with Jimmy Choo’s actual line
55 Avenue Rd., 647-898-2554, event Web site. $60–$80.
Photo courtesy of Roberto Cavalli
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Venue: Ame
Dining options: À la carte in the evening, tasting menu at 9 p.m.
Libations: Wintry girly cocktails and hot sake
Atmosphere: Low-key setting where it’ll be more about the food than the revelry
Entertainment: Guy Rubino’s culinary flourishes
Likely to happen at midnight: Polite hand roll raising
Who will be there: Bay Streeters hacking away at their BlackBerrys, foodies who’d rather have a party in their mouths than at a club
Who should go: Ho Su and New Gen regulars looking to step it up a notch
Avoid if: You always order California rolls at sushi joints
19 Mercer St., 416-599-7246, event Web site. Tasting menu $85–$100.
Photo by Davida Aronovitch
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Venue: Casa Loma
Dining options: Hors d’oeuvre are included in the $75 entrance fee, but has anyone ever seen a server with an actual plate of food at these parties? The catering is done by the Pegasus Group, which also represents Nyood, Kultura and the interchangeable Philthy McNasty’s, O’Grady’s, the Wheat Sheaf and the Fox and Fiddle
Libations: Obligatory glass of sparkling wine (the event description says “champagne,” but we’re skeptical). The bar’s open until 2 a.m.
Atmosphere: The event promises “plenty of romantic make-out spots,” according to She Does the City (it’s that kind of party). Access is limited to the great room, the library and the conservatory, but we’re sure a few people will make it a mission to have a romp in the stable or the master bedroom
Entertainment: DJs spinning, watching people grinding strangers in a century-old house where children have Easter egg hunts
Likely to happen at midnight: Castle-wide PDAs
Who will be there: People who haven’t visited the castle since grade school, naughty librarians, history buffs
Who should go: People who need parking, kids who got shut out of the rave at the Don Jail during the summer
Avoid if: You expect a Clue-style murder mystery to unfold
1 Austin Terr., 416-524-4505, event Web site. $75.
Photo by Wanda Gould
Also: Check out our picks for the best NYE prix fixe menus »
Toward a better booze-scape: seven egg-infused creations boost Toronto’s cocktail comeback
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For years, Torontonians returning from Chicago and New York brought tales of their cocktail adventures—stories typically followed by complaints about the dismal state of mixed drinks in their hometown. Well, that’s in the process of changing. Professional mixologists are increasingly common at bars and restaurants in this city, and they have been leading something of a cocktail comeback. Such Gatsby-era classics as flips, fizzes and sours are popping up everywhere, and crafty bartenders have revived the use of eggs to froth up these bold creations. We decided to look into the practice and found some of the city’s more inspired egg-infused cocktails.
Demi Moore requests non-alcoholic beer and Ashton Kutcher plays a paparazzi prank at Ame
Ame bound: Demi and Ashton at The Joneses premiere (Photo by James Helmer)
When the Rubino brothers—owners of new sushi it-spot Ame (formerly Rain)—hosted a dinner party for the film premiere of The Joneses, they did not expect Demi Moore to request non-alcoholic beer, but ran to find some pronto. Young hubby Ashton Kutcher was A-OK with the ice wine martinis, but became vexed with the blur of flashing cameras. In his typical mischievous manner, Kutcher turned to the paparazzi and said, “I want to be the photographer!” After a quick tutorial, guests were greeted by an aggressive Kutcher behind the lens.
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Here comes the Rain again: a peek inside Guy and Michael Rubino’s Ame
Guy Rubino mans the grill at Ame, the restaurant he and his brother, Michael, have opened in collaboration with Charles Khabouth (All photos by Davida Aronovitch)
After over six months of renovations and about two months of delay, Guy and Michael Rubino’s Rain has been reborn as Ame (Japanese for, what else, “rain”). The brothers are known for frequent reinvention (Zoom, Luce and the reality series Made to Order), and for this latest transformation, they have teamed up with the club mogul Charles Khabouth. Ame presents the chic Japanese aspects of Rain’s Asian fusion and swaps the former restaurant’s special-occasion appeal for a casual vibe.
The interior of Ame is by Khabouth’s go-to designers, Munge Leung (Ultra, Guvernment); the one-room open concept has been transformed into a seductive labyrinth of spaces. An inviting lounge of chunky low-rise furniture is flanked by a sexy backlit bar. The sashimi counter wraps around the traditional coal-burning robata grill—Guy’s culinary cornerstone, on which the Iron Chef sears Australian wagyu flatiron and strip loin steak, cut to order. The adjacent dining area is splintered into tidy nooks; a private room beckons recluses and TIFF types. The full menu is available in all spaces, to entice barflies and foodies alike.
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Topless coffee shop goes bust, poisoned chickens, speakeasies on the rise
Halt the salt: Can science reduce the use of salt in food? (Photo by Kevin Dooley)
• A Ryerson University professor is developing a time-release salt that delivers an initial burst of flavour followed by smaller doses over time. This would trick the taste buds into thinking that a food is saltier than it is, theoretically reducing the need to add the taste booster to foods. [Daily Gleaner]
• Nightclub impresario Charles Khabouth—the man behind Tattoo Rock Parlour, Ultra and the relaunch of Rain (now Ame)—talks about surviving in a crowded and broke market. In the process, he describes the first opening he organized in Toronto: the place was decorated by Canadian Tire, and the tiger he’d rented broke a window, catching the attention of cops and the humane society. [ROB]
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Rain is now “unrecognizable” as it becomes the all-new Japanese-inspired Ame
Ame cometh: Guy Rubino will be cooking up authentic Japanese fare at Rain's replacement
When Rain closed its doors in early January, it was supposed to be for modest renovations. The co-owning Rubino brothers (Guy and Michael, of Zoom and Luce fame) were planning a sushi and sashimi bar to add some new flavour to the restaurant as it approached its 10th anniversary. But club king and visionary Charles Khabouth arrived on the scene with another idea. “It’s all Charles’s fault,” explains executive chef Guy Rubino. “He said, ‘It’s not enough. Come to my office.’ So I did.” Now, after massive changes to the concept, space, name and menu, the souped-up supper club Ame is slated to open at the end of June, featuring an Obama shout-out, a more relaxed ambience and a brand new menu. Says Guy, “It will be completely unrecognizable.”
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