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Summerlicious 2010: the restaurants have been announced, so let’s pick them apart

The view from Toula: be a tourist in your own city (Image: Ian Muttoo)

First things first: there’s not much change under the Summerlicious sun. All of the old favourites are here (including Canoe and Bymark, which always sell out first). Seven Numbers, which by Winter/Summerlicious rules is allowed only one location, has swapped out its Danforth location for its Eglinton one. Winterlicious participant Conviction is out for the summer edition as the second season of Conviction Kitchen films in Vancouver. The new owners of Crush Wine Bar are apparently not feeling the ’licious love—nor is Moroco. And while The Citizen’s digs are alive and kicking under new ownership, its vaunted replacement, Ruby Watchco, is opting out.

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The Dish

Weekly Lunch Pick

May 3, 2010 | 8:33 am

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Where to eat lunch this week: Auberge du Pommier

The $18 midday menu at this legendary French fixture is the best lunch north of Bloor

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The Dish

De-licious

December 23, 2009 | 3:02 pm

7 Comments

Winterlicious 2010: the list of restaurants is out

(Photo by John Hritz)

It’s that time of year again, when sniping begins over the dozens of menus featuring new (and often unexciting) ways to prepare house salad, chicken and a trio of sorbet. That’s right: the Winterlicious list is out, and it’s 150 restaurants strong.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

December 18, 2009 | 3:40 pm

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Prix fixe, midnight madness: where to eat on New Year’s Eve

(Photo by Sally Mahoney)

December 31st is rapidly approaching, and the pressure’s on: what to do on New Year’s Eve? For those who hate crowds, messy house parties and shivering in Nathan Phillips Square but still don’t want to feel curmudgeonly come the stroke of midnight, Toronto’s best restaurants are offering multi-course meals at bargain prices. Here, our list of nine of the best prix fixe menus throughout the city. (Looking for the guide to Toronto’s high profile NYE parties? Click here »)

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The Dish

Aprons & Icons

November 20, 2009 | 5:06 pm

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David Lee and his chicken cartilage take home top honours at the Toronto edition of Gold Medal Plates

Crisp chicken skin and chicken cartilage: David Lee's winning dish at the Toronto edition of Gold Medal Plates

The bar was raised mighty high last night for the city’s haute cuisine scene with a head-to-head cook-off between some of Toronto’s most dazzling chefs. Mark McEwan (Bymark, One), Jason Bangerter (Auberge du Pommier), John Kwan (Lai Toh Heen) and seven other star cuisiniers battled it out at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the Toronto title of Gold Medal Plates—a national fundraiser for Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic Athletes. Held in seven cities across the country, Gold Medal Plates selects, by jury, each city’s top chefs, then asks them to create a medal-worthy meal. With plating assistance from Olympians (like dishy rower Adam Kreek), the meals are then judged by a panel of tough-to-please palates, which included food writer James Chatto (who is also GMP’s National Culinary Advisor) and last year’s Toronto winner, chef Patrick Lin.

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The Dish

Aprons & Icons

September 18, 2009 | 12:44 pm

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In its 20th year, Feast of Fields is better than ever—and we have the pictures to prove it

Langdon Hall’s contribution: “Elvis” ice cream, composed of peanut butter, banana and candied bacon (Photo by Kate Allen)

No, Jamie Kennedy, we couldn’t possibly eat another. Those heirloom tomato, arugula and crispy pancetta BLTs were fantastic, but we’re completely stuffed. We already had two fire-toasted brioches with peach puree from the Auberge du Pommier tent. Yeah, the lavender-infused chantilly kind and the kind with foie gras. We’re trying to save room for the peanut butter, banana and candied bacon ice cream hand-churned by the guys from Langdon Hall over there. You’re right, all the micro-brewery beer probably isn’t helping the whole situation.

We’re at Feast of Fields, the annual fundraiser for sustainable agriculture where every big-name, pro-local chef in the GTA shows up and churns out food made with organic, all-Ontario ingredients.

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The Dish

Aprons & Icons

July 29, 2009 | 12:38 pm

12 Comments

Cookbook fracas: Susur Lee, Marc Thuet and other Toronto foodies displeased as Canadians left out of 100 Emerging Culinary Stars

Shut out: Canadian chefs have been left out of COCO

Backcountry bias: COCO: 100 Emerging Culinary Stars Chosen by 10 of the World’s Greatest Chefs snubs Canuck chefs

The country’s top chefs and food writers are outraged that an upcoming book profiling the world’s 100 most promising chefs does not include any Canadians. The 448-page book titled COCO: 100 Emerging Culinary Stars Chosen by 10 of the World’s Greatest Chefs will also contain recipes by these young, non-Canadian chefs. When Toronto writer Shaun Smith learned that there is still one slot left in the book, he promptly started a letter-writing campaign to the COCO’s British publisher, Phaidon, making the case for squeezing in some CanCon.

The letter (full text below) explains how disappointed the signatories are with the list. It’s an impressive collection of names: 24 of Canada’s top chefs and food writers have thrown their support behind Smith’s campaign, including Susur Lee, Jamie Kennedy, Marc Thuet, Anthony Walsh, Guy Rubino, Anne Yarymowich, Lucy Waverman and Toronto Life’s own James Chatto.

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The Dish

De-licious

July 17, 2009 | 9:11 am

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Final throes: Where to find a table during the last weekend of Summerlicious

Follow the orders of this menu from Mildred's Temple Kitchen and indulge in the last days of Summerlicious (Photo by jbcurio)

The menu at Mildred's Temple Kitchen orders us to indulge (Photo by jbcurio)

The dog days of Summerlicious are here, and with reservations down at top restaurants across the city, many tables are sitting empty at some of the city’s finest spots. This might be the first and last time anyone will be able to walk into North 44 without a reservation, eat for under $50, and walk right out. After the jump, all a hungry diner needs to know about how to nab a last-minute seat at the 10 most popular restaurants from our Best of Summerlicious list.

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The Dish

De-licious

July 9, 2009 | 2:01 pm

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Summerlicious reservations down at top restaurants

We’re halfway through the annual gastronomic bonanza known as Summerlicious, when droves of thrifty gourmands and aspirational epicures descend upon the city’s finest dining rooms. Or not.

Alex Evans, manager of Célestin, estimates that 30 per cent fewer customers have dined at her restaurant during this year’s fest. “Everyone I know who’s participating is telling me their business is way, way, down,” she says. There’s consensus across the board: Didier, North 44°, Auberge du Pommier and Centro, arguably some of the city’s most sought-after tables, are all reporting quieter phone lines and lighter reservation books.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

July 3, 2009 | 1:57 pm

1 Comment

Follow the Tweeter: More Toronto chefs, bars and restaurants hop on the Twitter wagon

The mighty T: Increasingly, Twitter is everywhere (including Toronto kitchens)

More T?: Twitter gains popularity among T.O. foodies

Chefs and restaurateurs across the city are heading into the Twitterverse in a big way. Since our last roundup of Toronto foodie feeds, the popularity of the on-line service has exploded, with Grant van Gameren, Anthony Walsh, Dufflet Rosenberg and many more joining the fray. We find ourselves addicted to the culinary dispatches from these local epicureans (unlike most inane tweets that detail what’s for dinner). Here, our latest guide to who’s tweeting what.

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The Dish

Bottoms Up

April 22, 2009 | 2:30 pm

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Niagara winery premieres Canada’s first biodynamic wine

Our first biodynamic wine

In celebration of Earth Day, Southbrook Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake has launched what it says is the first biodynamic wine produced in Canada. For those who don’t know what biodynamic farming is, it’s essentially a more hard-core version of organic farming with astrology thrown into the mix.

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The Dish

De-licious

March 10, 2009 | 10:16 am

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The most popular Winterlicious menus of 2009

With data collected from Torontolife.com’s “Best of Winterlicious” feature, we’ve figured out the fan favourites of this year’s dining festival. After all the hoopla attached to 2009’s Winterlicious, it’s nice to know that some things never change. From an Oliver & Bonacini institution to one of city’s beloved boutique hotels, here are the top 10 Winterlicious menus viewed by Torontolife.com readers.

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The Dish

De-licious

March 4, 2009 | 10:52 am

16 Comments

Whining and dining: A look back at Winterlicious 2009 with Marc Thuet and Michael Bonacini

Has Winterlicious lost its way? (Photo by Chunyang LIN)

The Winterlicious of 2009 was like no other. There was a recession on, new pricing and a two-week extension. Plus, the much loved food-a-thon sparked the most criticism it’s had since its inception in 2003. Despite the backlash, though, most reports indicate that this year’s festival was a resounding success. There has even been a backlash to the backlash, as some of the industry’s biggest names encourage haters to stop whining. As Michael Bonacini of the Oliver & Bonacini empire puts it, “Get on board or zip it and get out of town.” Zing.

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The Dish

De-licious

January 26, 2009 | 2:58 pm

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Participation in vicious Winterlicious part of Mark McEwan’s civic duty

Mark McEwan, chef at Bymark

During an interview with CBC’s Metro Morning on Friday, Mark McEwan used the term “Wintervicious” to describe the imminent foodie festival—or rather, he relayed that this is how one of his staffers refers to it. McEwan’s swank restaurant Bymark apparently experiences a degree of madness in dealing with the Winterlicious rush—and it’s not the only one. We have heard that popular restaurants like Bymark and the stars in the Oliver & Bonacini universe (Canoe, Auberge du Pommier) install dedicated phone lines just to handle the sudden deluge of diners clamouring for a reservation.

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