By Denise Balkissoon | Photography by Edward Pond

Toboggans and cross-country skis, woolly sweaters and brisk sub-zero air call for piping hot chocolate. The Leslieville dessert shop Bobbette and Belle has taken the humble cup of cocoa to new, paroxysm-inducing heights. In the mug, extra-brut cocoa powder is blended with Swiss chocolate, full-fat milk and a bit of sugar. Then the house-made vanilla marshmallow on top is blowtorched to order until it’s cloaked in a crisp, bittersweet, golden brown shell that gives way to a gooey interior. It’s an irresistible hit of fancified nostalgia. $4.25. 1121 Queen St. E., ­416-466-8800.

Nestlé’s South Junction factory (Image: Uncle Tubby)

With the support of nearby residents, local developer Castlepoint Realty has proposed 45 new townhouses, several office towers (with urban garden roofs) and a public square in Toronto’s South Junction Triangle, which would go a long way toward revitalizing the barren neighbourhood. As it stands, the area is speckled with rubble and abandoned buildings—but apparently that’s the way Nestlé likes it. The company runs a chocolate factory nearby and fears that the 24/7 trucks, noise and even sweet aroma will drive occupants mad. Critics, however, point to another Ward 18 factory run by Cadbury, which has coexisted with its neighbours for years. For our part, we think Nestlé should probably just listen to its own advice. Read the entire story [The Globe and Mail] »

(Images: Kevin Naulls)

When a heritage building like Maple Leaf Gardens is renovated, there’s always a concern that whatever goes inside will gut the building’s soul, with, at best, a commemorative plaque to mark what used to be. Thankfully, Galen Weston and his Loblaws crew chose to retain the charm of the iconic arena, except that instead of stadium seating and the aroma of beer nuts, the impressively large space is now home to fresh bread (from Ace Bakery), a café (with the original Gardens gold seats), a wide selection of organic produce (fans of Portlandia will be pleased to know that images of the farmers responsible abound), a sushi bar, an LCBO, a walk-in clinic, a Joe Fresh, a wall of cheese (seriously, a whole wall), a wall of cupcakes (seriously, a whole wall) and a wall of aging meat (yes, a whole wall). That’s just the tip of the chocolate-by-the-chunk iceberg (of which there is one—it weighs 250 pounds and required a mechanical lift to drop into place). Tour the brand new grocery mega-store in a gallery after the jump.

Before we were admitted to the supermarket-cum-coliseum for the grand opening, Weston gave a speech, followed by a baguette-cutting ceremony (the purpose-baked Ace baguette was a good five feet long). We entered and hung a left to find a red-subway-tiled café selling bagels (69 cents each), espresso-based drinks ($1.79–$3.19) and house-made gelato ($2.99–$10.99). Much of the prepared food in the store, from stocks and soups to baked goods, is made in-house by executive chef Mark Russell and his team of nine Red Seal chefs. According to senior VP André Fortier, who was responsible for the “concept rollout,” there will be no day-old goods at this location (leftovers will be donated to Second Harvest).

There’s a lot to see and touch, but some of the most appealing items in-store right now include Malpeque oysters ($1.20 each), live market lobsters ($9.99), dry-aged Wagyu strip loin steaks ($88.16 per kilogram), a Cropwell Bishop Stilton ($4.59 per 100 grams) and a dried mushroom bar that’s home to dried morels ($113.39 per pound), black trumpets ($31.75 per pound) and porcinis ($45.36 per pound). We even found a pretty decent-looking PC Santoku knife ($22) in the home section and some beautiful Phalaenopsis orchids ($14.99), bred in the Niagara Peninsula, in the large flower shop. We do warn that shoppers should heed the old adage “never shop hungry” at this place, lest they find themselves needing to be pried off the gigantic cheese wall (or the 12-foot cupcake wall).

Every weekend we round up the highlights from the other websites in the St. Joseph Media family. Check them out, after the jump.

• Vegan and gluten-free food consumed by attractive ladies? Jessica Milan, we like your style. Fashion magazine has the story on the Toronto-based creator of Lookbook Cookbook. Read the entire story [Fashion] »

• Apparently the winter tradition of drinking hot chocolate is so passé. Canadian Family has a five-minute recipe for chocolate cake in a mug. See the recipe [Canadian Family] »

• Ottawa Magazine reports on a pair of extreme locavores—as in no food coming from a foot off their own property. Click the link to see what it takes to raise your own goats, chickens and ducks—and why you “don’t name the food.” Read the entire story [Ottawa Magazine] »

• Anyone who enjoys the Bixi bike-sharing network available at Union Station and elsewhere in the city should click over to Where, which has the details on major shakeups threatening the company’s future. Read the entire story [Where] »

• Not to be outdone by Canadian Family, the mad chefs at 20 Minute Supper Club have devised a way to make banana bread in a slow cooker. Read the entire story [20 Minute Supper Club] »

• Accessories can make or break an outfit. That’s why Weddingbells has 28 trendy pairs of shoes to complement any wedding dress. They all look great, but we’re not sure why the photographer thought this pair would look better in a bowl full of apples. View the slideshow [Weddingbells] »

• In the latest episode of Quillcast, Toronto journalist Andrew Westoll describes his experience writing The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, a book about the last days of apes used for medical testing. Listen to the podcast [Quill and Quire] »

• Torontoist caught up with the city’s resourceful gardeners, who share the custom rigs that keep Jack Frost away from their zucchini. Read the entire story [Torontoist] »

• As part of its continuing series, Fashion magazine delves into the bag of fashion director Susie Sheffman. Click the link to find out why she carries three pairs of identical glasses. Watch the slideshow [Fashion] »

• While it’s common for dieters to excuse a sugary treat as “totally low in fat, you guys,” Canadian Family has a recipe for 130-calorie mint-chocolate cupcakes that actually seem reasonably healthy. See the recipe [Canadian Family] »

• Ottawa Magazine’s Mark Bourrie describes his brief courtship with Sun News Network, and what got him blacklisted by the peevish channel. Read the entire story [Ottawa Magazine]»

• From Xococava to Purdy’s, Where has the skinny on the best chocolatiers in Toronto. We recommend exploring them over several weeks. See the list [Where] »

• Whether you’re suffering from acute viral rhinopharyngitis or not, 20 Minute Supper Club has four tasty recipes that help fight off the common cold. View the recipes [20 Minute Supper Club] »

• Weddingbells has 13 cost-saving tips for frugal brides. The short version: do it yourself, guilt your friends, embrace amateurs. See the list [Weddingbells] »

• All this month, visitors to the Steam Whistle Brewery can see what city cartoonists have created for Toronto Draws Tintin. Quill and Quire has the event details and a few sample tributes to the heroic reporter (nothing from his more controversial adventures at the moment). Read the entire story [Quill and Quire] »

• Torontoist has a gallery of the best Halloween costumes shown off during Church Street’s annual—and unofficial—Halloween parade this year. There were some token zombies and a sexy nurse that made an appearance, but Torontoist also spotted some kind of disco ball satyr. Watch the slideshow [Torontoist] »

Greek wines are as intriguing as their popular French and Italian counterparts, and they’re half the price
By David Lawrason

(Illustration: Jack Dylan)

Pine-scented retsina has left a bitter taste with many wine drinkers, but Greek wine has moved on, and it’s poised to become the next big thing, with more Greek labels making their way into trendy restaurants beyond the Danforth. More than 300 indigenous grapes are grown in the country’s 28 wine-growing appellations, which are home to more than 650 wineries. And the quality and value has only been getting better over the last 10 years. The new Greek wines combine the firm acid and mineral structure of many European wines with the ripe, bright fruitiness often found in hotter New World regions. The country’s core strength is aromatic yet steely whites, like moschofilero and assyrtiko, that will appeal to riesling and gewürztraminer fans. Lighter-weight, complex reds like xinomavro and agiorgitiko are similar to pinot noir and Italian nebbiolo. The LCBO’s selection is still meagre, but Vintages carries some excellent-value bottles, while Kolonaki Group, an Ontario-based Greek wine specialist, offers great buys by the case. Here, nine bottles worth trying, even if you’re not serving souvlaki.

Boutari 2010 Moschofilero
$11.95 | Mantinia | 86 points Mantinia on the Peloponnese is the homeland of the aromatic moschofilero grape. With scents of lavender and apricot fruit and a soft, rich, almost oily texture, it’s similar to gewürztraminer, but with a black pepper spiciness and lemon on the finish. Try it with spicy seafood dishes. LCBO 172387

Kourtaki Muscat
$14.95 | Samos | 92 points An unbelievably low-priced dessert wine, this sweet muscat hails from an eastern Aegean island known for growing muscat. It has very lifted, fine, fragrant aromas of dried apricot, mango, lychee, ginger and chai. It’s full-bodied, smooth and wonderfully balanced. Pairs sublimely with chocolate. Vintages 938407

Skouras 2010 Zoë Rosé $11.95 | Peloponnese | 87 points A bright, sunset-hued rosé that’s a blend of 70 per cent red agiorgitiko and 30 per cent white moschofilero, which lends lilac notes to the pomegranate-cherry fruit aroma. It’s medium-weight with a hint of sweetness that gives way to a bra­cing, slightly bitter minerality. Serve chilled. Vintages LCBO 225045

Thalia 2009 Mediterra Red
$9.95 | Crete | 86 points This light, savoury red blends native kotsifali and syrah in equal parts. It doesn’t have dynamic or distinctive aromas (red plum, tobacco, spice), but it’s nicely balanced, with some fruity sweetness, moderate alcohol and a dry, spicy, slightly tarry, peppery finish that syrah fans will enjoy. www.kolonakigroup.com

(Image: Liam Mogan)

Ten-pin Queue Spot for a bachelor party Spot for a bridal party Yacht rental Saltwater dip Exercise craze

BEST HOME GOODS BEST FASHION BEST FUN BEST DINING BEST TASTY TREATS BEST FOOD BEST DRINKS BEST HELP CITY MAP

Inside Riverdale’s newest brunch spot (Image: Karolyne Ellacott)

Hammersmith’s, the brainchild of boyfriend-girlfriend duo Brittany Peglar and Colin Reed, is a new brunch spot in brunch-laden Riverdale, housed in a space previously occupied by a diner for 50-odd years. The couple does both sweet (Peglar) and savoury (Reed), keeping the focus on breakfast. They’ve already managed to draw a loyal clientele, with regulars popping in just after 9 a.m. for either a quick coffee or a full-on brekkie.

Peglar and Reed have both done the rounds in successful Toronto kitchens—including The Drake, Czehoski and Didier between them—and felt it was time to strike out on their own. They first dreamed up the eatery while in London last year, so it was only fitting that name itself be inspired by the borough in which they lived. The logo, meanwhile, was “kind of a communal effort,” notes Peglar: a friend at Quince suggested incorporating the borough’s coat of arms, while Justin Adam helped bring it to life (he also did one for Porchetta and Co.).

The decor is kept simple and stays true to the diner’s roots, with everything right out in the open. Café-style tables fill up the main space, while a low tiled bar is outfitted with metal stools for grab ’n’ go purchases. Large windows let the sunshine spill in, and baked goods are given pride of place on the countertop, allowing passersby to keep an eye on daily picks.

The straightforward menu is governed by both impulse and seasonality, with five mains and three sides currently on offer. Peglar recommends the classic steak and eggs ($13) as well as the cured salmon dish, which comes with sweet peas, fennel and pine nuts ($12). With a background in pastry, Peglar whips up baked goods daily. Scones ($1.25), currently studded with local raspberries and blackberries, are likely to be a fixture (“they’re a bestseller,” she says). Chocoholics can get their fix with the truly decadent chocolate chip cookies ($2)—the chocolate is sourced from the Distillery District’s Soma.

Start the slideshow »

Hammersmith’s, 807 Gerrard St. E., 416-792-9043, hammersmiths.wordpress.com.

Inside the new King West store

David Castellan and his wife Cynthia Leung are as proud as new parents of the beautiful, 3,000-square-foot space that is the new King West location of Soma, their pioneering chocolate shop, which started out in the Distillery. While all raw ingredient work (from bean to bar) will still be done at the original location, here it’s all about turning the raw stuff into some of the most incredible truffles in town—all right under the gaze of their enamoured customers.

Leung, who holds a degree in architecture from Ryerson, designed the space and worked with twin woodworkers the Brothers Dressler on a few focal pieces. What was once a kitchen design studio is now a blend of sleek glass and steel and warm, rustic wood and stone. The gelato counter and window bar are fashioned from impressive slabs of Algonquin limestone, while overhead, custom lampshades created by Soma employee and ceramic artist Vivian Lee are perched. The Dresslers’ branch chandeliers, meanwhile, look like stylized chocolate antlers, and a 17-foot-long timber bench bridges the front and back rooms and makes a comfortable spot from which to watch the action in the truffle lab. Blond wood floor-to-ceiling shelves are loaded with everything Toronto chocolate addicts have come to love from Soma: imaginative truffles ($2), cookies ($6), single-origin bars and slabs ($5–$11), jars of premium baking cocoa ($3.50) and hot chocolate mix ($4.20) and outrageously creamy gelato and sorbetto ($4.55–$6.75).

Big windows look out onto King Street and all the office types speeding past. Castellan admits it’s a different scene here and not quite as easy to draw in the customers. “In the Distillery, no one walked past. If you were in the area, you were there because you wanted to go into the shops and experience the place,” he told us. “Here, people are just going about their day.” But with a new condo tower going up across the street, we doubt the lull will last too long.

If the sweets don’t lure customers, Castellan and Leung are hoping their new savoury menu, by chef Simon Blackwell, will. Blackwell and Castellan met almost 10 years ago at Canoe and have been working together since opening Soma in the Distillery. Blackwell’s savoury menu is still in the experimental stages, but expect simple Roman pizzas ($2.50 – $3.50) and sandwiches ($7.50) made from his breads, filled with local cheeses and charcuterie. For the morning and afternoon coffee and hot chocolate crowd, there will be pastries, such as Spanish ensaïmadas (price TBA)—yeasty spirals stuffed with sweet and savoury fillings. Still, this is Soma, and the main draw for most will remain the chocolate.

Start the slideshow »

Soma Chocolatemaker, 443 King St. W., 416-599-7662, somachocolate.com.

(Image: Remie Geoffroi)

The assets of the Lightbox, the new home of the Toronto International Film Festival, are many: the intelligent movie selection, the three comfy theatres (the two on the uppermost level are merely all right), the high-tech projectors, and, for post-movie debates, the tasteful bar with a bird’s-eye view of couples strolling on King West. The long-standing relationship between a good movie experience and excellent snack food is not lost on the people who run the snack bar, either. The popcorn is topped with real butter, the coffee is fresh, the staff are genuinely perky. The gooey jewel in the concession stand’s crown is a throwback: Hershey’s Milk Duds, the little wads of candy that, perhaps thanks to a dentist-led conspiracy, are now as rare as a new Terrence Malick movie. For the uninitiated, Milk Duds are chocolate-covered blobs of awesomely thick caramel that glues itself to your molars and requires ages of pleasurably frustrating sucking and tongue action to dislodge. If movie-going had a taste, that’d be it.

(Image: Alyson Tame)

It wasn’t so long ago that the only beer available in Toronto was flavourless and the colour of straw. Now we’re spoiled for choice: many of southern Ontario’s 33 craft brewers are producing tasty creations like coffee porters, pumpkin ales and raspberry beers, and testing one-off casks laced with such ingredients as chocolate, mint leaves and peaches. Peter Chiodo, an Etobicoke native and a strange brew obsessive, now runs Barrie’s Flying Monkeys brewery (it’s named after the winged creatures in The Wizard of Oz). His latest gambit is to produce the world’s strongest beer. In 2009, he designed the unique “hoppapotamus,” a device that actively infuses hops —the little cones that impart bitter, sometimes fruity flavour—and uses a process called “pulse fermentation” to feed yeast more sugar so the spores produce more alcohol. Chiodo’s goal is to ferment a 62 per cent beer, stronger than the revered Scottish BrewDog’s 55 per cent End of the History ale. If he succeeds, he’ll redefine the condition known as beer goggles.

Nadège Patisserie’s new 700-square-foot Rosedale space

Fourth-generation confectioner Nadège Nourian won over many Toronto palates when she opened her eponymous Queen West bakery and café almost two years ago—it’s become a destination for high-end pastries. This week, Nourian, along with her front-of-house manager and partner Morgan McHugh, opened a second store in Rosedale, bringing a little bit of Paris to the gourmet strip.

Nourian credits the recently deceased Paul Oberman, who was chief executor of the Woodcliffe Corporation and owner of the restored heritage Scrivener Square properties, with making the second Nadège location possible. A fan of their products, Oberman approached the couple last December and made a compelling offer. “The location on Yonge—being between downtown and uptown—is perfect traffic,” Nourian explains. “To be with the ‘five thieves’ in this heritage building and to work with [Oberman], we knew it was an opportunity that can’t be missed.”

Nourian and McHugh designed the boutique with assistance from Toronto firm nkA, the same group responsible for the Queen location. The 700-square-foot store and matching basement confection workshop will have neither a café nor seating and will be closer to the retail concept that Nourian had envisioned for the original store.

Unlike their stark modern showroom in the west end, the new Rosedale space is warmer, with exposed brick and polished concrete flooring. Long walnut shelves embedded with LED lights are stocked full of hand-crafted products that resemble, as Nourian puts it, those of a “high-end boutique in Paris.” Below the shelves, pullout drawers reveal expandable counter space that staff use to assist customers building customized gift baskets.

A custom-designed refrigeration case dominates the north wall, with tempered glass covers appearing to float over a veined marble counter. Each of the four sections showcases Nourian’s impressive repertoire of viennoiseries ($2.20–$3.20), macarons ($2.20 each), pastries ($4.75–$7.50) and cakes ($8–$8.50). But the focal point is a new line of chocolate bonbons featured on raised glass pedestals on the centre case. At the front, a standalone refrigerated showcase holds large cakes and elaborate displays and will eventually contain chocolate sculptures.

The two Nadèges will offer identical products, and shelves will be restocked twice a day to ensure freshness and availability. A new line of pâtes de fruits, orangettes, nougat, individually wrapped toffees and other candies is launching with the store’s opening, and a greater variety of cookies ($6–$8), chocolate spreads ($12.50 for 180 grams), milk chocolate praline crackles ($7.50) and chocolate-coated nuts will be showing up on shelves over the next month.

To expedite the experience for time-pressed commuters, an online ordering service is being set up for year’s end. Beyond direct delivery, it doesn’t get any sweeter than this.

Nadège Patisserie, 1099 Yonge St., 416-968-2011, nadege-patisserie.com.

The judges get their serious faces on as the losing teams walk out (Image: Food Network Canada/Insight Productions)

TOP CHEF CANADA
Season 1 | Episode 4

First off, a confession: focusing on Top Chef Canada last night, as the ground-shaking results from the election poured in, was a little tough (we bet this episode’s ratings will agree). But fear not, election junkies–cum–Top Chef fans—we stuck it out so you didn’t have to (and then promptly switched to the CBC to find the Tory win had already been projected). Still, episode four—which featured Susur Lee, Toronto’s ethnic cuisines and, yes, more chefs in their underwear (hi, Dale!)—turned out to be pretty entertaining. After the jump, our recap of the Top Chef Canada episode you were too patriotic to watch.

Quickfire

Dusty Gallagher’s quickfire winning beet carpaccio (Image: Food Network Canada/Insight Productions)

The quickfire judge this week was Toronto’s one-time king of Asian fine dining, Susur Lee (whose five restaurants were rhymed off more than once during the show). As Lee strolled onto the set, Grace’s Dustin Gallagher (a.k.a. the Smiley One) admitted to the camera that he was “a little bit floored” to have his former boss judging him (Gallagher cooked at Susur for six years). The challenge? To make a salad inspired by Lee’s famous, 19-ingredient Singapore slaw. At the bottom of the heap were François Gagnon, whose cabbage and enoki mushroom salad was too mayo-heavy; Todd Perrin, who misguidedly mixed raw, julienne veggies with chunks of dried fish; and Mercato’s Rob Rossi, whom Lee ranked last for a poorly executed and unfocused endive salad.

Lee named his former line cook (whom he adorably calls “Dusty”) the winner for a beautiful beet carpaccio with wasabi mustard, pickled onions and shaved apples (we spied something similar on Grace’s menu last week). He also praised Andrea Nicholson of Great Cooks on Eight for her 18-ingredient slaw with a tea-lemon vinaigrette.

Elimination

This week’s elimination challenge was the multi-culti spectacular we knew had to come up sooner or later. Split into teams of two, the chefs were charged with creating a pair of dishes, one hot and one cold, inspired by a given ethnic cuisine. One member of each pair was sent to Loblaws and the other got 15 minutes to shop at an ethnically appropriate grocer in Toronto.

Toronto dream team Rossi and Nicholson took on their Japanese menu with some trepidation (“I’m a white girl from Toronto who hasn’t really travelled much through Japan,” Nicholson confessed). Chris Kanka and Darryl Crumb, meanwhile, tried to figure their way through Korean food (props to Kanka for actually impressing Lee with his bi bim bop). But the toughest challenge was faced by Perrin and Connie DeSousa, who drew Ethiopian cuisine, which they had tasted about once between them. Gallagher and Derek Bocking (who worked in a Mexican restaurant in Dublin) had it comparatively easy with Mexican food. Rounding out the teams, Patrick Wiese and Gagnon tackled Jamaican (with Wiese dropping the occasional patois), while Dale MacKay and Jamie Hertz took on Portuguese, which neither of them knew much about.

Connie DeSousa and Todd Perrin’s winning Ethiopian meal, including reverse-engineered injera (Image: Food Network Canada/Insight Productions)

At the judge’s table, we finally got to see the much-anticipated Lee-McEwan matchup, which turned out fairly amiable (we had speculated about whether the studio could contain two such chef egos). At the top: the Ethiopian team, who successfully reverse-engineered injera—a soft, fermented flatbread—which they served alongside a lamb key wat and lentil salad; and the Portuguese team, who managed to turn out excellent pseudo-Portuguese food (MacKay’s hake with salted cod mousse, smoked paprika and potato confit looked delicious, if a little Spanish). But it was DeSousa and Perrin who took home the win—for their daring execution in the face of an exceedingly difficult challenge.

At the bottom end were Team Japan and Team Mexico. Both Rossi and Nicholson made some rookie errors: Rossi’s hamachi sashimi arrived warm and with the blood line left in, while Nicholson’s soba noodles, seared kobe beef, daikon, turnip and carrots in a light miso broth lacked focus and refinement. Down Mexico way, Gallagher made the mistake of turning avocado into a mousse (garnering a tut-tut from Lee), and Bocking put out beer-braised pork ribs glazed with chocolate barbecue sauce with a spicy corn salsa, which McEwan called straight-up “terrible.”

In the end, Bocking, the competition’s only self-taught chef, was kicked off the show. As he said goodbye to his fellow chefs, he doffed his signature beret to reveal a fantastic head of hockey hair. He’ll be missed.

Now, call us crazy, but it almost seemed as though the judges were able to read the national mood months in advance (when the program was taped). Bocking, from Montreal, was sent packing just like Gilles Duceppe was last night. Rossi and Nicholson, representing arrogant Toronto Liberals, were beaten back to within an inch of their lives. And DeSousa, from Calgary, rode a wave of quiet competence and stability—not to mention some “very ethnic” cuisine—to take home the big win.

Next Week on Top Chef Canada

The chefs have to butcher a whole pig, then make a meal from the ensuing cuts of meat. Given that in episode one she boasted that she butchered all her own meat, we predict another Tory DeSousa majority.

Our weekly Top Chef Canada leader board:

Sweets counter at Petite and Sweet

What do you get when you put two high-end event planners and a cake decorator together? Petite and Sweet, a new Summerhill boutique specializing in luxe events, with a shop that showcases all their offerings, like specialty desserts, confectionery, flowers, gifts and special occasion accessories. Petite and Sweet is the spawn of two companies: Madison Eight Event Laboratories, corporate event planners, and SweetFix, which provides dessert tables for events, parties, and business meetings. At the centre of both companies is Elle Daftarian, who brought together her business partners, Casper Hydar of Madison Eight and Yolanda Gampp of SweetFix, to create the new store.

In the shop, customers can get a taste of what both constituent companies have to offer. Taking notes from Ladurée in Paris and Chanel’s white-with-black-trim motif, the boutique has a light, contemporary touch. Giant flower arrangements, crystal chandeliers, decorated tiered cakes and two white-buttoned winged chairs line the store. Special event staples like cake stands, silk flower arrangements, cookbooks, ornamental pieces, gift-wrapping and invites are also on display.

At the front of the shop is a contemporary version of a candy shop offering chocolate bars (wrapped in beautiful handmade Japanese paper), gumballs, specialty M+M’s and more. At the back you’ll find “fancy Oreos” ($2.95), dipped marshmallows ($2.75), French macarons ($2.75) and cupcakes ($3.25), as well as croissants and cookies. Italian Hausbrandt coffee and French Fauchon tea are offered, and an outdoor patio is on the way.

Petite & Sweet, 420 Summerhill Ave., 647-348-7700, petiteandsweet.ca.