College Street | torontolife.com

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

All stories relating to College Street

War on fun update: patio applications for Campagnolo, Woodlot and more up for Valentine’s Day rejection

More like probably denied (Image: Jon Sufrin)

Summer—a.k.a. patio season—is still months away, but that isn’t stopping the Toronto and East York Community Council from raining on everyone’s parade in advance. Seven proposals for “boulevard café permits,” including from Campagnolo and the Queen West location of Dark Horse Espresso Bar, are on the agenda for the upcoming Valentine’s Day meeting of community council. In each and every case, city staff members have recommended that the application be denied. (To be fair, most of the time at least some nearby residents have opposed the patios.) At the same meeting, the Greektown on the Danforth Business Improvement Association will continue its battle against Toronto’s inconsistent rules on patio hours. Last year, a stretch of Danforth eateries won the right to keep their patios open until midnight, but a few party animals just couldn’t help themselves and broke curfew—so city staff has recommended the privilege be withdrawn. See the full list of doomed patio proposals after the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

February 3, 2012 | 9:31 am

Comments

Introducing: Playful Grounds, the new kid-friendly coffee shop in Little Italy

Kids and coffee, together at last (well, sorta) (Image: Karolyne Ellacott)

Playful Grounds has only been open a few days, but the kid-friendly College Street café is already garnering plenty of attention from the neighbourhood. Indeed, when we dropped by, one mother looked around incredulously before asking, “When did this open?” The shop is the creation of Davina Cheung-Brown and Tera Goldblatt, who met at a local drop-in centre. “We wanted to create a place that has everything moms need,” Goldblatt told us. “Drop-in centres are life savers, but we wanted an adult place that can accommodate kids—rather than the other way around.” Tired of getting the hipster brush-off in regular coffee shops, the duo decided to open a café that welcomes kids but can still appeal to adults.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Rumours & Rumblings

December 8, 2011 | 2:58 pm

Comments

Loblaws: worth switching Kensington Market around for?

After years at 297 College St., the monks of the Zen Buddhist Temple are decamping to quieter (and presumably more meditation-friendly) digs at St. Clair and Bathurst. As The Grid reports, their old building has wound up in the hands of Tribute Communities, which has plans of its own for the site. Assuming the city gives the thumbs-up, Tribute is hoping to construct a 15-storey condo tower with about 20,000 square feet of retail space at the base. Rumour has it that Loblaws is negotiating for the spot. The company remains tight-lipped, but a new location did open in another Tribute property at Queen and Portland just last week (like the new Maple Leaf Gardens location, it has a cheese wall). Local businesses, which would find it difficult to compete with the grocery giant’s prices, selection and hours, are predictably anxious. “I don’t want to see a Loblaws there,” Yvonne Bambrick, coordinator of the Kensington Market BIA, told The Grid. “I think that is extremely bad news for the neighbourhood. I don’t even want to see it being discussed.” It could be argued that independent grocers don’t deserve special protection in a free market, but really—unless it’s going to have four cheese walls and a cheese ceiling, the city probably doesn’t need another Loblaws downtown. Read the entire story [The Grid] »

The Dish

Opening

September 19, 2011 | 2:11 pm

37 Comments

Introducing: Hey Meatball!, Rodney Bowers’s new Little Italy mix ’n’ match meatball joint

Kyle Brown and Rodney Bowers outside Hey Meatball!’s College Street storefront (Image: Caroline Aksich)

On a wall in Rodney Bowers’s new College Street venture Hey Meatball!, there’s a photo of a bandana-clad Bowers holding up a sign that reads “You’ll love the taste of our balls.” Bowers’s name is usually associated with more elevated dining—he worked at Mistura, opened The Citizen and The Rosebud and consulted for The Gabardine—but after getting married and having a daughter, he wanted a break from the high-stress world of $45 entrées.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

August 2, 2011 | 3:17 pm

Comments

Introducing: Acadia, Scott Selland and Matt Blondin’s new southern-inspired College Street restaurant

Acadia, Scott Selland’s first restaurant, serves food inspired by the South, the Lowcountry and the Maritimes (Image: Renée Suen)

Earlier this summer we previewed Acadia, a new venture by first-time restaurateur Scott Selland (Splendido, Colborne Lane, Susur) aimed at introducing the flavours of the Lowcountry and the South to the city. The restaurant opened without much fanfare in late July, but has already seen a lot of buzz in the industry. We ventured back to the corner of College and Clinton to check out how Acadia is doing on its promise to shake up Little Italy’s complacent dining scene.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

July 29, 2011 | 10:07 am

4 Comments

Introducing: The Little Dog, a retro hot dog joint in Little Italy that keeps things simple

(Image: Sian Richards)

In a city obsessed with elevating old-school comforts to ridiculous heights—$20 fried chicken, brie and duck confit grilled cheese—it’s refreshing to find a retro hot dog joint that honours the trashy simplicity of the ’50s staple: the Montreal-style steamed hot dog, affectionately known in La Belle Province as the steamie. Unlike grilling, which can split the dogs, steaming preserves their structural integrity so they plump up with meaty juices. Owner Sam Santino (who also runs the Big Chill ice cream parlour next door) got hooked on the gherkin-sized Lesters-brand dogs during visits to Montreal, where they go for as little as 50 cents each. At his tiny hole in the wall, just away from the bustle of College Street’s bar scene, the Lilliputian wieners cost a toonie and come with a choice of the usual salty, zingy condiments. Other kitschy options, like chili cheese dogs and poutine made with frozen McCain’s fries, will satisfy late-night bar crowds craving a greasy fix, but the best time to visit is on a lazy afternoon when you can grab a candy-coloured picnic table on the patio and indulge in some misty-eyed nostalgia.

The Little Dog, 566 College St., 416-960-2455

Read the rest of this entry »

The Goods

From the Print Edition

May 11, 2011 | 5:02 pm

Comments

The Thing: Great style is in the details this season, so we’ve dedicated these pages to the all-important art of accessorizing

Purple feather and netting fascinator Purple Reign
Not quite a hat and not quite a hair clip, the fascinator is spring’s most regal fashion statement, thanks in large part to England’s newest princess-to-be, who is often photographed with one perched atop her head. At Lilliput Hats on College Street, requests for fascinators have doubled since the royal engagement was announced in November. And unlike china or mouse pads emblazoned with the royal couple’s heads, this is the kind of matrimonial hysteria we can get behind—if only for the opportunity to play dress-up with coquettish netting and decorative feathers. $70. Lilliput Hats, 462 College St., 416-536-5933.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

TV Diner

April 11, 2011 | 4:10 pm

3 Comments

Grace restaurant, home kitchen of Dustin Gallagher, to host Top Chef Canada viewing parties. Is this a sign?

Just why is Dustin smiling so broadly? (Image: Food Network Canada)

In case you hadn’t noticed, Top Chef Canada premieres tonight on Food Network Canada. If you don’t have your viewing plans all sorted out, Grace, the College Street home of contestant Dustin Gallagher, is hosting a viewing party tonight in its upstairs lounge, starting around 8 p.m. Grace was closed on Mondays during the winter but is now open Monday through Saturday, just in time for Gallagher’s small-screen debut. Apparently the viewing parties will last for at least the first five weeks of the program and may continue after that. Could this kind of celebration hint at Gallagher’s success on the show? Guess we’ll just have to watch and find out.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

March 30, 2011 | 10:05 am

59 Comments

Best New Restaurants 2011

Oysters from Frank's Kitchen

This year’s crop of restaurants, from a million-dollar dining room to a brazen burger joint, pushed Toronto’s culinary culture in creative, comforting and blessedly cheap directions. Here, the 10 new spots that are redefining the way we eat, drink and play in the city By Chris Nuttall-Smith | Photography by Ryan Szulc

See the list »

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Aprons & Icons

February 28, 2011 | 3:21 pm

5 Comments

Top Chef Canada contestants announced; we round up the six Torontonians who made the cut

One thing these audition videos don’t have in common: high production value

We’re already on the record as counting down the days until the April 11 debut of Top Chef Canada (it’s 42, in case you were wondering). Today, Food Network Canada announced the show’s lineup of 16 competitors. Chosen from a variety of culinary backgrounds, the contestants hail from St. John’s to Vancouver, with six Torontonians making the cut. Restaurateur Shereen Arazm, the former Terroni server who went on to open a branch in Los Angeles, will be the show’s resident judge (akin to Gail Simmons in the U.S. version of Top Chef). We round up the Toronto contestants, and their sometimes hilarious audition videos, after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

February 11, 2011 | 3:11 pm

5 Comments

Cinq 01 closes, Italian eatery Briscola Trattoria to take its place next week

Nighttime entertainment vets Charles Khabouth of Ink Entertainment and Toufik Sarwa of Amber have announced a new collaboration that will take over the space of Sarwa’s former College Street bistro Cinq 01. The new restaurant, Briscola Trattoria, will be a casual Italian eatery, and is set to open next Friday, February 18 (Cinq 01 closed in January).

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

November 26, 2010 | 1:04 pm

11 Comments

Introducing: The Slow Room, a coffee shop that dares to open between Lit and The Common

With new indie cafés opening in Toronto every month, it takes a lot of gumption to jump into the fray—especially if the new spot is located between java havens Lit and The Common. Yet that’s just what Roberto and Sandra Mandarino, the co-owners of The Slow Room, have done. “We want people to come for the coffee and stay for the sandwiches,” says Roberto, who hopes his menu of locally sourced food will give him an edge on java-heavy College Street.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Restauran-TO

November 5, 2010 | 3:46 pm

Comments

New menu at Caplansky’s nods to vegetarians

The leaning tower of Caplansky (Image: Jon Sufrin)

The “leaning tower of Caplansky” has been selling like a pile of hotcakes. Or, rather, a pile of challah French toast stacked three high and layered with cream cheese, blueberry jam and bacon (beef bacon, natch). The tower joins maple-dipped fried chicken, gefilte fish and a slew of veggie options to make up the new menu at Caplansky’s Delicatessen.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Restauran-TO

August 27, 2010 | 3:27 pm

12 Comments

Go now: Ossington’s Salt Wine Bar could soon be closed for licence infractions

Salt Wine Bar, a small, excellent new tapas place on Ossington Avenue, might not survive its first month in business, after a story on the Toronto Star’s Web site today exposed an open secret on the popular strip: that the room is operating without the proper liquor or business licences.

Albino Silva, the restaurateur behind Chiado on College Street, is part owner of Salt. He secured the lease for the space at 225 Ossington in January 2009, just four months before the city issued a year-long moratorium on business licences for new bars and restaurants on the street.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

July 9, 2010 | 11:00 am

14 Comments

The Toronto Temperance Society: College Street’s “secret” speakeasy

Members only: the interior of the Toronto Temperance Society (Image: Jon Sufrin)

There may be no decoy phone booth in the vein of New York’s secret bar, Please Don’t Tell, but a door on College Street betrays no hint of the Toronto Temperance Society (TTS), a newly renovated space above Sidecar where some of the city’s best cocktails are painstakingly crafted for members only. TTS just opened on Thursday, and it’s the kind of place where martinis are always stirred (sorry, Bond) and where bartenders—quite dapper in their suspenders and bow ties—get a kick out of procuring hard-to-find bitters.

Read the rest of this entry »

All stories relating to College Street

Contests

Links and Offers

Most shared stories today

The latest from across the St. Joseph Media network