This Little Italy sandwich shop sets a new standard for Toronto panino makers
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Just Opened: LAB, another jolt of life for College Street
Rumours of College Street’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Just when it seemed like the west-end strip was hopelessly cluttered with mediocre Italian trattorias, generic pan-Asian takeouts and busloads of barely legals from the burbs, along came a few culinary jewels: Sidecar, Negroni, Grace, Cinq 01 and now LAB.
“I liked the vibrancy of the neighbourhood, and being about 90 per cent Italian, I thought it could use something different,” says co-chef and owner Howard Dubrovsky. Once located (there’s no signage yet), the two-week old boîte proves to be a welcoming setting with a soundtrack of indie and down-tempo electro more common to Queen West than College. Formerly Bite Noodles and Rice, the 32-seat room feels like a collision of urban street and Victorian apothecary, with graffiti tags by artist Darcy Obokata, exposed brick, rustic wood and sleek black granite.
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Two vices are better than one: Toronto’s cafés break out the booze
A match made in Paris (and, increasingly, in Toronto) (Photo by Rob and Dani)
If we’re to believe Leah McLaren, the MacBook army has totally colonized Toronto’s coffee shops. Now, thanks to a new trend, they don’t have to leave when the sun goes down. More and more indie cafés are combining their coffee house concepts with bar concepts. By alternating between espresso and alcohol, spots like Blondie’s, Charlie’s Gallery and SpiceSafar are able to offer an all-day experience, while their teetotalling counterparts face a sobriety-induced early closure. “People enjoy a good coffee and a nice pastry in the morning, but they’re less likely to want the same thing in the evening,” says Scott Vivian, who recently took over Hank’s and added a nocturnal component, complete with Ontario wines and beer. “Rather than closing at 5, it just makes sense to do something else with the space at night.”
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Is Cinq 01 the new Amber?
Cinq 01: Take the boy out of Yorkville, but not Yorkville out of the boy (Photo by Karon Liu)
After finding success among the socialites with Yorkville’s Amber, nightclub king Toufik Sarwa opened Cinq 01 to create a more grown-up venture—a place where the emphasis is on the food rather than the guest list. But no such luck. Since the spot opened last fall, it has been increasingly packed with the well heeled, making this the first time since the ’90s that the glitterati are partying on College Street (and this time, they’re not slumming it).
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Toronto gets in on the secret bar trend with a mysterious new spot from Sidecar’s owners
Toronto has been slow to get in on the underground nightclub trend underway in San Francisco and New York, but that’s all about to change: a modern-day speakeasy is set to open on College Street this June. Bill Sweete and Casey Bee, the masterminds behind Sidecar and Negroni, have teamed up with writer Christine Sismondo to launch the Toronto Temperance Society, a venue of “fine drinks, good music and good company.” Membership can be obtained only through an application process and an annual fee of $285. The TTS harkens back to the days of Prohibition with its own list of prohibitions: nobody under 25, no cellphone gabbing and certainly no cosmopolitans (anyone who orders one will be asked to leave). The inner goings-on of the place are to be kept secret from the media.
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Where to eat lunch this week
As the temperature drops outside, patrons are crowding this warm and popular College Street lunch spot where a brisket sandwich, basket of fries, pop and cherry pie can be had for about $20.
The healthiest meal in the world, the scariest foods ever, the enduring success of Farmville
• The travel Web site concierge.com lists the world’s scariest foods. At first glance, we thought Jell-O reigned supreme as the scariest—at least scorpions and tarantulas are natural—but then we watched this video of a writhing plate of sannakji (live baby octopus). Imbibers have to contend with still-active tentacle suckers, which apparently present a choking hazard. [Concierge]
• New York Times writer Micheline Maynard visits Ottawa’s Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute to see if it lives up to its worldwide reputation. There, she experiences the highs and lows of professional cooking, including a successful lobster in verbena cream sauce, and a not-so-successful platter of skate. [New York Times]
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Study of Ossington hip strip is bad news for new restaurant owners and patio lovers across Toronto
Some have a rather dim view of Ossington (Photo by Jessica Darmanin)
When Toronto’s most notorious fuddy-duddy, Joe Pantalone, championed last May’s ban on new licences along lower Ossington, the city agreed to examine the strip in order to better plan its future. The results of the study were released last week, and—surprise, surprise—they suggest slowing growth. Among the recommendations made in the report: an ongoing ban on backyard patios, a size limit for restaurants and a regulation that would require every restaurant to provide parking spaces.
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Just opened: Ewanika gets a fresh start on Bathurst
Trish Ewanika designs unfussy clothes for women (Photo by Carmen Cheung)
After more than a decade on College, designer Trish Ewanika has moved her womenswear boutique to Bathurst Street, south of Dupont. “College Street was an excellent home,” says Ewanika, 46, but over time the neighbourhood became most known for its nightlife. The new location, a bright and airy space, is near art galleries, a pie shop and old-school diners. “I like being on a block that is still inventing itself.”
The store will focus on Ewanika’s classic, figure-flattering pieces, which conjure a modern-day Katharine Hepburn. In blacks, greys and nudes, the garments are a hit with young professionals looking for polished, unfussy clothes that can transition from the office to the wine bar.
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The world’s top food city, molecular gastronomy tragedy, props for Vivoli
First for food: Osaka gets a nod from Michael Booth as the best eating city (Photo by takato marui)
• Forget New York, Paris, London and Tokyo. Food writer and blogger Michael Booth crowns the birthplace of the ramen noodle—Osaka—the world’s best food city, citing its amazing fast food, astonishingly lively restaurant quarter and “the world’s greatest cooking school” as the reasons for his choice. [Guardian]
• A 24-year-old German chef lost both his hands in a molecular gastronomy experiment gone horribly wrong. Though it’s not clear what he was attempting to do, reports indicate that the accident occurred when he tried to empty a bottle of liquid nitrogen—often used to flash-freeze food. [Local]
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Get outside: More new patios open in Toronto
Patio season is in full swing (Photo by IntangibleArts)
With the summertime gods finally smiling, we took another look around town for patios that have sprouted up this season. Here, five brand new places to satisfy the craving for fresh air and fresh fare.
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A room of his own: Zane Caplansky moves his deli to old Jewish town
Guardian of the beef: Zane Caplansky lords over a cake version of his famous sandwich (Photo by Renee Suen)
Zane Caplansky is bringing his celebrated “Toronto smoked meat”—part Schwartz’s, part Hogtown corned beef—to a brand new space in the heart of the city’s old deli town. The new Kensington chop shop is slated to open in August and will feature an expanded menu, a patio, a performance space, and a family legacy close to Caplansky’s meat-loving heart. With many of the city’s charcuterie shops up at Eglinton, Caplansky opened his current Clinton Street spot in the hope of bringing the traditional deli experience back downtown. Almost a year later, he’s garnered praise for his hand-cured, hand-smoked brisket: Joanne Kates called him a “one-man smoked-meat renaissance” selling fare fit for her bubbe, and even the “godfather of deli,” Shopsy’s Yitz Penciner, signed off. Now that the beef buff has curing cred, Caplansky is bringing the deli rejuvenation home to what he calls “the heart of the old Jewish deli soul”: the former Jewish quarter of Kensington Market.
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