Danforth | torontolife.com

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

All stories relating to danforth

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but a few party animals just couldn’t help themselves and broke curfew—so city staff has recommended the privilege be withdrawn.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

From the Print Edition

January 30, 2012 | 4:14 pm

Comments

New Reviews: The Playpen and Pizzeria Libretto’s outpost on the Danforth

A first-rate pizzeria and a ’70s resto-lounge

Pizzeria Libretto star ½
550 Danforth Ave., 416-466-0400
Rocco Agostino and Max Rimaldi, the team behind the west end’s Pizzeria Libretto and Enoteca Sociale, are approaching the status of restaurant imperialists with their third spot. The new Danforth location is a less frenetic version of their wildly popular Ossington Avenue pizzeria. Tables span two floors, so the space feels less cramped, and the owners have made the merciful decision to take reservations. Luigi Encarnacion, former executive chef at the ROM’s c5, is in charge of the kitchen, and his fine dining experience shows in the appetizers, like delicate crab ravioli in a ridiculously rich sea urchin and chanterelle cream sauce. There are two wood-burning ovens manned by young pizzaiolos turning out Libretto’s signature blistered, charred and chewy Neapolitan pies. One superb variation brings smoked tomato sauce, caramelized onion, pork belly and bomba, a spicy Italian relish. Aggressively attentive servers clear plates before they’re clean. An excellent list of affordable Italian and Ontario wines. Mains $10–$18.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

January 20, 2012 | 1:54 pm

4 Comments

Introducing: Pachuco, the new Danforth Mexican restaurant from the sisters behind Embrujo Flamenco

Pachuco is tucked away underneath Embrujo Flamenco on the Danforth

As defined by Urban Dictionary, a pachuco is “a Chicano or Mexican guy back in the 1930s to 1950s that dressed in zoot suits.” As defined by the Fernandez sisters, Jais, Eren and Mali, it’s a subterranean cantina serving authentic Mexican food with a modern twist. The sisters arrived in Toronto at various times over the last few decades, but ultimately, their shared love of food and entrepreneurial nature led them in 2002 to open Embrujo Flamenco, the Danforth tapas bar with live dancing, and Café Madrid in the cellar, which they’ve now transformed into Pachuco.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Goods

From the Print Edition

January 20, 2012 | 11:00 am

4 Comments

The Chase: a couple finds an east end pad with room for a granny suite in the basement

By Monika Warzecha

The Chase The Buyers: Johnny Williams, a 36-year-old bail supervisor, and Christiann Holweck, a 33-year-old operations manager at Foresters, a life insurance company.

The Story: Three years ago, Williams and Holweck bought their first place together, a two-bedroom bungalow at Victoria Park and Gerrard. Not long after, Holweck’s mother, Mildred, relocated from Ottawa to be closer to her family—and settled in the couple’s basement apartment. The arrangement worked fine for a while, but single-floor living started to feel cramped. Williams and Holweck, who were ready to start a family, decided it was time to trade up. They wanted a move-in-ready place with two storeys, three bedrooms and a finished basement suite. “Lots of basements are fine to rent out,” says Holweck, “but this was for my mom! It had to be more than just decent.” They also wanted to stay in the east end. The couple set a budget of $500,000 and began a search that would take them to roughly 100 homes in just over six months.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Informer

From the Print Edition

January 11, 2012 | 7:35 am

Comments

Where to Buy Now: Blake-Jones, because of the friendly cul-de-sacs in the Pocket

By Monika Warzecha | Illustrations by Jack Dylan | Photography by Emma McIntyre

Where to Buy Now | Blake-Jones

Eighteen years ago, when Jeff Otto bought his house on Ravina Crescent, at Danforth and Jones, the 15-minute commute downtown was the biggest draw. Then he got the feel of the place. “I now know every single person on my street by name,” he says. “We spend every night on our front porches.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

De-licious

January 9, 2012 | 3:15 pm

Comments

Winterlicious 2012: Toronto Life’s picks east of the DVP

WINTERLICIOUS 2011 | EAST

This year, like usual, the area east of the DVP hasn’t done too well in Winterlicious. Here, our four picks on the Danforth.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Deathwatch

January 9, 2012 | 12:19 pm

2 Comments

Danforth fixture The Cook’s Place to pack it in after 14 years

(Image: The Cook’s Place)

After supplying Toronto with coveted Japanese knives, top-of-the-line cookware and innumerable last-minute foodie gifts for 14 years, Barbara Ackerman, owner of The Cook’s Place, is shuttering her Danforth Avenue fixture for good in order to spend more time with her five-month-old grandchild. “Running this shop has made me a part of so many families in the neighbourhood,” she told us. “What I sell is about feeding the family, and to be able to share that with my customers has been incredible.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The Informer

From the Print Edition

January 5, 2012 | 8:00 am

4 Comments

Where to Buy Now: East End Danforth, because million-dollar homes, modest semis and co-ops commingle close to the Beach

By Monika Warzecha | Illustrations by Jack Dylan | Photography by Emma McIntyre

Where to Buy Now: East End Danforth

The urban mix is the appeal of East End Danforth—a neighbourhood that has proximity to the boardwalk; manicured houses flying Beach flags; family-friendly Norwood Park; a southern fringe of stately detached Edwardians; co-op housing; semis in the $400,000 to $500,000 range closer to Woodbine; and new luxury townhouses. The sold-out townhouse complex Upper Beach Manors (above), near Main and Gerrard, invigorated real-estate activity in the area and inspired a doppelgänger, the new Upper Beach Townes, a collection of 32 houses split into two-level condos.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

November 24, 2011 | 5:23 pm

Comments

Introducing: Pizzeria Libretto’s new location on the Danforth, now with reservations

Outside the new Danforth location of Pizzeria Libretto (Image: Gizelle Lau)

Nearly two years in the making, the much-anticipated second location of Pizzeria Libretto has opened on the Danforth in what was once the Iliada Café, bringing a little Ossington buzz to the east side. Not wanting to create a cookie-cutter copy of the original location, chef Rocco Agostino has introduced a host of new dishes to the menu, but we have a feeling people will be more excited about another feature new to the chain: reservations.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Deathwatch

November 18, 2011 | 5:48 pm

35 Comments

Rising rents on Queen East push out Red Rocket Coffee, which is moving to the Danforth instead

(Image: Amber Dawn Pullin)

Leslieville’s Red Rocket Coffee has been forced to close up shop after its landlord doubled the rent to $49 per square foot. Co-owner Liako Dertilis says the response from his regulars has been immediate. “The TTC guys across the street are livid,” he told us, referring to the workers at the nearby streetcar yard. The news, however, isn’t all bad. Along with his business partners, Dertilis signed a lease late this afternoon for a new location at 1364 Danforth Avenue, near Coxwell. Although Red Rocket’s new home will be a similar size, Dertilis says it won’t be the same. “We have to leave our extended family—that is, our customers,” he said. “These are the people who come into the store, and we hug them… We feel like we’ve been robbed of that.” The Wellesley Street location is unaffected.

The Informer

In Transit

October 19, 2011 | 11:00 am

5 Comments

Citizen with easy subway access seeks to raise Transit City from the dead

An online petition calling for the revival of Transit City has attracted around 1,800 signatures so far, thanks to a Torontonian who lives close to the Bloor-Danforth subway line. Trish O’Reilly-Brennan says she was inspired to start the petition after hearing David Miller’s suggestion that the system could still be built and watching Rob Ford get schooled compromise on the Waterfront. InsideToronto points out that some Scarborough folks might resent O’Reilly-Brennan for advocating in favour of light-rail transit instead of the Sheppard subway station. Indeed, this would appear controversial if the Sheppard subway were roaring toward completion—but it’s not. Read the entire story [Inside Toronto] »

The Goods

From the Print Edition

October 17, 2011 | 10:30 am

3 Comments

The Chase: A rent-averse young professional moves out of his parents’ place and into a Danforth home

Rohan Pinto, a 28-year-old graphic designer. By Bert Archer

The Buyer: Rohan Pinto, a 28-year-old graphic designer.

The Story: Since graduating from Durham College in 2006, Pinto lived rent-free with his parents in Scarborough and commuted to his office at King and Spadina. “I’m of the school that sees paying rent as throwing your money away,” he says. Once he’d saved enough, he went looking for a place of his own. He started with condos, but soon learned that monthly fees can be as much as $800, which felt just like paying rent. He decided to buy a house, even if it meant having a slightly higher mortgage. He also liked the idea of finding a fixer-upper he could add value to over time. So he set his budget at $400,000, pinpointed a street he liked in the Woodbine Corridor (midway between work and his parents) and viewed house after house until he found The One.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Opening

October 11, 2011 | 12:26 pm

Comments

Introducing: Off the Hook, Greektown’s new fish and chips shop

Open only a couple weeks, Off the Hook already has a strong local following (Image: Daniel Barna)

A punning name seems to be obligatory for fish-and-chips shops these days. First there was The One That Got Away, which opened last fall on King Street West. Now Steven Karataglidis has opened Off the Hook on Broadview, which, in addition to succeeding Deep Blue as the Greektown’s only fish fry, might be Toronto’s first shop to fry its daily catch in gluten-free batter.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Informer

City Sindex

August 9, 2011 | 1:45 pm

Comments

Danforth business owner and arsonist may get 10 years in the slammer—but he’ll also get to profit from his crime

The law came down on John Mango—sort of (Image: walknboston)

This story reads more like a true crime novel with each passing day: a Danforth family business is burned to the ground, killing one of the arsonists in the process. Then, the operation’s master planner—who also happens to be the owner of the burned-down business—was found guilty of conspiracy to commit arson but somehow still allowed to profit from the redevelopment of the property that once housed his business.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

August 8, 2011 | 10:30 am

3 Comments

Why Greek wines are about to become the next big thing

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

All stories relating to danforth

Contests

Links and Offers

Most shared stories today

The latest from across the St. Joseph Media network