Dining Room | torontolife.com

Posts Tagged ‘dining room’

Restauran-TO

Famous frites not on menu at Jamie Kennedy’s Gilead

Jamie Kennedy (Photo by Davida Aronovitch)

Jamie Kennedy had a rough year in 2009: he sold Hank’s and the Wine Bar, his Gardiner Museum restaurant took a more casual route, and he was essentially on the brink of bankruptcy. “I expanded too quickly,” he told The Globe back in June. “I was exposed to costs far out of balance with my revenue.”

Now Kennedy is making his way back to the kitchen five nights a week at Gilead Bistro, where his study in economy hasn’t gone unnoticed by The Star’s Amy Pataki (nor has the less-than-packed dining room). For example, Pataki notes that the bistro charges $3 for bread. Also, Kennedy sells charcuterie and soups through the Healthy Butcher and turns chicken and beef bones into stock that can be bought at Rowe Farms.

Read the rest of this entry »

| 4 Comments » February 26, 2010 | 12:21 pm | Karon Liu

Read All About It

Diners poisoned by human sewage, grapefruits are the new miracle weight-loss drug, Pusateri’s five fall pantry staples

• One of Toronto’s newest ethnic enclaves, Danforth’s Little Ethiopia, began with the crank of a slot machine. When Daniel Bekele opened his Ethiopian restaurant Wazema, customers were turned off by the crappy decor and absence of air conditioning. But after Bekele won $190,000 at a Casino Rama slot machine and invested it all in renovations, good things happened. The new modernist dining room drew customers, which drew more Ethiopian restaurants, which drew even more customers, and voila—another neighbourhood bragging right for Toronto. Thank you, gambling. [Toronto Star]

• Michael Pollan argues in an NYT op-ed that the Obama administration should reform the food industry if they plan to fix health care. Over three-quarters of the money poured into health care in States goes toward treating preventable chronic illness, the majority of which are caused by poor diet, says Pollan. [New York Times]

• The general manager of Pusateri’s doles out advice on five must-have pantry staples for the fall. Spelt we get, but in what galaxy is Essence of Niagara Red Pepper Icewine Jelly considered a staple? [Globe and Mail]

Read the rest of this entry »

| Leave a Comment » September 14, 2009 | 8:36 am | Kate Allen

Restauran-TO

Fire at new Glow restaurant causes two-week closure

Rose Reisman woke early last Thursday to talk about blueberry recipes on Canada AM. But when the restaurateur behind Glow Fresh Grill and Wine Bar checked her e-mail at around 4:30, there was a message from her restaurant manager; “Glow on fire” was the subject line.

“It was total disbelief,” said Reisman. “I literally felt sick to my stomach.” The three-week-old restaurant at the Shops at Don Mills became a charred mess after someone leaned a designer chair against a patio heater the night before. The large patio doors kept the fire from spreading into the dining room, but it was filled with enough smoke to warrant a heavy-duty cleaning.

Read the rest of this entry »

| 2 Comments » August 12, 2009 | 11:46 am | Josh Dehaas

De-licious

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

| 29 Comments » July 9, 2009 | 2:01 pm | Kate Allen

The Find

Snag bargain-priced vintage wallpaper before everyone else does

These colourful rolls from the west end’s Smash will tickle budget-strapped decorators.

The wallpaper is not for the colour-shy (Photo by Dana Francis)

We were pretty chuffed to spy these ridiculously low-priced rolls of vintage Italian wallpaper at Paul Mercer’s Junction shop Smash. Wallpaper has made a definite comeback, but the original 1970s graphic designs in this stock—there are about 20 to choose from—are a distinctive alternative to today’s ubiquitous damasks. Buyer beware: unlike modern wallpaper, these specimens need to have the glue applied before hanging—we’re told that it’s easy enough to do. Customers have already used them for wedding invitations, to cover a dining room accent wall and for an installation at a Toronto fashion week party. This is the store’s second batch (the first sold out quickly in February), and the wise will scoop them up pronto. At $10 a roll (each roll is 10 metres long), expect them to sell out quickly.

Smash, 2880 Dundas St. W., 416-762-3113, smash.to.

| 2 Comments » May 1, 2009 | 1:18 pm | Alanna Davey

Opening Soon

What it takes to open a restaurant

When I walked up to the restaurant on Monday morning, the only thing that greeted me was a dead pigeon, whacked on the porch, bloodied and broken. Nobody was working in there; it was dark, cluttered and depressing. Nothing had changed in a few days, except now there was a big pile of barnboard flooring that could have easily been mistaken for firewood. I lost it a little. I was feeling punchy, and the slush and snow were getting to me. I started calling people to see what was up. Or, more to the point, where the hell everybody was. Every conversation ended like this:

Read the rest of this entry »

| 5 Comments » January 26, 2009 | 10:10 am | Teo Paul

Opening Soon

A Toronto restaurant in the making

There is a place in Paris called Le Petit Fer à Cheval. It’s a beautiful, old little bistro with a marble-top horseshoe bar in the front and a dining area in the back. When I lived in Paris, I spent a lot of time leaning on that bar. I drank demis and looked out onto the street, watching pretty women ride past on bicycles, and thought about having my own place—my own restaurant. I wanted it to be that comfortable, that relaxed. It’s now seven years later, and I finally have my own place. Almost. I have the real estate (on Ossington Avenue just north of Queen Street West) and the name: Union. And even though the space is a shambles now, by opening night—September 15, if I am blessed—it will be perfect.

Read the rest of this entry »

| Leave a Comment » August 11, 2008 | 10:23 am | Teo Paul