Nightlife | torontolife.com

Posts Tagged ‘nightlife’

Weddings

Ask the expert: one of Toronto’s most popular wedding DJs

Lisa Ng started deejaying weddings in her last year at U of T and found her calling. Now the bubbly audiophile is one of the most popular mix masters on the circuit.

Photograph by Vanessa Heins

Do you ever get guff for being a female DJ?
My crew—there are three or four of us—is all women. At some banquet halls, we come in and they ask if we’re the backup dancers or the wedding planners. Guys are always surprised to see a 100-pound girl carrying enormous speakers around.

Any advice for couples planning the entertainment?
Don’t program the entire night. The bride and groom should communicate the vibe they want: have genres and artists in mind, and make a must-play list of 15 songs. Then let the DJ use her expertise to read the crowd.

What song would you play to get Grandma on the dance floor?
“Twist and Shout” by The Beatles. Even if she’s kind of shy and not a dancer at all, she will always twist.

How can you avoid a disastrous first-dance song?
Avoid any song over four minutes. People get bored watching the couple spin in a circle, and I think it’s boring for the couple, too.

Read the rest of this entry »

| 1 Comment » March 3, 2010 | 12:00 pm | Toronto Life Staff

Restauran-TO

Toronto is now out-partying Montreal

After years of being known for its rather conservative party scene, is Toronto finally getting its act together? Resto-lounge mogul Toufik Sarwa says yes; in fact, Toronto now outshines Montreal as the best party city in the country, he tells BlogTO.

Ten years ago, I wanted to get the hell out of here. Now you couldn’t push me out. Even New York has reached its nighttime apex, and there’s a feeling in Toronto that it’s continually evolving and still has room to grow…that’s a good feeling.
Read the rest of this entry »

| Leave a Comment » February 23, 2010 | 9:59 am | Jon Sufrin

Read All About It

$135 beer, Rolling Stone to open nightclub, guilt-free carbohydrates

Well rested: the perfect steak (Photo by Robin)

• The folks at Anheuser-Busch really had us going last summer with their “I like getting it in the can” ads. (They were talking about Bud Light Lime–aren’t sexual innuendoes hilarious?) Well, they’re at it again with a new ad set to debut in Canada on Sunday, and this time contraceptives provide the ambiguity: “I like having fun, but I always use one,” or “If you care about me, you’re gonna use one.” They’re talking about designated drivers, silly. [Globe and Mail]

• Good things come to those who wait, and that cliché applies to steak, too. Apparently, the simple act of letting a steak rest for 10 minutes or so after cooking it makes a world of difference in flavour and juiciness. The folks at Serious Eats, as expected, provide a thorough explanation of why a rested steak is always better, but the proof is in the photos: once cut, a fresh-off-the-grill steak leaks copious amounts of juice onto the plate, while a rested steak leaks almost none. [Serious Eats]

Read the rest of this entry »

| Leave a Comment » December 5, 2009 | 9:10 am | Jon Sufrin

Opening

Here comes the Rain again: a peek inside Guy and Michael Rubino’s Ame

Guy Rubino mans the grill at Ame (All photos by Davida Aronovitch)

Guy Rubino mans the grill at Ame, the restaurant he and his brother, Michael, have opened in collaboration with Charles Khabouth (All photos by Davida Aronovitch)

After over six months of renovations and about two months of delay, Guy and Michael Rubino’s Rain has been reborn as Ame (Japanese for, what else, “rain”). The brothers are known for frequent reinvention (Zoom, Luce and the reality series Made to Order), and for this latest transformation, they have teamed up with the club mogul Charles Khabouth. Ame presents the chic Japanese aspects of Rain’s Asian fusion and swaps the former restaurant’s special-occasion appeal for a casual vibe.

The interior of Ame is by Khabouth’s go-to designers, Munge Leung (Ultra, Guvernment); the one-room open concept has been transformed into a seductive labyrinth of spaces. An inviting lounge of chunky low-rise furniture is flanked by a sexy backlit bar. The sashimi counter wraps around the traditional coal-burning robata grill—Guy’s culinary cornerstone, on which the Iron Chef sears Australian wagyu flatiron and strip loin steak, cut to order. The adjacent dining area is splintered into tidy nooks; a private room beckons recluses and TIFF types. The full menu is available in all spaces, to entice barflies and foodies alike.

Read the rest of this entry »

| 4 Comments » September 3, 2009 | 1:22 pm | Davida Aronovitch

Bottoms Up

Panorama’s rooftop terrace readies for fire in the sky

Above it all: The view from Panorama Lounge

The view from the Panorama Lounge—located on 51st floor of the Manulife Centre—is always impressive. But this week, its white-tented terraces promises a particularly spectacular vantage point for the Festival of Fire. The annual fireworks series culminates over the next few days with its Canada Day edition and the grand finale on July 4. To tempt ground-dwellers skyward, Panorama has launched a new menu and cocktail list. We went to suss out its pyrotechnic potential.

Read the rest of this entry »

| Leave a Comment » June 30, 2009 | 1:29 pm | Davida Aronovitch