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Michael Stadtländer has rallied 100 of the best chefs from across Canada to participate in Foodstock, an epic, pay-what-you-can public food event on October 16 to raise money to fight the construction of a huge limestone quarry in the town of Honeywood, Ontario. The Highland Companies’ plan aims to span 2,316 acres of land and run 189 feet deep (deeper than Niagara Falls), and will have to pump 600 million litres of groundwater out of the pit each day (about the same amount used by 2.7 million Ontarians), all to extract crushed stone known as amabel dolostone.
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The Best of Winterlicious 2011: Toronto Life’s 62 favourite restaurants
(Image: Renée Suen, from the torontolife.com Flickr pool)
January is upon us, and for many hungry Torontonians, that means one thing: Winterlicious. The menus are less predictable than previous years—crème brûlée’s out, lentils du Puy are in—so even the ’Licious haters might have a reason to take advantage of the festival this year. We’ve already named the 12 menus that we think are the best bets, but that doesn’t begin to cover it. Here, find Toronto Life’s 62 favourite Winterlicious restaurants, complete with menus, reviews and reservation numbers.
Winterlicious runs from January 28 to February 10. Reservations are accepted from January 13 onward (January 11 for American Express users).
Just Opened: we review seven of the city’s new restaurants
Hotel comforts, inhalable grilled cheese and epically hot servers
(Image: Lorne Bridgman)
THE COUNTER
550 Wellington St. W., 416-640-7778
Set within the glamour of the Thompson Hotel, this something-for-everyone, 24-hour diner comes across like a yokel cousin at a society wedding. The decor is bafflingly incoherent: velvet damask and cheap faux-wood tables, Cuban floor tiles and smoked mirror accents. The food is inoffensive: a caesar salad that meets the dictionary definition but only just (dried parmesan crumbs, flavourless croutons), hand-cut fries, a $29 sandwich called “obscenely large muffaletta,” strawberry pie that’s lost somewhere between the flaccid crust and red glaze. Read the rest of this entry »
The buttermilk fried chicken and double-battered onion rings are both good bets; “iceberg wedge,” smothered in mild blue cheese–buttermilk dressing, is refreshingly simple.
Where to get a TIFF drink: the film festival’s 44 spots with 4 a.m. licences
The arrival of TIFF always demands answers to three crucial questions: which celebs are coming to town, what are the best flicks to see, and where can we get inebriated at ungodly hours of the night? The first two we’ve taken care of here and here, and now we have the nearly complete list of venues with extended hours for TIFF. The news is good: last year, around 25 bars and restaurants were approved for extended hours; this year, about 44 will be serving late. The selection is more varied, and with spots like Gabby’s and Hey Lucy on the list, it’s decidedly more casual. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario tells us that the list could expand as more venues get last-minute approval. Here, the 44 bars officially licensed to stay open until 4 a.m. »
Just Opened: Oliver and Bonacini Café Grill. We take a peek inside the empire’s new downtown outpost
(All images: Catherine Hayday)
Calling dibs on a bit of real estate at Yonge and Front is a savvy move. The restaurants of Michael Bonacini and Peter Oliver keep popping up here like rabbits. (Succulent braised rabbits.) Within a five-minute walk are Canoe, Biff’s, Jump and now the latest incarnation of Oliver and Bonacini Café Grill. This is the land of the expense account, overflowing with suits in search of posh versions of comfort foods that don’t skimp on the cheese and cream—like, say, O&B’s pancetta and mushroom pizzetta ($16) and macaroni and cheese with Balderson cheddar ($15). Chef Michael Bonacini, however, sees the area as more than just a financial district: “Clearly, we love the lower Yonge and Bay Street area. It’s got a great mix of business, residential, sports and theatre, and visitors. It’s a heartbeat.”
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Summerlicious 2010: the restaurants have been announced, so let’s pick them apart
The view from Toula: be a tourist in your own city (Image: Ian Muttoo)
First things first: there’s not much change under the Summerlicious sun. All of the old favourites are here (including Canoe and Bymark, which always sell out first). Seven Numbers, which by Winter/Summerlicious rules is allowed only one location, has swapped out its Danforth location for its Eglinton one. Winterlicious participant Conviction is out for the summer edition as the second season of Conviction Kitchen films in Vancouver. The new owners of Crush Wine Bar are apparently not feeling the ’licious love—nor is Moroco. And while The Citizen’s digs are alive and kicking under new ownership, its vaunted replacement, Ruby Watchco, is opting out.
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Seven standout food deals for Easter and Passover
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Whether you celebrate the slaves’ escape from Egypt, the resurrection of Christ or the annual arrival of Cadbury eggs, these seven restaurant events—with Passover- and Easter-themed menus—can help make next weekend memorable.
Oliver and Bonacini to take over Shopsy’s downtown spot
Oliver and Bonacini can’t be stopped. The restaurant consortium—which recently announced two new restaurants in the Bell Lightbox—is opening yet another outlet in the city. This time, it is one of the company’s café grills, which will take up shop in the space vacated by Shopsy’s at Yonge and Front Streets. With restaurants in Blue Mountain, Oakville and Bayview Village, the Oliver and Bonacini Café Grill is the casual (and more affordable) yin to Canoe’s posh yang. The downtown location is slated to open on March 15, 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
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