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Although locally and organically raised meat has become much more common in recent years, the pickings for sustainably caught fish are still pretty slim. That’s about to change with the opening of Hooked, a new sustainable seafood market in Leslieville.
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Hooked to add sustainable fish to Leslieville’s ever-expanding range of food boutiques
Cookstown Greens goes up for sale after 22 years
(Image: David Cohlmeyer)
Cookstown Greens, the pioneering supplier of specialty produce to top Toronto restaurants, is up for sale. Founded in 1988 by former restaurateur and food columnist David Cohlmeyer, the farm built its reputation on its rare and organically grown produce. Now, after 22 successful years, Cohlmeyer has put the 95-acre property and business up for sale for $1.2 million, and is hoping to sell it as a going concern.
Introducing: M:brgr, home of the $100 burger
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Ask Jeff Ditcher what it’s like setting up an upscale burger bar at the tail end of Toronto’s burger craze, and he’s not too worried. The traveller, wine collector and founder of M:brgr opened his second location at King and Spadina on Sunday (the original location is in Montreal), despite the presence of Craft Burger and Grindhouse in the immediate vicinity. His rationale? Toronto’s burger demand is only going to get bigger. And besides, he says he’s got an edge on the competition, with waited tables, an extensive wine list, a resident mixologist and an awe-inspiring list of toppings ranging from the odd to the gourmet. Oh, and he’s got the only joint in town with a $100 burger on the menu.
Introducing: The Ballroom, the downtown bowling alley with UFC and gourmet chicken wings
Until recently, Bathurst Bowlerama—site of kids’ parties and seniors’ leagues—has been the only option for downtowners looking to play a few frames. That is, until now. The much-anticipated Ballroom is now open in the old Montana’s space at John and Richmond. It’s billing itself as “Toronto’s newest interactive entertainment centre,” and with 20,000 square feet of space, nine lanes, two floors, 52 big-screen TVs and seven 12-by-six-foot projection screens, the claims appear to be justified.
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Introducing: Porchetta and Co., the new sandwich shop that’s turning Dundas West into a carnivore’s carnival
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Like Ossington and Harbord before it, Dundas Street West keeps surprising us with new cafés, bars and restaurants. The latest is Porchetta and Co., which opened this week; its specialty is Italian pork. Owner Nick auf der Mauer wanted to start his own food joint without hopping onto the poutine or gourmet burger bandwagons. The result is a minuscule takeout-focused shop that tries to do one thing well: porchetta, natch. The menu consists of porchetta sandwiches ($6), porchetta plates ($9), two types of soup (small bowl $4) and that’s it.
Holiday Gift Guide: 13 edible present ideas
We prefer to pass the holiday season by eating our way through it and forcing loved ones to do the same. So we’ve come up with 13 inventive edible gifts (and not a mini-muffin basket in sight).
See our foodie gift guide now >>
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Introducing: Junction Fromagerie, the latest addition to the Junction foodscape
At Fromagerie, the latest culinary addition to the ever-evolving Junction foodscape, the wide-plank floors, exposed brick and enormous vintage glass windows lend an Old World vibe. Husband and wife team Jeff Brown and Jennifer Rashleigh take an equally continental approach to their stock: a carefully curated selection of house-churned butter, lush preserves of organic Niagara fruits, and rare wheels of small-batch cheeses, including the irresistibly rich and ripe Grey Owl goat milk cheese pictured here ($7.40 per 100 g). A slice of baguette, a bite of cheese and a dollop of apricot jam, and the Junction could almost pass for a Parisian arrondissement.
Junction Fromagerie, 3042 Dundas St. W., 647-344-8663.
Introducing: The Big Guy’s Coffee Shop, Queen West’s latest coffeemonger
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With a name like The Big Guy’s Coffee Shop, it’s tempting to think of Parkdale’s latest café as some kind of ironic jab at Starbucks and Tim Hortons. It’s named after the owner, Steven Turner, who earned the moniker during a managing stint at Second Cup because, well, he’s a pretty big guy. The South African expat has had a fairly successful run with The Big Guy’s Little Coffee Shop in New Toronto and decided a new venture closer to downtown was the next step.
Introducing: Jacob and Sebastian, where bathtime is for adults
Organic cotton towels from Amy Butler are $25
The place: As the giant tub in the centre of the store and the glass ducks floating around the perimeter would suggest, bath concoctions are everywhere. But washing up isn’t about Mr. Bubbles and soap crayons anymore—it gets the grown-up treatment at Jacob and Sebastian, a new beauty boutique at Queen and Bathurst.
The stuff: Aside from bubble bath accoutrements, look for Nuit Divoire candles ($35) that smell like a crackling fire (a fitting accompaniment to the Rogers fireplace channel for cramped apartments), handmade toothbrushes (who knew?) from Alan Stuart ($10) that come in op-art patterns and look great next to tubes of Marvis (the toothpaste that’s less Shoppers Drug Mart and more Drake General Store), and Curpon pillow cases ($40) that claim to reduce wrinkles. We’re skeptical but can’t argue with the methodology—it’s a whole lot less scary than this.
Chocolate is becoming ever more rare. Will it be tomorrow’s caviar?
We know that the future isn’t how it was supposed to be—it’s 2010, and we have neither jet packs nor flying cars (iPads don’t make up for their absence)—but today we learned that the future might be bleaker still, as the maw of humanity gobbles down the last of the world’s chocolate. According to a piece in the U.K.’s Independent, chocolate’s days are numbered:
In the future, chocoholics might have to work quite a bit harder to pay for their fix. The world could run out of affordable chocolate within 20 years as farmers abandon their crops in the global cocoa basket of West Africa, industry experts claim.
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Toronto’s Top Teas: a mini-guide to the city’s 12 most beautiful, fragrant and tasty infusions
Photograph by Daniel Neuhaus; prop styling by Sarah Magwood; food styling by Tanya Santos;
Slamming back an espresso may get the caffeine coursing, but tea—the new coffee, judging by the sheer number of dedicated shops opening all over the city—is a drink for all senses. Our mini-guide to Toronto’s most beautiful, fragrant and tasty infusions
Toronto’s 13 new cafés: board games, Bohème and a resurrected waffle house
(Image: one2c900d)
These days, the arrival of a new indie café on Queen West or in Leslieville is about as novel as a Gap opening in a mall, which is why we’re pleased to inform readers that the newest coffee houses in town aren’t located in hipster hubs. Since our last café census in March, we count a total of 13 new spots for Hogtown’s java lovers.
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Wild Thing: the story behind the Brick Works
The bucolic eco-paradise between Rosedale and the DVP almost never was. How big money and one ambitious entrepreneur remade the Brick Works
On May 29, the opening day of the Brick Works farmers’ market, I pedalled past the savvy people who had parked their cars illegally outside the Mount Pleasant Cemetery’s southern gate, knowing there would be no parking spots below, and through the Moore Park ravine. The air was cool and moist, the trees still. Then, the vista of the Don Valley opened up: the sun was shining on the pretty quarry garden, burning away the morning clouds and reflecting off the wetland ponds. I couldn’t yet see the market, but I could hear it: at 8 a.m., the site was already alive with happy chatter and the slow strum of “You Are My Sunshine” on guitar.
(Image: Jeremy R. Jansen)
Introducing: Nature’s Emporium, a 50,000-square-foot organic grocery utopia
(Image: Sian Richards)
Just walking past the juice bar and the pesticide-free garden centre and into the almost ridiculously beautiful produce wing of this 50,000-square-foot organic grocery utopia makes you feel healthier. Nature’s Emporium is a sumptuous testament to the new heights of our food obsessions. Signs detail provenance (the trout is smoked near Wiarton, and Picton’s Fifth Town supplies an army of flavoured chèvres), and a naturopath is on hand to offer advice. Two pastry chefs create gluten-free sweets; the zingy vanilla-orange cupcakes topped with rosettes of vegan icing are pure dairy-free decadence. At the raw bar, living pizzas (crisped slowly in a dehydration oven in the belief it preserves key enzymes) are stunning, especially the one with collard greens and cashew cheese. Luckily for kale-loving downtowners, this behemoth of health is scouting locations south of the 401.
Nature’s Emporium, 16655 Yonge St., Newmarket, 905-898-1844, naturesemporium.ca
Fisherman’s Friends: Chris Nuttall-Smith reviews Maléna and The Atlantic
The season’s most anticipated openings are two seafood-centric spots
Maléna at Av and Dav (Image: Ryan Szulc)
Toronto is a raw bar town. We’re over-served by excellent oyster houses, and we probably consume more sushi per capita than any city east of Vancouver. But cooked fish is a problem here; we’ve never had a standout seafood spot. This spring, Nathan Isberg, of Czehoski and Coca fame, opened what early adopters described as a nose-to-tail disciple’s take on the life aquatic on Dundas West. And in Yorkville, a neighbourhood that’s desperate for a few more decent places to eat, front-of-house kings David Minicucci and Sam Kalogiros launched Maléna, a flashy fish spot. It looked like Toronto might finally turn into a seafood town. Read the rest of this entry »
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