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Real Jerk landlord seeks to overturn injunction, calls judge’s decision “astonishing”

In what’s turning into the Toronto restaurant story that just won’t die, Bill Mandelbaum, the new owner of the Queen Street East building that houses The Real Jerk, has sent a note out to Toronto media lamenting the court’s decision to grant the Caribbean restaurant an injunction against its earlier eviction notice. Here’s what he had to say:

TO THE TORONTO READERS

The Courts decision on Monday was surprising and and quite disappointing in the judicial process.

It was obviously based on sentiment, not law.

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The Dish

Deathwatch

February 2, 2012 | 10:44 am

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The Real Jerk wins the right to stay put (Injunction: 1; Eviction: 0)

(Image: Amber Dawn Pullin)

The eviction saga that cast Real Jerk owners Ed and Lily Pottinger as Davids against Bill Mandelbaum’s Goliath is over (for now, at least). A judge has granted an injunction that will allow the Caribbean restaurant to stay at the corner of Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue until the end of the year, though Ed told reporters he would be looking to move before then: “I just wanted a little more time to relocate, and I now have that. Whatever happens from now on, I’m going to be looking for a new place…hopefully in the neighbourhood.”

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The Dish

Rumours & Rumblings

January 31, 2012 | 3:48 pm

3 Comments

Nota Bene team to open new restaurant at Queen and Church

Waiting for Nota Bene (Image: PJMixer from the Torontolife.com Flickr pool)

Yesterday evening, Shinan Govani broke the news that the team behind Nota Bene—Yannick Bigourdan, Franco Prevedello and chef David Lee—was getting set to open up shop due east from their fine dining mainstay at Queen and University. Rumours of a Nota Bene “clone,” however, turn out to be a little exaggerated. Instead, Bigourdan told The Dish, the unnamed restaurant will have a somewhat different concept, something that’s now being ironed out between the partners. They’ll have some time: the new place, which will be located in a currently empty 7,000-square-foot space at 111 Queen Street East, right near George and B Espresso, isn’t scheduled to open until early next year. It’s also located right beneath the Toronto Life offices—which means we’ll be watching developments closely.

The Dish

Deathwatch

January 11, 2012 | 11:32 am

5 Comments

The Real Jerk, Riverside’s cult favourite Jamaican restaurant, gets an eviction notice

(Image: The Real Jerk)

The iconic smiling sun that’s shone down on the corner of Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue for the last 22 years is about to set—and soon. Over Christmas, the building that houses The Real Jerk was sold to Bill Mandelbaum of Buckingham Properties, and rumour has it the restaurant is slated for demolition to make way for yet another condo development. Sure, it always seemed a little cheesy, and it stuck out a little in dreary grey wintertime, but the gaudy corrugated tin mural and beaming sun (the latter painted by Jamaican artist Tony Green) is a true Riverside landmark.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

November 15, 2011 | 4:49 pm

6 Comments

J. P. Challet to open Le Matin, a new French boulangerie on Queen East

J. P. Challet at his new Queen East bakery (Images: Signe Langford)

Queen Street East has been steadily attracting culinary entrepreneurs for the last decade or so, but with prime spaces available for rent and condos and townhouses going up at every turn, the pace has really picked up. French ex-pat J. P. Challet, a culinary craftsman of many trades, is the latest to try his hand with Le Matin, a new authentic French bakery that’s slated to open in December.

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The Informer

Gimme Shelter

October 14, 2011 | 2:05 pm

37 Comments

Condomonium: $800,000 for a three-storey penthouse in the Beach

ADDRESS: 2012 Queen St. E., Suite 305

NEIGHBOURHOOD: The Beach

AGENT: MaryAnne Runnalls, Chestnut Park Real Estate

PRICE: $795,000

THE PLACE: A three-storey penthouse loft in the Beaches that’s steps away from Kew Gardens. The tiered shape of the building means each floor sits further back than the floor below, so although it’s right on busy Queen Street East, it’s still removed from the hustle and bustle.

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The Dish

Opening

August 17, 2011 | 9:25 am

1 Comment

Introducing: Ruby Eats, Lynn Crawford and Cherie Stinson’s new gourmet food shop

Ruby Eats is the sister food shop to Lynn Crawford and Cherie Stinson’s nearby restaurant, Ruby Watchco. (Image: Gizelle Lau)

March 2010 saw the opening of Ruby Watchco, a new Riverside venture by Restaurant Makeover duo chef Lynn Crawford and designer Cherie Stinson (who also works at Yabu Pushelberg). Two weeks ago, the same team opened their newest venture, Ruby Eats, a new neighbourhood specialty grocery store.

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The Dish

From the Print Edition

January 27, 2011 | 8:44 am

16 Comments

Toronto’s five best cafés

The city’s top spots for lingering over a latte and laptop

1. Rooster coffee house
This out-of-the-way spot overlooking Riverdale Park achieves café perfection. The room radiates homey elegance with a massive tree-trunk table (ideal for Scrabble tourneys) and comfy leather chairs. The baristas are full of scruffy charisma, chatting up customers as they pull espressos smooth enough to compete with the best in town (we’re talking to you, Sam James). 479 Broadview Ave. (at Riverdale Ave.), 416-995-1530.

2. Balzac’s café
This restored 1890s warehouse—a Distillery District icon for the past nine years—looks like it was airlifted in from the set of Amélie. While there’s usually a lineup downstairs, the open second-floor loft has a clandestine atmosphere, making you feel as though you’re squirrelled away in an Old World garret, suffering for your art. Balzac’s custom-roasted beans make distinctive, nutty-sweet coffee. 55 Mill St. (at Parliament St.), Bldg. 60, 416-207-1709; 43 Hanna Ave. (at Liberty St.), 416-534-7372.

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The Dish

Opening

December 23, 2010 | 12:21 pm

7 Comments

The Canadian Pie Company is coming to Riverdale

(Image: Signe Langford)

Confused by that tantalizing “A Pie to Remember” sign on Queen Street East near Boulton? So were we. It’s there, but doesn’t represent what’s going into the space. Turns out the place changed names when the owner, Cordon Bleu–trained chef Erez Hadad, discovered that the name Canadian Pie Company was available and decided to change the title of his new bakery. “We thought it was a better name.”

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The Dish

Opening

November 24, 2010 | 8:56 am

9 Comments

Introducing: Le Rossignol, a restaurant that might kick off Queen East’s French revolution

Chef Seguinot’s seared wild Pacific salmon with rapini, lima beans and a saffron jus (Image: Signe Langford)

No need to Google it; we’ll just tell you: le rossignol is French for “nightingale.” It’s the name of the new Gallic restaurant that’s slipping into the old Pop Bistro space on Queen East. It’s also a mistake. “I love Edith Piaf,” explains the new owner, Richard Henry, “and I thought her nickname was The Nightingale. I was wrong. It’s The Sparrow, but it was too late, and anyway, we liked this better.”

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

November 12, 2010 | 12:41 pm

3 Comments

Dangerous Dan’s gross new ads capitalize on pot, universal health care

Dangerous Dan’s, Queen Street East’s unmissable hamburger joint, has never been known for moderation. It’s no surprise, then, that the diner’s latest ad campaign is a series of shock ads featuring shots of humongous burgers next to such slogans as “It’s 4:20 somewhere” and “While we still have health care.” The series is basically the marketing equivalent of the colossal colon clogger—Dangerous Dan’s 24-ounce patty topped with a quarter pound each of bacon and cheese.

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The Informer

Gimme Shelter

October 20, 2010 | 12:09 pm

2 Comments

House of the Week: $1.7 million for an eight-bedroom home in the Beach’s loveliest pocket

ADDRESS: 271 Glen Manor Drive East

NEIGHBOURHOOD: The Beach

AGENTS: Sue Mills and Sarah O’Neill, Royal LePage Signature Realty

PRICE: $1,649,000

THE PLACE: This red-brick Toronto classic would be perfect on any edition of MTV’s Teen Cribs. Appropriate for any upwardly mobile east-enders who have (or are planning to have) a large family, the eight-bedroom possesses elegant charm and understated class on its corner lot facing Glen Stewart Park. Kew Gardens, Queen Street East and, of course, various beaches, are nearby to keep the children entertained. The house was built in the ’20s and now balances classic elements (original stained glass, hardwood) with modern amenities (reno’d kitchen, sauna). The current owners have been in the house for 40 years and are only the third family to ever occupy the property.

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The Informer

Cityscape

August 23, 2010 | 11:50 am

5 Comments

Guerrilla activists hack 85 Toronto billboards, replacing ads with art

A hacked sign at Queen Street East and Jarvis Street (Image: Gary Campbell)

Four months after Banksy’s stop in Toronto, another group of guerrilla art activists has taken to the streets—only this time, the evidence isn’t hard to find. A group of anti-establishment art pundits known as the Toronto Street Advertising Takeover (TOSAT) is on a mission to replace illegal billboards in Toronto with art they’ve collected from around the world. This past Sunday, the movement’s founder, Jordan Seiler, led 15 activists around the city to remove ads from 41 Pattison Outdoor pillars and replace them with 85 pieces of art.

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The Informer

Gimme Shelter

August 5, 2010 | 8:24 am

4 Comments

Home of the week: $819,000 for brewery loft in Corktown

ADDRESS: 90 Sumach St., Apt. 403
NEIGHBOURHOOD: Regent Park
AGENT: Marc Paillé, Bosley Real Estate
PRICE: $819,000
THE PLACE: Since its construction in 1878, this building has housed the Dominion Brewery, the CBC’s prop warehouse and some retail shops. The conversion to residential units in 1999 resulted in an edgy yuppie’s (a yedgie’s?) ideal vision of an industrial loft. Edgy for the wide hallways, 14-foot ceilings, exposed pipes and concrete pillars. Yuppie for the double-showered bathroom, black-and-chrome kitchen, window-heavy studio and large office.

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Honda Indy Toronto: The streets around the Ex roar to life starting today as a weekend of car racing begins. Find out more »

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