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Today at TIFF: Butter gala presentation and Festival Music House

Our daily roundup of opening galas, parties and screenings.

• 6 p.m. Like Crazy special presentation at Ryerson Theatre

• 6:30 p.m. Peace, Love and Misunderstanding gala presentation at Roy Thomson Hall

• 7 p.m. Festival Music House with Sam Roberts Band, The Sheepdogs at the Mod Club

• 7 p.m. Butter official cast party with Jennifer Garner and Olivia Wilde at Burroughes Building

• 8 p.m. Interview magazine and Joe Fresh party at the Spoke Club

• 9 p.m. ET Canada’s 6th birthday party at Spice Route

• 9:30 p.m. Butter gala presentation at Roy Thomson Hall

Chris Nuttall-Smith takes on La Société, Charles Khabouth’s sexy, buzzy French bistro

La Société serves up social cachet wrapped in sex appeal, and some decent French food, too (Image: Eugen Sakhnenko)

Four million dollars buys a lot of restaurant, even on Bloor Street, at the heart of the city’s richest retail mile. Charles Khabouth, the nightclub impresario behind La Société, the new, two-storey, 380-seat, more or less slavish recreation of a belle époque Paris bistro, brought in 29 tile workers, many of them from Montreal, to complete the spectacularly elaborate black, white and gold mosaic floors in the restaurant’s main bar and dining room. He and Alessandro Munge, of the Munge Leung design firm, commissioned a stained-glass ceiling for the bistro’s main space (which they’ve backlit, inexcusably, with sallow fluorescent lights), purchased their zinc bar top from France, outfitted the banquettes in brass and burgundy leather, and panelled the room in enough mahogany to deforest the best-endowed of banana republics. The rent, meantime, likely adds $2 million annually to Khabouth’s overhead. He’ll need to sell a lot of steak frites to cover that, but the man isn’t afraid to go big.

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The Hype

To-Do List

January 26, 2011 | 1:01 pm

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The Weekender: Winterlicious, Barrymore and six other can’t-miss events

1. CONNECTING: TORONTO IS AN AWFUL CITY
As part of the ROM’s regular Connecting series, Toronto Star urban affairs columnist Christopher Hume expounds on gridlock, pollution and—shudder—transit. Counterintuitively, Hume also explains how the much-yearned-for “better future” is happening right now. Jan. 28. $50. Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, 416-586-8000, rom.on.ca.

2. WINTERLICIOUS
The most delicious part of winter is here! In addition to the prix fixe menus at some of the city’s best restaurants, there are 14 extra foodie events, including a maharaja-themed evening at the AGO, a Chinese New Year celebration at Spice Route and an Iron Chef–style competition at Fort York between C5′s Ted Corrado and Beast’s Scott Vivian. Jan. 28 to Feb. 10. toronto.ca/special_events/winterlicious.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

September 23, 2010 | 10:24 am

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Toronto restaurants have the second- and third-classiest washrooms in Canada, outdone by Burnaby

The results are in for the first annual Canada’s Best Restroom Award, and they’re disappointing: Burnaby’s Cactus Club Café—the kind of cheesy-swanky restaurant Michael Scott would go to for lunch—has bested all of Toronto’s washrooms. (We never thought a place with the word “cactus” in its name would be an inviting place to plant a naked bum, but here we are.) Hogtown takes the second, third and fifth spots, with Spice Route taking the silver and Mildred’s Temple Kitchen getting the bronze. The Metro Convention Centre got fifth place.

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 3:05 pm

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Looking back at TIFF 2010: Nick Di Donato on how to throw a film festival party

Rick Campanelli hangs out at ET Canada's parking garage party

Nick Di Donato, president and CEO of Liberty Entertainment Group, is sitting in his newest Yorkville restaurant, Ciao, where just days ago Bill Gates broke bread with John Legend. Four storeys above is the parking lot that was transformed for four days into Entertainment Tonight Canada’s Festival Central, where a fab four-party weekend took place, all under Di Donato’s direction. The man behind the Rosewater Supper Club, Tattoo Rock Parlour, Spice Route and C Lounge—just to scratch the surface of his empire—and veteran of 15 TIFFs reflects on film festival parties past and present.

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 9, 2010 | 8:00 am

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Today at TIFF: Score and Fubar II premiere, TIFF opening event at Spice Route and more

Our daily roundup of opening galas, parties and screenings.

• 4 p.m. Stella Artois Film Screening Party at the Drake Hotel
• 5 p.m. TIFF Opening Cocktail at Spice Route
• 6:30 p.m. Score: A Hockey Musical world premiere at the Visa Screening Room (Elgin)
• 8 p.m. Score: A Hockey Musical world premiere at Roy Thomson Hall
• 9 p.m. Inside Job at Ryerson Theatre
• 10 p.m. TIFF 2010 Opening Gala at the Liberty Grand
• 10 p.m. Red—Canada Through the Lens of the New York Times, featuring Caitlin Cronenberg at Pears on the Avenue
• 10 p.m. APL.DE.AP (of the Black Eyed Peas) DJ set at Ultra
• 10 p.m. Ame’s One-Year Anniversary Party at Ame
• 11:59 p.m. Fubar II world premiere at the Ryerson Theatre

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 3, 2010 | 11:38 am

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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. »

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

July 6, 2010 | 12:23 pm

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Spice Route, Mildred’s vie for title of Canada’s Best Restroom

Yes, such a title exists. The contest to find the best washroom in the country announced its five finalists today, with three restrooms from Toronto and two from Vancouver. (Did anyone even visit the Maritimes and Prairies?)

And the nominees are:

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The Dish

Aprons & Icons

June 15, 2010 | 2:52 pm

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We ask the top chefs at Toronto Taste what’s in store at George, Splendido, Scaramouche and the rest of the city’s hot restaurants

This past Sunday marked the 20^th anniversary of Toronto Taste, the annual event that unites Toronto’s food lovers and food makers for a day of innovative cooking, tasking and fundraising for Second Harvest. 60 of Toronto’s top chefs—including Jason Bangerter, Donna Dooher, Chris McDonald, Mark McEwan, Anthony Walsh and Anne Yarymowich—doled out top-notch cuisine to an estimated 1,600 guests at the ROM. We caught up with the chefs and asked them what’s in store for them and their restaurants this summer.

The Dish

Opening

January 21, 2010 | 9:45 am

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Just Opened: Ciao Wine Bar mixes South Beach and Italy, and moves it all to Yorkville

Upstairs, downstairs: a modern staircase leads to Ciao's rustic underground (Courtesy of Ciao Wine Bar)

For Ciao Wine Bar, its newest high-octane hub, the Liberty Entertainment Group has shaken up the formula that has served them well at Rosewater, Spice Route and Tattoo Rock Parlour: one part dinner, two parts party is being replaced with two parts dinner, one part party. “We’re diversifying our portfolio,” says CEO Nick Di Donato, who tapped his Neapolitan roots to give Ciao an authentic Italian feel (he added a pinch of South Beach for good measure).

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Toronto International Film Festival 2009

September 13, 2009 | 8:30 am

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Today at TIFF: September 13, 2009

Our daily roundup of the most buzz-worthy opening galas, parties and screenings.

• Woodstock free public screening, Yonge–Dundas Square, noon
• My Heart Goes Hadippa (Dil Bole Hadippa) premiere, Roy Thomson Hall, 1:30 p.m.
• Agora premire, Roy Thomson Hall, 1:30 p.m.
• Whip It spotlight featuring the Toronto Roller Derby League and stars of the film, Yonge-Dundas Square, 5:30 p.m.
• Chloe premiere, Roy Thomson Hall, 6:30 p.m.
• Untouchable Girls showcase featuring a free show by the Topp Twinns, New Zealand’s “top yodelling comedy duo,” Yonge–Dundas Square, 9 p.m.
• Capitalism: A Love Story premiere, Visa Screening Room, 9 p.m.
• Whip It premiere, Ryerson Theatre, 9 p.m.
• Precious world premiere, Roy Thomson Hall, 9:30 p.m.
• Norman Jewison’s annual barbecue for the Canadian Film Centre, Canadian Film Centre
• Edward Rogers’s gala fundraiser for One X One, Roger’s Forest Hill home
• Whip It party (guests include Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page), Tattoo Rock Parlour
• Cairo Time premiere party (guests include Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig), Spice Route
• Good Hair premiere party (guests include Chris Rock), One King West

The Dish

Read All About It

June 13, 2009 | 10:23 am

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Tim Hortons gets creamed, T.O.’s best get-it-on restaurants, a USB-powered microwave

A salt accusation: Those living near fast-food restaurants, like this this one located next to a vetrenary hospital, tend to have shorter lifespans

A salt accusation: Those living near fast-food restaurants—like this one, located next to a veterinary hospital—are at an increased risk of stroke. (Photo by Everjean)

• A Texas study reveals that people who live near fast-food chains are more likely to have a stroke because they’re more inclined to consume the sodium-rich foods. The maximum amount of sodium the average person should consume in a day is 1,500 milligrams. A slice from Pizza Pizza contains a whopping 1,920 milligrams. [Vancouver Sun]

• As the dine-in-the-dark O. Noir prepares to open, the Star decided to take the opportunity to list the best restaurant washrooms where couples can get it on. Among the suggestions are Delux (sturdy sink fixtures), Spice Route (red lighting) and Osteria Ciceri e Tria (the speakers play audio from Italian TV). [Toronto Star]

• Tim Hortons, the goliath of caffeine, gets bigger with news that it’s teaming up with Cold Stone Creamery, an American ice cream chain that mixes its ice cream and toppings on a slab of cold stone. The co-branded outlets will be tested in Mississauga, Toronto, Hamilton, Oakville and Pickering. [PR Newswire]

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

May 13, 2009 | 2:12 pm

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Lundin times: Spice Route unveils a new meal mixer for the bruncher who’s seen it all

The Spice Route patio on King West

For foodies who have explored every brand of brunch in this hollandaise-drenched town, Spice Route is introducing a new mealtime in honour of its one-year anniversary: lundin. The King West resto-bar will devote Sunday—the sacred day of ritual brunching—to this lunch-dinner love child starting May 17. But before breaky devotees take to the pulpit with cries of sacrilege, remember that this might be an opportunity to avoid the dreaded 3 p.m. brunch deadline. The all-you-can-eat 15-course feast costs a wallet-friendly $24 (yes, we’re wondering how that’s possible, too) and includes a smorgasbord of such patio-friendly options as tempura calamari, citrus salad, Cantonese chow mein and Thai vegetable curry, among other pan-Asian Spice Route mainstays.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

February 12, 2009 | 3:24 pm

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Ultra Supper Club unveils its make-over tonight—new name, new menu, new design

Ultra Supper Club is attempting rebirth (Photo by Matt MacGillivray)

Recession menus and food giveaways are quickly becoming the norm for Toronto restaurants. It is in the midst of such bad-times ballyhoo that Ultra Supper Club has gone in a defiant direction, choosing to adopt a new look, a new name (“Ultra” instead of “Ultra Supper Club”) and a new menu (Asian fusion). Since its inception in 2003, the supper club has become known as a TIFF hot spot and the site of non-festival celebrity sightings. It hardly seemed to be in need of a facelift—so why now?

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