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Just Opened: Marben trades in the onyx for oh-so-popular reclaimed wood

Carl Heinrich with a companion in the newly redesigned Marben (All images: Karon Liu)

Splendido did it, then Centro, then Brassaii, and now Marben. Sure, they’ve all been renovated, but more specifically, they’ve all received make-unders.

Back in March, Marben auctioned off bits and pieces of its former self, including the famous glowing onyx bar, in order to make way for understated pieces, vintage fixtures and reclaimed wood. General manager Sarah Evans says the Wellington West restaurant’s overhaul was meant to lighten up the place and make it known for its food rather than its scene (Brassaii cited similar urges). Still, with the restaurant open until 2 a.m. every day and Bavette—a separate downstairs party space—set to open at the end of the month, Marben isn’t retiring from the revelry. “The city needs a rowdy restaurant,” says Evans.

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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

From the Print Edition

April 8, 2010 | 4:00 am

56 Comments

Best New Restaurants 2010

This time last year, the future looked awfully grim. We braced for restaurant closures and recessionary menus, but 2009 was surprising. Though we lost some good places (Perigee, Truffles, Alice’s and Gamelle, in particular), and mac-and-cheese quickly wore out its welcome, it was an exciting time to dine out. Anxious restaurateurs dropped corkage fees and slashed wine markups, while chefs cooked up imaginative prix fixe menus. It suited our mood as well as our wallets: these days, Torontonians want informality. We’re still hungry for local produce and nose-to-tail dining, chefs are once again finding inspiration in Italy and Japan, and the city is finally beginning to develop a serious cocktail culture. Most encouraging of all is the number of new restaurants opening. Here, the best of the vintage.

By James Chatto, Photographs by Brendan Meadows and Ryan Szulc, Illustrations by Jack Dylan

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The Dish

From the Print Edition

March 24, 2010 | 4:46 pm

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Five food trends we have a love-hate relationship with

Every year, Toronto Life’s April edition names the current food and restaurant trends we love, hate and those with which we have a love-hate relationship. Here are the 2010 trends for which we have mixed feelings

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The Goods

Weddings

March 4, 2010 | 2:06 pm

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Ask the expert: a caterer’s dos and don’ts for the big day

Arpi Magyar became a culinary star in the kitchen at Splendido, and now his catering company, Couture Cuisine and Event Artistry, delights palates at more than 150 weddings a year. His dos and don’ts for the big day.

Photograph by Vanessa Heins

How much of the wedding budget should be for food and booze?
About 60 per cent of a wedding budget should be devoted to the food, booze, staffing and rentals. But I never know what they’re spending on everything else—a bride can spend $10,000 on a dress.

Where should couples splurge?
Most people should spend an extra $500 to $600 on better wine. It makes all the difference, and it’s only the equivalent of two flower arrangements.

Where should they save their money?
Don’t serve wedding cake as dessert—it never looks good on the plate, and most of them aren’t that tasty. Get a small, symbolic cake and serve a plated dessert. My favourite thing to do is an assortment of samples: a crème brûlée in an espresso cup, maybe a miniature molten chocolate cake, and a quenelle of raspberry sorbet.

Has the recession changed the way people cater weddings?
For sure. Fewer cheese plates. They’re a luxury item—at the end of the night, after the coffee and dessert—and at $9 a person, that can mean spending thousands of dollars just on cheese. People are also shying away from more expensive main courses. I’ve done fewer veal chops this year and a lot more poultry. Playing it safe with beef, chicken or salmon is always smart.

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The Dish

Aprons & Icons

February 12, 2010 | 12:12 pm

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Splendido’s Victor Barry heading to Calgary on chef exchange—and Rush’s Justin Leboe comes here

As Splendido’s second incarnation continues to draw praise, chef-proprietor Victor Barry is taking the restaurant’s buzz out west, where he will be taking over the kitchen at Calgary’s famous restaurant Rush—owned by Barry’s friend, chef Justin Leboe. “Justin and I worked together in Bermuda back in 2006, and we talked about getting back together,” explains Barry as he prepares for the Eat, Drink and Give benefit at Roy Thomson Hall Tuesday evening. “He’s going to be here on April 7, and I’m going to be there on March 24.” Menus for the Leboe-Barry exchange will be available next week.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

January 7, 2010 | 2:49 pm

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The Harbord Guide: 25 spots that are giving the strip a good name

Coffee kid Sam James pulled shots in the city’s finest brew houses.

Once-sleepy Harbord Street leaped into the spotlight last year when it became the setting of Toronto’s latest NIMBY vs. business debate. Citing residents’ rights, crime and the strip’s uncertain future, deputy mayor Joe Pantalone tried to keep a new restaurant—Ici Bistro, helmed by famed chef J.P. Challet—from getting a liquor licence. His intervention may have had the opposite effect he was looking for: Torontonians turned their focus to the south Annex and realized that Harbord isn’t as stuffy (or dodgy) as the councillor would have them believe. With its gradually expanding array of shops, galleries and cafés, Harbord is fast becoming a destination for diners seeking an alternative to Ossington and Queen West. We take a look at 25 seminal spots, old and new, along a street in transition.

(Sam James photo, Jessica Darmanin; Harbord Bakery thumbnail, Danielle Scott)

The Dish

Read All About It

January 5, 2010 | 8:45 am

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Cora Pizza reopens, Joanne Kates picks her top restaurants, the fooderati’s top Twitterers

Ratted out: Cora Pizza reopens after health inspectors discovered rats on the premises (Photo by The Pizza Review)

• U of T students, rejoice: Cora Pizza reopened its doors last week. The restaurant, a long-standing refuge of drunken university students, was closed due to unsanitary conditions (including, apparently, several dead rats and rat feces on the premises). With a history like this, we’re sure the customers will come flocking back. [CBC]

• Joanne Kates counts down Toronto’s top new restaurants of 2009, with fairly predictable results. Among her favourites are Buca, Black Hoof, the revamped Splendido, Osteria Ciceri e Tria and Mildred’s Temple Kitchen. The one wild card is Ba Shu Ren Jia, a Szechuan spot with a four-figure Steeles Avenue address. [Globe and Mail]

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

December 18, 2009 | 3:40 pm

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Prix fixe, midnight madness: where to eat on New Year’s Eve

(Photo by Sally Mahoney)

December 31st is rapidly approaching, and the pressure’s on: what to do on New Year’s Eve? For those who hate crowds, messy house parties and shivering in Nathan Phillips Square but still don’t want to feel curmudgeonly come the stroke of midnight, Toronto’s best restaurants are offering multi-course meals at bargain prices. Here, our list of nine of the best prix fixe menus throughout the city. (Looking for the guide to Toronto’s high profile NYE parties? Click here »)

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The Dish

Opening

November 2, 2009 | 12:01 pm

1 Comment

Just Opened: Cinq 01

Parked on College St.: Cinq 01 contains elements from Toufik Sarwa's childhood (Photo by Karon Liu)

Parked on College Street: Cinq 01 contains elements from Toufik Sarwa's childhood (Photo by Karon Liu)

Lounge king Toufik Sarwa, owner of Amber, is branching out of Yorkville with the opening of a quaint bistro called Cinq 01 in Little Italy.

“When I set out at Amber, I thought I’d devote 10 years of my life to it. I had offers to be partners in other projects, but I turned them down,” Sarwa says. But last September, four months before his one-decade anniversary at Amber, the space formerly occupied by Arthur’s became available and Sarwa snatched it up. “It was just perfect timing; everything fell into place.”

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The Dish

Opening

July 30, 2009 | 1:00 pm

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Splendido re-opens with lower prices and less champagne

Champagne is out and cocktails are in at the newly made-over Splendido, which opened Tuesday for dinner. “Everything but the pea soup has changed,” says co-owner Carlo Cattalo, who recently bought the Harbord Street mainstay along with chef Victor Barry. The top-notch service will also remain, despite dramatically different decor, prices and menu.

The first thing regulars noticed were the chipper sky blue walls (we also spotted trendy new high-top tables and swanky lights at the bar), but the real shock likely came at the end of the meal. The bills are now about half of what they used to be.

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The Dish

Bottoms Up

May 27, 2009 | 10:06 am

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BYOB: Toronto restaurants drop corkage fees

Bottle shock: corkage fees are falling all over Toronto (Photo by Quinn Dombrowski)

Along with prix-fixe menus and pink slip parties (we’re looking at you, Globe), reduced corkage fees have become a popular recession-era tactic for restaurants trying to attract diners. Ontario jumped on the BYOB bandwagon in January 2005, it has never had the same success as similar programs in Quebec. That is, until now.

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The Dish

Read All About It

April 14, 2009 | 7:08 am

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The life of a locavore, peppery peepers and a BMO Field booze ban

The hottest pepper on Earth? (Photo by Peter Baer)

• In an attempt to break a world record, Anandita Dutta Tamuly of India rubbed 24 chilies in her eyes and ate 51 “ghost chilies.” Gordon Ramsay, who was in attendance, couldn’t manage more than one pepper. [BBC]

• Can Torontonians still eat fresh and local during the recession? The Star reporter Paola Loriggio goes on an off-season locavore diet for a week—complete with predictable story arches, frustrations and I-can’t-give-up-ketchup conclusions. [Toronto Star]

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The Dish

Aprons & Icons

April 13, 2009 | 12:25 pm

15 Comments

TV chef Laura Calder moves to Toronto and wants to teach us to pour a great glass of water

Laura Calder, home in Hogtown

The Food Network’s effervescent face of modern French fare, Laura Calder, is bringing her continental expertise home to Toronto. The long-time expat and host of French Food at Home, who has been stationed in Paris for the better part of a decade, landed back in her native Canada earlier this year with a not-too-shabby James Beard Foundation Award nomination, a new book, and a mission to update the artery-clogging cream-and-butter concept of French gastronomy.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

March 26, 2009 | 2:54 pm

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Splendido changes ownership but stays in the “family”

The new guard: Carlo Cattalo, left, and Victor Barry (Photo by Davida Aronovitch)

Splendido is changing hands. The star-powered duo that revived the powerhouse Harbord Street restaurant—proprietor Yannick Bigourdan and chef David Lee—announced this week that they will be handing the shop to general manager Carlo Cattalo and chef de cuisine Victor Barry. According to those involved, the transfer has been in the works for some time. Loyalists may rest easy, though: major evolution is envisioned for this summer, but Cattalo promises that “the spirit of Splendido has been passed on. It’s all about refreshing, not recreating.”

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