Toronto restaurants are firmly in the grip of Summerlicious, which continues to this Sunday, so we decided to find out how the annual prix-fixe fete has treated them. The consensus? It’s been a wild week-and-a-half. “It’s definitely crazier than normal,” the folks at Brassaii told us. “Crazy busy,” echoed the people at Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill, who also had some sage advice for those spurned by packed houses and peculiarly empty tables: “If you’re unsure [of availabilities], call in or swing past, because there are always no-shows” (ah, the infamous Summerlicious no-shows). With less than a week left before the summer food fest wraps up, we got in touch with the 10 restaurants whose menus got the most hits from our list of the 63 best bets to find out whether and when tables are still available.
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We called the 10 most clicked Summerlicious restaurants to scope out their experience—and availability
Summerlicious Lunch Pick: C5’s rustic yet inventive prix fixe
C5’s Summerlicious spread (Images: Andrew Brudz)
On the fifth floor of the ROM’s Michael Lee Chin Crystal is C5, the museum’s fine dining restaurant, which boasts a sharp dining room and stunning views of the city. Executive chef Ted Corrado (who worked his way through George, Luce and Rain) serves inventive dishes that highlight local and sustainable ingredients, and his decidedly rustic $25 Summerlicious lunch menu is no exception. After a slightly dry albacore tuna salad with mango and mint, our main arrives: a hefty slice of grilled pork shoulder, with lots of tasty marbling, that’s resting in splashes of creamy polenta and spicy chorizo cacciatore. The excellent dessert, a summer berry shortcake, is more hearty scone than delicate cake, stuffed with rich vanilla chantilly cream and macerated cherries, strawberries, blueberries—the whole plate looking like it came straight out of a talented country kitchen.
The cost: $43, including tax, tip and a Mill St. Organic lager ($8).
The time: 50 minutes
C5, 100 Queen’s Park, 416-586-7928, c5restaurant.ca
DOWNTOWN NORTH | DOWNTOWN SOUTH | EAST | WEST | UPTOWN
Alternalicious: a roundup of this year’s Summerlicious 2011 rebels
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Every food festival worth its weight in foie gras has its dissenters, and this year’s Summerlicious is no exception. While the citywide summer food-fest can be a great way to promote a restaurant (check out our top 63 picks here), the stingy tippers and city-mandated restrictions can be a major-league deterrent for others. And so notable chefs, including Susur Lee, are exercising their inner rebel by offering an (unofficial) alternative to the prix fixe madness taking over the city. After the jump, a roundup of prix fixe and alternative summer menus we’ve unearthed:
Summerlicious Lunch Pick: Bymark’s B.C. halibut
Bymark’s B.C. halibut in a banana leaf, a main course on the restaurant’s regular menu, appears on its Summerlicious menu as well. (Image: Renée Suen)
Summerlicious officially launched last Friday (see our complete guide), and instead of serving a second-string menu, many restaurants, like Mark McEwan’s Bay Street standby Bymark, are offering plates from their regular roster at discounted prices.
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It’s on: Summerlicious 2011 starts today, and we’ve got you covered
The Drake, gussied up in time for Summerlicious, is one of Chris Nuttall-Smith’s 11 best bets for the annual prix fixe extravaganza. (Image: Gizelle Lau)
You’ve been fighting for reservations for the last 15 days, and finally, it’s here. That’s right, Summerlicious 2011 officially starts today. Check out our complete guide to the festival, divided up by region, as well as our chief critic Chris Nuttall-Smith’s 11 best bets.
Summerlicious 2011 runs from July 8 to 24 at 150 participating restaurants across Toronto.
Dear Urban Diplomat: is a Summerlicious meal suitable for a first date?
Image: Benson Kua
Dear Urban Diplomat,
Is it poor form to take a woman out for a Summerlicious meal on a first date?
—Penny-pinching paramour,
MOORE PARK
The Weekender: Hugh Jackman, Afrofest and six other events on our to do list
Federico Fellini, March 1955; Honda Indy; Hugh Jackman
1. SUMMERLICIOUS 2011
We always get a little overwhelmed when Summerlicious time rolls around. One hundred and fifty of the city’s restos are participating in this annual prix fixe fest and we know there’s no way we can eat at every one, but we always feel like we should try. This year, we narrowed the list down to the best 63 picks and then deferred to an expert and made reservations based on our expert foodie Chris Nuttall-Smith’s list of 11 sure things. You could do much worse. July 8 to 24. toronto.ca/summerlicious.
2. HUGH JACKMAN LIVE IN CONCERT Read the rest of this entry »
Hot Aussie Hugh Jackman, probably best known for his turn as surly mutant Wolverine in various X-Men movies, is also quite the stage performer, in case you didn’t know (we did, mostly because we kind of love him and know these kinds of things). Also, he hosted the Oscars a few years ago and sang a fair bit. During this limited-engagement concert at the Princess of Wales, Jackman (with an 18-piece backing orchestra) shares stories about his life thus far via his favourite musical numbers. Could be cheesy, but we’re still checking it out. July 5—17. $25–$130. The Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. W., 416-872-1212, mirvish.com.
11 best bets for Summerlicious 2011: our chief critic Chris Nuttall-Smith makes his picks
The imported Neapolitan pizza oven at Fabbrica (Image: Karon Liu)
Now in its ninth season, the city-run ’Licious phenomenon (there are both summer and winter incarnations, in case you’ve been living under a pizza stone all this time) shows no signs of tiring, even if every year it seems to enrage more and more curmudgeonly downtown diners who don’t much like sharing their favorite restaurants with the plebes. Summerlicious succeeds precisely because it makes inaccessible restaurants accessible, even if it’s only for two weeks each July. The big list (there are 150 participating restaurants this year) will never include the hottest, newest, most interesting restaurants in the city—those places don’t typically need the help. It typically does include more than its share of dogs. But there are plenty of places in between: proven, well-run, inviting rooms with committed kitchens. We’ve picked a few of the best.
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Summerlicious 2011: Toronto Life’s favourites for the Financial District
Power lunchers and after-work diners are the bread and butter of Summerlicious. Here, 22 Toronto Life picks for where to go. Read the rest of this entry »
Summerlicious 2011: Toronto Life’s top picks east of the DVP
Although Summerlicious is more generous to diners in the west, here are five of Toronto Life’s east-of-the-DVP favourites. Read the rest of this entry »
Summerlicious 2011: Toronto Life’s lunch and dinner picks north of St. Clair
Summerlicious is well represented north of St. Clair. Here are the 16 Toronto Life picks for Leaside, Davisville, Don Mills and Yonge and Eglinton. Read the rest of this entry »
Summerlicious 2011: Toronto Life’s best bets west of Bathurst
Let’s face it—Summerlicious is a downtown-centric festival. Still, here are eight Toronto Life recommendations west of Bathurst. Read the rest of this entry »
Summerlicious 2011: Toronto Life’s picks for Yorkville and the Annex
Some of Yorkville and the Annex’s best restaurants participate in Summerlicious each year. Here, 14 of Toronto Life’s favourites. Read the rest of this entry »
The 63 Best Bets for Summerlicious 2011
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Toronto’s annual summer prix fixe extravaganza is upon us once again. Restaurants start taking reservations on Thursday, June 23 for the festival, which runs from July 8 to 24. We waded through the 150 participating establishments to provide you with 63 Toronto Life–approved best bets, divided by region into Downtown North, Downtown South, East, West and Uptown. Get those dialling digits ready!
We called the 10 most clicked Summerlicious restaurants to scope out their availability
C5’s rustic yet inventive prix fixe
A roundup of this year’s Summerlicious 2011 rebels
The B.C. halibut in a banana leaf at Bymark
Our chief critic Chris Nuttall-Smith makes his picks
The 2011 Summerlicious restaurants have been announced
Get set for the onslaught: the 2011 Summerlicious restaurants have been announced
Now that we’ve had a few days in a row without rainfall, it seems only fitting that Summerlicious menus were announced today. The city’s prix fixe extravaganza runs from July 8 to 24, and economical epicures can start flooding restaurant voicemail boxes with reservation requests starting June 23 (or June 21 if you’ve got an Amex card).
The ground rules for this ninth edition of the festival are the same as last year’s, with lunch menus are available for $15, $20 and $25, and dinner for $25, $35 and $45. Once again, 150 restaurants are participating. Check out our 63 best bets »
DOWNTOWN NORTH | DOWNTOWN SOUTH | EAST | WEST | UPTOWN
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