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Anthony Rose is opening a BBQ restaurant behind Rose and Sons later this summer

(Image: Susan Keefe)

An as-yet-unnamed eatery from chef Anthony Rose, who left The Drake Hotel last year to open the first of three new restaurants, is the latest in the wave of smokehouses to open in Toronto in the last year. Rather than the slow-cooked southern barbecue of other recent arrivals, like Aft, Electric Mud BBQ and Marky and Sparky’s Smokehouse, Rose’s new spot is serving quick-grilled meats, including fish, chicken and sausage, plus smoked ribs and wings. The space, which is tucked behind his elevated Annex greasy spoon Rose and Sons, will have its own kitchen and bar—housed in old shipping crates—but share cook Chris Sanderson with the diner. The new restaurant is scheduled to open in July. [The Grid]

The Informer

Columns

May 16, 2013 | 11:00 am

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Dear Urban Diplomat: Our neighbours’ barbecue fills our backyard with unpleasant smoke. Can we complain?

(Image: Emilian Robert Vicol)

Dear Urban Diplomat,
My wife and I have new neighbours who love to barbecue, which is fine, except that it’s almost always pork, which is not fine, because we don’t eat it for religious reasons. The heavy smell wafts into our backyard and makes my wife feel nauseated. I don’t want to tell them what they can and can’t eat, but I want my family to be able to enjoy our space. What’s the best way to deal with this?
—Hamstrung, The Junction

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The Dish

Openings

May 14, 2013 | 12:34 pm

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Introducing: Marky and Sparky’s Smokehouse, a new spot for southern barbecue in the Junction

(Image: Caroline Aksich)

Name: Marky and Sparky’s Smokehouse
Neighbourhood: The Junction
Contact Info: 520 Annette St., 647-748-4227, Facebook
Owners: Frank “Sparky” DiGenova (Butcher by Nature) and Marcus “Marky” De Simone

The Food: Slow-cooked southern barbecue made from meat from Butcher by Nature. The menu includes all the BBQ classics: wet or dry baby back ribs, chicken wings, brisket and pulled pork. All meats can be ordered on a sandwich, and there’s also a butcher platter, which includes every protein on the menu.

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The Dish

New Reviews

May 9, 2013 | 3:00 pm

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Review: Electric Mud BBQ is a raucous Parkdale party spot for barbecue and bourbon

(Image: Gizelle Lau)

Electric Mud BBQ

½
5 Brock Ave., 416-516-8286

Electric Mud BBQ 1 star

½
5 Brock Ave., 416-516-8286

The team behind Grand Electric, Parkdale’s new-wave taqueria, has opened a nearby southern-themed restaurant carefully decorated to resemble a badass roadside tavern, with plywood walls, vintage neon signs and a Southern Pride smoker in the open kitchen. The cooks do double duty as DJs at the bar-top turntable, alternating between blues and ZZ Top. The place is named after a convention-busting fusion album by Muddy Waters—an apt choice for a menu that breaks sacred barbecue rules.

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The Dish

Openings

March 13, 2013 | 3:40 pm

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Introducing: Aft Kitchen and Bar, a new barbecue joint in Riverside

Name: Aft Kitchen and Bar
Neighborhood: Riverside
Contact info: 686 Queen St. East, 647-346-1541, aftbar.com, @aft_bar
Owner: Paul Campbell, formerly of House on Parliament
Chefs: Christian Butcher and sous chef Lawrence La Pianta

The food: American comfort food with an emphasis on southern barbecue, which La Pianta spent two years learning in Texas (everything is smoked on-site).

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The Dish

Deathwatch

March 13, 2013 | 11:01 am

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Smoke BBQ House is reopening with new ownership and a slightly different name (UPDATED)

(Image: Karolyne Ellacott)

Smoke BBQ House has shut its doors after only three months on Harbord Street. The southern barbecue restaurant announced the news on Twitter yesterday (greatly disappointing Ben Mulroney, among others), but hinted it may reopen with a new chef at a new location:

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The Dish

Restaurants

March 6, 2013 | 3:34 pm

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Barbecue restaurant Que Supper Club is opening soon on Queen East

Toronto’s first-ever barbecue-centric supper club will be launching soon at Queen and Parliament. Que Supper Club will serve what owner Suman Tandon and manager Tristan Yasi describe as “barbecue from around the world.” Think Portuguese-style barbecued chicken, tacos, kebabs and their signature dish, “redneck sushi,” which consists of jambalaya-style rice wrapped around a piece of barbecue, all enclosed by a strip of bacon.

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The Dish

Restaurants

March 4, 2013 | 4:00 pm

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Barbecue joint Marky & Sparky’s Smokehouse is opening in Bloor West Village

Butcher by Nature is launching a new smokehouse where co-owner Frank DiGenova and pitman Marcus De Simone are going to turn the certified-organic, locally-raised meat from Frank and wife Mirella’s nearby butchery into barbecue. The menu at Marky & Sparky’s Smokehouse will include traditional staples like wings, ribs and pulled pork, along with other more experimental fare that’s still in the works, all smothered in house-made rubs and sauces. The new spot is tentatively scheduled to open at the end of the month with only 12 seats—the focus for now is on take-out and delivery—but the couple already has plans for expansion. [The Grid]

Marky & Sparky’s Smokehouse, 520 Annette St., 647-748-4227, Facebook

The Dish

The Month That Was

January 3, 2013 | 4:17 pm

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The Month that Was: the Toronto restaurants and bars that opened and closed in December

Sang Kim’s new Yakitori Bar (Image: Gizelle Lau)

Opening

Yakitori Bar and Seoul Food Co.—Restauranteur Sang Kim (Ki, Blowfish) set an ambitious goal for himself: one restaurant, thirty days. It must’ve been too easy, because he ended up opening two, an izakaya and a Korean takeout joint. Read our Introducing post »
Hawthorne Food and Drink—Chef Eric Wood (Fabarnak) finds inspiration for Hawthorne’s menu in Toronto’s wide array of ethnic cuisines. Bonus: he also runs a paid training program for newly graduated cooks. Read our Introducing post »

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The Dish

Openings

December 20, 2012 | 2:19 pm

8 Comments

Introducing: Smoke BBQ House, Harbord’s new no-nonsense barbecue joint

Owner Francesco Grandi and chef Tony Gallippi (Image: Karolyne Ellacott)

Harbord’s new Smoke BBQ House is the latest restaurant in Toronto dedicated to straightforward southern barbecue. Unlike places like Barque, which offer more elaborate presentations, Smoke serves the goods straight up, with the sauce on the side and a silicone brush to apply it with. First-time restaurateur Francesco Grandi, who still works at an ad agency by day, outfitted the formerly abandoned space with communal picnic tables and a big new picture window facing the street. In the kitchen is head chef Tony Gallippi, whose devotion to barbecue was cemented on trips to across the border to Detroit while he was running a restaurant in Windsor (Motor City, it turns out, has a surprisingly healthy barbecue scene).

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The Dish

Openings

October 18, 2012 | 1:29 pm

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Introducing: Triple A Bar, a new Texas-style barbecue joint and saloon on Adelaide

(Image: Susan Keefe)

Laide, the erotically themed Adelaide and Jarvis cocktail lounge, has gotten a big revamp. The stripper pole and nude relief castings in the entryway are gone, as is the name, a pun on the address and the hoped-for outcome of a night out there. In its place: Triple A Bar, a laid back, neo-rustic joint that offers down-home Texas barbecue and a wide variety of beers, tequilas and bourbons. After the birth of her first child, co-owner Racquel Youtzy returned to work eager to try something new. Inspired by the food and music of Austin, Texas, Youtzy and her partner Tiz Pivetta decided to create a neighbourhood bar that brought some of that feel to the increasingly condo-dominated area.

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The Informer

Politics

September 10, 2012 | 4:38 pm

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Rob Ford re-ignites his election campaign at the biggest Ford Fest ever

(Image: Christopher Drost)

Forget TIFF: The biggest party this weekend was Rob Ford’s annual barbecue. No, seriously—Ford Fest attracted more than 6,000 people to his mom Diane Ford’s backyard in Etobicoke, where they lined up for charred meat, listened to councillor Gary Crawford’s cover band and duly gave their names, addresses and phone numbers for “security purposes.” We’ve rounded up the highlights of this year’s event:

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The Dish

Food Events

September 8, 2012 | 10:30 am

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Weekly Eater: Toronto food events for September 10 to 16

The chef from Copenhagen’s Kiin Kiin, the only Thai restaurant with a Michelin star, is coming to Yours Truly on Wednesday (Image: cyclonebill)

Monday September 10

86’D With Ivy Knight: TIFF Overdrive edition. Join the crew from Fidel Gastro’s as they film an episode of Rebel Without a Kitchen. The Drake, 1150 Queen St. W., 416-531-5042. Find out more »
Piola’s Monday Night Mixer: Piola’s weekly aperitivo Italiano, with cocktail and beer specials and complimentary snacks. 1165 Queen St. W., 416-477-4652. Find out more »
Feast in the East: Chef Maggie Grant demystifies Asian home cooking with a variety of simple, healthy recipes in this hands-on workshop. Menu includes miso scallops with cilantro slaw, Malaysian noodle stir-fry, Panang curry with coconut rice and banana fritters with coconut-lime ice cream. Dish Cooking Studio, 390 Dupont St., 416-920-5559. Find out more »

Tuesday September 11

Escape the City—Canoe and Beach Dining Adventure: Paddle to the island with the Culinary Adventure Company for a gourmet beach picnic. 416-565-1730. Find out more »
Food Fables from the Spice Routes: Join Smita and Sanjeev Chandra to explore how spices transformed the cuisines of the countries through which they were carried. Menu includes chicken satay skewers with peanut sambal dip (Thailand), cucumber salad (Indonesia), Malaysian chicken curry served with nasi goreng (Singapore) and stir-fried cabbage with curry leaves and coconut (India). Kingsway LCBO, 2946 Bloor St. W., 416-239-3065. Find out more »
Star-Struck Menu: In celebration of TIFF, chef Domenic Chiaromonte presents dishes honouring the favourite foods of celebrities. Menu includes Meryl Streep eggplant soufflé, Robert De Niro seared black cod with soba noodles, George Clooney chaya steak and Morgan Freeman key lime pie. LCBO Summerhill, 10 Scrivener Sq., 416-922-0403. Find out more »

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The Informer

Politics

September 7, 2012 | 11:09 am

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Ford Fest 2012 will have police, pony rides and a Pride parade

(Image: Sh4rp_i)

Despite the fact that Ford Fest is open to anyone who cares to schlep over to Rob Ford’s mom’s house in Etobicoke, every year there seems to be some issue with the guest list at the community barbecue. Last year it was speculation over whether Tim Hudak would attend (he did); this year, a contingent from the LGBT community is planning an unofficial Pride parade for this evening’s event. The idea is to help the mayor see what he’s been missing (and, we imagine, to enjoy some hot dogs, beer and pony rides). The group’s Facebook event page explains:

Well, since Rob was too busy to come to any Pride events this year, we are going to bring the Pride Parade to his backyard. After all, everyone is invited.

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For last year’s Canadian National Exhibition, we brought you eight culinary innovations, including the god-awful (but much talked about) Krispy Kreme burger. This year, dubbed by many the year of bacon, we scoured the Ex’s food stands once more to bring you five new gastronomic wonders to check out (or avoid, depending on your stomach). What follows is the account of our perilous journey, complete with readouts from our Regret-o-meter. Consume the following at your own risk »

(Meter image: xlibber)

All stories relating to barbecue

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