November 2017

Janet Zuccarini has made plenty of waves around T.O. thanks to her knack for stellar restaurants. Since opening Yorkville’s Trattoria Nervosa back in ’96, she’s added Gusto 101, Pai, Kiin and, most recently, Chubby’s to her Rolodex of restos.

Last Sunday, restaurant impresario Grant van Gameren (Bar Isabel, Bar Raval, Harry’s Charbroiled, El Rey, Tennessee Tavern) kicked off the holiday season with a two-for-one celebration. In tandem with his Coats for Cocktails event — a donation of a winter coat got revellers a cocktail on the house — van Gameren also hosted Toronto’s first annual pierogi-eating contest at Tennessee Tavern.

Midtown has a new restaurant dishing up “soul food”. No, not the jerk chicken or stewed oxtail variety but “whole food for the soul.” A lawyer and sometime food blogger Sarah Huggins and her partner are behind the new Mary Be, located at Yonge and St. Clair.

Whether overtly or just secretly, Torontonians are buzzing with excitement for The Cheesecake Factory’s Canadian debut at Yorkdale Mall on November 21, 2017.

Irene and Shelley Zelden recently opted to return to their roots with Zelden’s Deli and Desserts.

Bowls are another main draw. The Obi Wan Bulgogi ($15) has been the top seller to date. (We’re pretty sure that name has helped steer its path to popularity.) Beginning with a bed of black rice, the meal-in-a-bowl is loaded up with purple cabbage, roasted broccolini and a poached egg.

It seems Toronto restaurateurs are still enamored with Mediterranean cuisine and Ossington Avenue. The latest addition is Bar Sybanne in the former home of Yours Truly, near the intersection with Dundas West.

Ideas perpetuated through prohibition have given birth to the “stoner” image and also led to the widespread acceptance that THC, one of the psychoactive components in cannabis, will cause schizophrenia. This notion has kept dozens of researchers from exploring the anti-psychotic potential of cannabidiol (CBD), another cannabis compound that is non-psychoactive and shows promise in treatment of psychosis.

Taste of Iceland returns to the city in full force this year; hosted by Iceland Naturally. The four-day long festival hopes to inspire Torontonians to soak up the Nordic country’s cuisine, music, film and literature. Iceland is full of enchanting natural wonders, beauty and creativity - but if you’ve yet to visit the breathtaking land, fear not, they’re conveniently setting up (temporary) digs in the heart of downtown Toronto with numerous engaging and informative events — many of which are free.