The weather was flawless last night as The Stop once again set up shop in the alley and parking lot behind Honest Ed’s for its annual Night Market. With tickets for the two-night event selling out in just two hours, you would have expected the usual pandemonium from a city food event, but instead, the crowd was calm as it weaved its way through 40-plus vendors serving everything from beef tartare to custom cocktails.
The restaurant space on Winchester Street has been a killer forever. Whoever goes in there sinks like stone. There have been some dogs in that space … and some good ones that also died. What do foodies have against Cabbagetown, other than it isn’t Dundas West?
Evidently, Matt Dean Pettit, owner of Rock Lobster Food Co., doesn’t like downtime. Just six months after having successfully transitioned his pop-up food company into a bricks-and-mortar restaurant on Ossington, the young restaurateur has opened a second location on Queen West, in the former home of Shanghai Cowgirl.
Bar Isabel is one of the city’s hottest eateries. Chef Grant van Gameren’s ode to the Barcelonan tapas bar comes gussied up with mismatched tiles and multicoloured pendant lamps, which act as a charming backdrop to the murmur of folks tucking into their grub. Noteworthy eats include the whole fish ceviche and a dish of porcini, scallop and oh-so-tender blood sausage.
Around two years ago, Arts Market opened on Queen East as a year-round indoor market selling art, clothing, jewellery, baked goods, antiques and more. Now the market is headed to the Dufferin Grove neighbourhood with an upcoming new location at 856 College, near Ossington.
Since opening his first coffee shop on Harbord Street in 2009, Sam James has tweaked his product relentlessly. He’s pimped out his espresso machines, added high-tech water filtration systems and undergone sommelier training to refine his palate. And now he’s taken one of his biggest steps yet: he’s roasting his own coffee.
Toronto-based musicians Lily Frost and José Miguel Contreras found each other through their love for music. The two balance writing, recording, performing and touring as separate artists on top of their love life, and, despite their hectic schedules, the indie singer and By Divine Right front man have managed to develop a lasting relationship as well as a beautiful family.
In the Toronto episode of The Layover, Anthony Bourdain states that Scott Vivian, chef at Beast restaurant, is the reason why he decided to further explore Hogtown. The homey eatery, a hop, skip and a jump away from the hubbub of Queen West, has earned a solid reputation for its brunch. Come weekend, patio-dwellers laze away afternoons, tucking into hearty grub while sipping on Caesars and mimosas.
A show booked into Peterborough’s Showplace Theatre in April advertised itself as the No Foul Language Standup Comedy Tour. The cutline is “100% Funny, 0% Profanity,” and the show was taped by CBC’s radio series Laugh Out Loud. Seven experienced comedians participated in the show, but none were household names.
The weather was flawless last night as The Stop once again set up shop in the alley and parking lot behind Honest Ed’s for its annual Night Market. With tickets for the two-night event selling out in just two hours, you would have expected the usual pandemonium from a city food event, but instead, the crowd was calm as it weaved its way through 40-plus vendors serving everything from beef tartare to custom cocktails.
The restaurant space on Winchester Street has been a killer forever. Whoever goes in there sinks like stone. There have been some dogs in that space … and some good ones that also died. What do foodies have against Cabbagetown, other than it isn’t Dundas West?
Evidently, Matt Dean Pettit, owner of Rock Lobster Food Co., doesn’t like downtime. Just six months after having successfully transitioned his pop-up food company into a bricks-and-mortar restaurant on Ossington, the young restaurateur has opened a second location on Queen West, in the former home of Shanghai Cowgirl.
Bar Isabel is one of the city’s hottest eateries. Chef Grant van Gameren’s ode to the Barcelonan tapas bar comes gussied up with mismatched tiles and multicoloured pendant lamps, which act as a charming backdrop to the murmur of folks tucking into their grub. Noteworthy eats include the whole fish ceviche and a dish of porcini, scallop and oh-so-tender blood sausage.
Since opening his first coffee shop on Harbord Street in 2009, Sam James has tweaked his product relentlessly. He’s pimped out his espresso machines, added high-tech water filtration systems and undergone sommelier training to refine his palate. And now he’s taken one of his biggest steps yet: he’s roasting his own coffee.
In the Toronto episode of The Layover, Anthony Bourdain states that Scott Vivian, chef at Beast restaurant, is the reason why he decided to further explore Hogtown. The homey eatery, a hop, skip and a jump away from the hubbub of Queen West, has earned a solid reputation for its brunch. Come weekend, patio-dwellers laze away afternoons, tucking into hearty grub while sipping on Caesars and mimosas.
How is a new izakaya in Toronto supposed to set itself apart from the rest? Ryoji, an export straight from Okinawa, Japan, offers both ramen and izakaya fare to the hungry Toronto public.
Weekly Restaurant Recap rounds up the week’s Toronto restaurant news. In this edition: a new sandwich shop for the U of T crowd, an indie café closes, a new resto-bar in Kensington Market and more.
Produced from the fruit of 80-year-old Assyrtiko vines, this wine is pale straw in colour. You can smell the volcanic soil in which the grapes were grown, giving it a minerally, smoky, melon nose; it’s medium-bodied with a crisply dry, crab apple flavour carried on lively acidity.
Around two years ago, Arts Market opened on Queen East as a year-round indoor market selling art, clothing, jewellery, baked goods, antiques and more. Now the market is headed to the Dufferin Grove neighbourhood with an upcoming new location at 856 College, near Ossington.
Holt Renfrew’s offshoot store, HR2, recently opened their second Canadian location in Vaughan Mills in May. And although the store is merely a branch of the Holt Renfrew tree, shoppers will be happy to know that luxury is still the root that Holt’s hopes to grow its success from.
Earlier this month, Parkdale welcomed Sylvie and Shimmy, a new womenswear store, to the neighbourhood. For most buisiness owners, nabbing a location that attracts the right clientele is half the battle, so when Caroline Sylvester and Kyungjoo Shim found a spot in Parkdale for their shop, it was a no-brainer.
Jeanne Beker scours the city and finds eight Father’s Day gifts that even hard-to-please dads won’t return.
Power Ball, the annual fundraiser for The Power Plant, has become synonymous with bacchanalian sublimation. Bay Streeters don on-theme costumes and mingle with Hogtown’s boho set, who often use the event as an excuse to strut their most outlandish outfits.
Featuring womenswear made exclusively in Italy, Rinascimento recently opened its doors in two GTA locations — the Promenade and Sherway Gardens — on May 1. The new shop specializes in fast fashion (“rinascimento” is an Italian term that translates to “rebirth”), which means it surveys the current trends in the fashion market, then creates clothes and gets them to the buyer as quickly as possible.
Since the ’70s, Canadian shoe designer John Fluevog has earned renown for his innovative footwear for men and women. Fluevog’s first Toronto store opened on Queen West in 1989, and earlier this month a second Toronto location opened in the Distillery District.
There are only a few stores in Toronto that are decidedly Canadian in spirit, but Francesco Fiore and Pamela Hopson are hoping to generate enthusiasm towards our home and native land with their new Parkdale store, North Standard Trading Post.
Earlier this month, Rosedale’s Drake General Store relocated to Yonge and Eglinton. The reason for the move? Simple: the new location offers more retail space than either of the other two stores.
Toronto-based musicians Lily Frost and José Miguel Contreras found each other through their love for music. The two balance writing, recording, performing and touring as separate artists on top of their love life, and, despite their hectic schedules, the indie singer and By Divine Right front man have managed to develop a lasting relationship as well as a beautiful family.
A show booked into Peterborough’s Showplace Theatre in April advertised itself as the No Foul Language Standup Comedy Tour. The cutline is “100% Funny, 0% Profanity,” and the show was taped by CBC’s radio series Laugh Out Loud. Seven experienced comedians participated in the show, but none were household names.
The hot topic about relationships these days is “sleep divorce,” which is essentially making the decision to not share the same bed as your partner. It was in the news recently after a British sleep expert, Neil Stanley, declared, “We sleep better when we sleep alone.” For some, the idea makes sense. For others, it is unimaginable.
In honour of the Taste of Little Italy, old-school eateries Café Diplomatico and Bar Italia battle for the boot. Who is flying Italia’s true colours? Whose marinara is worth chowing down? You decide.
It’s Thursday, and the weekend is fast approaching. Need stuff to see or do? We’ve got you covered. In this edition, Italian pride on College Street, a celebration of Roncesvalles, a Japanese film festival and more.
Whenever I mention to fellow theatre-lovers that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats is one of my favourite musicals, I receive a chortle in response. Maybe it’s because when the musical first launched here 28 years ago, it was the only spectacle to see in town (“Whenever you went on a date, you went to Cats,” someone recently said to me, rather bitterly).
Toronto has a lot to be concerned about these days — from Mayor Rob Ford’s continued antics to the failings of almost every professional sports franchise the city has to offer. But the local music scene has always been a source of pride. So with summer right around the corner, we are celebrating the contributions of local musicians to the city.
Few people know about the pressures on Toronto’s green spaces better than the residents of the Yonge-Eglinton neighbourhood. A pressure that has recently been increased as the hoarding goes up around the soon-to-be-built-over open space at Yonge Eglinton Centre — another loss for the community.
It’s that time of the year again. North by Northeast, the annual music festival that brings hundreds of bands to Toronto, kicks off this week — and the slew of shows to check out can be a bit overwhelming.
