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Fancy Toronto restaurants that are now doing delish casual takeout

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Kang Bang fried chicken
Kang Bang fried chicken via @waysofwanderers

Pivoting to takeout and delivery has been a particular challenge for Toronto’s upscale restaurants, many of which have menus that don’t easily translate from dine-in to take home. While some have overcome the hurdle by introducing meal kits or special set menus, others have focused on warming our hearts with unfussy, comfort food fare.

 

Brando’s Fried Chicken

 

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Chef Brandon Olsen has temporarily closed his French restaurant La Banane, instead focusing his takeout efforts on Brando’s Fried Chicken (who can blame him? Fried chicken is certainly more delivery-friendly than sea bass en croute). Olsen had previously hosted occasional fried chicken pop-ups in the pre-COVID era but, since early April, he’s been making it available for takeout from Tuesday to Saturday. The brief menu includes buckets of fried chicken, chicken sandwiches, and sides like macaroni salad, plus his signature CXBO chocolate bars for dessert.

 

Kang Bang Fried Chicken

 

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Brandon Olsen isn’t the only chef catering to our comfort food needs with fried chicken during the pandemic. Canis chef/owner Jeff Kang has partnered with Omai chef/owner Edward Bang to create a new takeout pop-up dubbed Kang Bang Fried Chicken. Chicken combos are served with fries and slaw, and you can choose from varying spice levels for your seasoning. Aside from chicken combos (which range in size from two pieces to a whole bird), they’re also doing sandwiches, chicken tenders, and kimchi. You can add bottles of natural wine or sake to your order if you want to make it fancy.

 

Harry’s Charbroiled

 

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Grant van Gameren’s stylish spots like Quetzal and Bar Raval continue their temporary closures but his casual burger joint, Harry’s Charbroiled, is open for business and slinging out patties. Although the restaurant’s brick-and-mortar location closed last October, Harry’s returned for pick-up and delivery in mid-April. The menu stays simple, offering just a handful of different burger options (including the Red Burg with red chorizo, cheese, pineapple, and jalapeño mayo) and wedge fries.

 

Marbl

 

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King West’s Marbl restaurant has added a number of comforting classics to its American bistro menu since making the move to takeout and delivery. In addition to long-running menu staples like Chinois prawns and tuna nicoise, the restaurant is now serving up hearty fare like Shepherd’s Pie with braised lamb, peas, and a mashed potato crust; and macaroni and cheese with a housemade cheese sauce.

Pizzeria Du

 

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The team behind upscale plant-based restaurant Avelo had been planning to launch a new vegan Italian restaurant on Queen West, but the pandemic combined with the sudden passing of their pizza chef prompted them to switch to a vegan pizza concept instead. Named after their late chef Dualco de Labio, Pizzeria Du features plant-based pies served on a crust that the chef had spent two years perfecting. In addition to takeout pizzas, they’re offering pizza kits and a small selection of grocery items.

The Toronto Six is the newest pro hockey team to come to the city

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Toronto Six
@TheTorontoSix (Twitter)

Recently, any talk to pro sports has revolved around uncertainty and has been a cause of gloom for most of us. In what was supposed to be playoff season, we are getting a bit of good news for hockey fans. Toronto is the first Canadian city to have a team in the National Women’s Hockey League and the team is aptly named the Toronto Six. The team unveiled its name, colours and logo on Tuesday.

Toronto is also the sixth team to join the league, joining the Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters and the Minnesota Whitecaps. The season is set to begin in November.

“This will be an organization with strong fan, community and corporate support, outstanding coaching, training, and player development, and a club dedicated to promoting hockey as a game for everyone,” said Johanna Neilson Boynton who is leading the ownership team in a statement. “Although this pandemic is challenging everyone in profound ways today, and we are very mindful of that, our outlook for women’s sports remains positive.”

 

 

“We wanted a bold, clean and modern brand for the team, for the game and for the city,” said Tyler Tumminia, chairman of the Toronto Six in a statement.

In total, 13 players have committed to playing for the Toronto Six and a dozen of them are Canadian. Local talent on the team includes Thornhill’s Natalie Marcuzzi, Mississauga’s Kelly Babstock and Brampton’s Mikyla Grant-Mentis.

Marcuzzi was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NWHL draft and previously played in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League for the Mississauga Chiefs. Babstock signed with the Toronto Six on May 2, this will be her fifth season playing in the NWHL. Grant-Mentis played four games for the Buffalo Beauts at the end of last season and is now joining the Six as a forward.

For more information on the team, head to toronto.nwhl.zone.

Toronto Zoo’s new drive-thru experience set to open this weekend

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zoo drive-thru
Toronto Zoo

Toronto residents will get their first look at the Toronto Zoo’s new Drive-Thru Experience when it opens to the public this weekend. 

Tickets will go on sale May 22 at 11 a.m.

The zoo drive-thru experience will take place on formerly staff-only roads, and pedestrian walkways throughout the site and will even include a tour of the lion cave in the African Savanna. 

“We are so excited to introduce this new experience to our guests. We have truly missed welcoming people to our Toronto Zoo and this is a new and innovative way for our guests to enjoy the Zoo in the safety of their own vehicles,” says Dolf DeJong, CEO of the Toronto Zoo.

“I want to personally thank all the Toronto Zoo staff for creating this experience and to our key stakeholders including the Province of Ontario, City of Toronto, Toronto Public Health and Toronto Emergency Services for their ongoing support of this new program.”

 

 

Upon entering the zoo drive-thru, patrons will follow the 3.4-kilometre Scenic Safari driving route and observe the zoo animals from their own vehicles. The tour will take approximately 45 minutes to one hour to complete. Included in the tour are the following zoo areas: Indo-Malaya, African Savanna, Americas, and Eurasia. 

There will be pre-recorded audio with educational content to help guide the experience, which can be downloaded in advance in podcast format.

Admission price per car is $44 for non-members and $32 for members in a car with two or fewer occupants. And in a car with three or more occupants that price is $59 for non-members and $47 for members. 

The Pickle Barrel donates thousands of meals to frontline workers across the GTA

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Toronto restaurants have been put to the test during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many have stepped up to the challenge and are not just surviving they are even giving back to the community. One such example is The Pickle Barrel, which has donated over 6,000 lunches to frontline workers in healthcare centres across Ontario over the last few months.

The Pickle Barrel first opened its doors in 1971 as a local restaurant selling deli on Leslie Street.  What started as a six-person operation eventually grew to 13 locations with over 1,000 employees across the GTA. 

Such success has paved the way for many opportunities to invest back in the communities that have supported the restaurant over the years. Pickle Barrel president and owner Peter Higley has spearheaded efforts to support local sports teams, community events, charities, and hospitals over the years. 

It’s thus little surprise that The Pickle Barrel has continued this tradition in the face of the pandemic. Eldercare facilities have been some of the hardest hit by the coronavirus, so who better to direct support right now than health workers supporting Ontario seniors?  

“It’s the right thing to do. We’re fully committed to helping our community,” says Higley. “The initiative started with wanting to thank frontline workers for their bravery and so the team wanted to give something warm to feed the soul. The least we can do is provide something back.”

The Pickle Barrel has donated free lunches to Seven Oaks Nursing Home, Lakeshore Lodge, Kipling Acres, Hawthorne Place Care Centre, Eatonville Care Centre, The Donway Retirement Residence, Castleview Wychwood Towers, and many more health care centres across the province.

On top of that, every Pickle Barrel Restaurant is now offering 40 per cent off curbside pick-up for all health care workers. They’re putting themselves at risk to keep the population healthy, so keeping them well-fed is a most worthy investment.

“The Pickle Barrel has always been there for our community and we’re proud of our team who took great pleasure in being able to give something back,” says Higley.

How to make chef Rob Gentile’s signature nodini from the Buca menu

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buca recipe

As many of us find ourselves cooking at home instead of dining out, we’re sharing recipes from some of Toronto’s top chefs and restaurants.

At chef Rob Gentile’s Buca restaurants, his signature nodini are a smash hit. “These have been in my family for as long as I can remember,” chef notes. “My mother or aunt started making knots with leftover pizza or bread dough.” Chef admits: “We’re kinda famous for them!”

Nodini

Makes 30

Ingredients

  • 2 g fresh yeast (or 1 g dry)
  • 168 ml warm water
  • 280 g artisan bread flour
  • 5 g salt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Crumble yeast in a countertop mixer, adding warm water to dissolve. (If using dry yeast, dissolve in the warm water and wait a minute or two to allow the yeast to activate.)

Add flour to the mix. Do not add salt yet!

Mix at low speed for 10 minutes, then high speed for two minutes.

After the first five minutes of mixing, sprinkle the salt in evenly over the dough.

Place finished dough in a sealed container and let rest on the countertop at room temperature for one hour.

Next, using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it’s about 1 cm thick, dusting liberally with flour to prevent sticking. Cut into strips about 1 cm in width, and about 5 cm in length. It’s important that these finished knots be 12 to 13 g each, for even cooking time and presentation.

Tie off each strip of dough into a simple knot. If some strips feel a little bigger than others, you can twist a little off the bottom as you tie it.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and place knots evenly on it, allowing enough space between for the knots to double in size. Cover the pan loosely with clear food wrap and place somewhere warm for approximately 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Bake until golden brown in colour. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together olive oil, sea salt, minced garlic and finely chopped rosemary.

While still hot out of the oven, toss nodini in oil mixture and serve right away.

Finding the silver lining in this pandemic

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COVID silver lining

joanne kates

Parenting columnist Joanne Kates is an expert educator in the areas of conflict mediation, self-esteem and anti-bullying, and she is the director of Camp Arowhon in Algonquin Park.


What exactly is a silver lining? First thought: It’s that thing we’re supposed to find under the cloud cover, to try to be okay with bad stuff. Second thought: Silver linings are what separate the wannabes from the people who soldier on despite their circumstances, however challenging. Like my friend Barbara who’s had four cancers. When I call her and ask about her day, she pretty much always says it’s a great day. Why? Because she made a commitment to herself to always dance in the rain, metaphorically speaking.

This is the COVID opportunity.

We would never have chosen it, but silver linings do have upsides: They grow grit. Every time we struggle to create or locate a silver lining, we become that person who responds to the rain by dancing. We literally create new neural pathways to positivity. This is what the yogis and the meditation folks call a practice. They say practice because the finding of silver linings is an effortful journey with no destination, but rather a labour to commit to a positive perspective – in the face of darkness.

It is the commitment to find joy in every day. And in making that commitment, we become that resilient person we so admire. COVID offers us that. Some call it cultivating an attitude of gratitude.

So, where to find the silver linings today? Family dinner! We are no longer the fragmented family of normal times, with everyone going in five different directions all the time, in a mad rush. We slow down. We connect. We listen better to each other.

Then there are chores, normally the province of parental nagging and offspring backtalk. COVID has made household chores both more visible, and more apparently necessary to human life.

I am embarrassed to admit that pre-COVID I was not on a first-name basis with the washer, the dryer or the broom. Since laying off the lady who normally does that work in our house, we have discovered that we are capable of cleaning. We do it together. My previous resistance to any act of cleaning, rather like an adolescent’s, has been demolished by necessity. This too is a silver lining.

Families are cooking together, bonding over banana bread, sourdough, barbecue burgers, and doing the dishes. Another silver lining.

Before COVID, our kids did not see us work. Now they see us working at the dining room table — and worrying about making a living, worrying about the future. They empathize. They see us a little more as people. We too see them differently these days. Deprived of direct contact with their friends, they have no choice but to be more friendly with us. This is the silver lining called kindness.

The people we love, who previously were often irritants, are now all we’ve got; necessity is making us more generous. Everyone’s vulnerability is so clear and obvious that we are inspired to be kinder to each other. Love can grow in troubled times.

Doug Ford’s cheesecake recipe is classic, but here is where to find the best in Toronto

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Doug Ford cheesecake
Cooking with Doug

Premier Doug Ford has teased his much-ballyhooed cheesecake recipe for a couple of weeks and he has finally released it via social media this morning. The video episode called Cooking With Doug is just in time for a long weekend family baking project.

“I learned this recipe years ago off my mother when I was 10 years old, and I just had it kind of memorized. She made such an awesome cheesecake and she learned the recipe off her sister, my Aunt Wendy,” chef Doug explains in the video.

The cheesecake is fairly standard including cream cheese and icing sugar filling and whipped cream on a graham cracker crust with cherries on top. But the premier is proud of his culinary talent, or at least his appreciation of cheesecake.

“If I wasn’t premier I’d open up a Cheesecake Factory,” Ford says, at the conclusion of the video.

Of course, if one has a cheesecake craving this weekend, there are alternatives available from some of the finest bakeries in the city. Last year, TRNTO.com had chef Mark McEwan test the best we could find in the Toronto area.

The winner was a certain dolce du leche gem found at Phipps Desserts, which has been a staple of the dessert scene in Toronto for decades.

Check out the results here.

Four quick tricks to give your backyard a facelift

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sarah keenleyside backyard builds
Sarah Keenleyside

As an interior designer that has ventured into exterior design on my show Backyard Builds, I know better than anyone that the backyard tends to be the last place that people prioritize renovation work for their homes. However, it’s interesting how much that has shifted over these past few months.

More than ever, people are seeing the value of their precious outdoor space and realizing that they have been underutilizing its potential. Seeing as we will be spending more time than ever at home this spring and summer, here are some quick and easy tips to give your outdoor space an instant facelift.

Paint it black

Do you have a shed, garage, or fence in your backyard that has seen better days but still has a lot of life left in it? Consider painting it black! I know that may sound scary, but black really shines in the backyard for several reasons. An opaque black stain is a great way to make a discoloured fence look like new. Black paint on a shed disguises a lot of wear and tear and instantly makes it look more contemporary. Best of all, your greenery looks extra vibrant when anchored with black.

Outdoor drapes

A quick and easy way to add instant glam to your backyard is adding outdoor drapery. I love adding white gauzy panels to each corner of a pergola and tying them back. The soft white fabric really softens the harder lines of the lumber and makes you feel like you are on vacation. Consider installing some simple aircraft cable on the underside of your front porch or balcony and use that to hang seasonal drapery with clips. You will want to make sure you are using outdoor fabric that is mould resistant. Alternately, white mosquito netting is a great cost effective way to get this look.

Lighting

Make the most of your outdoor space by using it at night. Outdoor lighting is the best way to set the tone in your backyard. Get rid of any harsh florescent style lighting and opt for warm toned soft lighting. Don’t worry about hiring an electrician, there is a lot you can do with simple plug-in lighting. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge fan of LED Edison bulb style string lights in the backyard. They are a great way to illuminate your space and give off a soft warm glow. On a sturdy branch, hang an open weave basket shade on an exterior rated lightbulb cord set and you have an outdoor pendant light. I love doing this over a dining table to create an intimate outdoor dining room.

Bright white

White outdoor cushions sound like they would be a bad idea right? They are not and believe me, I live in an urban area where the racoons might outnumber the humans. A good quality white outdoor fabric is a great investment. A white base cushion is a timeless complement to any and every accent pillow. The sun can be very hard on coloured fabric and naturally bleaches colours out. White has nowhere to go but whiter! White fabric can also be bleached, so at the end of each season before you pack up your outdoor cushions, give them a good wash with some bleach and they will be looking as good as new.

Catch Sarah Keenleyside as co-host of HGTV Canada’s Backyard Builds on Thursday nights at 9 p.m.

Leadership in a crisis: Tips from Jeremy Diamond

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During times of uncertainty, effective leadership skills are critical. Even the most natural leaders can struggle during a crisis and lose their sense of leadership. So, how do people manage during a crisis? Jeremy Diamond, Senior Partner of Canadian personal injury law firm, Diamond & Diamond, has learned a thing or two about how to lead his team of 40+ lawyers and hundreds of support staff through times of uncertainty. Diamond recently shared some tips he’s learned along the way that are sure to improve how you’re managing your team during times of crisis.

Be Flexible in the Face of Uncertainty

While it would be ideal if everything could go to plan, it’s unlikely that it will. Be prepared to have to make quick decisions on the fly for the benefit of your team and your business.

Remain Calm, Confident, and Optimistic

To reduce panic amongst your team members, act as a role model and show them that you are confident you will weather the storm together.

Support Your Staff

Empathy is an important quality for any leader. Let your employees know that you can relate to similar struggles, and understand their needs.

Maintain Regular Communication With Your Team

Let your colleagues know you’re still a team and that they can reach out to you when necessary. Keeping them up-to-date on how the crisis is affecting your company can improve trust and help allay their fears related to job loss or other work-related concerns.

Offer Communication

It’s a good idea to offer all employees with messaging and talking points to ensure a cohesive message about your organization’s response to this crisis. This way, employees know what to say to their friends, family, and peers in order to keep them up to date.

Personalize Messages to The Public

It’s not just your team that needs to be kept up to speed, you should also personalize messages to the public. Speaking directly to your customers, clients, stakeholders, partners and vendors can help assure them that your business will emerge from the other side of this crisis as strong as ever.

Share Your Business’s Values

Be open and honest about your and your organization’s values. Let everyone know what’s important to you and your company and what matters the most. Reassuring everybody that you’re not prepared to recommence business until it’s completely safe for you to do so can really boost your public image.

Demonstrating your leadership qualities during a crisis can really help to improve morale amongst your team. Letting them know that you’re here for them when they need you and that your team is still a team, is vital. Follow these pointers from Jeremy Diamond, and you’ll emerge from the other side of this crisis as strong as you were before.

About Jeremy Diamond

Jeremy Diamond is a lawyer and member of both Ontario and Florida Bars. Jeremy practices in the area of Plaintiff personal injury litigation. Click here to learn more about Jeremy Diamond.

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Toronto-based delivery app Ritual partners with city to help support restaurant industry

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Ritual-Toronto
Souvlaki to-go at the Agora @ritual_co

A new partnership between the City of Toronto and ordering platform Ritual could be good news for restaurants, as the debate around the steep fees charged by third-party delivery apps continues to heat up.

Mayor John Tory announced today that the city is teaming up with Ritual to offer local businesses an affordable solution for accepting orders online and onsite.

Founded in 2014, with headquarters in Toronto and San Francisco, Ritual allows users to place meal orders for themselves and their workplace teams and have it ready for pick-up at local restaurants. Primarily marketed to office workers, Ritual has taken some hits of its own during the pandemic, laying off over half of its employees and pulling out of several European markets.

 

 

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The new Ritual ONE service, developed by the company with support from the City of Toronto, promises to make it easier for restaurants and food purveyors, like grocers and bakeries, to process digital orders through their own websites and social channels. Ritual ONE will allow businesses to offer both delivery and pick-up, as well as to streamline ordering onsite to reduce line-ups and promote social distancing.

The big selling point for restaurants, however, is that businesses that sign-up before June 1 can use the service free “for life” with no commission or monthly subscription fees on Ritual ONE orders. The service will then officially launch on June 8.

In the past, Ritual has typically taken a 15 percent commission fee and charged businesses $49.99 per month (fortunately, the new offer will reportedly also be available to restaurants that are already on the platform). Most third-party delivery platforms, like Uber Eats, charge between 10 and 30 percent commission on orders.

As restaurants continue to rely on takeout alone for revenue, these high third party fees have become a source of controversy. Restaurateurs have increasingly looked for ways to offer delivery in-house in an effort to boost their profits.

Roger Yang, owner of Pizzeria Du, for example, recently told the Toronto Star that he hired staff for in-house curbside delivery. He’s in talks with other restaurants to create a cooperative that would see them sharing delivery resources.

 

 

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The partnership between the City of Toronto and Ritual offers a potential new solution that could allow restaurants to offer delivery without paying hefty fees.

According to a City of Toronto press release, the new service is part of the Mayor’s Economic Support and Recovery Task Force’s short-term economic support and recovery plan for Toronto’s businesses.

Ritual ONE is also joining forces with ShopHERE, an initiative that’s building online stores for other independent Toronto businesses.

“I want to thank Ritual — a Toronto tech success story — for developing Ritual ONE and partnering with us at this critical time as we begin the work of rebuilding our economy,” said Tory in the press release. “It is through partnerships such as this that we can help our local businesses, especially the restaurant and food services sector, survive and help our entire economy thrive again.”

City’s first ‘social-distance friendly’ drive-in concert will hit Toronto this summer

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drive-in concert

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of several major events across the GTA, but Toronto band July Talk is taking a different approach to reach their fans. They will perform live in a pair of concerts on August 12 and 13 at a drive-in movie theatre just outside of Toronto.

 


The location is revealed upon ticket purchase, and fans will be able to listen to the live music via their car radios, similar to a retro drive-in movie.  Social media response to, what’s being dubbed as a ‘social-distance friendly’ event, has been overwhelmingly positive.

One user wrote, “This is just more proof that you’re one of the best bands in the entire world right now.”

While another wrote, “This is so cool. I’m stoked.”

Other festivals and events across Canada are similarly finding creative ways to reach people. B.C.’s Summerset Music and Arts Festival, which is usually hosted at Fort Langley, will also be a drive-in event at the end of August.

 

 

Even art is getting immersive, with the world’s first drive-in digital art exhibition taking place in Toronto this June. The Immersive Van Gogh exhibit will allow people to be immersed in 600,000 cubic feet of giant projections that highlight Van Gogh’s brushstroke, detail, and colouring. Fourteen vehicles are allowed during a time slot, and participants can enjoy the exhibition for 35 minutes from inside their cars.

 

 

Going virtual has also been another option for residents to interact in a safe way. In Toronto, PRIDE will go virtual this year, with online programming throughout June, featuring a lineup of DJs, performers, artists, singers and dancers.

 

Top North York Mediterranean restaurant launches takeout

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O&B’s popular North York Mediterranean restaurant Babel is reopening for takeout today.

The Bridle Path restaurant, which first opened in late 2019, is known for its live-fire cooking and cuisine that draws influence from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, including Greece, Turkey, Israel, Morocco, and Lebanon.

Babel’s new takeout menu features a mix of prepared dishes and heat-at-home meals. Appetizers include the restaurant’s house-made hummus, while falafel pita with fries and lamb shank barbacoa are among the hearty mains available.

The heat-at-home options mostly veer away from Babel’s Mediterranean theme and instead draw from O&B’s new grocery service offerings. The comfort-food-focused meals include lasagne, chicken pot pie, and truffled mac and cheese.

 

 

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Babel also announced on Instagram that they’ve partnered with the Playlist Co. to curate a special Babel-themed Spotify playlist, which can be found by searching #spreadgoodvibes25.

You might not be able to watch live-fire cooking at home, but the playlist aims to bring a little Mediterranean mood to your meal.

Babel joins several other O&B restaurants that have reopened for takeout after initially closing amid the pandemic: R&DLiberty Commons, and Beauty BBQ  are all currently open for pick-up and delivery.

The hospitality group also recently debuted a grocery delivery service that allows customers to stock up on ingredient boxes, beer, wine, and liquor, pantry and grocery items, as well as an expanded collection of heat-at-home meals.

The service initially launched for delivery only, but they’ve since added a curbside pick-up option.

Babel’s takeout program launches today and will run from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Pick-up orders can be placed through their website, and they’re set to go live soon on Uber Eats for delivery.