Corey Mintz’s 50 Under $50 List

By

-

9:57 am

For our 2018 list of the 50 best restaurants where two can dine for $50 or less, we asked food writer Corey Mintz to eat his way through the GTA. After many meals from Mississauga to Scarborough and everywhere in between, he has determined the top 50 must-try spots and what you’ve got to eat at each one.

1 Hopper Hut

880 Ellesmere Rd
Scarborough, ON M1P 2L8
(416) 299-4310

There are so many good (and filling) things to eat at Hopper Hut that it’s disrespectful to come here without a crew. Start with hoppers, a crepe-like batter cooked into a bowl shape, eaten with chili/coconut chutneys and curries. From there, get a bowl of mild mutton curry and blast furnace-spicy crab curry, with roti for dipping. Then move on to kothu roti, a griddle-fried hash of roti, onion, chili, egg and meat. You can order most of the dishes with a choice of mutton, beef, chicken, squid or shrimp. For the lamprais (bindle-sized packages of rice, vegetables, curry, egg and dried fish wrapped in banana leaf), whatever meat you choose will be dwarfed by the remaining ingredients.

For the most up-to-date information, view Hopper Hut’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

2 P.G. Clucks

610 College St
Toronto, ON M6G 1B4
(416) 539-8224
https://www.pgclucks.com/

If you’re going to do one thing, do it well. Pawel Grezlikowski took that to heart and has done his thing, fried chicken sandwiches, exceedingly well. Starting with whole legs, Grezlikowski removes the bones before brining the meat, then soaking it in buttermilk. Despite demand at the high-volume, small space (his shop is 200 square feet), he won’t pre-cook the chicken in batches for quick service. Instead, each piece is fried to order for approximately six and a half minutes. The shop makes their own fermented hot sauce and buttermilk sauce. The only parts of the sandwich that are outsourced are the pickles (Vlasic bread & butter) and buns (Thuet Bakery), which are intentionally just the right size to be held in one hand while the ample chicken spills out over the side. In a town ripe with the low-hanging, trendy fruit of fried chicken sandwiches, Cluck’s stands out for a product with superior consistency, integrity, quality and taste. There’s no room to sit. But the sandwiches are available for delivery to your table next door at craft beer mecca Birreria Volo.

For the most up-to-date information, view P.G. Clucks’ listing in our new restaurant directory.

3 Lion City

1177 Central Pkwy W
Mississauga, ON L5C 4P3
(905) 281-0860
https://www.lioncityrestaurant.ca/

The long menu at Lion City reflects the influence of the regions that surround Singapore: gado gado (salad of blanched vegetables with peanut dressing) and rendang (meat simmered in coconut milk, then pounded and fried) from Indonesia; various Thai curries; rojak (fruit salad with spicy shrimp paste dressing), hokkien mee (fried noodles) and chili crab from Singapore; nasi lemak (coconut rice served with dried anchovies and a fried egg, usually eaten for breakfast) and char kway teow (lard-fried flat noodles with shrimp and eggs) from Malaysia and Singapore. With so many rewarding choices, it’s impossible not to order too much here. But go ahead. You’ll take the leftovers home.

For the most up-to-date information, view Lion City’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

4 White Lily Diner

678 Queen St E
Toronto, ON M4M 1G8
(416) 901-7800
https://www.whitelilydiner.ca/

The owners of this 29-seat diner don’t make a big deal of it, but they smoke their own pastrami, ferment their own pickles and bake their own bread. They even make doughnuts, in different flavours, every day. And the attention to detail, quality and freshness pays off. Everything on their concise menu — smoked turkey sandwich, biscuits, grits, sausage gravy — is a gem. Chef Ben Denham’s time at casual restaurants with high standards (Electric Mud, Hoof Cafe) has been distilled down to a collection of dishes that offer heavy, blockbuster satisfaction (buttermilk griddle cakes with cottage cheese, patty melt with poblano relish). And there are lighter options (kale caesar, blanched broccoli salad) to mitigate post-pancake lethargy.

For the most up-to-date information, view White Lily Diner’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

5 King Place

236 Sherbourne St
Toronto, ON M5A 3X2
(647) 352-0786
https://www.kingplacerestaurant.com/

This fluorescent-lit room located at a chaotic intersection is not a great place to sit down for a romantic meal, but the Pakistani cuisine is outstanding and ideally suited for takeout or delivery. Owner Mehood Meer (known as Mr. Butt) has a deft hand with ginger, coriander, butter, cumin and fenugreek. When something is spicy here, like the nihari beef, it is forehead-mopping spicy. Buttery naan is cooked fresh to order. Despite the wide variety of slow-cooked meats, no two dishes taste the same: each is a thoughtful calibration of flavours with a potency barely contained by Styrofoam containers, their magic released in the form of spiced steam as you remove the lids at home.

For the most up-to-date information, view King Place’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

6 Pasta Baldassarre

122 Geary Ave
Toronto, ON M6H 4H1
(647) 293-5395
https://famigliabaldassarre.com/

When Leandro Baldassarre moved his pasta manufacturing business into its space on Geary Avenue, his plan to serve lunch became ensnared in licensing red tape. So, for half a year, he operated PastaBaldassarre as a speakeasy, with only locals knowing to check Instagram for announcements of daily menus. Now that Baldassarre is legit, the lunch counter is no longer Toronto’s little secret, and the queue for the nine seats is often out the door. There is a revolving collection of lunch specials: chestnut-filled buckwheat medaglia, tortelli dizucca, agnolotti in sage butter, cavatelli with anchovies andrapini. Beyond the cliquey appeal, Baldassarre is a worthy destination because they serve a superb bowl of pasta.

For the most up-to-date information, view Pasta Baldassarre’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

7 Faley

42 Rexdale Blvd
Etobicoke, ON M9W 5Z3
416-746-4948
https://www.faleyrestaurant.ca/

Some measure food by how hard it is to stop thinking about it. And Faley’s gan-ben beef, fried nubs of meat encased in a sugary coating (let’s not pretend it’s anything else that makes it sweet) is embedded in my brain’s craving centre. Every time we come here, we say we’re going to order vegetables and we never do (though the vegetable pakoras are packed with peas and broccoli). After the saucy and garlicky noodles, chili chicken glazed with sweet soy sauce and laced with fingers of onion, who has room? If anything we always talk about ordering another plate of the beef. Quality is consistent at both locations of the Hakka restaurant.

For the most up-to-date information, view Faley’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

8 Centre Street Deli

1136 Centre St.
Thornhill, ON L4J 3M8
(905) 731-8037
https://www.centrestreetdeli.com/

Here is the best Montreal smoked meat money can buy: Tender, moist, gently spiced, heaven on rye. Add a crisp garlicky half-sour and nirvana is here. Wanna gild the lily? Their sweet frites get the job done. For those less in love with fat, chicken in a pot gets the Bubby seal of approval, for its honest golden broth filed with fresh poached chicken. Also of interest are crispy knishes, tasty shredded beef on the inside and crisp-fried mashed potato on the outside.

For the most up-to-date information, view Centre Street Deli’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

9 Rhum Corner

926 Dundas St. W.
Toronto, ON M6J 1W3
(647) 346-9356
https://rhumcorner.com/

This dark, twinkly room is all about relaxing under the glow of its neon sign and hum of loud Caribbean music. The name is based on co-owner Roland Jean’s penchant for making drinks in the corner of the bar with a bottle of rum, some Coca-Cola, ice and limes. Start with accra, dumplings of fried malanga (that root vegetable resembling a furry yam). Plates of rice and beans with oxtail or griot (Haitian slow-cooked pork) make for rich meals, accompanied by fried plantains. Jars of pikliz sit on each table. The spicy pickled carrot and cabbage cuts through the fat and booze of the night.

For the most up-to-date information, view Rhum Corner’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

10 Adamson Barbecue

176 Wicksteed Ave.
Toronto, ON M4G 2B6
(647) 559-2080
https://www.adamsonbarbecue.com/

“We are different from other joints in Toronto,” Adam Skelly says with a touch of Lone Star-style bravado, “because we’re the only authentic one.”

He and his girlfriend, Alison Hunt, are the co-owners of the just-opened Adamson Barbecue in Leaside. They serve a menu based on the classic traditions of central Texas: mainly beef, some pork, a little bit of turkey and very simple seasoning. It all comes from the Texas-made, 50-year-old Oyler smoker that can handle 1,500 pounds of meat.

“I cook using only wood,” Skelly explains. “No gas, no electric heat, certainly no bags of wood chips or chunks. I order wood by the bush cord.”

For the most up-to-date information, view Adamson Barbecue’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

11 Itacate

998 St. Clair Ave. W.
Toronto, ON M6E 1A2
(647) 701-0420
https://www.facebook.com/itacateTO/

The sign out front says Macelleria, which means butcher. So technically this is a taqueria within a butcher shop. But it’s more the other way around, as the kitchen in the front takes up more space than the display fridge at the back filled with chicken livers and goat legs. Between tacos made with fresh tortillas and soft tamales as big as a shoe, it’s hard not to over-order here. But don’t miss the indulgent fried quesadillas stuffed with meat, cheese and chicharron, or the pambazos sandwiches, packed with chorizo and crema. Specials like chilaquiles and pozoles are a treat for weekend visitors.

For the most up-to-date information, view Itacate’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

12 California Sandwiches

244 Claremont St.
Toronto, ON M6J 2N2
(416) 603-3317
https://eatcalifornia.ca/

This hulking mess of a sandwich comes to you courtesy of California Sandwiches. Hogtown’s renowned Italian sandwicheria has been around since 1967, making it a veritable antiquity in the restaurant world.

The original Little Italy location takes over a corner spot on a residential street, squirrelled away from the main thoroughfares. Inside, the goods are made to order, with patrons paying in cash only and getting tsk-tsked if seen using their cellphones (they mess up their landline).

For the most up-to-date information, view California Sandwiches’ listing in our new restaurant directory.

13 Szechuan Legend

505 Highway 7
Richmond Hill, ON L3T 7T1
(905) 889-7883

This Richmond Hill establishment might not seem like much to the naked eye, but the bare bones interior is made up for in full by the extreme Szechuan spice and bold flavours. Szechuan Legend is located in Commerce Gate, a plaza that’s lined with one Chinese restaurant after another.

For the most up-to-date information, view Szechuan Legend’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

14 Banh Mi Nguyen Huong

322 Spadina Ave.
Toronto, ON M5T 1J6
(416) 599-4625

This tiny Chinatown storefront, opened in the 80s by the parents of Banh Mi Boys owners David, Peter and Philip Chau, is the original banh mi mom and pop. The small space produces hundreds of sandwiches a day, an industrial slicing machine spitting out the French buns as quick as they can be filled with deli meats, pickled carrot, daikon and cilantro. But it’s not the banh mi that makes me a regular (I think Tiem Banh Mi Dieu Ky on Gerrard East is better), or even the always fresh rice paper rolls packed tightly with shrimp or pork. Or the selection of sticky Vietnamese sweets. It’s the bot chien, 9V-sized chunks of rice flour cake, fried on a flat top with egg, scallions and pork floss, finished with soy sauce and sriracha. Eating a whole portion feels like finishing two bags of jumbo buttered popcorn. So it’s pretty great.

For the most up-to-date information, view Banh Mi Nguyen Huong’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

15 Mr. Jerk

209 Wellesley St.
Toronto, ON M4X 1G1
(416) 961-8913
https://www.mrjerk.ca/

Mr. Jerk was one of my first food loves as a young, broke person. This was back when it was located at Yonge and Dundas, surrounded by video game arcades and they still sold single cigarettes for a quarter. Maybe I’m prejudiced by my nostalgia for those heaping portions of rice and beans with oxtail gravy. 20 years later, I can’t eat a pound of carbs in one sitting. Now it’s the jerk (dry or covered in gravy) that keeps me coming back. And not the chicken but the pork. You could make an argument that the higher fat content helps the pork absorb the smoky, spicy flavours better than the chicken. Or that the pork offers a better mosaic of textures — chewy, creamy, crispy. But I’ll gladly admit it’s a personal preference and root for the underdog of jerked pork.

For the most up-to-date information, view Mr. Jerk’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

16 Bar Buca

75 Portland St.
Toronto, ON M5V 2M9
416-599-2822
https://www.buca.ca/

Buca and Buca Yorkville are two of the most luxurious restaurants in Toronto. Bar Buca, the company’s all-day bar and cafe, offers a wedge of that excellence for a fraction of the price. The soaring ceilings and wine list can entice you to spend more, but a schiacciata (focaccia sandwich) and a coffee is a more-than-filling meal. Stop in for strapazzate (gooey eggs with burrata and truffles) paired with a buffalo milk Nutella latte at breakfast, or try a late night schiacciata with fried squid, smelts and lemon dill zabaglione, which deserves to be legendary. The weekend brunch menu includes the crespelle, a showstopper stack of semolina pancakes around cannoli-style filling with grappa maple syrup poured over top.

For the most up-to-date information, view Bar Buca’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

17 Allwyn’s Bakery

81 Underhill Dr.
North York, ON M3A 1K8
(647) 847-4698

For TTC users, making it to Allwyn’s may seem like a bit much for a wintry jaunt. The North York bakery-meets-jerk shop is squirrelled away in a northern strip mall, barely visible due to condensation on the windows. Inside, three shelves showcase hard dough bread while Grace sodas peer out from the fridge. Regulars pop by at lunch for the jerk pork, oxtail, curry chicken, and the jerk chicken sandwich.

The sammie sees a mound of succulent, well-spiced jerk chicken piled into an oh-so-soft cocobun ($4.25). The option of coleslaw is there for those who desire some crunch and a hint of acidity. Folks hankering for a bit more heat can douse the ‘wich in the Sriracha sauce that sits next to the cash.

For the most up-to-date information, view Allwyn’s Bakery’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

18 Santouka

91 Dundas St. E
Toronto, ON M5B 1E1
(647) 748-1717
https://www.santouka.co.jp/en

It’s official: Toronto is experiencing ramen mania. This year alone we’ve seen the opening of New York noodle giant Momofuku, along with ramen-houses such as Kinton and Sansotei. Meanwhile, the team that brought us Yours Truly is set to open a ramen shop come December, and Ramen Raijin, from the owners of Vancouver favorite Kintaro, is opening on Gerrard Street soon. And now we can add Santouka Ramen to the list.

Hailing from Japan, Santouka is a chain with locations worldwide. Toronto’s Dundas East location, which began its soft-opening phase over the weekend, is the second in Canada; the other one is in Vancouver. Santouka specializes in a pearl-colored tonkotsu broth made from simmering pork bones for roughly 20 hours, then adding vegetables, dried fish, kelp and other ingredients.

Toronto’s Santouka currently offers four different tonkotsu-based ramens, which are each seasoned differently. Flavors include shio ramen (salt), shoyu ramen (soy sauce), miso ramen (miso) and kara-miso ramen (hot spices and miso). Prices range from $10.95-$11.45. Toppings could include pickled plums, bamboo shoots, kikurage mushrooms and, of course, pork.

For the most up-to-date information, view Santouka’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

19 Udupi Palace

1460 Gerrard St. E.
Toronto, ON M4L 2A3
(416) 405-8189
https://www.udupipalace.ca

For the most up-to-date information, view Udupi Palace’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

20 Holy Chuck

1450 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON M4T 1Y7
(416) 962-4825
https://holychuckburgers.com

Holier than the Priest, Chuck’s mission is that same all-American flat-top burger with American cheese on a buttered bun. We’re wowed by their signature The Holy Chuck: Two fat patties, rich and juicy, topped with caramelized onion, bacon and cheese. Don’t ask for ketchup; they’re religious about their toppings. Almost as much fun is the double lamb burger with perfectly roasted red peppers and garlic feta aïoli. Unfortunately the fries are no better than the Priest’s — sometimes pale and underdone. But the shakes — the shakes are what happened with Hamilton Beach met Eros. Thick, rich, creamy and smooth, they go down slow and sexy.

For the most up-to-date information, view Holy Chuck’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

21 Ho Ho BBQ

3833 Midland Ave.
Scarborough, ON M1V 5L4
(416) 321-9818

This old-style Chinese restaurant is known all over Toronto for its crispy pork and classic Hong Kong cuisine. Ho Ho BBQ is a Scarborough native that has been serving up some of the best crispy duck and pork for decades.

For the most up-to-date information, view Ho Ho BBQ’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

22 Reyan

75 Dundas St. W.
Mississauga, ON L5B 1H7
(905) 848-2615
https://reyan.ca/

There’s a lot on the menu of this small, suburban strip mall restaurant. Owner Ali Fallaha, a geologist back in Syria, wants to have something for everyone. So he serves shawarma (a purist, he fills the pita with meat and pickles only), falafel (forming each donut-shaped ball in a little brass hand press), and so on. But the showstopper is fattet hummus, a Palestinian and Syrian staple. The dish starts with a base of hummus thinned to a saucy consistency with lemon juice and chickpea water. Each serving is then layered with pita chips, chickpeas, pomegranate seeds, paprika, parsley and sumac. Part stew, part salad, the symphony of sweet and savoury, creamy and crispy, is finished with a splash of hot ghee, erupting in a spectacular crackle as it hits the bowl’s contents.

For the most up-to-date information, view Reyan’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

23 Dayali Beijing Roast Duck

20 Gibson Dr.
Markham, ON L3R 8B5
(905) 604-8680
https://www.dayali.ca/

Despite the name , and the very fine duck dish, there is so much else to love here: big steaming bowls of spicy chicken, shrimp, duck gizzard, chicken feet, pork liver, brisket, or barbecued bullfrogs on a stick. There are also some lighter dishes, like corn with pine nuts and spinach with peanuts. My favourite dish from the long menu is the duck bones. The kitchen whacks up the leftover duck carcass, fries the bones and tosses them in salt, pepper and cumin. The end product is like a plate of hickory sticks with bits of meat stuck on. The menu has separate prices for members and non-members. They take reservations for groups over 5. But if they don’t know you, you’ve got to be aggressive at the door to get a seat.

For the most up-to-date information, view Dayali Beijing Roast Duck’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

24 Sababa

390 Steeles Ave. W.
Thornhill, ON L4J 1A1
(905) 764-6440
https://www.sababafoods.com/

For the most up-to-date information, view Sababa’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

25 The Stockyards

699 St. Clair Ave. W.
Toronto, ON M6C 1B2
(416) 658-9666
https://www.instagram.com/thestockyards/

It’s matured into a haven of porcine pleasures They only fire up the smoker Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, so ribs are on offer from 5 p.m. on those days. They sell out around 6:30, so call at 5, show up at 5:30 and take out dinner, cause it’s no fun eating at the hectic counter. The ribs are the best in town. Smoked all day over hickory and apple wood, they’re vaguely sweet and super-succulent with a light mahogany crust, big and meaty, with no goopy sauce. Fabulous fried chicken is great grease. Read more…

For the most up-to-date information, view The Stockyards’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

26 Dim Sum King

421 Dundas St. W., 3rd Floor
Toronto, ON M5T 2W4
(416) 551-3366
https://www.dimsumkingrestaurant.com/

I have been coming to this classic cart-service restaurant since the tables at the back were filled with old men holding chopsticks in one hand, a cigarette in the other. It hasn’t changed much. Large families with hyperactive children are still seated on the dais. There’s always a lineup after 11:30 a.m. on the weekend. And carts still rumble between tables, waiters occasionally pausing to lift lids on bamboo steamers filled with char siu bao (barbecue pork buns), har gow (shrimp dumplings) and cheung fun (rice noodle rolls). As options glide past you, it’s always a race to see if you will find your favourite dish before you fill up on noodles, pan-fried dumplings or lo bak go (turnip cakes).

For the most up-to-date information, view Dim Sum King’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

27 North of Brooklyn Pizza

650 Queen St W
Toronto, ON M6J 1E4
(647) 352-5700
https://www.northofbrooklyn.com/

Pizza, pho and burgers are all such ubiquitous menu staples that it’s hard to justify picking one for a list — especially in a town with plenty of outstanding pizza: Pizzeria Libretto, Queen Margherita Pizza, Maker Pizza. We even have a flawless Neapolitan place down the street from our home, Via Mercanti. And yet, if I had to choose one pizzeria, it would be North of Brooklyn. Even with its stupid name (it sounds like someone Harvard bragging by saying they went to school “near” Boston), sesame crust and calling pizza “za” on Instagram, North of Brooklyn really does make the best pizza. The even coat of sauce, dispersal of toppings and a crust with perfect balance of crispy, fluffy and chewy makes it just a little more craveable than its competitors.

For the most up-to-date information, view North of Brooklyn Pizza’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

28 Country Style Hungarian

450 Bloor St. W.
Toronto, ON M5S 1Y5
(416) 536-5966
https://countrystylehungarian.com/

An older clientele keeps this time capsule with its heaping portions and red-checkered tablecloths much as it must have looked and tasted when it opened in 1962. Forearm-sized cabbage rolls come surrounded by sauerkraut and sour cream. Pasta dough grated over boiling water to create squiggle shapes, is known as spaetzle in Germany, nokedli in Hungary and simply dumplings on the menu here. It arrives on a huge plate of fried chicken livers and onions. This holdout from another era (the owner owns the building as well) still has salt and pepper shakers on the table, plus a third shaker full of paprika.

For the most up-to-date information, view Country Style Hungarian’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

29 Electric Mud BBQ

5 Brock Ave.
Toronto, ON M6K 2K3
(416) 516-8286
https://electricmudbbq.com/

Son of Grand Electric is a rockin’ out barbecue hut, an ode to bourbon and rock, to smoke and fat. And being the scion of Grand Electric chef/co-owner Colin Tooke, it’s great. Do not skip the Clydesdale (bourbon with grapefruit, agave and lime). Or the crack rolls (well named) — warm dinner rolls with butter that sat under the smoker and got smoky sweet. Also eat the slightly smoky ribs topped with just enough hot sweet Thai sauce. And the crazy crisp fried chicken. And the smoked baked beans. And the sesame seed-topped coleslaw. And the fab custardy banana cream pie.

For the most up-to-date information, view Electric Mud BBQ’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

30 Rose and Sons Deli

176 Dupont St.
Toronto, ON M5R 2E6
(647) 748-3287
https://www.roseandsons.ca/

The former diner, which Anthony Rose and Robert Wilder used as the forward operating base for what is now an empire of restaurants running along Dupont (Big Crow, Schmaltz Appetizing, Fat Pasha, Bar Begonia, Madame Boeuf), has reached its final form. Seeing which side their bagels are buttered on, the pair now cater to a Jewish-leaning clientele with fluffy matzo balls plunked into chicken soup, hot pastrami sandwiches worthy of any deli, flaky knishes, delicious steamies, karnatzel and the worst coleslaw I’ve ever had in my life. I love this place but it wouldn’t be a deli if there weren’t something to complain about.

For the most up-to-date information, view Rose and Sons Deli’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

31 Emporium Latino

243 Augusta Ave.
Toronto, ON M5T 2L8
(416) 351-9646

In Kensington Market, tourists line up for glitzy, Instagrammable food shops while the jewel of the neighbourhood remains hidden by the facade of a Latin American grocery store. But, past racks of corn chips and masa, beyond the fridge filled with queso fresco and chorizo and the freezer hiding aji Amarillo and aji rocoto, is a little kitchen pumping out the best brunch in Kensington. Enjoy pupusas, tamales, fried plantains with crema, chiles rellenos (roasted poblano peppers stuffed with cheese, battered and fried). This is not fast food. They will take 10 or 15 minutes to prepare your meal. So order at the cashier, hand your ticket to the kitchen and go grab a coffee nearby while you smugly outwit the tourists.

For the most up-to-date information, view Emporium Latino’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

32 Ozzy’s

661 Nassau St.
Toronto, ON M5T 1M2
(416) 862-7983
https://www.facebook.com/ozzysburgers/

Toronto used to have terrible burgers: overcooked hockey pucks on too-big, too-tough buns. But over the last decade, thanks to a renaissance led by the Burger’s Priest, you can now get good burgers all over town. Even in Kensington Market there are two more burger shops (the Burgernator, Top Gun Steak & Burger) within a block. But only at Ozzy’s can you get a burger of fresh ground beef smash-griddled to a crisp and placed on a squishy bun for $5. In a city where this commodity typically runs $8 to $10, I feel like I’m stealing from Ozzy.

For the most up-to-date information, view Ozzy’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

33 Ramen Isshin

421 College St.
Toronto, ON M5T 1T1
(416) 367-4013
https://www.ramenisshin.com/

It took a long time for Japanese ramen to become popular in Toronto. When it finally did, in 2012, the trend proliferated quickly, much of it mediocre. But since then, a few purveyors have risen above expectations, their broth a little more complex, their noodles a bit more springy. The long menu at Ramen Isshin has the classics, multiple vegetarian options (with vegan noodles available) and a penchant for experimentation — cold ramen with okra and kimchee, black sesame tan tan ramen, curry tsukemen. The standout Red Dragon ramen manages to surprise with a variety of flavours and textures — wok-fried pork bits and braised pork belly slices, peanuts, fermented chili paste, a blend of red and white miso and tonkotsu broth — while remaining sufficiently tethered to the concept of ramen to not seem gimmicky.

For the most up-to-date information, view Ramen Isshin’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

34 Juanmoto

60 Kensington Ave.
Toronto, ON M5T 2K2
https://www.instagram.com/coldteabar

Cold Tea was nearly a self-parody staple of Kensington Market: a dingy bar with a semi-secret entrance and loud industry patio cookouts in the summer. The owners, having outgrown the legal headaches of the tailgate party atmosphere, have transformed the space into a slick restaurant with the requisite high chairs and neon lights. Partnering with restaurateur Leemo Han (Hanmoto, Pinky’s Ca Phe), the bar now serves up Han’s brand of elegantly delicious messes — brined, grilled and fried wings covered in tart green goop, variations on the sloppy joe and McChicken, ice cream sandwiches rolled in tiny, puffy rice balls. Regulars have no need to worry. Cold Tea hasn’t gotten too fancy for their summer Sunday barbecue series.

For the most up-to-date information, view Juanmoto’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

35 Aragvi

2006 Highway 7
Vaughan, ON L4K 1W6
(905) 597-5197
https://www.aragvi.com/

Aragvi is one of the only places in Toronto serving up true Georgian cuisine, and we can’t get enough. Tucked away in a strip mall behind an unassuming sign sits this small, yet mighty restaurant serving the most traditional Georgian cuisine outside of the small country.

For the most up-to-date information, view Aragvi’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

36 Lasa

634 St. Clair Ave. W.
Toronto, ON M6C 1A9
(647) 343-1110
https://www.lasabylamesa.com/

Lasa means taste or flavor and is the newest venture from Les Sabilano, who brought Filipino cuisine into the mainstream spotlight with his Queen West eatery, Lamesa. He has taken over the space that formerly housed his parents’ Filipino grocery and take-out joint, Kaibigan, at St. Clair West and Wychwood Avenue, an area with a sizeable population of Filipinos.

The décor was designed by Cheryl Torrenueva, whose work has appeared on HGTV and Food Network USA’s Restaurant Impossible. The restaurant’s aesthetic is very much DIY with kitschy elements such as random thrift shop knick-knacks like succulents on a plank of wood and other homey details. “I wanted it to be a casual but fresh take on Filipino décor,” says Torrenueva.

The 24-seater is an open, airy and inviting space with a lot of wood, “like the kind of stuff you would find washed up on shore in the Phillippines,” she explains.

For the most up-to-date information, view Lasa’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

37 Mustafa Turkish Pizza

866 Wilson Ave.
North York, ON M3K 1E6
(416) 631-0300

Yes, the interior is decorated with a fake rock wall and ceiling. It’s more reminiscent of the classic Star Trek episode “Devil in the Dark” than an actual cave. But the main attraction is the pide (a.k.a. Turkish pizza), crisp-bottomed oval flatbreads presented with a variety of topping combinations: ground beef and onions, lamb and mozzarella, sausage and eggs, spinach and feta, pastrami. Also get an order of iskender, slow-cooked thinly sliced lamb, covered in tomato sauce and served with yogurt and thick wedges of bread. Although you won’t have room for dessert, the kitchen’s fresh sarma, kadayif and kunefe (all combinations of pistachio, butter, sugar and phyllo pastry) are outstanding.

For the most up-to-date information, view Mustafa Turkish Pizza’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

38 Gandhi Indian Cuisine

554 Queen St. W.
Toronto, ON M5V 2B7
(416) 504-8155
https://gandhi-indian-cuisine.business.site/

Gandhi Indian Cuisine has made a name for itself as Toronto’s original northern Indian roti shop. Operating for 25 years and counting, its flavours and freshness have been getting people to come back time and time again.

For the most up-to-date information, view Gandhi Indian Cuisine’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

39 Pho Hung

350 Spadina Ave.
Toronto, ON M5T 2G4
(416) 593-4274
https://phohung.ca/

Pho Hung is better tasting than ever, plus the room is pretty nice for a pho parlour. One cannot go wrong on the encyclopedic pho menu; commonplace pho flavours like chicken and beef are competent, but they have some superb pho flights of fancy like item 15d: bun mang vit co dau phong, aka bamboo shoot soup with vermicelli and side of duck coleslaw with peanut. This is noodle soup with a big bowl of shredded duck with cabbage, and puree of ginger with chili, sesame and vinegar.

For the most up-to-date information, view Pho Hung’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

40 Schmaltz Appetizing

414 Dupont St.
Toronto, ON M5R 1V9
(647) 350-4261
https://www.schmaltzappetizing.com/

Appetizing shops are a dying breed. Not to be confused with the deli, an appetizing shop is a Jewish purveyor of all the things to eat with bagels. New York City used to be rife with them, but at this point Russ & Daughters, which has been around since 1914, is one of the only ones holding down the fort.

In Brooklyn, Shelsky’s is doing a stellar job at revitalizing the style (if you’re in the area, order the Brooklyn Transplant). Toronto isn’t exactly run over with them; to be specific, we’ve got pretty much one: Schmaltz Appetizing.

At Anthony Rose’s sliver of a shop, patrons can have their pick of smoked Acadian sturgeon, kippered salmon and gravlax. There are pickles, chopped egg, and enough cream cheese to keep your bagel happy.

For the most up-to-date information, view Schmaltz Appetizing’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

41 Origination Noodle

421 Dundas St. W.
Toronto, ON M5T 2W4
(416) 345-8729
https://www.originationtoronto.ca/

The signature dish,Yunnan rice noodles, arrives in a basket filled with fish, mushrooms (both fresh and rehydrated) a chicken leg, yuba, snow pea leaves and Spam. Then comes a steaming bowl of chicken broth (you can order it with coconut milk, spicy, with or without MSG) teeming with noodles. They combine it all together for a blowout lunch that does not need, but is wonderfully aided by, a garnish caddy, stuffed with jars of chopped peanuts, garlic, chilies (dried or fresh), scallions, pickled mustard greens, plus squeeze tubes of vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil.

For the most up-to-date information, view Origination Noodle’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

42 Folia Grill

1031 Pape Ave.
Toronto, ON M4K 3V9
(416) 424-2800
https://foliagrill.com

Right in the heart of the Pape village lies Folia Grill, a joint serving up classic Greek fast food. Trade in french fries for fried zucchini, greasy food for fare doused in olive oil from Tripoli and mayonnaise for tzatziki. Become one of Folia Grill’s many regulars — it’s not hard with its low prices — and feel the sunshine of Greece more often.

For the most up-to-date information, view Folia Grill’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

43 Love Chix

1588 Dupont St.
Toronto, ON M6P 3S6
(416) 546-0626
https://www.lovechix.ca/

Love Chix loves its customers and its chickens probably the same amount. Hailed as one of Toronto’s best chicken restaurants. Chef Paul Marshall’s menu has flavours reaching from all corners of the globe. Highlights include the fried chicken with honey hot sauce and the butter chicken poutine. There are plenty of sides bursting with flavour and other mains that are vegetarian-friendly or feature another meat besides chicken. But you should really get some chicken.

For the most up-to-date information, view Love Chix’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

44 Otto’s Bierhalle

1087 Queen St. W.
Toronto, ON M6J 1H3
(416) 901-5472
https://www.ottosbierhalle.com/

The couples on dates beside us seemed to be enjoying their meals of sausages and sandwiches — until ours showed up. As the server placed the choucroute platter before us, they looked dispirited, realizing they had ordered wrong. The fancified version of the German home cooking classic features dense bratwurst and light weisswurst, rounds of crispy pork belly, sauerkraut, potato salad, charred Brussels sprouts and pickled vegetables. There are several other platters in the $50 range, all definitely a meal for two.

For the most up-to-date information, view Otto’s Bierhalle’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

45 Sampaguita Village

322 Wilson Ave.
North York, ON M3H 1S8
(416) 630-2122
https://www.sampaguita.ca

Named after the national flower of the Philippines, this spot has a busy, convivial interior that feels more like a decades-old community hall than a restaurant. Despite the clubhouse atmosphere, the staff is welcoming and friendly with newcomers.

Every restaurant should copy one idea from SV’s playbook: two of their specialties, the pancit Sampaguita and fried chicken, are both available in a smaller size so that sampling a variety is less of a task. The former is a rich, satisfying, kitchen sink-style take on a stir-fried dish that includes both glass vermicelli and yellow Shanghai-style noodles plus a hodgepodge of shrimp, a trio of meats (chicken, pork and beef) and vegetables.

For the most up-to-date information, view Sampaguita Village’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

46 Gale’s Snack Bar

539 Eastern Ave.
Toronto, ON M4M 1C6

Gale’s Snack Bar has been a Leslieville staple for over 40 years. Step inside and feel the history with vintage posters decorating the walls, old school appliances still working just fine and brightly coloured, hand-painted menu boards. The cuisine is traditional diner fare, like the type you see in old movies: sardine sandwiches, roast beef slathered in gravy with peas and an especially delicious club sandwich. The food is no frills, a far cry from a high-end gourmet meal, but it is all part of the time-travel experience. Worth mentioning is the most expensive menu item costs a jaw-dropping $3. Gale and her team make everything with love and care deeply about the space and its clientele, practically untouched by gentrification.

For the most up-to-date information, view Gale’s Snack Bar’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

47 Harry’s Charbroiled

160 Springhurst Ave.
Toronto, ON M6K 1C2
(416) 532-2908
https://harryscharbroiled.com/

When Grant van Gameren, Nate Young and Robin Goodfellow took over Harry’s Charbroiled Dining Lounge in Parkdale, regulars of the original Harry’s were weary of the hipsterization of yet another beloved spot. Almost three years in, Harry’s has come into its own, but in a lot of ways, it’s still the same. No one item exceeds $20. The beer list, comprising Export, Labatt 50 and Canadian, is gloriously approachable, and the buns have been upgraded from classic Wonder Bread to Martin’s Potato Rolls. But between the buns are some gourmet shakeups courtesy of chef Nate Young: vegan options abound, and burgers get a boost from items like chorizo and pineapple.

For the most up-to-date information, view Harry’s Charbroiled’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

48 Torteria San Cosme

181 Baldwin St.
Toronto, ON M5T 1L9
(416) 599-2855
https://www.sancosme.ca/

Enter through the painted glass doors of Torteria San Cosme and it’s as if you’ve never left the street. Depending on the day, it’s warmer and drier, but the bustle of Kensington Market is sustained. The sunlight floods the +tongtong designed shop and the façade of the open kitchen is disguised as a large torta stand, straight off the avenues of Mexico City, or “D.F.” to the locals. A team of efficient sandwich assemblers works nonstop until their product is sold out.

Arturo Anhalt, chef and owner of Milagro restaurants, launched Torteria San Cosme almost on a whim — alongside his girlfriend and manager Katie Nicholson — when he caught a glimpse of a “for lease” sign one day while shopping at Sanagan’s. The idea, however, had been percolating for well over five years. “I think people are tired of tacos,” he says matter-of-factly. “Mexican food is way beyond the tacos!”

Tortas, Mexican sandwiches stuffed with a vast assortment of toppings inside soft, puffy telera bread, are a ubiquitous street food in many parts of Mexico. Ribera San Cosme, the shop’s namesake, is an avenue in Anhalt’s native Mexico City. A hub for street food, the Mercado San Cosme lies along this road, where Anhalt’s father would take him to explore the diverse culinary landscape when he was young. Of course, tortas were a frequent indulgence.

For the most up-to-date information, view Torteria San Cosme’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

49 When the Pig Came Home

3035 Dundas St. W.
Toronto, ON M6P 2S7
(647) 345-9001
https://www.whenthepigcamehome.ca

Kimberly Hannam and Ryan Getner started selling their peameal bacon sandwiches at farmer’s markets across Toronto over 4 years ago – Sorauren, Downsview, Annex and Leslieville, to name a few – but now the pork has come to rest, quite literally, at their first permanent location in the Junction, aptly named, When The Pig Came Home.

“Ryan has almost a sick obsession with BBQ”, Hannam says with a chuckle, on a stuffy day in late summer, sitting by the sunny front window of their Dundas West Shop. “The deck at our house has always been an arrangement of barbeques.”

For the most up-to-date information, view When the Pig Came Home Delicatessen’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

50 Soufi’s

676 Queen St. W.
Toronto, ON M6J 1E5
(647) 350-7737
https://www.soufis.ca

This breezy Syrian café, which also serves tea and espresso, is a bright, Wi-Fi-enabled space where the staff encourage guests to dawdle. Soufi’s keeps ordering simple with a brief menu featuring many variations but really only two dishes. The manaeesh are folded sandwiches on baked to order dough, packed with cumin and garlic spiced beef (sujuk), spinach with pomegranate molasses and walnuts, labneh with olives and mint, or another half dozen options. Even if you’re not in the mood for dessert, knaffeh are a must. The shredded phyllo dough, baked over soft cheese in a pool of orange blossom syrup and garnished with a crumble of pistachio, is sublime. It’s available in a vegan (cashew “cheese”) and banana caramel version as well.

For the most up-to-date information, view Soufi’s listing in our new restaurant directory.

Laugh all the way to the Banksy

By

Andrew Mannsbach

-

8:58 am

0

When sensationalism causes a sensation, an art star is born. No living artist adheres to that dictum better than Banksy, perhaps the most notorious — most famous, least known — street artist of all-time.

The recluse is becoming the rage of the Canadian summer, with the Saving Banksy exhibit that just wrapped up at Yorkville Village and the upcoming exhibition The Art of Banksy curated by Steve Lazarides, Banksy’s British former agent. Street art in T.O. has reached a fever pitch and Banksy’s impact on Toronto’s blooming art scene is being recognized both by posh galleries and on the sides of buildings from Bay Street to Richmond Hill.

“When Toronto sees Banksy’s work in the flesh, they’ll be in awe,” says Lazarides, who worked with the artist for 11 years and, despite our pleading, would not reveal his identity. (The reclusive artist is not part of the travelling show).

“There’s a reason people still queue to see The Mona Lisa. The work of Banksy was meant to be seen in the flesh,” he says.

Featuring more than 80 original works — and valued at more than $35 million — the Banksy exhibit represents the largest single showing of the secretive artist’s work ever to be assembled at once. Arriving June 12, the show is perhaps the apex of graffiti art and political messaging that has always had a home in Toronto, and has been percolating in the city since the 1980s.

Karin Eaton, artistic director of Mural Routes, an arts service organization that has been helping artists, especially street artists, since 1990, says that Banksy’s popularity has created a global trend. He’s the Basquiat for the Instagram age. Part P. T. Barnum, part Bernie Sanders, with a shot of Damien Hirst.

“I think we’re going to be lining up around the block to get into the exhibit,” says Eaton, who believes Banksy may very well be the most popular artist (if not the best) of his time.

“The world of street art is growing and there’s been an acceptance — it used to be the police would go after anyone with a spray can. Now those same artists are being paid to make big, beautiful pieces.”

The Banksy pieces in the show run the gamut from stencils to graffiti to paintings, and include famous Banksy calling cards such as “Turf Wars,” “Barely Legal,” and “Laugh Now,” featuring a monkey with the anti-establishment message — “Laugh now, one day we’ll be in charge” — hanging from his neck. The artworks, on loan from private collectors as part of a travelling tour that’s been to Israel and New Zealand, are big, bold and unforgettable.

Daniel Mazzone is a 38-year-old painter and street artist from Toronto who exhibits here and in New York. He works across every medium and feels an increasing demand for his Banksy-inspired street art.

“It was the doc on Banksy that inspired me to pick up my art tools again,” says Mazzone, of the documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, which was nominated for a 2010 Oscar.

The launch of that film brought the reclusive Banksy to Toronto, and his work began popping up on buildings around town in May of 2010.

“He’s inspiring to me because he doesn’t care what people think, and I love the messages — it’s a little bit of a wake-up call for what’s happening now in the world,” says Mazzone.

For Lazarides, who called the 11 years he spent by the artist’s side among the most exciting of his long career, the exhibition is essential documentation of the work, love it or hate it, of the loudest artist of our time.

“You don’t need a degree in art history to understand Banksy — the work belongs to the people. That’s what makes it enduring,” Lazarides says. “There’s not many artists in the world who the public has an affinity to — they have an affinity for him, he’s one of their own.”

The Art of Banksy opens on June 13 at 213 Sterling Rd.

Amy Foster on her journey from songwriter to author

By

-

8:58 am

0

When Amy Foster, now a successful songwriter and novelist, looks back on her high school years, she describes herself as a terrible student.

After attending Branksome Hall, she decided to transfer to two other schools in her Grade 12 year to get all the credits she needed to graduate early, and finished high school at Northern Secondary.

Foster wanted to be an actor at the time; although, what followed in her years after high school was in her own words, “A litany of stupid decisions.”
After a brief stint in Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting, the young artiste decided to head to community college for a year to boost her grades,

proving to her doubting father, Canadian music legend David Foster, that investing in her education was a safe bet.

“My whole family is supportive, but they were not an academic family. My dad never went to university, and he was very successful. In their eyes, school was a way to get out of work,” says Foster.

Once her grades were hoisted, she went off to Washington, D.C., to study international business relations.

And although her career as a diplomat never really took off, during her time at American University she did discover a deep love of the written word and a talent for writing.

“I had to figure out what I loved. I loved writing and I loved music. And by 25, I was making a full-time living as a songwriter,” Foster says of the “eureka” moment in her career.

She would also become pregnant with her first child at the age of 25.

“Being an artist and a mom is a hard thing to be,” she says. “You go through life starring in your own movie, then you have a kid and you’re relegated to girl-on-street.”

Regardless of the difficulty of juggling her career and motherhood, Foster made a name for herself in songwriting circles all over Canada, Nashville and L.A., writing on many of Michael Bublé’s most enduring hits, such as “Home,” “Everything,” “Just Haven’t Met You Yet” and “Hold On.”

She’s also worked with other chart-topping musicians, including Blake Shelton, Josh Groban and Beyoncé.

“The songs I’ve written with Michael [Bublé], are like real estate. I will always make money off of them,” she says. “And it’s amazing to hear tens of thousands of people singing your words.”

Foster’s love of the written word went beyond music and she published her first novel When Autumn Leaves in 2009.

The novel describes the challenges faced by a small town witch as she searches for her own replacement.

Foster would later publish a science fiction trilogy called The Rift Uprising Trilogy (2016–2018), which has garnered attention from critics, readers and movie producers alike.

“Writing songs makes me a better writer. You have to tell an entire story in one line,” says Foster, who vows to always write both songs and fiction. “Prose writing allows me to understand language. Language is our currency: the more we use it, the more we understand it.”

We can keep our eyes peeled for many more of Foster’s exciting additions to the pop culture cannon, including a possible collaboration between her and her esteemed father and a Broadway adaptation of the novel Lucky Us by Amy Bloom.

Raise a glass to two of T.O.’s top spots for boozy brunch

By

Andrew Mannsbach

-

12:17 pm

0

When tasked with an assignment called drunch (aka boozy brunch), it’s essential to gather some important resources: namely, people who are willing to make the sacrifice to eat pancakes and drink cocktails with you early in the morn. Fortunately such people were not too difficult to locate.

Cocktails at Constantine
This chi-chi newbie is tucked into the new boutique hotel Anndore House, found but a stone’s throw from Yorkville. She’s clearly meant for lounging, full of very comfy banquettes, with soothing lighting and a fireplace for good measure. Affable servers come dressed in all possible silhouettes of dark denim while Craig Harding’s Mediterranean menu makes ordering tough.

After arriving early to beat the brunch crowds and ordering coffees (hey, you can only sip on tipples after 11 a.m.), we go with the shakshuka and pancakes.

The shakshuka arrives tableside in an adorable cast iron pan, with a duo of eggs lazing away in a bed of tomatoey stew nicely spiced with chili and cumin. We load it onto the za’aatar-dusted flatbread and scarf it down quickly.

Finally it’s cocktail time! Bellinis and caesars are bypassed in favour of more involved tipples; the Lavandula pairs Lillet Blanc with fancy-and-local Dillon’s cherry gin and sparkling wine for a sweet yet citrusy libation that acts as the perfect alarm clock.

The buttermilk pancakes arrive and are extra luxe, topped with not-too-sweet ricotta, fresh berries and maple syrup. We manage to finish them no problem.
We spot some delicious-looking avocado toast and wonder if we should have gotten that, too? Next time.

Before we leave another cocktail is required. This time the Frais Podensac, boasting mint and grapefruit, makes us feel a bit bubbly. But it could also be the environment — and the fact that we were up with the birds?

On a scale from one to tipsy, we were sitting at a sober two. Super-filling pancakes, it must be noted, do not a drunch make. But damn, they are good.
15 Charles St. E., 647-475-4436

A sweet and savoury meal at School
With its industrial environs, hip-hop tunes bouncing overhead, She-Ra playing on screens and a queue full of mini-sunglass-wearing millennials, School was deemed a top pick for drunching.

The Liberty Village spot has been drawing crowds with the promise of chicken and waffles since 2009, and we were keen to pair ours with a mimosa or two.

But after shimmying our way into a line and then being told the wait would last at least one turn of the ole clock, our midday was stalled somewhat. Balzac’s coffee was sipped, and finally, a cool 90 minutes later, our table was ready.

Settling in against a wall of clocks all indicating 3 p.m., we survey the drinks menu. With caesars on special ($2 off!), this seemed the most sensible of the beverage options. They arrive and offer plenty of kick, finished with spicy beans and a slice of sugar-cured Ontario bacon.

Food-wise, our stomachs demanded we go straight for the carbs. For savory, we went with the aforementioned waffles, which arrived topped with nicely moist pieces of buttermilk fried chicken with brown sugar butter and lotsa honey packing some heat.

For sweet? Pancakes. The weekend special involves a stack of their flapjacks (four-deep, to be specific) loaded up with apple crumble and toasted pecans, a dusting of cinnamon sugar and caramel to finish.

After doing our best to polish both dishes off, we emerge defeated and order mimosas (one blood orange, one pear basil) in an attempt to feel less full.
70 Fraser Ave., 416-588-0005

FK opens in uber-popular nabe

By

Andrew Mannsbach

-

12:49 pm

0

My beloved partner and I have an ongoing fight about restaurants. Now that I review less frequently than in yesteryear, we go out just for fun more often. I always want to go to the places I know and love. Places with reliably good food, comfy ambience and quiet enough that one can actually hold a conversation. He is as old as me, but he’s into hipster havens. Ossington, he says, with a gleam in his eye. Dundas West!! Not for him the tried and true. And definitely not uptown.

Same deal with my friend Barbara. Last week we were in New York, in the East Village. Before theatre we went to a delicious oyster bar. Too loud to talk, tiny table, crazy crowded. After theatre dinner was a French restaurant where they insisted we had no reso and finally/grumpily seated us in the area of highest possible traffic. We appeared to be the only women there in less than three-inch heels and with more than three decades under our belts. Food was meh. Barbara loved the evening because she doesn’t like to dine with people her age. After dinner I got scolded on Open Table for failing to show up for my reso, and heartburn from all the butter. But we did think we were cool.

Frank Parhizgar has not, to my knowledge, ever been cool. When he and wife Shawn Cooper presided over Frank’s Kitchen on College Street (2010-17), they had a loyal clientele of serious foodies. And now Frank is back, bells, whistles and brass band in full form. There really is no other chef in Toronto whose cooking is as detailed and complex as Frank’s.

The new place, FK, is on St. Clair West, smack dab in the middle of the new uber-popular Humewood family neighbourhood.

It is not hip. It is comfy and pretty and not noisy. Ms. Cooper designed the place to be a symphony in blue and white, with nice big tables and a quite grand terrace outside.

She manages the waitstaff superbly; their smoothness matches the cuisine.

The menu changes constantly, but certain eternal verities stand: There is always Frank’s homemade bread, three kinds. My faves are the crusty country loaf and toasted onion focaccia. With different spreads daily. Pray for the roasted red pepper and chickpea spread.

Dinner always starts with a complex amuse. One night a tiny goat cheese sphere topped with micro greens, on which the waiter ceremonially pours a superbly creamy puréed beet borscht. Another night a tiny cube of liver pate sitting on a flower-shaped rice cracker, topped with pickled radish and greens. All on Frank’s homemade pottery!

One dinner we start with fat white asparagus sitting pretty atop a light sweet/tart hazelnut emulsion. And the first really fine Oysters Rockefeller I’ve ever had, in many years of oyster-loving. This dish is usually leaden, overcooked oysters under a thick gluey blanket of stodge. Not Frank’s! His oysters are perfectly cooked, their hollandaise roof a lemony cloud to inhale. Licking the shells is mandatory.

That night he does superb lobster risotto, the rice al dente, the sauce a rich tomato lobster hybrid, the lobster flesh tender as can be.

He also does a big fat venison chop strewn with seven accompaniments: Curvy smears of blood orange gastrique and shepherd pepper purée, fricasseed crosnes and pears, tiny white onion flowers on the venison and a mixture of spinach and mushroom duxelles under it. It hangs together, although is perhaps a tad … busy.

If one had any criticism of Frank’s cooking, that would be it. Putting eight elements on one plate is too many. So much heart, such obsessional effort and such a fine cook. Perhaps simplify a tad? And you know what, it might help draw the hipsters.

FK, 770 St. Clair Avenue West, (416) 551 – 9731.

How to personalize home decor

By

Andrew Mannsbach

-

9:10 am

0

Whether you’re an interior designer trying to add your signature flair to every space you touch or you’re a designer at heart, finding your own voice is a challenge.

Design is a saturated landscape, and thanks to blogs and platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest, we’re surrounded by image after image of other people’s work.

Although being aware and inspired by the work of others is awesome, inspiration-intoxication can be debilitating and leave you more confused than ever as to what your signature style should be.

As a designer, I’ve been down the frustrating road of discovering my personal style, so here are some tips on how to establish your own unique voice.

Diversify and hoard
Gain inspiration from as many sources as possible. Hoard anything and everything that piques your interest — the more varied, the better. And look beyond your favourite five! The more sources you get inspiration from — and the more you gather influence from other avenues like movies, pop culture, fashion, fine art, etc. — the more likely the resulting work will be unique and signature.

To use an analogy, think of a meat grinder: if all you add is pork and beef, you’ll be able to pinpoint the pork and beef within the sausage. Add in chicken, turkey, herbs, vegetables and spices — so to speak — and you’ll end up with a complex but complementary result.

Define similarities
After you’ve gathered a library of inspiration, sift through it and search for threads of continuity. What do all of your inspiration images have in common? Maybe it’s the colour blue, maybe it’s the use of glass or metal, maybe it’s a bohemian flair. Defining what it is you like gets you one step closer to defining your own unique style.

Recall your roots
What makes you tick? Where did you come from? What makes you you? If you try to run from your roots you won’t create something authentic, so discover and embrace your own special sauce.

Stay curious
They say curiosity killed the cat, but it has also killed many creative blocks. Explore and ask more questions! Even if you nail a certain style or approach, divert from it — if only for a while. Question your process, toy with your comfort zone, fall but get up again. I can’t guarantee you’ll like the result every time, but I can guarantee you’ll learn something, which can sometimes bring you even closer to defining your personal style.

Sabrina Smelko is the co-host of HGTV Canada’s $ave My Reno, designer of pixels, places + things and creative director at Wild and Light.

T.O.’s club king pairs art and haute cuisine

By

Andrew Mannsbach

-

3:55 pm

0

big opens
At club king Charles Khabouth’s SOFIA (99 Yorkville Ave.), everything is luxe to the max: the dining room is decked out in snowy white accents and rich red velvet; chef Christine Mast’s Italian classics are plated with artistry and care, and there is one seriously chi-chi cocktail menu from Nishan Nepulangoda (of the former Blowfish).

If Grant van Gameren builds it, they will come. He now joins forces with restaurateurs Jamie Cook (Pizzeria Libretto) and Max Rimaldi (Tennessee Tavern) to present ROSALINDA, (133 Richmond St. W.), an exciting new vegan Mexican concept, which aims to win over carnivores and herbivores alike.

Sip cocktails like your favourite tragic literary millionaire at the GATSBY (18 St. Thomas St.) in the Windsor Arms Hotel. Oozing with charm, this place is perfect for a dalliance with a disillusioned heiress or a night out with friends. There’s a prix fixe menu, fancy bar snacks and a 10,000-bottle wine cellar (no one goes thirsty here). Plus there’s a house pianist to tickle the ivorys.

foodie finds
Nights out at Yonge & Eg just got a lot more lively with the addition of FOUR BARREL HOLLY’S (150 Eglinton Ave. E.) With 36 beers on tap and an ex-Montrealer for a chef, you can expect some excellent authentic poutine to pair with your craft brew of choice.

New Kensington breakfast sandwich spot Eggs Before All Else or EGG BAE (189 Augusta Ave.) is obsessed with the breakfast standby. Locally sourced, free-run eggs are served atop fresh-baked buns and paired with house-made hash browns.

Get your engines revved up at motorcycle-themed STRAY (532 College St.), a new bar in Little Italy that not only serves up cocktails and tasty snacks, but also aims to be a hub for Toronto’s hog-lovers.

Japanese pancakes are officially a “thing” in T.O. FUWA FUWA’s (408 Bloor St. W.) jiggly version is fluffy, light, sweet and totally addictive.

coming soon
The team at Alo has already mastered fine dining and upscale diner fare (see cover story). Now we eagerly anticipate ALO BAR. (162 Cumberland St.). It opens this summer, taking over the space that formerly housed Crème Brasserie.

After a year’s hiatus, the popular summer market at Union Station returns come July 1. UNION SUMMER promises food vendors, daily live music and more. Fingers crossed for the return of Death in Venice’s gelato and Momofuku’s tasty noodles.

The Food Dudes themselves are opening up a new fine dining concept at King and Portland. Coming this August, SARA, (98 Portland St.) will serve up Japanese-inspired dishes. In other Food Dudes news, two BLONDIE’S PIZZA locations are in the works for the Financial District and Leslieville.

Board game nerds, this place is for you. STORM CROW MANOR (580 Church St.) is set to open in the (probably — OK, definitely —haunted) Victorian mansion in the village. There will be secret doors, mad scientist cocktail bars and all sorts of geeky surprises.

sad to see you go
HAWKER BAR on Ossington is no more. We raise a Kaffir Coco to six years of hip drinks and tasty southeast Asian cuisine.

Drake and Susur Lee’s King West resto FRING’S is closing. After only a few short years, it’s on to bigger and better things for the 6god and celebrity chef.

Sadly, we also saw NOORDEN FOOD BAR close its doors last month. With good Dutch and Indonesian food relatively rare in T.O., it will be missed.

After an impressive 18 years, Parkdale’s CADILLAC LOUNGE has been sold. All is not lost, however — the new management will keep it as a live music venue.

Who the heck is Andrea Horwath?

By

-

1:31 pm

0

In the final days leading up to the election, if there is one storyline that was unexpected, it is the rise of the New Democratic Party led by Hamilton native Andrea Horwath. The single mom has never wavered from her game plan and has finally broken through with voters as the clear choice for progressives. In a way, she’s managing to unite the left, and if she can somehow appeal to the mushy-middle, anti–Doug Ford vote, she’s got a real chance to become the next premier of Ontario on June 7. Let’s see what makes her tick:

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Oh my gosh, these days it’s a bubble bath and a glass of wine.

What is your greatest fear?
I’m a mom, so my greatest fear is something going wrong with my son.

Name one thing you would like to change about yourself.
Oh, you know, my sweet tooth.

What is the one trait you most deplore in others?
I don’t like the BS, you know. I like people to be straight and not full of baloney.

Which living person do you most admire?
That’s a hard one only because I get my inspiration from so many different people and not necessarily famous people, just everyday working folks who try to make a good life for themselves and their families. People struggle, and for me those are the heroes.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Probably getting my nails and toenails done on a regular basis.

Which words do you most overuse?
Because I’m a politician, I think I use the phrase, “in fact” a lot. It’s kind of a rejoinder, especially these days when we are on the campaign trail and there is all kinds of loose information out there.

Who or what is the greatest love of your life?
My son would be my greatest love, and number two would be my dog, Waffle.

Which talent would you most like to have?
I’d like to be able to carry a tune.

What is your favourite television show?
Probably The Blacklist, although I don’t watch it on TV. I watch it on Netflix because, first of all, I didn’t start watching it until recently, and second of all, I don’t have time to tune into anything on time. If there is one other show I try to watch if I have a minute it’s Jeopardy. I still like Alex Trebek. Is that old-fashioned or what.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Probably my commitment to my exercise routine. I need to be a bit more disciplined on exercise.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
What I’m doing right now: being able to be the leader of a political party and show the province of Ontario during this election that things can be done differently.

What is your most treasured possession?
I would have to say, it’s a part of a bigger possession. I have something that was given to me by a First Nations leader in northern Ontario. It’s called a bundle, and it’s actually a turtle shell, and I use it as a receptacle for other treasured items like, for example, baby teeth, a ring my son gave me, coins from different countries, an edelweiss my father gave me. It’s kind of a neat thing.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I would say Agnes Macphail. She was one of the first female MPPs, and she fought battles that nobody else would fight for people that nobody else really cared about. And I see her as someone I very much admire.

What is your greatest regret?
I try not to focus too much on regrets. They stop you from building your future. You lose a lot of energy from regrets. Learn from your mistakes and move on.

When and where were you happiest?
When I was spending more time with my son, as a mom, when he was young. He’s 25 now, but that was a happy time.

Reuben and the Dark singer’s musical marriage

By

Andrew Mannsbach

-

9:27 am

0

West Coast transplants Reuben Bullock (of the band Reuben and the Dark) and Kaelen Ohm have been calling T.O. home for a few years now. The pair, who went from best friends to bandmates to partners, are looking forward to Field Trip festival where the band will perform on June 2. Although they have always shared a strong passion for music, Ohm won’t be joining them onstage. She is focusing on her film career as an actor, director, producer and editor. She’s also been the genius behind the lens of some of the band’s music videos. Here, they give us the scoop on their offstage love story.

How they met
Reuben: I was playing a show at Weeds Cafe in Calgary in 2009. Kaelen’s band was opening for us, and I was smitten.
Kaelen: It was my first show with my first band, and I was so nervous that I don’t remember meeting him at all.

The first date
Kaelen: Three and a half years later, after a friendship had grown between us, I needed a ride from a Nelly concert at the Calgary Stampede because I accidentally got very intoxicated. Three things that are pretty out of character for me — rap concerts, the Stampede and getting drunk.
Reuben: I picked her up on my motorbike and we had a campfire. I think we spent the next week together completely inseparable, and she moved in to my basement suite with me a month later.

The courtship
Reuben: I was courting her for a long time. We had a breakfast date during the winter one year, and I got in a car accident on the way. I rear-ended a car en route to the diner but still made it in time.
Kaelen: I was strangely oblivious to him courting me for almost three years. The summer of 2013 was magical. We drove through B.C. and swam in every lake we could find, jumped off bridges and explored antique stores.

The proposal
Reuben: I proposed after four months of dating. I had met with a ring maker she liked while on tour in New York. I had meant to propose the next day on a beach I had found a couple of years earlier, but I jumped the gun. It felt like the right time and I’m also the worst at keeping secrets.
Kaelen: We went to Sayulita, Mexico, together. We were walking home one night on the beach and he proposed. We cried and took some photos.

The wedding
Kaelen: We got married in Calgary at the Hart House, a heritage home that at one point belonged to the wrestling family [Owen and Brett Hart]. Our friend was living in it at the time, and we were so lucky to spend a week there and celebrate with family and friends.
Reuben: Kaelen was still in the band at that point and we had to play festivals on the weekends before and after the wedding, so we took a little mini-moon in Fernie, B.C. (her hometown), at a place called Island Lake Lodge.

Balancing careers and marriage
Kaelen: Our lives are in a constant flow of change with our jobs. We are really blessed to wake up each day and paint it the way we want to. It took some time to balance working together in the band, and eventually I stepped out to focus on my acting career. We’re learning that checking in with each other is really important.
Reuben: We’re really learning how to enjoy working together, when we are, and appreciate the times when we aren’t. Our collaborations are feeling stronger than ever, and I think it’s because we took a step back and focused on finding a balance of independence and partnership.

Cemetery land dispute heads to court

By

-

4:04 pm

0

A group of midtown residents, dubbed the Friends of Toronto Public Cemeteries (FTPC), is asking the province to reclaim approximately 1,200 acres of land across the GTA that is governed by a private not-for-profit corporation called the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries (MPGC).

Mount Pleasant Cemetery, a large swath of greenery that stretches from Yonge Street to Bayview Avenue, was opened by MPGC in 1876. The legal battle will decide its fate, along with nine other locations operating under MPGC’s management, including York Cemetery in North York.

Margot Boyd, founder of FTPC, argued that all of MPGC’s land holdings belong to the trustees of the Toronto General Burying Grounds (a public trust) according to an 1849 statute that was never repealed.

Since then, it has evolved, some argue wrongfully, into the private entity MPGC.

According to a statement issued by John Thibodeau, spokesperson for MPGC, the not-for-profit was incorporated by a special act of the Ontario Legislature in 1871 that made MPGC the owner of the land acquired up until that point, and other statutes authorized MPGC to acquire additional cemetery land over the years.

Boyd contested the claim and said the public should be concerned that the management of the land is happening behind closed doors.

“MPGC can do whatever they want with that land. They need to become accountable and transparent,” she said. “I think we need to do an audit because there are extremely large sums of money involved, and we don’t know where they’ve been going.”

In the statement, MPGC insisted its “ownership of the cemetery properties has been clear and beyond dispute for nearly 150 years” and said it would be “ludicrous” to suggest MPGC would ever sell or redevelop the land with 600,000 individuals interred throughout it.

FTPC and MPGC will both plead their cases to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Aug. 20 and 21.

FTPC held a community meeting on May 14 that was attended by councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, of Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale, who is a co-applicant on the case as a private citizen, and councillor Josh Matlow, of Ward 22 St. Paul’s.

Matlow said he believes the city should declare an interest in the case and asked city staff to report to the government management committee on the matter for June 5.

MPGC has stated the land will remain publicly accessible regardless of the case’s outcome.

Toronto gets an Indigenous fashion week

By

Andrew Mannsbach

-

2:30 pm

0

Fashion in our fair city is having a bit of a moment, from Meghan Markle (now the Duchess of Sussex) rocking a coat by Line The Label to Manolo Blahnik choosing T.O. as the only North American stop for his Art of Shoes exhibition. While fashion is top of mind in T.O., the city is about to get its first annual Indigenous Fashion Week.

The event will take place at the Harbourfront Centre from May 31 to June 3. The spotlight will be on designers such as T.O.’s Lesley Hampton (Anishinabe) and Warren Steven Scott (Nlaka’pamux), along with artists from New Brunswick, like Ingrid Brooks (Mi’kmaq), Greenland’s Nuuk Couture (Inuit) and Minnesota’s Delina White (Ojibwa). There will also be workshops and a panel series with Kent Monkman, Jesse Wente and more.

Local Grad: Filmmaker Leah Rifkin on her love of short films

By

Andrew Mannsbach

-

1:56 pm

0

Leah Rifkin learned how to strike the balance of work and play at a young age.

Langstaff Secondary School was full of extracurricular opportunities, and this intrepid adolescent took full advantage by throwing herself into the drama department.

“Plays were a big part of my life,” Rifkin says.

And even though, she was a bit of a self-proclaimed “study nerd,” she remained social.

“For a long time I wanted to act, but then I realized that I preferred the behind-the-scenes stuff more, and that I wasn’t as passionate about acting,” says Rifkin.

In co-directing both fall and spring plays in Grade 12, she learned that her real passion was to direct films.

Throughout her years at Langstaff Secondary School, Rifkin knew she wanted to score a scholarship.

She ended up doing just that when she received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship and applied it to the radio and television arts program at Ryerson University.

The small size of the radio and television arts program allowed for easy networking and collaboration, that would not be possible with bigger programs.

“We did a bit of everything, which helped me streamline my preferences,” she says.

Rifkin began creating her own content and registered her business, Scarlet Lens Productions, in her second year at Ryerson University.

It was through that business that she would create her first web short, A Crowded Mind, which can still be found on YouTube.

It was after her fourth and final year, however, that she really dug into her own film work.

She created the web series Out of Frame, which won best in “edu-tainment” at the 2014 Miami Web Festival and best in education at the 2015 Buffer Festival (an annual showcase of YouTube video premieres) in Toronto.

She also wrote a book, Beyond The Director’s Chair, that highlights leaderships skills for aspiring directors.

Recently Rifkin had the opportunity to attend MIPCOM, an event in Cannes, France where content makers converge from across the globe to network and pitch ideas. It was there that Rifkin was able to expand her network.

In fact, she’s headed to the Busan Contents Market in South Korea this month, to further develop her connections in the Asian market, and she’s currently developing specialized web series content with a company in Colombia.

Lots of exciting developments are coming for Rifkin and Scarlet Lens Productions.

Her short film Dinner with Bernice was an official selection at the 2018 Toronto Shorts International Film Festival.

And a second short film, A Last Wish, will be submitted to the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival this year.

Needless to say, Rifkin and Scarlet Lens Productions are bound for some exciting future projects.

Some of those projects even include developing television and getting involved with the new frontier of interactive film.

When asked what advice Rifkin has for the future generation of filmmakers, she says, “Live your Plan A. That’s my life’s motto. You’re here in this lifetime to do something amazing, so don’t even think about your Plan B. Just live your Plan A.”