Recent ruling on prostitution & the numbers behind T.O.'s street trade

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1:16 pm

Following a recent Ontario Superior Court decision striking down Canada’s prostitution laws, Post City Magazines takes a statistical look at the sex trade in Toronto.

28

The date, this past September, on which Canada’s prostitution laws were struck down in an Ontario Superior Court, making it legal, potentially, for prostitutes to communicate with clients, work indoors and hire bodyguards, among other things

10,000

Approximate number of prostitutes in the city of Toronto (Toronto Star, 1997)

$80

The going rate for a “full service” experience in downtown Toronto (Toronto Star, 2009)

1892

The year the Criminal Code enacted provisions against prostitution, whereas the actual act of prostitution remains legal — to this day

63

The number of prostitutes murdered in Canada between 1991 and 1995 (Statistics Canada)

924

The number of listings in the “erotic services” section of Craigslist Toronto advertising prostitution — a service the Ontario government plans to eliminate

Brodi taps Canadiana for Ritz resto

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3:44 pm

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Tom Brodi wants his patrons to have the inside scoop on how their meals are crafted.

Brodi, former chef de cuisine at the Canoe Restaurant, has created a customer-friendly design for his newest eatery, Toca, set to open in January 2011 on the first floor of Toronto’s new Ritz-Carlton.

The 8,000-square-foot space includes a private section open to the kitchen so patrons can interact with Brodi and his team as they work their culinary magic.

The restaurant also features a walk-in cellar, where customers can hand-pick their accompanying wine (mostly Canadian), and a glassed-in “cheese cave”.

Brodi sums up Toca’s menu as “Canadiana”, which, to him, means focusing on classic northern dishes like souffles and fish, using local, naturally raised ingredients.

Toca is located in the Ritz-Carlton, 181 Wellington St.W.

Salt co-owner wants to be the big fish on Ossington

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4:29 pm

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The Ossington Avenue ban on new restaurants and bars could have prompted William Tavares to take his trade elsewhere in a huff, but the restaurateur has hung around long enough to outlast the ban, open up one resto, and now he has plans for a second.

On the heels of re-opening Salt Wine Bar, Tavares is preparing to launch Fishbar a mere three doors away.

His latest project will feature tapas-style dishes priced between $7 to $16. The name doesn’t disappoint, as options will include calamari, caviar, fresh fish, lobster and oysters.

"I’m really fond of simple, elegant dishes," Tavares tells PostCity.com. "I think fish has loads of flavour and I think it’s about bringing out the flavours of the fish."

The timing was a fluke. When the right space became available, he leapt at the opportunity to put his new concept into motion.

"I’ve always wanted to do a fish restaurant in Toronto," says Tavares.

Fish is an area that he doesn’t think anyone has really "conquered" in this city. He says he hopes to contend with Oyster Boy, Rodney’s and Starfish, to name a few.

Tavares is collaborating with Jamie Duran, who is on board as manager and sommelier. Although he won’t say who, he has also snagged an assistant who previously worked for a Toronto oyster house to help him start an oyster program.

Aiming for an all-American feel, Tavares says the casual dining restaurant will have a fun, warm atmosphere.

With seats for about 60, and an 18-foot bar, he describes its look as "clean" and "market-fresh." "I hope that it’s a great eatery where people can come and enjoy the flavours of the ocean," says Tavares.

He is planning to open Fishbar in mid-December, so he can make a splash before the restaurant industry cools off for the winter.

T.O.'s favourite soups: Not-so super bowls

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10:56 am

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We tested two of Toronto’s favourite soups — Rodney’s clam chowder and Yen Ching’s hot and sour — and analyzed each bowl’s caloric, sodium, and fat content.

What our lab discovered just might surprise you.

TEST PARAMETERS: Results relate only to the items tested. A standard margin of error applies for each item and is available to view at www.postcity.com.

*DAILY VALUE PERCENTAGES: Health Canada uses a 2,000-calorie diet as the benchmark for nutritional labelling, and so did we. Subsequent values for total fat and carbohydrates are derived as a percentage of that diet.

Upscale bowling coming to downtown T.O.

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4:39 pm

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The Ballroom Bowl, a 10-lane bowling alley with a 300-seat sports bar and restaurant, is set to open next month at the corner of John and Richmond streets in the old Montana’s space.

With a $4 million price tag, don’t expect the 20,000 square foot venue to look like the Bowlerama you frequented as a teenager.

Chef Tawfik Shehata, formerly of Vertical restaurant, has been hired as the executive chef and he says the menu will be all about having fun.

“We’ll have burgers, pogos,” Shehata, who is looking after the Ruby Watchco kitchen this week, tells PostCity.com.

He said he plans to focus the menu on local and accessible foods.

The bowling alley will be on the main floor while the bar and restaurant will be set up on the second level.

Popular Summerhill restaurant adds new location

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7:59 am

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Brownes Bistro is opening a second location and bringing something new to the table.

The owners — also known as the Jacob brothers — of the sophisticated French bistro are taking over the former Terroni location, near Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue.

But Bennett Jacob, co-owner and chef, says they’ll focus on classic Italian food instead.

The fare with a focus on pizza and pasta will be reasonably priced, says Jacob, generally less that $20 for an entrée. Both brothers have experience in higher-end cuisine but are aiming for a more relaxed atmosphere for Brownes’ latest project.

They hope to open in the first week of January 2011.

Buy your date a drink with Canadian Tire money

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1:16 pm

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I have a pile of Canadian Tire money sitting at home. Is there anywhere else in Toronto I can cash it?

Has your stack of Sandy McTires finally reached critical mass in that kitchen drawer? Instead of splurging on the latest Chop Socky kitchen gadget or a tire pressure gauge, consider, if you will, the Done Right Inn.

Located at 861 Queen St. W. near Trinity Bellwoods Park, the bar accepts Canadian Tire money at par, with the caveat that expenditures are limited to approximately $30 per visit. The bar has a fine selection of beers on tap, and single malts along with an array of alcohol-related pursuits.

Sandy would be pleased.

I noticed some new squares painted on the pavement at an intersection downtown. What are they?

The bike boxes are the city’s latest addition to Toronto’s cycling infrastructure.

The first boxes went up last month at the intersection of Harbord Street and St. George Street, with more on the way.

The theory is simple: the boxes are painted onto intersections such that cars would stop a few metres earlier than usual, with cyclists given priority between the cars and the intersection. Reasons are twofold. For one, cyclists will have a safe place to wait during red lights. And secondly, cyclists turning left will be able to safely negotiate their way through the intersection.

Five bike box intersections are planned for this fall along the Harbord, Hoskin and College Street cycling lanes.

Yorkville fashion duo generating buzz overseas

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2:26 pm

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Glenna Weddle and Faith Orfus know a thing or two about fashion.

After all, the co-owners of Yorkville’s RAC Boutique have more than two decades of professional styling and buying between them. True, RAC has only been open for two months (and then some), but they’re generating enough buzz to catch the attention of local and not-so-local media alike.

Case in point: Eye Weekly’s Sarah Nicole Prickett profiled the boutique just as TIFF crowds were preparing to invade the "mink mile," and, more recently, UK travel writer Sarah Barrell gave a hat-tip to the shop in a mini profile of "Toronto the Good," seen here.

So what’s all the fuss about?

Well, as Weddle explains, RAC features an expertly curated mix of well- and lesser- known labels. Something for (almost) everyone.

"We wanted to create a boutique with a bit of a New-York-meets-Paris kind of vibe," says Weddle. "Sure, we want to carry trendy pieces, but we also offer classics."

While the two owners like to support local talent, they’re "obsessed” with Australian fashion, carrying hard-to-find Aussie labels like Sass and Bide and Lover the Label. They’ll also be stocking Ksubi jeans come the spring.

For those who’ve got holiday parties on the brain (and schedule), Weddle says the store is just about to receive a "big shipment of dresses —nice, transitional pieces." Meaning, of course, that you’ll find great garments that’ll take you from the office to, well, wherever. "You just have to accessorize properly," Weddle explains.

After revealing that this season’s LBD is the LBVD —that’s Little Black Velvet Dress — Weddle concludes our conversation with a prediction:

"I think there’s going to be a renaissance here in Yorkville," she says. "More and more boutiques are opening up in the area, and TIFF means that the foot traffic gets really crazy. We’re seeing a lot more younger, hipper people walking around here."

RAC Boutique, 124 Cumberland Street, Toronto, 647-352-4433

Joanne Kates' five fabulous $50 food finds

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9:54 am

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BUSTING THE BANK for the holidays means less cash for dining, but that doesn’t have to mean a substantial drop in quality. Herewith, five of the top cheap thrills in town.

This Vietnamese soup is un-pho-gettable!

The best pho in town is served at this ungentrified Ossington dive, where huge bowls of pho are built on supernal stock. Classic rare beef pho has big thin slices of tender rare beef atop fat rice noodles, its beef broth made complex with star anise. Chicken pho is sweet strong broth with big pieces of moist chicken and rice noodles. Seafood pho is that marvellous chicken stock with thin egg noodles, barely wilted leaf lettuce and seafood. They garnish it with just-fried browned onion shreds, to great effect.

Golden Turtle is located at 125 Ossington Ave., 416-531-1601.

Classic surroundings surpassed by cuisine

For old world grace and gentility at lunchtime and Sunday brunch, nobody beats Gallery Grill. On the second floor of the neo-Gothic Hart House overlooking the Great Hall, there are stained glass windows under the vaulted ceiling, starched white napery and cuisine to match.

Suzanne Baby’s cooking is both elegant and modern. It changes often, but look especially for her feathery gnocchi with lemon and arugula, her deep rich soups, salads like charred endive with duck cracklings, and roasted freshwater fish always with interesting sides. Sunday brunch features the likes of fresh-squeezed juices and house-marinated fresh mackerel with perfectly poached eggs, smoked trout and buttery brioche toast. The Grill’s only weakness is that we want more: Would that they served dinner!

Gallery Grill is located at 7 Hart House Circle, 647-259-8736.

From Chiu Chow to Toronto

Chiu Chow is a Cantonese province of China, which means its food is lightly sauced and they tend to let ingredients speak for themselves. One often finds garlic and vinegar as a light sauce for poultry in Chiu Chow cooking, and at Chiu Chow Boy they do superbly tender duck like that, with subtle five-spice flavouring in its flesh.

The long green garlic chives that we see in Chinese markets appear with sweet chewy Chinese sausage and Chinese summer squash as garnish for noodles. XO (the famous sauce of Hong Kong, made from long cooking-down of dried shrimps and scallops with chili, Chinese ham, garlic and onion in oil) appears as benediction for stirfried turnip, rendering it an astonishment of delight. Any cook who can do that to turnip has my vote.

Chiu Chow Boy is located at 3261 Kennedy Rd., 416-335- 0336.

Thai food to wake the senses

A sweet little restaurant with attentive service and unusually assertive flavours. Their soups are robust and based on fine ingredients — especially the nicely balanced hot and sour soup. Cashew chicken is plenty of crunchy cashews with tender chicken made interesting with garlic and orange.

That same high level of flavour awareness takes beef with eggplant to an unusual taste level thanks to generous lashings of basil, onions and chiles. The green mango salad is also tastier than elsewhere.

Sorn Thai is located at 2550 Yonge Street, 416-322-3563.

Mighty Mexican fiesta for less

How does a fast food joint get so high on this list? It's simple. They do one thing, and they do it classy. They avoid the twin pitfalls of stuffing their burritos with mostly rice, and of using cheap ingredients in general.

Never before Burrito Boyz have I known the pleasure of perfectly deep fried halibut in thin batter in a burrito. Other options for filling include beans, properly cooked chicken (as opposed to the ossified mess most often found in fast food joints), and veg (green peppers and tomatoes with good cheddar barely melted). They toast our burrito to crispy after garnishing it to order with competent guacamole, rice, peppers, tomato, fresh jalapenos, refried beans, Monterey Jack cheese and creamy/sharp burrito sauce. Salsas come in mild – pico de gallo, green sauce, and tomato, exciting – jalapeno, and mouthsearing – their own hot sauce made from Scotch bonnet peppers

Burrito Boyz is located at 218 Adelaide Street West, 647-439- 4065.

City lifts Ossington moratorium, Salt Wine Bar re-opens

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2:29 pm

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The City of Toronto has lifted its moratorium on new restaurants and bars on Ossington Avenue, and Salt Wine Bar, which was closed by the city for violating the regulations, is wasting no time reopening its doors.

Salt manager and co-owner William Tavares tells us that he got a call from outgoing Coun. Joe Pantalone’s office saying the moratorium was over and Salt was free to open.

Originally, the May 2009 moratorium was supposed to only last one year. However, it was held in place because of a challenge to a zoning bylaw that limited the size of new restaurants and bars to 2,400 square feet.

The four parties that opposed the bylaw — three of which were owners of units on Ossington — withdrew their challenge from before the Ontario Municipal Board on October 12, city planner Jeff Markowiak confirmed to PostCity.com.

With the challenge out of the way, Markowiak said the moratorium is now officially over.

Last September, in an attempt to try and skirt the moratorium, Salt opened using a catering license but the move didn’t last long and the restaurant was shut down in early October.

Tavares estimates the moratorium has cost his business more than $500,000 in expenses and lost revenue.

"The whole moratorium shows that these politicians are just out for their own benefit," Tavares told PostCity.com.

Salt is re-opening Tuesday night and will feature a new winter menu, with highlights including Duck Confit Ravioli, Crispy Pork Belly and Quebec Foie Gras.

Calls to Pantalone’s office and the OMB were not immediately returned.

Coffee guru reveals how to make the perfect cup

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12:23 pm

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Toronto got a taste of Viennese coffee culture this week with a visit from Franz Grünwald, a world-champion Austrian barista and certified coffee fanatic.

Grünwald took over the counter at Timothy’s World Coffee on Danforth Avenue for a few hours Monday for a one-on-one demonstration and discussion.

Grünwald, who has over two decades of experience in the coffee industry and currently works as a trainer for Tchibo Coffee Services’ Coffee Academy in Vienna, shared his top tips for a perfect cup of coffee with PostCity.com:

Since 98 per cent of a cup of coffee is water, water quality is a big deal. Not only should it be as fresh as possible, but Grünwald says Toronto’s tap water is too hard for an ideal cup of java and recommends the use of a water softener.
The blend is crucial. If you’re an espresso enthusiast, you need to be using an espresso blend, which is roasted differently than, say, a filter blend.
Grinder! Grünwald advocates for a good-quality grinder, kept as clean as possible. Also, check your grinder settings. Espresso beans need a very fine setting, while beans ground for a French press need to be coarser.
Your machine, be it French press, percolator or anything in between, should be squeaky-clean. Any grit or residue and your coffee machine might not process the grounds properly or reach the optimum temperature for brewing.
Know your roasts. A dark roast is generally bolder, with a sugary taste, while a lighter roast is more complex because the oils haven’t been destroyed by longer roasting times.

Grünwald also spoke about the "third wave" coffee movement, which goes beyond the era of the Starbucks grande cappuccino and focuses on coffee cultivation, roasting, preparation and service as an artistic form.

This is the movement that brings you coffee connoisseurship and extravagant latte art.

Grünwald says the movement is about coffee quality, and all the couches and free Wi-Fi in the world can’t compensate for that.

"Some chains just have bad beans and bad product," he says.

Ossington area eatery is smokin’

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7:16 am

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A new smokehouse has made its way to the College and Ossington area.

Hadley’s is serving up barbecue entrees with stick-to-your- rib sides like coleslaw, baked beans and mac ’n’ cheese.

Lex Taman (chef and co-owner along with Eric Hadley) says they want to provide hearty fare but in an atmosphere conducive to a diverse crowd.

It’s a place where students and families are welcome, says Taman, but “gets romantic with the lights turned down low.”

Entrees range from $9 to $20, with plates such as the smoked chicken lasagna being popular choices.

Hadley’s is located at 940 College St., 416-588-3113.