Chef Eric Wood is out at Hawthorne Food and Drink
Chef Eric Wood announced today that he has parted ways with Hawthorne Food and Drink, the Richmond Street restaurant that opened late last year. His last day in the kitchen was March 28.
Category: Food
Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co. is set to reopen soon under new ownership
Just under a year after the award-winning Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co. — a favourite among Toronto chefs — shuttered its doors, new owners are planning to reopen it.
First Draught: Alexander Keith’s Cascade Ale, a large-scale brewer’s foray into craft beer territory
For my first post of 2013, I questioned where craft beer starts and ends. In that case, I wrote about Granville Island’s Lion’s Winter Ale, a long-established craft brewery that was acquired by a much larger competitor (Molson Coors). The other route for macrobreweries that want to compete in the growing craft segment is to design flavourful beers from the ground up.
Drink This: The Yukon’s Luis Flores
The western end of Parkdale isn’t exactly bar-hopping territory. And at The Yukon, that’s how they like it. With nightly deals like buck-a-shuck oysters or half-priced vino, there’s good reason the locals have made it their local. Bar manager Katy McLean’s cocktail menu is yet another reason why folks keep returning.
Table Talk: Joanne Kates reviews Farmhouse Tavern
By lindsaylow
Farmhouse Tavern harkens back to a time of pastoral pleasures… The farms, the fields, the sweet smell of clover… No matter that most of us never lived that life or that the restaurant’s mission, to use only that which is produced in Ontario, is cute but silly. One, because the environmental benefits of eating local … Continued
Reds Wine Tavern and chef Ryan Gallagher part ways
When the financial district’s Reds Bistro relaunched as Reds Wine Tavern in October, there was a bit of buzz surrounding the fact that Top Chef Canada alum Ryan Gallagher would be heading up the kitchen. But already the restaurant is looking for a new head chef.
Playa Cabana is set to expand again with an upcoming third location
Toronto’s appetite for Mexican food appears to be just as strong as ever. Popular taco joint Playa Cabana just opened a second location in the Junction a few months ago, and now we’re told that a third location is in the works at 14 Dupont Street, not too far from the original location.
Tony Aspler’s Weekly Wine Pick: a German sparkling wine that dances on the tongue
The Germans call their sparkling wine made by the champagne method Sekt. Straw-coloured with a green tint, this sparkler has an oily, lime and honey nose with a floral top note. It’s elegant, light and lively on the palate with great tension between sweetness and citrus acidity. It fairly dances on the tongue.
First Draught: Rodenbach Classic, an easy-drinking introduction to sour beer
Following last week’s post about Brasserie des Rocs Grand Cru, there was a remarkable unity to the feedback I received. It all seemed to align around the common theme of, “If you think that grand cru beer is good, then you should definitely try Rodenbach Grand Cru.”
Drink This: The Drake Hotel’s Sons and Daughters
With sudden gusts of wind and swirling snow, Toronto is back in winter’s clutches. Fortunately, this week marks A Taste of Iceland in Toronto, a festival running from March 21–24 that celebrates all things pertaining to the Nordic land: folklore, Vikings, volcanoes and, yes, Icelandic cuisine.
Toronto’s gourmet Mac attack
Iceberg lettuce, white sesame seed buns and Thousand Island dressing: these ingredients were once relegated to the annals of fast food. No longer. Across Toronto, serious restaurants are paying tribute to the tasty (but terrible) McDonald’s. Why? When it tastes this good, who cares? Below, four elevated takes on Mickey D’s.
T.O.’s best Caesar salad
With the Ides of March upon us, chef Grant van Gameren stepped away from preparing for his hotly anticipated restaurant opening long enough to sample our area’s best Caesar salads.