Toronto is about to get oiled up and spice-rubbed down. The German-based company, Crescendo, opened two locations this month in Davisville and the Distillery District, bringing unique and high-quality oils, vinegars and spices to Hogtown.
This wine comes from the Rias Baixas region of Spain that neighbours Portugal’s Vinho Verde area. It’s straw in colour with an aromatic nose backed by mineral notes. The flavour is all peaches and melons with a spicy twang and a long, crisply dry finish. This wine is medium bodied and very satisfying.
Toronto’s Amsterdam Brewery announced the big news this week that they’re moving the bulk of their brewing operations to a new facility in Leaside and will be opening a 900-seat restaurant next spring. The retail spaces in both the uptown production facility and the upcoming waterfront brew pub will feature more room for experimental beers like our subject this week, Calm Before the Storm.
Sitting pretty in a former Slavic Pentecostal church, the aptly named Church Aperitivo Bar has been wooing west end cocktail enthusiasts since opening this past February. With its lengthy bar and cavernous feel, owner Sandra Cassaro has maintained the sanctity of the space, offering up a daily selection of Italian antipasti and stuzzichini to those who pop in for a drink.
If youʼre invested in the ʻbuy local’ movement – or just a proud Indie Coffee Passport carrier – grabbing a cup of joe in Little Italy may not be your go-to destination for caffeine refueling anymore. Not only has that Seattle Behemoth opened two spots in the ‘hood, but we’ve also learned that a new Presse Café is setting up shop on College Street.
Toronto’s dedication to overindulgence continues with news that Queen West’s Dlish Cupcakes will be opening a new location in Yorkville. To celebrate the opening, the shop is creating a new limited edition flavour, and fans are encouraged to make suggestions on Dlish’s Facebook page. Our favourite one so far? Cheeseburger. (But props to the obligatory shout-outs to bacon.) The new shop is slated to open later this month at 848a Yonge Street.
Moroccan favorite Walima Cafe is reopening after moving from its original home on the Danforth to a new location at 1943 Avenue Road. The doors will officially open early next week. East-end residents haven’t left in the dark, either: Sahara Nights Moroccan Lounge has taken over Walima’s old space at 1450 Danforth, offering shisha, kabobs, burgers, sandwiches, desserts and more.
Grown on the island of Santorini on vines that date back 50 to 200 years, this wine, made from two local Assyrtiko and Athiri varieties, reminded me of a Viognier. Golden straw in colour, you can smell its volcanic soil behind the melon and citrus aromas. It’s richly extracted, with an unctuous mouth feel and flavours of melon and peach, that finishes dry.
Each German city specializes in its own style of beer. Remarkably, most of them are lagers, which to the brewer means beer that’s bottom-fermented at cool temperatures and then kept in cool storage. To the drinker, it means clear and crisp flavours. Düsseldorf’s altbier is a sort of hybrid exception to this rule, so it makes sense that when Creemore Springs decided to brew its first ale, it was an alt.
John Hardy wanted to take Toronto by storm. The American expat was confident that he’d make his mark on the city’s barbecue scene; he even opened his restaurant, Hardys: a Hogtown Brasserie, a stone’s throw from barbecue stalwart The Stockyards. One year later, though, the restaurant has closed.
After catching word on Twitter that Queen West’s Banh Mi Boys would be opening a second location at the Eaton Centre, we called co-owner David Chau to find out more. He confirmed that a second location is in the works at the Eaton Centre’s Urban Eatery. The best part: while the menu will be largely the same, Chau said there will likely be a few surprises, too. The new location is expected to open early next year.
Renowned chef David Chang — ever heard of him? — has expanded his Momofuku empire to Toronto. Of course, that’s only news to those who have been living under something decidedly stone-like for the past year. The resultant buzz has turned Toronto’s foodsters into a throng of screaming Bieber girls, but is Momofuku going to revolutionize the city’s restaurant scene? Probably not. It already did that several years ago.
