It’s been a rather tumultuous year for Jamie Kennedy, what with the closing of Provenance Regional Cuisine and the opening of Windows by Jamie Kennedy. Now Toronto Life is reporting that Gilead Café and Bistro will be discontinuing its regular dinner service and re-launching as an events space.
Toronto is obsessed with tacos these days. That means tortillas have been getting thrown in the limelight too, and later this month, the flatbread will be getting some serious treatment in Liberty Village. Taking over the old Liberty Belle Bistro space is Maizal Quesadilla Cafe, an upcoming takeout-oriented restaurant that focuses on corn and the traditional Mexican dishes derived from it — tortillas in particular. And tacos won’t be on the menu.
Back in February, when chef Carl Heinrich announced he was leaving Marben to start his own project, the obvious speculation was that he had probably done really well on Top Chef Canada. It turns out he did: yesterday’s season finale revealed that he is officially Canada’s top chef and claimant to the $100,000 prize.
Extra brut this sparkler is not; there’s some sweetness in mid- palate that is reminiscent of a Prosecco. Produced from Chardonnay, Semillon and Malbec grapes, this is a well-priced bubbly with sweet pear and citrus flavours.
By lindsaylow
I don’t think Conrad Black is dining at Gusto 101. For one thing, they don’t take reservations after 6 p.m., and for another, His Lordship might not like the noise. It might remind him too much of where he spent his last couple of years. Oh, and for another thing, most of the good stuff … Continued
Canadian food is disgusting. As a nation, we are stoically proud of this fact. Few countries are as talented at taking gross food and making it even more gross than it was previously. We think tomato juice should have clam juice mixed into it. Our French fries come drenched in gravy, with cheese curds that squeak. And when a pita wrap is put into the hands of a Nova Scotian, it ends up drowned in a sauce that’s so sweet it simply defies common sense.
One good thing about globalization is that the sake available in Toronto these days is no longer solely limited to the poorest examples of Japan’s national liquor. If the only sake you’ve ever tried has been the “house sake” at the nearest all-you-can-eat sushi joint, then you haven’t had sake. In honour of Kampai Toronto’s Festival of Sake, this evening at The Distillery District, we offer you seven reasons to make sake your drink of choice.
No one drinks rosé between October and April, but wine is otherwise less weather-dependent than beer. Already, two of my five First Draught posts have profiled seasonals — beers that breweries only make and sell at a certain time of year.
The monolithic Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking — a 50-pound, six-volume encyclopedia featuring 2,400 pages of elaborate cooking lore — will soon be adding another robust recipe-repository to its high-end cookbook family. Capitalizing on the surprising commercial success of its big brother, the upcoming Modernist Cuisine At Home moves away from the restaurant industry and towards the home kitchen, designed to “set a new standard for home cookbooks.”
Grand Electric’s restaurant’s 40-seat capacity — combined with sweet tacos — meant that wait times to get into the place often exceeded two hours. With the new patio, the capacity hits 100, and wait times are apparently down to 45 minutes or less.
Last February, TOCA opened its doors at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, riding on a tidal wave of high expectations. At its helm was acclaimed chef Tom Brodi, whose ten years at Canoe, the big daddy of Toronto fine dining, had left foodies salivating with anticipation over his newest venture.
It wasn’t without a bit of sentimentality (okay, a lot of sentimentality) that Joanne Kates announced her retirement from The Globe and Mail after 38 years as the newspaper’s restaurant critic. Still, Kates never intended to remain silent, which is why we’re pleased to announce that she’ll be doing two restaurant reviews for us each month.
