Escape the office to Nathan Phillips Square every Thursday this summer, right up until September 1st! Each week an assortment of Toronto restaurants bring their cuisine for tastings, priced at $5 or less a serving! You’ll have the opportunity to sample everything from juicy burgers to delicious Pad Thai to fresh mango salad – basically, whatever you want for lunch is available!
A civic event produced by the City of Toronto, Tasty Thursdays offers free admission. For more information, check out the City’s website.
And now for the ultimate foodie event of the summer…Summerlicious! Get ready to dine in style for a fraction of the price as several of Toronto’s most beloved restaurants present affordable prix fixe menus, allowing you to sample their wares for a price that won’t break the bank. Lunches range in price from $15 to $25, while dinners start at $25 and peak at $45.
Summerlicious
Some of Toronto’s favourite restaurants, including Auberge du Pommier, Canoe, Frank Restaurant, Pangaea, Sassafraz and Spice Route will be participating in this year’s Summerlicious event. Enjoy Auberge du Pommier’s “Le Plat de Jambon et Moutarde” or “Ontario Fufala Mozarella, Sweet Peas, Celery, Honeyed Walnuts & King Crab” from Canoe’s menu for your appetizer; sample Frank’s “Pan Seared, Crisp Skinned Rainbow Trout Nicoise,” or Pangaea’s “Squid Ink Linguini with Shellfish” for your main; delight in “Louis d’Or, Fresh Fruits and Flatbreads” from Sassafraz or “Tempura Banana Caramel and Chocolate Swirl” from Spice Route to finish out your foray into Toronto’s cuisine.
Summerlicious continues until July 24th; for a full list of participating restaurants and their menus, go to the Summerlicious website (don’t blame us if you suddenly find yourself ravenous for some of Toronto’s finest foods)!
Ready to jam? Whether you’re a super-star in the making, or just want to check out some new music from soul, jazz, Motown, pop and funk aficionados, Open Jam Night hosted by Carolyn T is the place to be on a Monday night from 8pm until midnight!
Hosted at Harlem Restaurant at Richmond & Church, Open Jam Night is a community event for musicians and fans alike, providing an opportunity for musicians to collaborate, promote their music, and show off their talent! All instruments and voices are welcome; the Carolyn T Band includes bass, drums, keys and vocals, and invites you to sit in on any existing instrument. A drum kit, guitar amp, and/or DI box are also provided, so get ready to share your music, improvise, and have fun playing/listening to the music you love!
As everyone knows, Pride Week began on June 24th, and as the ten-day celebration picks up steam, there are plenty of things to see and do in Pride central, Church & Wellesley Village. If you haven’t got Crews & Tangos Restaurant & Bar on your 2011 Pride calendar, you’ll be missing out! This popular drag bar/dance bar/restaurant reopened its doors on April 16, 2010 after a mysterious closure a year before, and has since become a space for “multi-ethnic queer events,” adding “that something special to the LGBTQ neighbourhood.”
Sunday nights feature Caribbean Queen, Devine & Kera Keys, DJ Jay, Lady & The Tramps with Amanda, Amanda & Charo, and DJ Martin performing in “Crews;” Milk and The New York Sounds of DJ Relentless in “Tangos” and Latin Fever, DJ VIviana in “The Zone,” so get ready to dance the night away at Crews & Tangos!
Everyone’s Irish on St. Patty’s Day, so don your green attire and head out for a night on the town! Yes, it’s Thursday night, but every Irish pub in the city will be in fine form tonight – the Guinness will flow, the music will lilt, and you may not feel so well in the morning, but this day is simply not complete without a pint of the “black stuff.”
There are plenty of Irish pubs in Toronto: here’s a few:
Dora Keogh – 141 Danforth Ave. (Greektown on the Danforth)
Fionn MacCool’s – 181 University (Entertainment District), 21 St. Clair W. (Summerhill), 70 The Esplanade (King West)
You know that certain types of wine complement certain foods, but did you know that the same is true of beer? Dieu Du Ciel! Beer Tasting Dinner is your opportunity to become a beer connoisseur! You’ll enjoy a ten course beer dinner at Beerbistro, where beer is not only on the menu, it is an integral part of every menu item!
Whether it’s the cheese and lager fondue, beer bread pizza, or mussels steamed in beer broth, beer-lovers will rejoice as they enjoy a feast, featuring beer from Quebec-based master brewery, Dieu Du Ciel! Many of the beers on tap for tonight’s event were crafted specifically for this event and are unavailable anywhere else in the world.
Tickets are $125 plus HST and gratuity; you can book by phone: 416-861-9872. For more information about this event, go to the Winterlicious website, and to learn more about Beerbistro, check out their website.
A family-owned restaurant in operation since 1978, Rosedale Diner is well-known for serving “real food to real people” – Winterlicious is your opportunity to sample some of this “real” (and delicious!) food!
The eclectic wares of this establishment are reflected in the prix fixe menus for lunch and dinner: as an appetizer, why not try a sweet pea soup with crispy leeks and chili oil drizzle? Or how about Israeli hummus with za’atar and warm chickpeas with extra virgin olive oil? Entree choices include everything from a brie and apple omelet with onion frits, curried chicken mango salad, Moroccan lamb shank tagine, a vegetarian moussaka, and “poutine au canard:” off-the bone duck confit and Québécois cheese curds with frites and demi-glace gravy! Assorted desserts will leave you completely satisfied with this Bohemian-style restaurant with an unmistakable Israeli flair.
Serving local artisanal food, featuring produce purchased directly from farmers at St. Lawrence Market, Winterlicious at The Wine Bar is nothing short of delicious! A $15 lunch or a $25 dinner are both fantastic opportunities to sample locally-sourced wares.
Whether you choose the wild mushroom soup with white truffle oil and thyme, the pulled pork poutine with Monforte goat cheese, BBQ sauce and green onions, or the organic shrimp bisque as your appetizer, you’re sure to enjoy unmistakably local flavours. Lunch mains include an inventive purple beet risotto, mushrooms and smoked chicken on toast, and an open faced beef cheek sandwich, while dinner entrees include a delicious wild mushroom polenta, seared wild fish, or grilled Miami ribs. Dig into dessert – whether you select the rum raisin bread pudding with crème anglaise, the Lindt chocolate mousse with maple chantilly cream, or the house preserved fruit crème brule with almond cookie, you’ll find the experience unforgettable.
To learn more about The Wine Bar, check out their website at http://9church.com/, and be sure to learn more about the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood by watching our video interview with The Wine Bar’s chef, Bryan Burke!
What better way to ring in the Chinese New Year with an 11-course feast? Hosted by Culinary Historian, Shirley Lum of A Taste of the World – Toronto Walking Tours, you’ll have an opportunity to learn old and new customs and superstitions, receive tips on pouring tea and chopsticks etiquette, and most importantly, you’ll learn how to pace yourself as you enjoy an 11 course banquet!
Meet at 6pm at Taste of Chinatown Seafood Restaurant (at Spadina and Dundas) and savor authentic Chinese dishes such as shark fin and seafood soup; braised abalone with vegetables and mushrooms; double lobsters with garlic, green onions and ginger; Youngzho fried rice; and of course, fortune cookies! Start off the Year of the Rabbit on the right foot; book your place at this feast today at www.torontowalksbikes.com.
Looking for some delicious Italian fare to brighten your Winterlicious experience? Look no further than Coppi Ristorante in Lawrence Park!
Serving natural and simple Italian cuisine since 1991, Coppi Ristorante’s dishes are “never adventurous but simple, never complicated but easy to comprehend, never too many spices, but one or two per dish.” This simple approach to food has commanded a popularity with Torontonians and tourists alike.
Enjoy a $20 prix fixe lunch menu, or a $35 dinner at Coppi Ristorante; choose an appetizer from selections such as the speck e pera (thinly sliced smoked prosciutto, served with sliced pear and goat cheese crostini) or insalata di finocchio e rucola (fennel and rucola salad with red pepper, pine nuts and pecorino cheese) and delight your senses with a delicious main such as salmone in padella (pan seared norwegian salmon filet with sauteed rucola and tomato and black olive salad) or tagliatelle al pesto di erbette (fresh tagliatelle tossed in a sundried tomato and herb pesto). Don’t forget about dessert! You can choose from the panna cotta agrume (citrus cream custard with toasted hazelnuts and mint pesto), tiramisu, or sorbetto al limone (lemon flavoured sorbet).
To learn more about Coppi Ristorante, check out their website, and be sure to take a look at our interview with restaurant owner Alessandro Scotto.
