Mr. Toronto

Another year come and gone…last blog for 2011!  At times like these- when I count all my blessings, think of all my loved ones and feel all sentimental, warm and fuzzy- my mind turns to…food.  Specifically, restaurants I have discovered during the past year, and those I have on my list for 2012.  As an avowed “foodie”, I always keep a running list of places I’d like to try.  Toronto is blessed with so many fantastic restaurants, I rarely go back to the same place twice, as I love to experience new taste sensations. (Plus – and a bit of a “disclaimer” here – I only eat vegetarian, dairy and fish items, so my choice of menu items is usually quite limited). My other disclaimer is that the places I am discussing are open for lunch – a disclaimer only in that there would be many more on my list if I included those restaurants that are open for dinner only, which doesn’t help me because I only do lunch!

So without further ado, here is a list of my year-end restaurants I have recently been to that warrant mention, and a slightly longer list of places on my list for 2012:

Recently went to:
1)    Mirto (25 Toronto Street, 416-601-9444) – a bustling Italian place in a beautiful old building on a great hidden street downtown.  Makes up for mediocre food.
2)    Bannock (Corner of Bay and Queen, attached to the Bay) – no point giving you the phone number for this packed new addition to the Oliver and Bonacini restaurant empire, because they don’t take reservations.  Shame, because it is a beautiful, well-priced joint with great food – but not willing to wait half an hour or more for a table again!
3)    Leslieville Cheese Market (541 Queen St. West) – again, no phone number necessary, because not only does this place not take reservations, it is not even a restaurant!  But I had heard that it makes the best take-out gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches in the City, and it doesn’t disappoint.  Fantastic daily combos, and yummy soups as well.  But wait til the weather gets warmer so you don’t have to eat it on a bench in the snow like I did!

Holiday Carolers and Snowmen greet visitors in "Torontoland"!

Can’t wait to go to:
1)    La Societe (let’s switch to websites: http://lasociete.ca/) – a trendy new place to be seen on Toronto’s “Mink Mile” (Bloor St.) – authentic Parisian Bistro.
2)    Modus (http://modusristorante.com/) – supposed to be a fabulously chic Italian ristorante in the business/financial district
3)    Estiatorio Volos (http://volos.ca/) – Greek “fusion” food, funky and upscale
4)    F’Amelia (http://www.famelia.com/main.php?pg=14) – an adorable looking authentic Italian place in Cabbagetown, a wonderful (and slightly out of the way) area near downtown
5)    Screen Lounge (http://www.screenlounge.ca/) – see my last blog!

So there you have it.  May the new year bring you many wonderful meals with the ones you love (or at least like a lot)!

Mr. Toronto

PS. The picture is a non-related, but very cool Holiday photo I took at a Tourism Toronto event last week…what better way to end the year than with a picture of snowmen, carolers and the Rogers Centre?!

Sigh…every time I make (myself, not sure if you care!) a promise to blog more often, life gets in the way…. since New Year’s is coming up, I will once again make a resolution to write more frequently…which may mean shorter insights into the best of the City, but as enthralling as ever, to be sure! Just wanted to share with you info on two wonderful “new” spaces in town. I put the word new in quotation marks, because the first one has been around since June (I just didn’t know about it – shame on me!), and the second is really a very old space, with a new life…

I was invited last week to an event at Screen, an ultra-cool new lounge/restaurant that is ironically right around the corner from where I work. I’m always searching for cool new spots for a business lunch or after-work drink, and had no idea what a gem this place is. To be fair (to me), it is very tucked away, and they have done virtually no advertising since opening half a year ago. But apparently business has been booming, just via word of mouth. The space is gorgeous, and includes an incredible rooftop patio, which will soon be winterized with the addition of a small retractable dome (think mini Rogers Centre…). The menu is an interesting and eclectic mix of unusual sushi and funky burgers (as in unique, not rotten). Screen Lounge is located at 20 College Street, just off Yonge. http://www.screenlounge.ca/

The second space, as I mentioned, is not new at all, but has actually been around since 1920. Those of you who are old visitors to Toronto (and I say that in the nicest sense!) will remember it as the Pantages Theatre, home for years to Phantom of the Opera. Those of you who have only been here over the last handful of years will know it as The Canon Theatre (home to shows like We Will Rock You). Well, as of this week, we will now all know it as Ed Mirvish Theatre. Mirvish Productions, as you all probably know, is THE theatre company in town, responsible for bringing almost all of the hit shows to Toronto. They also own four of the theatres they bring shows to…Ed was the man who started it all, after making his fortune with “Honest Ed’s’ a store which is really a landmark and which you must visit at some point in your life! (Hard to miss – its lights at the corner of Bathurst and Bloor can be seen from about a mile away!). I was also privileged to meet him many times, and I can honestly say he was one of the sweetest, kindest and gentlest men who ever walked the planet …
At any rate, I went to the very moving (and star-studded) unveiling/announcement event, where Ed’s son (who is an equally wonderful business- and gentle-man) David first introduced a short video on his father’s amazing life, then brought on stage myriad performers who paid tribute to Ed. Finally, our new Mayor, Rob Ford, came out to read a proclamation, and the new marquee dropped down from the stage. (see photo) A very fitting tribute…and a very shrewd business move as well, staking a final and permanent claim to a theatre that used to owned by the Mirvish’s arch rival, Garth Drabinsky, who is currently serving time in a Toronto jail for fraud committed during his time heading up Livent. Hmm, speaking of theatre, there’s the making right there of a new hit show…
Mr. Toronto