T.O. Tidbits – Monday June 2nd

11 Jarvis Street has been the scene of much restaurant drama in the last few months, and it may have come to an end (or at least an extended pause) last week with the sudden closure of Garden@Eleven, the restaurant that had been occupying the address for the past month or so. For those who have missed the action, here's a quick recap - it's a bit confusing, so grab your scorecards!

The spot that was once a grotty but well-loved Golden Griddle had been the home of neo-Korean restaurant Ninth Gate until late last year, when owner Steve Lee shut it down, renovated, and brought in chef Brad Moore (who had recently closed his College Street hot spot, Xacutti, under mysterious circumstances) to relaunch as a comfort food bistro called Eleven. In late April, Moore was suddenly gone, coincidentally enough around the same time it was announced that his former partner at Xacutti, Lesle Gibson, was returning to Toronto to take over the College Street space he had abandoned, to open and cozy and comfortable Grace (503 College Street) with chef Dustin Gallagher (ex-Susur).

Meanwhile, Lee (Steve, not Susur) turned to Pat Riley (who had just left Perigee under amiable circumstances) to take over the kitchen at Eleven, and adjusted the name slightly to Garden@Eleven. In a post-closure chat with the Toronto Star's new food critic Corey Mintz, Riley said that he stepped in temporarily as a favour to his friend Lee, and that his name "was never supposed to be attached to the restaurant, on the menu or the website." But it didn't take long for word of his arrival to spread, and for the folks on Chowhound and other foodie forums to express some disappointment that Riley was sticking with a fairly standard menu rather than turning the place into Perigee Part 2.

Anyway, all such complaints are now moot, and Riley's temporary stay ended up being even shorter than expected, as last week the doors were locked and a dreaded "Notice To Tenant" was posted in the window, indicating that rent on the property was in arrears to the tune of over $75,000. It remains to be seen what will pop up next at 11 Jarvis, but it's probably a safe bet that Messrs. Lee, Riley and Moore won't be involved.

Over on Queen West, Seoul City (785 Queen Street West) seems to have bitten the dust. Or so we're guessing after noting that the windows were papered while riding by on the streetcar this past weekend, and later finding both the website and phone number to be out of service. A few doors over, the former location of Butler's Pantry (813 Queen Street West) has a sign in the window announcing the imminent arrival of Thai Elephant Cafe.

A piece of Toronto's culinary history may come to an end at the close of this year, as Shopsy's is being forced to vacate their Yonge and Front location on December 31st after a legal battle between Embassy Hospitality Group - the family-owned company also behind The Irish Embassy and P.J. O'Brien's who bought Shopsy's in 2006 - and landlord GWL Realty Advisors. GWL had been planning to give Shopsy's the boot for a while in order to replace the storied but faded deli with a more upmarket Oliver Bonacini Café Grill, but the Quinn family believed there was a condition in their purchase that allowed them to extend the lease. A judge at Ontario Superior Court disagreed, and has ordered that Shopsy's must be out by the end of the year.

Downtown office and hospital workers who have been lamenting the loss of the tasty and cheap lunches at Mediterranean 2 Go (197 Dundas Street West) since it closed a few months back have been lining up in droves for the falafel, shwarma and other Lebanese delights at recently opened Wrap & Grab (171 Dundas Street West). As a day job drone in that area, I've considered checking it out a couple of times already, but the line-ups have kept me away. Based on Suresh's write-up over on Spotlight Toronto, though, I think I may have to do my time in line and give it a shot soon.

On the chain restaurant front, the popular Western Canada casual dining chain Earls have opened their first Ontario location at Square One in Mississauga. And American mega-chain Chili's is rumoured to be aiming to open up to five locations in the GTA in the next year or so.

For those who have a sweet tooth, there are a pair of new places to celebrate. Pie queen Wanda Beaver has come back downtown - Kensington Market, to be exact - to open a new location of Wanda's Pie In The Sky (287 Augusta Avenue). She's also still keeping her uptown partnership with Dinah Koo going at Wanda's In The Kitchen With Dinah (1057 Mount Pleasant Road), although there's a bit of competition in the neighbourhood now due to the recent opening of Flaky Tart (711 Mount Pleasant Rd), where sweet things come from the hands of pastry chef Madelaine Sperry.

Finally, a correction/clarification to the previous edition of T.O. Tidbits where we mentioned that the Queen East location of Just Us! Café (2010 Queen Street East) had reopened after being closed for a couple of weeks. While it did reopen, it did so under a different name (much like the 490 Queen Street West location, which closed at the same time and later reopened as Greenavi Café). The confusion came from the fact that they are still serving coffee from the Just Us! Roastery in Nova Scotia.

If you have a scoop to share about the local food & restaurant scene, please let us know so we can include it in a future edition of T.O. Tidbits.