T.O. Tidbits – Sunday October 4th

Parkdalians were surprised last week when the windows were papered and the signage removed at Bacchus Roti (1376 Queen Street West). While some feel that the quality of the food has been suffering recently, it's still a bit of a landmark in the city's food scene, so the sudden closure was a shock, especially given that business still seemed to be brisk.

A recent walk-by, however, revealed a camera crew filming work being done by a certain Mr. Igor Shamraychuk, better known as the cranky contractor on Restaurant Makeover. So assuming that the program's claim of completing their renos in one week is true, we can expect to see a new and (hopefully) improved Bacchus opening in the next couple of days.

After our Igor-spotting, we noticed a new place right next door in the spot where Chino used to be. Dubbed Manhattan (1378 Queen Street West), it's a new restaurant and bar from the former owners of Chocolate over on King East. Once their liquor licence clears, they'll be open for dinner and live jazz, but for now, they're only doing Saturday and Sunday brunch. And as a soft-opening special, every dish on chef/co-owner Marlon Graham's brunch menu (with the exception of the steak) is being offered for just 5 bucks! Having tried two plates so far - heuvos rancheros and mac & cheese - we can vouch that the rock bottom price hasn't led to any skimping on the size or quality of the food, so this is undoubtedly the best brunch deal in town.

Sad news on the northern edge of Kensington Market, as caterer and local food advocate Karen Viva-Haynes has closed the retail location of Viva Tastings (409 College Street). While she says that it wasn't an easy decision, she admits that she's glad to have more time for her catering business and her stall at the St. Lawrence Farmers Market on Saturdays, not to mention the chance to take a break once in a while. She plans to start offering more cooking classes and has a few other ideas for possible future projects, so it certainly won't be the last we'll see of her.

Down in the heart of the Market, meanwhile, cookbook and kitchen gear shop Good Egg (267 Augusta Avenue) has been doing great business since opening in mid-September. Owner Mika Bareket tells us that "the stock is eclectic, but I’m keeping the selection focused on food-related books and nifty gadgets & linens for the kitchen," and next year she plans to start offering in-store workshops, lectures and demos.

It's the end of an era on Queen East near Broadview, as one of the city's oldest and best loved chippies, Woodgreen Fish & Chips (806 Queen Street East), has closed down. It's not a huge surprise given that the elderly couple who ran the place looked as if they'd passed retirement age years ago, but it's still sad to see them go. We can likely expect the hasn't-been-updated-in-decades charm of the place to be eradicated, and replaced with another Leslieville bistro or boutique soon enough.

Over in Yorkville, chef and restaurateur Franco Agostino has packed it in at Imperia and moved up to Yonge and St. Clair to open the eponymous Franco's (1406 Yonge Street). The downtown spot, meanwhile, has been taken over by new owner Alfredo Rodriquez and rebranded as Blu Ristorante & Lounge (17 Yorkville Avenue), with chef Enzo Perricciolo in charge of a mostly Italian menu with a bit of French flair.

Yorkville is also the home of the newest Toronto location of Belgian café chain Le Pain Quotidien - or at least it has been for the last month or so. But that will be changing tomorrow when the third and fourth locations will be opening in the Royal Bank Plaza (200 Bay Street). As he did with the city's first LPQ up on  Eglinton, founder Alain Coumont will be whipping through to oversee the opening of the full service restaurant in the Plaza's lower concourse, and a take-away kiosk on the upper level.

On the pub front, Stix 'n' Stones Bar & Grill (401 King Street West) is hoping that the King and Spadina neighbourhood will be willing to welcome a new sports bar, even though the address they've opened in previously housed a failed Shoeless Joe's franchise. And a bit north-west of there, the large space that was very briefly known as Legend Grill & Wine Bar, but better known to most as the long-time home of Gypsy Co-op (or if you're old like me, The Squeeze Club), is now a spacious pub called The Dogs Bollocks (817 Queen Street West), which Anglophiles will know means something really, really good. Whether or not they'll be able to live up to such a lofty moniker remains to be seen.

Finally, upscale beer-hounds will be happy to know that beerbistro (18 King Street East) will be reopening this Tuesday, October 7th, following renovations that were forced by a sprinkler mishap in mid-September that led to a flood in the restaurant. Their latest newsletter promises that they "hope to be able to restore the restaurant to its original elegance and have taken the opportunity to make a few changes and updates along the way." Their annual Oktoberfest celebration will kick off as soon as they reopen and will run to October 25th, featuring a selection of German lagers and ales on tap, and their new Fall menu will also be debuted, featuring new items inspired by local seasonal fare and the return of a few old favourites.

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.