T.O. Tidbits – Sunday, October 4th

Here's this week's round-up of the latest local food and restaurant news...

Openings:

A second location of the Aussie-influenced Gourmet Burger Co. opens tomorrow at 9 Charles Street West, with free burgers (one per customer!) being served up from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM.
The hotly anticipated bar and indie music venue The Garrison (1197 Dundas Street West) opened this weekend, with co-owner Shaun Bowring scooping the Wavelength music series from Sneaky Dee's where he previously worked as the booking agent.

Closings:

While the food never got rave reviews, Zelda's (542 Church Street) was one of the most popular spots in the gaybourhood for drinks and people watching, so many were sad to see them suddenly close last week. The good news, however, is that they'll be reopening later this month as Zelda's Living Well (692 Yonge Street), the name acknowledging the address's previous life as the legendary and gay-friendly watering hole The Living Well (with a short stint as Italian restaurant Arrabiata in-between).

Changes:

Michael and Margi Pagliaro have sold their much-loved Italian restaurant Il Mulino (1060 Eglinton Avenue West) to the former manager of Sotto Sotto, but the name and chef will both remain the same.
Brock Shepherd is rebranding his Kensington Market eatery Rice Bar as Burger Bar (319 Augusta Avenue), with a grand reopening planned for October 13th. As the name suggests, gourmet burgers will be the new focus, although there will be much more as well, including unique apps and sides like Saag Poutine (made with paneer cheese and spinach gravy) and Cheeseburger Spring Rolls, child-friendly weekend brunches, and an extensive drinks list harkening back to Shepherd's days at The Chelsea Room and Azul. It's also promised that Rice Bar will be returning in a new nearby location in a few months.

Coming up:

Ready for The Winter Of The Wings? You'd better be, as not only are chicken wing/sports bar franchises Puck 'n Wings and Wild Wing on the verge of opening downtown locations, but indie wing joint The Wing Company (700 King Street West) is coming soon at King and Bathurst.
Salsas Mexican Grill (249 Augusta Avenue) is set to open soon next door to Latin American grocery store Perola's.
Ed Ho, owner of Globe Bistro, will be opening a new place in November at 1055 Yonge Street, an address that has housed several short-lived restaurants in the past couple of years, most recently Plakutta.