With the summer dwindling and autumn asserting itself through an explosion of bright yellow and brown leaves, Toronto’s Farmers’ markets are slowly starting to close up shop. However, there are still a few bustling markets around town, including the Markham Main Street Farmers’ Market. This smaller market is located, as one would guess, on Markham’s Main Street which is also called, crazily enough, Markham Road. It lies just northeast of Toronto, right above Scarborough and open every Saturday from 8am to 1pm.

Continue reading The Market Basket - Wednesday, September 26th »

Suki Japanese Cuisine
48 St. Clair Avenue East
416-929-8598
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip, and tea: $44

The area around St. Clair subway station is home to three Sushi restaurants. There’s Sushi Garden (1560 Yonge Street), Takara (1502 Yonge Street) and Suki. Different people have different favourites but I think each place has something to offer. For instance, Takara is the only one which serves Ika Yaki (barbecued squid), and Sushi Garden has great lunch prices on Bento Boxes with larger portions. The third, Suki, has complementary salad and dessert and has the best service out of the three.

Suki is a dimly lit restaurant with room for about thirty people. The décor is interesting. Think traditional Japanese, clean and surrounded by bonsai-like plantlife meshed with wallpaper adorned with maritime ships at the harbour. It’s homely enough though, setting the right atmosphere for some good sushi.

Continue reading Suki Sushi On St. Clair »

Jaadu
1415 Yonge Street
416-944-8885
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and juice (no desserts available): $46

Toronto has a large and vibrant Indian community which is easily reflected by the amount of Indian restaurants and little hole-in-the-walls which dot the downtown landscape. A recent and welcome addition to this landscape is Jaadu. It’s only three months old but it’s already challenging the older Indian eatery in the region, Rangoli (1392 Yonge Street).

Rangoli has a more open and bright atmosphere with lively colours on the wall. A friend once described dinner there as “feeling like you’ve been invited to dinner at a good friend’s house.” At first glance, Jaadu looks dark, clean and modern. First impressions suggest it’s a higher end Indian restaurant. After walking through the door, those impressions are confirmed. It’s grey, and, some would say, quite bland. There’s a fully stocked bar on the southern wall, which instantly reveals that it’s not like other Indian restaurants. This is not just another hole-in-the-wall. My partner notes, “this used to be a Chinese restaurant, right? You can tell the paint job was quick.” She’s right and something like that can say a lot about the nature of the establishment. Having said that, I go into a restaurant to eat, not judge the paint on the walls.

Continue reading Jonesing For Jaadu »

Lettuce Eatery
1560 Yonge Street (with other locations)
416-944-2300
Lunch for two with all taxes, tip and juice: $28

Canadians are becoming greener. We’re calling on our government to enact the Kyoto protocol and reduce industries’ emissions. We’re even driving more hybrid cars. We are fast becoming true global citizens but it’s not just the environment we’re trying to clean up, it’s ourselves as well, beginning with our bodies. We are becoming greener in all senses of the word.

Which is why Lettuce Eatery is such a hit. Launching only two years ago and having expanded into five locations around the city, it’s proving that Torontonians are starting to look at their health seriously and making better eating decisions.

Continue reading Green Revolution »

Mid-town Toronto is more than just Yonge and Eglinton. Just one block south is one of the busiest business intersections in this part of town. Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue is home to an assortment of people from business people to creative types and street peddlers. Standard Broadcasting Corporation (CFRB, Mix 99.9, EZ Rock) makes its home at the northwest intersection, and CHUM is just a short walk south. There are also government offices on the west and east side of Yonge, confusing many poor souls looking for one office only to end up in the other. The wild variety of people and businesses is easily reflected by the types of great cuisine available in the area.

Continue reading Neighbourhoods: Yonge and St. Clair »

Izakaya
69 Front Street East
416-703-8658
Complete lunch for two with all taxes, tip and tea: $65

It’s official, there is just too many sushi restaurants in Toronto. In the July 8th issue of the Toronto Star, Christine Sismondo reviewed two books to that point: The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, From Samurai to Supermarket by Trevor Corson and The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy by Sasha Issenberg. At the beginning of the article, Sismondo writes about the influx of Japanese restaurants, saying:

[I]f you ask a real traditionalist, you’ll find out most of us don’t really consider that stuff they serve “Japanese” anyways.

I love sushi and I agree with Sismondo. Sushi is definitely Japanese but there’s more to Japanese food than just sushi. Try Izakaya for example. Unlike Fune and Nami, two other well-known Japanese restaurants in Toronto’s core, Izakaya’s menu has skipped sushi to concentrate on traditional choices such as ramen, teppan yaki, soba, and udon dishes. It’s also relatively cheaper since fresh, sushi-grade fish tends to be expensive.

Continue reading Japanese Sans Sushi »

Dutch Dreams
78 Vaughan Road
416-656-6959
Single scoop with regular cone: $2.95
Single scoop with dipped cone: $4.90

When friends talk about a great new movie, book or restaurant, expectations get set pretty high, pretty quick. Excitement builds to such a degree that when we finally see that movie, read that book or eat at that restaurant, we are, most times, very sorely disappointed.

That’s not how it went with me and Dutch Dreams. Everyone told me it was great. My aunt, an almost-shut-in, has gone there many times and she loves it. So off I went.

Continue reading Sweet Dreams »