There is an unspoken rift in Toronto’s foodie community. Bloggers lament the death of good service, reviewers pan otherwise fantastic dining experiences when neglectful hosts fail to take their coats, and in even the city’s trendiest rooms, diners sit pouting in wait for water refills and bread baskets.

In an effort to peek behind the scenes of the perhaps-not-so-well-oiled-machine of food service, I sat down with  a self-declared waiter par excellence who has worked in some of the city’s hottest restaurants. What came of the interview was an interesting conundrum: while many in food service consider themselves professional and take their jobs quite seriously, many whom they serve do not.

Continue reading A Spectre Hanging Over the Restaurant Industry »

Culinarium
705 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto
647-430-7004

In the uptown enclave of Yonge and Eglinton, peppered with high-end foodie destinations from bakeries to gelato to dim sum, there is a new kid on the block, with a unique take on the upscale food experience. Offering Ontario-only food products, Culinarium, which recently opened on Mount Pleasant at Soudan, is a gourmet grocery store, the retail division of a company called Savour the Flavour. Their mission is “to provide authentic local food experiences by retailing Ontario’s finest locally-produced products and connecting those passionate about food with local food-producing communities via edible events such as cooking classes, tastings and farm tours.” After spending some time with Kathleen Mackintosh, the store’s founder, it’s clear that Culinarium’s unique mission is one driven by a true love of food.

Continue reading A Community Centre for Foodies »

Cantine Bistro
138 Avenue Road
416-923-4822
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and wine: $120

Cantine has all the makings of a successful mid-range bistro: the chic location just a few doors down from hot spot L’unita in upper Yorkville, the refurbished decor with exposed brick, low candlelight and modern art (for sale, of course), and even a live acoustic guitarist crooning everything from Neil Young to Jobim. With all this appeal, and with the number of hotels in the area, it’s no surprise the room was buzzing and full on a chilly Friday night. There were, however, some unpleasant surprises, which account for the lack of enthusiasm shown by Toronto’s foodie community for this two-year-old spot.

Continue reading Cantine - Half Empty or Half Full? »

The pre-packaged take-out salad is a fickle beast, typified by soggy iceberg lettuce with a well-loved grilled chicken breast, a few nuts or slices of red pepper, and a choice of any number of healthy and not-so-healthy dressings. At price points above most other menu items, fast food salads are not the ideal choice for the food-lover in search of a lunch that is wholesome, fresh and fast. Nonetheless, there are a few options that combine grab-and-go convenience with finer food quality. Between the mainstream and high-end supermarket salad bars, and the new “build-your-own” salad restaurants, the exacting herbivore need not compromise on value and freshness. Looking at the variety and quality of the goods, the bang for your buck and the grab-and-go factor, it’s clear that there is now a lot of choice for greens on the go. But how do the competitors stack up?

Continue reading The Great Salad Toss-Up »

Picnic
2411 Yonge Street
416-487-8609
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and cocktails: $85

In a neighbourhood full of foodies and the restaurants that woo them, it is rare to find a place that thrives on high-concept kitsch, void of haughty ambition. Picnic, occupying the small room formerly known as Meating near Yonge and Eglinton, succeeds in its mission to make food fun, and does so with a menu that displays a maturity and complexity beyond the red checkered decor.

Continue reading A Walk in the Park »

In our fast-paced urban lifestyle, sometimes the comfort of a home-cooked meal seems like a luxury of the past. Much of what we’re putting in our mouths, as we rush from work to gym to home, fails to match the quality, both in terms of taste and of health, of a home-cooked meal.

Enter the personal chef.

For the young urban professional, the new mom, the busy family - for you, and me - they are the perfect solution. Every personal chef runs his or her business differently, but the principle remains the same: they cook, their clients eat. With a focus on healthy and tasty meals for clients with diet restrictions, Monique Taylor of LemonTree Chef Services is one such personal chef, offering a one-on-one, custom-made, homemade food solution for busy singles, families and couples in Toronto.

Continue reading A Labour of Love »

Supermarket
268 Augusta Avenue
416-840-0501
Complete dinner for two with all taxes, tip and wine: $80

I really wanted to like Supermarket. But from the outset of our visit, things just didn’t seem to be working well – from the 10 minute wait for our reserved table; the waitress spilling drinks at another table; the table behind us being rushed out while still waiting for food because they needed the table for another reservation; the longer-than-acceptable wait we had for service and for pretty much any food or drink we ordered, to the three comped drinks that they messed up – everything seemed to go wrong for Supermarket.

Continue reading Mediocre Market »