Sequel
3362 Yonge Street
416-480-0996

Sequel is a restaurant on a mission. A local food, carbon-footprinted, biodegradable mission that takes all of the buzzwords from the past year and brings them together in the decidedly unexpected locale of North Toronto.

Mind you, you’d never guess it from walking through the glass-doored entryway — there’s no smell of patchouli in the air, no vegetarian dishes being foisted upon patrons, nary a dreadlock to be seen. Neutrally toned walls hold images of benign landscapes, soft jazz plays in the air, wrought-iron banisters lead toward a second level and a wooden wine rack crawls toward the ceiling, a scene that hardly screams revolution. But look a little closer—at the Bullfrog Power, Green Enterprise Toronto and Local Food Plus (LFP) logos on the menu, the soy-based candles adorning the tables and the Green Shift take-out packaging—and the rebellion starts to show its roots.

Continue reading Sequel Gets Local »

Grace
503 College Street
416-944-8884

There’s a recession coming. Gas prices are going up, the housing market looks set to crumble and everyone is preparing to tighten their belts. Inevitably, at the table, our thoughts will turn to comfort food. Hearty, healthy fare from the family recipe books will win out over expensive, exotic ingredients or dishes we can’t pronounce. The trend toward local and seasonal produce and admonishments to not eat anything our great-grandmothers wouldn’t recognize as food has us considering the delicacies of past generations, only with a more genuine attitude. The retro kitsch of “comfort food” and thirty-dollar meatloaf has been replaced by what Grace chef Dustin Gallagher refers to as “modern farmhouse”; a more elegant, timeless way of eating that honours the past and the present, using fresh, seasonal ingredients with a nod to tradition, family and the classics.

Continue reading Comfort and Grace »

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 »