Drink Up at the Drinks Show

Posted by Rebecca Zamon in beverages, cocktails, events, events upcoming, spirits on July 18, 2008 at 2:59 pm

It took a while in coming, but you know summer has arrived when the urge to consume prettily coloured drinks in scarcely used glasses overtakes cravings for the staid go-to’s of less sunny months. But what to indulge in when the cupboard’s shelves only offer a bottle of Absolut? For inspiration, look to the Drinks Show, now its in fifth year of celebrating all things shaken and stirred, at the Exhibition Place’s Queen Elizabeth Building tonight and tomorrow. Put on by the Martini Club, Toronto’s cocktail institution, the Show is a lesson in drinking by the numbers—50 booths with 65 brands offering samples of 100 handcrafted cocktails at $2 a pop, plus $20 admission. From my experience the past two years, this results in a three-hour trip down alcohol memory lane, where the flavours and styles from my own personal drinking history mix with the next big thing, and introduce people to about 8,000 of their new best friends doing the exact same thing.

“Cocktails are all about sophistication, style, fashion and sex,” says Michelle Hunt, co-founder of the Martini Club. “On the entertainment side, cocktails step up to the plate. And it’s no longer about quantity versus quality—people really want to know what’s inside their drinks.”

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T.O. Events for July 18th-24th

Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on July 18, 2008 at 8:01 am

Weekends in Toronto are always full of community and cultural festivals, but this weekend is especially jam-packed with events celebrating Iran, Africa, India, Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, and, uh, the whole world.

And after a busy day of globe-trotting, a relaxing cocktail or two would probably be a nice, so it’s a good thing that the Drinks Show is also this weekend, taking over the Queen Elizabeth Building at Exhibition Place tonight and tomorrow night. Watch for our full preview article coming later today.

The full list of happenings for the next week follows below, and as always, our Events page has more information on these and many other upcoming events in Toronto and area.

Continue reading T.O. Events for July 18th-24th »

T.O. Events for July 11th-17th

Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on July 11, 2008 at 10:26 am

It’s happening a week later than expected, but it will still be packed to the gills at the Toronto Night Market up in Markham this weekend. We downtown folks hope that all of you with cars have a good time, while we wait patiently for next year when organisers are promising to hold a downtown version in addition to the one up there in nosebleed country.

And what summer weekend in Toronto would be complete without a couple of cultural festivals? At Harbourfront, they’ll be celebrating all things Latino at Ritmo y Color, while Black Creek Pioneer Village plays host to the annual Métis Arts Festival.

The full list of happenings for the next week follows below, and as always, our Events page has more information on these and many other upcoming events in Toronto and area.

Continue reading T.O. Events for July 11th-17th »

Square Meals

Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on July 9, 2008 at 12:16 pm

ttgrillguy.jpgThanks to the heaping piles of bureaucratic bullcrap that seem to fill every nook and cranny at City Hall, Toronto won’t be getting any new street food vendors this summer as hoped, meaning that hot dog carts and chip trucks will still rule the sidewalks and roads for at least another year. There is, however, some consolation available in the form of a couple of weekly street food festivals that will be running through the next few weeks at two city-owned public squares.

Downtown at Nathan Philips Square, the popular Tasty Thursdays series returns this week and runs until August 28th, featuring lunchtime treats for 5 bucks or less served up by a number of the city’s restaurants from 11am to 2pm, plus a live band performing at 12 noon. Vendors for the month of July will include Dangerous Dan’s Diner, Green Mango, Kathmandu Restaurant, La Cocina de Dona Luz, La Fiesta Restaurant, Lone Star Texas Grill, Purple Pig Smokehouse and Tapas by Personal Touch. Next month, a couple of vendors will rotate out and be replaced by Big Daddy’s Crab Shack & Oyster Bar and Satay on the Road.

Meanwhile, last week saw the launch of the International Street Food Festival at Mel Lastman Square in North York. The brainchild of John Filion, the city councillor who got the whole street food debate rolling last year, the festival runs on Friday nights from 6pm to 9pm, and features a wide variety of food including “Korean BBQ, fresh fruit shakes, mango salad, jerk chicken, Persian chicken kabobs, beef kabobs, vegetable sushi, grilled vegetable wraps, chicken and rice, Manto dumplings, authentic tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, and burritos, as well as organic fusion”. Currently, the series is only scheduled to run until the end of July, but perhaps a strong turn-out will encourage an extension, so head on up there if you can and show the powers-that-be that Torontonians are still hungry for more food variety on our streets.

Back to the Farm with Harvest Wednesdays

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in SOLE food, events, events upcoming, farm to table on July 8, 2008 at 7:58 am

Pulling up the driveway into Chick-A-Biddy Acres, I almost want to break into a rendition of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”, for Sherry Patterson has created something that seems almost too good to be true. I am tagging along (“embedded” in journalism-lingo) with some of the kitchen and catering staff from the Gladstone Hotel as they join Patterson and her three employees for a day of weeding and a tour of the 75 acre community supported agriculture (CSA) farm.

From the second we arrive, I am enchanted, opening the car door to find half a dozen of Patterson’s colourful laying hens rushing toward me with curiosity. We’re not here to play with chickens, however, and Patterson quickly directs us to a nearby field where we’re put to work weeding rows of peas.

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T.O. Events for July 4th-10th

Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on July 4, 2008 at 7:46 am

Another busy summer weekend coming up in Toronto and surrounding environs, although there’s at least one less event happening than originally expected, as the Toronto Night Market up at Metro Square Plaza in Markham has been postponed to July 11th & 12th. We’re also not sure of the status of the similarly named TOnightmarket which is supposed to be kicking off for two months of Saturday nights this weekend at Woodbine Park, as their website is still displaying a “Summer 2008″ Flash page with no further info.

Things that definitely are happening this weekend, however, include Beats, Breaks & Culture down at Harbourfront (yeah, it’s not really a food event, but we love Ladytron [pictured], so we had to mention it), AfroFest at Queen’s Park, and the Corso Italia Toronto Fiesta along St. Clair West. And of course, next Wednesday is the long awaited debut of this summer’s series of Harvest Wednesdays nights at the Gladstone Hotel.

The full list of happenings for the next week follows below, and as always, our Events page has more information on these and many other upcoming events in Toronto and area.

Continue reading T.O. Events for July 4th-10th »

Something for Everyone at the Taste of Lawrence Festival

Posted by Rebecca Zamon in events, events upcoming on July 1, 2008 at 7:48 am

In a city touted for its multiculturalism by every tourism campaign and boasting citizen abroad, calling yourself the most multi-culturally based area in all of Canada is a tall order. But that’s the word from the Wexford Heights Business Improvement Area, who is gearing up for this weekend’s 5th annual Taste of Lawrence Festival with an eye toward attracting both visitors and locals alike.

Frank Greco, event manager for the festival, anticipates a crowd surpassing the 125,000 guests who wandered amongst the free musical entertainment, midway and street performers last year. In the “food vendor alley,” as he puts, the focus has been on showcasing the flavours of the cultures seen throughout the area. “If you take a walk around here,” he explains, “you’ll see the retail look changing from one ethnic area to the other.” So getting these business involved, along with some outside help, only made representational sense.

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T.O. Events for June 27th-July 3rd

Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on June 27, 2008 at 8:55 am

If I were a betting man, I’d lay pretty good odds on next Monday having one of the highest rates of vacation and sick days this year as people take advantage of Canada Day falling on a Tuesday to get themselves a four-day weekend. And in typically Canadian fashion, many of the events happening over the next few days are celebrations of the diversity of our country.

Pride is the really big happening, of course, and you’ll also be able to take side trips to Mexico, South Asia and the Nordic countries at various cultural festivals happening around the city. There’s also a multicultural Canada Day celebration at Yonge-Dundas Square on the day itself, and one of Toronto’s first multicultural festivals, the CHIN International Picnic, marks their 42nd year at Exhibition Place.

The full list of happenings for the next week follows below, and as always, our Events page has more information on these and many other upcoming events in Toronto and area.

Photo from City of Toronto website

Continue reading T.O. Events for June 27th-July 3rd »

Whatever You Do, Don’t Drop Your Fork!

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in events, events upcoming on June 25, 2008 at 2:12 pm

Okay, I know I mentioned Dinner in the Sky in a round-up a month or so back, and at the time I was a bit sceptical of the whole concept. And I still am. But as it’s never wise to pass judgement without knowledge, I’ve signed up to eat dinner next week at a table hanging from a crane 50 metres in the air.

And you can too!! (Edit: apparently the event is now fully booked.)

As part of Summerlicious, American Express is sponsoring the Canadian premiere of the Dinner in the Sky event on July 2nd and 3rd at Yonge-Dundas Square, and the public can join in for free. Sign up at the American Express website to book a seat for this truly unique dining experience.

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The Insider’s Guide to Pride Week Eats

Posted by Irene Ng in events, neighbourhoods on June 25, 2008 at 7:29 am

When the windows in my apartment start rumbling just a little bit harder from the usual pulsating beats on Church Street, I know Pride Week is nearing!

From both friends and strangers, I have always heard the line, “Church Street is all about the scene, not about the food,” and since moving here a few years ago, I reckon there is some truth to this rumour. However, my time in this neighbourhood has led me to find some favourites, whether for a night out, fast take away or a lazy brunch. Through trials of good and bad eating experiences, plus insider tips from other food-savvy folk familiar with the Gay Village dining scene, here follows my top picks for satisfying an appetite while partaking in Pride Week festivities.

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T.O. Events for June 20th-26th

Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on June 20, 2008 at 7:47 am

Last year, local food writer and radio/TV host Marty Galin presented The World’s Largest Multicultural Salad as part of the Taste of Lawrence festival, feeding free food to over 15,000 people. Now, he’s hoping to top that with Currylicious, an event at Harbourfront Centre this Sunday that will feature chefs from 14 restaurants serving free curry to all who attend. The day will also feature live entertainment, speakers, vendors and cooking demos - but really, isn’t the promise of FREE CURRY incentive enough??

Another big happening this weekend is the aptly named BIG Festival, a presentation of the Bloor Improvement Group that will shut down a 2.5 kilometre stretch of Bloor Street West from Landsdowne to Christie Pits, allowing more than 400 vendors, shops, restaurants and other participants to set up tables in the street starting at 1:00 PM. At 6:00 PM, the vendors will pack up, and all are invited to bring their dinner out to one of the tables for an open air meal.

The full list of happenings for the next week follows below, and as always, our Events page has more information on these and many other upcoming events in Toronto and area.

Continue reading T.O. Events for June 20th-26th »

Reservations Now Open for Summerlicious 2008

Posted by Greg Clow in announcements, events, events upcoming on June 19, 2008 at 1:06 am

This will be old news to those lucky AmEx cardholders who had a two day jump on things, but for the rest of us, June 19th is the day that the reservation lines open for Summerlicious (or as they call it in in the biz, “Summervicious”).

Seats at spots like Canoe, Senses and North 44 will probably be snapped up before the day is out, so just remember that there are over 130 restaurants to choose from. Good luck and happy ‘liciousing!

T.O. Events for June 13th-19th

Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on June 13, 2008 at 9:05 am

You can tell that summer is almost here when the neighbourhood street festivals start up, and the first big one of the season is the Taste of Little Italy which kicks off tonight at 7 PM and runs through the weekend. As a couple of our writers discovered last year, the food isn’t outstanding, but at least there’s a lot to choose from, not to mention plenty of live entertainment and a big screen in the beer garden showing the Euro Cup and Toronto FC games.

Those looking to escape the city for the weekend will find lots happening elsewhere in the province. For the winos, the Niagara New Vintage Festival starts tomorrow and runs until June 22nd, while those looking for some multicultural eats and entertainment can choose from Carrousel by the River in Windsor, the Guelph & District Multicultural Festival, and Oshawa’s Fiesta Week.

The full list of happenings for the next week follows below, and as always, our Events page has more information on these and many other upcoming events in Toronto and area.

Continue reading T.O. Events for June 13th-19th »

The Berry Good Month of June

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in events, events upcoming, farm to table, fruit and vegetables on June 9, 2008 at 8:15 am

Hedonism is a word that I apply to the enjoyment of food somewhat frequently. Taste is, after all, one of the senses, and we receive great pleasure from eating well. There’s a line of thinking that says it’s hedonistic to buy imported strawberries throughout the winter, but that’s not true hedonism to me. Because the acceptance of hard flavourless imported berries pales in terms of sensual pleasure when compared to the blast of sun-warmed sweetness of a local June strawberry. The experience cannot be matched.

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T.O. Events for June 6th-12th

Posted by Greg Clow in events, events upcoming on June 6, 2008 at 10:29 am

There’s a classic SCTV sketch where Rick Moranis, imitating George Carlin, wonders why green grapes don’t produce green wine. Well, some 20+ years later, there’s now plenty of green wine around, although it’s “green” in the environmental sense of the word rather than the colour itself.

Next Thursday, Angela Aiello & Paxton Allewell (pictured) of iYellow Wine Club will be spotlighting some of Ontario’s greenest wines and wineries at Green Revolution, a tasting event they’re hosting at the Roots flagship store (100 Bloor Street West). Attendees will first enjoy a unique organic Champagne from France, and then organic and biodynamic wines from Flat Rock Cellars, Southbrook and Henry Of Pelham, along with organic beer and locally sourced nibbles. And for those who want to get some shopping in alongside the drinking and eating, there will be 30% off on purchases of all Roots apparel.

The full list of happenings for the next week follows below, and as always, our Events page has more information on these and many other upcoming events in Toronto and area.

Continue reading T.O. Events for June 6th-12th »