Open/Closed for the week of July 14 – 20
It’s another great week of new restaurants, folks. And you’ve still got a few days left to try out Summerlicious (see our guide and best of), so take advantage while you can, as Winterlicious doesn’t happen again until January 30, 2015. And it looks like patio weather continues so check out our guide and best of to find out where to hang out under the sun.
Be sure to cast your vote for your favourite restaurants in the city.
And while the Honda Indy might not have anything to do with food, it will mean it will take you longer to get to where you’re going, so be sure to leave yourself plenty of time to get to the restaurants this weekend.
Okay, now onto all the new places for you to discover!
Now Open:
El Furniture Warehouse
410 Bloor St. W.
Finally, after weeks of renos, El Furniture Warehouse opens tonight at 7 pm. This bar/pub offers all of their dishes for $4.95. Expect lineups.
Rush Lane & Co.
563 Queen St. W.
Launched just this week, this Queen West bar and lounge was built by bartenders “in the pursuit of cocktail excellence.” No doubt it will be a hit by the end of this sentence. Especially with Chef Christopher Scott (Bero, Boehmer) in charge of the grub.
Yunaghi
538 Manning Ave.
Rumours have it that it’s finally opening it’s doors tomorrow where Ici Bistro used to be, but their Facebook page says it’s happening on Sunday.
Any Day Now:
Montecito
299 Adelaide St.W.
Montecito is set to open any second now. The restaurant by to us by director Ivan Reitman and Chef Jonathan Waxman (the pioneer of Californian cuisine) is sure to knock us off our feet. In the meantime, check out our inside look.
Pastizza
118 The Esplanade
Another great spot about the wow us, is Pastizza. This 5,000-square-foot Italian eatery, owned by Paolo Paolini, founder of Splendido and Mistura, sits on the corner of Toronto’s most exciting new dining destination, Market Street.
Pizzas, pastas and lots of great wines coming your way soon.
And Tzatziki and Macchiato Espresso Bar look almost finished...
Expansions:
Toronto Food Trucks get a new spot called King West Eats. Woo woo!
Pulp Kitchen opened up its second location on the Danforth.
Café Plenty’s second location takes over Marc Thuet’s old spot on King at Yonge.
Blowfish announced on social media this week that Barfish is opening this September. I’ll keep you posted…
Additions:
JOEY Restaurants launched new cocktails, introducing their Fresh Juicing Program, now available at all locations. All cocktails are made with juices squeezed in house and may include exclusive syrups and custom bitters. Some of the new drinks include The Elderflower Collins, with fresh grapefruit juice and notes of elderflower; Passionfruit Margarita, made with egg whites to add a rich frothiness; Pimm’s Cup, made with fresh squeezed lemon-lime juice slush.
Crema Coffee Co.'s Danforth location added brekkie items to their menu, making it easier to stay for hours and “work” on your laptop.
Happenings:
Marben’s #SausageLeague2014 is on. To find out more, check out our night at Battle #2 on our Facebook page.
This Sunday, Rodney’s Oyster House hosts the Ontario Oyster Festival. Enjoy two oyster shucking competitions. Dig into fresh oysters, mussels and lobster. Other dishes include Martian Mussels, Probed Spicy Shrimp, Blue-Moon Burger, Lunar Lobster, & Moon Pies. There is much more to do at the festival. For more info, check out the event page on Facebook.
Savour York Region offers prix fixe menus for $25 until July 27th.
The "Love Our Pizza or It's Free!" Challenge continues at Bar Mercurio until August 9th.
Tomorrow from noon-4pm, you can check out ribs ribs grilled by the chefs of Allen’s, The Combine Eatery, Das Gashaus, Factory Girl, Globe Bistro and The Meat Department at Thrill of the Grill . There will also be a Corn Roast Throw Down, and a chance to meet Chef Lynn Crawford (Ruby Watchco) and HGTV and House & Home's Tommy Smythe.
Your $15.00 ticket includes: 6 ribs, corn, a sample of Steam Whistle beer, a sample of wine from Gnarly Head, a bottle of ESKA water and free giveaways. And all proceeds will benefit kidney cancer research at the Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre.
Ribs AND a good cause? Sign me up!