Open/Closed for the week of Sept 15 – 21

Happy National Cheeseburger Day!  Where are you going to celebrate? In case you don’t think it’s a big deal, Monday was also National Double Cheeseburger Day, so you’ve just gotta fit a cheeseburger into your week somehow. Don't worry, I have a few suggestions to help you out .

But leave some room – you’ve got a lot of eating to do this weekend!

Check it out:

Open:

120 Diner
120 Church St.

I’m always up for having another diner to add to the increasingly the small mix. And while the 120 offers diner classics like All Day Breakfast ($9), Grilled Cheese ($10) and daily Pie ($7), a smattering of more modern fare such as Chicken Skins (sm $7/lg $10) and Chef’s Burrito ($10) helps it appeal to a wider audience.

Nuit Social
1168 Queen St. W.

Proving that sharing plates are back full-force in the city, Nuit Social is basing their entire Italian restaurant on it. Meats coming as far as Austria and as close as Toronto and Richmond Hill, are alongside cheese boards, olive bowls, and heartier offerings such as Fried Artichokes ($11) and Arancini ($14).

Pie Squared
366 Bloor St.E., Unit 2

The range of hand-held pies here covers your entire day – Bacon, Egg & Cheddar for breakfast (they are open at 7:30am on weekdays, 8am on weekends), Chicken Mushroom Classic for lunch, a snack of Spinach and Lentil late afternoon, Southern Pulled Pork for dinner. And for dessert? Why, Pumpkin Nut, of course!

You have to order from a periodic table and someone in a lab coat though.

Breakfast News:

The Central
603 Markham St.

Attention all flapjack lovers! Starting this Saturday, The Central serves all-you-can-eat pancakes every Saturday and Sunday, including bottomless coffee for, get this, $5.95. And if you are more of a classic breakfast person, enjoy one with as much java as you like for just $4.95! They’ll be music and if it’s warm enough, dine out on the patio.

Should you wish for something boozy, they’ve made it almost too easy for you with Mimosas, Caesars, Irish Coffee and Cause & Effect bottles for just $3.10 each.

And here you thought it was too expensive to eat out. This magical deal is available every Saturday and Sunday from 1pm - 4pm.

Casa Manila
879 York Mills Rd.

Casa Manila, your favourite stop for authentic Filipino fare, starts serving breakfast beginning this Saturday (what is it with this weekend and launching breakfast service?).  You’ve gotta be up early for this one, though. It happens Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30am – 11:30am only. It will be worth it, as the menu is abundant with choices (three for $11.99). Everything from Pork Longanisa, Glazed Spam,and Dried Fish-Tuyo to Lugaw-Filipino Congee and Ube Taro Pancakes. There are eggs, pork and beans, and garlic rice, too.  You’ll have to go back a number of times to try every item.

And should that be too far to travel, don’t forget there’s always the Ritz, that’s been making fantastic Filipino brekkie for years now.

Closed:

Red Tea Box is no more on Queen West. It’s no wonder with all the macaron and cupcake places that surrounded the place. 

And despite the city being burger crazed, Acme Burger Co. on Church closed. Actually, it’s kind of a miracle they managed to stay that long, with a Hero Burger right on the corner.

Events:

CraveTO is hosting Food Truck Festival Ontario! for one day only this Sunday from 1pm - 8 pm. Happening at the south east end of Ontario Place, this will be your chance to enjoy the space before it goes under construction. And most importantly, show your love for our city’s food trucks.

There's still time to enjoy Toronto Beer Week. 

And while beer week has been grabbing all of the attention, you should know it’s also Organic Week starting Saturday. 

There has been a lot of news about Toronto Underground Market (TUM) stopping after its next event in September. It turns out that they might not be gone forever, just changing things up a little. Stay tuned for more news.

The LCBO is hosting a number of Taste Local events around town this fall. Started on Monday and going until October 11th, the calendar is full of cool things to do. And eat. And drink. For instance, tomorrow from 5pm - 9pm, there's a Taste Local Pie Pop Up Event at 1095 Queen Street West featuring Ontario wines paired with pie. Tickets are $10 and will be sold at the door.

The 2014 KitchenAid Cook for the Cure Culinary Showdown event doesn’t happen until November 29th, but fundraising begins now. Check out all the details on how to donate and get involved (you have the chance to cook with Chef Lynn, Chef Corbin, Mark McEwan, Susur and Vikrim Vij!) in this week’s article.

Want to know where Meghan Markle - Suits actress and founder of The TIG - likes to dine out in Toronto (she was at DaiLo last night!)?!  Check out our new celebs & food column, launched this week, and read my interview with her.

And don’t forget:

Voting ends on September 30th, so be sure you give us your choices for best restaurants in the city. Why should our Alan Vernon have all the fun? vote for your favourite restaurants!

We’ve got an amazing lineup of new openings coming your way (Whalburgers! Louis Cifer!) as well as new columns, features and surprises along the way, so be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, so you’ll know as soon as it happens (we know when Buca Yorkville is opening!)! And of course check under the ‘What’s New’ section every Thursday for the week's list of openings, closings and events. And if you can’t wait until then, go ahead and check it everyday. We post at least one piece a day.

Ooh, I think you can still squeeze in some sangrias and patios this weekend.

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