It doesn’t get more exhilarating than starting the week with the Terroir Symposium (the best one yet!) and then ending the week with the first long weekend of summer!

Those of you heading to the cottage, enjoy! In the meantime, this city is busting with fantastic news and events and of course, epic restaurant openings, so those of you staying in town, you've got lots to choose from.

Here’s the very latest:
Open:

The Battered Fish 
224 Queen St. W.

This fish and chip shop comes all the way from Nova Scotia, where it is home to seven locations. The eighth opened up at the corner of Queen and McCaul just this weekend. Menu items include Buffalo Fish Bites (fish tips breaded in panko and tossed in hot sauce), donairs (!), lobster grilled cheese, and fish & chips where you can choose pieces or tips and types of coatings or simply pan-fried.  

The Craft - Brasserie & Grille
107 Atlantic Ave.

Liberty Village’s latest opening brings with it 120 beers on tap. That, alongside a menu that includes Asian fusion, barbeque, burgers, Filipino, Spanish/Basque and tapas, means hella good times await. The Craft opens its doors today.

Oh! Original Hot Dogs
406 Bloor St. W.  

A second location is coming to Liberty Village, with more to follow. In the meantime, get yer hot dogs and steamies at the new spot near Brunswick.

Old School
800 Dundas St. W.

Brad Moore and Ian Kapitan open the doors to their Old School tonight at 7pm to "hood friends and loved ones." To follow this weekend, there are "Bangin Brunches" on Sat and Sun, 10am-4pm, first come, first serve. This will no doubt be one of the biggest openings of the year. Open 24/7, the restaurant serves "authentic BBQ, brunch, lunch, supper & booze" and have a "a kick ass corner store" in the former Hudson Kitchen spot. Stay tuned.

Stelvio
354 Queen St. W.

Bye bye BQM on Queen. A fascinating Italian restaurant has taken over. Fascinating because the focus here is on polenta, cheese and pizzoccheri - homemade hand-cut buckwheat organic short pasta. They don’t do pizza delivery either. Amazing. Stelvio opens tonight at 6pm.

Expanded:

Messini has extra seating next door now (443 Danforth Ave. - the former home of Kritamos). Does that mean the late night lineups won’t be as long? Nah, but isn’t that part of its charm?

Closed:

An Nam’s prime spot is now available on Colborne. 

Events:

Food Revolution Day is tomorrow. 

Tomorrow night, head to the Pass the Table Lust Underground Supper Club for a New Orleans feast.  

Get your tickets now for the Sweet & Savory Chocolate Dinner on Saturday, May 30th. Chocolate AND dinner? What are you waiting for? 

This Wednesday, get ready for The Burger Brawl’s Round Two, where Dennis Tay takes on Eric Wood at La Palette. 

News:

So it’s been rumoured that Chef Antonio Park is to take over the kitchen at TOCA.  Apparently, that’s false. I’ll have more details soon.

In portable restaurant news, Captain John’s Harbour Boat Restaurant has been sold. Again. Reportedly to a marine recycling company.

Restaurant Row, the restaurants located from 321 to 333 King St. W. (between Peter and John St.) have had their front sidewalks torn up, making it impossible to sit on their patios and awkward to even enter some. Many have back or rooftop patios and other have lovely interiors, so show some love to these King Street restaurants that have struggled under the threat of impending condos as well as other construction projects throughout the years:Forget About It, Fred’s Not Here, Gabby’s, Hey Lucy, Hush, Joe Mamas, Kit Kat, La Fenice, Le St. Tropez, N’awlins, Parlor Foods & Co., Pearl King, Ultimate Cafe and Z-TECA.

And lastly:

It’s not too late to celebrate "Eat What You Want" Day!

Read about Mealshare’s fantastic mission and why you’ll want to dine at these restuarnats from now on. 

IQ Food Co.'s menu was designed with you in mind.

Get an up-close look at The Good Son chef.

Have a great long weekend!