Open/Closed for the week of March 28 – April 3

appy April/Spring!

To celebrate, there are some fab openings with truly fascinating offerings, as well as some great food and drink events to fill up your weekend.

Here’s the very latest:

Open:

The Boil Bar
633 Silver Star Blvd.

The seafood boil trend continues. This time, it’s happening in Scarborough. This spot just opened and soon The Boil Bar will be expanding with two more locations in Toronto.

Stay tuned.

Charmaine Sweets
115 Vanderhoof Ave.

The new Leaside bakery offers fresh breads, cookies by the pound, and drop-in baking classes (April’s lineup includes Crème Caramel, Pecan Tartlets, Cream Puffs, and Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting classes).

The Chicago Don
901 Bloor St. W.

The Italian resto opens tomorrow. With pizza on the menu (made with “butter dough”), it might at first seem like your typical spot, but these dishes tell a different story: The South Beach Pig (Pork tenderloin cooked sous vide style with a Florida orange and Grand Marnier demi-glacé, accompanied by a side of Mediterranean rice) and Hooligan Chicken (Chicken breast prepared sous vide style, in a raspberry demi-glacé sauce, topped off with roasted Amaretto almonds).

The menu will offer mostly proteins, with just one pasta dish available per day. Eighty dishes are rotated on a 10-day cycle, with 20 being "signature" dishes.

Watch here for more news.

Hidden Burger
22 Front St. W.

Hidden Burger is located at the back of Bottom Line down a long hallway. There are a few bar stools, but it's mostly for food to go.

The micro burger spot is owned by Bottom Line. The small menu offers three combos - Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger and Veggie Burger - as well as a la carte burgers, fries and drinks. The counter is open daily but closes at 5pm.

Love Me Tender Steakhouse
1968 Queen St. E.

The new steakhouse in The Beach offers poultry (Chicken Shepherd’s Pie) and seafood (scallops, prawns), in addition to steak and burgers.

Real Mo Mo’s
51 Colborne St.

The Kickstarter-funded restaurant by Monique Guffens opens tomorrow.

Expect the menu to be full of surprises such as Australian kangaroo meat, Dutch pancakes, and papas arrugatas with mojo sauce from the Canary Islands.

I’ll have a closer look soon.

Muddy York Brewing Co.
22 Cranfield Rd.

This Saturday, Muddy York Brewing Co. opens their first retail store.

Fans of their Unearthed Amber Ale, Muddy York Porter, and Dereliction Double I.P.A. can pick up bottles, growlers and merch from 11am-4pm. 
 

Events:

Head east this week for free wine tastings/events and prix fixe wine dinners at Riverside Winefest, on until April 3rd. 

On Wednesday, April 6th, Youth Without Shelter's third annual fundraiser, Cover Me Urban! is happening at 99 Sudbury. In addition to raising money for a great cause - Youth Without Shelter (YWS), the GTA's only emergency shelter and residence for homeless youth – there will be 15 vendors offering their street food eats including Cheese Boutique, Fonda Lola Mexican Bistro, Levetto, and folks from Chopped Canada. Buy tickets now. 

Get your tickets now for Taste for Life, happening on April 20th.

And lastly: 

This week’s Best Of celebrates the new season. 

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about selecting and cooking lamb from The Healthy Butcher's Mario Fiorucci. 

Rose Reisman’s Butter Chicken recipe is on the lighter side. No butter required!