Most people don’t expect their municipal govenrment to have culinary chops, but as it turns out, city-based organizations do serve a lot of food, and Toronto is no exception. The city provides more than two million meals per year in its long-term care homes, plus the ones it serves in shelters, child care centres and at special events. Lately, environmental activists have been taking note, realizing that these big kitchens could make a sizeable dent in the climate crisis through one simple change: making all those meals plant-based by default. The Plant Based Treaty is a global petition calli ..read more

More New Restaurants Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Ricky and Olivia, a playful new restaurant and bottle shop in Leslieville Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Café Renée, chef Nick Liu’s Italian-inspired French restaurant Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Arbequina, a new halal, alcohol-free restaurant on Roncesvalles Name: Aamara Contact: 1224 St. Clair Ave. W., aamara.ca, @aamaratoronto Neighbourhood: Corso Italia Owners: Kugendran Perampalam (ThaiRoomGrand, Savor) and Phanom (Patrick) Suksaen (Eat BKK, Koh Lipe, Som Tum Jinda) Chef: Arulmani Rajarathinam Accessibility ..read more

More Sort-of Secrets Food & Drink Sort-of Secret: Southeast Sandwiches, a fast-casual spot in Woodbridge serving Vietnamese and Filipino twists on sandwiches, tacos and poutine Food & Drink Sort-of Secret: Bungalow 22, a monthly supper club featuring a rotating menu of regional Indian cuisine Food & Drink Sort-of Secret: Comma, a Korean restaurant on Queen West serving raw marinated crab The sort-of secret: Casa Verde, a family-run old-school Italian restaurant in Ajax You may have heard of it if: You have a thing for classic red-sauce spots But you probably haven’t tried it be ..read more

More New Restaurants Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Café Renée, chef Nick Liu’s Italian-inspired French restaurant Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Arbequina, a new halal, alcohol-free restaurant on Roncesvalles Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Bar Ardo, a new Sicilian-inspired cocktail bar Name: Ricky and Olivia Contact: 996 Queen St. E., rickyandolivia.com, @rickyandolivia Neighbourhood: Leslieville Previously: Wayla Bar Chef-owners: Olivia Simpson, Ricky Casipe and Adrian Proszowski Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible through the back of the restaurant off of Boston ..read more

More Sort-of Secrets Food & Drink Sort-of Secret: Comma, a Korean restaurant on Queen West serving raw marinated crab Food & Drink Sort-of Secret: Golden Horseshoe BBQ, a new pop-up attracting crowds with Texas-style barbecue Food & Drink Sort-of Secret: Full of Beans, a Little Portugal café with its own 115-year-old roaster The sort-of secret: Southeast Sandwiches, a fast-casual restaurant serving Southeast Asian takes on fast-food classics You may have heard of it if: You live nearby and have a thing for sandwiches But you probably haven’t tried it because: It’s in a Woodbrid ..read more

More New Bars Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Bar Ardo, a new Sicilian-inspired cocktail bar Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Lulu Bar, the Well’s new spot for tropical cocktails and everything mid-century modern Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Saint John’s Tavern’s new second-floor oyster house and raw bar Name: Charlemagne Contact: 100 Portland St., @charlemagnecocktailbar Neighbourhood: King West Owners: Operating manager Bianca Rossi and Nick Liu (Dailo) Chefs: Executive chef Nick Liu and chef de cuisine Josh Ling (Dailo) Beverage director: Angus Edmundson (BarChef ..read more

When Solomon Mason was 18 and living in his hometown of North Bay, he started writing daily letters to Alinea, a Michelin-star restaurant in Chicago. In them, the now–executive chef at Auberge du Pommier begged for a shot at an internship. The last letter even included a mixtape Mason had curated, featuring songs like “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” After three months of this, his persistence paid off: he was invited to Chicago to face off against 18 other aspiring chefs for a single coveted internship—and in the end, he won. “I was fortunate to know what I wanted to do when I was so young,” says ..read more

While Covid was by no means a boon to the restaurant industry, without it, LSL Restaurant—an elite nine-seat tasting room conceived by Michelin-star chefs Christian Le Squer, Masaki Saito and Didier Leroy, opening soon near Avenue and Wilson—would not exist. About a year and a half ago, Yo-Yo Ma was in town for a concert, and while he was here, he enjoyed a private dinner at Sushi Masaki Saito, Canada’s only two-Michelin-star restaurant. “We all needed to test for Covid before he came in because he was on a world tour and couldn’t get sick,” says Saito. “Unfortunately, I tested positive—that ..read more

The restaurant industry is exhilarating but not for the faint of heart—more than half of restaurants in Canada are currently operating at a loss. And running a successful one is about so much more than just food.  The Culinary Creators Project, presented by American Express and Square, invited the restaurant community to Steam Whistle Brewing on March 25 to network, discuss industry challenges and learn from one another while sampling chef-crafted bites and drinks. “It’s about coming together to tell restaurant owners about our commitment to their industry,” said Kerri-Ann Santaguida, vi ..read more

More New Restaurants Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Arbequina, a new halal, alcohol-free restaurant on Roncesvalles Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Sounds Good, the newest addition to Toronto’s burgeoning listening bar scene Food & Drink What’s on the menu at Bar Ardo, a new Sicilian-inspired cocktail bar Name: Café Renée Contact: 100 Portland St., cafereneebar.com, @cafereneebar Neighbourhood: King West Previously: Jimmy’s Coffee Owners: Bianca Rossi and Nick Liu Chefs: Executive chef Nick Liu (DaiLo) and chef de cuisine Josh Ling Accessibility: Not fully accessible Wed ..read more