We have news on updated hours, menus and special events for restaurants on Ossington. Of course, we will continue to update you as we learn more news from the street.
Fishbar has announced they are extending their hours, starting next week. Lucky you if you are around the Ossington area during the day, as you will now be able to dine at Fishbar for lunch and happy hour! This is all according to their Twitter feed:
Some fun news: Starting next week we’re open for lunch (Tues-Fri) and hosting a Happy Hour every Thurs-Sun!!! Enjoy
More Than Pasta announced new hours AND a special event. As of September 26, More Than Pasta will be open 7 days a week from 11AM-7PM. Plus, they will hold an Open House on Sunday, October 2 between 1P-4P. Everybody is invited to drop in and sample some new products, like their new high quality pasta lines, cold salads, and hot take-out meals.
Boehmer is organizing a fundraiser to help Eigensinn Farm back on their feet after a recent fire. Happening on Sunday, October 23 at 2PM, the meal will be created by eleven chefs including Paul Boehmer, John Higgens, Jamie Kennedy, Hiro Yoshido, Anthony Rose and others, plus 12 wineries, Creemore Springs beer and a jazz band. Cost per person is $275 including tax but not gratuity. Call Noboyu at Eigensinn to book 519-922-3128, cash or cheque only.
Like it’s predecessor at the location, Le Bar a Soup, who closed up for the summer and never reopened, Crepes and More, which only opened their doors in April 2010, is now shuttered and the building (or perhaps the business?) is for sale. Crepes and More never really found its groove with the Ossington crowd with its odd hours, not opening later in the evening when the neighbourhood would be packed with bar and restaurant patrons who might have found late night snack or sugar rush tempting. The times I visited I found the prices steep for a quick take-out place, and they hadn’t upgraded their facilities to allow for sit-down food service.
We look forward to the next business to take over the location.Will someone bring sushi into the neighbourhood?
Other neighbourhood rumours: The now closed dentist’s office next to Churchill on Dundas is rumoured to be a new restaurant led by one of Mark McEwan’s sous-chefs from Bymark. Also on Dundas, the old location of The Tampered Press, The Communal Mule, north of Trinity Bellwoods Park, is going to be filled with a pet supply store moving into it’s location.
Note: Correction – it wasn’t Tampered Press that closed, but The Communal Mule. Tampered Press is alive, well and still serving great coffee! (apologies to anyone who listened to my mistake)
Earlier this week Union Restaurantwas finally given permission by the city to roll out their patio. Teo Paul had talked to all the neighbours, held a local event, filled in all the paperwork and finished all the necessary applications and finally earlier this week he was approved.
On Friday night, when we visited, the patio was in full swing with customers enjoying some of the local goodness Teo puts together. The patio, which only seats around 25 people, is fully equipped with it’s own barbeque and a composter which, tucked away to the side, is how they recycle much of their organic kitchen waste.
According to the notice posted on Bohmer’s door, filming will begin on Monday, August 8 at 7am at Bohmer Restaurant, followed by filming at Venezia Bakery on Tuesday, and explosives at Bohmer on Wednesday. The production notice mentions street closings on Wednesday, but the sign the city posted says the street will be closed on Monday. Be prepared for both.
Salt Wine Bar launched it’s new menu on Wednesday night and hosted an event called Salt 2.0 and invited us and other local members of the social media community.
And did we taste! A 9 course menu (plus the fried oyster at the bar) provided all of us a chance to savour a variety of courses and flavours. We also had a nice selection from the drinks and wine menus.
Photos of all the dishes (except the pulled pork course – I got too excited and took a bite before taking a photo) are below, and a scan of the menu. If you want to follow Salt Wine Bar on twitter, use @SALTwinebar and definitely go in and check out their new menu, including the bar cocktails and Portuguese wines.
The celebration of Cuban food, art, music and drinks is returning to Ossington Avenue this August. Havana Cultura runs August 18-21 and is sponsored by Havana Club Rum. Events will be held at many of the busiest venues around the neighborhood, including Reposado, Sweaty Bettys, Watusi, Delux, Crooked Star, Lower Ossington Theatre, Painted Lady, and, of course, Julie’s Cuban.
The sneak preview happened today at Reposado where they showcased some of the talent – from musicians to cigar rollers. They also allowed us to taste some authentic Cuban food and drink, including a new rum they are launching this year during the festival, Havana Club Selección de Maestros.
Some of the highlights of this year’s event include a Rumba party at The Ossington on Friday August 19th with IYÁ IRÉ Dance Company, and the Latinada Band from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Also on Friday, local Latin artists Son Aché will be performing upbeat Latin dance music at Watusi.
On Saturday afternoon, you can take a master class in rum drinks and the origins of Cuban rum, the secrets of rum production and learn how to mix a few classic Cuban cocktails at a special Havana Club Master Class at LeVack Block from 2 to 3pm. Even the Lower Ossington Theatre is involved with some Cuban films including “Eso Que Anda”and “Lisanka”.
And once again the wall of Levack Block will be painted during the festival by local grafitti artist Angel Carrillo.
The festival is a great fit for Ossington, taking great advantage of the diversity of businesses and individuals in the neighbourhood. Keep an eye on our calendar for a full line-up of events as the date approaches.
If you’ve sat outside and enjoyed an iced latte at I Deal coffee in the last couple months you may have noticed a trellis structure with vines growing up construction line strung to the ground. Those vines are, in fact, hops, which are part of a new brewery project called Bellwoods Brewery, founded by Mike Clark and Luke Pestl, both former brewers at Amsterdam brewery. They are hoping to encourage those hops to grow to their potential – over 40 feet in a season – and extend those wires to allow the hops, which seem to be thriving in this little urban farm, up to the wall of the cafe. The project is part of something they call City Hops where they are also growing hops in 3 other parts of the city, two private residences as well as the rooftop garden of Parts and Labour. Check out pictures on their flickr page.
The brewery will be going into the former Meta Gallery and Rolly’s Garage space just north of Argyle. Mike and Luke plan to start a wholesale brewing operation in the location and over time, and as permits permit, grow into a small retail location and then add a small restaurant. Guy Rawlings, who until recently was at Brockton General, is helping them out on the menu. According to Mike they plan on keeping the food simple, in a picnic style with gourmet cheeses, pickles, and meats. It will still take 4-6 months at least to get all the permits they require.
They also plan on building relationships with more of the local businesses. They plan to evolve their partnership with I Deal to include a coffee beer, made with some of the hops grown on the Foxley garden. Mike is also a big fan and regular of the Crooked Star, which always has a great selection of beers, so certainly look out for their beer to be served there.
As they build and develop their recipes, they are looking for official tasters. (check the link for details on how to apply) I applied and am excited to try out some of the beer before it gets out on the market.
Clearly the city media is excited about having a new brewery come to the area. Mike and Luke seem to have had little difficulty getting written up in many of the local publications including BlogTO, Toronto Life, Post City, and Toronto.com. It’s a fantastic feat of PR for a launch a few months away. It could also be that people in Toronto are more receptive to beer and brewers than ever before. With the Beer Festival and Toronto Beer Week coming in the next months, we expect more anticipation for Bellwoods Brewery.
Our local restaurants and food shops are abuzz with news, special offers, and special events, so for your convenience, we’re rounding up all those deals in one place.
We’ve tweeted about this one, but it’s worth repeating here: The much lauded new restaurant, Fishbar, offers a weekly special each Tuesday called #flexyourmussels. This is one for the tech-savvy – you need to check in on Foursquare to get a big bowl of mussels for $8. They are also doing an oyster special called UncleWillyWednesday on Wednesdays: pay for 9, get a dozen.
Another weekly deal is Delux‘s $1 oyster Tuesdays – lasting through the end of July. That’s right, all oysters for $1 all Tuesday at Delux.
More Than Pasta is expanding their offerings, with a special event coming on July 28 from 6-8:30PM. World renowned Culinary Olympic Gold Medalist, Executive Chef Roderick Strike will be cooking a special prix fixe 4 course dinner including wine showcasing their wholesome product and healthy ingredients. Cost per person is $75. Contact gabriellaAThollywood-foodsDOTcom
In a city that loves the stuff, BQM Burger’s “Poutine Throwdown” is sure to attract hungry mouths and curious onlookers. This event is scheduled for July 27 at 7PM. Wear a bib! (?)
Summerlicious started on Friday, and Watusi at 110 Ossington is participating in the $25 dinner. See the menu here.
More prix fixe menus: Bohmer is beginning a summertime prix fixe tonight which will run Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. It’s a three course $35 menu: there’s a sample one posted here. This is in addition to their previously mentioned 5-7 menu of drinks and nibbles. Toronto’s favorite pizza place does a mean prix fixe too: Pizzeria Libretto now offers a $25 locally inspired 4 course menu for dinner, and a $15 3-course lunch, both with pizzas!
New chefs have been announced or begun work at two Dundas Street West restaurants: Enoteca Sociale announced that Chef Matthew Demille is joining their team, and nearby Brockton General may have lost Chef Guy Rawlings (he’s not going far!), but they’ve gained Alexandra Feswick, most recently of Earth.
See what I mean about lots going on? Now all that’s left is to decide where to eat!
229 Ossington, just south of Dundas, formerly the Luckily Cafe, is the future home of Vangarde. All we know is there is a liquor license application in the window, so it’s a bar, lounge or restaurant of some sort. Luckily did have a kitchen, so anything is possible.
We’re catching you up on the latest press about our neighborhood. From the arts to restaurants, to celebrities, there has been a lot going on in these parts.
So, let’s get it over with. Robert Pattinson sightings have been fast and furious ever since his film started shooting at The Lakeview. Bloggers from Hollywood to Toronto have obsessed over where he hung out on Ossington, and the results are in: Crooked Star and the Dakota Tavern. Good choices, vampire.
Speaking of The Lakeview, the owners are being lauded as starting a new trend of restaurateurs opening food shops, as they’ve done with the well-stocked take-out and grocery, The Lakeview Storehouse.
Opera Bob’s is turning into a destination for baseball fans in Toronto. With the introduction of “Jays Days”, where they duplicate the ballpark experience for away games, with a hot dog/beer/popcorn vendor, special menu, full sound and big screens, they are getting rave reviews.
Also getting rave reviews, from Joanne Kates no less, is Bohmer restaurant. She loves the beautiful space, and if you haven’t been, they have early evening specials and serve Sunday brunch.
