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  • deadboy
    Senior Member
    • Jul 2013
    • 107

    #91
    Originally posted by SuE View Post
    Where is the best in town: Stockyards? Drake Hotel?
    For me it's Stockyards, but I wouldn't recommend it to an out-of-towner because it's far and (I believe) that dish is only served for Sunday brunch. And second Electric Mud, great place.

    Comment

    • SuE
      Senior Member
      • Jan 2013
      • 173

      #92
      Originally posted by deadboy View Post
      For me it's Stockyards, but I wouldn't recommend it to an out-of-towner because it's far and (I believe) that dish is only served for Sunday brunch. And second Electric Mud, great place.
      Stockyards now has it on the menu for weekday breakfast and weekend brunch. It can be a long wait on weekends for a spot but well worth that
      One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art ― Oscar Wilde

      Comment

      • boxma
        Senior Member
        • Feb 2007
        • 133

        #93
        Originally posted by Icarium View Post
        Flying out to Toronto for 10 days... what's good for food?

        Going to make a reservation for Richmond station. Definitely going to try not to eat Banh mi Boyz every day... and get some Khao San Road too in for Thai.
        chef from Khao San Rd is now in Sukhothai and I did not go to Khao San Rd for a while, heard very bad service. Sukhothai is very busy in the weekends, don't forget to make reservations before you go. The Korean restaurant beside Sukhothai is good also.

        Comment

        • stagename
          Senior Member
          • Oct 2011
          • 497

          #94
          Bar Isabel and Patria were my highlights so far this year. Both of them are spanish inspired. Black Hoof is always nice but their chef left last year, to start Bar Isabel if I remember correctly. They don't take reservations which is a pain in the a**. Shoto if you're food-inclined as it's a pricey fare. Don't bother with the normal momofuku, it pales in comparison to the nyc one.

          Best of/Best new lists:

          En route guide:
          TO LIfe:
          BlogTO


          A compilation of best of from the Huff
          And The Dish over at TO life always has a "power ranking" each week highlighting the most talked about restaurants.

          Word of advice: If you want to dine if a good place, place a reservation a couple of days in advance. Edulis and Campagnolo, for example, are hard to get if you don't book it 5 days in advance.

          Bon apétit.


          EDIT: On the afore-mentioned places: Acadia closed a couple of weeks/months ago. Hopgood and Union are over-rated in my opinion, but to each its own. If you're on the Ossington strip, Odd Seoul is the latest talk of the town.

          I'd recommend Roses and Sons and Saving Grace for brunches, since brunches are rarely talked about in lists of top places. 30 min minimum wait for both places except if you show up when they open.

          Edit2: Just recevied this in the mail. I'm not sure for which restaurant this is, the phone number is for BENT but clicking on the link brings you to Luckee. Both restaurants are owned by Toronto celebrity chef Susur Lee.
          Last edited by stagename; 05-05-2014, 11:57 AM.

          Comment

          • grapefruitpop
            Banned
            • Jun 2013
            • 74

            #95
            Banh Mi Boys is like the most overrated spot ever. Dont get me wrong, its good, but its on the level of Chipotle, Five Guys, etc. Definitely not worth making a special stop for, but wouldnt hurt if youre en route somwhere else and its along the way. Crazy how hyped it is.

            Comment

            • Icarium
              Senior Member
              • Oct 2010
              • 380

              #96
              Be it as it may... I really enjoyed it while I was in Toronto last. I think I was there for about 4 days and ate it 3x. It did help that it was 1-2 blocks from the hotel I was staying at the time. But its the kind of guilty pleasure food I like... unhealthy, hipstery, fusion street food with a good portion/price ratio.

              I do enjoy Chipotle and Five Guys as well :)

              Comment

              • dji
                Senior Member
                • Feb 2008
                • 3020

                #97
                thanks again for the recommendations guys. really enjoyed visiting over the weekend, it's a very charming city. the fact that it reminded me a lot of home (Melbourne) made me all the more enamored with it (must be home sick after a year living in the states..).

                I ended up trying:
                - Banh Mi Boys for lunch - enjoyed it for what it is, I'd pick its quick and tasty Asian fusion food over the standard American burger and fries place any day. the five spice pork belly was done quite well, crispy with well rendered fat.
                - Grand Electric for 2nd lunch (needed to make the most of my time there!) - tried one of each of the tacos, solid.
                - Momofuku Shoto for dinner - hands down better than Ko in NYC, great stuff but I think I've made the missus sit through one too many 3 hour degustations at this point..
                - Patria for brunch - good Spanish tapas, the flores con miel for dessert was the highlight.

                good coffee there too, I liked Sense Appeal more than Dark Horse but both were decent (and knew what a flat white was!).

                back on topic I liked The Serpentine, safe but solid buys and the guys running the place were a laugh. Da Zoo was just okay for me.

                also dropped by Nomad. as mentioned there were only a few pieces from Silent, the Arc'teryx Veilance basics and technical wear were interesting though.

                Comment

                • drizzly
                  Banned
                  • Apr 2012
                  • 665

                  #98
                  2 questions

                  1. are most the shops mentioned in this thread still open?
                  2. how many days do people recommend to visit Toronto and really see and absorb the city?

                  Comment

                  • stagename
                    Senior Member
                    • Oct 2011
                    • 497

                    #99
                    Originally posted by drizzly View Post
                    2 questions

                    1. are most the shops mentioned in this thread still open?
                    2. how many days do people recommend to visit Toronto and really see and absorb the city?
                    serpentine, da zoo, holt, tnt, and sydneys are still all open. holt doesn't have much for the typical sz-er, sydney's have greatly reduced their selection as well, tnt has/had yojhi at their yorkville location, serpentine and da zoo should be your go-to places.

                    That really depends of what you mean by "really absorb the city". There's not much to do in terms of tourist attractions, so I'd say 2-3 days should give you an idea of the vibe.

                    Comment

                    • drizzly
                      Banned
                      • Apr 2012
                      • 665

                      Thank you, i read that 2-3 days in the city + 1 in Niagara falls would suffice. Hence, i think 4 days to take it easy and not rush around.

                      Comment

                      • drizzly
                        Banned
                        • Apr 2012
                        • 665

                        Ok I am about to be leaving Toronto and wanted to give some feedback/ideas for others:
                        Khao San Road - great thai but I am from the bay area and its basically on par with most good thai places in SF.
                        Banh Mi Boys - delicious...
                        Dark Horse Coffee - not a fan, granted i only had the espresso but i didn't finish it.
                        Porchetta & Co - sandwiches were delicious

                        Da Zoo - cool spot not much selection imo but nice store.
                        Serpentine - Decent selection, the owner was one of the coolest people i met. If i lived in Toronto i'd grab a beer with that guy.
                        Last edited by drizzly; 06-30-2014, 07:18 PM.

                        Comment

                        • drexl
                          Senior Member
                          • Sep 2006
                          • 798

                          Off-topic, but does anyone have recommendations on neighborhoods to live in/to steer clear of? Will be moving there in about 1-2 months (and I've got nothing lined up besides a job!). Looking for something downtown (i.e. small apartment/condo), hopefully within walking distance of the financial district (or at least, within a short and easy commute), that has decent restaurants/shops. Also someplace where I won't get mugged/stabbed/shot?

                          Is the Ossington strip all that it's cracked up to be? Is anything east of Don Valley interesting (e.g. Leslieville, the Beach)?

                          Sorry for being vague, I just haven't had the chance to spend much time in the city/done enough research.

                          Comment

                          • stagename
                            Senior Member
                            • Oct 2011
                            • 497

                            Originally posted by drexl View Post
                            Off-topic, but does anyone have recommendations on neighborhoods to live in/to steer clear of? Will be moving there in about 1-2 months (and I've got nothing lined up besides a job!). Looking for something downtown (i.e. small apartment/condo), hopefully within walking distance of the financial district (or at least, within a short and easy commute), that has decent restaurants/shops. Also someplace where I won't get mugged/stabbed/shot?

                            Is the Ossington strip all that it's cracked up to be? Is anything east of Don Valley interesting (e.g. Leslieville, the Beach)?

                            Sorry for being vague, I just haven't had the chance to spend much time in the city/done enough research.
                            Toronto is the safest biggest city in north america so there's very very very little risk for you to get mugged, stabbed or shot about anywhere. Downtown east is a bit less safe but compared to other big cities, still safe.

                            You don't want to live on Ossington as it's loud and crowded from Thursd to Sat. It's a nice spot to go to for the rest of the week, thoguh.

                            You can live about anywhere east of Bathurst street on the west end on Queen, King, Dundas or Bloor and you'll have a short and easy commute on streetcars or subway (bloor) to get downtown. Also about anywhere on the university subway line would do. Blogto has good descriptions of the city's neighborhoods. Without more information about your lifestlyle it's a bit hard to suggest you anything more precisely. The best websites to find a place are craigslist, kijiji, viewit.ca and padmapper. Good luck to find a place, I think vacancy is around 1% nowadays. Not a renter market =/

                            PS You can check for the east end as well but I'm partial to living in the west end ;) Yonge street is the frontier between west/east.

                            Comment

                            • drexl
                              Senior Member
                              • Sep 2006
                              • 798

                              Originally posted by stagename View Post
                              Toronto is the safest biggest city in north america so there's very very very little risk for you to get mugged, stabbed or shot about anywhere. Downtown east is a bit less safe but compared to other big cities, still safe.

                              You don't want to live on Ossington as it's loud and crowded from Thursd to Sat. It's a nice spot to go to for the rest of the week, thoguh.

                              You can live about anywhere east of Bathurst street on the west end on Queen, King, Dundas or Bloor and you'll have a short and easy commute on streetcars or subway (bloor) to get downtown. Also about anywhere on the university subway line would do. Blogto has good descriptions of the city's neighborhoods. Without more information about your lifestlyle it's a bit hard to suggest you anything more precisely. The best websites to find a place are craigslist, kijiji, viewit.ca and padmapper. Good luck to find a place, I think vacancy is around 1% nowadays. Not a renter market =/

                              PS You can check for the east end as well but I'm partial to living in the west end ;) Yonge street is the frontier between west/east.
                              Thanks for the write-up! Yeah I know I didn't give a lot of info at all. Late twenties, out of school, yuppie scumbag, moving there on my own. Would like to be close to the smaller music venues. I've only been to Toronto for NXNE, so I've pretty much spent all my time in the West end of the city (I guess that's where I should be looking after all). I did like the Distillery District (reminded me a bit of Old Montreal), but I don't know about living there (or close to there).

                              I was half-kidding about the mugged/stabbed/shot part, I don't mind some grittiness as long as I can walk around at night. Then again spending 4 years in Ottawa will do crazy things to your level of risk aversion (and sanity).

                              And yeah, rent prices are pretty discouraging, especially after growing up in Montreal.

                              Comment

                              • blackfedora
                                Senior Member
                                • Jan 2012
                                • 507

                                The distillery district is a poor choice for living for reasons of transportation. There is a streetcar north (King) of the area but during the winter it has a tendency to be rather tardy which can quickly lead to mild frost bite, especially if we have a winter like last year. But since you are well hardened by Montreal/Quebec/Ottawa winters, you will likely survive. I tend to rely on subway as a the standard for choosing a place to live.

                                Places to avoid at night include, Regent park, Sherbourne & Bloor, Jane & Finch and High park, unless your vices include crack cocaine and prostitutes. These areas are ok during the day, but can dodgy at night. Same can be said about Kensington Market, but it has cleaned up in the last couple of years. The club district along King street and the surroundings is noisy and tends to have some idiots who randomly shoot/stab folks, but it's not a terribly frequent thing.

                                If you like quiet but close to some small/gritty music venues then I would suggest the Annex. There is Sneaky Dee's, the Wreck Room and Lee's Palace for small music venues and a couple independent theatres that can be interesting. Lots of food options as well and close to several transportation outlets (subway and streetcars) that can get you to the Financial District. All this falls in line with what stagename suggested.

                                I hear you with regards to the disparity in rents, I spent 6 years in Montreal and was taken aback when I arrived in Toronto.

                                Comment

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