Originally posted by SuE
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Originally posted by deadboy View PostFor 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.One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art ― Oscar Wilde
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Originally posted by Icarium View PostFlying 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.
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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.
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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 :)
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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.
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Originally posted by drizzly View Post2 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?
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.
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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.
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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.
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Originally posted by drexl View PostOff-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.
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.
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Originally posted by stagename View PostToronto 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.
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.
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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.
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