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Restaurant Comings & Goings


"The Rabbit Comes to Town at 1 Kitchen is promising a five-course prix-fixe full of “heart, hustle and harvest” (though no actual heart, which we wouldn’t put past this fan of sustainable whole-animal butchery). Dishes will include lamb tartare with plum mostarda and pickles, Ontario rabbit croquette with baby gem salad, and a chestnut honey financier with mascarpone mousse and espresso pearls for dessert."
 

Melani Toronto – Greek Restaurant

melanitoronto.com melanitoronto.com

A brand new and exciting Greek restaurant is about to land in Uptown, and it’s opening very soon. Just weeks after Toronto’s beloved Byblos Uptown shut its doors, the space is already being reborn as Melani — a modern Greek concept from INK Entertainment that promises coastal energy, sleek design, and a fresh take on classic dishes.⁠
 

But now they’re introducing Cuban breakfast at their Ossington location, which until now wasn’t open in the mornings. The menu will include some old hits as well as some new dishes, including huevos sofrito ($15); pulled pork benito, their take on eggs Benny ($19); and—an early favourite—pork belly and waffles with pineapple salsa ($21), because fried chicken shouldn’t get to have all the fun.
 

But, instead of stewing in the frustration of setbacks (which are still ongoing), they improvised. Potter and Degiorgio bought a rainbow-bright 1970s trailer for $1,000, parked it in front of their building and christened it Bodega Geary, a takeout window selling coffee, homemade patties, pop tarts, hot dogs and ice cream floats. “With the trailer, we’ve been able to recoup about a quarter of the rent that the extra time has taken,” says Potter. “But there have been a lot of other bonuses from operating Bodega Geary. We’re able to be on site every day, getting to know the tradespeople and the wider neighbourhood around us.”
 

"A private chef is cooking up gourmet dishes for clients at the Fort York Food Bank using ingredients that would normally go to waste. "

@Northern Light definately should hit up the food kitchen for your fine dining expertise!
 
artyboy123 said:

"A private chef is cooking up gourmet dishes for clients at the Fort York Food Bank using ingredients that would normally go to waste. "

@Northern Light definately should hit up the food kitchen for your fine dining expertise!
Click to expand...

I do not require such services Art; but if I did, I don't think it would be at all appropriate for me to use them from a Food Bank, which is intended to help those who can't afford to buy their own groceries.

I assume you mean i should offer my services..........
 
Last edited:
Northern Light said:
I do not require such services Art; but if I did, I don't think it would be at all appropriate for me to use them from a Food Bank, which is intended to help those who can't afford to buy their own groceries.

I assume you mean i should offer my services..........
Click to expand...

@Northern Light

ops sorry, haha, I typed it too quickly before I post it!

The food bank is for those in need & but it also helps with the food bank's morale when talented cooks help out and serve their local community.

My apologies!

I meant you should offer your cooking services to the food bank since you are an extraordinary cook!

If I were still living in Toronto, I would also set up some time in the weekend to help out in the kitchen!
 

Shakir Al-Qanbar, the owner of East Tea Can, is opening Soul Smash Burgers at Dundas and Winston Churchill, in the space next to his Middle Eastern restaurant.

The concept was born from Al-Qanbar’s desire to return to a classic burger—to the “soul” of what makes a burger good at a time when trends come and go. While Toronto has no shortage of smash burgers, Mississauga has relatively fewer options. “It’s a simple product,” says Al-Qanbar. “We just wanted to bring a quality version of it to the community we already know.”
 

Toronto’s restaurant industry lost a singular force earlier this month. Rodney Clark, the PEI-born oyster expert, passed away on November 6 from heart failure. He was 75 years old. Known across the city as the “urban oysterman,” he was a fixture of Toronto’s food scene: part raconteur, part ringmaster, part seafood evangelist. Long before oysters were on menus city-wide, he showed Toronto diners that seafood could be fun, local and a little unruly. His namesake restaurant ran on joy and chaos in equal measure—oysters flying, champagne flowing and Rodney in the middle of it all, turning strangers into regulars with a story and a wink.
 
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In 2019, when he was just 24 years old, Yevhen Salitrynskyi left Ukraine for Toronto to earn a degree in computer engineering. Today, he’s the force behind Borscht Kitchen, a Ukrainian micro-restaurant cleverly concealed inside a Harbord Village sushi spot (in the space that was once Aunties and Uncles). “When Covid hit, it was very brutal,” Salitrynskyi says. “I felt very alone. I was so far from family and friends, and being isolated was no way to make new ones. I was really craving connection.”
 

But, when one menu closes, another one opens: Covarrubias will be joining the team at 20 Victoria, replacing chef Julie Hyde. “I feel so excited and nervous all at once,” Covarrubias says. “I start the second week of January, and I’ll be tag-teaming it with 20 Victoria owner Chris White.” And he’s not coming alone—he’s also bringing a couple of Hexagon team members with him. “I feel very lucky to have my chef de cuisine Jordan Wilkinson and sous-chef Victoria Rinsma with me.” Consider this culinary deck stacked.
 
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