Whilst we relish in the beauty of breaks from work – and for those of you still on the clock over the next few days, our thoughts are with you as you bear the between year blues – we’d like to take this time to visit (or re-visit) some of the amazing restaurants and bars that opened up this year, helping to make our city an even more amazing place…
Thursday
For tonight’s nosh, head (back) over to Bestellen on College West. When this steakhouse-cum-casual-fine-dining restaurant opened in late February, the city waited with bated breath to see the glory of what was to become of Chef Rob Rossi’s newest venture. We were satiated easily by the breadth of steaks, the suckling pig, and the duck egg ravioli. Molto bueno! (Psst… Italian readers, is that how we spell that? Tweet us and help us get more international in our vernacular.)
It’s a few nights before New Year gives way to wayward resolutions, so why reclaim the visage of health already? Get crunked at The Hoxton this evening as Madeon (featuring Andy Ares) descends upon the industrialized space and beckons your livers to enter the eternal dual between live long and prosper and live free and die young.
Friday
Okay, okay. So this restaurant didn’t technically open this year. But no one had heard about it for its first few weeks, so it just makes the cut… in our humble opinion. Yours Truly on Ossington saw an amazing wave of hipsters and socialites burning at the brims with anticipation of the ever-changing tasting menus served in the boisterous and almost-too-loud space. Their enthusiasm – often misplaced – was right on the money. Speaking of which… for a few dozen coins, Yours Truly ain’t half bad for the culinary glory found within.
Seventies rock is alive and well at the Gladstone tonight as She Does the City hosts Stay Golden: Holiday Hangover. Nothing beats the day after headaches than juicin’ up to what got you to your ill-advised state in the first place. Sexy studs, gorgeous gals, black and glittery sheep all welcome.
Saturday
Enjoy a late, late brunch on Saturday at Bellwoods Brewery on Ossington. (They open at 2pm.) When these guys opened, the city’s craft beer purists were giddy with ill-intentions towards the boys’ brews: We’re gonna drink you… fast. Little had they foreseen, however, how the ever-evolving menu would pair with their pints.
Delight in deluxe dinner tonight at Michael’s on Simcoe. Arguably the biggest contender to Jacobs & Co., Michael’s on Simcoe – which opened mid-Fall – employs a beautifully designed dining area with the utmost care in the steaks they age in-house. Everything undergoes rigorous inspection before it hits your plate, which is why the menu – that reads like a steakhouse infused with haute Italian sensibilities – is always charmingly satisfying.
Hippity hop on over to Parts & Labour ce soir and get ready to Press Play. With two DJs (both of whose names are so trite we daren’t mention them in this column), plenty o’ PBR, and a Facebook e-vite replete with dozens of hashtags, this’ll be one shindig whose purpose is to prolong the inevitable B2W (back-2-werk) reality.
Sunday
Gusto 101 became the talk of the town eerily fast for a restaurant that in essence is the antithesis of other ultra-popular spots like La Societe. Playing up a menu of rustic Italian fare amidst a room constructed from the remnants of its original auto-garage, Gusto 101 succeeded thanks to its proximity to King West, its cheap eats, decent wine list, and sexy servers. And yes – in case you were unaware – they do brunch… hard.
Ah, The Dog & Bear. This “proper” English pub showed the Queen West crowd that drinking needn’t be accompanied by blithe faces sipping PBR like it was eau de vie. Alas, it has become a local, a watering hole for those in the know. And we’re all in the know, right? The baked mac n’ cheese, Piri Piri chicken, and Guinness-braised short ribs keep calling us back, but the true success of The D&B lies in the communal feeling that often flounders this side of the pond.
Most women do it at least once in their lives, and now the fellas can join in, too. Fake it tonight at a faux New Year’s Eve Party at Ceili Cottage. This Leslieville hangout is gettin’ chaotic and hypnotic as it bids an early farewell to 2012.
Photo courtesy Gusto 101; neilbarbisan.com