With 180 participating restaurants, Toronto’s Summerlicious is one of the best ways to explore the cuisine our city has to offer. Toronto has blossomed into a foodie’s heaven and for the next 7 days try and treat yourself to as many meals out, this affair only roles around twice a year! On the Summerlicious website, you can sort through the restaurants and cafes by price, neighbourhood, and cuisine. This makes viewing your options a breeze- plus you can create and share lists with friends so everyone can pick the menu together. With only one week left, it is going to be tricky choosing what restaurants to visit so we’re here to lend you a couple recommendations for your next lunch/dinner date!
Here are our top 4 picks, working our way from the east side of the city to the west.
- Globe Bistro: If you aren’t looking for Greek food but want to dine in the Danforth neighbourhood, Globe Bistro is a great pick. The dining room has been newly renovated which now includes a chefs table and wine bar. The menu is fantastic, offering many vegetarian options but also meat and seafood. This is a popular restaurant for the environmentally conscious who enjoy eating locally grown food, making all of the dishes fresh yet globally inspired. Sticking to the theme of local and seasonal ingredients, we chose the: Smoked Haddock Croquette, Peaches & Cream Corn Chowder, Multi Grain Risotto with Summer Vegetables, and to finish the Vanilla Sheep’s Milk Ice Cream Sandwich with Strawberry Preserve.
- Reds Bistro: Again, this is another ingredient conscious restaurant, but in the heart of the Financial District. Reds Bistro boasts its own charcuterie selection and an impressive list of 30 international cheeses- so make an effort to try one or the other! Director of Culinary Development, Gordon Mackie, heads Reds Bistro. From his international travels and time spent abroad honing his craft in some of the world’s most acclaimed hotels, Mackie has conjured up a modern and creative menu that still focuses on local and in season ingredients. Our picks for lunch were: the Panko Crusted Soft Shell Crab with Garlic Tartar Sauce and Baby Greens, the Buttermilk Crusted Fried Chicken with frites, Tomato Fennel Salad and House Made Hot Sauce, and last but not least the “Broken” Summer Trifle made of Drunken Shortcake, Berry preserve, and Custard Cream.
- After heading north into the Annex, we sought out Mirvish Village for an interesting dinner menu. Southern Accent has been serving Creole, Cajun, and soul cuisine for almost 3 decades now. The setting is completely unpretentious, with lots of bright lighting in the form of several chandeliers and string lights, a lively bar, hanging plants, and crisp white linen tables. Their dinner menu had many enticing options, but we chose to stick to traditional fare. We tried the French Quator Beignets Shrimp and Crawfish with Etouffee Sauce, next was the Canal Street Creole Jambalaya, and for dessert Coconut Cream Pie.
- Bloor West Village has an abundance of restaurant options but we chose dinner at Bloom. It’s a fun, bright, and modern hotspot with the Bloor West crowd, so it’s a treat to sample off their prix fixe menu. We started with the Pineapple & Palm Hearts Salad Roasted Pineapple, Palm Heart, Watercress Frisee, Manchego Cheese, Lemon-Poppy Seed Vinaigrette, then onto the Cuban Style Pork Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Garlic Mojo, Fried Cassava, and Cuban Rice, then to close it all off the Frozen Walnut Turron Semifreddo with Coffee Syrup.
It would be an understatement to say that we’ve enjoyed Summerlicious 2012, so join the rest of the foodies in this city and delve into as many meals as possible at this years’ amazing line up of eateries. Bon appétit!
Which restaurants have you guys tried? Tweet us @brillcomm and let us know.
Until next time,
-the brill team