Bar Volo:
Extremely fun bar, amazing whiskey and beer list. They have been importing and serving some of the most interesting beers in Ontario, if not the country. This is the place where I discovered I absolutely love sour beers, Belgian or otherwise. The whisky/bourbon list is one of the most interesting list I ever saw, some of those bottles are extremely rare. They used to have a bottle of Pappy Vin Winkle. Truly a fun bar.
Arepas Cafe on Queen's West, in the Fashion district: Usually my non-Asian breakfast place when I'm Toronto, Venezuelan Arepas! Really well priced food, great coffee, cheap drinks, if that's your thing in the morning, and great atmosphere.
BQM Burger (only went to the Queen's location) /Burger Priest: My 2 favourite burger joints in the entire country, freshly ground beef, fresh ingredients. BQM is my favourite sit-down dinner joint, decent and cold beer, big fat burger, chuck, sirloin, brisket, grind in-house at both joints. Go crazy at BQM, get one of the specialty burgers, they are great. Don't go too crazy at BP, I never tried the burger in between grilled cheese, but I'm sure it will give you a heart attack.
The Beast: Beast 120: 2 hours of 1$ oysters, cheap drinks, 5$ small plates. The mains and tapas are really well priced too. Innovative food, delicious brunch, great wine and liquor selection. Props for having great Ontarian wines all over the list.
Chinese food: Chinese food in Toronto is better than anywhere else in North America. From the cheaper end to the michelin star worthy Chinese restaurant (I would say Lai Wah Heen actually deserves a star). Most of the really good ones are in the Markham and Richmond Hill area, and I couldn't access it without a car. Almost any region of China is represented, and the food is amazing.
Dim Sum: I just didn't have the time for Dim Sum. My favourite one from last year may not be the same, because chefs and talents often shift from places to places. Casa Imperial, Fancy Cuisine, Yang's and many others on the mid to high end, but there's good dim sum joints all around town.
Street meat, Indian and everything that you can get on the street: Big fat street meat was always my weakness (do not missquote me on that). I always try to jam an Italian or a German sausage with the works when I'm in Toronto. Was always too full to eat some. Didn't have time for Kulfi or Spicy Roasted Corn on the cob, Keebabs, Byriani and any other South Asian goodies from the Indian Bazaar. Iv'e had great food in the past at Lahore Chaat & Paan House (Not Indian, Pakistani, but still), and an Indian place that I cannot recall the name.
For anything else, follow this guy: http://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2009/02/locavore_charles_yu/
http://www.chow.com/profile/10810
extremely fine palette, and funny dude.
Toronto is the kind of town that you need to know someone to have fun in. To be perfectly honest, it's kinda ugly and its horribly planned. While discussing with a bunch of urban planners and a an architect, we've determined that Toronto is more akin to LA or Atlanta than New York City. A huge urban sprawl, a chaotic jungle made of steel and concrete, that makes no sense. However, if you know where you should squeeze in between those ugly metal buildings, you can find some seriously fun spots.
Montrealer loves to laugh at Toronto, when we should admire instead of sneering. Toronto became the center of business of the country in the 80s, we thought we were still the cultural center. Thing changes. Food is amazing, from the cheap Asian food to the high-end haute cuisine, you can find almost anything in Toronto. The cultural scene also has been booming, with artists from all fields popping up everywhere. If you want poetry and slam, you can find it, if you want Drake, well you can have it too. Toronto is truly an international city, aiming for the stars. I love this place.
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