Tucked at the end of a corridor just off Yonge north of Eglinton, this restaurant meets bar meets pool hall is a busy place in the summer months when its courtyard patio fills with area locals. While the food isn't rave-worthy, it works well enough as pre-billards fuel.

Read my review of Spacco in the restaurants section.

Certainly not for squares, this old-school Steakhouse might seem like a time capsule from the 1970s, but it serves up juicy steaks, delectable seafood and one of the best Caesar salads that I've ever had. Bust out the Viva passes and saddle up for an unforgettable meal!

Read my review of The Octagon in the restaurants section.

Toronto has lots of hotels that brand themselves as boutique — and even a few that live up to the billing — but few are such intimate affairs as these quarters on Queen East. Featuring just four rooms, this is a place to indulge in immaculate surroundings and service.

Read my review of the Ivy at Verity in the hotels section.

Reel Eats hosted their third edition of their popular movie themed dinner party this week featuring the classic Johnny Depp flick Chocolat. Equal parts spoken word, tasting menu and social congregation, Reel Eats is constantly evolving and changing the definition of dinner party.

Brainstorming over dim sum one day, Mary Luz Mejia and Mario Stojanac, Vanessa Yeung and Domenic Ubaldino and Sang Kim - all brought their creative food related talents to the table and imagined hosting a (soon to be) monthly tasting menu with a film focus that engages and entices diners in an entirely new fashion. Tickets are $75 for 6 courses, and wine is BYOB, or Sang can provide pairings for $25.

Bob Blumer welcomed guests and gawkers to the Drake Hotel Monday night for a tasting menu based on his new Food Network show, World's Weirdest Restaurants in which the host travels the globe in search of unconventional dining experiences (to put it mildly). While airing segments of the show, Blumer entertained the crowd, and more importantly, fed them too.

The Drake was packed with food-loving fans, excited for the wacky guest of honour, who didn't disappoint. Waiting for each guest on their table was a clown nose, blindfold and the ever classy roll of toilet paper. Keeping everyone in suspense about the random objects, Blumer wore several hats and seamlessly worked the room into a feeding frenzy, whether it was dressed as a monkey serving beer, or dishing out hot curry from an actual toilet bowl (so that's what the paper was for).

With two well established downtown locations, this popular European-inspired beer bistro expanded to the Shops and Don Mills a few months ago. With beer and food menus that are pretty are similar to the other outposts, the only thing that's really different here is the vibe — and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Read more in my review of Bier Markt (Don Mills) in the restaurants section.