Eat & Drink
Get to Know a Bartender: Jan Ollner of Reposado
Eat & Drink
Toronto office buildings set to get local food markets
In other words, you can grab something for lunch as well as some bread, soup, veggies and cheese for dinner tonight. "We don't want people to be 'food sleuths,'" Aruna Handa, the head of Alimentary Initiatives tells me, "we want to bring food to where people already go. We're trying to make local, organic food convenient."
Eat & Drink
Beau's Brewing Co. set to debut new beer at WVRST
There's a lot to like about Beau's All Natural Brewing Company.In addition to brewing certified organic and extract-free beer, Beau's boasts an impressive commitment to sustainability. They produce 100% post-consumer posters, brochures, and coasters as well as environmentally friendly packaging. They also provide financial support to a host of environmental advocacy groups and they are the first company in Eastern Ontario to engage the Guelph Food Technology Centre's sustainability division for an energy audit.
Eat & Drink
This week on DineSafe: Fresh, George's Deli, La Prep, Leslieville Cheese Market, Maggie's, Mangia Mangia Mangia, Smoke's Poutinerie, Subway
This week on DineSafe, one of the places where I had obliviously enjoyed a meal was actually sporting a conditional pass. Gulp. Though the fact that it had boasted an impeccably clean (no pun intended) DineSafe record beforehand does provide me with some solace, especially considering the repeat offenders who often make it on this list. This week's conditional pass handouts were spread from downtown to way up north, nabbing offenders on Queen, George, and Bloor, plus one at York University and a Subway chain in North York. Here are some of the notable yellow passes that were handed out around Toronto this week. Fresh (Spadina)
Inspected on: January 31
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 5 (Minor: 1, Significant: 1, Crucial: 2)
Crucial infractions include: Inadequate food temperature control, failure to protect food from contamination
George's Deli & BBQ
Inspected on: January 30
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 6 (Minor: 1, Significant: 3, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Failure to protect food from contamination
La Prep (160 Bloor)
Inspected on: January 31
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 9 (Minor: 4, Significant: 3, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Inadequate food temperature control
Leslieville Cheese Market (Queen W)
Inspected on: January 30
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 5 (Minor: 2, Significant: 1, Crucial: 2)
Crucial infractions include: Inadequate food temperature control, failure to protect food from contamination
Maggie's
Inspected on: January 31
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 7 (Minor: 3, Significant: 2, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Inadequate pest control
Mangia Mangia Mangia
Inspected on: January 31
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 12 (Minor: 2, Significant: 6, Crucial: 2)
Crucial infractions include: Failure to protect food from contamination, inadequate food temperature control
Smoke's Poutinerie (George St)
Inspected on: Feb 1
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 3 (Minor: 1, Significant: 2, Crucial: 0)
Crucial infractions include: N/A
Subway Sandwiches (Yonge & Cummer)
Inspected on: Feb 2
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 4 (Minor: 2, Significant: 1, Crucial: 0)
Crucial infractions include: N/A
Eat & Drink
Only Cafe to host mini-beer fest
Known by beer drinkers as one of the best spots in the city to get your craft brew fix, the Only Cafe will be hosting a mini beer fest this weekend that will feature live music, guided tastings, and, naturally, beer from a handful of some of Toronto's (and the GTA's) best micro-breweries. The event will feature tasting booths manned by a beer rep or brewer who will offer samples of their wares in exchange for a ticket that costs you just one dollar. Given that the crowd at the Only is typically well versed in all things beer, the brewers will be sampling stuff that's a little out of the ordinary like seasonals or one-off brews wherever possible as opposed to their well-known flagship beers.
Eat & Drink
The Real Jerk wins temporary injunction to stay put
The Real Jerk will get to stay at the southeast corner of Queen and Broadview, for a little longer anyway. After being given a paltry 31 days to vacate the space they've occupied for over 20 years, owner Edward Pottinger and his wife filed for a temporary injunction to remain at their current location until they can find a suitable alternative. The restaurant confirmed earlier today via Twitter that it had won the case. Although not all the details have become available, it would appear that the victory means the Real Jerk will remain where it is for another year.
Update (12:00 p.m.):
Ed Pottinger has told the Globe and Mail that he is already scouting another location for his Queen east fixture. Although a reprieve was granted, there will be a steep increase of rent in the upcoming months if the restaurant doesn't find a new home.
Entrepreneurs Rick Aulier and Scott Brockington are gunning to open an Irish pub in the space at a rate of $12,000 a month, a $5,700 hike from the rent Pottinger has been paying. Although the restaurant has the right to stay for a year, if it doesn't relocate by March 1, 2012, Pottinger will be required to make up the rent that Aulier and Brockington would pay.
Despite this potential increase, he remains upbeat with the news. "This is what I always wanted. I just wanted a little more time to relocate and I now have that. Whatever happens from now on, I'm going to be looking for a new place to relocate the Jerk, hopefully in the neighbourhood," he told CTV news on Wednesday evening.
Update by Roxanne Hathway-Baxter


