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Toronto gets a new curry festival

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curry fest torontoCurry Fest, from the same folks behind Yum Cha, has released tickets for this next spicy food festival slated to take place on the afternoon of Sunday, March 22.

While the lineup of vendors has yet to be released, organizer Spotlight City Events has a knack for commanding marquee restaurants like Momofuku Daisho and The County General, as well as previewing up and coming kitchens like the soon-to-open Buster's Rhino and FeasTO, who will debut a food truck on Toronto streets this summer.

Curry Fest is anticipated to showcase authentic dishes rooted in Southern and South East Asian cuisines, along with variations popularized in the UK. I also expect some modern interpretations from Toronto chefs experimenting outside of their comfort zones (speculation based on the unexpected and inordinate amount of cheese consumed at Yum Cha last weekend).

Tickets are $10 and are being sold in limited numbers for morning and afternoon sessions that will take place at 2nd Floor Events (461 King St. West). Food at the event will be additional - expect dishes to hover around $5 mark.


The Best Antique Stores in Toronto

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antique stores torontoThe best antique stores in Toronto are the perfect places to dig for not-so-buried treasure. Whether you're looking for furniture, an accent piece, some antique hardware or an elusive collectible, these stores have done the legwork for you, sorting through countless relics to dig up antique gold. (Of course, there's plenty of hunting for you left to do, but that's all part of the fun.)

Here are the best antique stores in Toronto.

See also:

The Best Vintage Furniture Stores in Toronto
The Best Salvage and Reclaimed Furniture in Toronto
The Best Furniture Stores in Toronto
Flea markets in Toronto

Toronto company brings high tea to your home

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nutea torontoIf gilded teapots and finger sandwiches are your thing, Toronto has plenty of places to take afternoon tea - but, really, what could be more luxurious than having high tea come to you? NuTea, a new Toronto-based company, is hoping to do just that, offering a sort of catering service that aims to bring the pageantry, hospitality, and tiny adorable snacks of high tea to your doorstep.

The service includes teas, snacks, and food and tablescape styling (so you, too, can be making people jealous on Pinterest with your picture-perfect parties). In addition to the classic "English tea" experience, which includes sandwiches, scones and pastries, you can also treat yourself and guests to Japanese, Indian and Moroccan-inspired teas and snacks. But perfect parties come with a price tag - according to their site, events of 12 groups or less start at $850. Check out their site for more info.

Photo via NuTea on Facebook.

Twitter digs deep for gags about the Toronto tunnel

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toronto tunnelWas it the work of enthusiastic engineering students? Shady drug dealers? Minecraft fanatics? Right now, no-one knows who built the sophisticated 10-metre tunnel that was found near York University last month. Whoever decided to build the t-shaped underground passageway knew what they were doing: the walls were reinforced, a generator powered electric lights, and a sump dump deposited groundwater away from the dig.

While police and national security officials probe the incident, Twitter users did what they best--made wise cracks. Here's the best of the reaction to the Toronto tunnel.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

House of the week: 7 Millington Street

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7 Millington Street Toronto7 Millington Street is an unassuming modern loft near Parliament and Carlton Street listed for $1,399,000. The Millington Lofts, once a livery stable (circa 1885), was later converted into lofts in the late '80s, and upgraded over time. There are only two units in the building, with the others previously listed for $1,100,000.

This two-storey unit is not your traditional industrial-looking brick and beam space. The 2,000 square foot loft is downright sexy with a dark wood kitchen, an interior courtyard, and a cozy fireplace in the living room. There's a glass staircase and a second floor bridge leading to a master retreat and outdoor patio. And there's still plenty of natural light with the cut-outs and large skylight.

There are only a handful of lofts in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood, including the Peanut Factory Lofts, a processing plant conversion on Sackville Street and the former home of a certain disgraced CBC host, who has since moved to the Beaches (or his mom's place).

Today, Cabbagetown is just a quiet neighbourhood amongst classic cottages with the best manicured front lawns in the city. Worth the asking price? Take a closer look.

7 Millington Street TorontoSPECS

  • Address: 7 Millington Street

  • Price: $1,399,000

  • Lot Size: 23x80 FT
  • 
Bedrooms: 2

  • Bathrooms: 2

  • Parking: 1, rented 

  • Taxes: $7,884
  • 
Walk Score: 95

7 Millington Street TorontoNOTABLE FEATURES

  • 2,000 square feet
  • Interior courtyard
  • Designer wood kitchen
  • Custom built-ins

7 Millington Street TorontoGOOD FOR

A large condo alternative without the maintenance fees. The unit is a freehold loft which means no monthly fees or regulations, and you're free to maintain the property as you like. The space is still larger than most row houses in the area.

7 Millington Street TorontoMOVE ON IF

You need long-term parking and more than two bedrooms. The seller has a two year transferable rental on single car parking included in the purchase but beyond that, you'll need to secure a spot and pay up.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS7 Millington Street Toronto7 Millington Street Toronto7 Millington Street Toronto7 Millington Street Toronto7 Millington Street Toronto7 Millington Street Toronto7 Millington Street Toronto7 Millington Street TorontoRead other posts in this series via our House of the Week Pinterest board.

Thanks to Bosley Real Estate for sponsoring our House of the Week.

Lettieri to close Yorkville location after 20 years

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Lettieri closeLettieri Espresso Bar, a fixture in Yorkville for almost two decades, will close its doors at the end of the week. A press release distributed tonight cites the impending construction of Minto Yorkville Park as the primary culprit for the closure, though visitors to the cafe will also know that the business had seen its better days.

Long one of Yorkville's prime people-watching spots (Sassafraz is directly across the street), the cafe's glory days were in the mid to late 1990s, when the place would be packed from morning until night neighbourhood locals and and baggy-suited business types devouring espresso, panini, and draft beer.

The cafe continued to be popular with its prime location at Bellair and Cumberland, but something changed after owner John Lettieri turned much of his attention to the Hero Certified Burger franchise, which blew up in a way that the cafe concept never did. Still, those who remember 1990s pre-condo Yorkville will still miss the Lettieri of old.

Photo by PJMixer

NYPD + TTC

Today in Toronto: Musical Improv Fest, My Beautiful Laundrette, By Any Means, SUUNS, Little Brother

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today in TorontoToday in Toronto if you're curious about crossing over the line from whatever comparatively cool subculture you currently call home (ska?) to the uncharted awkwardness of improvised musical theatre, the first ever* Toronto Musical Improv Festival might be opportunity you've been secretly, shamefully waiting for. It launches on the Danforth at the The Social Capital Theatre from February 25-28. Read more here.

Inside Out's Retro series is screening Stephen Frears's My Beautiful Laundrette, or catch By Any Means at Videofag in Kensington Market, a collection of ground breaking animated works by female animators curated by Emily Pelstring and Lesley Marshall. For more events, click on over to our events section.

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Image: My Beautiful Laundrette


Online men's vintage store opens first retail location

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in vintage we trust torontoAfter several successful years of selling handpicked vintage threads to well-dressed guys across Canada and North America, a popular eBay store has expanded into a brand-new permanent home in Parkdale. Though they focus on collectible and rare pieces, including basketball jerseys, jeans and vintage workwear, they keep things affordable - most pieces ring in at less than $100.

Read my profile of In Vintage We Trust in the fashion section.

The top 30 bakeries in Toronto by neighbourhood

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bakeries torontoGood bakeries are essential to any neighbourhood, and in Toronto most areas are blessed with options. Really it comes down to style; fancy French pastries, crusty Italian loaves, ritualistic Jewish foods, and homestyle all-Canadiana sweets are all on offer at the standout bakeries found across the city.

Here are my picks of the top bakeries in Toronto by neighbourhood.

THE ANNEX
Harbord Bakery is an institution in the Annex having been in business since 1945. The Jewish bakery is the place to get a challah or festive specialties like sufganiyot at Hanukkah or apple cakes for Rosh Hashana.

THE BEACHES
Tori's Bakeshop is an all-natural, vegan and gluten-free bakery that carries an ever changing selection of scones, cakes, pies and sweets.

BLOORCOURT
Tucked on a side street, where the west entrance of Ossington Station lets out, Bakerbots is lovely little bakeshop that specializes in sweets like cakes, cookies, cupcakes and french macarons in fun flavours like black sesame or PB&J.

Bakeries TorontoBLOORDALE
Triple tiered cakes, big cookies (all the better for making ice cream sandwiches) and cupcakes are just some of the many delectable goodies available at Home Baking Co., a collaboration from a Bakerbot's co-owners and ex-baker from Sud Forno.

CORSO ITALIA
Tre Mari is an old school Italian bakery that has serviced the community on St. Clair West for over 50 years. Vienna sticks, ciabatta, and focaccia are among the house specialties, while the pastry case is packed with cannoli, zeppole, and assorted cakes.

THE DANFORTH
Dough Bakeshop offers a direct view into their open kitchen, allowing customers peer in while bakers work hard to stock the shop with artisanal breads, tarts, pastries, squares, cakes and cookies.

DISTILLERY DISTRICT
Since Brick Street Bakery isn't exclusive to just this neighbourhood (not to mention this location is so cramped), Sweet Escape Patisserie wins this round. The sweet shop sells cookies, cakes, shortbreads and macarons that are piped full of love as much as they are buttercream.

bakeries torontoEAST CHINATOWN
Andrea's Gerrard St. Bakery is a lovely source for nostalgic childhood favourites including peanut butter chocolate tarts, cheese cakes and pecan squares.

EAST YORK
Mon K Patisserie on Coxwell is a Japanese-inflected French bakery where stopping in for a fresh loaf of bread may also result in spontaneous purchases of beautiful mille-feuille, macarons or layer petit fours.

ETOBICOKE
In Etobicoke I'm torn between Ma Maison and San Remo which are both suberb at what they do. I'll give this to SanRemo for its repertoire of at least 50 house-baked breads (the stuffed Vienna specifically is wonder), as well as, the sheer assortment of Italian desserts on display.

FINANCIAL DISTRICT
Found in the concourse level of First Canadian Place, Brick Street Bakery is where Bay Street types bee-line for workday essentials like chocolate brioche buns, croissants and muffins. At lunch hour, find sandwiches built on irresistible breads and savoury turnovers and Cornish pasties on the menu.

JUNCTION
Bunner's gluten-free and vegan bake shop offers everything from breads, muffins, and savoury pastry pockets, as well as, sweet tooth satisfying cupcakes, butter tarts, doughnuts and more. The thing to get here are the cinnamon buns, best had early in the day fresh from the oven.

KENSINGTON MARKET
Blackbird Baking Co. in Kensington Market has usurped My Market Bakery as the local favourite. One taste of za'atar sprinkled focaccia or the delicious ploughman loaf is pretty much all that's needed for the unconvinced to convert.

Bakeries TorontoKING WEST
Forno Cultura is a subterranean Italian bake shop that beckons me in every time I pass. Brioche loaves, semolina sourdoughs, and a vast assortment of biscotti are among the daily offerings, while I also highly recommend the canoli a sfoglia.

LEASIDE
Rahier has been a mainstay on Bayview for almost 20 years earning a reputation for luxurious mini-cakes, tarts and macarons.

LESLIEVILLE
Bobbette & Belle has got special occasions covered with beautiful cakes and sweets for custom order. Walk-ins will find delectable indulgences too including cupcakes, cookies, macarons and other seasonal confections.

LIBERTY VILLAGE
For the Love of Cake is a dessert shop located in the heart of Liberty Village offering delicious creations like over-the-top cupcakes, butter tarts, cheesecakes and custom decorated cakes.

MOUNT PLEASANT
Thobors is a Parisian style boulangerie, patisserie, and cafe where the selection includes crusty baguettes with soft chewy interiors, beautiful boules, buttery viennoiseries, and stunning, sculptural works of pastry and chocolate.

Bakeries TorontoNORTH YORK
With so many excellent Italian and Jewish bakeries in this area, it's a tough call to pick a favourite. Gryfe's being the reigning champ for the city's best bagels is as deserving as any.

OSSINGTON
Bang Bang has a dual focus as an ice cream shop and bakery, and you can enjoy the best of both worlds in the form of signature ice cream sammies. Other delicious, all-butter baked goods include treats like Earl Grey chiffon cakes, profiteroles and macarons.

PARKDALE
Don't be fooled by the crude name, Glory Hole Doughnuts is one sweet little shop specializing in what else but, doughnuts. Find yeast and cake doughnuts here in unique seasonal flavours like chai brûlée, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, or toast and butter.

Bakeries TorontoPAPE VILLAGE
Serano's is a European bakery and market where Greek pastries, breads and custom cakes are among the specialties. Satisfy your sweet tooth with trigona, phyllo triangles slacked in syrup and piped with cream and nuts.

RIVERSIDE
St. John's Bakery found on Broadview bakes beautiful breads including crusty, crackling baguettes and dense potato onion loaves. Stop in on Saturdays for the freshest English Muffins in the city.

RONCESVALLES VILLAGE
Mabel's homestyle offerings are plentiful, including everything from rustic breads, cookies, pies, cakes and all sorts of prepared goods made with an emphasis on natural and organic ingredients whenever possible.

SCARBOROUGH
Lamanna beats out Agincourt Bakery for its sheer selection including traditional Italian baked goods like Sicilian cassate rolle and cannoli, plus wacky inventions like Eggo maple cream cheese cupcakes.

ST. CLAIR WEST
This is another stretch of the city rich with noteworthy bakeries including specialists like Baker & Scone, and home baking generalist Leah's. French boulangerie Pain Perdu and its classic line-up of Parisian baked goods.

Bakeries TorontoUPPER BEACHES
Made-from-scratch specialties at the Beaches Bakeshop include Scandinavian treats like, Kanelbulle (a.k.a cinnamon buns), Semla buns and, Smörgåstårta sandwich cakes.

WEST QUEEN WEST
Sud Forno or Nadege? In such close proximity, it's a tough call. Nadege excels at macarons and viennoiseries, while Sud Forno makes traditional Pugliese pane and crema-filled bombolone. If forced to choose (like my editor insists I do right now), might I suggest the old E3M approach? Eeny, meeny, miny, moe - I pick Nadege. K?

bakeries TorontoYONGE & EGLINTON
Phipps Bakery Cafe has been a stalwart in this neighbourhood for almost 30 years. It's renowned for fresh baked breads and an astounding selection of cakes, tarts, cookies and squares.

YONGE & LAWRENCE
The Rolling Pin is pastry shop where pies, cakes and doughnuts in a wide range of unique creative flavours. Cream pies for example can be had with tiramisu filling, or choose from a daily selection of doughnuts including a maple-glazed bacon version with a DIY maple syrup injection.

What did I miss? Disagree with my selections in the comments.

1 LOVE T.O. co-founder opens modern barber shop

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bryan brockWith new barber shops constantly popping up in Toronto, the bar is set high, which 1 LOVE T.O. co-founder Bryan Brock knew when he opened this new Dundas West shop. Instead of a throwback vibe, this barber shop has a decidedly 21st-century aesthetic with a lounge-like atmosphere and a selection of local products - grooming-related and otherwise - so men can walk out of there looking their best.

Read my profile of The Fitting Room in the fashion section.

The Toronto tunnel is now on Twitter

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toronto tunnelWhile the 14 or so Rob Ford parody accounts you follow have turned into silent, moody testaments to weathered times of civic strife, 2015 is looking promising for Weird Toronto on social media: the YorkUtunnel is finally on Twitter.

@Torontotunnel‬ has a deep sense of humor (and, I assume, an echoing laugh) and is already taking on everything from the Raptors to the Keystone Pipeline to Chris Brown. With a mayor as dry as Tory, the hole for good parody accounts in the city of late is a massive one, but it looks like someone clever enough has burrowed down to the occasion to fill it.

Will you buy a #YOTO (You Only Tunnel Once) shirt? Let us know in the comments.

Toronto to host huge chip and dip battle

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chips and dip battle torontoPotato chips fans rejoice. Toronto is set to host its first (as far as I can tell) chips & dip battle, and if the participating restaurants are any indication, some seriously delicious junk food is in store. Organized by Ivy Knight, the competition will go down March 2 at the Drake Hotel.

Despite the lowbrow nature of the food, a serious battle is brewing, one that will be judged by the PEI Potato Board and cast members from Just Passing Through. The winning chef will be sent to the country's smallest province to compete in the Garland International Chefs Challenge (which carries with it a $10,000 grand prize).

Freshly made potato chips are a rare treat, and these ones promise to be a cut above. The list of participating restaurants is below. Will Hopgood's have an inside track with its Maritimes-themed menu? I guess we'll find out.

Photo by KC Taffinder on Flickr

Buster Rhino's set to open first Toronto smokehouse

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buster rhinos torontoBuster Rhino's is already renowned for its championship barbecue served at rib festivals across Ontario, and at brick and mortar locations in Whitby and Oshawa. Now, the smokehouse is set to open its first outpost in downtown Toronto.

The newest Buster Rhino's is due to open this spring at 838 College Street where Phil's Original BBQ operated since 1991 before joining the deadpool last February. It will be helmed by Michelle Edgar and Jason Poynton (owners of Sweet Escape Patisserie), along with Manon Hurtubise and Irene Tzaras (former owners of Grindhouse Coffee).

While the the expanding chain of smokehouses already boasts a cult following, it will open in a newly saturated BBQ landscape in Little Italy - one where Baju and Backwoods are both serving up their own takes on slow smoked fare in near proximity.

What do you think - are you excited for the opening of Buster Rhino's in Toronto?

The Best Pakistani Restaurants in Toronto

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pakistani restaurants torontoThe best Pakistani restaurants in Toronto deal in complex curries, flavourful rice dishes, succulent char-grilled kebabs and the other staples of the South Asian diet. Menus at these eateries share similarities with cuisines from neighbouring India and Afghanistan - while many are also regionally specific and marvellously distinct and diverse.

Here are the best Pakistani restaurants in Toronto.

See also:

The Best Indian Restaurants in Toronto
The Best Afghan Restaurants in Toronto
The Best Kebabs in Toronto


The top 5 furniture consignment stores in Toronto

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furniture consignment torontoFurniture consignment stores in Toronto present the perfect solution for compulsive redecorators, no matter if a piece is coming or going. Shoppers can snag a gently-used piece at a steal - and if you're looking to make room for that new find, they can help you out by handling the moving, photography and sale of your old pieces (buh-bye, Craigslist).

It's no surprise that there are more and more furniture consignment shops arriving on the scene, including Around The Block and newcomer Elle & Eve - we Torontonians do love a deal.

Here are my picks for the top furniture consignment stores in Toronto.

See also:The best consignment stores in Toronto

Of Things Past
Of Things Past stocks their two locations - a cozy Rosedale outpost and an enormous North York showroom - with some stunning secondhand gems. If you don't love the price on an item, you might want to gamble on whether or not it'll move; unsold items are marked down with each passing month.

A Changing Nest
This Bloor West Village shop knows the importance of careful staging and editing, with staff finding a perfect home for each piece within the immaculately-kept space. Their aesthetic tends toward the sweet and cheerful - farmhouse-chic painted furniture and all the trinkets you'd need to make your house feel like a home.

The Singing Lady
The Queensway consignment depot sprawls over 13,000 square feet, packed wall-to-wall with finds ranging from tiny treasures (including some truly gorgeous handmade finds) to hulking dining room tables. There's a nice variety of eras and styles represented, from rustic to ornate to midcentury modern.

Elegant Garage Sale
This Leaside shop, in addition to winning my undying love with this tweet, offers some very reasonable pricing on their selection of consigned pieces. You can readily score dressers and tables for less than $200, though the selection isn't terribly trendy.

Transition Squad
In addition to handling estate sales and auctions, this company runs a consignment depot near Dufferin and Lawrence, where they offer everything from fashion accessories (we spy some Matt & Nat wallets) to bedroom and dining room furniture, all at some remarkably reasonable prices.

Did I miss any? Leave your favourite furniture consignment store in Toronto in the comments.

Photo via A Changing Nest on Facebook.

New petition circulates to give Drake key to the city

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DrakeShould Drake get a key to the city? A new petition to give the Toronto-repping, Raptors-loving, 6 re-naming, OVO-throwing, entrepreneur and hip hop artist the key has started circulating, and we're ready to throw our weight behind the cause. A petition for Maestro and Kardi wouldn't hurt, either.

Who else has key? As the Facebook page for the petition is quick to point out, Nickelback do, for one. Also on the list - see our digest here - are J. K. Rowling (Drake > Harry), The Rolling Stones (fair), Céline Dion, Blue Rodeo, Barenaked Ladies, Joni Mitchell (um), and Mickey Mouse, who isn't even real. So, is Drake too real to get the key to Toronto? Check out the petition here.

(It remains to be seen if the key can be used to enter the tunnel.)

Photo via the Toronto Raptors

Pizzeria Libretto and Porchetta & Co. collaborate on new College St. restaurant

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Pizzeria Libretto Porchetta CollegeGood news for fans of Toronto's finer sandwich and pizza emporiums. A3 Napoli, a new collaboration between Porchetta & Co. and Pizza Libretto, will launch this summer at 589 College Street (previously The Mad Italian).

The quick service Neapolitan eatery will operate daily from lunchtime to midnight offering seating for 30 along with a handful of street-side patio tables and a takeout menu.

Expect a street food-influenced menu featuring pizza and fried snack foods along with Italian suds and a few local craft brews. Chefs Rocco Agostino and Nick Auf Der Mauer are leaving for Italy next week and encouraging hungry fans to follow along on Instagram as they look to get inspired for their new menu.

Photo of Pizzeria Libretto's University location

Moon, Mars, Venus conjunction

Today in Toronto: D-Beatstro Pop Up, Kaki King, Animal Collective, Krista Buecking, Mimico, BeerProv

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Today in TorontoToday in Toronto you can check out a pop up market featuring local artisans and more at D-Beatstro, a new DIY venue and vegan cafe opening soon in the old Bike Pirates space. Read more here. The market is up until Sunday March 1st. Embrace has Animal Collective DJ-ing at the Drake Underground on Queen, and Wooden Sky members will perform at a Story Planet fundraiser on Bloor.

Whether you're a fan of psychfolk, electronic, or drone, don't miss the magic of Kaki King's guitar-based The Neck Is A Bridge To The Body project in the cavernous yet somehow intimate warehouse space on Geary (at the dead end). Loom is also on the bill. Then MIMICO will celebrate a new release at Smiling Buddha. For more events, click on over to our events section.

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Kaki King photo by Synesthesia via Facebook

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