Cheap Eats Toronto restaurant guide blog

FAQ – Buy Now or Wait For V3?

We just got a question from a potential CheapEater, Chrissy:

Is there a new version in the works or should I buy the 4 y.o. version? I don't want to buy it only to realise half the recommended places have shut down or doubled their price in the meantime. Thanks!

Short Answer: buy the old one.

Long Answer:  buy the old one and update it with the Red Pen Updates.

We get this question often, thus it’s inclusion as a FAQ, and it’s always a little embarrassing because I want to say a new edition will be available immediately, but that’s just not the case right now.

Work on a new edition will start fairly soon, but it won't hit bookstores for at least 8 months and more likely longer.  Trust me I wish it was sooner, but it's not.

Given how we source and vet restaurants we recommend in CheapEats, the major of restaurants we have recommended are still open and running.  The prices will have changed, but for the majority they will still be in the same relative price tier when compared to other restaurants in Toronto.

We do our best to keep tabs on restaurants that have closed or moved since our last edition, so when you get the book you can update it immediately by grabbing a red pen and going through the Red Pen Updates on our blog  Looking at them all together looks like a lot but there are over 350 recommendations in CheapEats Toronto to start with.

Hope this helps you make a decision.

Vintages Value List Release March 31 2012

Hello Again Fellow Tipplers,

We had some recent feedback asking us to tell them what which wines we REALLY liked on the list. We explained how we put this list of recommendations together: we taste the Vintages release every Tuesday during our lunch hour, tasting around 50 wines and then we put together a list of our favourites under $25. We REALLY like all the wines we recommend, BUT we also realize that our lists are getting out of hand with too many to choose from. From now on we will try to commit to keep the recommendations more compact.

SO – we REALLY like these wines:

VV List February 18, 2012

Hello Again Fellow Tipplers,

We had to call-in sick for the last release – one of our palates was under siege by a nasty cold and the other one found that post-Christmas analysis demands left a bit of a bad taste in their mouth! We are pleased that we were able to attend the last tasting as the theme is “Popular Front- 22 customer favourites”. This had us tasting some great wines of yore and we happily trotted down memory lane. Another funny element of this tasting occurred in the tasting room. We arrived in the room and there were yellow caution tapes strung over the sinks warning us not to use them. We spit in the usual flagon that was then dispensed into a large trash can on wheels – GROSS! The jokes were flying as the province had just made the announcement that they are planning to sell the Queen’s Quay head office to developers to raise much-needed cash. The place really is a “Tear Down” judging by the state of the plumbing!

Sparkling Wine

268540 De Stefani Brut Prosecco Superiore (Veneto, Italy) $17.95

This is a dry, pleasing Prosecco with apple, pear and pie spice notes. A great way to start the party off.

48801 Louis Bouillot Perle D’Ivoire Brut Blanc De Blancs (Burgundy) $18.95

Distinct citrus notes on the lees. Very well-balanced and good length. Score:90 (David Lawrason, winealign.com Aug 2010)

Vintages Value List November 26, 2011

Season’s Greetings!

This is the 2nd last Vintages release before Christmas and the holiday wines are hitting the shelves.  That is not great news for you bargain hunters as the big guns tend to come out at this time of year and big guns = big $$$.  We still managed to taste a few great wines in the value range and we are even including some exceptional wines above the value threshold because they are fantastic and a bargain at the > $25 price point.  Besides – it’s pretty darn stressful this time of year and you deserve to pamper yourself with some extra special libations OR they will certainly make a generous gift for someone.

SPARKLING WINE

53215 Belcanto de Bellusi Extra Dry Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCg (Veneto, Italy) $17.95

A decent little sparkly number here.  It is ever-so-sweet with some oomph on the end.  A great evening starter …

Vintages Value List Release October 29 2011

HI!

The busy-ness continues and we had to engage in some speed tasting this week. We slurped and spit at a ferocious pace and it was hard because there are some real gems in this release at a great price!

 

White Wine

37648 ZENATO PINOT GRIGIO 2010 (VENETO) $13.95

Quite flavorful, features white pear, floral notes, mineral and crisp refreshing acidity following through on a generous finish.

158501 SNOQUALMIE NAKED CHARDONNAY 2009 (WASHINGTON STATE) $15.95

This Washington number is organic, sporting flavors of fresh ripe peach and some graphite, it is off dry and has an oily mouth feel. Pair with mildly spicy dishes.

Giveaway: Fielding Wine & Private Tour for 6

Earlier this year our post about Quaffing Locally included Fielding Estate Winery, so when they asked  if I would be interested in giving away a private tour & tasting for 6 at their vineyard AND 2 bottles of wine I said “Hell yes!” 

Fielding Estate Winery is located on the Beamsville Bench which, while a relatively small appellation, has a unique set of growing conditions which provide a natural complexity to the regions wines. It’s well worth a trip to Fielding, especially if you win a tour & tasting for 6!  Besides it’s a beautiful season for a roadtrip!

Since the Fielding Wines are great paired with food:

To enter: just tell me your favourite place to enjoy a glass of Ontario wine with dinner in the comments below.  I’d love to hear what you order too, that’ll get you a second entry in the draw!

Draw: will be held Wednesday Nov 2nd after 5pm.  The winner will be announced and contacted to arrange pickup of their prize pack.

BTW, you must be 19+ years old to win this contest.

Some more information about the prize:

Giveaway: 2 Pairs of Tix to Toronto Underground Market

Last time the Toronto Underground Market sold tickets they were gone before I realized they were even on sale.  This time I bought a pair for me and a pair to give away to one of you.  But now I’m on the road, so lucky you, I have 2 pairs to give away!

To enter: tell me your favourite place to get lunch in the comments below.  I’d love to hear what you order too, that’ll get you a second entry in the draw!

Draw: will be held Friday at 2pm, and the winner will be announced.  Tickets will be at the door in your name, so make sure to leave an email or twitter handle so I can reach you! 

Vintages Value List Release October 15, 2011

Hello Fellow Tipplers!
Hope you are all doing well and embracing the change of season – whatever that means to you!  For us, it means a pretty busy work schedule as we amp up for the busy holiday season here at the LCBO and we get back into the swing of things when people stop taking summer vacation and meetings are full and the ensuing task list fuller!  This preamble will be short and sweet, but we thoroughly appreciated being able to taste these past two weeks and there are some beauties on offer this weekend in Vintages :

SPARKLING WINE

163634 OYSTER BAY BRUT SPARKLING CUVÉE (NEW ZEALAND) $21.95
Made from 100% chardonnay this sparkler is packed with flavours of ripe peach, bitter peach pit on the mid-palate and lively acidity.  Fresh, lively and quenchable with anything. 

Hello & Goodbye to Nyssa

It feels like only yesterday Nyssa joined us for her internship and it’s already her last day.  Now to be fair it was an exceptionally short internship, but Nyssa got a lot done.

So it seems right to finally introduce her to you so you can say goodbye.

Who are you and where are you from?
I am Nyssa Tilford. I am, I guess, from Vancouver. But have been living in Toronto for the last 3 years.

What do you do at Plethora Press?
I post Photo of the Week and see if any of the restaurants have closed down and if they have I do a Red Pen Update. And I’m working on a secret project.

Office Warmed!

As you may have already heard, we’ve moved the head office of Plethora Press into Camaraderie.  Camaraderie is a great co-working space near St. Lawrence which has just opened up a couple of dedicated office spaces and we were one of the lucky few companies to be able to get one of them.  This means great market lunches and a whole new neighbourhood of lunch joints to frequent.

Along with the guys at EventMobi, Tamajii and the great group of people who work for and out of Camaraderie, we had an office warming party on Wednesday night. Yes, the tornado-warning office-warming party.

My friend, and photographer, Pat Anderson was kind enough to take some photos of the brave souls who said “Feh!” to the tornado warnings to come and help us break in our new office space.

Note: Pat also snuck in a photo of my cocktail recipe for the evening. I wonder what other confidential material she photographed… hmmm.

New Red Pen Updates

Here are the new Red Pen Updates:

Closed:

• Chennai Chef (page 52)
• El Camino Mexican Cafe (page 64)
• Indochine (page 82)
• La Lucciola (page 92)
• Musa (page 106)
• Thai Thani (page 146)
• Yung Sing Pastry (page 154)

For a complete list of all Red Pen Updates click here.

Maple Bacon Donuts

The CheapEats  Toronto photo of the week is Maple Bacon Donuts at Beast Restaurant taken by Robin.

“It’s a donut with BACON on it, & clearly bacon is one of the greatest things EVER to exist.” – Nyssa the Intern

Add your own photo to the CheapEats Toronto Flickr Group and it could be our next Photo of the Week.

 

 

Nyssa Joins The Team

Our new intern Nyssa Tilford has been working with us for only 2 weeks, but she's already getting stuff done in a big way.  In fact, she has taken on a project that has been waiting for someone just like her to come along.  More on that in Sept.

More about Nyssa in her intro post next week.

Welcome to the team Nyssa!

Porchetta with Rapini Sandwich

 

The CheapEats photo of the week is porchetta w rapini sandwich at The Stockyards taken by Gizelle Lua.

This photo was selected as photo of the week because of the bun – it looks so crunchy on top and yet soft inside.  And the fillings look oh-so tasty. 

Gizelle, was it tasty?

Add your own photo to the CheapEats Toronto Flickr Group and it could be our next Photo of the Week.

WagJag Launches Instant Deals with WagJag Express

Yesterday WagJag announced a new approach to deals - WagJag Express is a buy-now, use-now, flash sale approach to deals.  In addition, August is $1 WagJag Express month with deals across the city for $1.

Today’s $1 deals (most of which run from 11am-2pm)  include: Thai One On, Second City, the {eat}ery, Kama, Ultra Supper Club, Cool Hand Luc, Jetsun’s Burgers, Herbal infusions Tea, Get Spun, Carido-Go, Marcello’s Market & Deli, deKEFIR, 5th Elementt.

If you download the app today – August 3rd – WagJag will donate $1 to The Stop. 

We haven’t talked much about deal sites and group buying, but it is certainly polarizing and there are many of them out there demanding our attention – WagJag, Groupon, TeamBuy, FabFind.  Some restaurants and vendors say it’s a great way to get new customers, others find the deals are