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Posts with category ‘Closings’

Put Out The Light

Posted on May 8, 2006

They say that being thrown out of a restaurant is a rite of passage for a critic; I’ve always hoped that someday it would happen to me. When the world-famous Rubino brothers bounced the National Post’s Jacob Richler from Luce soon after the restaurant opened (the feud reaching back to the early days of their other restaurant, Rain), I did feel a twinge of envy. Luce is off the lobby of the Hotel Le Germain and the Rubinos’ cast-iron contract meant they also provided room service to hotel guests, so Jacob cleverly booked a room, ordered various dishes and still wrote his piece. It was the talk of the town.

Nostalgia not what it was

Posted on March 19, 2007

While I was away last week, I received an email from Donna Dooher announcing that Mildred Pierce will close its doors for good on July 31, 2007. Well, I was gobsmacked. The place does so well, especially for Sunday brunch, and Donna has her Cookworks studio in the adjacent space! Then again, she reminded me, March 8 marked the seventeenth anniversary of Mildred Pierce’s opening. An impossible statistic—it was just a few years ago, surely, that we first oohed and aahed at the décor, a high-camp masterpiece of film-set trompe l’oeil that was simultaneously amusing and beautiful. Remember how those boughs and foliage arched from a faux marble dado to chandeliers made of gold-painted plastic cherubs, how that painted Dutch tile floor lead directly to heaven’s gates? Such fun! Today’s restaurants take themselves far too seriously. The only good news was the suggestion in Donna’s message that she and her husband and partner, Kevin Gallagher, have been “presented with an exciting opportunity” elsewhere. Meanwhile, she says, “we plan to celebrate these years over the next five months. And, as we prepare to board the train there will be NO tears on the platform!” I trust that true Mildred fans will flock to their favourite between now and July 31 and raise a last flute of Champagne to the memory of youth’s fleeting pleasures.

The Wine Tasting Challenge

Posted on April 30, 2007

To Via Allegro on Monday for the awards lunch of The Wine Tasting Challenge. It’s an extraordinary competition, created by Via Allegro’s president, Phil Sabatino, in the name of his ever-evolving brainchild, The Renaissance Project (dedicated to “the passionate rebirth of Toronto”), but now administered by the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute at Brock University. The lunch was a splendidly dramatic occasion, complete with monsoon, thunder and powercut, though the storm held off until all present had enjoyed chef Lino Collevecchio’s gorgeous lunch.

Nothing but the news

Posted on June 4, 2007

If any of you plan on being in Edmonton on June 12, come and join me for the first in a series of wine and food extravaganzas we’re calling Masters of Wine and Food. It’s a Bordeaux night and we’ll be opening some pretty stupendous wines, including 2004 Pavillon Blanc, 2003 Château Ducru Beaucaillou, 2002 Château Pichon Lalande Comtesse, 1995 Château Mouton Rothschild, 1990 Château Palmer, 1986 Château Beychevelle and 2003 Château Lafaurie Peyraguey, matched to wee tastings of delectable dishes from chef David O’Connor. A very good time will be had by all.

More nonsense

Posted on June 18, 2007

“Izzy wizzy, let’s get busy!” The immortal words of Sooty, mute yellow bear glove puppet of my youth, have clearly been whispered into Mr. Corbett’s ear recently—and oofle dust scattered, too, or I’m a Dutchman (and I’m not) because lately things have been piling up. A very busy week—writing about wine and spirits for Food & Drink magazine and clothing for Harry Rosen—the stress compounded a hundred-fold by the ceaseless clatter of hellishcopters over the downtown core all weekend long. (Does anyone know who they are? A movie? Tourist flights? The MuchMusic awards? A class action lawsuit for disruption of quiet enjoyment may be in order). In the midst of it, like a silent, tranquil beacon of violet light shining out into space from Alberta was the two-ounce pour of Château Mouton-Rothschild 1995 I sipped in Edmonton on Tuesday evening. It may be the most elegant, subtle, resonant, perfectly balanced, exotic wine I’ve ever tasted. If I had a bottle, I’d put it straight into the TONIUR capsule (Things One Needs If Unexpectedly Reincarnated) along with side two of Abbey Road, various works of Shakespeare and Max Beerbohm, and several other items too personal to mention. Then again, I’d rather drink it right now (though drink is too coarse and thirsty a word for what I would do to that wine if I ever got my hands on it again).

Four entrances and an exit

Posted on July 23, 2007

I went to Amaya on Thursday and enjoyed myself no end. Call the cooking there New Indian or Contemporary Subcontinental—or better yet, don’t. It’s more like the way very good, rather sophisticated Indian friends cook in their homes with fresh textures and subtle spicing. But the facts, the facts…! Amaya is on Bayview Avenue, where JOV Bistro used to be. Derek Valleau (ex Crush) and Hemant Bhagwani (who owns Mantra in Burlington) are the proprietors, working the room as good owners should, and they have brought the brilliant and charming Lynn Stimpson in as manager from Cava (and a great many other places—she’s a career front-of-house star with a CV as long as the Nile). The chef, Dinesh Butola, also comes from Mantra and he knows his stuff. We finally have someone to contend with Vancouver’s Vikram Vij and with the team at Amaya in London, England (no relation—and no comparison, either, since our Amaya is content to woo Leaside while the London version aims to be the sexiest, haughtiest venue ever).

Hail Susur. Hail and Farewell

Posted on April 1, 2008

Well, it’s finally happened. After, years of rumours, Susur Lee is going to New York. To Manhattan’s Lower East Side, to be precise, where he will be opening a new restaurant in a swish new boutique hotel from the renowned Thompson Group of swish new boutique hotel fame. “My kids are older now,” explains Susur. “They can fly down to see me on their own if they want.” Susur himself will be dividing his time between here and there, becoming something of a fixture with Porter, the ultra-comfy, super-convenient airline that flies out of the Toronto Island airport. He has not yet decided on a name for the new restaurant, which is scheduled to open for New York’s fashion week in September. And though he will be personally running the new place and cooking there, he intends to keep Lee going here in Toronto. Susur, next door, will close on May 31 and the great chef doesn’t yet know what he will do with the property. Meanwhile, we have an opportunity to bid farewell. From April 8 to 19, the menu will focus on white asparagus and “a wild seafood catch.” After that, the card will feature favourite and signature dishes from years gone by. It’s a good opportunity to stock up on Susur experiences, to be cherished and brought out for comparison the next time you’re in New York and find your way to the new restaurant. “A chef has to do new things, have new adventures,” says our Susur. He’s right. But I hope he comes back again some day.

Chatto Bio Pic

James Chatto

James Chatto worked as a dishwasher, actor, waiter, bow tie salesman, choreen, bookseller, nanny, tennis coach, lounge singer, KFC truck driver (fired after 1 day), olive farmer and janitor before moving to Canada in 1987 and becoming a journalist. These days, he writes about food and restaurants for Toronto Life, about wine and spirits for Food & Drink and edits the menswear magazine, Harry. Two of his books are still in print: A Matter of Taste (co-written with Lucy Waverman) and The Greek For Love, a memoir of Corfu. James is married and has two delightful children.

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