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Liza Agrba

Liza Agrba has worked as a freelance journalist in Toronto for over a decade and has earned multiple awards. She covers food, business and culture and writes memoir-style pieces. Her work frequently appears in the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, Toronto Life and many other publications

Latest from Liza Agrba

What's on the menu at GG's Burgers, a retro-inspired diner at Woodbine Beach

What’s on the menu at GG’s Burgers, a retro-inspired diner at Woodbine Beach

Smash patties, fried chicken and canned cocktails steps from the sand

This shelter worker and part-time interpreter makes $65,000 a year. How does she spend it during the pandemic?

This shelter worker and part-time interpreter makes $65,000 a year. How does she spend it during the pandemic?

Her recent spurges include: $150 for makeup from Luxe Beauty House and $120 for 'Africa' t-shirts

A Toronto family moved to a $700,000 house in Grimsby. Then they spent $140,000 making it their dream home

Real Estate News

A Toronto family moved to a $700,000 house in Grimsby. Then they spent $140,000 making it their dream home

The backyard features an outdoor kitchen, fire pit and work shed

What's on the takeout menu at Ruru Baked, a new Bloordale ice cream shop that's drawing seriously long lineups

What’s on the takeout menu at Ruru Baked, a new Bloordale ice cream shop that’s drawing seriously long lineups

They move quickly, though

Toronto restaurants, bakeries and caterers selling Father’s Day specials for takeout and delivery

Toronto restaurants, bakeries and caterers selling Father’s Day specials for takeout and delivery

Note: Neither being a dad nor having one is a pre-requisite for ordering anything on this list

What's on the takeout menu at Conspiracy Pizza’s new Leaside location

What’s on the takeout menu at Conspiracy Pizza’s new Leaside location

Pizza, of course. (But also wings, patties and ice cream.)

Eleven breakfast sandwiches you need to eat right now

Eleven breakfast sandwiches you need to eat right now

Including one that's actually a burrito

Sort-of Secret: Safta's Falafel, a new pop-up from Favorites Thai BBQ chef Haan Palcu-Chang

Sort-of Secret: Safta’s Falafel, a new pop-up from Favorites Thai BBQ chef Haan Palcu-Chang

Get 'em while they're hot

Hot Plate: Eight hot dogs you need to eat this summer

Hot Plate: Eight hot dogs you need to eat this summer

From bacon wrappings and chilli cheese to brie and blueberry jam

Sort-of Secret: Geladona's freezies, artisanal ice treats in fun Brazilian flavours like açai, passion fruit, guava and avocado

Sort-of Secret: Geladona’s freezies, artisanal ice treats in fun Brazilian flavours like açai, passion fruit, guava and avocado

Perfect for sweltering summer days

What's on the takeout menu at Emmer, a new bakery in Harbord Village that was three years in the making

What’s on the takeout menu at Emmer, a new bakery in Harbord Village that was three years in the making

Ready, set, carbo-load

What's on the takeout menu at CB Bottega, Cheese Boutique's new café and gelateria

What’s on the takeout menu at CB Bottega, Cheese Boutique’s new café and gelateria

It's just down the street from the famous fromagerie

Sort-of Secret: Super Empanada, the new pastry pocket project of a west-end steakhouse

Sort-of Secret: Super Empanada, the new pastry pocket project of a west-end steakhouse

It's Tanto's comfort-food pandemic pivot

Sort-of Secret: Good Wheel Pizza, a frozen pizza start-up that delivers bake-at-home sourdough pies

Sort-of Secret: Good Wheel Pizza, a frozen pizza start-up that delivers bake-at-home sourdough pies

They also make yummy chocolate chip cookies

What's on the menu at Woofdawg, a new takeout counter in the west end serving house-made hot dogs

What’s on the menu at Woofdawg, a new takeout counter in the west end serving house-made hot dogs

It started life as a hot dog cart

Sort-of Secret: Burgers, bagels and pastrami from a Toronto man who's a lawyer by day and a chef by night

Sort-of Secret: Burgers, bagels and pastrami from a Toronto man who’s a lawyer by day and a chef by night

It's worth setting an alarm if you want to place an order

Hotels, restaurants, parks and other cool new attractions are coming to downtown

Hotels, restaurants, parks and other cool new attractions are coming to downtown

The first in our series on the post-pandemic downtown rebound

A North York couple wanted to ditch the city and downsize. After 120 showings and 19 offers, they sold for $545,000 over asking

Real Estate News

A North York couple wanted to ditch the city and downsize. After 120 showings and 19 offers, they sold for $545,000 over asking

The place went for $150,000 more than expected, according to the sellers

Sort-of Secret: The New Pie Company, a two-person operation baking up whimsical pies once a week

Sort-of Secret: The New Pie Company, a two-person operation baking up whimsical pies once a week

It all started with a giveaway

Sort-of Secret: Morts, a new mortadella sandwich business from Il Covo chef Ryan Campbell

Sort-of Secret: Morts, a new mortadella sandwich business from Il Covo chef Ryan Campbell

Toronto has officially reached peak mortadella

What’s on the takeout menu at Birria Balam, a new downtown pop-up for birria tacos

What’s on the takeout menu at Birria Balam, a new downtown pop-up for birria tacos

It's a long-awaited collab between Matty Matheson and chefs Julio Guajardo and Kate Chomyshyn

What's on the takeout menu at Pepper’s Food and Drink, a fun new fast-food counter for fried chicken, burgers and Korean snacks

What’s on the takeout menu at Pepper’s Food and Drink, a fun new fast-food counter for fried chicken, burgers and Korean snacks

If you don’t walk out with a basket of fun stuff, you’re not doing it right

What's on the takeout menu at Salad King's new Queen West location

What’s on the takeout menu at Salad King’s new Queen West location

Including pad Thai, khao soi and the not-so-secret Islamic noodles

Sort-of Secret: Radio Cocktails, a boutique virtual bar delivering bottled cocktails and salumi boards

Sort-of Secret: Radio Cocktails, a boutique virtual bar delivering bottled cocktails and salumi boards

A half-litre of negronis for only $29? Don't mind if we do

Summer Camp Guide

Summer Camp Directory 2026

Summer Camp Directory 2026

Discover our top-rated summer camps for kids of all ages

Wines of the World

Wines of the World: Rediscover your favourites from Toronto Life’s Best Restaurants

Wines of the World: Rediscover your favourites from Toronto Life’s Best Restaurants

From cabernet and merlot to icewine and chardonnay, these wines are primed to pair and delight

Big Stories

Charm Offensive: The cottage country mortgage broker who lost $101 million of his clients’ money

Charm Offensive: The cottage country mortgage broker who lost $101 million of his clients’ money

Sandy Sussman spent decades wooing the upper echelons of Toronto society, becoming their go-to investment guy. He took their money and made a huge bet on cottage country. When the market tanked, he lost it all. Then he did everything in his power to cover it up

The Monster Cottages vs. the Resistance: Inside the ruthless battle for the future of Muskoka

The Monster Cottages vs. the Resistance: Inside the ruthless battle for the future of Muskoka

From Gravenhurst to Port Cockburn, the uber rich and powerful are buying up shoreline for private island compounds and sprawling mega-resorts, radically changing the face of Muskoka and infuriating environmentalists, locals and long-time cottagers

Dead Reckoning: The executor of their estate was supposed to divide it among their friends and family. Instead, he bankrupted it

Dead Reckoning: The executor of their estate was supposed to divide it among their friends and family. Instead, he bankrupted it

When Sami and June Suomalainen died, it fell to the executor of their wills, a lawyer they hardly knew, to sell their million-dollar midtown home and split the proceeds among their inheritors. Seven years and six lawsuits later, the beneficiaries haven’t seen a cent

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2026

These are Toronto’s best new restaurants of 2026

This year’s list includes a 150-square-foot omakase counter, a Parisian brasserie in the Annex, Korean comfort food, Filipino karaoke and a Summerhill seafood spot that’s reinventing the raw bar

Hoop Dreams: Inside the making of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s newly assembled WNBA team

Hoop Dreams: Inside the making of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s newly assembled WNBA team

After years of false starts, months of nail-biting negotiations between the league and the players’ union, and an 11th-hour scramble to build a roster, Toronto finally has its own major-league women’s basketball team. Now it just has to live up to the hype

Live From New York: Inside the slay-or-be-slayed world of Studio 8H with SNL rookie Veronika Slowikowska

Live From New York: Inside the slay-or-be-slayed world of Studio 8H with SNL rookie Veronika Slowikowska

Slowikowska is the first Canadian to join the cast of Saturday Night Live in more than 25 years. She’s also this season’s breakout star. Now all she has to do is keep crushing it

Better Call Deepak: Meet drug lord Ryan Wedding’s self-styled cocaine lawyer

Better Call Deepak: Meet drug lord Ryan Wedding’s self-styled cocaine lawyer

The man who represented the infamous drug lord is unapologetically flashy—he has a Lamborghini and two Maseratis and wears $1,200 Louboutins. But did he become an accomplice to his client’s crimes? Deepak Paradkar says he was just doing his job. The FBI says he crossed a line

The Redemption Tour: The Blue Jays are back. Can they finish what they started?

The Redemption Tour: The Blue Jays are back. Can they finish what they started?

We’re not over it, but they are. Six months after that devastating defeat, the Jays take the field once more, bent more than ever on winning the World Series. Dispatches from the dugout

My Life as a True Crime Spectacle: My father’s crimes fractured our family. Then came the press

My Life as a True Crime Spectacle: My father’s crimes fractured our family. Then came the press

My dad was the infamous Rolex Killer. The news of his crimes nearly broke me. And ever since, my family has been hounded by reporters, podcasters and true crime fanatics—a whole new circle of hell

Robby on the Line: Out and about with Robby Hoffman, comedy’s equal opportunity assassin

Robby on the Line: Out and about with Robby Hoffman, comedy’s equal opportunity assassin

Larry David is the indisputable king of brutal honesty. But if anyone comes close, it’s Robby Hoffman, the suddenly everywhere comic from whom no group is safe

Notes on an Academic Scandal: Why did TMU demote a leading advocate of DEI?

Notes on an Academic Scandal: Why did TMU demote a leading advocate of DEI?

Pamela Sugiman, a former arts dean at Toronto Metropolitan University, was a key player in the school’s push for diversity, equity and inclusion. When the backlash against DEI arrived, she was demoted. The school says it was a coincidence. She disagrees

City of Renters: The dream of home ownership isn’t dead. Maybe it should be?

City of Renters: The dream of home ownership isn’t dead. Maybe it should be?

Scenes from the rent-for-life revolution

This generation was pummelled by Covid high school. Now the job market wants to replace them with AI

This generation was pummelled by Covid high school. Now the job market wants to replace them with AI

It’s hard out here for a 20-something

The High Price of Hope: Inside Toronto’s white-hot fertility market

The High Price of Hope: Inside Toronto’s white-hot fertility market

Desperate wannabe parents are betting their life savings on unproven treatments and false promises

Man vs. Machine: ChatGPT caused him to spiral into delusion. Now he’s suing OpenAI

Man vs. Machine: ChatGPT caused him to spiral into delusion. Now he’s suing OpenAI

Last spring, a chatbot convinced Allan Brooks that he had discovered a revolutionary mathematical theory. He says it nearly destroyed him

Smart City: 20 mind-blowing Toronto inventions that are changing the world

Smart City: 20 mind-blowing Toronto inventions that are changing the world

Homegrown innovations that will transform lives for the better

293 Days Without My Son: I gave up everything to rescue my kidnapped child from my abusive husband

293 Days Without My Son: I gave up everything to rescue my kidnapped child from my abusive husband

When Valentino was abducted, I knew three things: he’d been taken by his father, he was somewhere in India and I would not rest until I found him

Just Listed

For Sale: 99 Lake Promenade

For Sale: 99 Lake Promenade

This classic Hamptons-style home by Chatsworth Fine Homes offers an exciting opportunity to customize a new dream home and build instant value - without the long wait of new construction

For Sale: 92 Arjay Crescent

For Sale: 92 Arjay Crescent

As luxury buyers become increasingly focused on wellness, privacy, and long-term livability, a new generation of custom homes is emerging – one defined less by excess and more by thoughtful design

For Sale: 171 Durant Ave

For Sale: 171 Durant Ave

This rare property features 2 houses on 1 lot

For Sale: 50 First Avenue

For Sale: 50 First Avenue

A testament to time presiding over one of Uxbridge's most storied streetscapes, this magnificently preserved circa 1880 residence commands its prominent corner lot with the quiet confidence of a true architectural landmark

For Sale: 7 Bentley Drive

For Sale: 7 Bentley Drive

A commanding architectural statement in prestigious Stonegate–Queensway, this newly completed custom residence by Bali Homes Group presents a refined interpretation of contemporary luxury living