Name: Food and Liquor
Contact Info: 1610 Queen St. W., 647-748-7113, foodandliquor.ca, @FoodandLiquorTO
Neighbourhood: Parkdale
Owners: Nigel French, Vincent Ng and Ginny Tam
Chefs: Nigel French and Vincent Ng, who’ve worked in the kitchens at Campagnolo on Dundas West and Victor in the Hotel Le Germain, respectively
The Food: The creative menu of bar snacks veers Asian with honey-chili duck tongues and homemade pork dumplings. Soft-boiled duck eggs are topped with shrimp roe and served over shredded roast pork dressed in what they call trotter gear, a rich jelly made from boiled pig trotters.
The Drinks: Beer, cocktails and a short list of wines from Ontario, Italy and Spain.
The Place: A casual room with metallic stools, high-top tables and a chalkboard wall behind the bar. Wrought iron tables on the enclosed back patio double the number of seats.
The Numbers:
• 14 days to renovate the space, which used to be the all-day brunch spot Poor John’s Cafe
• 5 days a week from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
• 0 credit or debit cards—cash only
223013 The exterior of Food and Liquor, on Queen West between Sorauren and Roncesvalles (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Food and Liquor Introducing: Food and Liquor https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-01-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-01.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-01.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurants/slide/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-01/ food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-01 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223015 The owners overhauled the place in only two PBR-fuelled weeks (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Food and Liquor Introducing: Food and Liquor https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-03-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-03.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-03.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurants/slide/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-03/ food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-03 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223016 The custom-made black walnut bar. A message scrawled on the blackboard reads “This bar was built on PBR... & tears” (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Food and Liquor Introducing: Food and Liquor https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-04-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-04.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-04.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurants/slide/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-04/ food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-04 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223014 The 38-seat back patio (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Food and Liquor Introducing: Food and Liquor https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-02-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-02.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-02.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurants/slide/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-02/ food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-02 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223023 Pork and corn dumplings from Food and Liquor in Parkdale (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Food and Liquor Introducing: Food and Liquor https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-intro-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-intro.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-intro.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurants/slide/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-intro/ food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-intro 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223020 Soft-boiled duck egg with shrimp-roe olive oil and slow-roasted pork ($5) (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Food and Liquor Introducing: Food and Liquor https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-08-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-08.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-08.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurants/slide/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-08/ food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-08 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223021 Honey-chili duck tongues ($7), which are Food and Liquor’s take on chicken wings (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Food and Liquor Introducing: Food and Liquor https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-09-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-09.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-09.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurants/slide/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-09/ food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-09 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)
223022 Lamb tongue rolled in a homemade scallion crêpe and served with mint sauce ($7) (Image: Renée Suen) Introducing: Food and Liquor Introducing: Food and Liquor https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-10-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-10.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-10.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurants/slide/food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-10/ food-and-liquor-toronto-restaurant-10 0 0
(Image: Renée Suen)