The Best Places to eat at TIFF17

With the constant change happening in Toronto and all of the restaurants that come and go and even changes to how the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) organizes their festival it has made creating this list change every year.  I am always happy to discover new great places to eat but there are a few places that just become go to places year after year.   This time I will classify my list in a new way adding *New* this year and I will only list places I would eat at from $ - $$$.  Sometimes you don't have time and want something fast and cheap and sometimes you have time to kill between films and are in need of some solid food so I will list my best bets for both.

Starving Foodie's Guide to the BEST EATS at TIFF17

Bell Tiff Lightbox - 350 King Street West

A&W Restaurant - 8 Mercer Street  

You just want some cheap and fast burgers and fries this is your best bet.

Luma or Canteen in the Bell Tiff Lightbox - 350 King St. W.  

Conveniently located in the Lightbox and near the Princess of Wales theatre great when you have time to go far between films.

Montecito - 328 Wellington St. W. 

This place is a hidden Industry secret.  Owned by great filmmaker Ivan Reitman. It’s on the high end but the food is pure quality comfort food.

Calii Love – 367 King St. West

You will probably find me here a lot during Tiff.  I love Poke Bowls for quick and light fare that will keep me running up those Roy Thompson Hall stairs.

Elgin and Winter Carden Theatre - 189 Yonge Street

Richmond Station - 1 Richmond St. West 

Top Chef winner Carl Heinrich makes his signature double beef burgers and their pastry chef is legendary.

The Chase - 10 Temperance Street

The Chase has a fantastic roof-top patio and sister shop Little Fin will be turned into a Planta take-out location soon.

*New - Sud Forno

I fell in love when I walked in the first time.  You can take-out or eat in.  It’s their second location and it’s glorious.  Salads, sandwiches, pizza, hot table items and Italian pastries.  

Carbon Bar - 99 Queen St E.

Need a great drink and some BBQ then this is the place. In the former City TV building the space is open and lush and the food is filling and fantastic.

*New - Saks Food Hall by Pusateri's - 176 Yonge Street

My stop for the best roast beef sandwich by the inch and whatever you crave to go.

Glenn Gould Studio at CBC - 250 Front Street West

Wahlbergers - 46 Blue Jays Way 

Owned by brothers Donny, Mark and Paul Wahlberg.  
Their own Burgers etc

*New – Kellys Landing – 123 Front Street West. 

It opened recently and I have already been there twice, once for a preview and went back for their light and flavourful Tuna Poke, it’s mostly tuna and fresh.

* New - Mascot Brewery – 31 Mercer Street

Rooftop Patio with their own beer and great variety in their Pub style menu. Get the Mascot Burger.

Jackman Hall, AGO - 317 Dundas Street West

Mean Bao - Village by the Grange Food Court  

Cheap, fast Bao's and dumplings

Provo Food Bar - 308 Dundas St. W.

Gourmet Casual dining and the food is really good too.

Frank - 317 Dundas Street West in the AGO

I have had food from the AGO catering at events and it's pretty good.

Scotiabank Theatre - 259 Richmond Street West

* New - Ricarda’s - 134 Peter St.

Mediterranean Restaurant and Bakery.

Carver Eatery - 101 Peter St.  

This place is a tiny hidden gem with the best award winning slow roasted sandwich take-out. 

Thoroughbred 304 Richmond St. W.

A place to chill with some interesting food and a drink.

*New - KIIN (former Khao San Road) - 326 Adelaide St. W.
Chef Nuit took Thai up another level for KIIN.

Princess of Wales Theatre - 300 King Street West

PAI - 18 Duncan St.

Great Thai food.  It's a busy place but it's the real deal.  They have a tiny patio.

Figo - 295 Adelaide St. W.

Close to the Princess of Wales and Lightbox theatres.  Great classic Italian Food and they have a patio too.  
Get the Zucchini Fritti

*New - KIIN (former Khao San Road) - 326 Adelaide St. W.

It will be busy so try and avoid peak times.  
Popular with foodies in the know.

Roy Thompson Hall - 60 Simcoe Street

Ritz Carlton - DEQ - 181 Wellington St.W.

This is where my Entourage team congregates to on long weekend shifts for a break between films or after a film.  Great patio and the Parmesan fries are great.

Elephant & Castle - 212 King St. West

This is where my Entourage team goes when we are hungry because it's comfort food that fills you up and you can get a beer too.  The menu has changed but the food is still great. You can get Jalapeno Mac and Cheese with Chicken or Shrimp.  It's fantastic and the perfect amount.  

Los Colibris /El Cabalito - 220 King St. West

Tacos, they got Tacos and guacamole and Los Colibris has upscale Mexican food.  They have a rooftop patio but be warned the music is really loud.

Ryerson  - 43 Gerrard St. E.

Banh Mi Boys - 399 Yonge Street

Fast, cheap and great.  My fav is the Fried Chicken Banh Mi sandwich.

Salad King -340 Yonge Street

Ryerson students may be everywhere. Always packed. You can eat in communal style or take out. 

Hot Star Fried Chicken – 374 Yonge Street

Very popular with the young Asian crowd.  If you want hand held pounded fried chicken this is the place for you.  They just opened their 2^nd location in North York.

Best places to Eat at TIFF16

If you are attending the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and you are hardcore about seeing as many films or attending as many parties that you can and you don't spend a lot of time in the Festival area then I hope this list will help you decide where to eat when you have no time between films or you have time to kill and want a sit down meal because your next event isn't for a couple of hours.  You are either rushing or waiting during Tiff so I hope this list is a quick guide of places to go near the theatres and in the general TIFF Festival area.  They are great anytime but this is for you when you are so tired and can't think anymore and you are starving.  STARVING FOODIE is here to help with this list of Where to Eat when you are at TIFF -by venue location.

BEST PLACES TO EAT - TIFF16

1. Bell Tiff Lightbox - 350 King Street West

• A&W Restaurant - 8 Mercer Street - When you need cheap and fast eats.  
• Luma or Canteen in the Bell Tiff Lightbox - 350 King St. W.  - When you don't have time to go far between films.
• Montecito - 328 Wellington St. W. -  When you need a break from the Festival this is a great place to get some great food and a drink.

Montecito

2. Elgin and Winter Carden Theatre - 189 Yonge Street

• Richmond Station - 1 Richmond St. W. - Just great food by 
• The Chase - 10 Temperance St, - The Chase has a fantastic patio and sister shop Little Fin for seafood take-out.
• Foodwares - 176 Queen St. W. - Not open all hours but during the weekday it's great for a fresh fast meal when you don't know what you want.  Marche type of restaurant.

Richmond Station Burger

3. Glenn Gould Studio at CBC - 250 Front Street West

• Wahlbergers - 46 Blue Jays Way - Owned by the Wahlberg brothers Donny, Mark and Paul.  Their own Burgers etc. 
• Luckee Restaurant - 328 Wellington St W- The best Dim Sum in the city by Susur Lee.
• The Shore Club - 155 Wellington St. W. - I haven't been to this one yet but it's an upscale steakhouse closeby.

Wahlbergers

Luckee - Shrimp Cheung Fun

4. Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema - 506 Bloor Street West

• Big Tuna Poke Bar - 599 Bloor St. W. - This is where I would go. A little west of Bathurst but worth it for an excellent Poke Bowl.  I tried the Classic Tuna poke and loved it.
• Aroma Espresso 500 Bloor St. W. - This is the best place to grab a healthy bit and a coffee or one of their Aroma chill drinks and watch all the people in the ticket holder line.
• Pauper’s Pub 539 Bloor St. W. - This is right across the street and has a patio and multiple floors.  Pub food and drinks when you need to fuel up

• 

  Big Tuna Poke

5. Isabel Bader Theatre - 93 Charles Street West

• Gabby's  - 192 Bloor St. W. - The cheap pub chain food that is fairly closeby.
• La Societe - 131 Bloor St. W. - French Bistro food in a beautifully designed space.
• The One Eighty - Manulife Centre, 51st Floor, 55 Bloor St W - Formerly called Panorama for the great view of the city.  It is run by the people from Eatertainment.  New menu and fantastic place to hang with friends.

6. Jackman Hall, AGO - 317 Dundas Street West

• Mean Bao  in the Village by the Grange Food Court  - Cheap, fast Bao's and dumplings
• Provo Food Bar - 308 Dundas St. W.-New Gourmet Casual dining and the food is really good too.
• Frank - 317 Dundas Street West in the AGO - I have had food from the AGO catering at events and it's pretty good.

• 

  Provo Food Bar gnocchi

7. Scotiabank Theatre - 259 Richmond Street West

• Carver Eatery -  101 Peter St.  - This place is a tiny hidden gem with the best award winning slow roasted sandwich take-out.  Tell the owner Rob that I sent you.  It will make him very happy.
• Thoroughbred 304 Richmond St. W. - A place to chill with some interesting food and a drink.
• Khao San Road 326 Adelaide St. W.

Carver Eatery

8. Princess of Wales Theatre - 300 King Street West

• PAI - 18 Duncan St. - Great That food.  It's a busy place but it's the real deal.  They have a tiny patio.
• Byblos - 161 Pearl St. - Upscale Greek Food.  You should make reservations because it may be closed for private parties.
• Figo - 295 Adelaide St. W. - 2 minute walk from Princess of Wales and Lightbox.  Great classic Italian Food and they have a patio too.  Get the Zucchini Fritti

Figo - Zucchini Fritti

9. Roy Thompson Hall - 60 Simcoe Street

• Ritz Carlton - DEQ -  181 Wellington St.W. - This is where my team goes for a break between films or after a film.  Great patio and the fries are great too.
• Elephant & Castle - 212 King St. West - This is where my Entourage team goes when we are hungry because it's comfort food that fills you up and you can get a beer too.  The menu has changed but the food is still great. You can get Jalapeno Mac and Cheese with Chicken or Shrimp.  It's fantastic and the perfect amount.  
• Los Colibris /El Cabalito - 220 King St. West - Got a taco craving?  They got Tacos and guacamole and Los Colibris has upscale Mexican food.  They have a rooftop patio but be warned the music is so loud you will be talking very loudly.

Elephant and Castle - Jalapeno mac and cheese with chicken

10. Ryerson  - 43 Gerrard St. E.

• Banh Mi Boys - 399 Yonge Street - Fast, cheap and great.  Get a Banh Mi sandwich and eat it while you are waiting in a Rush line.
• Reds Midtown 382 Yonge Street - Right at the corner of Yonge and Gerrard. with a patio if you need to chill.
• Salad King -340 Yonge Street - Great Thai food. Always packed. You can eat in communal style or take out. 

Banh Mi - Bao and sandwich 

These are all my choices and I have been to almost all of them.  I picked 3 places near the theatre venues.  Some have more choices than others but to get it into a handy list I chose 3.

Hope you like my choices and return to them even when you aren't at TIFF.

*This is not a sponsored post. This is my own curated list.

Rashers for the love of Bacon

RASHERS Makers of Quality Bacon Sandwiches

My blogger friend Vicky Weiss (MomWhoRuns) invited myself and a bunch of my other blogger pals to a blogger night of bacon of all sorts at Rashers on Ossington on a beautiful summer night.
Vickie's blogger dinners are always the best because she keeps it at about a dozen bloggers and most of us know each other because we are all out and about all the time so we all like to catch up and try new food.  In this case it was the fastest dinner ever.   We wolfed down sample sandwiches of  the sandwiches below in about 15 minutes.  The owners were super friendly and efficient and had everything ready for us to pig out on literally.  They have 2 locations one in Leslieville and this one that we visited on Ossington south of Dundas.

Normally these dinners take a couple of hours but because it was so quick we had time to take a group photo outside of the restaurant and since it was such a lovely day and we are all fed bacon we were a really happy bunch of bloggers.  Don't we look like a bunch of kids on the first day of school?

More importantly was the food.  The owner hails from the UK and thought what was missing from the Toronto market was a good bacon sandwich so he did that and more by focusing on the best pork products and trying to source the best local products he could find.  The sandwiches are simple but at the same time have developed flavour by using great ingredients.  They also had some really great garlic wedges that I couldn't stop eating.

They use Canadian Back Bacon, classic Canadian smoked bacon and English style bacon and mix their bacon into their burger even.  Served on white bread, brioche buns and ciabatta there is a bit of customization of the way you like your bacon in this bacon lovers shop.

Although I liked all of the sandwiches I think the Bacon and Brie was my favourite because I love gooey cheese and the caramelized onions really made it great.

There are a few more options but these are the ones we sampled:

Hogtown - Peameal bacon on a bun with ale mustard

Bacon Butty - British style bacon on white bread with brown sauce

Brie & Bacon - Smoked strip bacon with Brie and Caramelized onions, topped with garlic aioli

Apple & Maple Grilled Cheese - Maple glazed smoked strip bacon with cheddar and apple chutney on white bread

Bacon Caesar - Smoked strip bacon, romaine lettuce, caesar dressing and parmesan cheese on ciabatta bread

Bacon Burger - Ground beef & bacon patty with smoked strip bacon, lettuce tomato and chipotle mayo on a toasted bun

Locations:
182 Ossington Ave - 647-346-8230
948 Queen St. E. - 416-710-8220

Rashers website: http://www.rashers.ca/
Twitter/Instagram @rashersTO


Thank you Vicky and the owners of Rashers for a fun night.