[Toronto] Sfizio Pizzeria & Wine Bar (Soft Opening)

Location Review
401 Bloor Street East
Toronto, Ontario
(416)925-9500
Website

Occupying a unit in the strip plaza near Sherbourne and Bloor, is a new Italian restaurant and winebar. This area being my neighbourhood, I was excited to try it out - I could use a good Italian eatery close to home! So one Sunday afternoon, I ventured into Sfizio Pizzeria & Wine Bar for a quick lunch. The owner cautioned that they weren't officially opened yet, only accepting customers as part of a soft-opening. Although a large part of their menu wasn't offered (mainly alcohol and their Neapolitian style pizzas), the warm and welcoming owner was convincing enough for me to stay.

Sfizio Pizzeria & Wine Bar

[Giveaway] Carlsberg St. Party's Day

Besides recovering from the apocalyptic snow storm Toronto is experiencing, guess what else will be happening this weekend? Oh yes. It's that time of year again. Your annually opportunity to enrobe yourself in green and get in touch with your Irish roots is here. Happy early St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Since 2011, Carlsberg has been hosting Canada's largest St. Patty's Day party, aptly named as St. Party's Day! (Twitter: @StPartysDay, Facebook page here)

THE DETAILS
Who/What: 4th annual St. Party's Day festival hosted by Carlsberg
When: March 14th-16, 2014
Where: Andrew Richard Designs (571 Adelaide Street East, Toronto)

[Toronto] The Happy Hooker

Location Review
887 Dundas Street W
Toronto, Ontario
(416)603-4665
Website


If you did an internet search for "The Happy Hooker", you might get some pretty risqué search returns. Don't worry, today's restaurant review is more than suitable for work. Some time ago in February, I was invited to a media tasting at The Happy Hooker (@happyhookertdot). Captained by Attilio Pugliese (@attilio25), this affordable seafood haven opened just under a year ago, celebrating its one-year anniversary this Wednesday March 5. In celebration, the establishment has been offering many promotions this week, including FREE fish and chips on anniversary day. Definitely check out their Twitter and Facebook pages for more details!

Okay, now back to the food.

The Happy Hooker

[Toronto] Tabule Middle Eastern Cuisine

Location Review
810 Queen Street East
Toronto, Ontario
(416)465-2500
Website

Following much success of the first Tabule Middle Eastern Cuisine restaurant (@TabuleToronto) in Midtown, Riverside welcomed the second location of this Middle Eastern eatery with open arms mid last year. Admittedly, I am not a regular in this neighbourhood of the city. Being in the area a couple weeks ago with my friend Meghan (@Meghancheung), we scoured the internet and polled social media for the best spots to eat in Riverside. Because this was unanimously recommended, we dropped by for a quick meal.

Tabule

[Toronto] The Queen and Beaver Public House

Location Review
35 Elm Street
Toronto, Ontario
(647)347-2712
Website


Team Burger Eaters started off as a group of people hoping to try all the best burgers of the city. But as time moved on, we've clearly diversified to just trying out good food, period. That's right, a self-proclaimed group of foodies who get together periodically to eat. Life doesn't really get much simpler than that sometimes. Anyways, following the meals of The Harbord Room and Bestellen's suckling pig dinner, Team Burger Eaters strikes again with a trip to The Queen and Beaver Public House (@QueenBeaverPub).

The Queen and Beaver Public House is a British themed gastropub, serving up traditional English classics in a cozy British decor to match the part. While they certainly have an a la carte dinner menu, they also have a special feasting menu, which allows everyone at the table to share a family-style meal. The cost is based on the number of people you have, and the price includes the roast of your choice, potatoes, and seasonal vegetables (drinks excluded).

Thornbury($7) and Innis & Gunn ($7.25)

[Toronto] Azure Restaurant and Bar

Location Review
225 Front Street West
Toronto, Ontario
(416)597-8142
Website

Continuing with the Winterlicious expeditions after a fantastic meal at King Street Social, I had the pleasure of dining at Azure Restaurant and Bar at The Intercontinental Hotel (@ICTorontoCentre) last week. This would not be my first time dining here; it was only a few months ago that I was sitting under their wall-to-ceiling glass canopy dining room, enjoying noteworthy cocktails and an inspired Summerlicious menu. With an empty stomach and a huge appetite, I had nothing but high hopes of once a gain being wow'd by their Winterlicious offerings.

Bread Basket

Azure Margarita ($12) -tequila, blue curaçao, fresh lime, blueberry purée

[Toronto] Miss Korea

Location Review
687 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4Y 2B2
(647)748-9100
Website

Opening in December of last year, Miss Korea (@MISSKOREA_BAR) is a trendy Korean bar eatery, and the newest addition to the Yonge and Bloor area. Not too long after it opened, Justine (@foodigatorJ), Vickie (@Kiki_bff) and I, came here one night for what we like to call our "Korean Drinking Catch-up Nights" (original, I know!). Like all the other eateries in this area, Miss Korea has an inconspicuous doorway leading to an expectedly narrow space. The venue is well suited as a catch up spot though, and extremely space-efficient: re-arrangeable low-rise tables, relatively high ceilings, and open-top stools which double as jacket storage space.

Miss Korea