Lucky Dip – Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

In Toronto:

The paper is down at Chantecler (1320 Queen Street West) and rumour has it that they’ll be opening on Thursday.

The Queen West location of Chippy’s (893 Queen Street West) re-opens March 1st. Owner John Lee tells Steven Davey of NOW about some new items on the menu.

There are no details available yet, but Mill Street Brewpub (55 Mill Street) announced yesterday that they’re opening a 3rd location – at Pearson Airport.

The Monk’s Kettle (3073 Bloor Street West) has a new menu, with items such as paella, flat bread and trout making an appearance.

The Four Seasons Hotel (21 Avenue Road) prepares for its big move across the Yorkville neighbourhood. The last day to dine at the Studio Cafe will be March 25th.

You should go:

Nick Liu hosts the first of two preview dinners for his upcoming restaurant GwaiLo. Tickets are $76.50. The first dinner takes place upstairs at Liu’s old stomping ground, Niagara Street Cafe (169 Niagara Street), on March 6th.

For the month of March, all Duke Pubs will be running a mussels and wine festival. PEI mussels in flavours such as Sweet Thai, Creamy Cognac, Bacon and Cider and Mussels Meuniere will be $15.99 a bucket – flavours will vary by location. All pubs will  also offer weekly wine tasting and bottles of wine will be 1/2 price between 11am – 4pm for the festival.

Jamie Kennedy hosts a recurring dinner series at Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner (111 Queen’s Park). The first instalment, Canadian cuisine, takes place Friday, March 2nd, with a menu that includes bison, Digby scallops, tourtiere strudel and pudding aux Chomeurs. Tickets are $100/$135 with wine pairings (includes tax and gratuity) and can be purchased online from The Gardiner Museum.

Chardonnay fans have the chance to compare wines from Burgundy, Oregon and Ontario at a tasting and dinner event at The Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West) on Wednesday, March 7th. The Trois Terroirs Project Dinner includes a 4-course meal by Chef Michael Smith, plus 3 glasses of Chardonnay from different regions.  Tickets are $85 per person.

In other food news:

5 words ruined by the food industry. [Eating Rules]

Did the Oscars make you hungry? Maybe because some of the attendees showed up resembling pastries. [The Daily Beast]

Do people think that juice is healthier than soda? And why are low-income kids drinking more juice than other demographics? [New York Daily News]

I like the colour pink, and I like beer. But the two should not go together. And a truly modern woman would know better than to fall for a marketing scheme because it appeals to some inner “Sex and the City” persona she wishes she had. [CHOW]

The scientific history of fish sauce. [Food & Think]

The pros and cons of Open Table. Do you use it? Why or why not? [Reuters]

If you enjoyed this instalment of Lucky Dip, please help spread the word via Facebook and Twitter. And if you’ve got news I can use in an upcoming column, please drop me a line.