In Toronto:
The signage has been up for months, but apparently the Fat Bastard Burrito Co. location at 1118 Queen Street West will finally open in late March.
You should go:
Do not touch the green beer this weekend. Instead find yourself a place serving some awesome stout, such as the Granite Brewery (245 Eglinton Avenue East), where starting Saturday, March 17th, they’ll be offering six different flavours of stout based on their main recipe. Chocolate Orange and Vanilla will join existing flavours of Maple, Chocolate, Coffee, and Chocolate Chili. They’ll be running 4 casks at a time, so the flavours will rotate. More details at Canadian Beer News.
Tickets are available for Made With Love, a cocktail competition taking place at The Distillery District on March 26th. 13 local bartenders will compete, plus there will be showcases from last year’s winners from across Canada. A $40 ticket gets you 13 drink tickets, appetizers and the right to vote for your favourite drink.
Caplansky’s (356 College Street) is taking reservations for their very popular Seder dinner, taking place on April 7th. Two seatings at 5pm and 8pm will book up well in advance. Contact the deli to book a space.
In other food news:
Steven Davey says what many of us have been thinking but haven’t had the courage to say in the face of Yours Truly being crowned “best restaurant in Toronto”. The place is kind of weird and the food often misses the mark. [NOW]
The chefs who sell out to hawk knives or stock cubes. Why do they do it? [CHOW]
Hey, yeah… where ARE all the black chefs? In Toronto, outside of the Ethiopian restaurant community, can you name more than 3 running restaurants? That’s pretty sad. [Chicago Tribune]
I’m assuming (hoping) that this is because of mainstream advertising and not personal experience, but in the UK, children recognize alcohol brands more than they do junk food brands. [This Is Guernsey]
Everything I’ve heard about Stock indicates it’s pretty mediocre, or at least not living up to the prices. Alan A. Vernon agrees. [Dine.TO]