Ever had mushrooms pickled in kombucha?

Dear reader,

I know why most Toronto kids hate spinach. It’s because they didn’t grow up eating the real thing. So much of our produce today comes from faraway places—genetically modified, packaged, frozen—resulting in flavour profiles fit for a hospital. Then there’s the obscene big-box practice of trashing perfectly good products that happen to have some innocuous bruises or blemishes. All of this deprives us of deliciousness.
My dad grew up on a Chinese vegetable farm in the Brampton village of Huttonville (more on that in another newsletter), and his neighbours were purveyors of some of Ontario’s best apples, berries, gourds and, of course, spinach. So, growing up, our house was always full of great produce—fruits and veggies that, to me, felt like different species from their grocery-store counterparts.
Table Talk’s top post this week is all about local: a menu tour of Ficoa, Little Italy’s newest temple to micro-seasonal produce. Chef Gerry Quintero isn’t interested in the traditional—instead, he concocts wild dishes like kombucha-pickled mushrooms and kimchi pears that turn the palate upside down. His experimentation represents the new Ontario food scene in full bloom.

Also in today’s newsletter: the best ways to buy wine beyond the LCBO. Plus, everything worth eating at Wolfie, the Commoner Bar Room’s revitalization. For all our food-and-drink coverage, visit torontolife.com or subscribe to our print edition.

Ficoa chef Gerry Quintero has designed an unstuffy menu that celebrates Ontario’s micro-seasonal produce. “The idea is to create an individualized dining experience as best as we can,” he says. The moment a reservation is booked, the restaurant calls the soon-to-be diners to ask about their likes and dislikes. Then Quintero gets to work. Check it out.

LCBO workers are preparing to strike on July 5. Luckily for the thirsty, Toronto is lush with fancy bottle shops and bodegas loaded with your new favourite whites, rosés and reds.

Wolfie, formerly the Commoner Bar Room’s outpost on College, has just overhauled its offerings, now dishing out a Big Mac–style burger, a New Orleans–inspired espresso martini and something called a drunk cookie.

In the latest issue: our city-wide survey of who earns what. Plus, the shooting that ruptured Leslieville, why everybody suddenly has adult ADHD, the best new patios for summer sipping, and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.