Dear reader, When I moved to the Junction in 2010, a friend of mine who lived in the area introduced me to a (now-closed) place called Margret Bar. It had all the defining features of a good dive bar: cheap beer, sticky floors, sagging couches, little natural light and washrooms that never saw the wet end of a mop. There was always a movie playing on a big screen (though, for some reason, it was more often than not Howard the Duck), and the $2 cans of PBR attracted an eclectic crowd. I was able to enjoy Margret for only a few years before it closed, and I still miss it. What’s there now? What else but the beginnings of a condo tower. It’s not often that nostalgia triumphs over new builds—especially where Queen Street West is concerned. The once hip strip of watering holes, live music venues, head shops and hole-in-the-wall restaurants has been slowly taken over by big box stores and cookie-cutter chains. But, in this week’s newsletter, you’ll read about a little dive bar that could. Last November, the owners of Squirly’s—a much-loved Queen West hangout for almost four decades—announced that they would be pulling their last pint. That’s when two Squirly’s superfans stepped in to save it from becoming a dentist’s office or a dog spa, thus preserving a patch of original Queen West coolness. For once, the only people shedding tears in their beers were the developers who had lost out on a prime piece of downtown real estate. Also in this week’s newsletter: the inside scoop on Matty Matheson’s new Hamilton restaurant, the city’s best afternoon tea experiences, and where chef Keith Pears eats in his midtown Toronto neighbourhood. For more of our food-and-drink coverage, visit torontolife.com or subscribe to our print edition. |
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| —Rebecca Fleming, food and drink editor |
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Last November, the owners of Squirly’s announced that they would be closing, signalling the end of an era for the Queen West institution—or so it seemed. Enter Britt Kirby and her partner, Patrick Grant, both service-industry vets and now the proud owners of Squirly’s 2.0. “We want to preserve the history, and then we have some fresh ideas,” says Kirby. (Don’t worry: the name—and that bizarre diaper-wearing squirrel logo—aren’t going anywhere.) |
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| The Toronto chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, producer, actor and musician has always been a little bit rock and roll, and he’s about to embark on a new, literally arena-sized project. We got the scoop on Iron Cow Public House yesterday. |
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| Afternoon tea is the quintessential weekend indulgence. (This is a not-so-subtle hint that Mother’s Day is this weekend.) We rounded up all the Toronto hotels, restaurants and tea shops offering finger sandwiches, petits fours and—for when orange pekoe isn’t enough—glasses of bubbly or gin cocktails. |
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| WHERE AWARD-WINNING CHEF KEITH PEARS EATS IN MIDTOWN |
When Keith Pears isn’t busy running his two Markham restaurants or competing in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or, you can find him in midtown, where he lives with his family. He took us for a tour of his favourite spots to get coffee, Thai curry, smash burgers and cupcakes. |
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| This Monday, join us for our annual Best Restaurants event at Evergreen Brick Works, where the chefs featured in June’s Where to Eat Now issue will be cooking up their signature dishes. There are only a few tickets left to this all-you-can-eat event, so grab yours now before they’re gone for good. (Did we mention there will also be really good cocktails?) |
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