Toronto Food Events: SEW Hungry, Sunday Gravy, An Ode to Beef, Big Gay Bingo, Nee Nordic Dinner

Toronto Food Events rounds up the most delicious events, festivals, pop-ups, winemaker dinners, supper clubs and other food related happenings in Toronto this week and next. You can find us here every Friday morning.

THIS WEEK

• SEW Hungry in Hamilton is on today, Friday May 1 from 11am to 3pm, and then again from 4pm to 8pm. The food truck rally is free to attend and takes over Ottawa St. from Main St. to Barton St.
• THR&Co. (97 Harbord St.) hosts their ongoing dinner series, Sunday Gravy, this Sunday, May 3. Join in on a three course family style dinner featuring an Asian BBQ inspired menu for $30. Expect highlights like Korean short ribs and General Tso tofu.
• Beerbistro (18 King St. East) is offering a three course Pilsner Urquel paired dinner for $55 on Tuesday, May 5 at 7pm. Reservations are required.

UPCOMING

• Craving a burrito? Order anything off the menu at Toronto Chipotle locations on Tuesday, May 12 between 11am and 9pm and, 50% of the day's proceeds to Habitat for Humanity (so long as you mention this fundraiser).
• The Saint (227 Ossington Ave) presents an An Ode to Beef on Tuesday, May 12 with house Chef Jesse Vallins joined in the kitchen by Chef Richard Turner (Hawksmoor, London, UK) and Matthew von Teichman (Grandview Farms). Tickets are on sale now for $85 per person.
• Also on Tuesday, May 12 from 6pm to 8pm, Lisa Marie (638 Queen St. West) hosts New York's Big Gay Ice Cream for Big Gay Bingo. Tickets are $45 and include an ice cream treat and a signed copy of their debut cookbook, Big Gay Ice Cream: Saucy Stories & Frozen Desserts.
• Beast (96 Tecumseth) hosts a Rock Stars Dinner at 7pm on Tuesday, May 12 featuring a collaboration between Chef Scott Vivian and guest Chefs Shaun Hussey and Michelle LeBlanc (Chinched Bistro), Mike Barksy (Bacalao), Terrence and Courtney Howell (Grates Cove Café), Katie Hayes (Bonavista Social Club), and Five Brothers Cheese. Tickets are $104.
• (re)Discovering Flavor on Wednesday, May 13 at Jump, (18 Wellington St. West) will see Chefs Anthony Walsh and Luke Kennedy (Jump Restaurant) join forces with Chef Jair Tellez (MeroToro) and Mark Shatzker, author of The Dorito Effect. Tickets on sale for $120.
• Kanpai Snack Bar (252 Carlton St.) presents a Tawainese street foods at 7pm on Wednesday May 13 featuring Chefs Ike Huang and Trevor Lui along with guests, Chefs Tawfik Shehata (The International Centre), Chef Nuit Regular (Pai) and Jim Poris (former editor of Food Arts Magazine). Tickets are $50.
• Last, but not least, Actinolite (971 Ossington Ave.) hosts a Nordic Dinner on Wednesday, May 13 from 6pm. Tickets are $150 and will feature a seven course tasting menu with wine pairings by Anders Selmer from Fiskebaren, Copenhagen.

by Liora Ipsum via blogTO

Road closures in Toronto: May 2-3 2015

Road closures in Toronto for the weekend of May 2 and 3 rounds up the key transportation shut-downs affecting the city, including street and TTC closures.

KEY ROAD CLOSURES IN TORONTO

Gardiner Expressway: Highway 427--Carlaw. The Gardiner will be closed in both directions Friday, May 1 at 8 p.m. until Sunday, May 3 at 6 a.m. for Spring maintenance.

Various downtown streets. Numerous roads will be closed for the GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon on Sunday, May 3, 2015. Full list and a map. Bloor Street, Danforth Avenue, Queen Street, and Dundas Street will remain open for the duration of the event. Police will be at major intersections to direct traffic. Expect some delays.

TTC CLOSURES

Line 1: Union. Trains will bypass Union Station in both directions on May 2 and 3, 2015 due to ongoing platform construction work. Union will be open for access to the streetcar platform.

Various downtown bus and streetcar routes. The 6 Bay, 14 Glencairn, 26 Dupont, 65 Parliament, 75 Sherbourne, 97/320 Yonge, 127 Davenport, 172 Cherry Street, 504 King, 511 Bathurst, 511 Bathurst replacement buses, and 310 Bathurst all-night buses will be on diversion Sunday, May 3, 2015 from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon. Full details here.

Over and above the special closures this weekend, construction projects across Toronto result in numerous other road restrictions across the city. For a comprehensive list of such closures, you can consult the official map maintained by the City of Toronto (also available as a PDF.)

by Chris Bateman via blogTO

First cone of spring

Photo by bigdaddyhame in the blogTO Flickr pool.

by Derek Flack via blogTO

There are a couple of designer sales happening this weekend in the city.

There are a couple of designer sales happening this weekend in the city.


Catwalk 2 Closet Spring Sales
www.toronto.com
Update your spring wardrobe at Catwalk 2 Closet’s two pop-up shops, the Canadian Designer Clearance Sale and the Designer Shoe Warehouse Sale.
by torontodotcom via torontodotcom's Facebook Wall

More massive towers proposed for Yonge and Gerrard

Yonge and Gerrard is already home to Canada's tallest condo in the form of the Aura Building. If KingSett Capital gets its way, the existing skyscraper will soon have some company at the intersection. Urban Toronto reports that the developer has submitted an application to the city to build two towers at the southeast corner of the intersection at 62 and 73 storeys.

Designed by Quadrangle Architects, the tower podium would preserve the facades of two heritage properties at the corner, before soaring upwards with a combination of retail, office, and residential space.

Mixed use developments are all the rage in Toronto, and for good reason. This is a high traffic section of the city with tons of potential for retail and commercial development in addition to the residential portion of the project.

It's a smart looking building at street level, though it's worth noting that it's just a proposal. The height of the towers could be contested and the current design will likely undergo some changes along the way. In any case, things are looking up (way up) at Yonge and Gerrard.

by Derek Flack via blogTO

The top weekend events in Toronto: May 1-3 2015

Weekend events in Toronto will get your mind off of your humdrum office existence and allow you to explore the city in the midst of its spring rebirth. There's more photography shows than you could ever hope to attend, a massive food truck fest in Hamilton, documentaries galore, and even a Kpop convention. Forget about work. Forever.

Here are my picks for the top events happening in Toronto May 1-3, 2015.

Contact Festival (May)
Beginning on May 1 and covering more or less the whole month of May (depending on the gallery), Contact Photography Festival is the largest photography in the world, which is pretty impressive even if only a fraction of it will interest most. Galleries great and small participate, with the opening at MOCCA as a highlight every year. Check out our full preview here.

FOOD

Sew Hungry (May 1, Hamilton)
"Hamilton isn't Toronto," you say, but then a kind friend gives you a ride to one of spring's most delicious food truck fests.

Tranzac Spring Feast (May 3, The Tranzac)
This fundraiser dinner for the Tranzac, an integral artist run cultural space / concert venue / library / studio / non profit in the Annex, will feature dinner by chef Emily Zimmerman plus a huge line up of entertainment - and you get to say you supported the arts without breaking the bank (tickets are $20-25).

MUSIC

CMW (May 1-10)
Canadian Music Week is back with The Jesus and Mary Chain, Joey Bada$$, Death Cab For Cutie, Alvvays, Billy Talent, Metz and hundreds more playing in venues across the city. The main thing is the music industry conference, but there are film and comedy components, and the Indies Music Awards. See our full preview here. MF

Kpop Convention (May 2, Metro Toronto Convention Centre)
Kpop fans already have May 2nd burned into their calendars. The inaugural one day convention of all things Korean pop music will be headlined by boy band NU'EST, with panels, games and activities, dance workshops, merchandise vendors, fanclub booths, celebrity meet-and-greets, and more. MF

FILM

Hot Docs (April 23 - May 3)
North America's largest documentary film festival is back, and as always there are way too many films to chose from, especially since many of these docs are otherwise hard to find. From the political to the eclectic, find this year's program online here, and see our preview of must-sees here.

Toronto Jewish Film Festival (April 30 - May 10)
As if one film fest wasn't enough, you're also going to be scouring the listings of the annual Jewish Film Fest this weekend. The multi-venue fest has a ton of screenings and events planned over the next 11 days - check it all out here.

Star Wars Day 2015: Empire Strikes Back Screening (May 2, Smiling Buddha)
Of course, a Smiling Buddha event is on here (how was that 5,000 person attending screening last Saturday?) In preparation for May the Fourth, Empire Strikes Back will be screened for free at 2pm. Don't freak out, only 39 people are currently attending on Facebook.

COMICS & LIT

Free Comic Book Day (May 2)
Yes, it's a thing: unlike RDS, on Free Comic Book Day the releases themselves are free to take. Many shops will have in-store events too, including Dr.Comics.

Authors For Indies Day (May 2, Type Books)
At Type on West Queen West this Saturday, 17 authors will be working as "guest book sellers," sharing recommendations and more. Check out the list here, or just pop in for something to read while you're hanging out at the park.

FASHION & DESIGN

Inland (May 2-3, 99 Sudbury)
After a strong debut last fall, the Canadian fashion fair is back at 99 Sudbury May 2 and 3. No crocheted stuffed animals here - just sleek, sharp pieces from 80 Canadian fashion designers that would be at home next to any designer finds. NM

Spring Mirvish Village Sidewalk Sale Fest (May 2)
Head to Markham St. & Lennox St. in Mirvish Village for everything from vintage clothes to books to lampshades as some try to de-hoard while others search for treasures. Of course there will be good eats, plus live entertainment.

For more events this weekend click on over to our Events section. Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit it for free using this form.

Contributions by Shazia Khan, Matt Forsythe, Ben Boles, Liora Ipsum, Ben Johnson, Sima Sahar, Zerehi, Natalia Manzocco

Photo by Jesse Milns

by Staff via blogTO

Blue Jays shortstop shows the world how to dance

Munenori Kawasaki might not be in the big leagues this season, but he's still drawing a hell of a lot of attention. And not just for his fielding. The Jays shortstop prospect is making waves for his new body fat gymnastics routine. Yes, that's about as bizarre as it sounds.

Kawasaki is already known for his dance moves, but his latest video routine for a Japanese beverage company takes it up a notch. If you can figure out what he's doing, you're a better reader of interpretive dance than I am. In any case, life in the minors has never seemed so good.

by Derek Flack via blogTO

OTF Information Sessions - Durham Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge- May 2015

Begins: 2015-05-12T13:00:00 Ends: 2015-05-28T21:00:00 Where: {'city': u'Peterborough ', 'journal_activity_id': 407488602, 'country': u'CA', 'changed': datetime.datetime(2015, 4, 30, 12, 59, 33), 'venue': u'Various locations and times across the Catchment Area', 'zoom': u'8', 'longitude': u'-78.319747', 'state': u'Ontario', 'postal_code': u'', 'address_1': u'Haliburton Durham Kawartha Pine Ridge', 'address_2': u'', 'longaddress': u'Haliburton Durham Kawartha Pine Ridge, Peterborough', 'latitude': u'44.309058', 'is_saved': True, 'organizer': 464324L, u'id': 10417915, 'user': 4308046L} Organized by: Ontario Trillium Foundation
by via Toronto Networking Events

Toronto is the world's hottest luxury real estate market

Toronto's luxury real estate market is the strongest in the world, according to a report from Christie's International Real Estate. Where other luxury markets across the globe are shrinking, our fair city was the lone one to show an increase in the rate of luxury home sales in 2014.

The report, which will be of most interest to the 1%, ranks the top property markets in the world. New York, San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, Dubai, London, Paris and Sydney all showed slower sales in 2014, where Toronto was up by 37 per cent. Yes, the real estate market in this city is raging bull, from the top the bottom.

Apparently the only factor that prevented 2014 from being the best year on record for the Toronto market was inventory. If there had been more homes available to sell, analysts say the market would have shattered previous records. I guess you're going to have to reconsider that mansion you have on your wish list.

by Derek Flack via blogTO

Contact Photography Festival starts this Friday, and we've picked 10 exhibits wo...

Contact Photography Festival starts this Friday, and we've picked 10 exhibits worth checking out.



by torontodotcom via torontodotcom's Facebook Wall

The Big DiF 2015

Begins: 2015-05-07T19:00:00 Ends: 2015-05-07T22:00:00 Where: {'city': u'Hamilton', 'journal_activity_id': 386862181, 'country': u'CA', 'changed': datetime.datetime(2015, 4, 21, 11, 4, 56), 'venue': u'McMaster Innovation Park', 'zoom': u'13', 'longitude': u'-79.90103399999998', 'state': u'ON', 'postal_code': u'L8P 0A1', 'address_1': u'175 Longwood Road South', 'address_2': u'#101a', 'longaddress': u'175 Longwood Road South, #101a, Hamilton, ON, L8P 0A1', 'latitude': u'43.256869', 'is_saved': True, 'organizer': 1241713L, u'id': 9598497, 'user': 10840563L} Organized by: Innovation Factory
by via Toronto Networking Events

The top 5 ways to mark the Kentucky Derby in Toronto

The Kentucky Derby is one of the great days on both the horse racing and cocktail drinking calendars, A southern tradition since 1875, upwards of 165,000 people descend on Churchill Downs for a day of racing and mint juleps. Despite being an American race, one of Canada's great sporting stories, Northern Dancer, is a famous winner (1964), while another Canadian, Mine that Bird, won the Run for the Roses in 2009.

If you can't pop down to see the action unfold in person, here are my top ways to get into the Derby spirit in Toronto.

Get a wager on
If you're the gambling sort, then your best bet is to watch the Derby and have a flutter at Turf Lounge. Bay and Adelaide would normally be a dead zone on the weekend, but this is the premier destination for the Derby. With over 60 screens tuned to the race, you won't miss a second of the action.

Go to a Party
Sauce on the Danforth host their annual Kentucky Derby party. Starting at 4pm on Saturday, Sauce will be serving up mint juleps and finger sandwiches to get you in the spirit for the races.

Dress for the occasion
Get yourself a Derby hat from one of Toronto's best milliners, Lilliput Hats. A Toronto institution since 1990, Karyn Gingras' shop has been hand-making stunning hats on-site since day one. With a range of classic and fancy styles, as well as all sorts of fascinators for ladies who would like something in true Derby style. Prices start at $60.

Host a mint julep party
Make mint juleps at home! Pick up supplies from BYOB, including the quintessential julep cup. These copper ones are absolutely stunning, even if they'll set you back a hefty thirty bucks a piece. Still, if you're not the gambling sort, you'll have some extra money in your pocket anyway.

Ride it yourself
If you'd rather replicate the action on the turf than the action in the window, horse riding lessons are available at Sunnybrook Stables. Although classes are normally an eight week affair, individual fifty minute private lessons can be booked for as little as $95 per session. Advanced riders can just straight up lease a horse and try to hoof it to Churchill Downs themselves.

What did I miss? How do you plan on celebrating the Kentucky Derby in Toronto. Let us know in the comments.

by Jen Hunter via blogTO