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musa musings
Now that low-key Market favourite Kensington Café has called it quits, its former chef, Ed Davis, has resurfaced at Musa (847 Dundas West, at Euclid, 416-368-8484). Musa muse Amy Fleischman says Davis will add subtle global augmentation to her mother’s more traditional Mediterranean mezes.
memories of queen
Word on the street is that a major grocery chain is negotiating to open a high-end hyper-market rival to Whole Foods and Pusateri’s on the corner of Queen and Portland. With the nabe’s recent influx of luxury condo speculators, the now-empty parking lot could become a chic convenience store for the upwardly mobile. We’re thinking Loblaws, but NOW’s calls to the supermarket giant went unreturned.
juiced demographic
Rumour has it that Ruth Tal Brown, the energetic entrepreneur responsible for Fresh by Juice for Life (894 Queen West, at Crawford, 416-913-2720) added “Fresh by” to the handle of her three vegetarian havens, Juice for Life, because she sold the earlier name’s rights to Starbucks. She wishes. Instead, the new tag represents Brown’s attempt to market her juice joint to more than the Birkenstock set. It’s working. Designer Ralph Giannone (Bar One, Bar Italia) and partner Pina Petricone drafted Brown’s new west-side space. Sleek and neutral, it mirrors Fresh’s stylish, health-conscious grub.
