I’ve never been a fan of Winterlicious. Summerlicious either.
I mean, who wants to go out to eat exactly the same sub-par assembly-line food served by under-tipped staff in an over-crowded room of cheapskate neanderthals who order tap water to drink and only otherwise dine out if it’s Mother’s Day? Why not just spring the 10 extra bucks and go to the same place next Tuesday and get better food and service as well as have the place to yourselves?
Well, that was the party line, at least until last January when I did the Winterlicious thing at the Chefs’ House (215 King E, at Princess, 416-415-2260, thechefshouse.com), the resto run by the culinary students of George Brown College. Set in the old Pasquale Brothers building, the brightly lit room could double as one of Gordon Ramsay’s TV game show sets.
Because the kids outnumbered customers by three to one, service was uncustomarily attentive. As it should be since they’re getting marked. And the food – three-course lunches for $15, dinners $25 – was exceptional, something you’d see in a “real” restaurant and not amateurish at all. I’d gladly go back.
I was all about to write a defense of Winterlicious, how, especially since the recession, the food fest gives the cash-strapped hoi polloi a chance to try out some of Toronto’s better beaneries. Restaurateurs have changed their tune as well and now embrace the opportunity to place much-needed bums in seats.
That was the plan until I finally looked at this season’s Winterlicious lineup. It starts off promisingly – and alphabetically – with 7 Numbers’ (307 Danforth, at Bowden, 416-469-5183, sevennumbers.com), though $25 a head for a three-course Italian tapas-style dinner isn’t that much cheaper than than it usually is. But 93 Harbord (93 Harbord, at Robert, 416-922-5914, 93harbord.com) is a steal for the same money for upscale middle eastern in a smart supper club setting. How can it not be? I gave the joint its name!
Oliver and Bonacini’s Auberge du Pommier (4150 Yonge, at York Mills, 416-222-2220, aubergedupommier.com) is the most romantic resto in Hogg’s Hollow, if not Hogtown. Score a reservation there and you’ll be off the hook for Valentine’s Day. The same group’s Canoe (66 Wellington W, at Bay, 416-364-0054, oliverbonacini.com) is always dangled as an aspiration for we plebes but seems to always be booked solid by the patrons of the credit card company whose name escapes me that sponsors the biannual bacchanalia.
And then my heart sank. Benihana? Canyon Creek Chophouse? Lone Star Texas Grill? Milestone’s? Sassafraz? The Old Mill? Ad nauseum.
Sure, there’s a few bright lights to be found among the second and third-tier trats that make up most of this year’s ‘Licious. The Globe Bistro (124 Danforth, at Broadview, 416-466-2000, globebistro.com) is bound to be a sell-out for both its $35 dinners and $20 lunches. And so will Susur’s Lee (603 King W, at Portland, 416-504-7867, susur.com) at the same prices.
Me? I’ll be heading back to the Chefs’ House. In March.
