Happy New Year!  2018 was a fantastic year for the Toronto Food Blog, filled with great meals avec friends and family.  We tried a number of wonderful restaurants for the very first time, many of which were worth writing home about.  Here’s a recap of some of the finer moments from the past year…

BREAKFAST

The Toronto Food Blog’s favourite spot for breakfast in 2018 was The Green Wood (1402 Queen St E).  Quite the Leslieville hot spot, these guys know how to do the most important meal of the day really, really well.  Shakshuka, Huevos, French toast… this place has it all.  Their show-stopper, however, is the Salmon Rosti, which sees a perfectly crispy potato pancake get topped with poached eggs, smoked salmon, cucumbers, dill and sour cream.  This is perfection on a plate.  Oh, and great coffee drinks to boot.

BRUNCH

The Toronto Food Blog hasn’t always been a big advocate for brunch.  All that changed after a recent visit to Parallel (217 Geary Ave).  Their elevated Mediterranean menu is distinctly Israeli, and the industrial-chic dining room is a fantastic environment to dine with a group.  Hummus & falafel are some of the best in the city…  but for me, it’s their take on Fattoush Salad that keeps me coming back for more.  Substituting the typical pita chips for chickpeas and then finishing everything with their calling-card tahini, I could get used to brunching if Parallel is the destination.

LUNCH

Tucked away in a nondescript Etobicoke strip-mall lies Toronto’s only Burmese restaurant.  Royal Myanmar (438 Horner Ave) is an assault on the senses.  Perhaps best known for their Green Tea Leaf Salad (Laphet) and Fish Soup (Mohinga), they use a unique combination of fermentation and spice that’s truly authentic to the Burmese way of cooking.  Pictured above, I just love their Shan Khauk Swe Noodles because of the ample serving of pickled mustard greens and cilantro.  Such a flavourful dish.  I find myself looking for excuses to visit our Etobicoke office at work so I can frequent Royal Myanmar for lunch.  Check it out next time you’re in the neighbourhood.  You won’t be disappointed.  This is cheap-eats at its best.

DINNER

Tough to find a better restaurant in the city right now than ARDO (243 King St E).  Chef Roberto Marotta’s Sicilian dining room is orienting Toronto with Southern Italian classics, one bowl at a time.  Spuntini for sharing, pizza for the kids, a great wine list…  ARDO covers all of the bases.  It’s usually pretty tough for me to get excited about going to a restaurant for pasta.  But the way these guys are doing it is, dare I say, outright perfection.

2019

The Toronto Food Blog is really looking forward to what lies ahead.  With a podcast and web-series in development, 2019 is shaping up to be a great year.  Hey, with one-dollar beers, legal weed and no sex education, what could possibly go wrong?  Happy New Year and Happy Eating!