I Survived The Grid T.O.'s Burger Week!

The Grid TO's 2nd annual Burger Week came to a close last night and I'm happy to report I successfully tripled my burger intake this year without dying. (Don't worry, I only tried one place last year so I haven't embarked on a second career as the successor to Man vs. Food - yet.)

Similar to Summerlicious, Burger Week is a great excuse to round up friends for burgers and pints at restaurants both old and new. Thanks to my burger buddies and inadvertently my parents ("oh are you going out to eat burgers again? Bring us back one!") who helped round up the troops and keep up morale.

Here are some snapshots of the places we visited:

Bring on the Burgers!

What news had me grinning from ear to ear this morning? The return of The Grid TO's second annual Burger Week of course!

From Wednesday, May 29 - Saturday, June 1, restaurants across Toronto will be offering a special $5 burger on their menu to whet your appetite. (And lest you think you'll get stuck with the same pub burger everywhere you go, samples from last year's event include Keriwa's bison burger with grilled wild-leek aioli and Saskatoon berry chutney on a red-fife bannock bun and The Beet's lamb burger with apricot chutney, Quebec mozzarella and pickled jalapeno, etc.)

If plotted and portioned correctly, the mid-week meat love-in should prepare you for the culminating Burger Day at the Artscape Wychwood Barns on Sunday, June 2 from 11:30 am - 7:00 pm. (Effectively answering the question: "What would be better than burgers? More burgers of course.")

Expect a beer garden, a street party, and approximately 40,000 sliders as the participating vendor count doubles at this year's event. A portion of proceeds goes to support The Stop Community Food Centre, Artscape, and the children's play centre at the Artscape Wychwood Barns so you can chow down guilt-free! Or on a financial level anyways...no guarantees for your arteries hehe.

Although this year's burger creations are yet to be revealed (update: menus now posted), I'm already super excited to see the following vendors on this year's list:

• Barque Smokehouse
• The Beet
• Fidel Gastro's
• Goods & Provisions
• Prohibition Gastropub
• Rock Lobster Food Co
• The Samuel J. Moore
• The Stockyards
• This End Up *

(* Personal favourite; already the winner of multiple "best burger" awards and the home of a to-die-for fried chicken thigh sandwich.)

I will keep you posted as I get more scoop!  In the meantime, make sure you mark off all of these dates on your smartphone and see you all at Burger Day on Sunday, June 2nd!

Happy Wednesday!

♥


(Photo by The Grid TO.)

Foodie Calendar: Toronto Food Fest

If you're in the east end of town today, you'll want to check out the inaugural Toronto Food Fest happening at the Chinese Cultural Centre from 1:00 - 6:00 pm! The festival boasts a curated collection of vendors who were invited based on their popularity in user-driven sites like BlogTO and larger media outlets like Toronto Life.

Some of the featured eats include:

- Rodney’s Oyster House: Voted #2 in GTA for their oysters - BlogTO

- Smoke's Poutinerie Truck: Voted #2 in GTA for their poutine - BlogTO

- Mary Macleod Shortbread: The best shortbread cookie in the GTA - TorontoLife

- Big Moe's Burgers: Top burger in Scarborough - BlogTO

- Patisserie Royale: #1 in GTA for their Middle Eastern pastries - BlogTO

- Casa Manila: #1 Filipino restaurant in GTA - BlogTO

- Marathon Donuts & Coffee Shop: Internationally famous Hong Kong milk tea - Toronto Star 

So whip out your appetites (and your cameras) and come out to support the newest arrival to our Toronto foodie scene :)

Happy Sunday!

♥

(Photo by Toronto Food Fest)

Good News / Bad News

When I first booked my trip to New York at the end of the month, I completely forgot that Kinfolk would be hosting a dinner in Toronto on June 30!  Luckily, the dinner in Toronto is currently listed as postponed but there's sadly no indication of when the dinner will be postponed until. Did anyone spot any clues on the Kinfolk journal?

In the meantime, here's a video of last month's dinner @ Terrain in Philadelphia and shot by Andrew & Carissa, the neat folks behind the original Kinfolk teaser.

Burger Week Toronto 2012

Carnivores unite! Today marks the official kick-off for The Grid's very first Burger Week in Toronto. From Wednesday, May 30 - Saturday, June 2, 2012, eighteen of the city's finest patty purveyors will be serving up a special $5 burger on their menu.

Here are three of my top picks from the impressive list of participating restaurants:

The Beet (The Junction, 2945 Dundas St. W)

• Organic lamb burger with apricot chutney, Quebec mozzarella, and pickled jalapeno

Keriwa Cafe (Parkdale, 1690 Queen St. W)

• Bison burger with Saskatoon berry chutney, wild leeks, aioli, and Thunder Oak gouda on a red fife bannock bun

The Stockyards (Wychwood, 699 St. Clair Ave. W)

• Beef burger with house-made smoked American-style cheese, pickled sweet onion, and brown butter cornichon aioli

For burger connoisseurs who prefer their charboiled classics with a gourmet twist, the event also features five Black-Tie Burgers ranging from $13 - $28. Incorporating ingredients like short rib, Stilton, ground pork belly, and wild leek aioli, $5 from the sale of each Black-Tie Burger will go to support The Stop Community Food Centre.

Can't make it out to to 20+ burger shops in four days? Don't fret! Burger Week culminates in a Burger Day at the Artscape Wychwood Barns on Sunday, June 3 from 11:30 am - 4:30 pm, complete with musicians, guest speakers, and of course, sliders ($3) and beer ($5).

So what are you waiting for? Cheers to the (early) weekend!

♥

(Image by The Grid TO)

Dîner en Blanc: Toronto 2012

Calling all foodies and social revellers!  The spontaneous spectacle of Dîner en Blanc returns to Toronto this summer on Thursday, August 9, 2012.

Not sure what the parade of diners dressed in white and dining al fresco is all about? Check out this excellent blog post about the first Dîner en Blanc in Toronto on The Hip & Urban Girl's Guide or watch this fun footage from last year's event in NYC!



Registration for Toronto's Dîner en Blanc is now open! Sign up quickly since space is limited and priority is given first to previous diners, second to their friends and family, and third to the general public who are participating in Dîner en Blanc for the first time.

Happy Monday!

♥