Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2025 i Toronto Life

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Bravo’s Top Chef has toured dozens of American cities over its 20-odd years on air, but never Canada. Why now? Actually, we briefly visited Vancouver and Whistler in season nine, but this time we’re in Canada for the full season. And why not? We go wherever there’s good food, and that’s definitely true of Toronto and the rest of the country, now more than ever—though I could have made that statement five years ago. Lots of Americans know Toronto, but they’re still catching up with its food scene. You grew up in Forest Hill. Did your Toronto roots play into the team’s choice of city? There was already reason enough to come, but once Toronto was confirmed, I started sharing great locations, chefs and guest judges with the team. I…

THE BUYERS: Abi Warnock, 36, a librarian, and Sukha Rai, 36, head of business development and partnerships for a start-up, with their daughter, Rani, and their golden retriever, Oro. THE STORY: In December of 2023, Abi and Sukha were living in a two-bedroom starter home on Sudbury Street. The plan was to upsize eventually, so when they learned Abi was pregnant, they got moving. On the wish list: a backyard for Oro, a basement unit for rental income and at least three bedrooms, plus a guest room for Sukha’s folks, who offered to stay over occasionally to help with the baby. They arranged a private sale for their home, set a $1.3-million budget and started their search in the west end. OPTION 1 SILVER AVENUE near Dundas and Bloor Listed at $1,239,000…

THERE’S SOMETHING cartoonishly indulgent about meeting for oysters and prosecco at noon on a Thursday, but when I asked Meredith MacNeill and Jennifer Whalen to suggest an activity for our first interview, this was their pick. Before any bivalves are ordered, however, we’re distracted by the raucous office party taking place a few metres away. It’s mid-December, that stretch before the holidays when companies with a discretionary budget gather their staff over insipid finger foods and giant bottles of Jackson-Triggs. This bash, however, is a cut above: it’s well before quitting time; the attendees are in the airy back room of Paris Paris on Ossington; at least one of them is wearing an ugly Christmas sweater with the charming awkwardness of Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy in Bridget Jones’s Diary. “Do…

JASMEET RAINA, previously known as Jus Reign, conquered YouTube in the 2010s, earning nearly a million subscribers with sketches inspired by his life as a Punjabi-Sikh immigrant. Last year, Raina made the jump to TV, portraying content creator Jasmeet Dutta in Late Bloomer, the semi-autobiographical dramedy he created for Crave, and a second season is set to premiere later this spring. When Raina first moved to Bloordale in early 2023, he wasn’t sure what to make of the area. “My apartment was right between a strip club and a Value Village,” he says. Eventually, he grew to love the neighbourhood’s eccentricities. Here are his go-to spots. For bonkers ice cream RURU BAKED “This is probably the best, most slept-on ice cream in the city. There’s a new menu almost every…

DRINK TRENDS come and go, but the margarita endures. So when General Public’s beverage director, DavidGreig, wasworkingonthecocktailmenu, amargaritawasnon-negotiable. “Ifyou don’t have one on the menu, you’re going to spend half your shift making them anyway,” he says. But General Public is Britishish—which means even the margarita needed to fall in line. So Greig (himself an English expat) looked to the Thai dishes that have been pub staples in London since the ’70s. “I thought those fresh, green flavours would be perfect in a margarita,” he says. And thus the Thai Margarita was born, made with tequila Greig infuses with galangal, makrut leaf and lemongrass. Thai basil is steeped in agave syrup, that margarita mainstay, to add a fragrant note. The final touch—and this is where things take an unexpected turn—is…

Early bungling cemented the public image. When Edward sought to replace Paul Beeston with a new Blue Jays president, he rang up the head of the White Sox, who promptly tipped off his old pal Beeston. As an executive VP, Edward refused to consistently attend meetings under the new CEO. At company events, Edward made awkward, head-scratchy speeches. Before he died, Ted named Edward chair of the Rogers Control Trust—which ensured the company would stay in the family—but not CEO, which read like a lukewarm endorsement of his son. Even worse, he surrounded Edward with siblings and lieutenants who had their own designs on the empire. As much as life can be challenging for a billionaire heir, Edward was in a bad spot—underestimated, boxed in by doubters and yet expected…

Pickering mayor Kevin Ashe halts in-person meetings at city council over threats from alt-right supporters of rabblerousing councillor Lisa Robinson. Premier Doug Ford warms to the idea of buying back Highway 407 to ease gridlock… …while doubling down on his idea to build a tunnel under the 401, which could cost $60 billion. Developer Cortel Group announces plans to transform the Hearn Generating Station into a massive residential and cultural centre. Giant Coors Light billboards at Sankofa Square encourage consumers to indulge in some “mountain cold refershment.” In other gridlock news, Toronto quadruples its traffic agents for 2025 to 100. Following the lead of America’s big banks, BMO, TD and CIBC withdraw from the international Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which requires members to ensure all activities are carbon neutral by 2050.…

Every month, TL Insiders enjoy terrific experiences and events across the city. More than 1,000 Torontonians have already signed up, and you can too! Members get front-of-the-line access to cultural events and private dining experiences plus exclusive invitations to Toronto Life’s salon-like discussion series. Membership is only $75 a year—so sign up today and rediscover the city as a member. Don’t miss out. Sign up at: torontolife.com/insider/membership JOIN NOW! $75/year FOR YOUR TL INSIDER MEMBERSHIP…

“We’re talking about fire and knives here, so it’s going to be intense”—Gail Simmons, p. 16 In 2010, when David Miller was mayor and St. Lawrence Market’s northern cousin was a decrepit brick box, the city promised a sparkling new building to make patrons proud. They said it would cost $60 million and be ready in about four years—and Torontonians ate it up. Then came bureaucratic bungling, supply-chain snafus, design errors and other delays. But, just when the market faithful thought there would be no end to the protracted absurdity, the building is, finally, ready for its close-up. Opening in phases this spring, it comes with a cool orange exterior, a curvy green roof, a vast atrium and city courts. It will also be the permanent home of the farmers’…

WHEN EDWARD ROGERS puts his foot down, he does it softly, with a certain reluctance. But I forced the issue. “I don’t want to be rude,” he said, quietly. I’d asked the executive chair of Rogers Communications Inc. about the recent financial settlement with two of his sisters, Melinda and Martha. It had come in the wake of an ugly 2021 boardroom drama that pitted the sisters against their brother over control of the company founded by their famous father, Ted Rogers, and left Edward alone on top. Signed in January of 2024, the settlement essentially swept most of the remaining shards from that messy affair into the bin. But the terms were mysterious. Could Edward provide any details? “No,” he began. “Only in so much that, um, it got…

The Itinerary The quickest way to drive from Toronto to Miami is to travel as the crow flies, heading south through the Rust Belt and Coal Country to join the I-95 through the Old South. But everyone knows that the best road trips are as much about the journey as the destination. This route has something for everyone, including bargain and ghost hunters, audiophiles and shopaholics, and lovers of all things eccentric, tasteful or simply tasty. Here, our picks for the best places to stop. The Scenic Route Day 1 EAT HERE Five Points Bakery and Toast Cafe 44 Brayton St., Buffalo, New York Five Points Bakery and Toast Cafe, in Buffalo’s arty Five Points district, is the place to fill up for the ride ahead. The best bets are…