Two Things I Love

Hey, it’s wildcard Wednesday.  So I thought I would tell you about two things I love in Toronto.  One I’ve known about for years, the other I’ve just discovered.  I would encourage you to check out both things, possibly this weekend.  Perhaps one than the other?  Could make for a heck of a day/night.

Sauce on Danforth

Seriously, this place just blew my mind.  Last night, me and a crew of guys who meet every month and go to a different craft-friendly bar hit up Sauce.  A bunch of us knew Johnny, the co-owner (with his girlfriend Michelle) who worked for years at Amsterdam.  A larger-than-life guy, who’s been around the scene for a long while, Johnny was bound to succeed in opening his own place.  But there’s succeeding and nailing it.  Sauce is just incredible.  Decorated as a 20s bordello, it’s dark, with lots of red and black.  Big chandeliers and chunky-framed artwork on the walls.  Big mirrors.  Candles.  A piano in the corner. A lounge area featuring upholstered chairs and low tables.  Both a killer beer selection, as well as well made cocktails (you could probably order a french 77, though you might get punched if you ask for a [cute-name]tini). High-end spirits and good food.  This is my kind of bar.  It’s quite different than Castro’s, but has the same feel; I felt very comfortable as soon as I walked in the doors.  Even the bathrooms are well executed, decorated to style.  There’s even red LED lights embedded behind glass tiles .  Very cool attention to detail.  Possibly my favourite aspect was the bell.  There’s a bell on the bar.  It’s totally within anybody’s reach.  It’s not the last call bell; it’s the “I’d like to buy a round of shots for the bar” bell.  Serious.  Towards the end of the night it got rung.  I got a shot.  Not a bad system.  Just be wary, it’s a cool looking bell; you will want to ring it.  Make sure you’ve got cash/cards sufficient to cover what could be a big round of shots. I was actually impressed before we even got there, as whoever manages their twitter account saw us making plans, and offered to hold a space in the lounge for us.  Like I said, attention to detail.  Michelle, who was serving us asked us our names, I assumed to keep track of our tabs, except she then used them.  And it wasn’t disingenuous. They are lovely people running an amazing bar.  I will be back.

 

Sauce on Danforth

Sauce on Danforth — Image nicked from Toronto Life

Sauce is a bit west of Monarch Park on Danforth. Easy enough to find on the TTC, go check it out.  You will not be disappointed.

http://www.sauceondanforth.com/ @SauceonDanforth

The Gourmet Food And Wine Expo

I’ve been attending The Gourmet Food and Wine Expo since I was at George Brown for culinary.  Initially, I went for the food and wine (both of which are excellent), but now I go for the beer.  To be fair, I still eat the food and drink the wine….. And you should too.  It’s an awesome event, where you can try a huge range of foods, wines, spirits and beers.  And guess what?  It’s on this weekend, November 15-18th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  Tickets are $40 for Thursday evening, and $20 for Friday-Sunday.  Once in the show, you will need to purchase sample tickets.  They are $1 each, and come in sheets of 20.  Everything has a ticket-value, that generally ranges from 1-6 tickets.  Depending on your tastes, $40 worth of tickets will get you a decent day of munching and sipping.  Add the admission, and you’ve got a great day out, with a meal’s worth of food, and more than that of drink, for $60. Make an effort to try and pair off what you’re eating with what you’re drinking.  Ask the vendors for recommendations.  Try things you usually wouldn’t.  Have fun with it, food and drink should be a pleasing experience!  And check out our craft beer friends who will be serving up some of Ontario’s finest beers: Amsterdam Brewing Co., Beau’s All-Natural Brewery, Mill Street Brewery, Lake of Bays Brewing, Railway City Brewing, and Nickel Brook.

http://www.foodandwineexpo.ca/ @GFWE

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