Jumpline’s Guide to the Best Food and Drink near Toronto’s Sheraton Centre
Welcome to Toronto! We know you’re here to learn, to present your research and to network at AEJMC. We also hope you will be able to join us for Transforming J School, a lunch and curriculum workshop Jumpline is hosting on Aug. 8. Please register here.
But it would be a shame if you didn’t also make the most of the great food and drink options Toronto has on offer. This is my home city and I want to prevent you from taking all your meals in the conference hotel. To help, here is Jumpline’s guide to the best food and drink options within walking distance of the Sheraton Centre Toronto. After all, you do have to eat.
Andrew.
There are a tonne (Canadian spelling!) of great spots within a block of the hotel:
Directly across Richmond Street from the Sheraton Centre is the Assembly Chef’s Hall, which is essentially a gourmet food hall with stall upon gourmet stall that tracks Toronto’s diverse food scene. Pro-tip: Bulldog Coffee starts brewing at 7a.m.
Tucked into a little alleyway called — perhaps ironically — Temperance Street, are Boxcar Social (coffee, light lunches and cocktails) and John’s Oyster House, which has a nice, but small, sidewalk patio. Around the corner on Bay Street are two great lunch spots: The Gabardine, a Canadian farm-to-table gastropub and Locale Mercatto, an Italian favourite.
The Drake Hotel empire has transformed Southwestern Ontario’s food and drink scene over the last 15 years. Luckily, two Drake offspring are just a block south of the Sheraton at the corner of York and Adelaide. Higher-end Drake 150 is for power lunching and the Drake Mini-Bar is its more fun sibling around the corner. Both have big outdoor patios.
A few blocks from the Sheraton Centre:
You can’t come to Canada and not experience one of our national treasures: Tim Hortons. There’s a Tim Hortons in just about every small Canadian town. Timmie’s (local parlance) has just opened an Innovation Cafe at the base of the Exchange Tower at 130 King Street W that’s worth checking out. This twist on the real deal is still peak Canadiana with hockey-themed decor and maple bacon doughnuts, but there are also single-origin coffee and nitro-infused lattes. For a more pedestrian experience, go into a regular Timmie’s — take your pick, there’s one on nearly every block — and order a double-double.
Check-out the Toronto outposts of chef David Chang’s Momofuku phenomenon across University Avenue in the Shangri-la Hotel. The boisterous Momofuku Noodle Bar is on the first and second floors and up on the third is slightly buttoned-up Momofuku Kojin.
For fabulous dim sum, head north across Nathan Phillips Square, past city hall (still haunted by the ghost of former mayor Rob Ford) to Lai Wah Heen. Slightly sketchier, but still incredibly tasty, dim sum can be found in Chinatown at Sky Dragon, up on the fifth floor at the southwest corner of Dundas and Spadina Streets. It also offers the best views of the CN Tower.
There are two more notable spots further east along Temperance Street (almost at the corner of Yonge): The Chase is a great place to grab a drink (skip the ground floor seating and head up to the 4th floor terrace for city views) and Dineen Coffee Co. is one of my favourite brews in town (also a good airy afternoon spot to work).
Torontonians swear by Terroni, a reasonably-priced Italian pizza and pasta institution. Downtown, Terroni has taken over the old York County courthouse at 57 Adelaide Street E. For the original Queen Street location (complete with rooftop patio!) hop on the Queen streetcar outside the Sheraton and head west to the Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood.
Skipping the conference altogether? (We promise we won’t tell):
The Evergreen Brick Works for food trucks on Summer Wednesdays, the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings and hiking trails that branch into the nearby network of forested ravines (spot the snapping turtles in the nearby ponds).
The Junction neighbourhood’s art galleries and restaurants.
The bohemian shops and diverse food offerings of Kensington Market
Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood continues to be hipster central.
Check out the restaurant strip along Ossington Avenue between Queen and Dundas streets.
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