Toronto, Canada

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**** DINNER ****

• MOMOFUKU – a complex w/ Noodle Bar (adaptation of the East Village original), Daishō (emphasis on large format meals), Shōtō (22-seat tasting menu restaurant), Nikai (swanky bar and lounge). <eater>
• GLAS WINE BAR - little wine bar, or really a cave à manger, in the sense that there is great eating to match the great drinking. <eater>
• BENT - trademark cooking, which is freewheeling but usually rooted in Asia, in what one might call a bistro setting. <eater>
• EDULIS - quaint, welcoming space with food inspired by the European countryside that the Globe and Mail dubbed "pleasure bordering on delirium." <eater>
• THE GROVE - refined, unfussy assuredness of modern British gastropub cooking <eater>
• OXLEY PUBLIC HOUSE - nicely prepared pub classics. <eater> Fab decor. 
• URSA - The dining room, dark stained wood and sexy intimacy, serves dishes like exotic mushrooms with a sherry broth and whey-brined Niagara pork loin with kale, lentils and sunchoke purée <ny times>
• TERRONI - known for thin-crust whole-wheat pizzas and homemade raviolis; the black-stained back deck is filled with model types.<ny times> (one in LA too) 
• NIAGRA STREET CAFÉ - With a core philosophy of organic (often local) ingredients served at reasonable prices (appetizers under $10; entrées under $20 CAD), provides candlelit romance and a terrific wine list. <ny mag>
• ORIGIN - modernist destination in downtown’s historic quarter was opened by Toronto’s molecular-cooking standard-bearer <ny mag>
• UNION - only locally grown, farm-fresh ingredients go into the dishes served, which include elk sliders, terrine, prime rib, beef ribs and roast chicken. Bucolic touches like exposed brick, muted murals and recycled barnwood flooring contrast with modern light fixtures and printed fabrics, compounding to create the resto's country appeal, a mix of close-to-home Canadiana and Euro bistro elements. <toronto.com>
• BLACK HOOF -  brains + marrow = trendiness

**** BRUNCH ****

• THE BEAVER 
• AUNTIES & UNCLES 
• THE COUNTY GENERAL

**** COCKTAILS ****

• COCKTAIL BAR - for grown-ups, with its dreamily lighted interior, tin ceiling, subway-tiled walls & bold cocktail list <ny times>, fab decor 
• LEVACK BLOCK – resto-bar, where a reclaimed cage from a postal station and subtly striped walls have a 19th-century Paris appeal. <torontolife>
• 2 CATS - This Slinky, narrow bar is the ultimate icebreaker. Dance and sing along with your newfound friends to classic 80s tunes on the tiny, sweaty dance floor. <blackbook>
• BELLWOODS BREWERY - The former garage has been whitewashed and fitted with hardwood accents, including the long bar, rough-hewn tables and a small mezzanine. With only 40 indoor seats, it’s intimate, despite very high ceilings (the beer is brewed on site) <ny times>
• COMMUNIST’S DAUGHTER – cool dive bar 

**** NOT YOUR MOMMA'S SIGHTSEEING **** 

• ST LAWRENCE MARKET (get a peameal sandwich) – popular attraction in city, north market Saturdays 5am-3pm; south market Fri 8am-7pm & Sat 5am-5pm 
• BEACHES NEIGHBORHOOD - near the terminus of the Queen Street East streetcar line, stroll or cycle along the lakefront boardwalk. Because of its natural assets, it has become a popular residential neighborhood for young boomers and their families, and Queen Street has plenty of browse-able stores <frommers>, the Venice Beach of Toronto
• QUEEN STREET WEST– indie area, boutiques (Verso, Inabstracto, Lady Mosquito, Robber)
• Ossington Street – an edgy Queen West offshoot now city’s hippest drag, a gentrification so rapid that city council recently imposed a year-long moratorium on licensing new bars and restaurants <torontolife>
• WEST QUEEN WEST - Along Queen from University to Niagara is edgy / hip and became so trendy that the truly bohemian made West Queen West <about.com>
• KENSINGTON MARKET AREA (Spadina Avenue, Dundas St., Bathurst St. and College St.) – liveliest neighborhood in the city, the Toronto equivalent of the Lower East Side packed into four square blocks, hippie chic w/ international flair, retro furniture stores, vintage clothing boutiques, international food shops.<about.com>
• Get a coffee @ Sublime Café (also a vintage record shop)
• CHINATOWN – second largest in N. America
• DISTILLERY DISTRICT (Mill Street from Parliament to Cherry Street) - pedestrian-only village set amidst the best preserved collection of Victorian Industrial Architecture in North America; devoted to promoting arts / culture <about.com>