Gallery Grill: Hart House, Toronto
Toronto University Eatery Offers Great Toronto Lunch Spot
Expert "luncher," Lori Myers finishes up her suggestions for where to lunch in Toronto and where to get the good stuff (as inexpensively as possible).
In this second part of a winter-lunching series, expert luncher Lori Myers explores a couple more reasons to leave work for a great lunch! Missed the first part of this delectable missive? Click here and read on...
A trip to Lori’s alma mater (one of her many, she jokes): U of T is one of the best kept secrets for a fulfilling lunch in the city. "No," she quips, "I don’t mean the student cafeteria!" Care to sample a beautiful lunch menu created by premier chef Suzanne Baby, in a neo-Gothic academic setting, tucked away somewhere special? Myers cautions, “This is a bit of a splurge!” (Ahem, she understates!) “But this is an amazing restaurant and - almost - a well-kept secret. If you can go only once, try it.”
Gallery Grill in U of T's Hart House
What’s this mysterious venue? The Gallery Grill, hidden away from hubbub (and rabble) on the second floor of beautiful old Hart House, on University of Toronto’s downtown campus. (Hart House Circle off Hoskin Avenue, 416-978-2445). While this recommendation doesn’t exactly meet Lori’s usual criteria (cheap and cheerful), she confesses a soft spot for the stone arches, Canadian art, the sheer determined modern eclecticism of the provisions and the menu at this lovely lunch place.
And a true lunch place it is, too! You may reserve only for a weekday lunch or Sunday brunch, during the university school year. And that’s it. Intrigued? Have a lunch date coming up? This might be the place. The menu will surprise and delight. “This is a small formal room. Linen. Silverware. Multiple courses. Fine service. Elegance. The use of local, regional and artisanal ingredients will amaze. The rich and surprising flavour combinations will tempt you and maybe take your breath away. This ain’t school fare, but rather a luncheon gourmet’s delight,” explains Lori. Climb the stone staircase to a beautiful lunch experience. Lori says: “I award the Gallery Grill an A+!”
Dufferin Grove Farmer's Market For Brown Bag Lunches
But really, after all these recommendations to escape from work for lunch . . . would Ms. Myers never take lunch to work? “Okay, okay,” she confesses, “I do actually like a delicious home-made lunch now and then!” No surprise. You may recall from Lori’s last installment here, her entertainment budget has sometimes been known to encourage use of the little Scottish place (which, like “the Scottish play,” is best left unnamed in this location). So, “Sure!” she responds, when queried about whether she’d brown bag it. “Once in a while!” The lunch creation might begin with a trip to the justly-famous Dufferin Grove Farmer's Market. (Dufferin Grove Park, one block south of Bloor Street West, on east side of Dufferin. Every Thursday, 3-7pm, year ‘round. Great website includes map, vendor info and spot to subscribe to market bulletins.)
Lori says she might visit the purveyors of organic meat and cheeses first, to get an idea of how to create a really special sandwich. Maybe sliced smoked turkey from Beretta’s. Or fresh sheep’s milk cheese from BestBaa. Or the Akiwenzies‘ smoked whitefish. Or all three! Then, she’d head to the park’s own bakers (they use outdoor wood-burning ovens for pizza, hearty wholegrain breads and more) or maybe to Alli’s bread booth for some amazing foccaccia. Or to enjoy a cinnamon bun. How to garnish this fantasy sandwich? Maybe with Melvin Laidlaw’s spicy sun-dried tomato pesto (try the “hot” one). And of course, some “greens” - red kale? - and other crunchy veggies from Plan B or Thorpe’s. And did someone say it was winter? Maybe some of the Sosnicki’s perogies instead of a sandwich.
Lunchtime? Need a break from work? Take your amazing fresh brown bag (N.B: not the soggy one you abandoned in the work fridge earlier in this series in order to dine out!) and enjoy it by putting your feet up at your desk and enjoying indoors from the cozy comfort of where ever you are. Nice!
Lunch. Best meal of a winter’s day? Maybe!
