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From taverns to tea rooms, soda fountains to sushi bars, and everything in between, Toronto’s dining trends say a lot about the history of the city. Beginning with the early days in the Town of York, where eateries also had to serve as houses of worship, Dining Out vividly describes many of the long-forgotten restaurants that had a profound impact on the city and the people who called it home.
While some argue that before 1966 Toronto had no restaurants to boast of and that the only good ones were in clubs, Thompson reveals this is not the case. Toronto has always been able to offer dining experiences worthy of any major city, and Dining Out illustrates this through the changing tastes, immigration patterns, and social customs that have shaped this city’s dining out culture, right up to today’s trendy restaurants opened by newcomers and inspired by outside influences. Thompson also examines the timeless challenges to fine restaurants and explains why many did not survive. Fortunately, while the locales where Torontonians eat may have changed through the years, the quest for good food and good company continues to define the city.
James A. Thompson takes readers on a fascinating journey through Toronto's culinary past, bringing to life the lost restaurants, colourful stories and unforgettable characters that shaped the city's dining scene. Through engaging interviews, anecdotes and vintage recipes, he traces Toronto's evolution through to the 1980s and '90s to the multicultural mecca of dining it is today.
In Dining Out, James A. Thompson has written a love letter to Toronto, his family's home for nearly 200 years. This delectable book tells the story of the city's restaurants and the generations of immigrants — from every corner of the world — who have made Toronto a thriving culinary metropolis.
I cannot resist food metaphors after reading Dining Out. It is delicious with a veritable smorgasbord of items for various tastes. Historical; informative; nostalgic. It may bring back memories of that first date at The Coffee Mill; an anniversary at Three Small Rooms. There are also thoughtful comments on an important aspect of Toronto's history. With a piquant sauce of original recipes, you have a winner. Highly recommended.
As I read this book, I realized I'd been waiting for it for a very long time. Thompson is more than a gastronomy historian: with this book he opens a rare shaft of light on a critical dimension of Toronto's cultural history and brings to life how past generations found pleasure in each other's company and in the discovery of new plates and new decors. It's a succulent accomplishment, soup to nuts.
For those with happy memories of restaurant celebrations at important stages of their life; for those who have followed the explosion of so many culturally diverse restaurants & cuisines in Toronto in our time and for those who simply remember their good times in Toronto's restaurants-this book is a must read.