Stephanie Dickison

Our city is bursting with great steaks - from low-end to high-end, there’s something for everyone.

What is a summer without a spring? A symphony without a prelude? A book without a prologue? So it is with an excellent dinner, and the most excellent appetizer that must necessarily precede it. Without the former paving the way for the latter, the main course arrives without fanfare, a lumpen, unheralded mass of sustenance not considered special enough to warrant an opening act.

As starred events on the calendar go, St. Patrick’s Day is a biggie. No occasion sees non-Gaelic types more passionately working to convince the world they are Irish born. That means a fervent crowd of emerald-wearing wannabes, waving clovers and swigging from mugs of green beer. Natural born or not, Torontonians can find lots of establishments to get lucky this St. Patrick’s Day. Here are five of the best:

Sometimes, you’re hungry. But sometimes, you’re really hungry. On those occasions, no artfully plated assortment of locally sourced, seasonally sensitive ingredients, drizzled in artisan this or accented with peppercorn that, is going to do the job. This is when the big guns are called for.

The frozen world in which we’ve too long dwelled notwithstanding, it is important to note that spring is almost upon us. Critical, even. And, with spring, come weddings. And, with weddings, come stags, stagettes, stag and does, hen and stags, buck and does, jack and jills and whatever other name you want to assign to the traditional exercise of letting out the sails before battening down the hatches.

This Saturday December 5th is National Comfort Food Day. Which arrives just in time, as temperatures drop below zero and now the holidays are just a few weeks away. You're going to need all the comforting you can get.

Friday, November 6th is National Nachos Day, so you’d better start planning where to celebrate. Here are my top 5 picks of best nachos in the city that offer something a little different:

When you go out for lunch, you don’t want it to just be good. You want it to be interesting as well. Otherwise, you might as well bring your own sandwich/salad/leftovers. Here are my picks for captivating lunch options in town right now:

Thursday, November 26th is National Cake Day, so I thought we should celebrate. Big time. After all, you don’t see many cakes on menus these days, unless it’s flourless chocolate, molten lava (really?) or cheesecake. Restaurant dessert sway towards tarts, puddings and recently, ever variety of s'mores.

Whether you’re rooting for the Panthers or Broncos, you’re going to want to be close to the action this Sunday for Super Bowl 50. Sure there are a bunch of places around town that will have the game on, but you want the very best spot to watch the teams compete for NFL champion of 2015. With fab food, of course.

The third most Googled diet in 2015 was the Paleolithic diet, most commonly called the Paleo diet and often referred to as the Caveman diet and sometimes Stone Age diet. (Note: this is not an endorsement of this way of eating.)

These aren’t your typical restaurant choices for the big day. But that’s what makes them so enticing.