Move over Antiques Roadshow: there’s a new “tour” in town, and this one promises to be much tastier. The Drake Hotel has announced its Dining Roadshow, a "restaurant within a restaurant" concept that will see the dining room space changing seasonally in menu, theme, and decor. Executive chef Anthony Rose intends to create stylized menus that highlight the intrinsic attitude of each of The Drake’s restaurant incarnations.
The first pop-up will be summer school dining hall-themed, and it’ll run from June 23 to September 4. This resto will be just like high school cafeterias of yore, except with better food (hopefully). Some highlights from that menu include tomato alphabet soup made with Cookstown Greens tomatoes ($9) and pork and beans sliced to order ($26). The decor will feature communal tables reconstructed from bowling alley lanes, and in the place of a standard vending machine will be an Enomatic wine dispenser. The “teacher’s lounge” will feature a variety of original and kitschy cocktails.
Stop two will coincide nicely with TIFF, as The Drake conjures up L.A.’s Chinatown in the 1940s. Running from September 8 to November 19, this space promises to showcase such Chinese-inspired dishes as firecracker maple shrimp and oxtail wontons. Decor will include Chinese lanterns and customized fortunes.
Specifics on the final leg of the “tour” haven’t been announced yet, but it’ll begin sometime near the end of November, so expect a holiday themed menu and atmosphere. The Dining Roadshow will be open Tuesday through Saturday. First seatings begin at 6 p.m. and the last are at 10:45 p.m. Reservations recommended.
The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street West, 416.531.5042 (ext 1 for reservations)
