A tale of two New Year’s Eves

Dear reader,

If everything goes according to plan, I’ll ring in 2024 surrounded by friends, family and a mess of takeout containers, all while wearing my finest sweatpants. ’Tis a night for staying in and watching Last Holiday, not to be confused with The Holiday. The mid-aughts movie starring Queen Latifah, LL Cool J and Gérard Depardieu (who plays a French chef, obviously) is—despite its title—only holiday-adjacent (though there is a New Year’s Eve scene) and more about food than anything else. It’s a gosh darn delight, and I highly recommend it for anyone who digs the idea of eating and drinking their way through (spoiler alert!) their last few weeks left on earth.

For those who would prefer to watch the ball drop while enjoying a prix fixe meal in outside clothes, this week’s newsletter includes a roundup of a dozen different parties and dinners taking place at restaurants across the city. Also: thoughtful gift ideas for the gourmand on your last-minute list and 17 bottles of wine that cost less than $20 but don’t taste like it.

There won’t be a newsletter next week (see the note above re: takeout and sweatpants). But the Toronto Life website will still be churning out new content, including a list of the LCBO’s best bottles of bubbly, where some of the city’s top chefs had their favourite meals this year, what’s on the menu at the new Old York Tavern and our most popular food stories from 2023.

Happy holidays! Until next year.

There are two kinds of New Year’s Eve people. The first would prefer to either ignore it completely or spend the night in, maybe not even making it to midnight. The second live to get dressed in their finest so they can pop bottles and enjoy prix fixe dinners surrounded by strangers until—and even after—the clock strikes 12. This list is for those people.

PSA: there are four days left to get your holiday shopping done. And while the easy way out usually involves a trip to the LCBO or an ATM, we’ve compiled a list of thoughtful (albeit last-minute) gift ideas for any epicures on your list.

The Old York, open for more than 50 years before closing last year, was a Toronto institution. Now, it’s found a second life with new owners, the word tavern tacked onto its title and food that skews French. See what’s on the menu.

Affordable wine doesn’t have to taste affordable. We rounded up 17 bottles from the LCBO that punch way above their price tags, including the bottle pictured here, El Petit Bonhomme. It’s a three-grape blend from Spain that’s ripe, juicy and very chuggable—because sometimes that’s just what the holidays call for.

In the latest issue: 71 insider tips and tricks to make life in Toronto easier, cheaper, faster, slower, tastier, smarter and way more fun. Plus, the story of a whistleblower cop, the city’s most hated landlord, a guide to zhuzhing up instant ramen, and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.