Also see "Where to find holiday fare in Toronto"

New in Catering!

Yummy food from A Vegan Affair

A Vegan Affair Event Catering stopped by the TVA office last month to demonstrate some of their meal options (pictured on the right.)  TVA staff were treated to curried white bean zucchini tomato soup (served with quinoa and sprouts,) mini pizzas with pesto sauce, and raw pie. Not to sound biased, but it was all insanely delicious and far more attractive than these photos could capture! Their catering options include bringing food to your location with or without meal service, and a beautiful event facility is available North of Toronto as well.

New Bakery!

Bunner's Bakeshop has opened a storefront location at 3054 Dundas St W in the Junction. They will offer a retail ‘grab&go’ bakery, catering for special events and parties, an online store complete with ‘direct to door’ delivery service, and a wholesale operation for cafés and stores looking to carry a delicious vegan / gluten-free option for their customers. “It all began with a single batch of cookies, made for friends, which I dubbed the ‘Supersonic Gypsy Cookie’ (due to its energy increasing, protein-packed power ingredients,)” said owner Ashley Wittig. “It was full of seeds, oats, vegan chocolate chips and cranberries and people we’re amazed with how rich and satisfying it tasted. Since then I’ve expanded the line to include over 20 unique and delicious products, but the Gypsy remains our bestseller."

New Restaurant Locations!

We received an update from Rawlicious: "Rawlicious has been serving healthy, delicious raw vegan meals for the past two and a half years out of their Junction area restaurant in Toronto’s west end. In an effort to make this type of healthy alternative available to many more people, they have just opened their second location in downtown Toronto, steps from Yonge and Bloor at 20 Cumberland Street.  Well beyond carrot sticks and celery, their menu offers pizza, wraps, smoothies, salads, brownies, ice cream and much more. The raw food movement has been gaining momentum in all parts of the world, particularly within the celebrity culture, and is definitely here to stay. Rawlicious wants to make sure that this type of food is available to people in all cities and towns, regardless of the size of the population. They are also offering franchises for sale across the country."

Toronto's second Loving Hut location is opening soon! Enjoy tasty inexpensive meals at 140 Spadina Avenue at Richmond. We've been told that opening day is December 17, so you should probably call first: 647-351-7618. Updated: now open!

New in the Discount Program!

Martin Aiello is a vegan realtor serving the GTA, and he's offering $500 cash back on the purchase or sale of a home in the GTA to TVA Discount Card holders.

Renovations & New Discount!

Jennifer at  Live Food Bar  says she'll be closing on Dec 2, reopening January 2 and that they're doing full renovations. Visit in the new year and check out their fresh new look! Starting January 2nd they will have an all new organic vegan brunch menu including frittatas, donuts, waffles, raw and cooked French toast! They are going to offer a welcome-back 15% discount to Vegetarian Discount Card holders during the month of January for Monday - Wednesday after 4 p.m.

New rumours!

We've heard news that Urban Herbivore might be opening a 2nd location but we haven't gotten any confirmation yet.  Does anyone have any news?  Email us on this (or any other tip) and you can receive fame and fortune.  Well, mostly fame.  Unless you want a code name like "Deep Green."

We also spotted this tweet from Sadie's Diner : "Vegan doughnuts have arrived! Vegan doughnuts have arrived!"  Sometimes you don't need to dig any deeper and just start running, right?  Update! The doughnuts are coming in from Rise Above Bakery + Catering, and they've been arriving for the past two Fridays.  Mmmmm....

Image from Burrito Bike

New nothing-like-this-before!

Remember Dial-A-Bottle? This is better... place your order online and have a veg or vegan burrito pedal-powered over to you, for only $7!  Burrito Bike make deliveries to downtown locations between 6pm and 1am on Friday nights. Place your order via via Facebook, email or call them on Friday night at (416-948-6676.) Read more about it here: Torontoist and EYE. 

New all you can eat goodness!

We told you about Saravanaa Bhavan's new location in Brampton back in October. Now they are offering all-you-can-eat buffet from 12-3 daily. There are many all vegetarian items to choose from, and only 3 options are not vegan. The friendly staff serve you fresh dosa crepes to your table hot off the grill!  Located in the Bramalea City Centre complex, in the Queen Street and Dixie Rd corner.  Open 7 days a week, 12pm-3pm and 5pm-10pm 

New Coffee!

The free nightly newspaper T.o.night tipped us off to The Grind House at 281 Augusta Avenue: "The Grind House is a new cafe in Kensington Market...If you're vegan, celiac or just plain picky you can definitely find something to eat here."  I stopped by to check it out and was told there's always a vegan soup or chill as well as vegan smoothies, and they're working on bringing in more vegan baked goods.  Oh, and they've got one of those fancy Clover coffee machines that you might want to try.

Do you have a hot lead on the Next Big Thing in our increasingly vegetarian Toronto?  Let us know so we can have an amazing set of updates in January to kick off 2011!