Jamie Kennedy's Gilead Café?

[Lazar]

Anyone heard anything on this? From the rumour I remember, he is opening this place on the site of his current corporate offices, and then will move his corporate office elsewhere outside of the city.

Any truth to this? Or an opening date?

[e8ghtmileshigh]

had the pork and blueberry puff pastry. fucking delicious. and those walnut brownies kill me to death every time. with that devilish hint of cinnamon and chocolate butter cream. mmm

[e8ghtmileshigh]

I'm a poor George Brown student in debt and I still eat at & take home products from the Gilead 3 times a week. God bless JK.

The place is settling in nicely, the consistency of the quality has improved since opening.
favorites:
Delicious brownies, rich but not cloying dark chocolate walnuts and hint of cinnamon yum
beef sandwich, blue cheese, onion marmalade rocket - simple and delicious
poutine topped with confit duck or braised beef/pork and smoked sheeps milk cheddar - almost too rich but delicious when you pace yourself

all the rillettes are delicious - look out for the confit duck pate, the merguez & saucisson a l'ai are great and very reasonable confit duck legs

[georgebell11]

Went to Gilead for the V-day dinner last night. Whole night was very enjoyable - highlights included smoked fish appetizer (white fish, salmon and pickled onions on a rye bread) which had just incredible flavour, and the beef brisket with garlic mashed potatoes - very substantial portion that was terrific. Service was a bit spotty, as I believe this was their first foray into a dinner event at the location - a lot of dishes coming out and going back to the kitchen when they realized that patrons were still on their appetizers. But, got some free wine after we finished our initial bottle and folks were friendly.

JK himself was in the kitchen, and had a brief chat with him on our way out. Apparently, Gilead will be starting a weekly Thursday night dinner at the end of February which will highlight a particular organic producer/farmer. Will definitely check this out, as the Gilead is a nice intimate space in which to enjoy a meal.

[Tatai]

So they'll still only be open for weekday lunch, with the exception of one night, Thursday?

[georgebell11]

That is what it sounds like. I think they rent the space out for private functions a lot of evenings, hence not a regular dinner spot....

[e8ghtmileshigh]

service has improved..and is usually very friendly, helpful and engaging. most of them aren't too snobby cause they hire a lot of G.B. students. they also remember regulars names and that makes me feel really welcome. i have a huge crush on one of the servers there and thats always a plus. hehe.

[sugarcube]

It all sounds delicious! What's the price range for items?

[Suresh]

Teas, $2.50 - 5
Cappucino - $2.50

Tartine fresh baguette with artisan butter, $2.50
Yogurt with JK Preserve, granola, $4
Seasonal tartlette w sheep milk cheese, $4
local green salad, $8
yukon gold fries with mayo, $4
braised beef (or burger) poutine, $8
pulled pork sandwich, $9
roast beef sandwich, $9
Soups, $5
Veggie sandwiches, $9

Cheese range, beef ranges...etc..

[sugarcube]

Thanks for this Suresh! I am so getting the pulled pork sandwich :) yum

[merlot143]

Just a caveat: the kitchen is open only until about 3pm on weekends(and 4pm on weekdays). After that you can only get items from the front counter like salad, beverages, cheeses.

[sugarcube]

Really? That's a downer :( I don't get off work until 4:30!

[pinkprimp]

Actually the a la carte menu only runs till 3pm everyday, not just on weekends.

[gastronom]

I went there last week and pretty much ordered everything off the menu. The poutine topped with sheep cheese, and a merquize (like the sausage) like item on it was quite lovely (the best item on the menu). The pulled pork and turkey sandwiches were ok, nothing special and not worth the trek across town. The tartlette had potential, but was cold and too creamy in the middle. The espresso was quite good, and the deserts were finesse.

Overall, surprisingly the deserts were more impressing than the food.

[merlot143]

Had lunch here this weekend. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I quite liked the decor -- nice and airy, pleasant. The wall of preserved fruit and veg made for pleasant decor. Will be going again.

[SusanB]

We walked over to the Distillery today and stopped there for lunch. Very nice. I had a sandwich which came with asparagus. I am probably one of the few people who don't like asparagus, so they served it on the side for my husband to eat. He ordered the poutine which he absolutely loved. We took a piece of coconut square to go. It's only a couple of km from home (we're closer to Leslieville) so we'll definitely go again.

Looked like lots of great food at the Distillery today. Lots of higher end places serving food where you bought tickets.

[Vise]

Hit Gilead Cafe for lunch Thursday and it was great, will definitely be a regular spot for lunch. We had the daily poutine (with northern woods mushrooms, sheep's milk cheese, and mushroom jus), sandwich (roasted ribeye, ermite, house made mayo), and soup (green garlic & asparagus) and all were very tasty. Definitely recommended, looking forward to my next dose of JK poutine already.

[millygirl]

We went for lunch yesterday and quite enjoyed it. Mr. Millygirl had the roast beef and gorgonzola sandwich on a lovely ciabatta bun. It was oozing with wonderfully carmelized onion. I had a bite and wished I ordered one myself. Next time for sure. In a mood for decadence I ordered the poutine smothered with smoked ham hock which was very good also. Couldn't resist the bread, took home a sun dried tomato loaf which we haven't tried yet. They were also sampling rabbit rillette which was excellent. Definitely would return.

[georgebell11]

Went last weekend, and it was great - we got take-out and ate in the park across the street. Smoked turkey sandwich was delicious, fries typically superb. Great concept, wish it were close to my work rather than home - I'd go there every day!

[ms. clicquot]

I stopped by a couple of weeks ago and had a very nice leek and sheep's milk tart and Mr. Clicquot had a sandwich. Everything was delicious. We weren't familiar with the street but had no trouble finding it or parking near by.

[peppermint pate]

I checked it out today - took a while for me to find it (it's down the laneway where Morning Glory is, off of the south side of King) but I was rewarded when I did. It's a bright, open space with very friendly staff. At first, I perused the chalkboard and refrigerated cases and I wasn't quite sure what to do with my limited options. I ultimately settled on a ham and cheese sandwich which was, in a word, perfection. Lightly toasted sourdough (just enough to give it crunch but not so much as to give it colour) was topped with white cheddar, slices of moist ham, roasted tomatoes and some condiment (can't remember). To riff on Alford/Duguid's book, it was smoky, tangy, juicy, crunchy. Delicious and totally satisfying, with a side of celery root salad. They have a small selection of cheeses, marinated and roast meats and baked goods with a handful of other a la carte items made to order. It's a good little spot.

[Otonabee]

I have been there a few times now (walking distance from here). I can easily see it as a good go-to lunch place on the weekends for me.

Have had one full meal, a slightly salty for me personally but still VERY tasty. I had the beer battered fish with frites SO had the poutine and the wild leek soup with morels (this was about 2 weeks ago) Went last sunday at about 9 (they open at 8) but other than the breads and pastries there really isn't anything for the breakfast crown the a la carte doesn't start until 11).

On their take-out stuff, got to say the bread is excellent! I am however a little sad to admit that I find their pastries (croissants and danishes) a little heavy handed. Also took two of their chocolate chip cookies to go, FANTASTIC!

The staff are very sweet with no pretension. I went the first time just a few days after they opened and found the person there exceedingly friendly and very enthusiastic about the new business. Overall if you want JK cuisine without the crowds I would highly recommend Gilead Cafe!

[Mila]

Dropped by yesterday but they were just closing at 6pm. Lots of delicious looking sweets, including French marcaroons. They also have takeout prepped food such as rabbit stew, burgers and sausages to finish at home.

Lunch was served from 11 to 2.
http://www.jkkitchens.com/gilead/www....

[teatimer]

We went to 4 Gilead once for "tea time" this week. 3 comments;
Nice interior with an unfortunate view of the Brad Lamb construction site across the alley,
Very creamy curd in the lemon tart on overworked pastry,
Thinly flavoured coffee, definitely not overextracted.

[fondfarewell]

according to JK recently, april 28 is the opening date.

[gregclow]

Yup, it's true.

I asked JK about it at an event a couple of weeks ago, and he said they were hoping to open 'mid-April', although the JK website still says "opening soon".

They will be serving light breakfast and simple lunches, but there will be no dinner service. Instead, it will be available as an event space in the evenings, including kitchen access.

[grilledcheese]

Where?

[Googs]

Ya gotta love Craig's List.
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/fbh/625700169.html

4 Gilead Place exactly.
http://www.bizbash.com/toronto/conten...

Hopefully this will do no damage to Weezie's. I pray their patrons remain loyal despite the name brand chef moving into the neighbourhood.