Starving Foodie's guide to Best places to Eat during Tiff

Starving Foodie's guide to the best place to eat while at TIFF?  (Toronto International Film Festival 2015)

I compiled this list for my Starving Foodie Blog but I thought it would interest all the Film lovers attending the festival.

I have been doing Tiff for about 15 years and some years I hardly have time to get any food so sometimes you grab a bagel at Tim Horton's but other times you have an hour to wait in between screenings when you just want to sit down and have someone serve you a good meal and have a rest between running around to theatres or parties.

This list will help you if you are new to TIFF or just don't know where the best place to eat near a theatre is.

Now if you are looking for Celebrity Spotting you might only see a few here or there probably grabbing a Starbuck's coffee but mostly they are the high end places because if you are George Clooney or an A list celeb you can afford to go anywhere you want to and most of the time George and his pals go to restaurants you have never heard of or haven't even opened to the public yet  or are nowhere near where you would expect them to be because they have drivers that can drive them anywhere they need to go.   

So my suggestion is to forget about Celebrity Stalking and just go where you can get fast or great food depending on what you have time for and save your energy for seeing as many films as you can.

These are my choices for places I would recommend going to that are pretty close to each theatre.   There are thousands of restaurants in Toronto and I have curated it down to a few based on variety and proximity.  I have generally left out Food Courts because they close early.  
If I haven't added YOUR favourite place it's because I haven't been there or didn't think it was one I would recommend for various reasons.

LEGEND

*     Starving Artist
**    Gotta Job
***   A list Celebrity $$ 

TIFF CINEMA	RESTAURANT	LOCATION	STARS
1. TIFF Bell Lightbox	Ravi Soups Burrito Boyz Wahlbergers O&B Canteen Montecito	224 Adelaide St. W.  322 Adelaide St. W. 6 Blue Jay Way 350 King St. W, 299 Adelaide St. W.	* * ** *** ***
2.  Elgin/Wintergarden 189 Yonge Street	Richmond Station The Chase Foodwares	1 Richmond St. W. 10 Temperance St, 176 Queen St. W.	** *** **
3. Scotiabank Theatre 259 Richmond Street West	Melt Thoroughbred  Khao San Road Milestone’s	300 Richmond St. W, 304 Richmond St. W. 326 Adelaide St. W. 132 John St.	* *** ** **
4. Princess of Wales 300 King Street West	Tim Hortons PAI Byblos	322 King St. W. 18 Duncan St. 161 Pearl St.	* ** ***
5. Roy Thompson Hall 60 Simcoe Street	Ritz Carlton  Elephant & Castle Los Colibris  El Cabalito	181 Wellington St.W. 212 King St. West 220 King St. West	*** ** ***
6.  AGO 317 Dundas Street West	Mean Bao Frank Pizzaiolo Village by the Grange Food Court	275 Dundas St. W.  317 Dundas St. W. 281 Dundas St.  W. 109 McCaul St.	* *** * *
7.  Isabel Bader 93 Charles Street West	Slab Burgers La Societe The One Eighty	47 Charles St. W. 131 Bloor St. W.  55 Bloor St. W. 51st	* *** **
8.  Ryerson 43 Gerrard Street East	Banh Mi Boys Reds Midtown  Salad King	399 Yonge Street 382 Yonge Street 340 Yonge Street	* ** **
9.  Bloor Hot Docs 506 Bloor Street West	Ghazale  Aroma Espresso  Pauper’s Pub	504 Bloor St. W. 500 Bloor St. W. 539 Bloor St. W.	* * **

Wahlbergers

Richmond Station

Montecito

Banh Mi Boys

Pai

Aroma Espresso Bar

disclosure: The restaurants listed are my own choices and I have not received any compensation from any of the listed restaurants to appear on this list.

Filmmakers & Celebs attending TIFF's 40 Anniversary Festival

Want to know who's coming to TIFF this year for their 40th Anniversary?

Well they just released the press release with the extensive list.  It seems very international this year to me.

The following filmmakers, creators and artists are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:

Marc Abraham, Lenny Abrahamson, Hany Abu-Assad, Evgeny Afineevsky, Pablo Agüero, Chantal Akerman, AKIZ, Emin Alper, Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche, George Amponsah, Laurie Anderson, Faraz Anoushahpour, Parastoo Anoushahpour, Joko Anwar, Danielle Arbid, Myrsini Aristidou, Gillian Armstrong, Harrison Atkins, Jacques Audiard, Nabil Ayouch, Jason Bateman, Joe Begos, Mateo Bendesky, Roxanne Benjamin, Amy Berg, Bergur Bernburg, Fabienne Berthaud, Thomas Bidegain, Wayne Blair, Matthew Taylor Blais, Anna Boden, Andreea Cristina Bortun, Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, Leyla Bouzid, Salem Brahimi, Pietra Brettkelly, Sue Brooks, Matthew Brown, David Bruckner, Robert Budreau, Jayro Bustamante, Sean Byrne, Paco Cabezas, A.D. Calvo, Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias, Jon Cassar, Michael Caton-Jones, Sylvia Chang, Soi Cheang, Mabel Cheung, Andrew Cividino, Elaine Constantine, Scott Cooper, Julio Hernández Cordón, Catherine Corsini, John Crowley, Jonás Cuarón, Maris Curran, Andrew Currie, Jamie M. Dagg, Ely Dagher, Terence Davies, Tammy Davis, Álex de la Iglesia, Salvador del Solar, Samuel M. Delgado, Gaby Dellal, Julie Delpy, Yuval Delshad, Nick DenBoer, Diastème, Drake Doremus, Christopher Doyle, Igor Drljaca, Geneviève Dulude-De Celles, Stephen Dunn, Barbara Eder, Guy Édoin, Jussi Eerola, Robert Eggers, Atom Egoyan, Adil El Arbi, Halima Elkhatabi, Danae Elon, Jihan El-Tahri, Roland Emmerich, Anne Émond, Can Evrenol, Lawrence Fajardo, Philippe Falardeau, Bilall Fallah, Kasra Farahani, David Farr, Jean-Loup Felicioli, Pablo Fendrik, Ryan Ferko, Simon Fitzmaurice, Ryan Fleck, Federica Foglia, Davy Force, Maïder Fortuné, Stephen Frears, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Cary Fukunaga, Alain Gagnol, Florian Gallenberger, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Geeta Gandbhir, Cesc Gay, Tom Geens, Beatrice Gibson, Nitzan Gilady, Helena Girón, Amos Gitaï, Fabrice Gobert, Tim Godsall, David Gordon Green, Paul Gross, Guan Hu, Ciro Guerra, Davis Guggenheim, Meghna Gulzar, Patricio Guzmán, Ido Haar, Lucile Hadžihalilovic, Du Haibin, Andrew Haigh, Hermon Hailay, Grímur Hákonarson, Catherine Hardwicke, Sterlin Harjo, Owen Harris, Brian Helgeland, Oliver Hermanus, Gavin Hood, Tom Hooper, Patrick Horvath, Eva Husson, Nicholas Hytner, Anders Thomas Jensen, Brian D. Johnson, Duke Johnson, Evan Johnson, Kent Jones, Kahlil Joseph, Marie-Ève Juste, Tolga Karaçelik, Paul Katis, Charlie Kaufman, Shambhavi Kaul, Naomi Kawase, Yaelle Kayam, Alexandra-Therese Keining, Eric Khoo, Sebastian Ko, Sandra Kogut, Barbara Kopple, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Baltasar Kormákur, German Kral, Lars Kraume, Tim Kring, Joachim Lafosse, Patrice Laliberté, Yorgos Lanthimos, Hicham Lasri, Daniel Leconte, Emmanuel Leconte, Sherren Lee, Claude Lelouch, Michael Lennox, Mark Lewis, Sergei Loznitsa, Guy Maddin, Michael Mann, Pietro Marcello, Alejandra Márquez Abella, Justin Martinez, Gabriel Mascaro, Mai Masri, Erik Matti, Steven McCarthy, Tom McCarthy, Bruce McDonald, Sam McKeith, Tom McKeith, Julio Medem, Isiah Medina, Deepa Mehta, Piero Messina, Takashi Miike, Rebecca Miller, Roberto Minervini, Josh Mond, Caroline Monnet, Dito Montiel, Michael Moore, Jocelyn Moorhouse, Nanni Moretti, Radu Muntean, Ilya Naishuller, Pan Nalin, Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser, László Nemes, Morgan Neville, Eva Neymann, Gaspar Noé, Bahar Noorizadeh, Rufus Norris, Ryan J. Noth, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Kwon Oh-kwang, Marcel Ophüls, Louise Osmond, Luis Ospina, Ivan Ostrochovský, Stephen Page, Kire Paputts, Jennifer Peedom, Nicolás Pereda, Osgood Perkins, He Ping, Leanne Pooley, Natalie Portman, Corneliu Porumboiu, Robin Pront, Lucía Puenzo, Nicolás Puenzo, Radio Silence, Kazik Radwanski, Behrouz Rae, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Nick Read, Patrick Reed, Rob Reiner, Jason Reitman, Arturo Ripstein, Ben Rivers, Jay Roach, Ariel Rotter, Patricia Rozema, Rúnar Rúnarsson, Zack Russell, Seung-wan Ryoo, Adam Salky, Jeremy Saulnier, Matthew Saville, Mark Sawers, Lorene Scafaria, Elisabeth Scharang, Sebastian Schipper, Kerstin Schroedinger, Grant Scicluna, Ridley Scott, Florin Serban, Michelle Shephard, Howie Shia, Mina Shum, Nick Simon, Jeremy Sims, Hanna Sköld, Marko Skop, Mark Slutsky, Peter Sollett, Paolo Sorrentino, The Sporadic Film Collective, Simon Stone, Todd Strauss-Schulson, Thomas Stuber, Corin Sworn, Malgorzata Szumowska, Mika Taanila, Kimie Tanaka, Terrarea, Johnnie To, Pablo Trapero, Joachim Trier, Athina Rachel Tsangari, André Turpin, Yermek Tursunov, Jean-Marc Vallée, Joost van Ginkel, James Vanderbilt, Ana Vaz, Federico Veiroj, David Verbeek, Lorenzo Vigas, Denis Villeneuve, Magnus von Horn, Charlie Vundla, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Wim Wenders, Ben Wheatley, Alice Winocour, Frederick Wiseman, Anthony Wonke, Marcin Wrona, Leena Yadav, Zhang Yang, Martin Zandvliet, Shemi Zarhin, Yared Zeleke, Jia Zhang-ke, Christian Zübert, and Alan Zweig.

The following guests are expected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival:

Christopher Abbott, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Alon Aboutboul, Abdelkarim Abu Baraka, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Waris Ahluwalia, Anajosé Aldrete, Vladimir Alexis, Sarah Allen, Joan Allen, Mathieu Amalric, Robert Amjarv, Jesuthasan Antonythasan, Benjamin Arthur, Ascot Royals, Kate Ashley, Mohammed Assaf, Hiba Atallah, Qais Atallah, Kevin Bacon, Jag Bal, Sofia Banzhaf, Tara Lynn Barr, Drew Barrymore, Joel Basman, Sean Bean, Jonny Beauchamp, Monica Bellucci, Tim Beresford, Bernardo Bernardo, The Big Sound, Luke Bilyk, Rougalta Bintou Saleh, Emily Blunt, Alexis Bonogofsky, Devon Bostick, Rachida Brakni, Adrien Brody, Erika Brodzky, Josh Brolin, Bruce Peninsula, Daniel Brühl, Sandra Bullock, Lindsay Burdge, Emil Buschow, Oskar Buschow, Will Butler, Win Butler, Rose Byrne, Michael Caine, Deragh Campbell, Michael Caton, Josh Charles, Régine Chassagne, Jessica Chastain, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Ricardo Chavira, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Suzanne Clément, Kristine Cofsky, Emory Cohen, Toni Collette, Common, Tom Courtenay, Bryan Cranston, John Lloyd Cruz, Penélope Cruz, Jimena Cuarón, Matt Damon, Jeff Daniels, Mackenzie Davis, Benicio Del Toro, Monica Deol, Johnny Depp, Rajshri Deshpande, Tommy Dewey, Agyness Deyn, Steve Dhillon, Fariborz David Diaan, Sarah Jane Dias, Garret Dillahunt, Ma-Anne Dionisio, David Disher, Ryan Donnelly, Jean Dujardin, Willonson Duprate, Francesca Eastwood, Joel Edgerton, Jean Romane Edmond, Dennis Edney, Patricia Edney, Jesse Eisenberg, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Carmen Ejogo, Idris Elba, Viss Elliot Safavi, Greg Ellis, Cary Elwes, Elle Fanning, Feng Xiaogang, Dominic Flores, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Ben Foster, Jeremy Gara, Gael García Bernal, Maxim Gaudette, Filip Geljo, Jasmin Geljo, Greta Gerwig, Domhnall Gleeson, Donald Glover, Cad Gold Jr., Caroline Goodall, John Goodman, Topher Grace, Greg Grunberg, Pavleen Gujral, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hardy, Allan Hawco, Ethan Hawke, Salma Hayek, Liam Hemsworth, Aksel Hennie, Tom Hiddleston, Randeep Hooda, Sacha Horler, Christine Horne, Nicholas Hoult, Patrick Huard, Rhys Ifans, Reef Ireland, Jeremy Irons, Jeremy Irvine, Christopher Jacot, Stephan James, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Connor Jessup, Wang Jiajia, Jillea, Harvey Keitel, Anna Kendrick, Richard Kerr, Irrfan Khan, Kirin Kiki, Jack Kilmer, Tim Kingsbury, Burghart Klaußner, Naomi Klein, Johannes Krisch, Diane Kruger, Peter Kurth, Kutiman, Shia LaBeouf, Karen Lamassonne, Martin Landau, Caleb Landry Jones, Diane Lane, Brie Larson, Gilles Lellouche, Alban Lenoir, Dave Liang, Marilyn Lima, Maša Lizdek, Kayla Lorette, Yo-Yo Ma and members of the Silk Road Ensemble, Amrit Maghera, Anushka Manchanda, Kate Mara, Jackson Martin, Steve Martin, Rachel McAdams, Anthony McCoy, Katelyn McKerracher, Chad McKinney, Baya Medhaffer, Alyx Melone, Tyler Messick, Dounia Mikou, Helen Mirren, Susan Misner, Jessica Mitchell, Reece Moffett, Roland Møller, Ali Momen, Julianne Moore, Elisabeth Moss, Sandhya Mridul, Axelle Munezero, William Nadylam, Jean Baptiste Nazaire, Navid Negahban, Sophie Nélisse, Cynthia Nixon, Tom Noonan, Dean Norris, Kim Novak, Michael Nyqvist, Chris O'Dowd, Alvaro Ogalla, Dean O'Gorman, Elizabeth Olsen, David Oyelowo, Ellen Page, Hunter Page-Lochard, Dev Patel, Michael Peña, Ron Perlman, Terry Pheto, Christopher Plummer, Clémence Poésy, Imogen Poots, Keith Poulson, Tara Pratt, Princess Shaw, Ahmad Qassim, Dennis Quaid, Eddie Redmayne, Richard Reed Perry, Callum Keith Rennie, Ryan Reynolds, Keith Richards, Julian Richings, Emma Roberts, Nick Robinson, Sam Rockwell, Scott Rodger, Géza Röhrig, Sandro Romero, Saoirse Ronan, Chloe Rose, Sakis Rouvas, Louis Roux, Geoffrey Rush, Andrew Ryder, Alain Saadeh, Gia Sandhu, Susan Sarandon, Morgan Saylor, Aliocha Schneider, Matthias Schoenaerts, Mike Scott, Nick Serino, Gingger Shankar, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, Kiernan Shipka, Sarah Silverman, J.K. Simmons, Julia Simpson, Goran Slavkovic, Sarah Snook, Sebastian Stan, Kristen Stewart, Patrick Stewart, Yunfan Sun, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Rossif Sutherland, Theo Tams, Juno Temple, David Thewlis, Tory N. Thompson, River Tiber, Karelle Tremblay, Jacob Tremblay, Ulrike C. Tscharre, Peter Vack, Marine Vacth, Chantal Vaillancourt, Erwin Van Cotthem, Željko Veljkovic, Alicia Vikander, Vinay Virmani, Christopher Walken, Michaela Watkins, Naomi Watts, Matt Watts, Andy Weir, Rachel Weisz, Chase Williamson, Rachel Wilson, Kate Winslet, Letitia Wright, Fouad Yammine, Anton Yelchin, Odessa Young, Zhao Tao, and Elsa Zylberstein.

Time to start figuring out what films you want to see or your favourite filmmakers or celebrities because they will be all over the place in Toronto very soon.

Fore more info:

Purchase Festival ticket packages until August 26 while quantities last. Individual tickets are on sale from Sunday, September 6 to Sunday, September 20. Purchase packages and tickets online 24 hours a day at tiff.net/festival, by phone at 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433.

Festival Box Office, located at 225 King Street West, opens on August 25. TIFF prefers Visa.

Social Media:
@TIFF_NET
#TIFF15
Facebook.com/TIFF

TIFF is 40 and fabulous

TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) celebrates it's 40th year as one of the biggest film festivals in the world.  This year TIFF15 is celebrating the past while looking into the future.

At the Tiff press conference they announced some of the galas and special presentations coming to the festival this year.

There will be approx 300 films at the festival this year and some free programming to celebrate their 40th anniversary as well.

They released some of the upcoming film presentations and I looked through the list and picked out some of the ones I am looking forward to seeing.

Will see how many I actually get to see.  It's always tough to see everything you want because of scheduling but I will try and see some of these if I can.

Opening Night Film

Demolition

Jean-Marc Vallée, USA World Premiere In Demolition, a successful investment banker, Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal), struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. Despite pressure from his father-in-law (Chris Cooper) to pull it together, Davis continues to unravel. What starts as a complaint letter to a vending machine company turns into a series of letters revealing startling personal admissions. Davis’ letters catch the attention of customer service rep Karen (Naomi Watts) and, amidst emotional and financial burdens of her own, the two strangers form an unlikely connection. With the help of Karen and her son (Judah Lewis), Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.

The Dressmaker

 Jocelyn Moorhouse, Australia World Premiere Based on the best-selling novel by Rosalie Ham, The Dressmaker is a bittersweet, comedy-drama set in early 1950s Australia. After many years working as a dressmaker in exclusive Parisian fashion houses, Tilly Dunnage, a beautiful and talented misfit, returns home to the tiny middle-of-nowhere town of Dungatar to right the wrongs of the past. Not only does she reconcile with her ailing, eccentric mother Molly, and unexpectedly falls in love with the pure-hearted Teddy, but armed with her sewing machine and incredible sense of style, Tilly sets out to right the wrongs of the past and transforms the women of the town but encounters unexpected romance along the way. Starring Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Judy Davis and Hugo Weaving.

Freeheld

 Peter Sollett, USA World Premiere

Based on the Oscar-winning documentary and adapted by the writer of Philadelphia, Freeheld is the true love story of Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree and their fight for justice. A decorated New Jersey police detective, Laurel is diagnosed with cancer and wants to leave her hard-earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie. However the county officials — the Freeholders — conspire to prevent Laurel from doing so. Hard-nosed detective Dane Wells and activist Steven Goldstein come together in Laurel and Stacie’s defense, rallying police officers and ordinary citizens to support their struggle for equality. Starring Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon and Steve Carell.

The Martian

 Ridley Scott, USA World Premiere During a manned mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, The Martian features a star-studded cast that includes Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.

The Danish Girl

 Tom Hooper, United Kingdom North American Premiere The Danish Girl is the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener (portrayed by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Misérables). Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

The Family Fang

 Jason Bateman, USA World Premiere Annie and Baxter Fang have spent most of their adult lives trying to distance themselves from their famous artist parents. But when both siblings find themselves stalled in life, they return home for the first time in a decade where they become entangled in a dark mystery surrounding their parents’ disappearance. Jason Bateman directs and stars, along with co-stars Nicole Kidman and Christopher Walken, in this film based on the New York Times bestseller.

The Lobster

 Yorgos Lanthimos, Ireland/United Kingdom/Greece/France/Netherlands North American Premiere In a dystopian near future, single people are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days or are transformed into animals and released into the woods. Starring Colin Farrell, Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Léa Seydoux and Ben Whishaw.

Spotlight

Tom McCarthy, USA International Premiere

Spotlight tells the true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delves into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston's religious, legal, and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world. Starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci, Brian d’Arcy James and Billy Crudup.

Youth

 Paolo Sorrentino, Italy/France/United Kingdom/Switzerland North American Premiere Youth explores the lifelong bond between two friends vacationing in a luxury Swiss Alps lodge as they ponder retirement. While Fred (Michael Caine) has no plans to resume his musical career despite the urging of his daughter Lena (Rachel Weisz), Mick (Harvey Keitel) is intent on finishing the screenplay for what may be his last film for his muse Brenda (Jane Fonda). And where will inspiration lead their younger friend Jimmy (Paul Dano), an actor grasping to make sense of his next performance? From Italy’s Oscar-winning foreign language film writer and director Paolo Sorrentino, Youth asks if our most important and life-changing experiences can come at any time — even late — in life.

Purchase Festival ticket packages online 24 hours a day at tiff.net/festival, by phone from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET daily at 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433, or visit the Gupta Box Office at TIFF Bell Lightbox in person from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET daily at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West, until August 26 while quantities last.

Social Media:

@TIFF_NET

#TIFF15

Facebook.com/TIFF

www.tiff.net