“Our ability to picnic freely has been constrained by draconian rules”

Dear reader,

In this week’s edition of Table Talk: a Q&A with a Toronto business owner proposing a new municipal holiday that would commemorate legal park-drinking, a monthy supper club held in a top-secret location, wine-spiked cocktails that are nothing like your student-era sangria, and what’s on the menu at the Financial District’s fancy new French spot.

Yesterday marked the beginning of a new chapter for the city of Toronto: we can now drink alcoholic beverages in (some) parks (until Thanksgiving)! A local business owner wants to commemorate the occasion with a municipal holiday called Picnic Day. “Our ability to picnic freely has been constrained by draconian rules,” says Ben Leszcz, co-ower of Wilda, a line of canned spritzes. He told us how the city’s new pilot program could strengthen our social fabric and why it’s not just about getting sloshed.

Realizing that a life of working in the restaurant industry wasn’t for her, chef Ayah Hanafieh started Oui Aïa, a monthly supper club that she runs out of her downtown condo (the location of which is revealed to guests only after they purchase tickets).

Sangria doesn’t require a lot of skill or special ingredients: wine, juice, spirits, fruit. It’s basically a clean-out-the-fridge drink. But, this summer, the city’s bartenders have conjured up some sangria-like concoctions that raise the cocktail to new heights.

After closing Splendido in 2009, Yannick Bigourdan focused on opening more casual spots, like The Carbon Bar and Amano Trattoria. With Lucie, his fancy new French restaurant in the Financial District (the kind of place with a Champagne cart), Bigourdan has finessed his way back onto the fine-dining scene.

TikTok turned Josh Richards from an ordinary small-town teen into a multimillionaire, CEO and venture capitalist—and he’s still only 21 years old. In this issue, how to make a fortune via bedroom eyes, 10-second lip syncs and a signature ’do. Plus, a nostalgic trip to Ontario Place, the best roadside diners, a shocking bio dad discovery story, and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.