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Oct 17, 2002 - CBC Information Morning Interview

Cheap Eats in Toronto

Alexandra Clark interviewed by
Paul Castle of CBC Saint John's Information Morning

to hear Alexandra's interview with Paul Castle of CBC's Information Morning - go to www.nb.cbc.ca/saintjohn/realinterviews.html and scroll down to October 17th - Cheap Eats in Toronto

For more information and to schedule interviews, contact press@cheapeatstoronto.com

New Restaurant Guide Features over 50 Queen Street Eateries

What's on Queen July/August Issue

New Restaurant Guide Features over 50 Queen Street Eateries

by Lucy Taylor

Connoisseurs of quality cuisine on a recession budget are in for a real treat. Now in bookstores, cheapeats toronto 2002 is the first restaurant guide of its kind in Canada. Restaurants are reviewed not just by professionals, but by patrons throughout Toronto who have added their critiques and praises. Additional recommendations were made by celebrities, including Pamela Wallin, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Mike Bullard. Submissions were contributed through the Cheapeats website (www.cheapeatstoronto.com) and through contacting the publishing house directly.

The brainchild behind this innovative "frugal food guide" is publisher Alexa Clark.

"I had the idea about six years ago when I purchased a Toronto restaurant guide and realized that most of the restaurants were what I considered to be very expensive. At the time I was in a management position in a large IT company, and had to eat out at least four times a week. I simply couln't afford to eat at most places more than once every couple of months. That is when I started budgeting my price range - breakfast for under $5, lunch for under $10, dinner for $15".

Alexa later started her own consulting company, and was often taking clients out for dinner. Entertaining clients was expensive work, so she started researching places that were of excellent quality, yet had affordable prix fixe specials or reasonable deals.

"I wanted a guide to 'cheap eats' in Toronto, no one put a comprehensive one out - so I did. I know that sounds flip, but it's true. I'd been keeping a list of places to try, spots that friends recommmended, and places I liked - and realized these tips were the start of a restaurant guide I had been waiting for. I knew I had to go ahead and do it myself."

Althought cheapeats is a guide about affordable food, Alexa spared no expense when it came to production values.

The book is 6.5" X 8.5", and 95 pages. It has a durable full-colour cover, and the unique photo was especially designed by food photographer Michael Visser. It includes over 300 restaurant profiles, a listing of restaurants by cuisine, a listing of restaurants by neighbourhood, celebrity cheapeat recommendations, an alphabetical listing of the restaurant profiles, and details outlining hours, address, phone number, website (if there is one), type of cuisine, neighbourhood, and closest TTC stops. In addition, the guide provides ratings for budget, food quality, cleanliness adn style.

Cheapeats also uses icons to denote features like smoking/no smoking, patio, vegetarian options available, open after 2am, licensed, full tummy, only 19+, and friendly service.

"Each of our contributors incorporate their own style, background, and dining habits into the profiles, which are based on their personal experiences and impression of the restaurants visited."

cheapeats 2002 is currently available in Book City locations across Toronto, as well as Queen West's Pages, The Cookbook Store, in Yorkville and at The Riverdale Perk Cafe near the Danforth. Additional locations acreoss Toronto are advertised on the cheapeats website.

Queen Street is a dining Mecca and Alexa has her favourites, "I love Terroni, Gypsy Co-op and Java House, to name a few." Most of the queen Street reviews were submitted by What's on Queen editor and food writer Yvonne Desjardins.

"Yvonne is a major contributor to this book, " says Alexa, "participating not only in providing over 40 restaurant profiles, but also proofing many of the other contributors' submissions. I love her writing, and her profiles provide a great feel for the restaurants, their food, and the owners. It was, and is, a great pleasure to be working with Yvonne. I would also like to add that the other seven contributos have also worked really hard to find interesting restaurants and ahve written some very compelling profiles. Big thanks to Ann, Gerry, Jeff, Philip, Sarah, Tana, Umber, our team of proofers, our designer Dana and our photographer Michael... withou them this book wouldn't exist!"

Cheapeats Launches

Summer 2002 Release

cheapeats toronto 2002 by Alexa Clark ($10.95) celebrated it's release on Thursday July 18th at the Riverdale Perk. It has been well received and is available at Pages, the Cookbook store and various Book City locations across Toronto, Ontario.

cheapeats toronto 2002 can also be ordered by mail directly from Plethora Press, send an email to mailorder@plethorapress.com to find out how.

July 17, 2002 - Cheapeats Toronto- Toronto’s Guide to Good, Inexpensive Restaurants Celebrates Book Launch

MEDIA ALERT - For Immediate Release

Cheapeats Toronto - Toronto's Guide to Good, Inexpensive Restaurants Celebrates Book Launch

Put your credit card away! Cheapeats Toronto, the “Every Man” guide to dinning in Toronto, has arrived. Local celebrities, contributors, restaurateurs, and fellow foodies will join author and publisher, Alexa Clark, to celebrate the official book launch on Thursday, July 18, at the Riverdale Perk 7:30 p.m.

It’s time for the restaurant guide that lists cheap eats in Toronto: Breakfast for 5 bucks, Lunch & Brunch for $10 and of course Dinner for $15. Yes these places actually exist!

Toronto is overrun with restaurant guidebooks. They’re available in all sizes shapes and styles. The problem is, they all focus on the same restaurants, the trendy, the expensive and the gourmet.

Cheapeats Toronto lists over 300 places to eat good, inexpensive food in Toronto. Including where to get a great lunch for under $10 in Yorkville, and how to get to that funky little brunch place in the west end.

You are invited to join author Alexa Clark to celebrate the arrival of Cheapeats Toronto. Exciting photo opportunities, local celebrities and advanced copies of Cheapeats Toronto will be on hand fresh from the restaurants and fresh off the press.

Where: The Riverdale Perk – 633 Logan, between Gerrard and Danforth.

When: Thursday July 18, 2002 Between 7:30pm and 10:30 pm

For more information and to schedule interviews, please contact Cara Graham - cara@plethorapress.com

This event sponsored in part by Upper Canada Brewing

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