Good eats at Luminato

Luminato, the brilliant festival of arts and creativity that descends on our fair burg at this time of year, leaves no sense unturned in its efforts to showcase local talent. The President’s Choice 1000 Tastes of Toronto pulls back the checkered tablecloth on an array of tastebud-tickling treats—and offers them up for purchase at a pretty nice price, too.

The closing weekend of the festival, which runs June 11 to 20, plays host to the culinary component, wherein festival-goers can wander among a veritable cornucopia of restaurant offerings, and score themselves a whack of pretty tasty foodie experiences for a mere $5 a shot.

Some 65 restaurants are participating in 1000 Tastes, each serving up a single dish (some offering more to accommodate vegetarian spins on a theme) for a fin.

Among them, find Big Papa Trattoria, a nine-year-old Italian restaurant with locations in Etobicoke, Oakville and Newmarket. Owner Ajai Bhumri, who participated in 2009 (and was frustrated with the one-dish restriction), will sell rigatoni diavolo, penne primavera, and veal cutlet and Italian hot sausage paninis.

“It was such a great experience last year,” says Bhumri. “It was fun, we were getting exposure with people who didn’t know about us, there was dancing going on in front of us all the while, and it was just lovely.”

1000 Tastes of Toronto takes place June 19-20 at the roundabout of Queen’s Park.