How to pick it

Look for a firm skin with no soft or mouldy parts or bruises. Don’t worry if the colour isn’t uniform or if there are some barnacle-like splotches on them. A squash doesn’t need refrigeration – it can last for weeks when stored in a cool dark place.

How to cook it

“Your choices are either roasting or boiling,” says Kalisperas. “But when you boil it, it becomes really soggy and hard to work with unless you’re puréeing it into a soup. Even then you have to add a lot of flavour to it.”

That’s why he prefers roasting (for the home cook, it’s 400°F for 45 minutes to an hour). “When roasted, it becomes more flavourful since the natural sugars caramelize. I’ve never tried a raw squash, but I imagine it’d just dry your mouth out.”

Squash: 4 ways

Buttercup squash tart

The buttercup squash is best characterized as a little green pumpkin with the occasional splotch of bright orange on the skin. When you splice it open you’ll see that seeds take up most of the inside, so if you want to make a soup, Kalisperas says it’s better to opt for the butternut squash, which has a higher flesh-to-seeds ratio.

The chef roasts and purées the squash with eggs, garlic, salt, and pepper to make a savoury custard. He then pours it into a mini-piecrust, bakes it and then finishes it with a horseradish cream.

“The cream was made by whipping 35 per cent cream and ground horseradish, but if you don’t want to do that at home, you can just mix sour cream and horseradish,” he says.

Sweet dumpling squash crostini

“If you’re entertaining and want something quick and simple, a crostini is the way to go,” he says. “I wanted to move away from a bruschetta since it’s fall, so I replaced tomatoes with squash.”

The roasted squash is simply peeled, puréed, mixed with grated parmesan, salt and pepper and spread on pieces of grilled bread that’ve been brushed with olive oil and salt. Kalisperas then adds slices of lardo (cured pork fat), puts them back into the oven for 30 seconds to slightly melt it, and finally garnishes them with more cheese, some basil leaves and drops of a nice balsamic vinegar.

The slightly melted pork fat blankets the squash for a salty finish, and the basil and vinegar add a fresh pop to the first bite.

Stuffed acorn squash

The peculiar ridges of the acorn squash make it look like a Christmas ornament, so why not show off its cool shape by serving it whole?

Kalisperas slices it in half, removes the seeds and rubs it with salt, pepper, curry powder and grape seed oil.

“Don’t use olive oil when roasting a squash,” he says. “Use a grape seed or canola oil because olive oil will begin to smoke when you’re roasting it at high temperatures.”

The roasted squash is then stuffed with an earthy mixture of wild rice and foraged mushrooms like hen of the woods and cinnamon caps. A curried yogurt drizzle adds a contrasting tartness to the mushrooms and rice while some fried Brussels sprout leaves on top add a crispy garnish.

Pepper squash dipping sauce

The starchy nature of squash lends itself well to making thick dipping sauces.

“Remember to add a bit of butter or cream when puréeing squash or else it won’t be as smooth,” Kalisperas says. “This squash caramelizes really nicely when you roast it, and after blending it, toss in some blue cheese and a bit of maple syrup for a squash dipping sauce.”

Kalisperas pairs this sweet and cheesy sauce with sweetbreads, but you can try it with chicken wings or fries.

All photos by David Laurence

Don't miss: What about the leftover pumpkins?

Show off your carved creations one last time on the weekend after Halloween at one of many pumpkin parades happening across the city after sundown. Here’s how it works: bring your jack-o’-lantern, place it with the others and enjoy the eerie sight of hundreds of glowing gourds.

Here’s where you can join the pumpkin parade.

Earlscourt Park (St. Clair West and Lansdowne), Saturday, 6:30 pm

Kew Gardens (Queen East and Lee), Saturday, 6:30 pm

Withrow Park (Danforth and Carlaw), Saturday, 6:30 pm

St. James Park (King East and Jarvis), Saturday, 5:30 pm

Mimico Square (Amos Waites Park, Mimico and Lake Shore West), Saturday, 6 pm

Moncur Park (Coxwell and Gerrard), Sunday, 6:30 pm

East Lynn Park (Danforth and Woodbine), Saturday, 6:30 pm

Sorauren Park (Roncesvalles and Wabash), Saturday, sundown

Dallington Park (Sheppard East and Shaughnessy), Saturday, 6 pm

Vine Parkette (Dundas West and Quebec), Saturday, 5 pm

Wondering what to do with your jack-o’-lantern after Halloween? You can chop it up and bury it in the yard to enrich the soil or toss it in the compost heap or green bin. Don’t eat the pumpkin – the flesh has dried out and probably isn’t all that clean after sitting exposed for a few days. And whatever you do, don’t leave it in the house – a decaying pumpkin can stain the floors.

Queen East and Carlaw

While Leslieville doesn’t have the hustle and bustle of its west-end counterpart, this intersection has become an ideal dining destination in recent years, with high and low options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The area even boasts one of the city’s best pulled pork sandwiches served out of a gas station.

In the morning, a latte at Mercury Espresso (915 Queen East) is in order, while at lunch the adjacent Delica Kitchen (913 Queen East) serves up made-to-order sandwiches to go. Want to sit down? The adorable Back of House restaurant (181A Carlaw) in what was once a garage serves up a juicy chuck burger stuffed with oxtail.

At dinner, Glas Wine Bar (1118 Queen East) a few steps eastward specializes in locally sourced ingredients, while the spacious Skin + Bones (980 Queen East) is ideal for wine lovers and large groups (also for weekend brunch).

Across the street finds the busiest gas station in the city: Leslieville Pumps (929 Queen East), where you can get a wonderfully messy beef brisket sandwich slathered in house-made barbecue sauce (plus baked treats for dessert). Of course, no Leslieville trip is complete without a visit to Ed’s Real Scoop (920 Queen East) for its Mercury Espresso coffee ice cream.

Dundas West and Euclid

It wasn’t too long ago that this intersection was a derelict strip void of good food options. But now places like Porchetta & Co. (825 Dundas West) have people coming in from all over (including Anthony Bourdain).

The shop does one thing and one thing spectacularly: pungent, garlicky, slow-cooked pork with bits of crunchy crackling on top sandwiched between a fluffy white bun.

Next door is chocolate-maker Odile Chocolat (829 Dundas West), which offers beautiful chocolates with unorthodox flavours like a Bollywood-themed truffle spiced with cardamom and a Canadian specialty, wild black trumpet mushroom.

Right at the streetcar stop, look for Campagnolo (832 Dundas West), which just expanded its hours to open for dinner every day – good news for fans of chef Craig Harding’s signature spaghetti all’amatriciana and roasted grapes with burrata cheese on toasted bread.

Hudson Kitchen (800 Dundas West) also hits the spot at dinnertime as chef Robbie Hojilla mixes elegant fine-dining plates with a straight-up fried chicken sandwich on brioche with adobo mayo.

A little further down you can also check out Susur Lee’s Bent (777 Dundas West) for Asian-inspired bites and cocktails. For an unusual brunch, hop over to Patois (794 Dundas West) for fried chicken and Hong Kong-style egg waffles.

Happening

On Friday (October 31), show up to a Chipotle in your Halloween regalia from 5 pm to close and get an order of tacos, a burrito, bowl or salad for $3 as part of its annual Boorito campaign. Proceeds from the night are donated to Second Harvest.

Opening

There’s the saying that when one restaurant closes, another opens. Since closing Swish by Han in Old Town, the Han brothers are back at it with another snack bar called Hanmoto (2 Lakeview, at Dundas West), just a short walk away from their other snack bar Oddseoul on Ossington. Construction at what they describe as a “Nipponese snack shack” is ongoing.

Little Fin, a takeout seafood spot from the people behind the adjacent Chase and the Chase Fish & Oyster, has opened in the Dineen Building at 4 Temperance (at Yonge, littlefin.ca). The shop specializes in fried and grilled fish sandwiches (salmon, tuna, mahi mahi, haddock); lobster, shrimp and crab rolls, as well as take-home lobster dinners.

Replacing the recently closed Paese on King West’s restaurant row is Parlor Foods (333 King West, at John). Its site (parlorfoods.com) describes the menu being “inspired by the landscape of Canada,” with lunch and dinner focused on local or foraged seasonal ingredients. Expect charcuterie, pickles and preserves made in house.

The finishing touches are being put on Italian restaurant Ovest Cucina (788 King West, at Tecumseth). The menu will feature charcuterie, house-made pasta and pizza. Follow @Ovest_TO on Twitter for updates.

A few steps eastward is the recently opened Her Majesty’s Pleasure (hermajestyspleasure.ca), a nail bar and café at the bottom of the incoming Fashion House condo (556 King West, at Spadina). Right next door, Wilbur Mexicana (552 King West, at Spadina, wilburmexicana.com) is very close to opening.

Closing

Acclaimed British-style restaurant the Grove (1214 Dundas West, at Dovercourt, thegroveto.com) announced that November 15 is its last day of service.

After less than a year, Ezra Pound’s hummusia offshoot S. Lefkowitz (913 Dundas West, at Bellwoods) has closed. Owner Ezra Braves says he plans on serving S. Lefkowitz’s menu in the evenings at the Dupont location of Ezra’s Pound (238 Dupont, at Spadina, ezraspound.com) but has no set launch date. As for the S. Lefkowitz space, Braves says he hasn’t decided what to do with it yet.

Know of any openings, closings, or anyone who dressed as sexy poutine for Halloween? Email food@nowtoronto.com

Toronto’s strength is its diversity. The same variety that defines our culture and inspires our cuisine is rapidly defining our city’s international appeal. With a staggering number of new bars having opened in the past few years and plenty more to come, it’s hard to keep up. For now, here are four of the best new spots to catch a buzz.

1) Rush Lane

The name and facade pay tribute to Queen West’s network of graffiti alleys, but the interior aesthetic – modern, masculine and polished – is far from gritty. 

The in-house bar lab, equipped with high-tech tools like a rotary evaporator, centrifuge and Cline Bell ice machine (which freezes 300- pound clear ice blocks that are then cut and pressed into perfect spheres to order), is testament to how seriously Rush Lane takes its drinks. 

Kill any instant association with unsmiling bar brats in lab coats, though – Rush Lane’s emphasis on experimentation stems from the same genuine, passionate approach it takes to all aspects of service: engaging hospitality, deftly executed drinks and delicious plates from chef Christopher Scott in a fun (sometimes rowdy) atmosphere.

Hours Daily 5 pm to 2 am.

Access No barrier at the door, washrooms on main floor.

2) LoPan

503 College, 647-341-8882, dailoto.com

I’m sick of the term “speakeasy,” but I’ll forever be in love with the concept of nondescript places to drink. LoPan, stacked on top of high-profile DaiLo, isn’t hard to find if you know what you’re looking for – which in this case are bar manager Shane Mulvany’s Asian-inspired cocktails and yum cha reinterpreted as bar snacks by chef Nick Liu. 

Lofty ceilings and lavish details – turquoise walls accented with gold, leather banquettes, stylized fixtures strung above the bar – almost make you feel like you’re an esteemed guest in the Big Boss’s private lair. 

The new fall cocktail menu features boozy delights designed to warm you from the inside out. The Ichi-Go, Ichi-E (nori-infused Bowmore scotch, Lillet Blanc and roasted barley tea, $16) brilliantly plays with the seaside characteristics of its Islay Scotch base while soothing hyper-complex flavours with Lillet.

Hours Tuesday to Saturday 6 pm to 2 am. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Access Up a flight of steep stairs to LoPan (separate entrance beside DaiLo), washrooms also upstairs.

304 Richmond West, 416-551-9221, tbto.ca

Opened less than two months ago by childhood friends Ariel Copeland and Jacob Fox (chef and maître d’ respectively), Thoroughbred brings some much-needed soul to an otherwise not so entertaining district. The relaxed tri-level bar and restaurant caters to the lunch crowd, post-work drinkers and diners and, on weekends, party people. 

The bar – run by Brendan Schätti (Origin, Oddseoul) – is the best seat in the house. Schätti and the bar team fix killer drinks – be it a house signature like the Cadillac Chrome (Tromba Blanco, fresh pineapple, lime, passion fruit syrup, salted Campari and hellfire shrub, $13) or classic cocktails à la Louisiane or La Floridita Daiquiri.

Hours Tuesday to Friday 11:30 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 2 am, Saturday 5 pm to 2 am. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Access Up five stairs to entrance, washrooms on main floor.

4) The Gaslight

1426 Bloor West

A warm beacon along the drowsy leg of Bloor between Lansdowne and Dundas, the Gaslight is a joint labour of love from two veteran bartenders, Megan Jones (Reposado, County General, Bar Chef) and Tim Pritchard (Communist’s Daughter). 

Opened just over a month ago in the former Zocalo space, the Gaslight already emits the welcoming vibe of a long-standing local. The dim light of flickering candles and vintage sconces is a perfect complement to the bar’s understated beauty. A walnut drop-ceiling inlaid with old tin, gorgeous custom woodwork and a mural reproducing a vintage pineapple ad set a chill scene for pints and tasty snacks like roast beef croque monsieur and broccoli poutine. 

Despite Jones’s reputation as a talented drink-smith, the Gaslight is decidedly not a cocktail bar (though cocktails available by the glass and pitcher are available and predictably delicious). She and Pritchard just wanted a low-key hangout where they could entertain neighbourhood guests and friends – a suitable goal for two of the most genuinely hospitable bartenders in the city.

Hours 5 pm to 2 am daily.

Access No barrier at the door, washrooms in basement.

Good things come in threes. After three years of working together at Salt on Ossington, David Huynh, Nick Kennedy and Cole Stanford – who have been in the industry for 13, eight and seven years respectively – decided it was time to branch out on their own.

Fittingly, it only took them three months to settle on a space – a onetime hookah bar, grocery store and fish market near Bloor and Ossington, in a building constructed in 1912.

They arrived at the concept – a fun, unpretentious bar with great cocktails and a spotlight on service – and the name Civil Liberties. The sign, erected a few weeks ago, is a golden pineapple, the international symbol of hospitality.

The reality of any small business is finite funds. The three partners have done almost all of the demolition, drywall and framing themselves. 

Regulars from their days at Salt have helped, too – inviting the proprietors over for dinner, hauling grimy buckets of clay out of the basement, dropping off vintage glassware and plumbing the entire building for next to nothing.

Working an average of 12- to 14-hour days (Thanksgiving was their first day off in five months), the trio has dealt with many challenges – deciphering the building code, mishaps with that fickle substance known as epoxy and getting kicked out of the dump for accidentally releasing a giant cloud of plaster dust.

It will all be worth it once Civil Liberties opens its doors – hopefully next month.

What drove you guys to open up your own spot?

NK This is an opportunity to do exactly what we want.

CS Full creative control.

Tell me about the concept.

NK The word we often go back to is a fun – and modern – bar. We probably won’t do much table service because we want people to engage with us but also with one another.

Another thing we talked about is kindness over coldness. You’re not going to get judged over what you want to drink and how you’re going to drink it.

How will you feel when you open?

CS Usually, when you start to see the end of the road you think, “Oh shit! I actually own a business.” I don’t think any of us feel that way. We just want to get back to doing what we do.

NK We joke about how we went from measuring things in ounces to measuring things in tons. Going back to measuring things in ounces is very, very appealing. 

The owners of Rush Lane – Alexis Arrowsmith, Brett Klyszejko, Doug Twigger, Simon Hooper and Jordan Bushell (also the brand ambassador for Hennessy in the U.S) – are a diverse group of professional barmen who happen to see eye to eye.

The idea existed long before they’d pinpointed an ideal space, the old Hot Wings on Queen near Portland, and opened Rush Lane last July.

The contemporary space has a raised platform furnished with a leather couch, fish tank and wall of records, imparting a homey vibe.

The in-house lab – outfitted with a rotary evaporator unique to Toronto’s bar scene – enables the partners to be “unencumbered by convention,” as Bushell puts it.

The bar program is playful and progressive, using ingredients like beet grenadine and malic acid; cocktails like the Vieux Carré are offered on tap. The owners take a perfectionist approach, measuring ingredients with digital meters and scales to ensure consistency and constantly experimenting to improve on existing drinks.

“We wanted to build a bar that we would actually drink at… and we do,” says Hooper. 

What made you want to open your own spot?

SH You get to a point where you need to go out on your own and make a run at it, and Toronto is on the brink of a boom.

What’s the concept/philosophy behind your bar?

JB We wanted a marriage of excellent offerings in a fun, approachable space where you can start a night or end it. 

Rush Lane has lots of amazing toys. Is experimentation an integral part of the bar’s ethos?

SH Yes! Everything in the lab is used in the [research and development] side of our programs. Every single cocktail is meticulously thought out and executed. We don’t wing anything. We use the lab during the day, so at night it’s all about the customer.

What’s the most rewarding part about finally throwing open the doors?

SH Seeing something that you have put your blood, sweat and soul into come alive. It’s our baby.

JB Seeing the looks on friends’ and families’ faces when they stepped in and saw the space, tasted the food and cocktails and partied with us all night. 

How would you describe your personal style or approach behind the bar?

SH Cheeky but professional. I like to keep the fun in bartending. 

JB Hospitality first. We like to make people feel at home at our bar. 

Whether it’s tossing bottles, hand-chipping bespoke ice cubes, lighting things on fire or orchestrating a fluid “dance” behind the wood, the visible effort bartenders put into their craft is not just for nerdy self-satisfaction. The spectacle is for you, dear drinker. It may range from the subtle to the flashy, but theatre contributes to a quintessential bar experience.