Latest news with #Briscola
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Sentimental style
Robbins Griffith was inspired by her late bubbi's design aesthetic. She had her home professionally photographed to preserve her endearing style. JESS DYBENKO Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Nostalgic, layered, and full of heart – grandmacore is bringing back the beauty of lived-in spaces with stories to tell This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Some of my fondest memories are at my Sicilian grandparents' house– the scent of tomato sauce simmering all Sunday afternoon, my Nonna seated at their Mahogony dining table schooling the patriarchs of the family at a game of Briscola – Italian card game – and the burn on my legs from sitting too long on their plastic-covered furniture. Their living room perfectly preserved. Handmade dollies on every surface. Cabinets full of fancy teacups (which I happily inherited), glasses and dinnerware, only brought out on the rarest of occasions. A space so layered with texture, narrative, and love, it was like a living scrapbook. That cosy, eclectic look (minus the plastic!) that is synonymous with our grandparents' house is back with a new name and fresh perspective. Grandmacore. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It's not just a trend, it's a warm pushback against the minimalism look that has persisted for so long. And after years of blank slates, there's something deeply grounding about a space that remembers where it came from. That's the quiet power of grandmacore. It's not just a style but a feeling—a response to years of simple spaces and fast-furniture fatigue. Where minimalism prizes restraint, grandmacore embraces tenderness. It leans into memory, into texture, into story. And clearly, it's striking a chord. According to Pinterest's internal data, searches for grandmacore rose by 48 per cent globally in Q2 of 2025 compared to the same period last year. The surge reflects a growing desire for comfort-forward design with emotional resonance. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Even designers are gravitating towards it, reinterpreting the aesthetic with fresh eyes. 'Grandmacore is rooted in nostalgia, but that doesn't mean it has to feel outdated,' says Toronto-based designer Tiffany Leigh of Tiffany Leigh Design. 'We're seeing a lot of pattern-on-pattern, slipcovered furniture, dainty florals, and colour, but paired with clean architecture and an edited eye.' What distinguishes grandmacore from pure vintage revival is its balance. Done right, it doesn't feel cluttered or costume-y, it feels curated. 'It's about finding harmony—letting a piece with history shine, while ensuring the overall space still feels considered and current,' says Leigh. For Tamara Robbins Griffith, principal designer at Kerr + Field Interiors, the style is deeply personal. 'My grandfather was a home builder, and my late bubbi (Yiddish for grandmother), Pearl Robbins, decorated his show homes. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She had a great sense of style, believed in the value of quality pieces, and took great pride in her home,' she shares. 'She truly inspired me, and I have a lot of pieces in my home from her house today.' Robbins Griffith recently reupholstered a pair of tub chairs from her bubbi's bedroom in a high-performance off-white woven fabric. 'The new fabric modernizes them a lot, but the shape is classic.' For those just dipping into the style, Robbins Griffith recommends hitting up a flea market on a weekend. 'A side table, a vintage oil painting, even some decorative accessories can instantly bring personality to your space.' Better still, she says, 'If you have a grandma who's downsizing, experiment with her furnishings. There might be a classic piece just waiting for a new fabric or fresh coat of paint.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Leigh takes a similar approach but focuses on incorporating texture and thoughtful curation. 'Adding pattern curtains, vintage needlepoint pillows or a ruffled floral quilt to a bed is a great place to start,' she says. 'Even just styling your bookshelves with a few delicate trinkets or a teacup from your grandmother's collection can bring that layered, story-filled feeling to a room.' Beyond its nostalgic charm, grandmacore embraces sustainability in a tangible way. Heirlooms are restored, thrifted finds are refreshed, and vintage accents are brought back into rotation. It's a way of living that keeps beautiful, well-made pieces in use, allowing us to carry their memories forward. Grandmacore reminds us that the most compelling interiors aren't built overnight; they're collected over time. For me, it echoes the nostalgia of my Sicilian grandparents' home, where every object had a tale and style was instinctive, not overly staged. We can learn a lot from that design philosophy. Because at the end of the day, home should feel like a hug. And grandmacore? That's a hug wrapped in a crocheted blanket. Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA Columnists
Time Out
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Let Me Tell You: The gaming trend has hit the restaurant industry
Maybe it was the great pause that was the pandemic that caused less of a yearning for nightlife. Maybe it's that younger people are increasingly looking for places to gather that don't solely revolve around flashing lights and alcohol. And maybe, just maybe, it's because we are all a little over only using phones as a means for connecting. Whatever the reason, droves of people are trading nights out at the club for nights in at the chess club. Yes, New York is fully in its board games era. Over the past few years, crowds of Gen Zers and Millennials have brought back the art and fun of table games, selling out pop-up chess nights in Dimes Square, playing backgammon at the same place they knock back a glass of wine and trading tokens won at shiny Japanese arcades for special-edition Labubus. And with the success of D&D's sold-out show at MSG last year, UNO-themed social clubs rolling out in the U.S. this month and Chuck E. Cheese opening a chain of adults-only arcades (hopefully, minus the animatronics, unless it's this one), it seems that the trend of gaming is here to stay. But beyond just wine bars and barcades getting in on the fun, restaurants are also inviting us to game on. Silvia Barban's Crown Heights restaurant, Briscola Trattoria, keeps a simple motto: 'Come for the food, stay for a Briscola card game.' And she means it. Because if you happen to book the last seating on Tuesdays and Wednesday nights, you can digest your meal of sweetbread pastas and sweets plucked off the dessert cart while learning how to play the Italian card game the restaurant was named for (it is also a slang word for hangover, truly a triple word score). For Barban, the card game was just another way of sharing her heritage with her clientele. 'Every time there is a holiday or after you eat, you will play cards,' said Barban, reminiscing about days playing the game at the beach or with her family at home. 'It's one of those moments where you sit around the table and connect and just have fun with each other.' Earlier this spring, my sister and I got in on the tradition as our server and restaurant partner, Federico Cesi, taught us how to play on a calm Tuesday night. While the rules were spelled out on the large chalkboard in the overflow dining room, Cesi was quick to join our table, serving as a welcome backseat driver as I played my hand, granting me my first victory. As we left, Cesi gifted us the cards, something Barban notes is a common occurrence. 'Every week, I will come to Briscola and be like, 'Federico, why do we only have two decks?' And he'll be like, 'The other day these guys came and they wanted to learn how to play, so I just gave it to them. They're gonna bring it back another time.'' And he's right, as several card carriers have since returned to the trattoria's table. In this way, Barban is able to solidify her restaurant as a place to connect over more than just food. 'We don't want to be just the restaurant where you just go. We wanted to be part of our community,' said Barban. As Barban uses cards to reconnect to her longstanding familial traditions, Randi Lee, owner of Leland Eating and Drinking House, uses gaming to discover his. You see, every month, the back dining room of the Prospect Heights eatery becomes a hotbed for mahjong, where a certified master teaches newbies and seasoned pros alike. Yet Lee admits he was never taught how to play, intentionally so. 'There was a generation that was skipped—none of my elders play,' said Lee. 'I think part of that was post-war. That generation of Asian Americans really didn't want to embrace their heritage, and I think that those traditions were kind of lost.' By happenstance, the idea of a mahjong-based game night sprouted back in 2021 as Lee and his team, including his wife and creative director Jeanette Zinno and executive chef Delfin Jaranilla, were drumming up ideas of what to do for Lunar New Year. They decided to include a mahjong class as part of the celebrations. The following year, they brought it back and slowly started incorporating it here and there, fulfilling requests for private events and hosting pop-up nights during AAPI Month. But after each game-fueled night, diners kept asking, 'When's the next one?' Realizing they had an idea on their hands, the team tapped their social media looking for a mahjong master. Lenny An of Green Tile Social Club answered the call, and now he comes to the eatery every month to impart on guests the history of the game, its various styles, from Hong Kong to Taiwanese rules, and, of course, lessons on how to play. During the two-hour ticketed event, priced at $50, Leland also does what it does best: feeding gamers glossy dumplings plump with pork and duck, shumai dumplings, and warm cups of jook—all while tiles are reshuffled and hands are played. Once players learned the basics, Lee reasoned, what else can keep the game going? And so, during the restaurant's Vinyl Hour, from 1 to 4pm on Wednesday, Lee invited the community for free play. On their first go, seven players showed up, including an individual from Hawaii looking to play a few rounds. The implementation of game night is just the ethos of Leland, Lee says, as listening to the community helps make the restaurant a destination that the neighborhood deserves. 'Third space is new to me, so I don't really know if there's a definition besides having something for the community that's an extension of your own home,' he said. 'Everything that we do, we really think of the community first and what people are asking for.' Listening to their community is exactly what chef and co-owner of Kings Co Imperial, Josh Grinker, did to bring their game night to life. At his 10-year-old restaurant in Williamsburg, the restaurant's back room, named the Imperial Room, had already become a hub for experiential events, including their popular dumpling-making class. It was in this room that mahjong player Theresa Hong of Dragons Den Mahjong saw an opportunity and reached out to the team via social media about the possibility of hosting a game night. Since the first event in March, the restaurant has hosted two more, and is making the class a monthly occurrence where people can learn the basics or play with seasoned pros, while eating a buffet of the restaurant's popular eats, including the Many Mushroom Beijing Street Noodle, eggrolls and dumplings. Grinker reasons that a lean into experiential dining, gaming included in the mix, is not only good for the community but good for business. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dragons Den Mahjong (@dragonsdenmahjong) 'Something experiential involving food is always something that's sought after,' he said. 'People want to eat dinner, but they also want to learn how to make some dumplings or play a game. It sort of adds to the fun of having more than just a meal.' In a time where diners are in a perpetual state of looking for more, bonding over a good game and good food seems to be a winning combo.
