From a restaurant offering delightfully surprising dishes with countless twists in its presentation to another being hailed as a culinary oasis with imaginative and exquisite fare, here are Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants in 2024.

Canada’s 100 Best magazine released its annual list Monday of the top restaurants in the country.

A record-high of 150 voting judges, with 20 new to the magazine, determined what restaurant made the cut. The panel was made up of food-service professionals, culinary fans, restaurateurs, including chefs, and food writers and critics.

Judges assessed restaurants based on the complete dining experience, primarily on food quality, as well as service, décor, and the depth of the wine cellar. Each judge was required to vote for a minimum of three restaurants outside of their home region.

Montreal’s Mon Lapin was the top restaurant out of the 100 in the rankings.

Edulis was the top Toronto restaurant, ranking second overall.

Riviera was the top restaurant in Ottawa at No. 28.

River Café was Calgary’s highest-ranking restaurant at No. 23.

In Vancouver, Published on Main had the highest spot among the city’s restaurants at No. 7.

Halifax saw its eatery Bar Kismet snag the ninth spot.

Here are the top 10 restaurants:

No 1: Mon Lapin (Montreal)

No. 2: Edulis (Toronto)

No. 3: Alo (Toronto)

No. 4: 20 Victoria (Toronto)

No. 5: Langdon Hall (Cambridge)

No. 6: Restaurant Pearl Morisette (Jordan Station)

No. 7: Published on Main (Vancouver)

No. 8: Beba (Verdun)

No. 9: Bar Kismet (Halifax)

No. 10: Kissa Tanto (Vancouver)

f you’d like to install a raised bed but don’t have the resources to build one, you can achieve the same effect by growing your plants in straw bales. It’s also a great option for those with poor soil or who don’t have a patch of dirt to call their own. Typically used as Halloween decorations to display winter squash and pumpkins, straw bales can also be used to grow those vegetables in an economical, low-maintenance way. Sizes vary, but standard bales measure roughly 14 to 24 inches high, 18 inches wide, and 36 to 42 inches long. When shopping for bales, avoid hay, which contains seeds and, as we know, is for horses. Straw is for gardening, and most of its seeds have been harvested, so there shouldn’t be many (or any) remaining in the bale to sprout into weeds. Straw is also less likely than hay to have been treated with pesticides, which would inhibit your plants or prevent their growth altogether. To be sure, ask the retailer if their bales are organic or at least pesticide-free. Prep work It will take about two weeks to condition your bale, a process that turns it into a moist, fertile garden bed. Select a location that provides the correct sunlight exposure for the plants you will be growing. You can place the bale on any flat surface — concrete, gravel, wood pallets or even grass (if you don’t mind the grass beneath it dying). But be aware that after the bale is wet, it will be very heavy and difficult to move. Set the bale with its cut (prickly) end facing up, then begin the conditioning process. On days 1-3, apply water slowly and evenly until it begins to run out the bottom of the bale. A soaker hose snaked over the top and, ideally, set on a timer would facilitate the process and ensure the straw doesn’t dry out. On days 4-10, sprinkle the top of the bale with one-third cup of herbicide-free lawn fertilizer that contains at least 20 percent nitrogen (organic gardeners can substitute a 50/50 mix of bone meal and blood meal). Water the bale to dissolve and distribute the fertilizer, but take care not to overwater, which would wash out the nutrients. Continue to water the bale daily. As the nitrogen works to decompose and transform the bale into a nutrient-rich environment for plants, the center of the bale will heat up, similar to a compost pile, and then begin to cool. It will be safe to plant seeds or seedlings when the temperature drops below 100 degrees (use a compost thermometer to measure the bale’s internal temperature). Black ink mushroom growth at the beginning of the process is normal. They will die down on their own. Do not eat them! This July 2023 image provided by Adrienne Reeves shows tomatoes, marigolds and peppers growing in straw bales in a garden in Livonia, Mich. (Adrienne Reeves via AP) Planting and growing Poke holes or cut slits in the top of the bale and plant your seedlings, filling each little hole around them with compost or potting mix. If planting seeds, make holes or slits following the depth recommendation on their packet. Drop larger seeds in, then fill each hole with compost or potting mix. If planting smaller seeds, sprinkle a layer of compost or potting mix over the bale’s surface, sow seeds, then sprinkle more compost or potting mix over them to achieve the recommended depth. Continue to water daily to ensure the center of the bale and the area around each plant are kept consistently moist. Depending on the weather, more frequent watering may be necessary. Do not let the bale dry out. Apply fertilizer and amendments throughout the growing season as you would to garden plants. Although many flowers and vegetables grow well in straw bales, those with shallow roots and heavy tops, like corn, should be avoided.

Some people love to wash their car, and for others, it’s their most hated chore. It’s a necessity for car owners, so no matter where you fall on the love-hate spectrum, you want a car wash that’s going to give your car a deep clean that lasts. Automatic car washes are at almost any gas…

  When you take your car to the car wash, there are multiple add-ons available, and one common choice is spray-on wax. It may seem like it doesn’t make a difference, but there are some important benefits. And these benefits go beyond how shiny your will car looks. What Are the Benefits of Waxing Your…

Even when you are lucky enough to start with an empty room, it can be overwhelming to design an interior that you can enjoy for years to come. Following some basic interior design principles, you can transform your space into a relaxing room you will be comfortable and happy with. Decide what your focal point will be and build out from there.  For best results, keep proportion and scale in mind as you decorate as well as these tips!

 Deciding on Your Focal Point
Do you have a magnificent bay window with an incredible view?  Is there an ornate mantle that is the reason you fell in love with your home? Or is there something you absolutely MUST HAVE in the room? Situate your furniture around your chosen focal point to create balance and equilibrium. If your room does not already have an existing focal point, create one with oversized art or add an accent point like a free-standing fireplace, they come in a variety of sizes and styles. Symmetrically balance the room evenly so that both sides mirror one another.  This will help your chosen focal point stand out all the more! Use matching accent tables to flank your sofa or use different pieces of furniture to create a copacetic visual impact, like two similar armchairs to balance a sofa.
Repetition for Rhythm
Rhythm creates a flow and helps direct the eye to the differing visual elements in your room. Just as the notes of a favorite song repeat to create the rhythm, repetition in decor will create a rhythm throughout a home. Establish visual interests with a rhythm throughout your space by placing similar colours or patterns at intervals and repeat in artwork, cushions or area rugs.

Perfect Proportion and Suitable Scaling
Who doesn’t love a large, overstuffed chair? But if your room is on the smaller size it may look out of place and make your room seem even smaller than it is. Keep proportion in perspective. Proportion is the ratio between a piece of furniture and the size of a room. Scale is the size of a piece of furniture in relation to the other pieces of furniture in the room. A super large chair will overpower an apartment of loft size sofa or loveseat and create a sense of unbalance in the room.

Have your room humming harmoniously
Creating harmony will enhance how much you will continue to love your finished. Pull the room with a subdued colour palette for a pleasing, harmonious vibe.   together for a pleasing, harmonious look with a subdued color palette. You can also use a single colour for elements that vary in size and shape. Check out our blog on Doing White on White Right! for more tips!

What is the focal point in your room?  What is your best tip to find harmony and balance through your home?