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Turf Lounge
Off-Track Betting & Cigars in the Heart of Toronto
Posted: Thursday, December 22, 2005
By Alejandro Benes
Habaneros was the 3-horse in the sixth race at Woodbine that day. We decided to put $10 down, but only to show. The horse had not run much prior to this race at the track just outside of Toronto. In eight starts, Habaneros had finished in the money only three times and never first. The track was fast. The day was cold, but it wasn't snowing like the day before. And we were just sipping the last of our first drinks at the Turf Lounge in Toronto's Financial District as the pre-race analysis was getting started on closed-circuit TV.
The Turf Lounge is the child of the Woodbine Entertainment Group, the owner of the Woodbine racetrack, and gives off-track betting a distinctly Vegas feel. The old facades from what was previously a bank enhance the décor. The lounge kept the bank's old marble floors, too. But there is nothing old about the Turf Lounge. In the central room, the bar, three large, flat TVs hover on the back wall. The one on top has a NASCAR event going on. The two screens below carry U.S. college football and soccer. The horse races are carried on 12 screens above the bar itself and on dozens of other monitors throughout the lounge. Three tracks are live today: Woodbine in Toronto; Aqueduct in New York City, and Calder in Miami. Place your bets at the window in the room off to the right of the bar.
The Turf Lounge has five distinct rooms. The bar is the hub and it's jammed after work during the week. To the left is the smoking lounge. Booths (each with a TV) and tables and full restaurant service, plus a cigar menu, are available there. The Turf Lounge offers a short list of cigars, but some are outstanding smokes. Allow me to make your mouth water and your wallet cringe. The prices are in Canadian dollars, which lately have been about 10 to 15 percent less than the U.S. dollar.
The humidor at the Turf Lounge carries, among others, Romeo y Julieta Churchills C$40; Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2s, C$28; Bolivar Belicosos Finos, C$32; Montecristo No. 2s, C$36; Montecristo No. 4s, C$22; Cohiba Coronas Especiales, C$40; Cohiba Robustos, C$52; Cohiba Piramides, C$72; Cohiba Esplendidos, C$78 each or three for C$230. These cigars are perfectly maintained. The Epicure No. 2 I enjoyed while watching my horse come in sixth kept me in a fine frame of mind and out of the wind blowing off Lake Ontario.
Food at the Turf Lounge can be inspired. The Pistachio Crusted Goat Cheese served with prosciutto, poached pears, baby greens and a lime-herb vinaigrette, and the Roasted Jumbo Quail wrapped with double-smoked bacon and served with a Mediterranean salsa and grilled fig are two of the more intriguing appetizers. The main courses are less adventurous, but solid. I had the Sterling Silver (a trade name like Certified Angus) Striploin sandwich. Instead of fries, I had a Caesar salad as a side. It was large and full of garlic. Nice! Dessert was a molten chocolate cake with coconut ice cream. The excellent espresso and cigar capped off the day.
Toronto used to be one of the great cigar cities of North America, but smoking in Toronto is itself in the homestretch. You'll be able to enjoy your Habanos indoors only until May 2006, when the antismoking law takes full effect. After that, the cigar stores on Bloor will still be there and one imagines they'll find a way to let you enjoy a cigar in their lounges. Apparently, private clubs will still be able to allow smoking. The owners of the Turf Lounge are debating that option and searching for ways to keep cigar smoking on track.
Photo Courtesy Getty Images
The Turf Lounge
330 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2S8
Phone: 212-594-4109
www.turflounge.com
Monday to Friday -- 11:30 am to Midnight
Saturday -- 12 pm to 7 pm
Telephone: 416-367-2111
email: info@turflounge.com
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