Weekly Tips: September Edition
This is the first of our new monthly Insider’s Reports, which replace the previous weekly ones. To keep you current on the most interesting food and wine to order at GEORGE, we will now update our website weekly with recommendations for the best and most interesting seasonal dishes or ingredients on the menu. We encourage you to review these recommendations on our website before dining at GEORGE to ensure you don’t miss anything we feel is particularly delicious or unusual.
The new monthly Insider’s Report will comment on seasonal food changes and trends as the year progresses, as well as cover other food stories that catch our eye.
Insider’s Report – September 2025
The summer produce season has drawn to a close, and Executive Chef Lorenzo Loseto reports that Ontario had a particularly good summer due to slightly less rainfall. As a result, Ontario fruits were somewhat smaller but sweeter. Ontario apricots were unusually good.
With the last of the summer berries, Chef will be turning to Ontario plums, pears, and apples for desserts. U.S. figs are now arriving, and Chef is pleased with their quality.
Ontario vegetables were also excellent, and Chef liked this year’s with English peas and favas a lot. He also agreed with us that the late-summer tomato crop has been wonderful. Apart from tomatoes, Chef particularly likes butternut squash and Brussels sprouts. In September, look for his roasted butternut squash, butternut squash carpaccio and tomato dishes.
Summer fish from Nova Scotia—including tuna, halibut, swordfish, and lobster—were delicious this year. With Chinese tariffs on Canadian seafood, we hear from Greek friends that it is now appearing on restaurant menus in Athens. Scallop prices have come down, while lobster and halibut continued to offer consistently good value this summer.
As we move into fall, expect to see octopus and gindara cod (also known as sablefish) arriving from Vancouver Island. Chef prefers farmed gindara cod to wild Alaskan black cod, as the latter tends to be mushier.
Sweetbreads were hard to find this summer, but Chef thought the ones available were exceptional. Chef also enjoyed Ontario rabbit and squab, as well as Quebec duck. Coming this fall are Quebec bison cheeks, Ontario oxtail and venison and Alberta bison.
This month, GEORGE has three-course Harvest Lunches and Dinners, priced at $55 and $99 per person. Dinner also includes a pre-dinner cocktail and snacks in our Parisian-style bar, Secrette, located upstairs from GEORGE. For a special occasion, GEORGE offers a 15-course extravaganza every Tuesday, Chef’s Market Tasting, priced at $225 per person with an optional wine flight.
Chef is busy refreshing menus to showcase the best of the fall season.