Kids love the Old Spaghetti Factory for its 100-year-old carousel, dine-in subway car and 16 kinds of pasta. Wayne Gretzky’s scores with hockey enthusiasts everywhere. Ice-like tabletops and museum-style tribute areas create a whole new dining arena. For a hit of Cal-Mex flavour, savour quesadillas and fajitas at Hernando’s Hideaway. Winner of Where‘s 2007 MMM award for Best Family Dining, 30-year-old The Pickle Barrel serves all-day breakfast, low-carb options and “dinosaur” chicken nuggets and fries. Uptown, enter the jungle at the Rainforest Café, a movie-set-like tropical safari with roaring elephants, simulated thunder and lightning, and a varied menu. Enjoy American-style diner nosh and rock-‘n’-roll memorabilia at the Hard Rock Café, where tykes can colour a guitar-toting Gene Simmons menu while eating yummy Jimi Tendersticks.

For more dining-related stories, please see:

Top T.O. Restos

Chew on Something New

Hit the Hot List

Try a Top Toque

Expense It!

Romance Your Palate

Munch on Brunch

Surf ‘n’ Turf It

Globe-Trot at the Table

Come Back for a Real Deal

Web exclusive! Morning, noon or night, indulge in a little sugary goodness. See 10 Sweet Spots.

Tip! If you’re looking for a great place to pick up new recipes for your favourite food-lovers, try The Cookbook Store. It’s a veritable trove of tomes about every kind of cooking, with many books by top chefs like Toronto’s Susur Lee and Jamie Kennedy!

Web exclusive! Morning, noon or night, indulge in a little sugary goodness. See 10 Sweet Spots.

—Viviane Kertész and Craig Moy