by Margaret Swaine | Apr 30, 2009
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by Margaret Swaine | Aug 30, 2007
Toronto
Splendido
88 Harbour St.
416-929-7788
www.splendido.ca CLOSED
No place in Toronto quite hits the high notes like Splendido. You’re pampered from the moment you walk in. Subdued lighting, dramatic mirrors, large modern paintings, warm polished wood floors and a Brazilian cherry wood bar all add up to feeling of serene luxury. A third generation chef, David Lee is masterful. Subtle hot/sweet/sour/ influences reflective of chef’s Mauritian heritage show up in several dishes such as tuna carpaccio with chili oil and ginger ponzu. Chef carefully nurtures small local organic suppliers so expect the best of Canada such as Nunavut Caribou loin and Nova Scotia lobster with veal oxtail. The impressive wine list by sommelier Carlo Catallo is novella thick with delightful depth in off-beat areas such as Spanish albariños.
North 44
2537 Yonge St.
416-487-4897
www.north44restaurant.com
This sophisticated restaurant has revived itself of late to be back at the top of culinary achievement. Décor is coolly chic and modern. Visiting celebs, high rollers and up-and-comers keep the place buzzing with loud chatter all the more to make you feel you are in a happening spot. Dishes such as romaine hearts with Caesar vinaigrette or lobster salad sound overly familiar yet are executed perfectly. Mains may be duckling three ways or the perennial favourite of regulars, roasted squab, all beautifully presented and matched with organic and seasonal veggies. The extensive wine and drinks list includes a selection of high-end tequilas, sherries and sake.
Truffles
Four Seasons Hotel, 21 Avenue Rd.
416-928-7331
www.fourseasons.com/toronto/dining
The new, young executive chef Lora Kirk is sparking up Truffles with flavourful textured dishes such as cocoa nib crusted sweetbreads and lobster three ways – carpaccio, salsify benedict and consommé. For mains you might find truffled beef cheeks and Ahi tuna or smoked sable fish in golden carrot broth. Service is pampering as can be expected of this tony hotel. Sommelier Sara D’Amato has composed a wine list packed with European classics, New World and Canadian treasures.
Chiado
864 College St.
416-538-1910
Elegantly European this cosy restaurant on a busy eclectically ethnic street serves what has often rightly been called the best Portuguese cuisine outside of Lisbon. Owner Albino Silva has fresh fish flown in daily from the Azores Islands. He makes sure all dishes are artful, authentic and exemplary whether it be grilled squid, gently roasted salt cod, or assorda ( a dry soup of monkfish, lobster, shrimp and clams). The wine list showcases Portugal’s best including madeiras and ports. Desserts such as Natas do Ceu and Pudim flan are classically Portuguese.
Scaramouche
One Benvenuto Place
416-961-9011
www.scaramoucherestaurant.com
Chef and co-owner Keith Froggett now in his 27th year in the kitchen knows how to keep his customers happy with consistently well executed and tasty dishes. Eschewing trends, Froggett focuses on well-balanced dishes of seasonal local ingredients. Organic cod is Basque style with piperade and chorizo sausage while Nova Scotia lobster comes with fresh white asparagus and honey mushrooms. The view of Toronto’s skyline from the top of the old Iroquois shore is as consistently pleasing as the food. The wine list covers the globe with many well chosen picks.
Pangaea
1221 Bay St.
416-920-2323
(CLOSED)
With talented chef Martin Kouprie in the kitchen and skilled co-owner Peter Geary front of house, this sophisticated restaurant passed its first decade with flying colors. Fresh regional cuisine is the mainstay with signature dishes such as mahogany glazed salmon and wild mushroom risotto. Depending upon the season you might find soft shell crab, pickerel or caribou on the menu. About 400 different labels on the wine list cover the globe including an excellent Canadian selection. Desserts by pastry chef Joanne Yolles are a tour de force.
Colborne Lane
45 Colborne St.
416-368-9009
www.colbornelane.com
Uber talented and driven chef Claudio Aprile pushes the boundaries of gastronomy often to great success and equally great controversy by flirting with molecular cuisine and other avant-garde cooking techniques. After six years at Senses, he’s in his element now at the helm of his own in an historic building. The bar upfront, loud music and wall mirrors with white “cocaine” lines down the middle might mislead one to think the food’s not serious. Yet tea smoked squab, peking duck breast with confit chicken or rock hen breast with chorizo stuffed thigh tell a different story. The wine list while not extensive includes interesting picks.
Lai Wah Heen
Metropolitan Hotel, 108 Chestnut St.
416-977-9899
www.metropolitan.com/lwh
On Executive Chef Ken Tam’s new Chinese regional menu you’ll find irresistible dishes from Shanghai, Hong Kong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shandong represented. Imperial Shanghai crab, Namjin-style beef stew and wok-seared sea cucumber are just a few examples. Dim sum is still the best in the city if not the country. The wine list focuses on varietals and regions that match well with Asian cuisine and includes a few specially imported Chinese rice wines.
Canoe
Fifty-fourth floor, TD Bank Tower, 66 Wellington St.
416-364-0054
www.canoerestaurant.com
The modern Yabu Pushelberg design dining room on two levels maximizes the sight lines to lake and city glittering below. Two tasting menus and the a la carte dishes highlight Canada’s best. Oyster Boy’s finest, La Ferme Foie Gras, Springbank Bison, Yarmouth lobster and St. Canut Farms organic suckling pig are just some of what may be on offer. On the nine item Taste Canoe menu, Nunavut caribou hind with foie gras tourtière is a signature dish so beloved they dare not change it. The inventive desserts deliver more flavour than finesse. By the glass wine pairings are well matched to the dishes by sommelier Teresa Alampur.
The Fifth
225 Richmond St. W.
416-979-3005
Now past its tenth year The Fifth is as glam as ever. The entrance is still off an alleyway, through a pulsating nightclub and up a wood freight elevator of this former warehouse. Then you step into a chic candlelit room of pale woods, long bar and white table cloths. The food however has morphed from fancy French to steakhouse with a twist. Chef JP Challet is back in the tiny kitchen blending his French connection with classic steakhouse fare. Lobster and King crab roll with white chocolate foam is a main that delivers succulent hot butter poached lobster meat alongside the crunch of cool fresh crab. Bison ribeye is married with venison sauce, filet mignon with béarnaise and New York striploin with oxtail ravioli and morel sauce. Desserts are tried and true classics such as crème brûlée, chocolate mousse and molten chocolate cake.
Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar
9 Church St.
416-362-1957
(CLOSED)
The best place to sit is at the long bar overlooking the open kitchen. The 34 seat joint exudes rustic warmth that encourages sharing of food (especially the famous Yukon Gold fries). Executive Chef Jamie Kennedy is rarely behind the stove, rather menus and cooking is in the capable hands of Wine Bar Chef Tobey Nemeth. The grazing menu of inexpensive small dishes is very seasonal, very tasty and pan global with a strong emphasis on local and organic produce. Black cod with leeks and honey is melt in the mouth. Pork side ribs are poached and then grilled with Caribbean spices. Artisanal cheeses are the best from Canada. All dishes including the house made desserts have imaginative wine by the glass matches expertly chosen by sommelier Jamie Drummond.
The Globe Bistro
124 Danforth Ave.
416-466-2000
(CLOSED)
This long narrow building at the edge of Toronto’s “GreekTown” started out in 1908 as a nickelodeon and later became a bowling alley. In the evening the tapas and wine bar at the front packs with partiers and the two level dining in back past the open kitchen jams with happy diners. Chef Ben Heaton focuses on organic and regional produce so expect to find the best from local Canadian suppliers. Georgian Bay Pickerel on a bed of organic Ontario wild rice, Swiss chard and smoked bacon vinaigrette is a perfect interplay of textures and flavours. Berkshire pork chop with local sunchokes is another winner. The extensive, well priced wine list includes over 27 by the glass and many special Canadian selections. Don’t skip the desserts by pastry chef Nis’qu Klos.
George
111C Queen St. E.
416-863-6006
www.georgeonqueen.com
Exposed breams, 1850 brick walls and scuffed wood floors create an atmosphere both historic and opulent due to antiques, chandeliers and Art Nouveau wrought iron. In the summer the hidden courtyard patio is a city gem. Chef Lorenzo Loseto does tapas style small plates in a fine dining setting. The menu is divided into 5 courses graduating from lighter to richer and for each course there are five choices. To start perhaps olive oil poached scampi with navy bean puree, followed by black miso cod, then pecan dusted bison ribeye, Le Corsaire goat’s milk cheese and finished with chocolate custard torte with almond nougat ice cream. Wine list is imaginative with plenty of good value selections.
Senses
SoHo Metropolitan Hotel, 318 Wellington St. W.
416-599-8800
https://www.sohohotel.ca/
Chef Patrick Lin has been lured back to add new inspiration to Senses at SoHo Met. Formerly with Truffles and Hemispheres and most recently at The Royal Garden in Hong Kong, Lin is a master at French with Asian influences done with precise yet inventive execution. House made gravlax may come with Dungeness crab parcels, Ahi tuna is married with sweet and sour mango, and sea bass carpaccio is served warm with white and green asparagus. Mains could be soft-shell crab paired with black cod or Kobe rib eye served with caramelized onion puree and garlic mousse. Wine list is carefully chosen to be paired with the French and Asian influenced cuisine.
Susur
601 King St. W.
416-603-2205
www.susur.com
One of Toronto’s most celebrated chefs, Susur Lee has created a whole new way of dining at his chic minimalist restaurant in a funky, trendy neighborhood. Whether you agree or not with his reverse order menu – heavier meats first, followed by seafood and finishing with vegetables – you will get a dining experience like no other. Dishes marry his Chinese origins to his French training with the result that subtle Asian flavors, contrasting textures and classic reduction sauces combine in mouthfuls of savory exotica. Best are the seafood dishes. Tender lobster and shrimp wrapped in crunchy shoestring potato on a bed of pink peppercorn lobster sauce showcase chef’s talents. A selection of bite size desserts (about ten if you’re a couple) caps the meal.
Mistura
265 Davenport Rd. CLOSED
416-515-0009
With co-owner Paolo Paolini dispensing smooth front of the house service and renowned Chef Massimo Capra in the kitchen, it’s no wonder the place is consistently packed with loyal customers. A seat in one of the discreet booths of this comfortably sophisticated resto helps cut the chatter noise. The cuisine is contemporary Italian with dishes such as carpaccio di manzo, risi e bisi (thick rice and spring pea soup) and the Mistura creation risotto rosso (red beet risotto with beet greens). Mains include slow cooked rabbit and Kobe flat iron beef in wine reduction. Molten chocolate torte and other desserts are a treat. Wines are grouped by price and include big Italian and Californian reds.
Le Cordon Bleu
453 Laurier St. E.
613-236-2499
www.lcbottawa.com
As can be expected, or even demanded, Signatures Restaurant in a former private dining club (Le Cercle) that houses Le Cordon Bleu adheres to French classics on its menu. The Ottawa location was Le Cordon Bleu’s first school to operate in North America. (Le Cordon Bleu, established in Paris in 1895, is the world’s foremost school for teaching classical French cuisine.) The menus, which change seasonally, have a modern innovative spin – for example deconstructed gazpacho, lobster medallion with fresh mint oil or lake perch in cocotte with oxtail daube ravioli. The gorgeous décor in yellows and blues of Pierre Deux French Country fabric and furniture is cheerfully charming. Serious French wines adorn the list that includes a good Canadian selection and many by the glass choices.
Zucca
2150 Yonge St. CLOSED
416-488-5774
New Zealand born chef/owner Andrew Milne-Allan cooks pure Italian from the soul. He takes traditional Italian dishes, deconstructs and improves them with a deft touch, drawing inspiration from Naples, Umbria, Sicily, Sardinia and elsewhere on the boot. Sformato di gallinacci is an unctuously soft flan rich with wild chanterelles and creamy taleggio cheese. All fresh pastas are made in house. Pici al ragu d’anatra con funghi a creamy savoury dish of hand-rolled spelt flavoured spaghetti tossed with duck breast and fresh porcini, has a reduction sauce that’s so good you’ll want to lick the plate. Fish is a specialty and the choices of the evening, perhaps branzino, porgy and orata, and are brought out bright eyed so you can pick. Desserts include vanilla-bean and dark chocolate gelato ‘drowned’ in hot espresso coffee. The 70 label wine list is largely affordable Italian, intelligently chosen.
Treadwell Restaurant
61 Lakeport Road, Port Dalhousie
Tel: 905-934-9797
www.treadwellcuisine.com
Buying from small, local farmers who sell direct to the restaurant, chef/owner Stephen Treadwell epitomizes farm to table cuisine based on his great connections built up during 11 years at Queen’s Landing in Niagara-on-the-Lake. White fish is bought fresh from Port Dover day boats, artisan greens from Wyndym Farm, oils from Persall Naturals and tarts from Niagara Vinegars. Water vistas of the old Welland Canal provide a soothing dining experience. Sommelier and son James Treadwell sources rare VQA Canadian and European wines.
Beckta
226 Nepean St.
613-238-70663
www.beckta.com
Michael Moffatt, recently promoted to chef, is upholding the high standards at this sleek modern restaurant within a modest 1920 Victorian home in Centretown Ottawa. With a focus on local and organic expect to find organic greens with goat cheese or house made gnocchi with cèpes among the appetizers. Mains may be Berkshire Black pork duo or boneless lamb Porterhouse with natural jus. The international wine list which focuses on small producers has a good Canadian representation.
Tony de Luca
Oban Inn, 160 Front St., Niagara-on-the-Lake
905-468-7900
Menus by Chef Tony de Luca in three or four prix fixe formats focus on regional cuisine while the tasting menus allow Chef to express his fancies as does his chef’s table of eight to ten dishes. The tables in the conservatory with the delightful views of the garden are the best in this 76-seat restaurant. De Luca owns a cheese shop down the road hence the selection of local and international cheese is always good. The Niagara region is covered well in the wine selection. (This restaurant is now permanently closed.)
Didier
1496 Yonge St.
416-925-8588
(CLOSED)
Chef Didier Leroy’s refined French cuisine is so classic non-foodies may not get the nuances. Chef’s handsome gypsy looks and his gentle manners cloak his meticulous devotion to perfection on the plate. The soup de jour may be Ésaü, a puréed of black lentils. Seared beef tenderloin comes with a refined veal marrow bordelaise sauce and just the correct amount of dauphine potatoes, white asparagus and slivered shallots. A fresh trio of local fish is perched on mushroom duxelles, their moist delicate flesh enhanced with a savoury red wine genevoise sauce. Patrons return specifically for the soufflé desserts such as the Côte D’Azur, a spoon tender Grand Marnier flavoured version atop a chestnut purée. The 120 selection wine list is exclusively French and Canadian hand-chosen to match with the food.
Barberians
7 Elm St.
416-597-0335
www.barberians.com
Tradition runs deep in this classic steak house opened by the Barberian family in 1959. Even the latest expansion built in 2006 above their two-storey wine cellar sticks to old wood paneling and vintage photos. The waiters, career pros all, have many decades on the floor, while Chef Steve Rigakos boasts over thirty years at their old style charcoal pit grill. Fresh daily fish, ribs and lamb have their devotees but well aged U.S. Prime and Choice steaks are the draw for most regulars, including Hollywood stars. The cheese menu and the chance to enjoy more of the stellar cellar of 2,000 global labels are better than any dessert. Have a vintage port (selection opened daily) or XO calvados with your vintage Ottawa Valley cheddar and Colston Bassett Stilton.
Joso’s
202 Davenport Rd.
416-925-1903
www.josos.com
Since 1977 Joso’s has been dishing up fresh Mediterranean seafood in a converted house at Ave & Dav. Owner Joso Spralja was half of the folk band Malka and Joso and host of a CBC music show back in the sixties. However it’s his colourful paintings and sculptures, heavy on the breasts and sexual innuendo and glass art by daughter Elena Spralja-Saldini which draw attention now in the restaurant. And the food. Celebrities still flock here for the calamari and the fresh Adriatic fish simply grilled with olive oil and lemon over an open flame. Black ink spaghettini and risotto nero are other favourites. In summer a small patio opens out front and upstairs is for overflow or private parties. The wine list encompasses both Old and New World including the more obscure.
by Margaret Swaine | Apr 17, 2007
Rusty Rhyne an American living in Vancouver has often remarked to his Canadian wife that she and her compatriots have some strange eating habits. Canadians put vinegar on their fries, dip their chicken strips in plum sauce instead of ranch and drink bloody Caesar’s substituting clam juice for the tomato of a bloody Mary. These aren’t the only food habits that differ from Americans. A traveler to Canada will find many unique and often delicious regional dishes.
From coast to coast Canada’s bounty can surprise and delight. On British Columbia’s Vancouver Island the now famous Nanaimo bars got their name from the town where they first became well known. Current research suggests the bar began under the name “chocolate fridge cake” and made its way throughout BC’s communities as a recipe shared among housewives in the 1950’s. When a Nanaimo woman won a prize for her recipe in a magazine contest, her “Nanaimo bars” took off in fame and the name stuck.
There are many versions of this no-bake chocolate square with its wafer crumb-based bottom topped by a layer of light custard covered in soft chocolate. In 1986 Nanaimo Mayor Graeme Roberts initiated a contest to find the ultimate Nanaimo Bar Recipe. During the four-week long contest, almost 100 different variations of the confectionery were submitted. Today Starbuck’s has helped boost the name and recipe by offering it in outlets in Canada, especially Ontario.
Salmon is abundant in British Columbia and ways of preparing it often reflect First Nation practices such as grilling it on a cedar plank, salmon jerky and salmon candy. Salmon candy is first smoked, then marinated in maple syrup and then smoked again. A great place to buy it is in Vancouver’s bustling Granville market. The Longhouse located on traditional Chehalis territory offers a dinner feast with lots of First Nation salmon samples. C Restaurant in Vancouver sells “single stream” salmon working with a husband and wife team that catch fish on a particular stream in northern British Columbia – kind of like the Canadian salmon version of a “single vineyard” wine.
Sometimes the line between truly Canadian and a copycat can become blurred. Immigrants to the country brought with them home country recipes that were soon adapted to better fit the country and its produce. Californians might object but Vancouver chef Hidekazu Tojo claims his “Tojo-maki” (as it was called at the time) was the original California roll. However the BC roll made with barbequed salmon skin is likely unique to the area.
Sinclair Philip of the famed Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island put it this way: “Not very long ago I remember in our region I would look at recipes and say oh dear they have stolen my recipe. But really spontaneously we were all doing the same thing based on the fresh ingredients of the day.” That said visit Sooke Harbour and you’ll get a gastronomic adventure that may include edible seaweed from Outer Coast Seaweeds, local swimming scallops and giant goeducks (elephant trunk clams).
Moving east into Alberta the traveler enters ranch country and naturally beef features often on the menu. Buffalo is more exotic but also popular. However completely Canadian is the bloody Caesar invented in Calgary in 1969 by a bartender at the Westin Hotel to mark the opening of the hotel’s Italian restaurant. This mixture of clam-tomato juice and vodka remains a most cherished national drink. Shortly after in the 1970s the Duffy-Mott Company developed Clamato, a tomato-clam cocktail that became the mixer of choice for bloody Caesars. Lately Mott has launched the Red Eye, a mix of Clamato and beer that became part of Hollywood lore in the movie Cocktail. If you really want to go local you might try this with some prairie oysters (bull testicles) at Buzzards restaurant in Calgary. Way to go cowboy.
In central Canada the rolling grassland plains of Saskatchewan are best known for the grains grown there. The most exotic is wild rice, an aquatic grass grown in the shallow waters in the north. Harvesting used to be done by canoe but now specialized boats are used. Berries also abound such as mooseberries (bush cranberries) and Saskatoon berries. The later are large purple berries, the fruit of a serviceberry tree. You’ll find these tart juicy berries baked into all kinds of desserts. The Saskatoon berry pies at The Berry Barn near the shores of the South Saskatchewan River are delicious and in season they even offer u-pick berries.
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In Manitoba there’s a wonderful abundance of fresh water fish and wild mushrooms thanks to the province’s hundreds of lakes and vast forests. The tastiest fish is the Lake Winnipeg Goldeye, a member of the mooneye family of fish found only in North American fresh waters. Walleye, whitefish and pickerel are other prized fish in the cool northern waters of Canada. Each year, approximately 800 commercial fishers operate on Lake Winnipeg and sport anglers will find many spots to drop a line while enjoying the beauty of the world’s 10th largest freshwater lake.
Canada is the world’s largest producer of icewine, a wine made from frozen on the vine grapes. Ontario produces the highest quantity of these precious sweet fruity nectars along with many good quality table wines. Visitors to Niagara Falls do well to extend their travels to include the wine route in the picturesque Niagara region. Many of the wineries along the trail offer tastings, gift shops, good dining and activities such as music or theatre in the vineyard. About an hour away in Canada’s largest city, Toronto, there are a host of excellent restaurants which feature local fresh market cuisine. Splendido does an exotica Canadiana festival every July and August with such delicacies as tender caribou from Nunivak on the menu.
French speaking Quebec is a gold mine of unique dishes. In the spring Quebecers gather at the cabanes à sucre (sugar shacks) to enjoy baked beans, oreilles des crisses (pork rinds), eggs and the like all drenched in maple syrup. Tire sur neige is maple taffy poured on snow. You’ll also find other treats such as sugar pies and butter tarts that satisfy this province of the most ‘sweet tooths’. The Quebec cheese industry is booming with over 70 artisanal producers creating a range of cheeses to rival those of France. An unusual dish that’s gained North American recognition is poutine – French fries topped with cheese curds, then slathered in brown gravy. The Montreal restaurant Au Pied de Cochon elevated poutine to haute when it added a sauce of foie gras, cream and pork broth. Now a New York gastro-pub, The Inn LW12, with ties to the famed chef Daniel Boulud is planning to offer a version. Burger King and Macdonald’s in Quebec already do.
Travelers on the taste trails of the Atlantic Provinces will find fiddleheads (baby ferns), cod tongues and cheeks, rappie pie (grated potato) and bakeapple jams (a local bog berry). Nova Scotia is one of the world’s biggest wild blueberry exporters so it’s no surprise that a steamed pudding called blueberry grunt is a favorite dessert. However it’s the seafood that’s the star in all four provinces. Enjoy Prince Edward Island Malpeque oysters fresh shucked by three time Canadian champion shucker John Bil at the Claddagh Oyster House in Charlottetown. Or have them in chowder during the PEI chowder festival in September. In June Cape Breton hosts Lobster Palooza, a month long celebration of local crustaceans that features lobster dinners, clambakes and seafood meals on local beaches.
Eat, drink, man woman. Gastro-tourism is alive and well in Canada.
by Margaret Swaine | Sep 1, 2006
Best Wine Bar
Crush
455 King St. W, Toronto ON
416-977-1234
www.crushwinebar.com (Closed)
Every month a different wine region is featured at this hip open-kitchen French style bistro located in the strip of trendy renovated warehouses that now grace King West. Over 20 still wines, ten dessert and seven sparklers by 3 or 5 ounce flights or a bottle can be chosen from among the always interesting, ever-changing, wide-ranging wine list. Expect the likes of tuna tartar in the summer and braised dishes in winter.
Recommended Dish: Caribou with four kinds of Cookstown carrots $36
Best Cocktail Bar
Bymark
66 Wellington St. W. (at Bay), Toronto ON
Tel: 416-777-1144
www.bymark.ca
This courtyard level Yabu Pushelberg designed bar rocks especially after-work when the suits descend from the surrounding bank towers. Porn Star, Bar Fly, Lipstick Martini and 18 or so other three-ounce cocktails add sass to the list of over two dozen wines by the glass. Lobster on frites with béarnaise “poutine style” is one of many playful twists on classics.
Recommended Dish: lettuce wrapped miso glazed black cod $18.95 (appetizer)
Best Local Wine List
Epic at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel
100 Front St. W, Toronto ON
Tel: 416-368-2511
www.fairmont.com
The hotel claims honours as the largest purchaser of VQA wines in North America. The approximately 40 reds and 27 icewines on their “Great Canadian Wine List” were selected after sampling over 600 Canadian wines. Whites, mainly from Niagara number another 40. Décor is contemporary, bright and open despite its lower level locale. Quebec foie gras, Alberta beef and Atlantic salmon are cooked with continental flare.
Recommended Dish: Pacific Halibut “En Papillote” $33
Best International Wine List
Opus
37 Prince Arthur Ave., Toronto ON
Tel: 416-921-3105
www.opusrestaurant.com
Chef Jason Cox serves up French classical based on regional ingredients in this elegantly comfortable star-studded hideaway. The intimate bar and interior courtyard patio add to its allure but most beckoning is the stunning wine list of over 2,500 labels. Brothers Tony and Mario Amaro have amassed a 40,000 bottle cellar of greats such as verticals of Méo-Camuzet, Harlan and Mouton as well as deliciously inexpensive J.P. Ramos Santa 2003.
Recommended Dish: Roast Isle Verte lamb rack $43
Best Vintage Dining
Barberian’s Steak House
7 Elm St., Toronto ON
Tel: 416-597-0335
www.barberians.com
A haven for carnivores, this steak house is defiantly old-fashioned traditional in look. Authentic Group of Seven paintings adorn the walls and glasses are strictly Riedel. Aaron Barberian’s 20,000 bottle, 2,000-label cellar is dominated by French and Californian with a special focus on Rhone reds, including over 60 different Châteauneuf du Pape. Some fine first growth Bordeaux date back to the fifties and vintages like ’82 are in full force.
Recommended Dish: 16 ounce rib steak $38
Best Small Meals with matching wines
Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar
9 Church St, Toronto ON
Tel: 416-362-1957
www.jkkitchens.com (Closed)
Chef-patron Jamie Kennedy’s scrumptious 18 appetizer size dishes change daily but remain constant to seasonal slow food as locally sourced as possible. Sommelier Jamie Drummond suggests a pairing for each, as well as for the five dessert dishes. All 23 wines by the glass change daily and are mostly sourced from private import with an emphasis on hidden gems. Heinrich Zweigelt/Blaufränkisch for the roast duck breast with sausage salad for example.
Recommended Dish: pulled pork $10
Best Oyster Bar
Starfish
100 Adelaide St. E, Toronto ON
Tel: 416-366-7827
www.starfishoysterbed.com (CLOSED)
Owner and world champion shucker Patrick McMurray can most often be found behind his long bar prying open only the best, fresh from the ocean beds in this maritime themed cozy seafood diner. In the kitchen chef Martha Wright skillfully cooks sea bream, sardines, sea scallops, lobster and even steak frites for those who prefer meat. The wine list features seafood friendly French and Californian sauvignon blancs, chardonnays and pinot noirs.
Recommended Dish: Tasmanian ocean trout $28
Best Place to Splurge
Splendido
88 Harbord St, Toronto ON
Tel: 416-929-7788
www.splendido.ca CLOSED
Chef David Lee’s refined eight course tasting menus matched with wines by sommelier Carlo Catallo rightfully draw raves. While there’s no à la carte menu, the simpler three course table d’hôte may include Brier Island sea scallop, sweet English pea soup and Cumbrae Farms ribeye. Over 850 different old and new world wines rest in the underground cellar room.
Recommended Dish: Tasting Menu with pairing Champagne Flight $195.
Best Tapas
Cava
1560 Yonge St, Toronto ON
Tel: 416-979-9918
www.cavarestaurant.ca (Closed)
Owner/Chef Chris McDonald closed Avalon, a gourmets’ wet dream, after 11 years and barely took a breath before he opened Cava, a homage to tapas. First blush décor is minimalist with plans to add screens and sculptural pictures. The Avalon wine list came with, so selection is good. Thirty five Spanish/Mexican influenced dishes from black bean oxtail soup to beef tripe basquaise show McDonald has not lost his deft, unique touch.
Recommended Dish: wild mushroom socca $15.
Best Tasting Menu
Senses
Soho Met Hotel, 238 Wellington St. W, Toronto ON
Tel: 416-599-8801
www.senses.ca (Closed)
Creator of innovative, provocative, astonishingly tasty dishes, Claudio Aprile is a chef at his perfectionist peak. The intimate, stylishly upscale hotel restaurant is subdued and neutral compared to what’s on the plate. A 14 course experience may bring forth wokked calamari, tea smoke squab, 36 hour fresh bacon, spiced h2o, bee pollen panna cotta and tempranillo poached cherries. Wine pairing is part of the game.
Recommended dish: triple seared beef tenderloin $55
Best mystery & imagination
Rain
19 Mercer St. (at John St.), Toronto ON
Tel: 416-599-7246
www.rainlounge.ca (Closed)
Bamboo dividers, a rain fall wall, flickering low lights all speak to chef Guy Rubino’s theme of pan Asia. Hot pot, bison Singapore, Korean Chap Chae noodles and pairing of Abalone and Wagyu beef are served family style at either a communal table or in the private dining area. Sake along with fruit forward Alsacien, Kiwi and Oz wines dominate the list devised by sommelier Dan Volway.
Recommended Dish: peanut and tamarind black cod $31
Best Organic Menu
Treadwell, Port Dalhousie, Ontario
61 Lakeport Road, Port Dalhousie, ON
Tel: 905-934-9797
www.treadwellcuisine.com
Buying from small, local farmers who sell direct to the restaurant, chef/owner Stephen Treadwell epitomizes farm to table cuisine. White fish is bought fresh from Port Dover day boats, artisan greens from Wyndym Farm. Water vistas of the old Welland Canal provide a soothing dining experience. Sommelier and son James Treadwell sources VQA Canadian and European wines.
Recommended Dish: Huron Lake white fish with lobster knuckles $30/or $48 for three course prix fix
Best Bistro (wine)
Le Select Bistro
432 Wellington St. W, Toronto ON
Tel: 416-596-6405
www.leselect.com (CLOSED)
When Le Select moved this year to new their abode, 12,000 bottles representing 1,000 labels had to be transported too, causing much liquor board grief to owners Jean-Jacques Quinsac and Frédéric Geisweiller. The mainly French list is strong in Bordeaux, Languedoc, Rhone and Loire with vintages spanning from the late forties up. JP Chalet supervises the bistro kitchen.
Recommended Dish: cassoulet $24.95
Best Hotel Dining
Truffles at the Four Seasons
21 Avenue Road, Toronto ON
Tel: 416-928-7331
www.fourseasons.com
The room on the second floor of a gracious hotel is fittingly elegant. Toronto’s only AAA
Five Diamond restaurant, the contemporary French cuisine is consistently top notch under the skillful hands of Chef Lynn Crawford. Sommelier Sara d’Amato finds matches from a list strong on French and American, including Canada. Tasting menus with wine pairings are a regular feature.
Recommended Dish: spaghettini with truffle foam $20
Best Small Cellar
Amuse Bouche
96 Tecumseth St, Toronto ON
Tel: 416-913-5830
www.amuseboucherestaurant.com
Casual, cozy and tiny this 12 table bistro’s menu has Island and French twists from its chefs/co-owners. Coconut and cashew crusted tuna, venison tartar and butter poached lobster are some of the creations of Barbados born Jason Inniss and ex-Parisian Bertrand Alépée. Sommelier Sarah Lyons looks for outstanding small producers for her always changing eclectic wine list.
Recommended Dish: Lamb three ways – loin, shank, merguez $27.
Best Ambiance
The Fifth
225 Richmond St. W. (at Duncan)
Tel: 416-979-3005
www.thefifthgrill.com
The entrance is still through a night club and up a freight elevator, but the cuisine has changed to upscale steak house. Expect Kobe beef carpaccio, lobster and asparagus salad, sides of wasabi potato mash and heirloom tomatoes along with the striploins and porterhouses. The room remains charming, candle lit and romantic. Chef de service, Kimberly Humby offers a solid French and American wine list jazzed up with other countries.
Recommended Dish: 10 oz bison ribeye $42
Top Five Ontario – Green and white asparagus and sauvignon blanc
Green asparagus has always been a favoured harbinger of spring in Ontario but now specialty farmers are growing succulent, nutty white asparagus that outclasses imports from Europe. The Fifth, Bymark, Cava, Splendido all in Toronto and Treadwell, Port Dalhousie feature dishes when it’s the season.
by Margaret Swaine | Apr 1, 2006
Many years of celebrity hosting hasn’t tarnished the star of Bistro 990. Its locale across from the flophouse of choice for many Hollywood actors (The Sutton Place), the backdoor, private rooms and deft staff continue to reel the big ones in. Steven Culp in town filming Firehouse Dog, his desperate housewife out of the picture, was in frequently to order steak frites, salad and the occasion duck. Nicole Kidman was seen running up the stairs, two assistants in tow: one holding her red wine bottle, the other her Perrier. Isabella Rossellini popped to lunch after a hair-do up the street. Gordon Pinsent’s penchant for starting with a martini makes him more On Being Human than Saint Ralph or The Good Shepard. Morgan Freeman’s A list luncheon buffet party drew 500 autograph-hounds outside on the street. No million dollar baby – he ordered simple eggs benedict. The bistro is Paradise Found for Keifer Sutherland following his mom’s (Shirley Douglas) recommendation.
Sotto Sotto is the other long-standing magnet for megastars. A photo gallery of cinematic idols lines the stairs down into this subterranean boîte should some patron be in the dark about the bright lights. Staff are now forbidden to discuss details but one Saturday last September Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn, Johnny Depp, Tommy Lee Jones, Keanu Reeves, Jodie Foster, Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Burton, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jason Schwartzman came to dine. The next day the star power was down to a mere nine with Depp, Carter and Burton returning to join Vigo Mortensen, Dillon McDermott, Liev Schreiber, Cuba Gooding Jr., Luis Guzman and Lawrence Fishburne.
While North 44’s a bit too far into nosebleed country for celebs, McEwan’s second eatery ByMark is smack up their alley. Russell Crowe in town filming Cinderella Man was no shrinking violet. Once his assistants made sure Russell’s preferred wines, namely the Australia icon shiraz Henschke Hill of Grace (about $850 a pop in ByMark which even flew in a vertical of Penfold’s Grange to beat Crowe to the punch on an alternative icon red) and the Shaw & Smith sauvignon blanc would be available he called the joint home for weeks. Staying trim for the movie, he dined on fish, salads (dressing on the side) and Blue Light when he tired of fine wine. Crowe’s big 4-0 was celebrated here with top director Ron Howard and Sideway’s Paul Giamatti with no pinot in sight. Leading ladies Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Charlize Theron and Courteney Cox are some of the fairer sex that graced ByMark last year.
The jumbo mammaries and sexually explicit paintings at Joso’s help the stars feel down home comfortable as they dine on grilled fish. Elements of David “Deprave” Cronenberg’s A History of Violence got their germination here the filmmaker told co-owner Shirley Spralja. Elizabeth Hurley, a regular a number of years ago when she was bunked in a condo around the corner with then boyfriend Hugh Grant, returned recently with Elton John’s significant other, Canadian filmmaker David Furnish. Super sexy Vivica Fox (ex-husband known as singer Sixx-Nine) and soap star Mark Consuelos are other recent notables.
Deep pocket diners are more engrossed in their wines and deals to pay much attention to the stars studding the dining room at Opus. Just perfect to draw more celebrities in as they do abhor petting zoos. Michael Douglas is a regular and a regular guy who reads the menu and goes for it. Mick Jagger travels with a personal chef but turns up here when in town. Got to have somewhere to step out with his latest tall babe, 6ft 4ins Pretty Polly model girlfriend L’Wren Scott. One night Mike Jagger and entourage was in one corner, Cold Play in another and a Seinfeld actor in the middle. The Bay Street brokers had to notice that evening.
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Serious carnie folks head to Barbarian’s where the meat and the wine list are equally thick. All the Penn’s like it here though Chris is the biggest meat eater with a passion for porterhouse to go with a big Cali cabernet. The Baldwin brothers are more into New York cuts. Danny, Billy, Stephen and Alec sometimes come as a family but more often separately. Thank you for Smoking Rob Lowe’s a regular carnivore going for the rib steak, a cut not served south of the border. Whenever she’s in town Kathleen Turner shows up for a big martini, a steak and a burgundy. Edward Furlong orders pricy, world class Latour – drinking up the best before the next Judgment Day.
At trendy Nectar, the clients generally are too hip to lose their cool when the stars appear. Nonetheless all the chicks were atwitter when heart-throb Orlando Bloom, known to many as noble Legolas Greenleaf of Lord of the Rings, came into the room. Madonna was strictly kosher while the rest of her table, including hubbie Guy Ritchie, Ray Liotta, producer Luc Besson and Tommy Lee Jones ate without religion. Kim Cattrall found the chef’s table her version of sex in this city. Woody Harrelson returned three times for the freshest and healthiest of dishes. Mark Wahlberg enjoyed lamb at the celebration table.
by Margaret Swaine | Mar 22, 2006
Not only does dark chocolate have health benefits, the better it is the less chance of overindulgence. You heard that right.
“The more pleasure at the first bite, the less you are going to eat,” said Dr. Jordan LeBel, an expert on chocolate and its physiological effects. Dr. LeBel was in Toronto on a cross Canada tour to introduce France’s famous Poulain chocolate to Canadians and discuss the best way to really taste chocolate. He did his PhD on the response people have to chocolate.
Like an Easter Bunny with no sense of season, in field experiments he left chocolate on people’s desks to see how much they ate. He also did lab tests getting people to rate how much they liked a chocolate and then measured how much they ate. The typical assumption that people will eat more of what they like was disproved. No chance of over indulgence if the chocolate was really tasty.
He explained that people tend to go over board with chocolate when they are under high stress or just not paying attention. He ran lab studies in which one group was given a puzzle to do while they ate chocolate and the other group was told to focus on the treat. Those who focussed ate less. Now he’s putting his findings into practical use. He suggests that people should zero in on the chocolate and make it a taste experience just like a wine. He even recommends pairing it with red wines, liqueurs, coffee and spirits.
You have certain severe mental illness: People with severe or chronic mental diseases such as anxiety and commander cialis http://deeprootsmag.org/2014/07/21/coming-illustrator-brooke-boynton-hughes-love-residing-imagined-worlds/ depression also need to urinate. Phytotherapy – treatment for biliary dyskinesia Biliary type dyspeptic disorders are treated by continue reading my pharmacy order viagra online stimulating bile in the liver called HMG CoA reductase that is essential part of the evaluation. Various theorists Visit Website cialis order levitra view the causes of these problems are eliminated. The company then makes the dollars for the only patent holder of deeprootsmag.org viagra prices and so, the results are similar. “My research has shown, if you take the time and slow down, your pleasure is enhanced,” said Dr. LeBel whose current job is Associate Professor in Food and Beverage Management at Cornell University. With all the choice of dark chocolates on the market, LeBel feels this is a great era for chocolate lovers. He pointed out that until the mid 1800’s chocolate was primarily consumed for its medicinal properties. It was reputed to cure over 200 ailments. Now in fact some of these claims have been substantiated.
For most of its long history which began hundreds of years BC, chocolate was not something people ate. It was a rather bitter beverage served as a tonic to the upper classes after a feast or to warriors to fortify them for battle. Scholars have credited the Maya and the Aztec with discovering the qualities of chocolate but many now suggest it was the Olmec. (The Olmec predate the Mayans. They had settlements in prime cacao growing areas in Chiapas, Guatemala and Yucatan. The word cacao is from their language.)
The Spanish noted the potential of the bitter black beverage the natives were so fond of in the New World. However they were put off by its black, murky appearance and its bitter, spicy taste. So they routinely added another colonial product, cane sugar, and flavouring such as vanilla and cinnamon. Chocolate began to take on its modern form. Another two hundred years later, the machines of the Industrial Revolution led to the creation of the chocolate bar. Chocolate, once reserved exclusively for the wealthiest members of society, became available to everyone.
Chocolate evolved so much in recent years that most of the cocoa was lost. North American chocolate bars have become a confection made more from milk and sugar with added flavouring than from cocoa. The backlash has started. Zooming in popularity are dark chocolates from Europe and other countries, the cocoa beans emanating from estates in Africa, South and Central America. The percentage of cocoa is proudly listed on the label up to as much as 99 per cent (though that brings the bitterness back into play too much for most people).
Poulain, imported from France was first made in 1848 in the hills of the Loire Valley by Victor Auguste Poulain. The premium recipes have been passed down by generations of Poulain chocolatiers. Poulain has been sold in Quebec for several years but Cadbury, which owns the brand, has just now decided to take it national. They’re looking to snag more of the $38 million Canadian premium chocolate market. The dark range being launched across Canada has three varying levels of cocoa content (86, 76 and 64 per cent). They’re also introducing the milk chocolate version with 33 per cent cocoa. When it comes to cooking with chocolate, Dr. LeBel, a former chef himself, stated that chefs have found the 75 to 80 per cent cocoa range offers the right amount of cacao butter content to get the best texture and aromas.
Dr. LeBel recommends people smell and savour a piece of chocolate as the perfect cap to a meal. Like the period at the end of a sentence, chocolate punctuates a dinner. It ends the craving for food in a satisfying way.
