From the description on the menu, Bannock’s pickerel taco (which stretches the definition of the term taco) sounds like the work of a chef who hit the sauce and emptied his pantry onto a dim sum bun. The fish—sticky and sweet from a glaze of chili, tamarind and maple syrup—is paired with rutabaga slaw dressed in tangy nam prik dressing (fish sauce, chilies and garlic). On top, there are scallions, cilantro, salty whitefish roe from Lake Huron and creamy house-made tartar sauce. It’s an unlikely mash-up of Chinese, Thai, Latin American and Canadian flavours that, by the magic of umami, somehow work together beautifully. $13. 401 Bay Street, 416-861-6996.
Chef Cory Vitiello at the Harbord Room likes to change the menu every couple of weeks, but whenever he tries to take his Sicilian-style doughnuts off the dessert card, there’s a backlash from diners. Blame it on the ricotta batter, which makes them as fluffy as the Twilight novels, along with orange zest and pistachios, which elevate them way above the lowly Timbit. Three of them arrive fresh from the fryer next to a little bowl of velvety espresso-caramel pot de crème topped with tapioca pearls, whipped cream and crispy shards of meringue. It’s tempting to inhale the ethereal fritters first, but we recommend saving one to soak up every last remnant of sweet pudding. $9. 89 Harbord St., 416-962-8989.
Padma Lakshmi, the model, actress, 
Over the past year, the heated cash-for-gold feud between Harold Gerstel (a former protege of Cashman Russell Oliver) and Jack Berkovits has been a Toronto media sensation (see 
