This time last year, the future looked awfully grim. We braced for restaurant closures and recessionary menus, but 2009 was surprising. Though we lost some good places (Perigee, Truffles, Alice’s and Gamelle, in particular), and mac-and-cheese quickly wore out its welcome, it was an exciting time to dine out. Anxious restaurateurs dropped corkage fees and slashed wine markups, while chefs cooked up imaginative prix fixe menus. It suited our mood as well as our wallets: these days, Torontonians want informality. We’re still hungry for local produce and nose-to-tail dining, chefs are once again finding inspiration in Italy and Japan, and the city is finally beginning to develop a serious cocktail culture. Most encouraging of all is the number of new restaurants opening. Here, the best of the vintage.
So Toronto’s best new restaurant is 2 hours north of the city? Hmmm…I don’t get it.
April 9, 2010 at 1:11 pm | by MattagascarJames Chatto pontificates on the best new restaurants in Toronto, and as usual appears to dwell in some mysterious and utterly boring alternate reality, where ‘foodies’ strike up conversations with their fellows at the next table to discuss the relative merits of what’s on their plate or in their glass – if a stranger were in fact to lean over to me in real life and pick apart the ingredients in my meal, I think I’d probably ask him to leave the restaurant and never attempt to dine in public again.
While I enjoyed his book, The Man Who Ate Toronto, for its insights into the dawn of Toronto’s culinary scene, his choices here are largely predictable, from the preamble claiming that these recessionary times call for modesty through to his inevitable contradiction by noting the presence of truffles, foie gras, ingredients flown in from Japan, and vaguely nauseating charcuterie as the measure of a menu’s excellence.
I’m sure food writing, like travel writing, is not nearly as appealing as a career to those who actually practice it, but that does not excuse the casual abuse of terms like ‘beau monde’, prose which should be taken out to the yard and put out of its its misery.
April 13, 2010 at 8:35 am | by MartinDon’t hate…participate!
April 13, 2010 at 9:37 am | by cWhy…Gee Beav!
April 20, 2010 at 8:18 am | by gbbWe don’t have to yell… we have to taste…I support James.
May 2, 2010 at 6:15 pm | by Francis KInteresting, Martin, how you don’t mention any praise or criticism of the selections rather simply criticize the ‘style’ of writing. Your biggest gripe is an inconsistency between philosophy of the selections and the selections themselves but only in a very general sense.
Perhaps you should comment on the actual selections based on their merits rather than your incessant digressions.
May 2, 2010 at 11:03 pm | by JeffAs this column in effectively Chatto’s swan song with Toronto Life, I say we recognize him for tremendous work over the last 20+ years. Good luck and bon appetite, James!
May 7, 2010 at 2:32 pm | by Jerry O'ShaugnessyPersonally, I find myself in conversation with near neighbours in dining rooms frequently. This is especially true in the more tightly packed places. Since when did it become bad form to be friendly and engaged? Obviously to do so in a hoity toity establishment like Canoe would be a little over the top, but the writer was describing a far more casual and convivial joint in the article. You will note that he did not describe similar experiences at Hashimoto or Splendido. To make a general assertion from a specific occurrence is just a little disingenuous, no?
May 7, 2010 at 3:02 pm | by munchieHKI’m sorry to see James Chatto leaving Toronto Life – due to its “new direction”. I’ve always enjoyed his writing even if I didn’t necessarily agree with him.
I wish him all the best.
I don’t agree with some of TL’s new directions which seem to be heading towards shorter and thinner on a lot of topics.
May 21, 2010 at 10:21 am | by LynneTo put a plate of pasta and tomato sauce on the cover of Toronto Life and suggest that it is good proves that Chatto and Toronto Life readers will eat again that’s bland and lacking innovation. For good food, tell him to visit New York, Chicago, San Francisco etc… If he can’t afford that, try Vancouver or Montreal. Even tiny Quebec City has more good restaurants than all of Toronto combined. Pasta and tomato sauce, indeed. Why not Chef Boyardee?
May 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm | by davidTORONTO HAS HAD THE ONLY CANADIAN RESTAURANT TO EVER MAKE THE TOP 10 INTERNATIONALLY! HAVE YOU EVER EATEN IN MONTREAL OR VANCOUVER? IT MAY BE CHEF BOYARDEE IN TORONTO, BUT IT IS ALPO AND SPAM IN MONTREAL AND VANSNOOZER. OBVIOUSLY, YOU ARE A TORONTO HATER AND PROBABLY HAVE NEVER VISITED LIKE MOST TORONTO CRITICS!
May 26, 2010 at 12:45 pm | by D. POWELLDavid, you serious? Clearly, haterism is the primary reason for your post. Although you cite great food cities, it’s rather ludicrous to think that Toronto doesn’t compete. A solid argument can be made to say that Toronto’s restaurants are, overall, superior to Vancouver, Montreal and Chicago.
The fact that you think that Toronto is so far behind those cities is laughable and surely indicates that your post is essentially spam… Therefore, unfortunately, the joke is on me for taking a few seconds out of my day to even reply.
May 31, 2010 at 1:40 pm | by Val SteChicago?. I think Toronto is a pretty solid city for food and restaurants but it certainly isn’t close to Chicago. Montreal and Vancouver – yes a solid case can be made that Toronto is somewhat better.
June 3, 2010 at 11:06 am | by GeoffI think Toronto has a good restaurant scene. But lets face it, it’s not New York, or San Fran; but I think we can compete with Vancouver or Montreal. That being said, I am glad for certain Vancouver restos like Guu coming here…however, Au Noir from Montreal…I can do without.
It’s not perfect…sure we have Colborne Lane, and I visit often, but it’s no WD50. However, I think Canoe, Scaramouche, and George are amazing restaurants. One thing that we do better than anyone else in North America however, is East Asian cuisine!
June 9, 2010 at 11:09 am | by JamesNobody does South Asian like Toronto but it’s mostly restricted to Chinese and pitifully few Japanese places as most ethnic food is reduced to the lowest common denominator. This was my point about the other cities. The foodies won’t eat the average stuff. They want better. And Toronto does not have it.
To equate Toronto foodwise with Vancouver or Montreal is just chest thumping chauvinism. And it’s wrong.
Toronto has remarkable qualities like fabulous museums, a great diverse population and beautiful architecture but food is not one of them.
When places like Four Seasons closes Truffles it says a lot about the food culture of a city. I have lived in Toronto for 16 years and cannot rate it as a good food city as opposed to the ones I mentioned.
Yes Colborne Lane is excellent and Splendido is good (not what it was)& Scaramouche(far from great, but good)and a few others like Canoe, l’Auberge du Pommier and a handful of others. We have a GTA of 5+ million; we deserve better.
To Val who suggests that my post is spam, I see no arguments supporting her dubious claim. She makes no references to Toronto culinary greatness but rather profers a smug view that she is right. Sounds like a clueless elitist.
Susar is gone, Splendido has taken a backward step and Perigee is gone.
To those who have said I am a hater, True. I am a hater of bland, ordinary food. I also feel sorry for people who resort to ad hominems who don’t know better because they are terrified to try something new thus impeding the progress of restaurants in Toronto. They probably think that the Firkin & Mr. Greek are good! And their idea of a great night out is Jack Astors or a steakhouse like Le Castille, Tom Jones, Barberians or the Octogon, places with identical menus, identical interiors, identical taste and identical recipes.
That is why Vancouver & Montreal are so superior. As proof, go on line and look at their menus. Ditto for NYC, LAX, SFO & ORD. Even Dallas, Miami and Houston put us to shame.
I am not a qualified critic but I have gone to ALL the spots other than the Eigensteins. I think $350 per head is far better spent at Paul Bocuse in Lyon, Per Se in New York, Joel Robichon in Vegas or The French Laundry in Napa. My dream would be El Bulli outside of Madrid or The Fat Duck or Le Gavroche in London but reservations are really tough to come by.
But when locals consider Bistro 990 and La Maquette true French, one wonders.
I Reiterate: When the signature magazine of a city puts a photo of pasta & tomato sauce on its cover, one really wonders. It is akin to a one horse town recommending Harvey’s. Or the joys of attending a tomato sauce fueled mediterranean wedding.
Anyway, Trump, the Ritz and Four Seasons are opening new hotels. Maybe we will have a chance to sample excellent fare like the ones they offer in NYC.
But I’m not holding my breath.
July 5, 2010 at 1:18 am | by david