Our main course: roasted sea scallops with a sweet apple-vanilla chutney (Image: Andrew Brudz)
At Reds, the 12-year-old Financial District staple of the power lunch crowd, award-winning chef Michael Steh has created an uncommonly attractive Winterlicious lunch menu ($20). Unlike so many, which require careful planning to weed out the duds, the prix fixe offerings here feel practically fool-proof (in addition to our selections, high praise goes to the spinach salad with duck breast and the bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin). We start with the ham hock and pig’s head terrine, which is formed into a patty, deep-fried and served warm. It’s smoky, salty and crispy, with a sweet apple and pear sauce that benefits from the coarse texture of stone-crushed mustard seeds. We suggest tiny bites; you’ll want to savour this dish. Next up, roasted sea scallops with a sweet apple-vanilla chutney. The plump bivalves arrive perfectly blackened on the outside and are served on a bed of creamy pumpkin risotto, with the added crunch of salt-candied pumpkin seeds. For dessert, the panna cotta tasting is an adorable collection of three flavours: strawberry with white chocolate–covered rice crisps; tart lemon with meringue; and rich Nutella with crushed hazelnuts. You’ll want to hurry up and get here before the prices soar back after February 9.
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Trying to choose a selection of our favourite lunch picks from the last year proved too much like choosing a selection of our favourite children. So instead we present a complete year of lunch picks, ranked by price, from a humble porchetta sandwich (a reasonable $6.75) to a somewhat less humble five-course feast (treat yourself for $100). 
At noon, a queue snakes out from the mezzanine barista bar and kitchen at Sense Appeal, the King and Spadina café 
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