The dining scene in and around the Financial District has seen a lot of changes since last year’s festival, with new restaurants (Aria, Estiatorio Volos) and new chefs at existing restaurants (Lucien, Brassaii). Here, 24 Winterlicious picks south of College.

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).

• porchetta sandwich at Sausage King by Oliffe: $6.75
• tinga tostada at Agave y Aguacate: $8.25
• pan bagna sandwich at Morning Glory: $8.50
• roast beef sandwich at Brick Street Bakery: $9.89
• Philly cheese steak and poutine at Food Cabbie: $10
• soup-and-sandwich combo at Delica Kitchen: $10.72
• spicy chicken manakeesh at Paramount: $11
• coconut shrimp and Singapore-style noodles at Taste of Orient: $11.05
• sandwich special at Nadège: $12.43
• barbecue tofu sandwich at Urban Herbivore: $14
• pork belly bao and kalbi taco at Banh Mi Boys: $14.66
• rainbow trout at Sense Appeal: $14.69
• Square Peg lunch at Fabarnak: $15
• bison burger at Brassaii: $15.50
• soon dubu at Swish by Han: $16
• curried apricot and red lentil soup and sandwich at RaviSoups: $17
• rotisserie chicken sandwich at Le Kensington Bistro: $17
• a northern Chinese dim sum at Asian Legend: $18.50
• pad Thai done right at Khao San Road: $19
• tawük lunch plate at Tabülè: $19
• 30th-anniversary prix fixe at the Boulevard Café: $19.50
• fried fish feast at The One That Got Away: $19.50
• fregola at Gallery Grill: $21
• oyakojyu rice bowl at Take Sushi: $21
• ricotta gnocchi at Carisma: $21
• bento box at Ematei: $21.50
• onion and anchovy tartlet with parsnip soup at Biff’s: $22
• Buffola pizza at Bar Mercurio: $23.50
• crispy pork belly at Mercatto: $24
• soup and sandwich at Gilead: $24
• lamb sandwich at Great Cooks on Eight: $26
• beer can chicken at Hotel Ocho: $27
• guinea fowl sausage and beer at Wvrst: $27
• venison chili at Bannock: $27
• 24-hour sam gye tang soup at Etsu: $30
• black cod at The Gabardine: $30
• beef dip sandwich at Frank: $31
• prosciutto pizza at Paese: $31
• grilled octopus at Adega: $32.50
• dim sum feast for two at Dim Sum King: $33
• croque madame at La Société: $35
• exohico at Estiatorio Volos: $37
• seared scallops over curried cauliflower at O&B Canteen: $39
• oysters at Rodney’s by Bay: $40
• lobster BLT at Toca: $42
• duck confit and clafoutis at La Palette: $46
• grass-fed steak frites at Aria: $56
• European Retreat at Splendido: $100

In case you were wondering, that’s a mean of $24.49, a median of $21 and a mode of $21. Happy New Year.

Photography by Christopher Stevenson
Luscious Italian cheeses are the best things to emerge from Toronto’s enduring rustic Italian infatuation. From buffalo milk ricotta to burrata, the finest mozz-and-cream concoction ever invented, they turn a simple starter into an eye-closing, table-pounding affair.

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Inside Modus (Image: Gizelle Lau)

Modus Ristorante, a new restaurant in the Financial District, might serve Italian food, but refreshingly, no one’s anxious to label it “rustic.” Behind Modus is Sam Genkov, owner of the 16-year-old District favourite Bravi Ristorante, and chef Bruce Woods, formerly of Brassaii.

No stranger to high-end Italian cuisine, Woods worked at Il Posto in the late ’90s, becoming executive chef and co-owner of Centro after taking over for Marc Thuet. Modus’s menu shows Woods back in his element, reimagining recognizable Italian classics as fine-dining creations. Starters include carpaccio of veal ($19) or swordfish ($16), as well as a buffalo mozzarella pomodoro salad ($17). Pastas, most of which are made in house, include butternut squash ravioli with braised duck and shaved black truffle ($26) and spaghettini with mozzarella-stuffed prime beef meatballs ($24). For secondi, there’s osso buco with parmesan polenta ($29) and a handful of seafood dishes like baked halibut ($27) and pan-roasted pickerel ($26). The long dessert menu features classics like gelato ($8), rum and ricotta fritters ($10) or cheeses from the Cheese Boutique ($16 for a selection of three).

Behind the restaurant’s 300-bottle wine program is sommelier Ruben Elmer of Profile Wine Group, who has also previously worked at Canoe and Auberge du Pommier. The list offers 10 reds and eight or nine whites by the glass, with a heavy focus on Italian, Californian and South American wines.

If the space feels familiarly “Financial District,” it’s because the design is the work of Mackay Wong Strategic Design, the group responsible for Glow, Vertical and Far Niente, to name a few. Rich golds, textured wallpaper and giant chandeliers create a subtly elegant space. At the front, there’s a large bar and lounge area to accommodate the 5 p.m. rush of schmoozing suits. At the back is the showpiece kitchen—on display for guests as well as passersby on York Street—and the elevated chef’s table, where groups of six to eight can sit and watch Woods at work.

Modus Ristorante, 145 King St. W., 416-861-9977, modusristorante.com.

Smiling for the camera at a Barney’s Version press conference at TIFF 2010 (Image: Karon Liu)

Now that every fan with a cell phone has become a part-time paparazzo, it ain’t easy out there for a star. Apparently, curmudgeonly old Barney Panofsky Paul Giamatti has taken this to heart: spotted by a fan across from King West resto-lounge Brassaii, the Ides of March co-star dared to not mug for the camera (allegedly). What’s next? A merely begrudging red carpet walk?

Find this story on our Star Spotting Map, where we plot the locations of celebrities spotted around Toronto.

Rocco Agostino and Matthew DeMille, both of Enoteca Sociale (Image: Renée Suen)

Earlier this month, Enoteca Sociale, the popular west-end Italian wine bar, posted a notice on their website that their long search for a new chef was over. Executive chef and co-owner Rocco Agostino told us that the restaurant was looking for someone willing to take the concept of the Roman-style wine bar and make it their own. Their pick? Matthew DeMille, most recently known as Matty Matheson’s sous chef at Parts and Labour; his new gig starts tomorrow.

The new chef tells us that he knew the position was a good fit from the moment he was approached by Enoteca co-owner Daniel Clarke, whom DeMille had first met at Brassaii. “It’s the philosophy—we were on the same level as far as the food and flavour are concerned,” he said. “When I came to the kitchen for the first time, I saw that there was this push from the cooks—the way they moved, talked and shook my hand—the overall push that you don’t get in a lot of places. There was this buzz that just draws you in.”

DeMille speaks favourably about his new boss, telling us that “as a young chef, you need a mentor and to keep learning.” This includes extracurricular education, like cheese courses at the Cheese Boutique, and visiting market vendors. DeMille will also get to develop his knowledge of food and wine pairing, something that’s an obvious focus at Enoteca under sommelier Lesa LaPointe.

However, DeMille tells us he’s most looking forward to getting to know and work with the staff, especially since the oft-changing menu is a collaborative project between all members of the kitchen. For Agostino, having DeMille at the helm will provide allow him to focus his attention on the second Pizzeria Libretto location (which will be opening up on the Danforth) and spend more time with his family.

Got restaurant news, tips or rumours? Send them to thedish@torontolife.com.

Toronto restaurants are firmly in the grip of Summerlicious, which continues to this Sunday, so we decided to find out how the annual prix-fixe fete has treated them. The consensus? It’s been a wild week-and-a-half. “It’s definitely crazier than normal,” the folks at Brassaii told us. “Crazy busy,” echoed the people at Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill, who also had some sage advice for those spurned by packed houses and peculiarly empty tables: “If you’re unsure [of availabilities], call in or swing past, because there are always no-shows” (ah, the infamous Summerlicious no-shows). With less than a week left before the summer food fest wraps up, we got in touch with the 10 restaurants whose menus got the most hits from our list of the 63 best bets to find out whether and when tables are still available.

1. Fabbrica
Lunch is by far the busiest, but any time outside of that you should have good luck.

2. Canoe
No longer taking Summerlicious reservations. Sorry.

3. The Fifth Grill
No specific best available time, but be prepared to be flexible, as they are steadily busy with Summerlicious guests.

4. King Street Social
You shouldn’t experience difficulties getting reservations during the week, but Friday and Saturday are a different story.

5. Luma
For dinner, Thursday or Friday nights are your best bets at the moment. For lunch, weekdays have better availability.

6. Starfish Oyster Bed and Grill
Pick any day, but be prepared to be flexible on the time.

7. Drake Hotel
Thursday is much less busy than Friday, which is much less busy than Saturday. Same deal for both lunch and dinner.

8. Pangaea
At lunchtime, noon to 1:15 p.m. is the busiest. At dinner, it’s between 7 and 8. If you can eat a little earlier or later and avoid the rush, you should be able to get a table.

9. Globe Bistro
The busiest time is 7:30 p.m., but you can generally get a table during most dining hours.

10. Brassaii
Generally, weekday evenings right after work are the best time to secure a table.

DOWNTOWN NORTH | DOWNTOWN SOUTH | EAST | WEST | UPTOWN

Got restaurant news, tips or rumours? Send them to thedish@torontolife.com.

Chef Robbie Hojilla, the man of the hour, pictured with his family. (Image: Renée Suen)

Over the last couple of months, we’ve reported on events where cooks and restaurateurs have donated their time and resources to give to others. Last Monday at Frank’s Kitchen, we dropped in on a fundraiser thrown for one of their own: Woodlot cook Robbie Hojilla. Just 25 years old, Hojilla has been diagnosed with heart failure and is currently not able to work. Given that the restaurant business lacks the sort of financial fallbacks of other jobs (like health benefits or sick leave), chef Frank Parhizgar and his wife, Shawn Cooper, the owners of Frank’s Kitchen, decided to help the talented young chef with an industry-wide fundraiser. Donating space, food and alcohol, the couple joined up with the staff of Frank’s and Woodlot to offer a multi-course dinner complete with wine pairings.

All attendees were from the restaurant industry, including Chris McDonald (Cava), Biana Zorich (Petite Thuet), Robert Bartley (Maple Leaf Sports), Chris Kalisperas (Brassaii) and Dustin Gallagher (Grace). For some, the highlight of the evening was the expertly delivered dishes courtesy of chefs Parhizgar, David Haman (Woodlot) and Jason Carter (Centro). For Hojilla, we imagine it was the generosity of his peers: a total of $5,000 was raised. We take a look at the evening’s highlights—including who was there and what they ate—in the following slideshow.

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Power lunchers and after-work diners are the bread and butter of Summerlicious. Here, 22 Toronto Life picks for where to go.

DOWNTOWN NORTH | DOWNTOWN SOUTH | EAST | WEST | UPTOWN

Owner Luc Essiambre mans the counter at his eponymous ice cream shop (Image: Gizelle Lau)

King Street West has seen a lot of action this month, with the revamp of Brassaii’s menu, the closing of M:brgr, the opening of WVRST and now the launch of its first ice cream shop, Cool Hand Luc, which opened on June 3 with free samples for all. Behind the counter at the new shop, cleverly named after the Paul Newman flick Cool Hand Luke, is the affable Luc Essiambre (whose nickname growing up was, of course, “Cool Hand Luc”). After spending 15 stressful years in logistics for the aviation industry, Essiambre decided that he’d had enough and began working in an ice cream shop, serving scoops and mastering the art of making it from scratch.

Essiambre and business partner Shereef Shiaty opened the shop to create a friendly space for the neighbourhood’s residents (themselves included) to hang out away from the adult-oriented pub and club options on King West. Behind the design of the place is Pilot Interactive, whose fantastical, sugar-rush artwork is on display on the shop’s back wall. The colourful mural features pretzels bathing in a river of ice cream, evil, laughing peanut butter cups, sunbathing bananas and pink ice cream puffs puking up rainbow sprinkles (no, we didn’t make that up).

In the interests of opening at the peak of ice cream season, Essiambre opted to use the high-quality, 15 per cent cream product by Kawartha Dairy (it’s locally produced and delivered from Bobcaygeon every other day) instead of making his own. If all goes to plan, he’ll be offering his own product in about a year. Also on offer at Cool Hand Luc are sorbets by Montreal’s Solo Fruit, made from 100 per cent natural fruit, with no added sugars, dairy, gluten, eggs or fat.

From 11 a.m. until closing (11 p.m. on weekdays, 2 a.m. on weekends), there are 24 flavours of ice cream, including chocolate peanut butter, chocolate cherry cheesecake and birthday cake, as well as eight sorbets, like raspberry, mango and passion fruit. After opening at slightly higher price points, Essiambre has settled at $2.43 for a kiddie scoop, $3.50 for a regular scoop, $6.14 for two and $7.44 for three, all generously doled out in regular cake cones, sugar cones and waffle cones ($0.75 extra) with a variety of toppings ($0.50 for sprinkles, $0.75 for other toppings). Homemade waffle cones, milkshakes, smoothies and sundaes are all on the way.

Once peak cone season is behind them, Cool Hand Luc will serve a smaller selection of ice creams and bring in a range of soups and stews beginning in September.

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Cool Hand Luc, 545 King St. W., facebook.com/pages/Cool-Hand-Luc

Wvrst’s dining room features long, communal tables (Image: Signe Langford)

More and more, it seems as though Clubland is outgrowing its old epicentre at the Richmond and John area and oozing west along King Street into what was once a much more sedate dining destination led by Susur, Lee, Marc Thuet’s nom-de-jour resto, Brassaii and Rodney’s. As we reported back in April, it’s into this shifting scene that chef and simple food enthusiast Aldo Lanzillotta has opened his first restaurant, Wvrst, which serves up artisanal sausages and brews in a casual beer hall setting.

Nipping off the main drag and following the big red W up a set of dark, grey stairs takes you to the sort of place where worn-out jeans, lumberjack jackets and ironic baseball caps are all welcome. The 4,000-square-foot open space is strung with bare light bulbs and set with long communal tables, benches and stools, with the tunes swinging wildly from house to classic rock.

The concept—Munich-style beer hall—is all over the focused sausage, fries and beer menu. On the night we visited, Lanzillotto and his old friend Claudio Aprile (Origin, Colborne Lane) huddle in a corner, perhaps discussing Aprile’s rumoured expansion, perhaps simply talking sausage. At one of the blonde wood tables, six bros play a drinking game, while further down, a bunch of cool kids in pork pie hats drink from brew-appropriate glassware.

Lanzillotta is currently offering a menu of 18 sausages, including kangaroo with herbs ($9), bison with blueberry and maple ($9), Mediterranean lamb with olives ($6) and Guinea fowl with old cheddar and asparagus ($9), served on buns from Golden Wheat Bakery and Pastry on College. These are paired with over 30 beers ($6–$11) and French fries that are double-dipped in duck fat and sprinkled with Maldon sea salt ($4.50–$6.50).

Some of the place is still a little rough around the edges: Lanzillotta is waiting on signage, outside lighting and his 30-seat boulevard patio. But he remains optimistic that it will all come together some time this summer.

Wvrst, 609 King St. W., 416-703-7775, wvrst.com.

Brassaii’s dining room was renovated last year (Image: Karon Liu)

The makeover of King West has been going on for over a decade now, and members of the old guard (relatively speaking) are trying to reinvent themselves to keep up with some of the new kids on the block. Brassaii, one of the first resto-lounges to call King West home, is doing just that, with a newly renovated patio and accompanying menu—executed by a new chef.

The new Mediterranean-inspired menu is the brainchild of Brassaii’s new executive chef, Chris Kalisperas, previously the sous-chef under the departing Bruce Woods (both formerly of Centro). His fare will focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients, with a focus on making things in-house, including bread, pastas and sheep’s milk ricotta. Though the menu hasn’t been finalized, Kalisperas promises dishes like beet carpaccio with a ginger vinaigrette, sablefish with sweet parsnip purée and a brunch heavy on some trendy proteins: pork belly and duck confit. Woods, meanwhile, who left his gig as chef and co-owner at Centro in 2009 to head up the kitchen at Brassaii, is apparently on the verge of opening his own upscale spot in the Financial District.

Following on the heels of last year’s stylish overhaul of the interior courtesy of The Design Agency, Brassaii’s patio has just met a similar fate. The new cedar-heavy space should now feel less cramped thanks to an extended deck, additional banquettes and a second bar in the cobblestone courtyard—all of which should alleviate the usual crush of thirsty patrons.

Brassaii, 461 King St. W., 416-598-4730, brassaii.com.

Brassaii’s bison burger

Furnished with black lacquered tables and barnwood accents, Brassaii’s King West dining room is an airy setting for executive chef Bruce Woods’s Mediterranean-inspired menu. The front-facing patio is being primped for spring, and in the spirit of the (slightly) warmer weather and the advent of barbecue season, we opt for the eight-ounce bison burger. Grilled to a perfect medium, the hand-packed patty proves that leaner meat doesn’t have to be any less flavourful. Sautéed portobello mushrooms add another hearty layer, with sharp, gooey cheddar and cabernet-soaked onions seeping into the bun. A bowl of yukon gold fries is a salty, crispy complement to the tender burger.

The cost: $15.50, after tax and tip

The time: A brisk 45 minutes

Brassaii, 461 King St. W., 416-598-4730, brassaii.com.

2:45 a.m., Cobra

“Let’s get drunk and fuck! Let’s get drunk and fuck!”

I’m at Cobra, a King West club in a sprawling basement underneath a 19th-century warehouse. In this neighbourhood, the best parties are either deep underground or high above in a rooftop bar. Cobra is decorated like a gothic funhouse, with a wall of glowing skulls and lots of black. The get-drunk-and-fuck directive bleats from a techno remix as coloured lights, inducing a kind of electric synesthesia, pulsate on the basement ceiling. To my left, two girls make out and topple over, knocking down their bottle service glassware. Guys eagerly watch from the sidelines, plotting how to make their move. My teeth chatter from the vibrating bass. I down a shot that’s half Sour Puss and half vodka, proffered by a human Barbie doll bartender.

I’d arrived at 11:30 p.m., waited my turn to pass through the velvet rope, and carefully made my way down the steep staircase (a bitch to do when you’re wearing six-inch stilettos, like most women here, including me). At first the club was nearly empty, with men and women separated in groups as if it were a middle school dance. But as the night progressed, the room filled and the ladies began to pose and grind for an audience of ethnically diverse guys in shiny loafers. Every once in a while, a waitress walks by holding a tray laden with liquor bottles. When a patron orders a $650 bottle of Cristal, Cobra attaches a sparkler to it with an elastic, so it lights a pathway to the club’s very important patrons as the waitress carries it across the room.

One by one, the guys attack—placing clammy hands on trim waists, stubble on well-moisturized cheeks, come-ons on deaf ears. Conversation consists of “What’s up tonight?” and “I can’t hear you, the music’s too loud!” By 3 a.m., the club is nearly empty except for one or two defiant couples, courting the inevitability of what happens at the end of the night.

The opening event for the Thompson Hotel was the high point of cool for the neighbourhood and a warning of the coming deluge of weekend partiers

The entrances to many of the neighbourhood’s nightclubs are hidden in brick-paved alleys that were originally designed to ship products more efficiently to the street’s warehouses. Outside Cobra, three chicks from Western smoke on a striped chaise longue by a cluster of heat lamps, and giggle over the guys they rejected. They tell me they drove in for the weekend to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The prettiest of them, a fragile 20-year-old blonde with a passing resemblance to Kirsten Dunst, is wearing a black lace dress from Urban Behavior, rhinestone earrings from Ardene, $25 bejewelled satin pumps and no coat even though it’s zero degrees and dropping.

I turn my attention back to the street. It’s time I go home to Parkdale, but hailing a cab is a nightmare: King West is a tangle of stretch Hummers and lost packs of bachelorettes. My idea of a big night out used to consist of drinking PBR in a dingy bar in Little Portugal. But over the past few months, as I attempted to figure out why King West became one giant party, I spent nearly every weekend on the strip, dining on foie gras at Brassaii, getting my makeup retouched at C Lounge, avoiding groping guys at the Firkin. Throughout my travels, I met a concert promoter in his late 50s named Gerry, who invited me back to his multimillion-dollar house on Richmond, where we smoked pot and listened to Captain Beefheart; a cop who flashed me his badge and pretended to arrest me “for being so beautiful”; and a guy who swore he wasn’t a rapist as he begged me to join him in his limo. As I make my way home, it occurs to me that this is the only neighbourhood in Toronto where people make direct eye contact.

(Image: Jon Sufrin)

With the recent arrival of such hot spots as The Hideout, Tattoo Rock Parlour and Barchef, the Queen and Bathurst area has seen a boom in late-night hangout options (with the notable exception of the  Bip Bop Big Bop’s closure). But a few steps north on Bathurst used to mean immediate entry into a nightlife dead zone. At least, that was before Adrian Ravinsky and David Stewart opened 416 Snack Bar on Monday, bringing with them a cosmopolitan menu of palm-sized grub options.

The two business partners met years ago as bussers at Ferro. Since then, they’ve become true front-of-house veterans, having undergone serving or managing stints at such venues as Brassaii, Buca, Gilead and more. Now, at 416, they’re trying their hands at menu creation in the space formerly occupied by burrito spot Johnny Banana Johny Banana. “We’re sort of hastily trained chefs,” Stewart admits, but it’s certainly not obvious from the effort put into their eats. It probably helped, too, that Grace’s Dustin Gallagher provided his services as mentor.

For $4, customers get several bites’ worth of a pork belly bun, the meat of which is cured for a week, submerged in duck fat for three or four hours, then deep-fried until crisp. It comes on a steamed bun, made in-house, with hoisin sauce, pickled celery, pickled ginger and watercress as garnishes. The Napolitano pizza pocket ($4) offers vegetarians a miniature panzerotto filled with mozzarella, basil and San Marzano DOP tomato sauce. Other petite highlights include a grilled hot dog ($3) and a Jamaican beef patty filled with braised short rib ($3), both also made from scratch.

The beer selection includes such local favourites as Duggan’s Number 9 ($6), Hoptical Illusion ($6.50 a pint) and Steam Whistle ($6); the wine list is VQA heavy, and the liquor selection steers clear of candy booze. All of that, plus the antique-heavy decor, make for a venue that’s reassuringly worthy of the name.

416 Snack Bar, 181 Bathurst St. (at Queen St. W.), 416-364-9320, 416snackbar.wordpress.com.