Looking out onto Church Street from inside Smith (Image: Daniel Barna)
Smith may be one of the less Google-able of Toronto’s new restaurants, but owner Renda Abdo is counting on sharp design and a menu of updated takes on comfort food to lure in the masses. “Smith is for anybody that enjoys good food, good music and good atmosphere,” the Wish and Black Skirt boss says of the newly opened three-level restaurant, which took over the space formerly occupied by Straight, one of the gay village’s more popular clubs. But just because it’s a restaurant, don’t expect things to go quiet at night.
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We caught up with the winner of 
Now that we’re wearing toques, it’s hard to deny that winter has arrived. Fight the chill by cozying up in Harlem, where rich woods and red fabrics set the mood for a homey meal of soul food. We skip the collard greens, mac-and-cheese and ribs that Harlem is known for in favour of the quintessential comfort food dish: meat loaf. This isn’t the drab, dry slice you once dreaded as a child. Harlem’s jerk-spiced beef version is moist, vibrant and topped with red peppers and gravy. It’s served over basmati rice and succeeds in doing what few meat loaves have done before: look good on a plate. 
Top toque Michael Steh, bronze medallist at Toronto’s annual Gold Medal Plates competition, is the culinary mastermind behind this haute mac-and-cheese. The bowl of al dente ditalini is enriched with moist shreds of crab and scallions, spiked with just enough grainy mustard to give it a nutty crunch. It’s all baked under a blistered layer of fontina. The final product is like a crab cake, only made better thanks to the naughty combination of the nostalgia of kiddie comfort food and a three-ounce pour of muscat blanc ($7).
