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The city’s most impressive meat-and-potatoes pairings in order of awesomeness
ADDRESS: 35 Hayden Street, Penthouse 3202
NEIGHBOURHOOD: Church-Yonge Corridor
AGENT: Eugene Palermo and Danielle Elise McIntosh, Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage.
PRICE: $1,197,500
THE PLACE: The deluxe penthouse near Yonge and Bloor is smack in the centre of the centre of the universe. Plus, with almost 2,000 square feet of open concept space and 10-foot ceilings, it’s a far cry from the shoebox apartments dominating the Lake Shore (instead of claustrophobic, it feels bright and airy).
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(Image: Catherine Gerson)
With a name nodding to a notorious old-world culinary delicacy, Ortolan quietly opened its doors two weeks ago in the space formerly occupied by Kathy’s Kitchen in Bloordale Village. Taking a little bit of Ossington with them, chef-owners Damon Clements (Delux) and Daniel Usher (Pizzeria Libretto) have pooled their respective experiences in French and Italian cuisines to branch out on their own on the quickly changing strip between Dufferin and Lansdowne.
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With artisanal flours, custom-made ovens and full-time bakers, restaurants are turning the pre-dinner breadbasket into an indulgence in its own right
Two neighbourhood restaurants serve up light-handed renditions of our rib-sticking favourites
(Image: Vanessa Heins)
The comfort food revolution has brought us much to be thankful for, including cheaper, more casual restaurants, and the glories of deep-fried mac-and-cheese, but it hasn’t exactly delivered a surge of culinary innovation. Spurred on by a sputtering economy, the comfort trend spawned a wave of barbecue joints, gourmet burger shops, neighbourhood pubs and by-the-book bistros, and it introduced childhood-evoking staples like cookies and milk to scores of restaurant menus where the “licorice root, three ways” used to be. It offered certainty when everything else around us seemed ready to collapse, not only for diners but for restaurateurs, too.
Comfort eating, like love and psychotherapy, is driven by equal measures of longing (for simpler times) and industrial-grade denial (s’mores are less fattening when they’re made with single-estate chocolate from São Tomé), powerful motivators both. So most chefs have been happy to feed our cravings without letting their own high-minded notions get in the way. Read the rest of this entry »
The world’s most perfect meat-and-potatoes pairing is a bistro classic. Here, the city’s top five steak frites.
1. Nota Bene’s Cumbrae Farms steak
The rub (thyme, rosemary, balsamic and olive oil) offsets the complex, almost gamy flavours of an incredible strip loin nurtured by 60 days of dry aging. Flesh so tender it parts at the nudge of a knife contrasts with the snap of lustily salted frites. $45. 180 Queen St. W., 416-977-6400.
2. Jacobs and Co. Alberta rib-eye Read the rest of this entry »
Toronto’s best steak house doesn’t serve steak frites, per se, but sumptuously marbled and aged High River Hereford beef ($50). The rib-eye deserves an equally extravagant partner, in this case a side order of tarragon-showered duck-fat fries ($12) that mingles the earthiness of the potatoes with the musk of the deep-fryer. 12 Brant St., 416-366-0200.
The best thing to hit the sandwich (since sliced bread) has to be the panino press. Here, the city’s top five melty, crunchy, lunchy grilled things.
1. Delux’s pressed Cubano
The post-mambo snack is elevated with such premium ingredients as cider-cured pork shoulder, shaved ham, homemade boule, gruyère and cornichons. This pork-on-pork sandwich is a tasty example of all that is right with today’s pig-centric cuisine. $10. 92 Ossington Ave., 416-537-0134.
2. Hoof Café’s tongue grilled cheese Read the rest of this entry »
The Hoof’s delectable mix of brined, shaved tongue with brie and provolone and a sprinkling of dill is criminally non-kosher, but this refined grilled cheese and Jewish deli combo is fusion food at its finest. $12. 923 Dundas St. W., 416-792-7511.
Fried dough is suddenly everywhere, infiltrating dessert cards and pastry cases and threatening to dethrone panna cotta as the sweet du jour. From rounds to holes, beignets to churros, here are a baker’s dozen of the city’s best
Ossington’s French-Cuban fixture has started serving lunch—and there’s plenty to celebrate
Cubano sandwich at Delux (Images: Catherine Hayday)
The place: Now chugging toward its third year, Delux was among the first to set up kitchen on Ossington’s restaurant row. Though the dinner menu is described as “rustic French,” the midday card is distinctly, deliciously Cuban.
The crowd: Three quarters of the tables are occupied by stylish people who have the sort of jobs that accommodate regular leisurely west-end lunches. (No, we don’t know what they do, either.)
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Trend count: Fresh and local? Check. Communal table? Check. Ossington Avenue? Check. Designer lighting? Check (All photos by Karon Liu)
Paul Boehmer’s soon-to-open restaurant is like the cherry on top of the Ossington sundae. The eponymous eatery was one of the last to obtain a restaurant and bar permit before the city imposed a one-year moratorium on new establishments last May. “People around the neighbourhood thought that I was opening a nightclub, but since I told them it wasn’t the case, I haven’t received any complaints,” says the former Stadtländer apprentice, who has also cooked at Rosewater Supper Club, Six Steps and Scaramouche. He expects Boehmer to open in less than a month—about six months later than originally planned.
Viva! Cuban food and drink come to Little Portugal (Photo by Omid Tavallai)
This weekend, West Queen West goes Cubano with the second annual Havana Cultura Festival. There will be music, cigar rolling and, most importantly, Cuban-inspired culinary experiences from 16 restaurants and bars along Ossington, Queen and Dundas. One unlikely participant this year is Poutini’s. For the first time since opening, they will be offering something other than their standard menu dish: a “Cuban-style frijole” poutine consisting of black beans, onions, garlic, peppers, tomato and herbs over fries, and topped with sour cream and cilantro (it’s traditionally served over rice). On Saturday night, the staff will be manning a booth across the street in order to serve the same frijole over a baked potato instead of fries.
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Fan yourself off, Oprah. It's hot in Toronto
Yesterday, we reported that Oprah Winfrey has confirmed her attendance at TIFF—she’ll be here in support of the world premiere of Precious. We can’t wait for every entertainment reporter (ourselves included) to jump on Oprah Watch ’09. But here are five other reasons we’re happy her Harpo-ness will grace Toronto this September.
1) She could Skype in her shows Read the rest of this entry »
The new season starts on September 14, smack in the middle of the festival, but since Oprah has been Skype-ing in her guests rather than flying them in from the other side of the country (Oprah loves Skype, we get it), we think she’ll be more than happy to do an entire show via webcam.
In the pink: Ontario's rhubarb is at its prime (Photo by FotoosVanRobin)
Spring’s first two gastronomic stars (fiddleheads and ramps) are already out of style and season, which means that punch-packing rhubarb is all the rage. But even this resilient vegetable—its season peaks in June and usually spans into July—is getting scarce with the shortage of June heat. C5 chef Ted Corrado (who’s busy preserving rhubarb for a rainy day) says that his source has already dried up. Here, a look at what some epicurean alchemists are doing with the great red stalks.
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A salt accusation: Those living near fast-food restaurants—like this one, located next to a veterinary hospital—are at an increased risk of stroke. (Photo by Everjean)
• A Texas study reveals that people who live near fast-food chains are more likely to have a stroke because they’re more inclined to consume the sodium-rich foods. The maximum amount of sodium the average person should consume in a day is 1,500 milligrams. A slice from Pizza Pizza contains a whopping 1,920 milligrams. [Vancouver Sun]
• As the dine-in-the-dark O. Noir prepares to open, the Star decided to take the opportunity to list the best restaurant washrooms where couples can get it on. Among the suggestions are Delux (sturdy sink fixtures), Spice Route (red lighting) and Osteria Ciceri e Tria (the speakers play audio from Italian TV). [Toronto Star]
• Tim Hortons, the goliath of caffeine, gets bigger with news that it’s teaming up with Cold Stone Creamery, an American ice cream chain that mixes its ice cream and toppings on a slab of cold stone. The co-branded outlets will be tested in Mississauga, Toronto, Hamilton, Oakville and Pickering. [PR Newswire]
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