A healthy strike of the taiko drum greets each customer (Image: Gizelle Lau)

When we first told you about DonDon Izakaya last summer, it was slated for an October opening, but as such things go, it wasn’t until early January that the Japanese restaurant opened quietly after nearly 10 months of renovation. Located on the second storey of an unassuming building at Bay and Dundas, DonDon took over the space once occupied by One Up Restaurant & Lounge. Despite the slightly inauspicious upstairs location, it’s already drawing customers (the big wooden entranceway probably helps), but not quite the mad lineups of its izakaya forbear, Guu—a least not yet.

The team behind DonDon includes Tony Wong, Kazu Maruyama, Mitsuaki Nagasawa and head chef Daisuke Izutsu, previously chef and owner of Kaiseki Sakura. The predominantly Japanese ownership and staff aim to offer a truly authentic izakaya experience: a haven where local office workers and residents can unload after a long day. When each guest enters the bar, the hostess strikes a traditional taiko drum, which sets off a chorus of greeting in Japanese (the staff have a warm-up before each service to get their voices going). Inside, the walls are made of long interconnected bamboo stalks, while Japanese murals adorn private zashiki-style rooms for larger parties of eight to 20. Behind the bar, you’ll find dozens of giant sake barrels as well as bottles displaying DonDon’s long list of 60-plus sakes, shochus and plum wines. Hard-to-find sakes like Nanbu Bijin Ginjo are offered by the bottle, and nearly 20 types are offered by the flask. The bar also offers traditional Chu-Hi shochu cocktails like honey lemon sour, grape fruit or aloe ($5.50).

The menu offers typical izakaya foods like skewers of grilled chicken, quail’s egg or asparagus and bacon ($3 for two skewers). There’s also a range of Japanese food you’d more commonly find at home, like a black croquette with potato, shrimp and cod ($7) or the DonDon-style Caesar salad with pie crusts instead of croutons and runny egg yolk ($7.50). The sashimi and sushi are made warayaki-style, i.e., smoked over the flames of burning hay (from $11.90). Shabu-shabu ($7.20) and homestyle hot pot ($25) round out the menu, along with Tokyo-style hot dogs ($5.20) for west-coasters looking for a Japadog fix. Oh, and perhaps in anticipation of Momofuku’s arrival, there are pork buns too ($8).

DonDon Izakaya, 130 Dundas St. W., 416-492-5292, www.dondonizakaya.com

ADDRESS: 1420 Birchview Drive

NEIGHBOURHOOD: Lorne Park, Mississauga

AGENT: Jennifer Rebecca Labrecque, Royal LePage Credit Valley Real Estate, Brokerage

PRICE: $2,950,000

THE PLACE: A massive, contemporary stunner in Mississauga’s ritzy Lorne Park neighbourhood (an area so Beemer- and Botox-filled it has its own housewives reality show).

BRAGGING RIGHTS: Architectural exceptionalism. Mississauga is well known for its cookie-cutter subdivisions, but this place breaks the mould: the sharp, clean-lined design was inspired by modern American (Frank Lloyd Wright) and cutting-edge Japanese (Tadao Ando) design, and brings together unique materials like Brazilian Ipe wood, weathering Corten steel and Cleveland sandstone.

BIG SELLING POINT: The wraparound rooftop terrace overlooking the leafy lot. At 1,800 square feet, it’s larger than most downtown condos and can host summertime barbecues for you, your friends, your kids’ little league teams and everyone else in the neighbourhood all at the same time.

POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: The large, flat, pool-perfect backyard sadly lacks a pool! Which, in this part of Mississauga, is as conspicuous as not driving an SUV.

BY THE NUMBERS:
• $2,950,000
• $23,858 in property taxes
• 5,700 square feet (not including the 3,400-square-foot basement)
• 1,800-square-foot wraparound rooftop terrace
• 5 bedrooms
• 5 bathrooms
• 3 fireplaces
• 2 skylights

(Image: Renée Suen)

The homey rice bowls at Front Street’s Take Sushi are a nice break from the tempura-and-teriyaki-filled bento box you get everywhere else. The meal begins with a simple iceberg and spring mix salad that’s dressed with a thin ginger-based dressing and a cup of mild miso soup scattered with threads of pretty enoki mushrooms. The oyakojyu ($15) comes in a lacquered box packed to the brim with lightly pan-fried morsels of dark chicken meat piled high over white rice that’s dressed in sweet soy sauce. In between, sautéed onions and aromatic slivers of mitsuba herbs lend a subtle crunch. The dish’s name is actually a culinary pun: “Oyako” means “mother and child,” so the tender, flavourful chicken is accompanied by a soft, steam-cooked egg, which smothers the dish.

The time: an unhurried 34 minutes.

The cost: $21, including tax and tip and a mug of hot green tea ($1).

Take Sushi, 22 Front St. W., 416-862-1891, takesushi.ca

DonDon’s logo, which says “DonDon” in Japanese

The runaway success of Guu, first on Church Street and then in the Annex, highlighted a demand in Toronto for Japanese food that went beyond the ubiquitous cheap (and not-so-cheap) sushi joints. When DonDon Izakaya, a new restaurant at Dundas and Bay, opens in late October or so, it will attempt to meet some of that demand, albeit without Guu’s general boisterousness and no reservations policy. Instead, owners Tony Wong and Anthony Phang, of Sushi Time on Queen, and Kazu Maruyama, editor of the Toronto Japanese website Bits, hope to provide a quieter atmosphere and a lower price point.

The 150-seat restaurant will be open for both lunch and dinner, and the open kitchen will pump out izakaya-style dishes, specializing in yakitori (Japanese skewered chicken) but also serving sashimi and vegetarian dishes. Like any good izakaya, DonDon—which is apparently slang for “more” in Japanese—will boast a large selection of sake and several Japanese beers. It’s reassuring, then, that the restaurant will offer something that might be a first in the city, even if it is “a common feature of izakayas in Japan,” as we’ve been assured—a chauffeur service for patrons who’ve had too much to drink.

DonDon Izakaya, 130 Dundas St. W.

(Image: Liam Mogan)

Ten-pin Queue Spot for a bachelor party Spot for a bridal party Yacht rental Saltwater dip Exercise craze

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(Image: Christopher Stevenson)

Rooftop drink Cocktail class Ice Blood orange margarita Wine by the glass

(Image: Liam Mogan)

Ice
Toca
181 Wellington St. W., 416-572-8008
Trust Tokyo to keep things cool. The ice ball, a popular feature on the Japanese cocktail scene, has migrated to Toca, the Ritz-Carlton’s ritzy watering hole, courtesy of head bartender Moses McIntee. Negronis, manhattans and old-fashioneds are kept colder and stronger (the sphere’s single surface area means less melting), making “on the rock” the most excellent request since “make it a double.” The ice is made from quadruple-filtered water and hand-carved from extraordinarily clear 100-pound blocks. Unparalleled bar snacks—fried capers, corn nuts and candied bacon—are included with your drink.

(Image: Christopher Stevenson)

Blood Orange Margarita
Reposado Bar
136 Ossington Ave., 416-532-6474
Ossington’s unabashed temple to tequila banishes wince-inducing memories of whirling slushie machines and cactus-shaped glassware. The particularly sweet and light Cazadores 100 per cent agave blanco, one of the bar’s 75-odd varieties of top-shelf tequila, forms the boozy heart of the blood orange margarita, an irresistible blush-coloured, sweet-tart concoction. No salt rim and no Tex-Mex puns—just a fresh-squeezed juicy punch packed in an elegant highball. Best consumed on Reposado’s button-cute back patio. $9.50.

BEST HOME GOODS BEST FASHION BEST FUN BEST DINING BEST TASTY TREATS BEST FOOD BEST DRINKS BEST HELP CITY MAP

The judges get their serious faces on as the losing teams walk out (Image: Food Network Canada/Insight Productions)

TOP CHEF CANADA
Season 1 | Episode 4

First off, a confession: focusing on Top Chef Canada last night, as the ground-shaking results from the election poured in, was a little tough (we bet this episode’s ratings will agree). But fear not, election junkies–cum–Top Chef fans—we stuck it out so you didn’t have to (and then promptly switched to the CBC to find the Tory win had already been projected). Still, episode four—which featured Susur Lee, Toronto’s ethnic cuisines and, yes, more chefs in their underwear (hi, Dale!)—turned out to be pretty entertaining. After the jump, our recap of the Top Chef Canada episode you were too patriotic to watch.

Quickfire

Dusty Gallagher’s quickfire winning beet carpaccio (Image: Food Network Canada/Insight Productions)

The quickfire judge this week was Toronto’s one-time king of Asian fine dining, Susur Lee (whose five restaurants were rhymed off more than once during the show). As Lee strolled onto the set, Grace’s Dustin Gallagher (a.k.a. the Smiley One) admitted to the camera that he was “a little bit floored” to have his former boss judging him (Gallagher cooked at Susur for six years). The challenge? To make a salad inspired by Lee’s famous, 19-ingredient Singapore slaw. At the bottom of the heap were François Gagnon, whose cabbage and enoki mushroom salad was too mayo-heavy; Todd Perrin, who misguidedly mixed raw, julienne veggies with chunks of dried fish; and Mercato’s Rob Rossi, whom Lee ranked last for a poorly executed and unfocused endive salad.

Lee named his former line cook (whom he adorably calls “Dusty”) the winner for a beautiful beet carpaccio with wasabi mustard, pickled onions and shaved apples (we spied something similar on Grace’s menu last week). He also praised Andrea Nicholson of Great Cooks on Eight for her 18-ingredient slaw with a tea-lemon vinaigrette.

Elimination

This week’s elimination challenge was the multi-culti spectacular we knew had to come up sooner or later. Split into teams of two, the chefs were charged with creating a pair of dishes, one hot and one cold, inspired by a given ethnic cuisine. One member of each pair was sent to Loblaws and the other got 15 minutes to shop at an ethnically appropriate grocer in Toronto.

Toronto dream team Rossi and Nicholson took on their Japanese menu with some trepidation (“I’m a white girl from Toronto who hasn’t really travelled much through Japan,” Nicholson confessed). Chris Kanka and Darryl Crumb, meanwhile, tried to figure their way through Korean food (props to Kanka for actually impressing Lee with his bi bim bop). But the toughest challenge was faced by Perrin and Connie DeSousa, who drew Ethiopian cuisine, which they had tasted about once between them. Gallagher and Derek Bocking (who worked in a Mexican restaurant in Dublin) had it comparatively easy with Mexican food. Rounding out the teams, Patrick Wiese and Gagnon tackled Jamaican (with Wiese dropping the occasional patois), while Dale MacKay and Jamie Hertz took on Portuguese, which neither of them knew much about.

Connie DeSousa and Todd Perrin’s winning Ethiopian meal, including reverse-engineered injera (Image: Food Network Canada/Insight Productions)

At the judge’s table, we finally got to see the much-anticipated Lee-McEwan matchup, which turned out fairly amiable (we had speculated about whether the studio could contain two such chef egos). At the top: the Ethiopian team, who successfully reverse-engineered injera—a soft, fermented flatbread—which they served alongside a lamb key wat and lentil salad; and the Portuguese team, who managed to turn out excellent pseudo-Portuguese food (MacKay’s hake with salted cod mousse, smoked paprika and potato confit looked delicious, if a little Spanish). But it was DeSousa and Perrin who took home the win—for their daring execution in the face of an exceedingly difficult challenge.

At the bottom end were Team Japan and Team Mexico. Both Rossi and Nicholson made some rookie errors: Rossi’s hamachi sashimi arrived warm and with the blood line left in, while Nicholson’s soba noodles, seared kobe beef, daikon, turnip and carrots in a light miso broth lacked focus and refinement. Down Mexico way, Gallagher made the mistake of turning avocado into a mousse (garnering a tut-tut from Lee), and Bocking put out beer-braised pork ribs glazed with chocolate barbecue sauce with a spicy corn salsa, which McEwan called straight-up “terrible.”

In the end, Bocking, the competition’s only self-taught chef, was kicked off the show. As he said goodbye to his fellow chefs, he doffed his signature beret to reveal a fantastic head of hockey hair. He’ll be missed.

Now, call us crazy, but it almost seemed as though the judges were able to read the national mood months in advance (when the program was taped). Bocking, from Montreal, was sent packing just like Gilles Duceppe was last night. Rossi and Nicholson, representing arrogant Toronto Liberals, were beaten back to within an inch of their lives. And DeSousa, from Calgary, rode a wave of quiet competence and stability—not to mention some “very ethnic” cuisine—to take home the big win.

Next Week on Top Chef Canada

The chefs have to butcher a whole pig, then make a meal from the ensuing cuts of meat. Given that in episode one she boasted that she butchered all her own meat, we predict another Tory DeSousa majority.

Our weekly Top Chef Canada leader board:

Guu Sakabar’s open kitchen (Image: Gizelle Lau)

Despite rumours last week that the opening of Guu Sakabar (a.k.a. Guu 2) would be delayed due to the lack of a liquor licence, we’re happy to report that Toronto’s second Guu location opened this weekend. (Sakabar was originally set to open a couple weeks back, but was delayed due to a broken water tank). After almost a year of renovations, owner James Hyun-Soo Kim and Sakabar manager Natsuhiko Sugimoto, an eight-year veteran of Guu in Vancouver, are both eager to begin serving the Annex clientele.

Inside, the restaurant that was once a Burger King has been completely redesigned by Bennett Lo of Dialogue 38 (Guu Izakaya, Spring Rolls). The low-key exterior and main entrance of the Sakabar feature slate, barnwood and tiny boxed windows, just like the Church Street location. Inside, bare Edison light bulbs hang from the ceiling in the main dining room over six large wooden communal tables, complete with bench seating. Bar seating is also available for those who don’t mind the famous yelled greetings that the kitchen staff offer to patrons as they enter and exit. Unlike the original Guu, Sakabar also features a zashiki room, with a raised pine floor and tatami mats imported from Japan. The tables are lowered into the floor, providing ample space for your legs. Guests are required to remove their shoes and are offered a pair of indoor slippers.

Also setting itself apart from its sister restaurant, Sakabar is helmed by Japanese chef Ippei Iwata, who offers new dishes like the kushiage, Japanese-style deep-fried kebabs that come in seven variations—ham, bacon, quail egg, lotus root, potato, onion and mushroom ($1.90 each, $7.80 for five choices). A handful of new udon styles are available, including the unlikely carbonara udon, featuring bacon, onion and a half-boiled egg ($8.30). Another new dish straight out of Japan is the rice burger: a pair of rice patties sandwiching ginger pork, cabbage and garlic mayo ($5.80). To finish things off, the menu includes more extensive dessert selections, including sake tiramisù ($5).

In true Izakaya fashion, the drinks menu is extensive, including a house Gekkeikan sake ($5 small, $8.50 large), as well as a more extensive classic sake menu by the glass ($9.50–$10) or bottle (from $22 for 375 mL).  Other offerings include shochu, Guu original vodka soda, cocktails (like a sake mojito), plum wine and Sapporo on tap. Beers like Asahi, Kirin and even Mill Street Tankhouse Ale are also available.

The thing we love the most about Sakabar? There’s now an indoor corridor at the entrance so you don’t have to wait in the rain, sleet or snow for a table at Guu. And, in case you’re wondering, “Yes, there’s still a no reservation policy,” says Natsu, adding cheekily, “for now.”

Guu Sakabar, 559 Bloor St. W. (east of Bathurst St.), 647-343-1101, guu-izakaya.com

Hosting the program is stand-up comedian James Cunningham, who travels to cities like San Francisco, New York City, Austin, Philadelphia and Vancouver. Some highlights:

• the Redonkadonk from the Brunch Box in Portland, Oregon: a burger dressed with a fried egg, ham, turkey and bacon between two grilled cheese sandwiches. It sounds like something that would probably give us a stomach ache, but we’d keep eating it anyway.
• Tacones from Red Fish Blue Fish in Victoria: taco cones filled with deep-fried oysters, barbecued scallops and battered fish.
• Vancouver’s Japadog: a hit during the Olympics, this chain of hot dog stands serves up sausages with Japanese toppings like wasabi, grated daikon and shreds of nori.

Viewers can eat along with the show via an Eat St. iPhone app (also available on-line) that allows vendors in cities across North America to create profiles for their food carts, as well as post menus, recipes, deals and regularly update their location. It’s enough to make a hungry Toronto diner cry.

Eat St. premieres April 6 at 9:30 on Food Network Canada

Momofuku chef David Chang (Image: David Shankbone)

Last week saw a flurry of excitement over the rumours and then confirmation that David Chang, chef and owner of New York’s Momofuku empire, would be setting up shop here in Toronto. But the e-mail Chang’s PR chief sent out was pretty short on specifics about the two new restaurants. Yesterday, the Toronto Star ran a piece by food editor Jennifer Bain with some additional details, straight from the horse’s mouth. After the jump, six things we learned:

1. We’re getting first dibs
Chang revealed that he’s received numerous requests to expand, but his first choices have been Canada and Australia. While Sydney’s Seiobo is slated for October, the two Toronto projects will open in late summer of 2012.

2. It’s not two restaurants. It’s two restaurants and a bar.
As we reported late last Friday, Chang’s two restaurants will be in a building beside the Shangri-La hotel and condos at University and Adelaide. Expect to find “some type of rendition of Noodle Bar” on the first floor; however, Chang is quick to note that he doesn’t want to “make anything a facsimile, and I think Toronto deserves more than just throwing something there.” On the second floor will be a bar, and on the third, a restaurant called Momofuku Daishō.

3. Daishō is samurai related, sort of
Although daishō is the Japanese term referring to the pair of swords that samurais wear in Japan, Chang picked it for its literal meaning: “Big and small.”

4. Chang was attracted to Toronto because of space.
“In New York, we’re always confined with spaces,” he told Bain. “Our restaurants are difficult to navigate as cooks and to operate. We fight against the buildings we run in New York.” So Chang jumped on the opportunity when Vancouver’s Westbank and Peterson Group, which will manage the Shangri-La, offered Momofuku free reign and generous space. Chang is not sure of the exact square footage or the layouts, but apparently the third floor will be much more spacious than the first. In total, the two restaurants will offer 150 to 160 seats.

5. Momofuku’s pork buns and fried chicken are coming
All those wondering if Momofuku’s famous pork belly buns and fried chicken will appear on Toronto’s menu can relax—they will. However, Chang states that he isn’t interested in simply assimilating Toronto palates to those in New York. Instead, he wants “to be very respectful to the food community that’s already there.” He also showed he knows how to flatter: “You guys already have a sophisticated dining scene.”

6. Susur’s not scared
In the Star piece, Bains went on to interview Susur Lee, who said that he feels no pressure by the potential rivalry, and welcomes Chang’s impending arrival. “I really wish him all the best and hope Toronto makes him a great success. Our city is such a great international city. I think it’s great to make the city bigger.” And tastier, we’d say.

• Momofuku chef reveals details of Toronto expansion [Toronto Star]

Designed by Johnson Chou, Blowfish on Bay will bring the original’s nighttime formula of gourmet sushi, Japanese-inspired dishes and saketinis to the lunch meeting and after-work crowd. Old menu favourites will carry over, but the expansive new space is giving Blowfish’s kitchen squad the chance to experiment (apparently a new handroll akin to their signature giant ebi roll is in the offing). Still, the focus on Asian fusion remains, with new offerings like Wagyu beef, Japanese ribs and a sophisticated Asian spin on the doughnut (“like a Japanese Boston cream,” says Siahou).

The layout of the space will also allow for a new sake-tasting room where two “sake sommeliers” will introduce patrons to several brands exclusive to Canada. At the bar, award-winning mixologist Nishan Nepulangoda will continue to pour up new versions of his innovative sake-based cocktails.

After six months of construction, Blowfish on Bay launches this weekend with a slate of private parties, before opening its doors to the public on Monday for lunch and dinner.

Blowfish on Bay, 333 Bay St., 416-860-0606, blowfishrestaurant.com.

Chef Anthony Walsh of Canoe, along with Markus Bestig of O&B Café Grill, will oversee the revamping and O&B-ification of the hotel’s culinary offerings, which include: Rosseau Grill, a fine dining restaurant; Windermere Pub and Patio, a casual eatery; P.J.’s Lobby Bar; and the Windermere House’s popular sushi restaurant—O&B’s first foray into Japanese cuisine.

The venture into Muskoka cottage country isn’t new for O&B, which opened a location of its O&B Café Grill at Blue Mountain in 2005. Nor is the foray into meetings and event spaces a huge leap, as the company runs the Malaparte private event space at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and conference facilities at the Westin Trillium House at Blue Mountain.

The Windermere House opens for the season in May, giving the team only a couple months to bring the O&B machine up to the posh banks of Lake Rosseau.

(Image: Renée Suen)

This old school, expat-filled izakaya elevates the traditional bento box ($8.50-25). Instead of generic teriyaki and tempura, our hexagonal lunch box arrives full of unique, bite-sized treats. From the grill come bacon-wrapped baby asparagus spears, juicy savoury gyoza and buttery miso cod with a caramelized crust. A pair of shrimp—one whole, the other shelled and battered, and topped with a sliver of jalapeño—emerge greaseless from the fryer, along with a nugget of almond-encrusted chicken thigh. The remaining compartments are artfully packed with short-grain rice dusted with ume salt (from floral Asian plums), mild Japanese pickles, neatly trimmed snow peas, tender soy-braised cod cheek with broth-soaked daikon radish and slices of salmon and tuna sashimi. The compact feast also comes with miso soup, a simple soy-dressed salad and green tea. An elegant take on the North American Japanese restaurant cliché.

The cost: $21.50 for the medium-sized bento box, before tax and tip

The time: 33 minutes after being seated

Ematei, 30 St. Patrick St. (at Queen), 416-340-0472

See the list »

(Image: Renée Suen, from the torontolife.com Flickr pool)

January is upon us, and for many hungry Torontonians, that means one thing: Winterlicious. The menus are less predictable than previous years—crème brûlée’s out,  lentils du Puy are in—so even the ’Licious haters might have a reason to take advantage of the festival this year. We’ve already named the 12 menus that we think are the best bets, but that doesn’t begin to cover it. Here, find Toronto Life’s 62 favourite Winterlicious restaurants, complete with menus, reviews and reservation numbers.

Winterlicious runs from January 28 to February 10. Reservations are accepted from January 13 onward (January 11 for American Express users).