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Just opened: Koko! brings casual Japanese and Korean fare to Yorkville

Unexpected ingredients add creativity to Aayama's menu (Photo by Signe Langford)

One of Yorkville’s newest residents is, surprisingly, a relaxed, sharing-style restaurant of unpretentious and affordable Japanese and Korean fare. Called Koko!, which is Japanese for “here,” the business is the brainchild of Sang Kim, who recruited Shin Aoyama as head chef (Aoyama studied under Hidekazu Tojo, one of Vancouver’s great sushi masters and the owner of Tojo’s).

Kim, whose impressive résumé as a restaurateur and consultant includes Ame, Ki, Edo, Lil’ Baci, Fellini’s Shoe, Tasty and Blowfish, admits that serving the food of his homeland is new, but he’s confident. “I have a top chef, and we’re not going to be pushing the envelope too much. We are going to be quality and accessibility driven. We’re not doing exotic modern Korean cuisine.”

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The Dish

Weekly Lunch Pick

March 1, 2010 | 8:45 am

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Where to eat lunch this week: Solo Sushi Bekkan

After the excellent donburi bowls at this tiny Yonge and College spot, we may never go back to the bento box

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The Dish

Read All About It

November 10, 2009 | 8:38 am

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Murder at New Generation Sushi, Kraft makes a move on Cadbury, portable tables for street food

New Generation Sushi on Bloor St. W. (Photo by Google)

• What began as a minor argument between two employees at New Generation, a popular stop along the Annex’s sushi strip, culminated in a murder. As many as 18 patrons were present at the restaurant on Saturday night when the nightmarish situation unfolded. Unfinished plates of food remained on tables on Sunday as investigators searched for clues. A 27-year-old employee was killed, and a 25-year-old co-worker was arrested at the scene. [Toronto Star]

• Good magazine has compiled a comparative infographic that looks at the national obesity rates and caloric intake of various countries around the world. As in so many other competitions, the U.S. reigns supreme, with 66.3 per cent of its citizens considered obese; the average daily caloric intake there is 3,767, with about 39 per cent of those calories coming from fats, oils and sugar. It’s no wonder, then, that the U.S. couldn’t make it into Forbes’ top 10 healthiest countries in the world. Canada came in eighth, with a still-shameful 23.1 per cent of its citizens overweight. [Good]

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The Dish

Read All About It

October 21, 2009 | 8:44 am

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Top five candies for Halloween nostalgia, collagen-infused coffee, Obama sushi

Unsurprisingly, Obama sushi is proving more popularity than the miso Stephen Harper (Photo courtest of Weird Asian News)

Unsurprisingly, Obama sushi is proving more popular than the bowl of miso broth that resembles Stephen Harper (Photo courtesy of Weird Asian News)

• Obamamania has invaded the Far East. A Japanese chef has come up with Obama-inspired sushi, complete with benevolent smile. Seeing the president’s face in maki form inspires almost as much hope as the real thing, because, a) it’s Obama, and b) the talent required to recreate such a likeness is remarkable. [Weird Asia News]

• Jumping fully onto the eco-bandwagon is the GreenBox, a new pizza box so dubbed because it’s made of recycled materials and eliminates the need for paper plates. The top of the box separates into four sections, and the bottom transforms into a receptacle for leftovers. A pizza shop owner called it “revolutionary,” and Ashton Kutcher deemed it “smart” in a Twitter post, guaranteeing its place in the annals of history. We just have one question: Pizza can be eaten from plates? [New York Daily News]

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The Dish

From the Print Edition

October 7, 2009 | 11:45 am

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The four most anticipated restaurant openings of the fall

(Photo by Vanessa Heins)

For our Best of Fall package, we name four new restaurants that inspire cravings for rabbit pancakes, soft-serve ice cream and kaiseki.

• See the full list here>>
• See the whole Best of Fall package>>

The Dish

Read All About It

September 19, 2009 | 8:33 am

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The $168,873 bar tab, a new Toronto food craze, solving the jellyfish problem

Our tax dollars, hard at work (Photo by Beau B)

• As Canadian taxpayers were hunkering down for an era of frugality, they were also footing the bill for civil servants who spent $168,873 on booze for the 2008-09 fiscal year, according to documents tabled at the House of Commons. Also high on the list expenditures: golf balls, which racked up $30,053. [Winnipeg Sun]

• Canadians want to eat healthier food, but they’re placing the blame elsewhere when asked why they don’t. A national survey of low- and middle-income households found that cost is the biggest barrier to Canadian families in their attempts to eat healthy. Fifty-five per cent of families surveyed said healthy food is too expensive; other popular excuses included insufficient willpower, followed by a lack of availability (though last time we checked, most grocery stores had a produce section). [CBC]

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Toronto International Film Festival 2009

September 18, 2009 | 5:40 pm

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Demi Moore requests non-alcoholic beer and Ashton Kutcher plays a paparazzi prank at Ame

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore on the red carpet for the premiere of The Joneses at the Visa Screening Room, during the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday September 13, 2009 (Photos by James Helmer)

Ame bound: Demi and Ashton at The Joneses premiere (Photo by James Helmer)

When the Rubino brothers—owners of new sushi it-spot Ame (formerly Rain)—hosted a dinner party for the film premiere of The Joneses, they did not expect Demi Moore to request non-alcoholic beer, but ran to find some pronto. Young hubby Ashton Kutcher was A-OK with the ice wine martinis, but became vexed with the blur of flashing cameras. In his typical mischievous manner, Kutcher turned to the paparazzi and said, “I want to be the photographer!” After a quick tutorial, guests were greeted by an aggressive Kutcher behind the lens.

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The Dish

Weekly Lunch Pick

September 14, 2009 | 11:10 am

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Where to eat lunch this week

GinzaMED Our pick for a great mid-TIFF lunch is at this Yorkville sushi emporium that serves meals that are both reasonably priced and delicious.

Find out where>>
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The Dish

Read All About It

September 10, 2009 | 8:16 am

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The marshmallow craze, the baffling DIY wine critic, the case for doggy bags

• “Bouquet of Nerds candy” good; “notes of Bazooka Joe gum” bad. So says the populist, DIY wine critic Gary Vaynerchuk, who has broken out of YouTube into the wine-tasting big leagues , according to the New York Times. Old-fashioned vinophiles have no idea what to do with the guy. He once wrapped a smelly old gym sock around asparagus to demonstrate how a good Burgundy bottle should smell. [New York Times]

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The Dish

Read All About It

September 4, 2009 | 9:32 am

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How to cook a pig’s head, the chocolate-and-meat trend, restaurants bribe Yelp users

• British chef Fergus Henderson, who espouses a nose-to-tail philosophy when it comes to eating animals, appears in a new video by the Guardian to demonstrate how to prepare an oft-neglected portion of pig—the entire head. Watch as the head is lovingly shaved, barber-style, before being infused with garlic and white wine and then roasted until crisp. [Guardian]

• Turns out that the “real reviews” from “real people” on Yelp may not be impervious to corruption. At least one U.S. restaurant is offering bribes of 20 per cent discounts in exchange for a review on the popular Web site. The review doesn’t have to be positive, but those willing to re-dine somewhere—and show their review to the staff—may find themselves slightly biased. [Gawker]

• Chocolate and meat are uniting in what appears to be a new trend. The Vancouver Sun cites nationwide examples of the two seemingly incompatible foods appearing in tandem: chorizo truffles at Xococava in Toronto, calabrese gelato (which includes salami) in Edmonton’s Oliver Square, and, in what may be the manliest new product to debut in years, Mo’s bacon bar by Vosges. [Vancouver Sun]

• Airlines are overhauling the meals they provide during domestic flights, the Wall Street Journal reports. Since 2001, many airlines have stopped providing free meals in coach class as a cost-cutting measure, opting instead to sell snacks with little nutritional value. Passengers can expect upgraded fare to include sushi, dried apricots and sage-infused Derby cheese. One can only hope that bacon bars will find their way onto that list. [Wall Street Journal]

• The FDA has concluded that a disgusting blob found by a Florida man inside a newly opened can of Pepsi was, of all things, a frog or a toad. [CNN]

The Dish

Opening

September 3, 2009 | 1:22 pm

5 Comments

Here comes the Rain again: a peek inside Guy and Michael Rubino’s Ame

Guy Rubino mans the grill at Ame (All photos by Davida Aronovitch)

Guy Rubino mans the grill at Ame, the restaurant he and his brother, Michael, have opened in collaboration with Charles Khabouth (All photos by Davida Aronovitch)

After over six months of renovations and about two months of delay, Guy and Michael Rubino’s Rain has been reborn as Ame (Japanese for, what else, “rain”). The brothers are known for frequent reinvention (Zoom, Luce and the reality series Made to Order), and for this latest transformation, they have teamed up with the club mogul Charles Khabouth. Ame presents the chic Japanese aspects of Rain’s Asian fusion and swaps the former restaurant’s special-occasion appeal for a casual vibe.

The interior of Ame is by Khabouth’s go-to designers, Munge Leung (Ultra, Guvernment); the one-room open concept has been transformed into a seductive labyrinth of spaces. An inviting lounge of chunky low-rise furniture is flanked by a sexy backlit bar. The sashimi counter wraps around the traditional coal-burning robata grill—Guy’s culinary cornerstone, on which the Iron Chef sears Australian wagyu flatiron and strip loin steak, cut to order. The adjacent dining area is splintered into tidy nooks; a private room beckons recluses and TIFF types. The full menu is available in all spaces, to entice barflies and foodies alike.

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The Dish

Weekly Lunch Pick

July 22, 2009 | 12:30 pm

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Where to eat lunch this week

japango This little Japanese bar is big on taste and originality—a welcome change from the city’s predictable midday sushi specials. We take a taste for the latest installment of the Weekly Lunch Pick.

See this week’s pick>>
See all of our Weekly Lunch Picks>>

The Dish

Read All About It

July 1, 2009 | 2:02 pm

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Soft-serve scrutiny, tapeworm population explosion, vegan investigation

Texts and the city: A Toronto exhibition of Dead Sea Scrolls sparks controversy (Photo by Mikey Candelori)

Texts and the city: The ROM’s Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition sparks controversy (Photo by Mikey Candelori)

• The owner of Le Select Bistro wants Torontonians to boycott the ROM’s Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. On the resto’s Web site, Frederic Geisweiller states that Israel acquired the sacred texts through “force and looting” during a “surprise war.” Pro-Israel factions were quick defend the country’s possession of the scrolls with a boycott of Le Select. We hope no one questions the rightful ownership of hummus or things could get really ugly. [National Post]

• Two weeks after the Toronto Star found high levels of cloriform bacteria in some local ice creams, new inspection standards are in place. City councilor Brian Ashton praised the Star, recalling how the paper’s “Dirty Dining” series in 2000 forced the city to clean up restaurants with the DineSafe system. Journalism, two. City of Toronto, zero. [Toronto Star]

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The Dish

Where to Eat Near...

June 22, 2009 | 2:45 pm

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Where to eat during Pride 2009

The Gay Village is buzzing as it gets ready for Pride’s climax this weekend. As any yearly attendee knows, Church Street’s focus during the last weekend of June is on fun and drinking—not dining. For Torontonians and tourists looking for great food and respite from the crowds, here are our picks for where to eat during Pride 2009.

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The Dish

Read All About It

June 9, 2009 | 10:46 am

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Fraudulent fish, vegetarian barbecue options, Spam’s new image

Bottom feeders: Some Toronto sushi peddlers are passing off cheap fish as the good stuff (Photo by Bethany King)

• Toronto restaurants are serving fraudulent fish. The Star went undercover and discovered that local sushi joints are passing off cheap seafood as pricier varieties. Now the feds are investigating, and it turns out that the fish switch is more common than one might think. [Toronto Star]

• Among the reasons to avoid American prisons: the food sucks, and now there’s less of it. Meal budgets are being cut at many penitentiaries south of the border, including one in Georgia, where inmates are now lunchless from Friday to Sunday. Experts are warning that less food might lead to hoarding and riots. [CBC]

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