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The comprehensive index of every blog post, magazine story and restaurant review that appears on Torontolife.com
The seafood couscous at Mideastro (Image: Renée Suen)
With Toronto’s wet, sloppy winter weather setting in, it’s nice to be reminded of warmer climes. The five-month-old Yorkville location of Mideastro does just that with its sophisticated take on Mediterranean and Israeli cuisine. It’s a particularly good bet at lunchtime, when smaller versions of many favourites from the dinner menu are available at a fraction of the cost.
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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).
The kalbi taco and five-spice pork belly bao at Banh Mi Boys (Images: Renée Suen)
After days of holiday excess, cheap, hearty and delicious food is just what’s called for. Banh Mi Boys, opened by brothers and first-time restaurateurs David, Peter and Phil Chau, serves just that, with a menu that fuses Vietnamese, North American and Korean flavours into surprisingly coherent snacks.
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(Images: Renée Suen)
Up on the third floor of an old Chinese mall on the south side of Dundas sits Dim Sum King, a new Chinatown spot that serves excellent renditions of steamed, fried, boiled, baked and braised classics at reasonable prices. The large, open room is filled with the usual cacophony of chopsticks clicking against dishes and waiters circulating around linen-covered tables with old-school trolleys. Although daily midday specials are available for $5.99, the better deal on weekday lunches is to order by the plate, since all sizes—small, medium and large—go for $2.
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The foie gras appetizer in Splendido’s luxurious European Retreat lunch tasting menu (Image: Matthew Fox)
December’s here, and that means cold weather and holiday decadence. Splendido, Harbord Street’s temple of special-occasion dining, has responded in its usual fashion: the $75 five-course European Retreat lunch special, available every Friday (and certain Thursdays) for the rest of the month. The pace and flavours of this marathon tasting menu are inspired by the Mediterranean, but the ease and luxury of the meal reflect chef Victor Barry’s attention to detail.
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(Image: Andrew Brudz)
Spiros Drossos, the chatty co-owner of the Food Cabbie, serves up good ol’-fashioned American comfort food from his shiny new food truck, currently planted at Queen and Mutual. There’s certainly nothing fancy about it, and that’s the point: it’s fast, affordable and very satisfying, and close enough to the Eaton Centre for holiday shoppers looking for sustenance and a break from the crush.
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The daily sandwich and a flaky banana-coconut croissant at Nadège (Image: Renée Suen)
Sandwiched between Summerhill’s five thieves, Nadège Nourian’s second outlet is a jewel box of pretty confections and carefully constructed pastries. The midday crowds, however, line up for the freshly made and affordable gourmet sandwiches stacked in the shop’s glass display cases. Seasonal fruits and vegetables, along with fine meats and cheeses, spill out from halved homemade croissants or slices of spongy, loose-crumbed bread.
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The chicken galantine sandwich and curried pumpkin purée soup at Gilead Café (Image: Andrew Brudz)
With Jamie Kennedy’s withdrawal from the Wine Bar and Hank’s, and his Gardiner Museum restaurant turned into an event and catering space, the Gilead Café and Bistro is now the best place to go for his French-inflected locavore cuisine. Inside, the trademark wall of colourful preserved fruit and vegetables makes a cozy spot for a fall lunch.
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At noon, a queue snakes out from the mezzanine barista bar and kitchen at Sense Appeal, the King and Spadina café with its own director of coffee extraction. In addition to excellent coffee and an array of freshly made sandwiches, it’s the creative hot entrees, available at lunchtime on weekdays, that are drawing the crowds.
The flaky beef and spinach pie at Estiatorio Volos (Image: Andrew Brudz)
Torontonians who work downtown rarely have the luxury of skipping over to the Danforth to satisfy a lunchtime craving for Greek food. The recent launch of Estiatorio Volos, however, means you can find uncommonly elevated Greek fare right in financial district. The restaurant, which captures some of the seaside ambiance of its namesake coastal city, is run by Andreas Antoniou, who took over his father’s old space, Mediterra.
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(Image: Andrew Brudz)
The storied La Palette space in Kensington Market is now in the assured hands of chef Jean-Charles Dupoire and his partner, longtime friend and sommelier Sylvain Brissonnet, the duo behind Harbord Street’s Loire. At Le Kensington, their menu showcases simple French dishes Dupoire learned from his grandmother.
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(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.
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(Image: Andrew Brudz)
Bannock, the latest addition to the Oliver and Bonacini empire, serves hearty Canadiana that’s a good foil for this wet fall. The restaurant is split into a eat-in dining room adorned with salvaged wood and a modern grab-and-go counter. Both menus include a few incarnations of its namesake flatbread—including pizza-style entrees and even a sweet version—along with burgers, sandwiches, and a pulled pork tourtière.
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The prosciutto bianca comes buried in arugula (Image: Renée Suen)
The new theatre district location of Paese opened relatively quietly about a year ago and, like its older uptown sibling, serves Canadian-inflected casual Italian fare. The restaurant’s lunch options—antipasti, salads, pastas, panini, pizza—are served until 3 p.m., catering to neighbourhood office workers and tourists alike.
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The soup and sandwich combo arrive on a lazy Susan for easy access (Image: Andrew Brudz)
TIFF is in full swing, which means two certainties for moviegoers: mad dashes between screenings and endless rush lines. It’s easy for proper meals to get lots in the hubbub. Thankfully the beloved Toronto soup emporium RaviSoups is just around the corner from the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Read the rest of this entry »
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