The Piled High Club
Social dining needn’t mean small plates and tiny portions
CHOUCROUTE
Marc Thuet’s signature dish features a preposterously large platter brimming with tangy house-fermented sauerkraut and an Alsatian avalanche of porcine pleasure: three kinds of sausage, braised porcelet belly and a roasted hock that would tip over Fred Flintstone’s car. $37. Conviction, 609 King St. W., 416-603-2777.
CATAPLANA
Surf ’n’ turf meets bouillabaisse in this classic Portuguese stew of juicy pork, smoky chorizo sausage, briny bivalves and tiger shrimp cooked in white wine, tomato, peppers and zippy piri piri sauce. The gigantic portion could feed a boat-load of Iberian fishermen. $34.50. Casa da Ramboia, 1282 Dundas St. W., 416-534-0407.
WOODEN PLATE
This board will get saliva glands flowing like the Danube. Skewered with two steak knives, the leaning tower of veal schnitzel (battered and breaded) is served with crispy potatoes and links of garlicky debreceni sausage. On the side, a paprika-spiked cabbage roll with full-fat sour cream. $37. Country Style Hungarian Restaurant, 450 Bloor St. W., 416-536-5966.
VEGETARIAN PLATTER
Arranged like a painter’s palette on a giant disc of injera, this meat-free feast includes slivered beets, soft chickpeas stewed in fiery berbere sauce and ripe tomatoes. With a riotous range of tastes, textures and colours, it’s like a one-plate Ethiopian buffet. $24. Lalibela, 869 Bloor St. W., 416-535-6615.
Photography by Jessica Darmanin
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