One

CANOE

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe saw God in the details. On the 54th floor of one of his timelessly beautiful towers, chef Anthony Walsh and the Oliver Bonacini team have assumed responsibility. Recession or no, every cog of the restaurant’s mechanism is currently whirring in perfect sync, pampering and seducing Bay Street suits, courting couples and A-list gourmets alike. The surprise is the edgy intensity of Walsh’s food. Building an imaginative menu around artisanal Canadian ingredients gives an evening at Canoe substantial artistic backbone—righteous passion plays all the more powerfully in such a suave and sophisticated key.

STANDOUT DISH: Thick slices of rare, amazingly tender squab breast and juicy beech mushrooms are spaced on the plate like a delectable archipelago. Alongside sits a confited squab leg (dark, woodsy meat), jerusalem artichoke quenelle and a bitter­sweet parcel of black kale leaves. Tiny pools of purple chokecherry and dots of green laurel oil colour a subtle sauce spiked with Newfoundland screech. Such original flavours, but they still allow the squab to rule the roost. 66 Wellington St. W., 416-364-0054.

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