麻豆传媒映画prides itself on its diverse and many-layered restaurant scene. Want poutine, burritos, pok茅, sushi? No problem. Authentic Cantonese dim sum? Um, duh. Contemporary anything? Throw a rock and hit a dozen neighbourhood picks, why dontcha?
We鈥檙e proud, and rightfully so. The only cool kid on the block, however, we鈥檙e not. Toronto鈥檚 formerly slightly stodgy and ever-so-pricey restaurant scene has become the subject of a Cinderella story and the city is now bursting with all kinds of ethnic, affordable and delicious eats.
Next time you鈥檙e in the Six, here are a few places to check out.
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Canis
Jeff Kang is a former 麻豆传媒映画chef (C, Diva at the Met) who moved to Toronto to take over the reigns at Bosk at the Shangri-La, before opening his own small wood-planked room on Queen Street West. He鈥檚 now turning out tasting and prix fixe menus that speak to contemporary Canadian cuisine in a smooth voice, featuring ingredients from salmon and gooseberry to lovage and local duck. The prix fixe offers four courses for $65 and gives you three options for each course. Go with a friend or two so that you can try everything or just order the seven-course tasting menu for $85. A visit last winter featured a beautiful, aged, whole roasted duck, served with risotto and white truffle. The menus change frequently, so each visit is a new delight.
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Descendant Pizza
You may not be familiar with the term 鈥渞ed top鈥� in relation to pizza, but you need to be. This is a style of pizza that came out of Detroit and features the sauce poured over the toppings on a super-thick, extra-crispy, square crust. The crust is often baked twice and brushed with butter to give it extra crispiness. You鈥檙e SOL if you go looking for this in Vancouver, but Toronto is lucky because it鈥檚 got Descendant. Start with a standard pepperoni to acclimatize yourself to the sauce-on-top concept, then move on to superstars like the truffled mushroom with bacon, caramelized onions, lemon zest, fresh thyme, and white truffle sauce.
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Fat Pasha
鈥淩eally good Jew food鈥� is the slogan here and they aren鈥檛 lying. Beautiful 鈥渟alatim鈥� can be had in trios for $15, like the garlic labneh with za鈥檃tar, chopped eggplant with tahini, or rapini tabbouleh with rye berries. Naturally, there is chicken liver, hummus and fattoush, an Israeli salad with za鈥檃tar pita chips and halloumi. But it鈥檚 mains like the duck schmaltz latkes and roasted half-chicken with tzatziki, mint and tomatoes, or the proper lamb shawarma that will let you you feast like a鈥� well, pasha. Finish with the sufganiyot, fried doughnuts with dulce de leche, sour cream icing and seasonal fruit.听
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Kanpai Snack Bar
It鈥檚 all about the Taiwanese street food here, from the intriguing cocktails to the absolutely stellar fried chicken, tossed in a mix of spices and fried to a delicate, paper-thin crunch that shatters like cooled sugar. That鈥檚 not to say you shouldn鈥檛 make room for the pork belly bao, the fried chicken skin, the kung pao cauliflower (this one we ordered twice just because), or any of the rice dishes.
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Figo
The contemporary, elegant Italian fare has become a top choice for the business lunch set, and the menu is available for dinner as well. Zucchini fritters are served with a lemon cream and honey, delicate housemade ricotta is drizzled with honey and sprinkled with black truffle crumbs. Classic Napoletana pizzas are well done here, but do try the pastas here, all made in-house.听
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鈥� Anya Levykh is a food, drink and travel writer who covers all things ingestible. Find her on Twitter听and Instagram.
