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Josh's Reviews: Toronto 2012
 Each link includes the first part of the review. Many of the reviews also include pictures of the individual dishes.
Mugaritz Chef Andoni Aduriz: Buca Restaurant, Toronto, Entertains
Monday, May 14
When the chef of the #3 Resto in the world comes to your city, where would you choose to take him? That was THE MAJOR question dangling on everyone's mind. Here is a chef with impeccable visual and oral aesthetics, at the top of his game. We decided to entertain him at Buca restaurant where chef Rob Gentile creates dishes that are both rustic and sophisticated ethnic representations of his roots and travel experience. Rob Gentile is a talented, fastidious perfectionist whose execution of a range of rustic dishes makes a strong impression on his diners.
Chantecler Restaurant
Thursday, May 10
My experience at Chantecler was quite special. There is excitement in this kitchen that is tangible. The exec chef/co-owner is Jonathan Poon (formerly of Woodlot, Delux and Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner). The hallmarks of this cuisine are harmonious, ethereal and complex flavours. The cooking was perfection in every dish. The chef has the flavours and textures nailed! This is a disciplined, highly organized, efficient kitchen that is also focused on cleanliness. Table service is very professional, client oriented and staff work well together.
Bestellen Restaurant, Toronto
Thursday, May 3
What a wonderful experience, walking into a resto that dry ages their own beef and offers other unusual good things seen in the windows of their fridge (below). This kind of presentation, to me, bodes well for things to come.
Gusto 101 Restaurant, Toronto
Monday, April 30
One of the kitchen elements that make the food at this resto potentially more interesting, is their Tuscan wood fired grill.
Fried calamari, somewhat crispy (could have been crispier) but a bit oily, were served with cucumber giardineria (pickled cucumber), jalapenos and roasted garlic aioli.
Cafe Polonez, Toronto
Friday, April 27
This Polish resto has been around for YEARS, but, I have not been for YEARS, so revisited. Very good beef tripe soup. Polish sausage topped with fried onions and served with crispy crunch fries dusted with bread crumbs, grainy mustards and garnishes.
Lou Dawgs BBQ, Toronto
Wednesday, April 25
This branch, on Gerrard Street, is an offshoot of the original King Street location. The brisket sandwich with house made baked beans. Unfortunately the taste of the brisket was overwhelmed by the sauce. I should have requested the brisket without sauce and added my own. The brisket had a pleasant smoky flavour but, because of all of the sauce, it was hard to tell and may have been a touch on the dry side.
Ursa Restaurant, Toronto
Saturday, April 14
Chef/co-owner, Jacob Sharkey Pierce, has a way with bright, clean flavours and lovely, appealing presentations on the plate. His unique healthy food perspective is brought to bear on a cuisine that well represents both contemporary rustic and modern evolutions in restaurant food. His insight and techniques make him stand out in this regard.
Buca Restaurant, Toronto, New Impressions and Worth Revisiting
Tuesday, April 3
I just returned from New York and Milan, having experienced some wonderful restos, many reflecting regional Italian inspirations. Now I am in Toronto, having enjoyed a truly wonderful meal at Buca. This restaurant keeps evolving, getting better and better.
Enoteca Sociale, Toronto
Friday, March 23
This was my first visit to this restaurant in quite some time. I have been frequently out of the country and only here for short intervals. Invariably when I have tried to reserve this ever popular resto, it was booked. Grant van Gameren, the former chef of the popular Black Hoof restaurant is now the resident chef.
Revisiting Nota Bene, Toronto
Sunday, March 18
I go to Nota Bene fairly regularly. It is not only very conveniently located to attend the ballet and opera at the Four Seasons Centre, but also, the food and service are reliably very good. But, occasionaly, like this one, the food was just so-o-o-o satisfying!
Carisma Restaurant, Toronto
Friday, March 16
Carisma is the restaurant that Mike and Margie Pagliaro opened downtown after they sold their highly successful restaurant on Eglinton Avenue. They have fortunately kept some of their very good service staff and chefs.
Atlantic Restaurant, Toronto, One of the Best Meals I Have Enjoyed in the GTA
Friday, March 9
Atlantic is located on Dundas west, just west of Dufferin, a part of the city that is slowly gaining significant restaurant traction, with many of the chefs presenting some of the most interesting, unpretentious cuisine in the entire GTA.
Acadia Restaurant, Toronto
Tuesday, March 6
The dishes at Acadia are quite complex in presentation, flavour and texture and the chef contrives his innovative details in such a meticulous way. I did not find the detail superfluous. So, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.
Swish by Han Restaurant, Toronto
Sunday, March 4
Creative interpretations of Korean cuisine, all thankfully lacking the more intense heat found in conventional Korean cuisine. I can taste all of the flavours now.
F'Amelia Restaurant, Toronto
Friday, March 2
This Cabbage Town resto, in a part of old Toronto, has a comfortable interior filled with young families and boomers enjoying the casual environment. I came for the pizza made in their wood burning oven.
Stock Restaurant at The Trump International Hotel, Toronto
Tuesday, February 28
Stock is a very open restaurant, decorated in a very clean lined, contemporary theme. The staff are very accommodating and attentive. The extremely simple menu is very straight forward. Wines are offered by the glass, but, the per glass price is quite expensive as all of the available wines were $20.00 per glass! Nice breads were presented to begin, a sliced red fife baguette and sliced sourdough baguette. I preferred the red fife. The accompanying butter was nothing special.
Kenzo Ramen, Toronto
Saturday, February 25
Kenzo Ramen is one of a several noodle restos in the greater Toronto area. I will be on a mission over the next little while, to see whose ramen experience is best. In North America, my "gold standard" is Ippudo, in New York.
Les Chevalier du Tastevin At Didier Restaurant, Toronto
Wednesday, February 22
Les Chevalier Du Tastevin, Toronto chapter chooses fine restaurants to enjoy the best cuisine with fine burgundy wines that come from the cellar of the group. This night, the event was at Didier.
"Groundhog Day": A 7 Chef Competition at Cava Resto, Toronto
Sunday, February 19
Groundhog Day is a competition of invited chefs for the best pork dish of the night. The annual competition has 2 prizes, one, a trophy and the second, a $250.00 gift certificate to The Cookbook Store. The present competition had the following chefs: Ted Corrado of Compass Canada, formerly chef at C5 of the ROM; Teo Paul of Union Restaurant (www.union72.ca); Ryan Donovan of Marben Restaurant (www.marbenrestaurant.com); Ryan Crawford of The Stone Road Grill (www.stoneroadgrille.com) Niagara on the Lake, Ontario; Mark Cutrara of Cowbell restaurant (www.cowbellrestaurant.ca); Guy Rawlings of Lucien restaurant (www.lucienrestaurant.com); Albert Ponzo of le select restaurant (www.leselect.com).
A Riesling Inspired Dinner For The Mystery Wine Group At Splendido Restaurant, Toronto
Thursday, February 16
The mystery wine group is a small group of individuals with very extensive wine cellars who get together at different restaurants for an extensive, uniquely created meal inspired by certain wine varietals. The wines are served blind or double blind and the wines discussed, guessed at, while hors d'oevres are served and then those same wines are enjoyed during the course of the meal. This night, rieslings were the inspiration. Chef Victor Barry created the perfect dishes to pair with these wines. I have always believed that well made rieslings are the most versatile wines with food. This evening's creations proved the point.
Alaskan King Crab at Xam Yu, Toronto
Saturday, February 11
I highly recommend calling this resto, in advance, to pre-order fresh Alaskan king crab. They prepare the crab "3 ways" and also an extra dish of fried rice with the crab "scraps". Crab lovers will find this crab experience delectable!
The Odd Bits Dinner With a Group of 7 Chefs at Parts and Labour Restaurant
Friday, February 10
This all offal dinner, at Parts and Labour restaurant honoured chef/author and James Beard award winner Jennifer McLagan. The participating chefs were Scott Vivian of Beast restaurant, Bertrand Alepee of The Tempered Chef Caterers, Chris Brown of The Stop, Rob Gentile of Buca, Mark Cutrara of Cowbell, Matty Matheson of Parts and Labour and Mark DuFour of Earth.
Elle M'a dit Restaurant, Toronto
Monday, February 6
Elle M'a dit is a very small resto on Baldwin Street where the food is prepared by Alsatian chef Gregory Furstoss. I found the menu inspiring so of course, we had to graze most of it, but we could have ordered more.
Enoteca Maialino Restaurant, Toronto
Saturday, February 4
The warm and friendly attitude one experiences in this small, charming restaurant puts one in a pleasant frame of mind to enjoy the good food. We ordered drinks and wine and we were presented with their complementary salumi board with 2 types, one spicy and a bit gamey and one mild, and a cheese board with toasts and a blood orange, onion compote. Reviewing the menu I found a strong Sicilian cultural influence.
Offal Dinner For L'Ordre Mondial Des Gourmet Desgustateurs at Cowbell Restaurant
Wednesday, February 1
Cowbell is a terrific local restaurant in the west Parkdale area of Queen Street, Toronto. The chef, Mark Cutrara butchers all of his meats himself and well knows the subtle anatomical areas that make for interesting and tasty eating. I consider chef Mark to be among the best chefs in Toronto. He especially shows his stuff when he is challenged to do a significant meal for small groups. His regular menu does not often get into the esoterics, except by special request. The Ordre Mondial is a small unusual group within the Chaine Des Rotisseurs, that loves to enjoy fine wine and cuisine, and when it comes to experiencing exotic cuisine, their attitude is "damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead".
Splendido's New Tasting Menu
Friday, January 27
I love to share my experiences exploring how our best chefs are evolving their cuisine. Victor Barry and his excellent associates are always refining what the do well and exploring new ways to please our palates.
Toronto Resto Revisits: Pangaea; Malena; Torito
Sunday, January 22
Pangaea
Pangaea has a very pleasing new menu so we were excited to try some of the new additions.
Chicken and mushroom sausage with white wine braised cabbage, chicken skin "crackling" and Pommery mustard jus. What a lovely range of complementary flavours, particularly the cabbage and sausage complements. The texture of the sausage was perfect, slightly coarse. I also loved the crispy crackling which was placed over top of this presentation.
Malena
We began with a mix of warm olives with herbs and citrus.
Sea bass perfectly seared, presented with a leek ash sauce, a dash of olive oil, caramelized celery, mini fingerlings, dill and a dab of yogurt.
Torito
Torito has been a lovely place for me to visit from time to time, to experience Spanish/ Mexican influenced comfort food. It has a very informal room that also lends itself to a tapas like atmosphere.....which is what one gets, a lot of wonderful small dishes. I neglected to bring my cell or camera, so no photos.
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