May 24, 2012

School's out for supper

Joanne Kates on five of the Annex’s tastiest student quarter eateries

Joanne Kates
Splendido chef Victor Barry

Splendido chef Victor Barry

Student now the master at Splendido

Splendido offers complimentary canapés as part of Summer Apertivi

New owners took it down a notch, so instead of foie gras, we have foie gras parfait — like velvet, like silk, but less ambitious, less complex, less expensive.

Chef/owner Victor Barry, who worked under chef David Lee (now of Nota Bene) when he owned Splendido, learned well. By enchanted alchemy he makes blood sausage resemble a souffle. His gnocchi are gossamer, and truffle-scented. His house-made pasta comes with soft-fleshed rabbit and tiny young artichokes. Other than when he uses the woodfire grill, which is sometimes too hot and causes meats to feel too charred, chef does great justice to meat. He braises local lamb shoulder and suckling pig with finesse, assuring moist tenderness. Sometimes his mind is a culinary surprise package, as when he partners barely cooked scallops with homespun oxtail ravioli and sauces that happily marry silky cauliflower purée and barely butter-braised Savoy cabbage.

Desserts keep to the same high standards, and nobody told the waitstaff that Splendido has downscaled — they are attentive, knowledgeable and charming.

Splendido is located at 88 Harbord St., 416-929-7788.

 

Izakaya and then some at new Guu location

Kick off your shoes and sit on tatami cushions in Guu’s private zashiki room

Not just another Guu, the new one has a slightly different menu, and it ranks higher because, unlike Guu Church Street, Guu Bloor Street has a long enclosed hallway for diners to stay warm while they wait (up to an hour) for a table.

Dinner at new Guu is worth the wait. The menu at Guu Two is slightly different from Guu One, but certain things don’t change. Still no reservations, still the cramped communal tables with backless benches. Still the marvellous shouting from the staff when you arrive and depart. Still the dark, noisy, hectic craziness, and still the fabulous food tastes.

This Guu does more raw stuff – impeccably fresh sea urchin and sweet raw shrimp, grand scallop sashimi with creamy sea urchin sauce, barely torched BC tuna with crispy garlic chips. They have entered the land of fusion with entertaining carbonara udon (some cream and bacon with your dashi? Yum!). Dip nori-wrapped fish cake tempura in green-tea salt, and thank the food gods for giving Toronto another Guu.

Guu Sakabar is located at 595 Bloor St. W., 647-343-1101.

 

A taste of France with a side of Quebec

Loire boasts an ever-changing seasonal fresh menu and wine pairing specials

Loire is that sweet little Parisian bistro of your youth, which exists only in memory — and on Harbord Street. It’s tiny, noisy and delicious. You never know what they’re cooking because the menu changes every three weeks or so, thanks to markets and seasons. But hope for the likes of perfectly cooked scallops, their white wine sauce rescued from the mundane by chorizo, saffron and red peppers. The $17 burger is meaty, juicy perfection, with the added pleasure of melted Quebec Brie and deep rich tomato jam. Twenty dollars buys carrot coriander risotto, which is a model of small but mighty flavours and impeccable texture, with a chevre foam cloud as a moat around it. Chef’s duck confit is crispy, his potato and gruyere gratin properly creamy. Bon Appetit!

Loire Casual Gourmet is located at 119 Harbord St., 416-850-8330.

 

Classic French bistro Tati winning rave reviews

Enjoy fondue for two and prix fixe menus on Tati’s rooftop patio

Chef/patron Laurent Brion comes from Poitiers, France, where butterfat is not a food, it’s a religion. Chef Brion’s charming bistro is traditional French in the best sense: tiny, cramped, noisy and, yes, le patron mange ici. He is a man obsessed with flavour and his restaurant is a labour of love.

Eat his chunky duck terrine with pistachios, close your eyes and you could be in Paris. Same with his classic French salad frisée aux lardons et Roquefort: The finest blue cheese in the world partners with crisp little chunks of fatty pork to make lettuce fun.
Chef also demonstrates his mastery of la cuisine francaise with a quintessential classic French throwback: creamed mushrooms on puff pastry. The menu is old school French all the way. This is not unusual; what separates Tati from lesser bistros is Laurent Brion’s fine palate and strong technique.

Tati Bistro is located at 124 Harbord St., 416-962-8284.

 

Room with a view and the food to match

Theme Sundays on the patio include such fun as margarita nights

Chef Cory Vitiello came to the Harbord Room from the Drake, but he trained first at the estimable Stratford Chefs School and then under Keith Froggett at Scaramouche. It shows.

At first glance the Harbord Room is just another bistro on restaurant row, but Cory Vitiello packs more flavour into his food than most chefs. His soups are deep, rich and often garnished with small entertainments like goat cheese cream. He barely sears tuna and sauces it with a jazzy sauce of saffron, chile and lime. Risotto is a minefield for inexpert or lazy chefs. The former fail to give it enough flavour and the latter precook it, for textural disaster. Chef Vitiello avoids both pitfalls, producing impeccable risottos, most especially with fresh roasted artichokes, lemony greens and fresh cheese, topped with crisp-fried toasted nuts for extra fun.

Harbord Room is located at 89 Harbord St., 416-962-8989.
This article appears in the July 2011 issue of Post City Magazines

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