The Globe and Mail
December 27, 2008

Sublime sushi, brilliant bistros: 2008's best eats

by Joanne Kates

This was the year that Toronto went bistro. Not all the new greats are downscale, but the trend is to go light on the wallet as well as the palate. Herewith, my top 10 of 2008, in alphabetical order.

CAPLANSKY'S

Zane Caplansky dry-cures briskets for two weeks and smokes them over hickory for 10 hours, producing a result that is an amalgam of traditional corned beef and southern barbecue - smokier than the former and more fatty and less sugary than the latter. His dingy second-floor space above the Monarch Tavern sells out of smoked-meat sandwiches almost daily and his poutine topped with homemade smoked beef gravy and good cheese curds is sublime. And the fresh rye for the sandwiches? Oy vey. 12 Clinton St., 416-500-3852.

GRACE

Leslie Gibson of the defunct Xacutti opened Grace in the (gracefully) renovated space where Xacutti flamed out, and her taste is impeccable. Grace is not only gorgeous, but the food and service keep up. Chef Dustin Gallagher's six years under Susur Lee show in every bite: He does ricotta ravioli with orange and pine nuts, creamy corn chowder with crab fritters, fall-off-the-bone beef ribs with roast minted sweet potatoes, oil-poached halibut with fennel and citrus. Simple, basic, in control. 503 College St., 416-944-8884.

HARBORD ROOM

It channels a hip London wine bar, with heavenly bistro food. Chef Cory Vitiello cut his teeth at Scaramouche before cooking at the Drake, and his first posting shows. Calamari, clams and chorizo is what happened when a downtown hipster met Portuguese clams with pork: It's spicy, strong and ungreasy, with tender calamari and properly cooked fresh clams. Who would have imagined how much flavour could be packed into pumpkin risotto? Roast chicken breast is moist and crisp-skinned, with a marvellous puree of Jerusalem artichokes (spiked with apple and vanilla) surrounded by a moat of foie gras sauce. The ultimate winter food. 89 Harbord St., 416-962-8989.

LOIRE

In the year of the bistro, Loire was quintessential. A tiny (38-seat) room presided over by a charming Gallic gamin, Loire dishes out French bistro classics for friendly prices. The $16 burger (lamb or beef) is juicy and tender, made divine by intense tomato jam and melted Quebec brie. The frog legs are tender little darlings in house-made barbecue sauce. The charcuterie plate is impeccable, the soups are rich and tasty, the risotto is superb and the flank steak is sweet and rare. 119 Harbord St., 416 850-8330.

MADELINE'S

When Susur Lee left Toronto for New York, his farewell gift was Madeline's, a luxe remake of a 1950s Chinese restaurant, with tongue in cheek: red and green brocade flocking, ornate wooden screens. And superlative nouvelle Chinese food: crispy lobster beurre noisette, chili lime, egg, shallot, lemon balm in lettuce wrap. This is a big fat nugget of sweet perfect lobster in gossamer egg batter with a hint of brown butter, in a crisp lettuce nest. Crispy garlic Cornish hen with gorgonzola cheese sauce and sautéed apple, the skin so crisp it's almost Peking duck, the apple caramelized with delicate gorgonzola sauce. Madeline's seduces with ruby red duck breast with perfectly balanced honey chili orange glaze, scallops with sweet fresh chorizo and potato purée zinged with lemon and garlic. It doesn't get better than this. 601 King St. W., 416-603-2205.

MENGRAI

Thai chef Sasi Meechai-Lim gives us the straight goods from northern Thailand. She deep-fries morning glories in barely-there tempura batter, to serve in a crispy tangle alongside spicy fragrant pumpkin soup, with sweet/hot chili sauce. How many Thai cooks put fresh peaches in lamb curry, taking care to avoid overcooking the peaches, but getting the lamb fork-tender and the tamarind sweet/sour? Fusion happens when a chef cooks the recipes of her homeland with local ingredients. 82 Ontario St., 416-546-0331.

NOTA BENE

Nota Bene is the result of Spendido's owners taking it down a notch. Duck salad is divinely crispy duck shreds atop crunchy green papaya slaw jazzed with bitter sumac and sweet coriander, gentled with toasted cashews. The apps are all like that - relatively inexpensive ingredients for painless prices, packing big flavour punch. Gourmandizing thrill-seekers adore octopus salad: fat tenderized chunks of octopus with lightly smoked green peppers, sweet, grated young fennel in contrast to bitter green rapini and piquant olives. Comfort food rendered elegantly continues with mains: Suckling pig and boudin noir tart is what happened when a real chef took on pork. 180 Queen St. W., 416-977-6400.

NYOOD

Restaurateur Hanif Harji (of Blowfish and the delectable Kultura) and his chef Roger Mooking made Nyood. They do tapas (who doesn't?). Mooking's octopus is startling in its tenderness; he tosses it with blood orange, shaved crisped Jerusalem artichokes, fresh basil and olives. Chef cures thin-sliced, very fine steak with olives, which leaves it raw but builds a thin crust of olive piquance, and serves it over thin shaved citrus-marinated fennel with grilled young radicchio. He has a suite of five fabulous garnished flatbreads built on tender, house-made dough. Such is Nyood's collection of complex little bijous. 1096 Queen St. W., 416-466-1888.

OMI

Chef John Lee, long of Church Street omakase fame, moved into the former Town Grill in Cabbagetown. His sushi is superlative, creative but never over the top. Creamy edamame soup and sushi make a fun dinner, but give chef Lee $65 and the omakase parade goes on and on. His signature is scallops barely kissed by a blowtorch and dressed with tobiko, scallions and wasabi. He sits these succulent babies on miniature sushi pizza. He sprinkles fragrant black shiso powder on raw big-eye tuna with the texture of butter. Inhale slowly. 243 Carlton St., 416-920-8991.

SIMPLE BISTRO

Simple Bistro is a recession baby. Dinner for two won't top $130, and the menu respects millennial epicures' desire for lighter fare: salad of Belgian endive with French blue cheese, salad of beets, sweet and tart thanks to arugula, chèvre and oranges. Scallops are scented with vanilla and served with lightly pickled fennel. They do sweet little frites with steak or mussels. For lunch, they do croque monsieur, a river of oozing gruyere with smoked ham in great French bread. 619 Mount Pleasant Rd., 416-483-8933.