Toronto: Eat your heart out

By Edward Keenan

canoe

By January, most of us can use a break from the mid-winter blahs. In Toronto, between January 26 and February 8, enjoy a culinary pick-me-up during the Winterlicious Festival. That's when 126 restaurants – including some of the city's finest – offer three-course prix fixe menus for $35 or less. So now you can beat the blahs without breaking the bank.

Canoe

The black towers of designer Mies van der Rohe's Toronto-Dominion Centre are among Toronto's architectural marvels. Canoe, on the 54th floor, has become a landmark of a different kind, thanks to chef Anthony Walsh's way-upscale regional Canadian cuisine. Expense-account diners jockey for tables overlooking the lake while being served by a staff that anticipates their every need. Walsh brings fusion to the True North with his Alberta bison, Nunavut caribou and foie gras tourtière. The emphasis on Canadian ingredients also extends to the wine list, where a selection of Niagara wines does the region proud. A case in point: A 2003 Cave Springs chardonnay holds its own next to more established Californians that are twice the price.

54th Floor, Toronto Dominion Bank Tower, 66 Wellington St. W., 416-364-0054

Auberge du Pommier

The Provence-by-numbers decor – think plastered stone, rough wooden beams and roaring fireplaces – at Auberge du Pommier will either grate or charm, but the modern French cuisine tips the scales from kitschy to romantic, earning the Auberge a wide reputation as a can't-fail date restaurant. The classics (sautéed foie gras, frog legs, butter poached lobster) manage to make north Toronto feel like it's in the South of France. I'd be tempted to order the spicy tenderloin steak tartare as an entrée (it's available in two sizes), but then I'd have to forgo the milk-poached tenderloin served beside perfectly crispy sweetbreads and mashed potatoes that are puréed ecstasy.

4150 Yonge St., 416-222-2220

Bistro & Bakery Thuet

Chef Marc Thuet marries his flair for invention with a tribute to his Alsatian roots in his eponymous restaurant on King West. Thuet's seasonal menus – the chef recommends the game pheasant and grouse – may be labelled bistro, but the leather upholstery and aproned wait staff give his innovative cuisine well-deserved reverence. Thanks to the adjoining bakery, you can even take the artisanal Alsatian breads home. (Chef Anthony Walsh thinks enough of them to serve them at Canoe.) I usually grab a traditional onion tart while I'm at it.

609 King St. W., 416-603-2777

(Edward Keenan works as city editor of Eye Weekly. He wrote about Toronto's best brunches in the April issue.)

Getting There

We have low fares and an extensive schedule of flights to and from Toronto. Book now. And don't miss out on our great deals on car rentals and hotels (nightly rates starting as low as $68 CAD).

Back to top