Must-Try: Auberge du Pommier amps up classic French foie gras with bold Asian flavours

Auberge du Pommier, the posh Hogg’s Hollow institution, is now in its 26th, and quite possibly best, year. Marc St. Jacques took over the kitchen in 2011, after a stint as the chef at Michael Mina, the Bellagio’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Las Vegas. He makes the French classics Auberge regulars swoon over, but he’s also courting their grown-up kids—the ones who squirmed through steak frites dinners two decades ago—with edgier ideas. His canny fusion of old school and new is epitomized in a prism of foie gras. The base is a chewy black sesame cake reminiscent of a sesame snap. It’s layered with an ultra-fine foie gras mousse and a thin layer of umami-potent white soy gelée. On the top, dotted like complex sundae sprinkles, are minty shiso leaves, sugar-dusted Meyer lemon segments, tart lemon curd and crunchy tempura crackles—a delicate feat of engineering that fires every food-joy synapse at the same time. $27. 4150 Yonge St., 416-222-2220.