The Dish Power Rankings: Brandon Walsh edition

Toronto Life’s roundup of the restaurants with the biggest buzz, the longest lineups and the toughest tables to snag.

The top two restaurants swap positions this week, and Patria rockets back on the list after an excellent celeb spotting.

1. Electric Mud BBQ (↑1)
   When the ur-hipsters behind Electric Mud decide to start a DJ night, they naturally get Brendan Canning (a.k.a. DJ Soft Serve) to start things off. Also: takeout.
2. OddSeoul (↓1)
   Awesome Asian bar food + tipsy Ossington crowds – a phone number = desperate Twitter attempts to snag a table.
3. Edulis (no change)
   Who knew that a tiny, unflashy restaurant well off the buzzy King West strip would turn out to be toughest reservation in town? We did. (They’re all booked up until after they get back from vacation in late April).
4. Patria (back this week)
   Last week, Patria was graced by the presence of Brandon Walsh Jason Priestley, in town for his Toronto stage début in David Mamet’s Race. Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chára also stopped by. Patria’s starting to eclipse fellow-Khabouth restaurant La Société as the city’s celebrity den.
5. Farmhouse Tavern (↓1)
   Our favourite pint-sized critic Ryan Storm recently raved about brunch there, although Joanne Kates chided the restaurant yesterday for its lack of polish. We settle the argument here.
6. Playa Cabana Cantina (↓1)
   Dave Sidhu’s taquerias are so popular, he announced that he’s opening a third location only three months after launching his second.
7. Bar Isabel (new this week)
   Grant van Gameren, of Black Hoof fame, finally opened his solo restaurant last week on College to intense Twitter buzz.
8. Queen Margherita Pizza 2.0  (new this week)
   Friday and Saturday nights are already fully booked by mid-week at QMP’s second location. John Chetti’s bet on restaurant-starved Baby Point is paying off.
9. Splendido (back this week)
   Splendido, that icon of refinement and pampering, just launched its first regular brunch service over the weekend. Naturally, they sabred a bottle of bubbly to celebrate.
10. Bent (new this week)
    Last week, Bay CEO Bonnie Brooks hosted a party at Bent for hot British designer Roksanda Ilincic. The guest list was stacked with fashion types, including Toronto starlet Sarah Gadon.

Honourable mentions: Ossington’s Union opened a twee sister food shop called Côte de Boeuf, The Stop’s Chris Brown demo’d the art of proper seasoning to The Globe (hint: use a lot more salt) and The Lakeview flummoxed Guy Fieri with exotic fare like peameal bacon.

Dropped off the list this week: Nota Bene, Guu Sakabar, Rose and Sons and Hey Meatball.