The Dish Power Rankings: March Break Edition
In this week’s roundup: Bob Blumer eats pork, and a beloved Dundas West bistro says goodbye with a final brunch.
1. Chantecler
The Parkdale restaurant just turned two, sparking lots of well-deserved praise. (Jonathan Poon’s self-assessment is a little more modest: “Essentially the lunch menu is just dim sum and McDonald’s.”)
2. Buca/Bar Buca
Both still packed/adored.
3. Lee
Susur’s eponymous restaurant is booked through the weekend, despite ongoing renovation projects. Meanwhile, a few sneaky shots of soft-launching Luckee have been smuggled into the public domain. Looks pretty cool.
4. Brockton General
This weekend is Brockton’s last. Fans can pay their respects at Sunday’s final brunch service.
5. Reds Midtown
As the Aura condo’s population climbs, Reds 2 gains momentum. The Star’s Amy Pataki calls the seafood stew “attractive” and “fun,” but too garlicky.
6. The Carbon Bar
Still packed. Celebri-chef Marc Thuet recommends the fried chicken.
7. Red Sauce
In a recent Post City review, Joanne Kates lobs the ultimate backhanded compliment: “Red Sauce is to Acadia what jeans are to Armani. But terrific jeans.”
8. The Saint
The Saint used to be the one restaurant on Ossington where you could pretty much always get a seat. Not anymore. (If you want a food preview, Buca chef Rob Gentile recently Instagrammed half the menu.)
9. King Place
Zagat’s Suresh Doss claims this little spot on Sherborne has the best butter chicken in the city.
10. Gretzky’s
The downtown sports bar got a drive-by shout-out on Jimmy Kimmel—making it the third Toronto restaurant to benefit from Rob Ford’s international infamy.
Honourable Mentions: Rock Lobster chef Matt Dean Pettit followed in Jamie Oliver’s footsteps by launching a new seafood line at Sobeys, and Surreal Gourmet star Bob Blumer stuffed himself at Porchetta before taking an invigorating plunge at the Y—at least 30 minutes later, we hope.
2. Buca/Bar Buca
Both still packed/adored.
3. Lee
Susur’s eponymous restaurant is booked through the weekend, despite ongoing renovation projects. Meanwhile, a few sneaky shots of soft-launching Luckee have been smuggled into the public domain. Looks pretty cool.
4. Brockton General
This weekend is Brockton’s last. Fans can pay their respects at Sunday’s final brunch service.
5. Reds Midtown
As the Aura condo’s population climbs, Reds 2 gains momentum. The Star’s Amy Pataki calls the seafood stew “attractive” and “fun,” but too garlicky.
6. The Carbon Bar
Still packed. Celebri-chef Marc Thuet recommends the fried chicken.
7. Red Sauce
In a recent Post City review, Joanne Kates lobs the ultimate backhanded compliment: “Red Sauce is to Acadia what jeans are to Armani. But terrific jeans.”
8. The Saint
The Saint used to be the one restaurant on Ossington where you could pretty much always get a seat. Not anymore. (If you want a food preview, Buca chef Rob Gentile recently Instagrammed half the menu.)
9. King Place
Zagat’s Suresh Doss claims this little spot on Sherborne has the best butter chicken in the city.
10. Gretzky’s
The downtown sports bar got a drive-by shout-out on Jimmy Kimmel—making it the third Toronto restaurant to benefit from Rob Ford’s international infamy.
Honourable Mentions: Rock Lobster chef Matt Dean Pettit followed in Jamie Oliver’s footsteps by launching a new seafood line at Sobeys, and Surreal Gourmet star Bob Blumer stuffed himself at Porchetta before taking an invigorating plunge at the Y—at least 30 minutes later, we hope.
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You should probably be able to spell Gretzky correctly.
Based on my experience this week, I have no clue how The Saint made this list.
This all occurred on Monday evening, 6 pm…
– almost all booths were empty and the entire front section was empty; the bar has some patrons
– came for drinks was offered bar seating; asked for booth, was offered a table. Fair.
– we were seated at the back (3 tables away from the kitchen!). We were seated at the table being used to roll napkins and forks. She had to clear it off to seat us. (?!?!?)
-given menus and realize that across from us there is a staff meeting in progress. They’re announcing to the staff someone has been let go. Awkward.
– server finally comes back. My menu is flipped to the wine list at the back. She then proceeds to flip my menu forward to show me the other selections (thanks, I’ve had time to read it!). She asks my companion for his order and then walks away to fill it. DIDN’T ask me.
– he ordered a non-alcoholic drink…it took over 5 minutes. Based on experience,we are the only people in her section (if you don’t count the staff meeting) so….
– I decide I’m not going to order anything of value…ask for sparkling water. Was told they only had large bottles. Opted for tonic water instead.
– companion orders a snack (we’re going to dinner elsewhere). Server comes back five minutes later and says “we’re out of that…do you want anything else?”
He asked for the cheque.
After hearing good things, we had planned on having a few cocktails and snacks before dinner. From the moment we were seated, we decided to downgrade immediately because of the attitude. We were gone within 20 minutes. Never going back.