The Dish Power Rankings: Yay Canada Edition
In this week’s roundup: Sports bars get patriotically rowdy, and Oprah’s BF eats brunch.
1. The Drake
After a fortnight of buildup, the Parkdale hotel rang in its 10-year anniversary with a giant party and, naturally, a six-foot-tall piñata in the shape of a hamburger.
3. Nadège Patisserie
A lesson to bakers everywhere: when you put stuff like squid ink in croissants, people get excited.
4. Fonda Lola
Fonda Lola is adored by chefs and critics alike—but your reservation privileges, once lost, are lost forever.
5. The Chase
Middling reviews are no match for Toronto’s fastest-expanding resto-corp. Both Chase restaurants are packed all weekend.
6. The Carbon Bar
Globe food-critic-slash-armchair-psychologist Chris Nuttall Smith thinks chef David Lee might be sad. Based on the healthy Open Table stats, we sort of doubt it.
7. Real Sports Bar & Grill
Yesterday’s turnout for the women’s gold-medal hockey game was impressive. (We expect Sunday’s boozy, early-morning men’s session may be even more so.)
8. Boots ‘n’ Bourbon
All this time, half the people on the east side were apparently just itching to throw on wide-brimmed caps and box-step in unison.
9. The Corner House
The cottagey restaurant had decades to woo us with its low-key charm—which is why the two weeks leading up to its final dinner service are looking extremely busy.
10. Pizza e Pazzi
This local St. Clair pizza chain beat out Buca, Enoteca Sociale and Libretto as USA Today’s pick for the best Italian restaurant in Toronto. Which seems…slightly suspect.
Honourable Mentions: Oprah’s boyfriend Steadman ate brunch at Sunset Grill; rival ramen shops Kinton and Kenzo both set their sights on the Queen West strip; and a tiny Queen West burger shop was thrust into the public eye through the power of Reddit commenters alone.
