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.