The Dish Power Rankings: Happy Halloween Edition
In this week’s roundup: the culinary Olympics take Toronto, and an unassuming uptown trattoria tweets its way into notoriety.
1. Bar Isabel (no change)
The best-in-Canada title has been great for the Little Italy restaurant—and not-so-great for anyone who wants to eat there. Chances of scoring a same-day reservation are nil.
2. Electric Mud (↑3)
Lineups have never been longer at the Parkdale barbeque spot, whose savvy owners have capitalized on their EnRoute glory by launching a line of house-made hot sauces.
3. Edulis (↓1)
Tables are booked solid through November 7th. (Enthusiastic props from a leather pants–clad Martha Stewart will do that.)
4. El Catrin (back this week)
The sprawling Distillery District Mexican restaurant has bounced back from the Globe’s buzz-buster of a review earlier this fall. No seats are available this weekend.
5. La Cascina (new this week)
Never underestimate the power of a hyper-aggressive Twitter campaign. The Star’s Amy Pataki and the Globe’s Chris Nuttall-Smith gave back-to-back praise to the four-year-old trattoria, which began power-tweeting over the summer.
6. Shōtō (↓3)
Strangely, same-day resos aren’t a problem at EnRoute magazine’s pick for second-best restaurant in Canada. Maybe diners are intimidated?
7. Valdez (back this week)
Post City’s Joanne Kates raved about the “sexy sushi” and “impeccable trout” at Top Chef Canada alum Steve Gonzalez’s King West hotspot. We were slightly more ambivalent.
8. George (new this week)
The usually bookable Queen East institution filled up fast when chef Lorenzo Loseto took home first prize at this week’s Gold Medal Plates culinary championships. The winning plate: a potato-wrapped filet of ahi tuna served with pear-carrot relish, slow-roasted carrot butter, pickled celery, peppercorn mayo and fennel pollen.
9. Chantecler (back this week)
The restaurant opened its phone lines at midnight for December reservations—and sold out before noon.
10. One (new this week)
Mark McEwan’s swishy Yorkville space was ranked 30th on The Daily Meal’s list of the top 101 hotel dining rooms in the world. (The number-one spot went to the super-exclusive é by José Andrés at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas).
Honourable Mentions: Suits star Patrick Adams grabbed a drink and posed for pics with fans at The Drake; Café Boulud’s Tyler Shedden and Splendido’s Victor Barry placed second and third, respectively, in the Gold Medal Plates championships; and the Star’s Amy Pataki gave a thumbs-up to the butter chicken poutine at Nawab Fusion Grill near Yonge and Sheppard.
Dropped off the list this week: Blowfish, Lee, Hudson Kitchen, Geraldine, The Chase, Drake One Fifty
The best-in-Canada title has been great for the Little Italy restaurant—and not-so-great for anyone who wants to eat there. Chances of scoring a same-day reservation are nil.
2. Electric Mud (↑3)
Lineups have never been longer at the Parkdale barbeque spot, whose savvy owners have capitalized on their EnRoute glory by launching a line of house-made hot sauces.
3. Edulis (↓1)
Tables are booked solid through November 7th. (Enthusiastic props from a leather pants–clad Martha Stewart will do that.)
4. El Catrin (back this week)
The sprawling Distillery District Mexican restaurant has bounced back from the Globe’s buzz-buster of a review earlier this fall. No seats are available this weekend.
5. La Cascina (new this week)
Never underestimate the power of a hyper-aggressive Twitter campaign. The Star’s Amy Pataki and the Globe’s Chris Nuttall-Smith gave back-to-back praise to the four-year-old trattoria, which began power-tweeting over the summer.
6. Shōtō (↓3)
Strangely, same-day resos aren’t a problem at EnRoute magazine’s pick for second-best restaurant in Canada. Maybe diners are intimidated?
7. Valdez (back this week)
Post City’s Joanne Kates raved about the “sexy sushi” and “impeccable trout” at Top Chef Canada alum Steve Gonzalez’s King West hotspot. We were slightly more ambivalent.
8. George (new this week)
The usually bookable Queen East institution filled up fast when chef Lorenzo Loseto took home first prize at this week’s Gold Medal Plates culinary championships. The winning plate: a potato-wrapped filet of ahi tuna served with pear-carrot relish, slow-roasted carrot butter, pickled celery, peppercorn mayo and fennel pollen.
9. Chantecler (back this week)
The restaurant opened its phone lines at midnight for December reservations—and sold out before noon.
10. One (new this week)
Mark McEwan’s swishy Yorkville space was ranked 30th on The Daily Meal’s list of the top 101 hotel dining rooms in the world. (The number-one spot went to the super-exclusive é by José Andrés at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas).
Honourable Mentions: Suits star Patrick Adams grabbed a drink and posed for pics with fans at The Drake; Café Boulud’s Tyler Shedden and Splendido’s Victor Barry placed second and third, respectively, in the Gold Medal Plates championships; and the Star’s Amy Pataki gave a thumbs-up to the butter chicken poutine at Nawab Fusion Grill near Yonge and Sheppard.
Dropped off the list this week: Blowfish, Lee, Hudson Kitchen, Geraldine, The Chase, Drake One Fifty){kind=link}