The Dish Power Rankings: The Week of Cheese Edition

The Dish Power Rankings: The Week of Cheese Edition

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In this week’s roundup: Toronto cheesemongers take centre stage, and a pair of world-class chefs get hyperbolically bromantic. 

1. Shōtō (back this week)
Alex Atala, the Brazilian superchef hailed by David Chang as “the most interesting man in the world,” got reciprocally fan-boyish this week when he proclaimed Chang’s University Avenue restaurant to be the “best place in Toronto.”

2. Buca (↓1)
No surprise that Jamie Oliver’s endorsement is good for business. The downtown trattoria, which apparently catered head chef Rob Gentile’s wedding earlier in the week, is fully booked after 5 p.m. all weekend.

3. Cheese Boutique (new this week)
The beloved Toronto cheesemonger found itself in unusually high demand: talking to paps about all the awesome Euro cheese headed to Canada; fielding inquiries about the best cheese on the planet; and designing Buca chef Rob Gentile’s wedding cake (which was, appropriately, made entirely out of cheese).

4. The Chase (↓2)
You’ll have to eat unfashionably early to score a table at the city’s most popular pescatarian powerhouse. The only spots up for grabs this weekend are pre-6 p.m.

5. Daishō (back this week)
Chang’s family-style restaurant is once again slammed, perhaps thanks to a brand-new large-format meal: a $290 slow-roasted beef brisket with steamed buns, crab mayo and green papaya slaw.

6. Cold Tea (new this week)
Toronto’s top restaurateurs partied hard at the Kensington dive, which earned props from Globe food critic Chris Nuttall-Smith for its “brilliant booze-based revelations” and rotating pop-ups from chefs like Shōtō’s Mitch Bates and Catch’s Charlotte Langley.

7. Drake One Fifty (↓4)
The downtown outpost has become the newest hub for Bay Street suits. Which isn’t terribly surprising for a place that sells a $25 beverage called the Baller Manhattan.

8. Bar Isabel (back this week)
Grant van Gameren’s recent food-focused Spanish sojourn must have paid off. Tables at the Little Italy restaurant are fully booked for the next three weekends.

9. Hudson Kitchen (↓4)
The Dundas West eatery has gotten into a promising groove: it’s booked solid on Friday and Saturday nights.

10. Edulis (↓4)
Still no tables. Yawn.

Honourable Mentions: Nuttall-Smith also enthused over the seared cactus tacos at Seven Lives, the jerk chicken at Rasta Pasta and the ice cream sammies at Fika; and Toronto Star food critic Amy Pataki raved about the homemade pasta and Nutella cookies at La Cascina on Avenue Road.

Dropped off the list this week: Aroma, Beast, Bero, Patria, The Huntsman