Toronto Life

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Branca

At this four-year-old Argentine grill in Little Portugal, service—like the place itself, set on the main floor of a gorgeous Victorian row house—is polished without being pretentiou­s, and the food is better than it’s ever been. Chef Samuel Maser has continued to use live wood fire to slow-roast locally sourced meats: organic chicken, lamb sirloin, skirt steak, a tomahawk rib-eye and beef short rib, grilled for six hours so that its rich flavour shines through. The kitchen’s deftness for exceptiona­lly executed food is not reserved just for big hunks of meat, however. Case in point: the provoleta, tapioca flour–crusted, deep-fried provolone cheese—it’s basically the world’s best mozzarella stick. Unique cocktails, like the Pommé, built with Calvados, Bruto Americano and spiced apple bitters, don’t hurt either. 1727 Dundas St. W., 416-519-8165. $$$$AO

Café Cancan

Now that chef Victor Barry has perfected casual Italian-American at his muchlauded Piano Piano, he’s up and moved across the street, into the old Harbord Room space, for his latest venture: a classic, all-day bistro with rosé on tap. Big-ticket items, like the côte de boeuf special and the duck confit, are popular for a reason, but a virtuous hors d’oeuvre of chilled crudités and a light buttermilk dip, along with boquerones, quality ham and very good cheddar, leaves more room for exploring the foie gras menu. 89 Harbord St., 647-341-3100. $$$OAE

Chop Chop

This is not the Tiao family’s first restaurant and not even their first in this location. Back in 2007, they operated Yu Shan Dumpling Cuisine in the bright space, and now they’re back with a spruced-up interior and a short menu of carefully prepared Chinese and Taiwanese sharing dishes. Cucumbers, topped with green onions and sesame, are lightly smashed, better to soak up the dark Chinkiang vinegar–redolent sauce, for a smart salad. Elegant little pancakes flake off layers to reveal green onions galore. Sautéed green beans, blistered from a quick deep-fry, are served with onion, peppers and intense niblets of preserved vegetables. Best are the pork dumplings— fried or boiled—with vegetables or chives, and salt-and-pepper fried squid is crisp as can be and just the right amount of too salty. 771 Dundas St. W., 416-842-8277.

Drake Commissary

The best thing to come out of the Drake’s new HQ in the Junction Triangle, a massive Marché for hipsters, is an unadorned candy-apple red slab of applewood-smoked brisket, its crust deep black and inside melting shreds. Less love and labour has, apparently, been put into the rest of the menu, which is mostly drawn from the prepped food takeout counter. There’s a basil, peach, tomato and burrata salad that should be an easy A-plus at peak season but ends up a mealy tease, and al dente bucatini arrives in a stodgy wild mushroom–coffee oil ragoût that’s lacking in actual mushrooms. A glass of the house white and the rustic fish board is the best choice—excellent value at $24 and loaded with glossy earl grey–smoked salmon, dillinfuse­d potted whitefish and candied mackerel. Better yet, grab that brisket on a bun to go. 128 Sterling Rd., 416-432-2922. $$WOVE

La Palma

A hostess in Umbro shorts and Seinfeld shoes may break it to you gently that the Wednesday wait time isn’t too bad— maybe an hour, hour and a half? Such is the demand for a table at the breezy Bellwoods spot from the owners of nearby Campagnolo. The fuss is due, in part, to a menu that can easily satisfy a family of 20 celebratin­g Nonna’s birthday, a quad of hockey bros toasting with craft brews or a couple nursing negronis. The price point helps, too: for under $140, two people can happily drink and sample half the menu, including crusty sourdough piled with chicken liver mousse flecked with Maldon salt and caramelize­d pearl onions, a béchamel- and bologneseb­ound lasagna, and a perfect dome of caffè corretto mousse drenched in gold-dusted dark chocolate sauce. None of it goes with the Venice-Beach-by-way-of-Instagram room, all millennial pink and mint green splotches—but when a frothy Montenegro­lime cocktail pairs so sweetly with passion fruit–vanilla millefogli­a, who cares? 849 Dundas St. W., 416-368-4567. $$$WVN

Skippa

Chef Ian Robinson turns out some of the most exciting Japanese food Toronto has seen in years. Creative, immaculate sushi may include ocean trout crowned with a yolk-like dollop of tomato confit, or New Zealand sea bream heightened by a slick of olive oil and a few sharp shards of preserved lemon. A subtle balance of sweet mirin and umami-rich dashi elevate the ethereal pyramids of soft egg in a masterful tamago. Meaty black maitake mushrooms achieve a deep, satisfying flavour thanks to a house-made caramelize­d miso sauce. Only the sea urchin, a special, falls short, with the roe overwhelme­d by the accompanyi­ng rice. A daily sorbet—corn, on our visit—closes the meal. Thoughtful­ly composed sake and shochu menus encourage exploring. 379 Harbord St., no phone. $$OVN

Soos

This family-run spot on Ossington serves Malaysian cooking, both classic (rich curry laksa) and contempora­ry (pulled chicken kapitan tacos). Limber sheets of roti make tender scoops for mouthfuls of mellow, yellow lentil dhal garnished with crisp curry leaves. Messy to the point of requiring (kindly included) wet wipes, red-chili chicken wings are drenched in thick sauce redolent of fried shallots and spice. Slabs of soy-basted pork belly are wrapped in bitesize taro root pancakes for a kind of Singaporea­n taco, while the 20-plus-ingredient Prosperity Salad is a riot of colour and texture, its diverse flavours tied together by a sharp yuzu-plum dressing. Braised beef short ribs collapse in a thick, complex coconut curry sauce, and char kway teow, smoky with wok hei, is one of the world’s great noodle dishes—as this version, built around plump, seared prawns and hot sambal, proves. 94 Ossington St., 416-901-7667. $$$V

Sugo

Like its name suggests, this ItalianAme­rican restaurant in Bloordale is all about the sauce, which is blissfully simple— little more than freshly simmered tomatoes, onions, oregano and garlic, sometimes cream. Plump and pleasantly doughy housemade gnocchi are swimming in the stuff and topped with a spoonful of whipped ricotta, and a meatball the size of an orange (perched in a pool of sauce, of course) is meltingly tender. 1281 Bloor St. W., 416-535-1717. $$V

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