Moroccan food from amlou to zaalak
ATLAS
(out of 4) Address: 18 Dupont St. (at Avenue Rd.), 416-546-9050, atlasrestaurant.ca Chef: Doug Penfold Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. Reservations: Yes Wheelchair access: No Price: Dinner for two with wine, tax and tip: $150 I would follow Doug Penfold’s food anywhere.
The Toronto chef, 43, has mastered Spanish (Cava) and French (Chabrol), each time tempting diners down the culinary road less travelled.
For his latest project, Atlas on Dupont St., Penfold dives deeply into Moroccan food. He’s visited the country many times and warmed to the heady, sweetand-savoury flavours. “It’s really a great food culture. A lot of people think it’s just couscous and tajine,” Penfold says. Thus, Atlas takes us from amlou (creamy almond dip) to zaalouk (smoky eggplant relish). Paired with the proprietors’ usual superb service, it is a delightful journey. The vibe Open since April 11, Atlas still lacks signage on its plate-glass doors. People confuse it with casual Mexican spot Playa Cabana Hacienda next door.
The double-height, exposed-brick room is free of Moroccan kitsch. True, Berber music sometimes plays, but it’s hardly the Sultan’s Tent.
Servers transferred from sister restaurant Cava recommend glasses of sherry to pair with the aromatic Moroccan food, especially the oxidized amontillados ($14). There are also cocktails (try the mix of gin and preserved lemons, $14) but the best pairing is a pot of minted green tea ($4.50), the benchmark of Moroccan hospitality. Jump in Named for the mountain range, Atlas highlights Morocco’s regional diversity, from the grilled sardines of coastal Essaouira — here rendered as full-flavoured boulettes ($8) — to the fragrant “la Kama” spice blend of Tangier on chicken ($27).
Servers suggest four small dishes to start and a main to share.
They also subtly upsell side dishes such as fluffy couscous ($4) and carrot-raisin salad ($12) graced by orange blossom water.
Semolina harcha ($3), described by some as a cross between an English muffin and corn bread, is a good dredge for soft white cheese laced with thyme ($8), its mildness a virtue. Get your goat Penfold makes a very respectable harira ($12), the lamb-and-legume soup that breaks Ramadan fasts.
Even better is a conical tajine of braised goat ($35 for two), with meat as mild as lamb and as tender as all get out. Diners are encouraged to suck the meat from the bones.
Toothsome okra, yielding squash and firm chickpeas, add complementary textures.
The sauce tastes of melted butter, honey, cumin and coriander seed, with a whiff of cinnamon.
But I also like when Penfold breaks with tradition, as in cooking whitefish for mere minutes versus hours in a lively tajine ($40). French twist Penfold really puts his own spin on dessert, going the modern French route with key Moroccan ingredients.
Sponge cake is subtly flavoured with lavender and rolled around sesame cream ($10). Bittersweet Valrhona chocolate oozes out of its cardamom tart shell ($10). Almond parfait ($9) comes layered with date syrup and almond brittle. Apricots in vanilla-saffron syrup come with the bill, a sweet send-off.
Penfold says he is eyeing other cuisines to explore: German, for one, Peruvian for another. Soon, he will travel to Brazil for three weeks as a Canadian culinary ambassador.
Trust your guide. You won’t regret it. apataki@thestar.ca, Twitter @amypataki