STAY OUT LATE
A quest for the best date-night options neighbourhood by neighbourhood
Restaurant critic Amy Pataki steers you to the hottest date-night locations in town,
Where to eat on a date is a hot topic. Do you hedge your bets with a quick drink? Commit to a full meal? Or show off your sweet side by suggesting dessert? We have you covered. Date Night is a new occasional feature that recommends three date-night options in a GTA neighbourhood. You may ask what a woman married 23 years like me knows about dating. More than you think. My husband and I have been going on weekly dates for more than a decade. Sure, our dates usually involve a review meal. But we get time alone to connect over pleasant conversational topics like books or movies — never contentious stuff — even if I am on the job.
As my husband puts it: “It’s unusual but it works.”
We launch Date Night with the YongeFinch area, where last April a man deliberately drove a van into pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 16. It was the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history.
Now, that strip of Yonge St. south of Finch Ave is back to booming. Restaurants, bars and bubble tea purveyors proliferate. If I were one of the young condo dwellers in the area, I might not
ever turn on my stove. MeNami is an udon bar and cocktail joint that embodies all that is new and funky in Willowdale. Behind its castle-like fortified wooden doors, MeNami pulses with energy. Driftwood light fixtures, cement floors and corrugated steel are the main decor elements. It looks like a shantytown, albeit one filled with Asian booze and a youthful clientele. Much about MeNami sparks conversation, essential on a date. The car grille suspended over the bar is a prime example; pointing it out could spark an
exchange about memorable road trips.
Another talking point is the flaming cocktails. For the Japanese old fashioned ($15), a bartender sets Mexican cinnamon on fire; she traps the fragrant smoke under a glass bowl to infuse the mix of toasted rice green tea, rye, black walnut bitters and genmaicha syrup.
Equally conversation-worthy is the Guns ‘n’ Roses ($12) cocktail. I count 18 fresh thyme branches sprouting from it, a veritable thicket the bartender lights with a blowtorch “for the scent.” The ginger ale-hibiscusgin mix brings to mind children’s birthday party punch. But the hard-rock name will certainly flush out your date’s musical tastes.
“Separate bills?” the server asks. Your call. MeNami, 5469 Yonge St., 416229-6191, menamitoronto.ca. Open Monday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to midnight.
The next stop is 65 metres away at Charcoal and Salt, or Ssoot & Sogeum in Korean, a decent table barbecue spot.
Table barbecuing is excellent for dinner dates. Cooking together is a fun shared activity during which you can discuss which you prefer, sweet or savoury. (It comes in handy below.)
Bonus: Your date will notice any food-handling prowess. Drawback: Your date will notice kitchen cluelessness.
Charcoal and Salt has no English signage but a green DineSafe card in the window is a clue. It is a simple room with picture menus showing a dozen raw options suited for two diners. I recommend the beef.
A server lights the butane grill and rubs the hubcap-like surface with an onion, not oil. She sets down five side dishes plus saucers of sesame oil and soybean paste for dipping the meat.
A rich fermented soybean stew, doenjang jiggae, chockablock with pork belly and tofu, is included.
The server lays the first slices on the grill.
They sizzle instantly, smelling of garlic and sugar.
Then you take over the tongs, turning and shifting the meat. Caramelized ju mul ruk ($29.99 for 250 grams) beef short ribs are the tenderest. Peppery nuk kan sal ($24.99 for 250 grams), translated as beef rib finger, is the chewiest. Occupying the middle ground is marinated yang yum kalbi ($29.99 for 250 grams).
You wrap pieces inside curly lettuce leaves for tidy green mouthfuls.
DIY grilling takes just over an hour for dinner. Then it’s time to walk 600 metres south on Yonge St. for dessert, assuming you’ve established that preference above.
Charcoal and Salt, 5523 Yonge St., 416-551-1666. Open daily, 11:30 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Tapioca pearls are as prevalent as condo towers in the Yonge-Finch neighbourhood.
But Taiwanese chain Meet Fresh goes beyond bubble tea with its waffles and dessert soups.
Meet Fresh is a fast-food restaurant, with counter service and an upstairs dining room. Cute graphics and bright walls cancel out any McDonald’s vibe.
A large bowl of hot almond soup No. 4 ($8.70) is a master class in texture. Milky liquid laps against soft starchy chunks of sweet potato and taro root, each with their own kind of earthy sweetness; the same vegetables are also kneaded into bouncy nuggets called taro balls. Creamy cooked red beans and, yes, tapioca balls (boba) add further tactile pleasantness.
At this point, you could ask your date if they have any tattoos.
Or you could just talk about how delicious the taro waffle is. The hot, crunchy waffle ($12.70) sandwiches sweet and fluffy taro paste for a boffo treat; who needs maple syrup when you get a pitcher of sweetened condensed milk instead?
5315 Yonge St., 416-546-5139, meetfreshcanada.com. Open Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
We hope your date goes well. If nothing else, the food will be good. Got a suggestion for a great date night neighbourhood? Reach out to Amy on Twitter @amypataki or email her at apataki@thestar.ca.