From The Editor: DINE Magazine

Stylish Tastes in a Stylish City

This is the year of the restaurant dynasty. Restaurant owners “can’t get no satisfaction” from just one restaurant. They are opening one or even two more in empty restaurants where someone else’s dreams were shattered mere months ago. While some locations are cursed by an irredeemably grim internal feng shui, designers and contractors are in renovation frenzy. “When will it open?” I ask. “We are hoping for October,” is the universal response.

So loosen your belts, it’s going to be a gastronomic grand prix in Toronto.

Good ideas are like rabbits. You put a couple together and before you know it, there are hundreds of ‘em milling about. One or two restaurants open on an unassuming residential street, and suddenly the neighbourhood’s choc-a-block with new eateries, some blissfully free from the restraints of good taste. Ossington Street, King and Dufferin, East Queen Street East. Yorkville is making a gastro comeback. Even before the ink is dry on the menu, over-eager critics pounce, in order to draw first blood. Knowledge of food, its provenance and consumption is the subject du jour, the dernier cri of style.

And yet, and yet, I am concerned. Are we sacrificing quality for quantity? During my 30-year career as a restaurant critic and food and travel writer, I have tasted the best of what the world’s brightest chefs have to offer. We have taken a spiritual journey to Japan, and learned from the masters at cooking schools in Thailand, we have sailed the seas on a ship with a Relais & Chateaux dining room, enjoyed the cuisine of the sun in Miami and thrilled to the motorcycle Grand Prix in Indianapolis. Portland is a hub of “greenness” and amazes us with its creativity and, well, its weirdness, too. Savouring the foods of Quebec reminded us once again of the luxurious produce of our land and the joie de vivre in la belle province. And surprising new wineries, new techniques, new varietals and unique pairings of local food and wine, told us it was time to return to Niagara.

Back in Toronto, we have artists in every culinary tradition, chefs who cook with excellence, energy and relevance. I am proud to showcase some of Toronto’s Top Chefs on the following pages.

It has been quite a year. Still, I take life with a grain of salt (plus a slice of lime and a shot of tequila).