In case you didn’t catch my chat with host Jeff Goodes on Fresh Air on CBC Radio on Saturday morning, January 27, here’s a list of places I mentioned during our discussion about eating out in winter:
Down the Street, Stratford, Ontario, especially for its warm welcome but also for the cozy decor and excellent food.
Toronto eateries I like in winter:
Saigon Palace, Spadina Ave. (at College) for the delectable Vietnamese soup called “pho.” There are many other good spots for this heart-warming broth including Double Eight on Gerrard St. just east of Broadview.
Pizza Pide on Gerrard East at Pape for Turkish pizza called “pide,” boat-shaped, thin-crust pies filled with cheese and feta, ground meat with veggies topped with an egg and a choice of other goodies.
Amadeu’s in Kensington Market for Cozido a Portuguesa: a dish of collard greens topped with boiled potatoes and unusual meats, e.g. sliced pig’s ears, small boiled pork ribs, chunks of boiled chicken and pork, and homemade blood sausage.
For deliciously spicy Korean Pork Bone Soup which comes complete with several tasty little side dishes, try Ka Chi on St. Andrew St. in Kensington or any eateries advertising it in Korea Town on Bloor West between Bathurst and Christie.
On my recent trip to London, I savoured Kleftiko (lamb shank or shoulder braised in lemon, white wine and herbs) at Primrose Hill’s primo Greek restaurant Lemonia.
Topping my list of new eateries is eco-restaurant Acorn House in King’s Cross. Operated as a charity by the brilliant pair of young chefs who co-own it (former colleagues and friends of Jamie Oliver), the policy is waste not, want not. They use their own containers for deliveries, buy local ingredients whenever possible (prosciutto is an exception), have state-of-the-art composting and it’s 18 feet from the delivery door to the table with the kitchen in between. They don’t use air-freight and have a diesel van. The food, which is big on veggies, is excellent; the service likewise. Voted Best Newcomer of 2007 by the Observer Food Monthly and “the most important restaurant to open in London in 200 years” by Giles Coren of The Times.