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Café

Steady 1051 Bloor W, at Havelock, 416-536-4162, thesteadycafe.com All-day café, late-night alterna-queer dance club and early-evening supper spot, this modest Bloordale storefront is one of the few beaneries in town with a card that caters to both herbivore and carnivore. Ex-Hogtown Vegan chef Vanessa Robak’s colourfully plated mains more than make up for the lack of decor. Best: baseball-sized crab cakes with mustard ‘n’ dill dressing grain-fed cheeseburgers laced with oatmeal and spinach sided with jalapeño-studded fingerling potato salad vegan pizza (no, really!), a barely there kidney bean crust dressed with peppers, tomato, onion and faux cheese slow-cooked side ribs in bourbon barbecue sauce with cashew carrot slaw for dessert, key lime pie with sea-salted chocolate sauce. Complete dinners for $35 per person, including tax, tip and an UnSteady cocktail. Average main $12. Open for dinner Wednesday to Sunday 5 to 11 pm. Café open daily from 9:30 am, bar till close. Closed Monday, Tuesday, holidays. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: bump at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

Contemporary

Hawthorne Food & Drink 60 Richmond E, at Church, 647-930-9517, hawthorneto.ca, @hawthorneto Cowbell owner/chef Mark Cutrara resurfaces at this under-appreciated bistro in the downtown core. A locally sourced seasonal carte, rock-bottom prices and polished service deserve a larger audience. Those standing in line for tables at the very similar Richmond Station two blocks away, take note. Best: shareable starters like quinoa salad with roasted eggplant, garlic and goat feta in a VQA Riesling vinaigrette pan-seared Lake Erie perch with crispy polenta fries and caper-rich sauce gribiche chicken liver mousse “brûlée” with caramel sauce and stewed blackberries larger plates like grass-fed beef-cheek ravioli smoky Memphis-style side ribs with roasted fingerling potatoes in chicken schmaltz preserved cherry panna cotta with candied ginger. Complete dinners for $40 per person (lunches $28), including tax, tip and a glass of VQA wine. Average main $18/$12. Open for lunch Monday to Friday 11 am to 3 pm, and for dinner Tuesday to Saturday 5 to 10 pm. Closed Sunday, holidays. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN

Japanese

Teppan Kenta 24 Wellesley W, at St Nicholas, 647-345-0905, teppankenta.com Ex-Guu chef Kenta Taniguchi trades his gong for a teppanyaki griddle at this difficult-to-find izakaya (hint: it’s around the back of the condo and across from Northbound Leather). And while the snackable carte and bare-bones room might look like you-know-Guu, it’s noticeably less noisy. Best: to start, old-school guacamole made tableside double-fried chicken wings splashed with mirin and lemon juice blood-red slices of barely seared Angus strip loin brushed with sweet soy sauce ebi cheese, an offbeat mix of home fries, fava beans and grilled shrimp in molten mozzarella cheese sauce Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki omelettes layered with shrimp, squid, pork belly and dried bonito flakes that literally dance on the surface cheesy chan-pote potato pizza with “spicy fish innards” to finish (what else?), French toast. Complete dinners for $35 per person, including tax, tip and an imported beer. Average main $8. Open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday 5 pm to midnight. Closed Monday, holidays. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN

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