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Food Food & Drink

Weekend eating: January 12-13

Saturday

Gabardine

372 Bay, at Richmond W, 647-352-3211, thegabardine.com. The biggest thing to hit Bay Street since the black bloc, Alison Mackenna and Katherine Rodriques’s 50-seat self-styled gastro-pub has taken the stock market set by storm. An unusually raucous room, a regulation comfort food card and polished if hectic service guarantee repeat customers. Best: as a shareable starter or as a main on its own, the Ploughman’s Lunch of pork ‘n’ sweetbreads terrine wrapped in bacon, fatty chicken liver pâté and rabbit rillettes laced with sour cherries, paired with house-made pickles, apple butter, grilled Boulart baguette and hard-boiled eggs crisp iceberg lettuce wedges doused with buttermilk-blue-cheese dressing, crumbled bacon and crunchy fried onions obligatory macaroni and cheese topped with buttered bread crumbs and country ham 7-ounce naturally raised Rowe Farm cheeseburgers dressed with roasted San Marzano tomatoes, sided with frites to finish, burnt marshmallow ice cream sandwiches with caramel sauce. Complete dinners for $50 per person (lunches $30), including tax, tip and a pint. Average main $20/$14. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 11 pm. Licensed. Access: one step at door, tight entrance, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNN

Hanoi 3 Seasons

1135 Queen E, at Larchmount, 416-469-3010, hanoi3seasons.com. Owner Hai Luke Tran trades on the success of Toronto’s only North Vietnamese eatery by launching a second Seasons in suddenly chi-chi Leslieville. Sporting chic Southeast Asian antiques – temple benches, intricately carved screens – the new room is even smarter than the original. Also: 588 Gerrard E, at Broadview, 416-463-9940. Best: from a virtually identical menu, start with Hanoi’s signature dish, Hen, baby clams in chili-turmeric sauce sided with black sesame seed crackers rice-paper-wrapped spring rolls stuffed with minced sausage and sided with delicate calamari fritters laced with dill (Cha Gio Cha Muc) meaty green New Zealand mussels steamed in lemongrass satay grilled grouper with dill and chilies over vermicelli and pho fixin’s. Complete dinners for $30 per person (lunches $20), including tax, tip and a glass of house wine. Average main $9/$8. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 10 pm. Licensed. Access: short bump at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN

Richmond Station

1 Richmond W, at Yonge, 647-748-1444, richmondstation.ca. Ater winning season two of Top Chef Canada last February, ex-Marben toque Carl Heinrich returns with an upscale farm-to-table bistro in the financial district. A timeless room, informed friendly service and Heinrich’s inimitable way with comfort food classics make reservations near-essential. Best: from the all-day menu, start with co-owner Ryan Donovan’s exceptional charcuterie, spicy beef heart salami with juniper-scented lamb terrine, deep-fried headcheese and shredded duck rillettes, say polenta fries with smoky bomba mayonnaise and marinara sauce the Station burger stuffed with juicy shredded short rib on a house-baked bun dressed with aged local cheddar and sweet beet relish, skinny fries and a roasted radish salad on the side Perth County wild boar ragu over house-made orecchiette tossed with sautéed mushrooms and Monforte Dairy Toscano to finish, pastry chef Farzan Fallah’s deconstructed pumpkin pie topped with whipped butterscotch mousse and walnut brittle. Complete dinners for $50 per person (lunches $35), including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $24/$20. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 10:30 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free, eight steps to washrooms. Rating: NNNNN

Sunday

Cowbell

1564 Queen W, at Sorauren, 416-849-1095, cowbellrestaurant.ca. Vegetarians, beware! Mark Cutrara and Karin Culliton’s sophisticated Parkdale bistro has little for you. Instead, those who like a side of meat with their meat main course will find much to love, including informed service and a relaxed early-morning vibe. Best: to start, house-baked buttermilk biscuits to follow, sweetly pulled pork eggs Benny topped with deep-fried ducks’ eggs and sided with sautéed southern-style collard greens corned beef hash layered with a whisky-laced omelette baked eggs in baked potato skins with nutty Frere Jacques cheese, Savoy cabbage coleslaw on the side to drink, beermosas. Complete brunches for $25 per person, including tax, tip and a $4 Mimosa. Average main $14. Open for brunch Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNNN

Delux

92 Ossington, at Humbert, 416-537-0134, deluxrestaurant.ca. Corrina Mozo’s popular Ossington bistro puts a Franco-Cuban spin on the most important meal of the day. A retro glam rock soundtrack, quick, efficient servers and a second room out back help ease the inevitable wait for a table. Avoid the booths unless you’re exceptionally slim. Best: to start, baked-to-order buttermilk donuts and dulce de leche chantilly baskets of crunchy conch fritters follow with picadillo hash – Quebec duck confit, duck-fat-fried potatoes and sweet red peppers with capers, green olives and raisins, real-deal Moros y Cristianos black beans ‘n’ rice, smashed plantain tostones and two sunny-side-up eggs layered over top French toast with house-baked challah, bananas and maple syrup signature grilled Cubano sandwiches of cider-cured pork shoulder, sliced deli ham and gooey Gruyère, sided Havana-style with chunky frites and a whack o’ watercress. Complete brunches for $30 per person, including tax, tip and a mojito. Average main $12. Open for brunch Sunday 10:30 am to 3 pm. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNNN

White Brick Kitchen

641 Bloor W, at Euclid, 647-347-9188, thewhitebrickkitchen.com. After a stint in the barbecue pit at the Stockyards, former Beretta and Rowe Farms butcher Stephen Howell and company transform a Koreatown café into one of the best new brunch spots around. Informal room, friendly, casual service, modest prices. Best: to start, a $4 grapefruit mimosa made with 2 ounces of Spumanti Bambino, followed by pastry chef Haley Franklin’s buttery English muffins spread with Ontario blueberry compote exceptional mains like crisply battered Southern-fried chicken coupled with a brilliantly pickled jalapeño dipping sauce, local greens in a lemony vinaigrette and the inevitable fried egg vegetarian deep-fried panko-crusted “Scotch-ish” poached eggs over toasted baguette and cubed home fries not-to-be-missed chocolate banana bread French toast with caramelized fruit and salted caramel sides of house-cured hickory bacon to finish, house-baked blueberry scones. Complete brunches for $25 per person, including tax, tip and a beef-bacon Caesar. Average main $12. Open for brunch Sunday 9 am to 4 pm. Licensed. Access: short step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN

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