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Food Food & Drink

Weekend eating: July 14-15

Saturday

Don Don Izakaya

130 Dundas W, at Bay, 416-492-5292, dondonizakaya.com. Kaiseki Sakura’s Daisuke Izutsu ditches pricy formal Japanese tasting menus for inexpensive tapas-style snacks geared to the after-work drinking crowd. Yes, they bang a drum every time someone enters the second-storey former Sai Woo space and yell an incomprehensible greeting in unison, but the fun isn’t as forced – or time-regulated – as the similar Guu. iPod-wielding servers understand customers as much as customers understand iPod-wielding servers (i.e., not very much), something a multi-page illustrated menu easily remedies. Best: to start, deep-fried seaweed in wasabi-spiked tempura heavily salted Crispy Shrimp complete with heads, tails and eyeballs follow with an idiosyncratic take on a classic Caesar, here a deconstructed heap of ripped iceberg lettuce dressed with carnation petals, shaved parmigiano, puff-pastry croutons and a very runny poached egg barely seared BC tuna smoked over hay, sided with raw garlic and a line of sea salt Hoppeta-Yaki, a mound of garlicky mashed potatoes thick with diced chicken and asparagus, topped with shaved bonito flakes that, due to the heat of the spuds, wriggle around like worms on a rainy-day lawn to finish, almond ‘n’ strawberry risoto black sesame ice cream. Complete dinners for $35 per person (sushi lunches $20), including tax, tip and a discounted domestic beer. Average main $8. Open for dinner Saturday 4 pm to 1 am. Licensed. Access: two steps at door, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNNN

Hopgood’s Foodliner

325 Roncesvalles, at Grenadier, 416-533-2723, hopgoodsfoodliner.com. Don’t come to former Hoof Café chef Geoff Hopgood’s ultra-hip Foodliner expecting bone-marrow donuts and suckling-pig eggs Benny.Not only does his Roncey resto not offer the two dishes that put him on the foodie map, but he doesn’t do brunch at all. Instead, go for some of most creative and downright fun plates in town in a relaxed room tended by attentive servers. Best: to start, Halifax-style donairs on warm house-baked pitas dressed with ripe tomato, diced Vidalia onions and a weirdly addictive sauce made from evaporated milk, sugar, garlic and vinegar lamb’s heart tartare laced with green olives and dehydrated cauliflower purée over nutty caramelized cream a winter cassoulet of French flageots beans thick with meaty sweetbreads and sage-scented sausages deep-fried chicken roulade on cheesy grits in bacon-maple sauce to finish, frozen house-made chocolate bars. Complete dinners for $60 per person, including tax tip and a glass of wine. Average main $22. Open for dinner Saturday 6 to 11 pm. Reservations recommended. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNNN

Loire

119 Harbord, at Brunswick, 416-850-8330, loirerestaurant.ca. It ain’t as hip as the Hoof, but Jean-Charles Dupoire and Sylvain Brissonnet’s charming 40-seat Annex bistro dishes up some of the most competent French-inspired plates in town. Smooth, professional service and a carefully wrought wine list deliver substance over flash. Best: to start, warm St. John’s Bakery baguette aps like bitter Belgian endive and spinach salad with port-glazed pear and candied sunflower seeds in a sherry vinaigrette steamed PEI mussels with ground lamb merguez in local tomato sauce mains like seared Provimi sweetbreads over house-made papardelle with roasted Ontario corn and Swiss chard in nutty brown butter pesto to finish, maple syrup butter tarts with whiskey-poached nectarines and vanilla ice cream. Complete dinners for $65 per person (lunches $35), including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $25/$16. Open for dinner Saturday 5:30 to 10 pm. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

Sunday

Federal Reserve

1438 Dundas W, at Dufferin, 647-352-9120, thefed.ca. With owners whose CVs include stints at Terroni, the Rivoli, the Swan and Woodlot, it’s little wonder this 36-seat all-day lunch ‘n’ brunch café is such a well-oiled machine. And it needs to be to keep up with the weekend crush. Show up after 11 and join the queue on the sidewalk. Best: lightly toasted cheddar scones classic Cobb salads with free-range chicken confit, Bosc pear, avocado, bacon and hard-boiled egg over arugula and spinach in blue cheese dressing grilled Cubano sandwiches of pulled pork, Black Forest ham, cheddar and avocado on toasted St Johns Bakery raisin bread buttermilk Belgian waffles finished with whipped cream and maple syrup house-made lemony ginger ale. Complete meals for $22 per person, including tax, tip and a soda. Average main $12. Open for brunch Sunday 9 am to 3 pm. Unlicensed. Cash only. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN

Hammersmith’s

807 Gerrard E, at Logan, 416-792-9043, hammersmithsbrunch.com. No longer the Logan Grill, Brittany Peglar and Colin Reed’s east-side brunch spot is a godsend for south Riverdale even if the renovated white-on-white interior looks like they ran out of money halfway through the job. Laid-back during the week, the former diner causes lineups every Saturday and Sunday. Best: from a constantly evolving menu, starters like halved baby heirloom tomatoes dressed with fresh burrata, basil pesto and Maldon sea salt basic mains like steak ‘n’ eggs sided with crispy bacon, onion and fried-potato hash chunky chicken salad sandwiches with fresh arugula, grainy mustard and Sriracha on baguette free-range omelettes du jour with sides of Sausage Partners links first-rate baked goods like ex-Drake pastry chef Peglar’s sugar-crusted raspberry and blackberry scones, Soma chocolate chip cookies and local sour cherry muffins to drink, house-made strawberry lemonade. Complete brunches for $25 per person, including tax, tip and a coffee. Average main $12. Open for brunch Sunday 9:30 am to 4 pm. Unlicensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

Smith

553 Church, at Dundonald, 416-926-2501, 553church.com. Cousin to nearby 7 West and Wish, Renda Abdo’s lastest resto-lounge (formerly the gay bar known as Straight) features a confident comfort food kitchen and the village’s most exclusive patio – a romantic two-top on a secluded second-storey terrace overlooking the street. Bonus: show up on your bicycle and get a 10 per cent discount on food. Best: to start, brownie-like mint chocolate scones follow with a wilted kale salad dressed with frisée, roasted almonds, toasted quinoa, a shaving of Grana Padano and a runny egg traditional huevos rancheros on La Tortilleria tortillas dressed with black beans, chunky guacamole and house-made salsa fluffy omelette du jour with caramelized leek, bacon and aged cheddar. Complete brunches for $25 per person, including tax, tip and a $6 Caesar. Average main $10. Open for brunch Sunday 10 am to 4 pm. Licensed. Access: nine steps at door, washrooms upstairs. Rating: NNN

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