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Food Food & Drink

Weekend eating: March 17-18

Saturday

Jean’s Vegetarian Kitchen

1262 Danforth, at Greenwood, 416-778-1388. Jean and Harry Seow (Rasa Sayang, Sawasdee) return from retirement – for the third time! – with their swankiest resto yet. This unexpectedly upscale 30-seat room, all caramel-coloured walls, sleek banquettes and beaming Buddha on the bar, now comes with an exclusively Southeast Asian vegetarian card. Bonus: everything on the menu is available in vegan versions. Best: to start, tightly wrapped rice-paper rolls deep-fried in canola oil, packed with cellophane noodles, raw carrot threads and crunchy ribbons of cloud ear Golden Baskets, a tiny quintet of brittle pastry shells brimming with garden-fresh peas, corn, carrots and diced organic tofu mains like Pad Kee Mau, a ketchup-free take on pad thai thick with cauliflower and broccoli, basil and convincing faux shrimp sides like Japanese eggplant with sweet peppers bitter mustard greens in garlic to finish, deep-fried bananas in honeyed batter. Complete dinners for $25 per person, including tax, tip and a pot of jasmine green tea. Average main $9. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 10 pm. Reservations recommended. Unlicensed. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNNN

Live Organic Food Bar

264 Dupont, at Spadina, 416-515-2002, livefoodbar.com. Local raw food diva Jennifer Italiano offers an always inventive card in stylish day-glo digs. Extensive cocktail card, local micro-brew and organic wine by the glass. Best: sprouted-walnut-crust pizza topped with red pepper marinara, marinated greens, herbed cashew “chèvre” splashed with basil oil at brunch, raw banana and almond cocoa crepes finished with cashew fluff, marinated local berries and maple “cream.” Complete dinners for $45 per person (lunches/brunches $25), including tax, tip and an organic beer. Average main $14/$10. Open Monday to Thursday 11:30 am to 9:30 pm, Friday 11:30 am to 10 pm. Brunch Saturday and Sunday 11 am to 3 pm, dinner Saturday till 10 pm, Sunday till 9 pm. Delivery same hours Monday to Friday, Saturday 4 to 10 pm, Sunday 4 to 9 pm. Closed some holidays. No reservations. Licensed. Access: 11 steps at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNNN

Scarpetta

550 Wellington W, at Portland, 416-601-3590, scottconant.com/restaurants/scarpetta/toronto. New York City celebu-chef and Food TV star Scott Conant brings his unique mix of high-end Italian comfort food to the lobby of the newly minted Thompson Hotel. Superb attention to detail and impossibly polished service give the local dining scene a much-needed kick in the keister. Best: to start, complimentary baskets of signature stromboli (aka folded-over streudel-style pizza dough stuffed with sweetly roasted red pepper) absurdly rich starters like wine-braised beef short ribs over faro risotto thick with summer-fresh asparagus polenta intensified with heavy cream and topped with multi-mushroom fricassee finished with white truffle oil mains like plain $23 spaghetti in simple tomato sauce and parmigiano slow-roasted baby capretto goat with crisply sautéed pancetta, fingerling potatoes and rapini to finish, retro Amedei chocolate pudding cake with burnt orange ‘n’ caramel gelato. Complete dinners for $110 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $33. Open for dinner Saturday 5:30 pm to midnight. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNNN

Sunday

E.L. Ruddy

1371 Dundas W, at Rusholme, 647-351-0423. Helena Kosikova’s cozy 20-seat café on the hip Dundas West strip spotlights a short all-day card that’s often gluten-free as well as vegan, and always made from scratch and low in sodium. Best: to start, instead of boring brunch garnish, a complimentary fruit salad of exactly one grape, a nectarine section, a halved strawberry and three pomegranate seeds massive spelt Belgian waffles the size of oven mitts dolled up with maple syrup, whipped cream and stewed strawberries Huevos Yelapa with either two eggs or garlicky baked tofu plus refried beans, toasted cornbread and in-yer-face salsa to take home, wild blueberry scones and quinoa chocolate chip cookies. Complete brunches for $15 per person, including tax, tip and a refilled mug of I Deal coffee. Average main $8. Open for brunch Sunday 10 am to 4 pm. Unlicensed. Cash only. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN

Gallery Grill

7 Hart House Circle, at Wellesley, 416-978-2445. Once a private U of T faculty club, the restaurant in Hart House’s Great Hall still feels exclusive, from its soaring Gothic Revival stonework to its Mission-style furniture and coat-of-arms china. Veteran chef Suzanne Baby’s seasonally shifting card reflects local bounty at its best. Best: to begin, cheesy gougères with house-made almond butter raw zucchini ribbons dusted with toasted panko in preserved lemon vinaigrette locally sourced mains like roasted Georgian Bay whitefish over spicy apple ‘n’ scallion salad in Berkshire bacon vinaigrette house-made lamb merguez sausage in apple cider sauce over lemon ricotta pancakes to finish, Hart House Farm maple syrup crème brûlée to drink, grapefruit spritzers. Complete brunches/lunches for $35 per person, including tax, tip and a sweet sherry. Average main $15. Open Sunday 11 am to 2 pm. Reservations required. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNNN

Senator

249 Victoria, at Yonge-Dundas Sq, 416-364-7517, thesenator.com. While little of the art deco diner’s decor has changed since it opened in 1928, its grub is a considerable step up from the average greasy spoon’s. Open Saturday and Sunday 8 am to 2:30 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free, booth seating, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

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