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Food Food & Drink

Weekend eating: March 2-3

Saturday

Queen Margherita Pizza

1402 Queen E, at Vancouver, 416-466-6555, queenmargheritapizza.ca. They’re already calling John Chetti and Rocco Mazzaserro’s east-side pizzeria the Libretto of Leslieville, and deservedly so. Both adhere to the Vera Pizza Napoletana standard of exceptionally thin crusts made from imported stone-ground Caputo Tipo 00 flour topped with sauce made from San Marzano tomatoes and fresh, locally sourced fior di latte cheese, all cooked in a wood-burning oven. Same stylishly loud scene, but – unlike Libretto – these guys take reservations. You’ll need one! Best: superbly blistered pies like the Napoletano topped with oven-dried black olives, cherry tomatoes, capers and anchovies the Giovanni with arugula and paper-thin prosciutto di Parma the Mezza Luna, half basil-embellished Margherita, half folded-over calzone stuffed with fresh ricotta from the rotating $25 three-course prix fixe, house-made ricotta gnocchi and smoked pancetta in a rose sauce lashed with Gorgonzola bone marrow bruschetta to finish, classic tiramisu and retro chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. Complete dinners for $45 per person including tax, tip and a glass of vino. Open for dinner Saturday 5 pm to midnight. Licensed. Access: five steps at door, another 11 to dining room, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNNN

3030

3030 Dundas W, at High Pk, 416-769-5736, 3030dundaswest.com. Smack dab in the super-hip Junction, this cavernous gastro-pub/live music venue takes its suds very seriously. Witness the chalkboard lineup of more than a dozen obscure local microbrews on tap. But its ex-Grand Electric chef Adisa Brian Glasgow’s dinner specials that steal the spotlight, especially his ever-changing carte of small plates. What’s better, they’re all 5 bucks each! Best: shareable starters like chunky potato wedges deep-fried Pont Neuf-style with smoky chili-pepper-infused mayo steamed Chinese buns stuffed with deep-fried daikon or grilled King Cole duck confit in sweet ‘n’ sour hoisin heirloom tomato salad with two dressings, one a traditional minty vinaigrette, the second a swirl of balsamic, blue cheese and red onion butter chicken wing lollipops in cashew cream sided with raita and mango chutney house-cured beef carpaccio with saffron aioli and deep-fried capers crispy popcorn chicken with Trinidadian peanut sauce grilled baguette topped with sautéed chicken livers in veal demi-glace and balsamic reduction pigtail torta sandwich in berbere spices piled with chopped iceberg lettuce and pink pickled onion to finish, a multi-berry bread pudding topped with small-batch organic vanilla ice cream from Delight next door. Complete tapas dinners for $35 per person (à la carte brunches $25), including tax, tip and a pint of local microbrew. Average tapas $5. Open for dinner Saturday 6 pm to midnight. No reservations. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNNN

Sunday

Camp

244 Jane, at Horshaw, 647-346-2267. The Beaver Café’s Megan Whiten returns with a compact family-friendly spot in the wilds of Baby Point. Though its more leisurely during the week for lunch and breakfast – and comfort food dinner Friday night – the cozy 26-seat room’s a zoo come Saturday and Sunday brunch. Deservedly so. And here’s a rarity in a restaurant: interesting art, some of it created by celebrated sculptor and Megan’s mom Colette Whiten. Best: the Canadiana breakfast sandwich on grilled ciabatta layered with thinly sliced peameal, cheddar, tomato and fluffy scrambled eggs steamed Italian-style on an espresso machine those same fab eggs sided with beefy Butcher Shoppe sausage and retro scalloped potatoes quiche du jour with shredded brisket, sharp Havarti and caramelized onions, house organic greens in a honey vinaigrette on the side to finish, gluten-free chocolate brownies. Complete brunches for $20 per person, including tax, tip and a steamed hot apple cider. Average main $10. Open for brunch Sunday 9 am to 3 pm. Closed some holidays. No reservations. Licensed. Access: one step at door, one step to washrooms. Rating: NNNN

Edulis

169 Niagara, at Wellington W, 416-703-4222, edulisrestaurant.com. After being named one of the best new restaurants of 2012 in the entire country for its nightly tasting menu by no less an authority than Air Canada’s En Route magazine (and airlines are experts on gastronomy, right?), husband-and-wife team Michael Caballo and Tobey Nemeth’s west-side bistro switches gears Sundays for a proper ever-changing $40 prix fixe lunch. Just don’t come expecting eggs Benny! Best: warm house-baked crusty bread spread with Stirling Creamery butter and chicken liver mousse smaller plates like smoked albacore tuna with heirloom carrots and tapenade toasts Huevos Estrellados over fried potatoes and crumbled chorizo croquetas thick with nutty béchamel coq au vin with foraged mushrooms, raw celery root julienne and chicken-fat rice watermelon-radish salad in a shallot vinaigrette to finish, caramel pudding cake with vanilla custard and strawberries to drink, half-price bottles of wine. Complete lunches for $65 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Open for lunch Sunday noon to 3 pm. Licensed. Access: two short steps at door, small washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNNNN

Pearl Court

633 Gerrard E, at Broadview, 416-463-8778. This busy east-side eatery calls itself the best Chinese restaurant in Toronto and has a wall plastered with rave reviews from the 80s to prove it. It may have been true back then, but today it’s a solid mid-tier Cantonese cantina with a second, more intriguing Southeast Asian-influenced menu. Best: from the latter, house Special Noodle, Swatow-style wide rice noodles slippery with sesame oil, strewn with sweet red pepper strips and zucchini, garnished with raw bean sprouts Spicy Vietnamese Beef, large pieces of pounded steak paired with carrot threads, bell pepper and button mushrooms, kicked with Thai basil and dried red chili in sweet, gloopy gravy be warned that Paper Wrapped Chicken is not a plateful of egg rolls but eight parchment-encased bundles of juicy deboned thigh in five-spice with coriander leaf, so just eat the contents deep-fried spring rolls stuffed with finely ground pork deep-fried soft shell crab (“as seen on Citytv!”). Complete meals for $30 per person ($15 at lunch), including tax, tip and a domestic beer. Average main $10/$7. Open for dim sum Sunday 8 am to 4 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

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