Saturday
Bloordale Pantry
1285 Bloor W, at Lansdowne, 416-530-2999, thebloordalepantry.com. Despite its somewhat chi-chi handle, Rose Guarnieri and ex-Bodega and the Fifth sous Anthony Menna’s west-side luncheonette sticks to its diner roots, its vintage diner decor intact. A short all-day card updates the classics with local ingredients and unusually artful plating. Best: retro Banquet Burgers, 6 filler-free ounces of lean Butcher Shoppe chuck on a grilled whole wheat bun dressed with bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato and pickles, a heap of hand-cut Yukon Gold fries and red pepper slaw on the side multi-culti panini like grilled chicken breast brushed with mild piri piri-style tomato sauce, sweetly roasted peppers, sautéed onions, wilted spinach and mozzarella on pressed Italian ciabatta from a Portuguese bakery called Paris at lunch and weekend brunch, pie-spiced pumpkin pancakes with maple whipped cream and fresh berries to drink, fresh-pressed cranberry apple cider. Complete meals for $25 per person, including tax, tip and a domestic beer. Average main $11. Open Tuesday to Friday 9 am to 10 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 10 pm, brunch till 3 pm. Closed Monday, holidays. No reservations. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Djerba La Douce
1475 Danforth, at Parkmount, 416-778-7870, djerba-la-douce.ca. Featuring an intoxicating card that fuses the cuisines of North Africa, southern Italy and France, Toronto’s only Tunisian restaurant may not be the fanciest spot on the strip, but it’s certainly one of the most flavourful. Bonus: organic veggies and halal meat! Double bonus: hookahs!! Best: start with salad grill mushwa, a garlicky purée of roasted tomato and onion tossed with lemon, olive oil, capers and lightly pickled cucumber and green chilies salad Tunisienne, a North African niçoise, a fine dice of tomato, celery, lettuce, cuke, slivered scallions and mild radish mixed with cookbook-correct canned tuna generously portioned mains like steamed mussels in harissa-fired tomato sauce cacciatore meets paella – fluffy semolina couscous topped with cabbage, carrots, Chinese daikon, chick peas and rapini splashed with quality olive oil and hellishly hot harissa layered with sweet, tomato-sauced chicken thighs and merguez lamb sausage, or slow-braised lamb shank (veggie version available) to finish, house-made baclava doused with honey and rosewater. Complete dinners for $25 per person, including tax, tip and a pot of minty Tunisian green tea. Average main $12. Open for dinner Saurday to 4 pm. Reservations accepted. Unlicensed. Cash only. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Local Kitchen
1710 Queen W, at Roncesvalles, 416-534-6700, localkitchen.ca. There’s good reason Michael Sangregorio and Fabio Bondi’s candlelit, 28-seat southern Italian bistro gets mobbed most nights. Their short and seasonally adjusted card of slow-cooked, locally sourced comfort food is recession-priced, plates are shareable and servers are charming. Why, they even spin nostalgic 80s vinyl on a record player in the kitchen. The perfect date resto, right? Sadly, reservations are only accepted for the two-seat chef’s table ($50 tasting menu only), and the lighting’s so dim, you need a flashlight to make out the idiosyncratic wine list. The place already full? Head three doors east to sister resto Bar Salumi for designer pizza and a glass of wine while you wait. Best: to start, antipasto like panko-crusted green olives stuffed with rabbit bitter radicchio tossed with roasted squash and goat cheese crostini in red wine vinaigrette house-made pasta like ziti with house heirloom tomato sauce spiked with mellow peperoncino peppers à la Carmela Soprano smoked potato gnocchi with wilted rapini and tangy Tellegio secondi like Ontario trout over fennel, leeks and caperberries in olive oil to drink, Peggy’s Cousin, an on-the-rocks bacon-infused bourbon cocktail. Complete dinners for $50 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $17. Open for dinner Saturday 6 to 11 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN
Sunday
Brad’s
325 Roncesvalles, at Grenadier, 416-533-2723, bradstakeouteatery.com. Launched three years ago, Brad Krawchuk’s burgeoning beanery has quickly become the hottest weekend noshery on the pierogi strip. First-timers will be glad to snag a table in the café’s breezy front room, but regulars know that the resto’s prime seating is in the impressive skylight-lit space out back. Best: shredded brisket with poached eggs spicy Spanish chorizo ‘n’ potato frittata portobello mushroom omelettes thick with rapini, oven-dried tomato and crumbled chèvre all above sided with Fred’s multi-grain toast and either crispy cubed home fries or organic greens in red wine Dijon dressing on the side, parsley-freckled potato rosti. Complete brunches for $20 per person, including tax, tip and a coffee. Average main $11. Open for brunch Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. Reservations not accepted. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Edward Levesque’s Kitchen
1290 Queen E, at Hastings, 416-465-3600, edwardlevesque.ca. In the blogosphere, Levesque has a reputation for being a bit of a curmudgeon. But once past the grumpy persona, find a chef who’s committed both to the environment – many of the organic veggies on the card are home-grown – and to the comfort of his regulars. Just don’t annoy him. Warning: no strollers! Best: blueberry waffles with whipped wildflower honey and mascarpone grilled jerk Angus skirt steak and two over-easy eggs sided with pita, avocado and roasted tomato latkes topped with Kristapsons smoked salmon, sour cream and chives sides of chipotle cornbread, Cumbrae’s breakfast bangers and pickled beets to drink, bottomless cups of drip coffee. Complete brunches for $28 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of plonk. Average main $12. Open for brunch Sunday 9 am to 3 pm. Reservations not accepted. Licensed. Access: four steps at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Lola’s Commissary
634 Church, at Hayden, 416-966-3991, lolascommissary.com. Although it changed hands last fall, little else about this rambling Victorian has changed. The same CD of non-stop 80s hits is still stuck in the sound system, servers are as easy-going as ever, and the all-day breakfast card remains virtually the same. Best: to start, creamy butternut squash soup follow with over-the-top eggy challah French toast stuffed with orange and vanilla cheesecake (!) finished with crushed apple pie, maple syrup and a dusting of confectioner’s sugar Eggs Lola, Tex Mex-style runny poached eggs over shredded ancho chicken and soft tortillas dressed with Mexican sheep’s milk crème fraîche, sliced ripe avocado and Italian tomato-basil fresca, sided with “sexy” roasted sweet potatoes. Complete brunches for $22, including tax, tip and a hair-of-the-dog beer. Open for brunch Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. Reservations accepted. Licensed. Access: five steps at door, washrooms on second floor. Rating: NNN
