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Food Food & Drink

Weekend eating: May 26-27

Saturday

Cafe Belong

550 Bayview, at Pottery Rd, 416-901-8234, cafebelong.ca. The long-awaited centrepiece of the Don Valley’s bucolic Brick Works eco-site, Restaurant Makeover celebu-chef Brad Long’s all-day bistro and adjacent take-away lets locally grown and naturally raised products be the star of the show. Don’t do crowds? Show up any time other than Saturday’s farmers’ market and have the enviro complex virtually to yourselves. Shame that getting there in anything other than a car or the Saturday-only shuttle bus from Broadview station is such an ordeal. Best: to start, heirloom tomato salad on a bed of nutty steamed barley dressed with pepper sprouts and English cucumber in minty sheep’s milk yogurt dressing seasonal mains like gorgeously fatty pan-seared slabs of sweet ‘n’ sour pork belly glazed in maple syrup and apple cider vinegar over oven-roasted apples dressed with summer watercress milk-braised lamb shoulder with spelt and crisply fried sage leaves to finish, Monforte Dairy chèvre and wild Ontario blueberry cheesecake to drink, raspberry iced tea at the takeout counter, flaky buttermilk biscuits layered with smoked OceanWise char, wilted spinach and scrambled egg. Complete meals for $50 per person, including tax, tip and a glass of Ontario wine. Average main $19. Open for dinner 5 to 10 pm. Reservations recommended. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNN

Khao San Road

326 Adelaide W, at Peter, 647-352-5773, khaosanroad.ca. Cousin to Regent Park hole-in-the-wall Sukhothai, Jeff and Nuit Regular’s boho Bangkok trat brings regional Thai cuisine to the heart of condoland. And while the digs have moved upmarket – steel-topped bar, industrial light fixtures, Weezer on the boombox – the food’s as fiery as ever. True heat-seekers should ask for everything “Thai spicy” with extra hot sauce on the side. Reservations essential for dinner Thursday through Sunday. Best: two ketchup-free takes on pad thai, one a stir-fried tangle of monochromatic rice noodles, bean sprouts, scrambled egg and either chicken, beef or pressed tofu spiked with roasted-chili hot sauce (Sam Ros), the second dressed with sliced raw napa cabbage and scallion tops (street-style) Khao Soi – linguini-like noodles topped with chicken or beef in coconut gravy bright with curry and ginger vegan Pad Kee Mao spiked with hellaciously hot raw green chilies to finish, purposefully bland tapioca to drink, Thai Buckets – whisky, Red Bull and coke sold by the pail. Complete dinners for $30 per person (lunches $20), including tax, tip and a beer. Average main $13/$10. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 10 pm. No reservations. Licensed. Access: five steps at door, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNN

Pizzeria Via Mercanti

188 Augusta, at Denison Sq, 647-343-6647. Queen Margherita Pizza vet Romolo Salvati brings true Neapolitan pies to Kensington in the former Back Alley Grill. Though it’s not certified by the VNP, everything about this breezy skylit space is the real deal, from the wood-burning ovens to the thinly crusted ‘za. Best: to start, bocconcini di pizza, miniature pizza rolls stuffed with prosciutto or fresh fior di latte cheese that sell for a buck a pop sautéed garlicky rapini and crumbled house-made sausage sided with warm focaccia, a veritable DIY pizza lightly charred and chewy 11-inch pies topped with the likes of slivered soppressata (the Traditrice) or the eponymous double pizza, a white pizza dressed with buffalo ricotta, salami and ‘shrooms topped with a full Margherita in San Marzano tomato sauce with fresh basil vegetarian eggplant parmigiano to finish, rustic tiramisu. Complete dinners for $25 per person (lunches $20), including tax, tip and a glass of vino. Average main $13/$10. Open for dinner Saturday 5 to 11 pm. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN

Sunday

Amadeu’s

184 Augusta, at Denison Square, 416-591-1245, amadeusdining.com. Like the futebol on the giant plasma TV, this charmingly off-kilter Kensington Market institution remains a restaurant of two halves: one a traditional coastal Portuguese seafood eatery with formal, family-friendly decor, the other a sometimes rowdy local complete with reasonably priced pints, top-notch Lisbon-style pub grub and a clientele that ranges from fishmongers to original Queen West legends (Keith Whittaker and Handsome Ned, RIP). Warning: those on a low-sodium diet should ask that their food be unsalted otherwise, a heavy, if authentic, hand often runs amok with the salt shaker. Best: to start, velvety caldo verde soup thick with kale, cranberry beans and potatoes paired with rough-crusted cornbread at lunch, daily seafood specials like spectacularly grilled whole sardines sided with collard greens and thickly cut Lisbon-style deep-fried potatoes at dinner, grilled codfish topped with sliced red onion, accompanied by steamed veg ‘n’ spuds ladled with lemony garlic olive oil pork alentejana, seared cubes of pork tenderloin mixed with fresh clams, peppers and potatoes to share, and in honour of 1974’s peaceful coup, the Amadeu’s Revolution, an upscale take on paella piled high with grilled lobster, crab, clams, mussels, shrimp and calamari mixed with rapini in garlicky lemon butter. Complete meals for $45 per person ($25 at lunch, $18 in the pub), including tax, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $14. Open Sunday 11 am to 11 pm, bar till 2 am. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms in basement.Rating: NNN

Café Fiorentina

236 Danforth, at Playter, 416-855-4240, cafefiorentina.com. Take two classically trained French chefs – Tina Leckie (Celestin) and Alex Chong (Didier) – and set them free in an all-day café-slash-bake-shop and get one of the Danforth’s tastiest alternatives to flaming saganaki. Counter service and a few scattered tables add to the casual vibe. Sous-vide takeout dinners, too. Best: from a constantly shifting lineup, sandwiches on house-baked yeast-free sourdough layered with seared rare steak, gooey Gruyère and pickled wild mushrooms house-cured Berkshire pork belly and puréed kimchee soups like duck broth with pastina creamy potato with leek soufflé-like quiches du jour, one day portobello mushroom with Brie, the next caramelized onion with Stilton house-cured charcuterie paired with local cheese at brunch, a take on eggs Benny with poached duck eggs in lemony hollandaise over pickled beets and Georgian Bay whitefish on toasted pains au lait whole flourless chocolate cakes. Complete lunches for $15 (brunches $20), including tax, tip and a fair-trade coffee. Average main $9/$12. Open for brunch Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. No reservations. Unlicensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN

Gusto 101

101 Portland, at Adelaide W, 416-504-9669, gusto101.com. Forget Grand Electric and Yours Truly. Downtown’s current resto du jour is this boisterous Italian trat in a converted chop shop within spitting distance of the Spoke Club. Don’t let the knobs and desperate singles put you off one of the best rooftop decks in town. But unless you book a table for either noon or 6 pm – the only times they take reservations – expect to wait in line. For hours. Best: to start, house-made ricotta with house-baked baguette wood-grilled octopus over haricots verts in a citrusy basil vinaigrette mined with tapenade massive main-sized arugula salads dressed with baby plum tomatoes, avocado and sliced rare steak classic summer spaghetti tossed with Manila clams at brunch, thin-crusted pizzas topped with San Marzano sauce, local mozzarella, Pingue speck and a runny egg to finish, cioccolatto pudding splashed with fruity olive oil and sea salt. Complete dinners for $40 per person (lunches/brunches $30), including tax, tip and a glass of house vino. Average main $18/$14. Open Sunday 11 am to close, brunch till 3 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN

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