Saturday
Cafe Belong
550 Bayview, at Pottery Rd, 416-901-8234, cafebelong.ca. The centrepiece of the Don Valley’s bucolic Brick Works eco-site, 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. Best: heirloom tomato salad on nutty steamed barley dressed with pepper sprouts and English cucumber in minty sheep’s milk yogurt dressing seasonal mains like pan-seared pork belly glazed in maple syrup and apple cider vinegar over oven-roasted apples dressed with watercress 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 daily from 8 am, full menu from 11 am to 10 pm. Closed holidays. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. 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 olive oil, lemon, 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, chickpeas 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 Saturday 4 to 10 pm. Unlicensed. Cash only. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNN
Pizza e Pazzi
1182 St Clair W, at Dufferin, 647-352-7882, pizzaepazzi.ca. Like Pizzeria Libretto, Danilo and Sandrelle Scimo’s stylish Corso Italia trat sticks to the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana’s party line: pies made with certifed Tipo 00 flour, San Marzano tomatoes and DOP mozzarella baked in a wood-burning oven at 485°C for 60 to 90 seconds. Monday to Wednesday from 5 to 7 pm, pay $10 for any drink and get the free appetizer buffet. Best: the benchmark Margherita, a correctly blistered and cracker-crisp but still foldable thin crust dressed with family-recipe sauce, mozzarella di bufala and basil leaves the Valtellina, a garlicky white-sauced pie heaped with shaved bresaola, parmigiana and raw arugula splashed with quality olive oil and lemon juice papardelle in textbook bolognese boozy tiramisu in a sundae glass. Complete dinners for $35 per person (lunches $25), including tax, tip and a glass of vino. Average pizza $18. Open Sunday to Thursday noon to 11 pm, Friday and Saturday noon to midnight. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN
Sunday
Crown Princess
1033 Bay, at Irwin, 416-923-8784. Sister of the equally OTT Crown Prince in Scarborough, this opulent Chinese dining room – think Versace does Versailles – offers suburban-style dim sum daily. Servers in French maid costumes and Strauss waltzes on the sound system only add to the luxury. And although the early-bird discount no longer applies, the extravagant spread is still worth the bucks. Best: translucently wrapped dumplings stuffed with roughly chopped scallops the inevitable siu mai upgraded with foie-gras-like goose liver mousse and a sprinkling of black caviar classic shrimp har gow and pan-fried turnip cake with Chinese sausage Chiu Chow dumplings thick with ground pork, chives and crunchy peanuts ridiculously tender octopus tentacles in five-spice powder to finish, perfectly flaky milk custard tarts tweaked with birds’ nest to drink, Iron Buddha oolong tea. Complete dim sum meals for $30 per person, including tax, tip and tea. Average dim sum $4. Open for dim sum Sunday 9 am to 4 pm à la carte menu 11 am to 11 pm. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NNNN
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: 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 9 am to 4 pm. Unlicensed. Cash only. Access: barrier-free, washrooms in basement. Rating: NNNN
Frankly
1118 Queen E, at Caroline, 647-350-1611, franklyeatery.com. Does the Leslieville strip really need another brunch spot? It most definitely does when the card is this unique, the soundtrack – T.Rex, Roxy Music, the Smiths – this artfully curated and the service so charming. Shame there are only 18 seats. Best: Indo-inspired mains like gobi parantha, thick whole wheat crepes stuffed with al dente cauliflower sided with sour cream raita, spicy house-made sausage and coriander chutney BLT built on toasted slices of St John’s Bakery’s sourdough stacked with thick Upper Cut bacon, ripe tomato and avocado mayo at weekend brunch, corn tortillas piled with tandoori-style pulled pork, perfectly scrambled free-range eggs and garlicky roasted tomato salsa lashed with avocado cream, a heap of commercial organic greens dressed in honey balsamic on the side. Complete brunches for $18 per person, including tax, tip and an Americano. Average main $10. Open for brunch Sunday 9 am to 4 pm. Unlicensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms on same floor. Rating: NNN
