Rating: NNNNN
Around the corner and looking like a cross between a house of mirrors and a single-lane bowling alley, Fusion Fest (505A Yonge, at Alexander, 416-924-3378) has to be the skinniest joint in town. Formerly Kathmandu Kathmandu before KK moved up the block and after that the short-lived Tibetan take-away Potala, this just-opened self-described “multi-cuisine” restaurant offers a daily $6.99 buffet of tasty north-meets-south-Indian fare alongside a few curious pasta salads. You might recognize veritable one-man-band owner-chef-server-dishwasher Murli Puliath from his stints at Dhaba, Raaga and Sangam.And although his kitchen doesn’t have a tandoor, his doughy naan, which comes with Fest’s all-you-can-stuffet, warrants attention because of its cooking method. After quickly grilling the flatbread, Puliath places it on a pie plate made of stitched-together paathal leaves, throws another leafy plate over top, then bakes the whole thing so that the menthol-like fumes released from the paathal permeate the bread. Very unusual stuff. stevend@nowtoronto.com
