Punchfork is a new website that follows recipes “trends”. This is based on recipes that are mentioned in social media such as Twitter and Facebook. It’s a fun new way to discover recipes.

Zagat produced a nice article summarizing the hottest dining trends so far this year:

Pop-ups

Here today, gone tomorrow seems to be the MO that fueled the massive popularity behind pop-ups in the last six months. From NYC’s What Happens When to DC’s upcoming America Eats Tavern (from chef José Andrés) the idea of a temporary or concept-shifting restaurant is all the rage in 2011. Also, “perma pop-up” concepts were big as well, including Joseph Mahon’s Burger Parlor in the LA area and NYC’s LTO, which rotates chefs every three months. Pop-ups were also a means for out-of-town chefs to workshop new concepts in new cities. NYC’s JBF LTD in Chelsea Market showcased the talents of chefs like Laurent Gras and Michelle Bernstein, and LA chef Ludo Lefebvre announced plans for an upcoming LudoBites pop-up in NYC.

Beer, Beer and More Beer

While it’s still early to call it, 2011 could most likely be dubbed “the year of the beer garden.” In the last six months, LA gained Steingarten, Berlin Currywurst, BRU Haus and plans for a second Wurstkuche. Meanwhile in NY, Spritzenhaus, Hospoda, BeerParc and Eataly’s Birreria were among a rash of beer-centric eateries to open in 2011 thus far. DC saw the opening of a new biergarten called Standard, and plans for Bavarian Beer Garden are in the works. In Philly, Stephen Starr’s Frankford Hall debuted in May. Beer-centric cuisine also came to the forefront as we’ve seen an increase of German, Austrian and Czech restaurant openings nationwide. Beer + food = so hot right now.

Interlopers/Chain Expansions

Restaurants, bakeries and more notably fast-casual chains have been spreading the love in 2011, jumping coasts and cities at an astonishing rate. In-N-Out Burger made the move to Texas, NY’s Papaya King opened in LA and Sprinkles Cupcakes and Smashburger came to NYC. Shake Shack announced plans to open in Philadelphia and recently opened a location in DC as did NY-based Luke’s Lobster. Everywhere you look, the power-move for chain owners and restaurateurs seems to be national expansion.

Food Trucks Going Brick-and-Mortar

While plenty of food trucks begin as spin-offs of popular eateries, in early 2011 we saw just the opposite – as many popular food trucks opened brick-and-mortar locations. In LA, ice cream sandwich truck Coolhaus announced plans for a permanent location, and in NY Big Gay Ice Cream Truck and Mexicue did the same. In DC, Sâuçá opened its first brick-and-mortar location just two weeks ago, and in March, Honest Tom’s Tacos in Philly announced plans for a permanent home.

Izakayas

Izakayas – charming sake-centric Japanese small-plates eateries – were a major trend in NYC a few years back and have recently exploded in other cities nationwide. In Chicago, space-aged Lure debuted in Chinatown in March, followed by Schaumburg’s Tokio Pub in May. San Francisco gained Hecho, Nojo and Chotto. Meanwhile, LA gained both M Izakaya and Aburiya Toranoko. And, combining TWO of our top trends into one, the Royal Sushi and Izakaya pop-up made waves in Philly when it opened in February. Impressive.

First heard on Twitter then confirmed in person, Le Pain Quotidien is closed – bankrupt. Now where am I going to get my bread?

Earlier this year, Dynasty on Bloor St. closed. It’s being remade into a bistro. The good news is they found a new location – the “cursed” upper floor of 69 Yorkville. I say it’s cursed because restaurants have come and go from that location many times in the past few years. However, I predict that the owners of Dynasty will have a successful run out of it. It opens December 18, 2010.

Koko Share Bar opened in Yorkville a few weeks ago. The reviews have been positive and I put it on my list of places to try. On a random afternoon I poked my head in and tried lunch at the new restaurant. The lunch menu differs from their dinner menu but I was offered both to take a look at. I tried a beef tenderloin sushi roll and the Maguro role of tuna and ‘kimchee’. The dishes shortly arrived and both were quite tasty. Both sets of rolls surprised me by being quite bite-sized – I’ve found many new sushi places make very complex rolls with so many ingredients it makes the rolls almost too big to eat.

The beef tenderloin roll surprised me by it’s freshness. By using an outer layer of beef and a very thin layer of rice, they allow the veggies like the garlic stem to come through when eating. It tasted crisp like a salad. The Maguro roll had a tiny star shap of okra on top, I don’t recall okra being part of Korean or Japanese cuisine, but it looked great. This reminded me of a “spicy tuna” roll but it got it’s spiciness from the kimchi and not from a mayo-hotsauce concoction.

The quiet lunchtime hour allowed me to talk with the owner about many of the dishes. Each one is carefully crafted and you can tell he put a lot of thought into creating some unique dishes – taking a bit of Japan and Korea in each dish. I was very happy with my meal at Koko and will be back.

Koko Share Bar
81 Yorkville Ave.

The list of 150 restaurants participating in this year’s Summerlicious has been posted on the City of Toronto website. Reservations open on June 18th but Amex cardholders can start booking on the 16th and 17th.

Ginza Sushi is a new sushi place that opened up at Bay and Bloor, across the street from Pusateri’s. It replaced the old Eggstacy Bar and Grill.

Sushi here was reasonably priced, comparable to Ashi Sushi and Sushi Inn. My friend and I shared one of the sushi combo platters and I was impressed by the size of the sashimi, there was very nice larger cuts to eat. Everything was fresh and the service was good.

Ginza is part of a chain of sushi restaurants that started 13 years ago. However this new location caters to a different crowd by opening later and offering a selection of martini’s. I have yet to try their delivery service.

There seems to be an abundance of sushi places in Yorkville. Let’s hope Ginza manages to tough it out. With a location a little out-of-the-way compared to some of Yorkville’s sushi staples, it remains to be seen.

Ginza Sushi
1255 Bay Street
647-351-0238

This friday was the grand opening of the new MBCo location. A great place for a gourmet, culinary sandwich (chicken and brie pictured). The new location is bright and airy. Anchored near the “five theives” it should do well. It’s open on Victoria Day!

Yesterday was a perfect day to check out Caren’s back patio. With the cooler afternoon wind, the secluded patio offered us a respite from the gusts but still a nice outdoor patio scene. Caren’s is a small wine and cheese bar on the west part of Cumberland. The patio is nice and comfortable, and each table was decorated with nice, bright pillows and fabric giving a little life to the wood deck decor.

Caren’s offered a great wine selection (we had the Masi Ripasso) and a large selection of cheeses. The selection was a bit too big, so we chose the chef’s recommendation and were presented with three generous portions. The menu suggests wine pairings for each cheese platter.Caren’s also offers a full menu that can be taken advantage of.

Caren’s Wine and Cheese Bar
158 Cumberland St.
Toronto, ON
416.962.5158

Pupusas is a street food from El Salvador. I was getting ready to experiment in the kitchen when my friend suggested that I try a few dishes from that region.

• Corn Masa
• Refried beans and soft cheese (other fillings are also common)

1. Add water to the masa and kneed it until it turns into a non-sticky dough. You know it is done when you can press the dough and it doesn’t break at the sides.
2. Take a 2″ piece of dough and form it into a ball, flatten it into a round and add filling in the center
3. Close the sides of the round over the filling and then flatten the entire ball into a 1/4″ “pancake” shape
4. Grill on both sides for 3-4 minutes