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

BlogTO continues their “Best of Toronto” series with a timely “Best Patios in Toronto” post. Out of their list, my two favorites are Brassaii and Le Select Bistro. Their site also has a handy Google Map of all their selections. Check the article out and discover some hidden gems (like a few in Kensington and the Annex).

Tucked away on Dupont is a new shop called Nancy’s Cheese. Once part of Harbourd Bakery, this is now her exclusive new location and opened just before the winter. She hostsCheese chaTon aTuesdaY for $25 you get to sample about ten different cheeses. With a strong focus on Ontario and Quebec cheeses, this shop is a welcome addition to the North Annex.

A review at Martiniboys was posted in February.

I haven’t been yet, but The Host has opened up a location on Wellington St., near Wellington and Blue Jays Way. Related to the other Host’s around the city, I can only guess that it’ll have the same fine Indian food as the others.

The warmer weather has allowed me to go out and explore the area near my new office at noon. This Friday I went down to Ravisoups near Peter and Adelaide. I’ve heard about it before – it got great press when it opened – it was also mentioned on the office list of “recommended places to go” that sits in our lunchroom.

Ravisoups is a nice and cozy spot. It has a back area for a patio but it wasn’t open because it was still pretty brisk outside. Two of us ordered the corn chowder and it was delicious! A lot more filling than I would’ve though but the crab meat piled nicely in the middle of the thick broth fills you up. Each soup came with a biscuit. The others tried different soups, that I forget, but one of us also ordered the lamb wrap which she said was quite good. Ravisoups is definitely a place I will go back to.

Ravisoups
322 Adelaide St. W.
647-435-8365