Martiniboys just published their Essential Restaurants list and they have mentioned quite a few that are getting a lot of attention in the other press. Their list covers all the cities that MBO does, but here are the Toronto highlights:

Pizzeria Libretto
Table 17
Mildred’s Temple Kitchen
Nota Bene
Forte
Grace
Harbord Room
Madeline’s

Joanne Kates from the Globe and Mail wrote about her top 10 in 2008. Her list is:

CAPLANSKY’S

GRACE

HARBORD ROOM

LOIRE

MADELINE’S – Susar new restaurant

MENGRAI

NOTA BENE

NYOOD – Roger’s restaurant

OMI – One of my original favorite sushi places, now moved to a new Cabbagetown location

SIMPLE BISTRO

My friend got this recipe from All Recipes – their description reads: “Chocolate cream cheese cupcakes, rich and gooey. Serve these little gems with a tall glass of ice cold milk.”

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Sweet Lulu has several locations in Toronto – last week we went to try the one near the financial district, right near the intersection at Bay and Adelaide. The enterance is on Temperance St. so it’s a bit hidden – not the best location to be discovered by pedestrian traffic.

Sweet Lulu has a bright fresh style, very strong on the “cute” but with a bright airy atmosphere and it’s not too crowded. In a smaller space, this design would feel more claustrophobic, but here it works. The menu is based on choosing your own rice or noodles, your sauce/broth and then garnishes. It’s pretty basic but the meals are put together quickly and efficiently, and the portions are pretty good for a fast lunch. I tried rice with green curry and it quite good, it was spicier than normal thai food which i really liked.

Overall Sweet Lulu is good for a quick lunch or dinner, but probably not a place you should take a date to.

Sweet Lulu
350 Bay St.
416-203-2228

J.A. Henckels, a long chef standard for knives, has introduced a new line of Japanese-construction knives. These are designed and made by J.A. Henckels Japan. There’s four lines of knives available ranging from the lower 5000 S series to the high end damascus 7000 D (pictured). It should be a nice knife to try and may compare favorably to Henckel’s “Professional S”, MAC or Globals.

Seven East opened up over a year ago in north Rosedale just tucked between the Summerhill and Rosedale subway stations. Like many of the pan-asian restaurants that are sprouting out all over the city, it offers a “best of everything” menu that ranges from Chinese chow mein, Thai pad thais, and Malay and Vietnamese dishes.

Dishes are served quiet tastefully arranged, looking better than you can find at other places. One thing that you must try is the Mango fish which was nice and delicate, but still had a tasty seared outside crust. The other dishes I tried was the chow mein, which was served in a “nest” of noodles (nice touch), and the thai green curry which ended up being spicier than normal thai restaurant serves, but I liked the punch it had.

Although more expensive than it’s Yonge/Bloor st. cousins, Seven East is still a nice way to have some Asian dining uptown instead of hiking it all the way down to Spadina.

Seven East
1116 Yonge St.
(416) 966-3278

I was in Little Korea the other day going to the Korean supermarket they have in the area. Across the street from the PAT Central Market is Korea House. It caught my eye because of it’s unique address – 666 Bloor St. Always daring, I went inside to check out the food.

Typical of small mom & pop asian restaurants downtown, it’s small and the furnishings are very simple. It was a gorgeous day outside and I lucked out with a seat at the window. I ordered the Bibimbap, a rice dish served in a hot earthen bowl. It’s topped with beef, vegetables and an egg. I find it’s one of the most hearty dishes around – perfect for a winter dinner (however, it was the middle of the summer).

The meal was good and inexpensive, an excellent value. I recommend the place but it’s small and a bit of a hole-in-the-wall. People used to eating at Swatow downtown would feel right at home.

My friend chose Czehoski to have a nice birthday dinner. Czehoski is a nice small place on Queen St. W. past Bathurst. The food was excellent and the staff did a great job accomodating a large party.

My starter was the chicken pate. I’ve never tried chicken pate before and I noticed it was not as rich as goose pate from my recollection. It was sprinkled with red peppercorns which was added a nice flavor. The main was their “bigger, better” burger which was very sizable and delicious. It would make my friend Wallace happy the way it was served because the vegetables were on the side and he wouldn’t have to take them out! Still, the challenge was to put the veggies in and still be able to put the burger in your mouth – it was huge, but so good! Dessert selections were good. I tried both the chocolate mousse and creme brulee.

They also have a nice patio and is perfect for a nice friday/saturday night.

Czehoski
678 Queen St. W.
Toronto, Ontario