Kitchen Confidential is the book that made Anthony Bourdain famous. The TV host of food and travel show, “No Reservations” got his start in the self-described “dark underbelly” of New York’s restaurant kitchens. It’s a very raw look at the life of a chef and insightful look at the man on TV.

The book, now almost 10 years old, gives a look into a much younger and much bolder Tony Bourdain. It’s entertaining and filled with colorful stories. If it was a movie it would probably be rated ‘R’.

On a different note, I learned of an episode of No Reservations that I have yet to see on TV. It was an episode filmed about their trip to Beirut. On the second day of the trip, the 2006 Lebanon War broke out and what started as a food documentary turned into human drama. The episode focuses much on what it was like being in the middle a war in the relatively safety of their hotel/safehouse while waiting to be evacuated by the US Government. It was probably the best episode of the series – and won an Emmy.

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

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

Yuzu is a new sushi restaurant on Adelaide street. I went last week with friends and it was quite good. The make rolls were great with spicy sauces not overdone or too “mayonaissey”. Sauces are also put on the plate to avoid too much sauce on the maki.

We started with tempura and edemame, and moved on to dynamite and spider rolls, an assorted set of sashimi and a dragon roll. All were really good.

Here’s a set of reviews on Yuzu:
Now Magazine
Chowhound
Martini Boys
Toronto Life

Yuzu Sushi and Sake Bar
236 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, ON
(416) 205-9808

For the past year or so, there has been a Black Camel near my place. Just outside the Rosedale subway station, this place bills itself as a cafe and sandwich bar. These sandwiches are fantastic, my favorite bounces between the pull pork and beef brisket sandwiches. They have many condiment and topping options but caremalized onions are my favorite.

They used to have another location downtown but it appears as this is the only one for now.

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

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

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 walking around Yonge/St. Clair yesterday and noticed a big proliferation of fine dining Indian restaurants in the neighborhood. Both Jaaadu and Rangoli advertise as “Fine Indian Cuisine”. Perhaps the success of Amaya has spawned a new wave of “fine” indian restaurants. At least with Yonge street locations, these two restaurants will garner more pass-by traffic than Amaya’s Bayview street location.

Jaaadu looks to be the “Finer” of the two restaurants, I will try it soon to compare it to Amaya which currently ranks as one of my favorites.