 | |
 |
 |
Where to Eat Next25 new Canadian restaurants that are changing the way we’ll dine in 2007 and beyond. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | CBNR Mission Statement & Index | Home  BASHO JAPANESE FUSION 283 Duckworth St., St. John’s, 709-576-4600 Masa in New York, Tojo’s in Vancouver… Add St. John’s to your sushi pilgrimage list. This restaurant’s Japanese fusion fare draws inspiration from the most famous of sushi joints, Nobu, and even includes a couple of its signature dishes: asparagus with egg sauce and new-style sashimi. While the kitchen can get a bit overzealous with the dressing, both are commendable (and authorized) interpretations worthy of the Iron Chef himself. Chef pedigree Tak Ishiwata trained at Nobu Tokyo. 
SAEGE BISTRO 5883 Spring Garden Rd., Halifax, 902-429-1882, saege.ca This is one of the establishments drawing the blueprint for successful reinvented family restaurants: places with culinary ambition and a warm, lively atmosphere, mercifully void of kitsch. Mother and son Unni and Geir Simensen’s new bistro shows dexterity with a menu that covers everything from tostadas to tarts, Hawaiian pizza to pad Thai. Lethal cocktail Lost Mexican: Propeller Ginger Beer, tequila and fresh lime juice.  OPERA BISTRO 60 Prince William St ., Saint John , 506-642-2822, operabistro.com Every city needs a local market-style bistro like this one, with a gelato bar at the front entrance and a small deli selection of quality oils, vinegars, coffee and gourmet accessories for sale. The wine list offers an irresistibly patriotic tasting flight: The Canadian Cross Country Red Tour, four tastes from Nova Scotia to B.C. Most bizarre dish Maritime Sea Dog, a bratwurst wrapped in a green-onion pancake with curry sauce and seaweed.  LA NOCE 102, boul. René-Lévesque O., Québec, 418-529-6646 Exactly the kind of restaurant where two hungry people can order “one of everything!” The tiny, clever menu offers every dish as appetizer or entree, a nod to how we prefer to eat and share today. Gougères, our favourite cheese puff, appear in the amuse-bouche of salmon terrine with balsamic reduction and tomato salsa – a kind of upscale bruschetta. Wine gadget of the year A small metal holder attached to the side of the table chills wine without taking up table space.  L’ATELIER 5308, boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, 514-273-7442 As contemporary as restaurants come, L’Atelier is a veritable checklist of fashionable accoutrements: a wall built out of log ends, a wire chandelier and loving photographic portraits of growers and suppliers. The menu is also knowingly hip, with its monumental rabbit/barbecue sauce/sheep cheese poutine, chocolate and foie gras pairing and outstanding charcuterie plate (grilled-to-busting chorizo, duck prosciutto and rabbit rillettes). Most amuse-ing bouche One poached shrimp dusted with chili powder on a “soup” of melon, avocado and lemon balm. |
