 | |
 |
 |
Canada’s Best New Restaurants 20061 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | CBNR Mission Statement & Index | Home  Photo by Jaret Belliveau 08. RESTAURANT L'IDYLLE 1788, rue Amirault, Dieppe, New Brunswick, 506-860-6641, restaurantidylle.com The oldest house (built in 1828) in Dieppe is serving some very modern food. Chef Emmanuel Charretier is the one-man kitchen brigade in this family operation, where wife Hélène Legras runs the front of the house and her father hand-painted each plate. No wonder the restaurant feels so welcoming. The setting may be quaint, but there’s a playfulness to the meal. Translucent sheets of lobster sashimi marinated in olive oil and balsamic resemble a psychedelic light show with the addition of green tea powder and fresh herbs. Sticky squab breast rests alongside a leg stuffed with foie gras, joined by braised cabbage. The confit of figs and vanilla ice cream with gingerbread crumbs was among the year’s best desserts. 
Photo by John Gaucher 09. BLINK RESTAURANT & BAR 111 8th Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-263-5330, blinkcalgary.com After some initial conceptual shuffling (is it a nightclub, is it a restolounge, is it a clubstaurant?), Blink seems to have settled into a comfortable groove as a good old-fashioned restaurant. Chef Andrew Richardson, formerly of Araxi in Whistler, is offering solid interpretations of the classics, but what may be revolutionary for Calgary is the emphasis on vegetarian dishes: twice-baked soufflé with moonstruck White Grace cheese and leeks or golden and candy cane beets with buffalo mozzarella. That’s not to say that meat is absent from the menu: Witness the 8 oz fillet of Spring Creek beef and crispy skinned confit of Pekin duck. Even better: you can now dine without your banquette turning into a dance floor.  Photo by Margaret Mulligan 10. FOXLEY BISTRO 207 Ossington Ave., Toronto, 416-534-8520 Once a name associated with impeccable sushi, Tom Thai has branched out with the opening of this little resto. Chef hasn’t completely abandoned his fondness for raw fish, but here he serves it ceviche-style, marinating sea bream in citrusy yuzu and shiso leaf. Stunning lamb and duck dumplings can barely contain their fillings. The kitchen isn’t afraid to get Cro-Magnon: tea-smoked quail is heady, while meaty pork ribs require not only a finger bowl but possibly a post-dinner bath. The bare-bones decor is in keeping with the tenor of this gentrifying west Toronto ’hood – the strip club next door brings new meaning to the concept of dinner and a show. Write to us: letters@enroutemag.net
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | CBNR Mission Statement & Index | Home |
