Congratulations to Frida on Eglinton!

Just wanna toss my congratulations to Frida at 999 Eglinton West! The Mexican restaurant, owned by my friend's family, made it into the the "Best Mexican Restaurants" list on BlogTO, coming in at number 7. I have never been, but now this makes it even more of a must-try.
Here's a small excerpt from BlogTO:
"Frida takes some fascinating liberties with the traditional. Gourmet ingredients add a depth of flavour to the most simple of dishes. Duck "Carnitas" tacos have an irresistibly delicate texture, and a creaminess accented by the guacamole garnish. The "fresco" cheese mixed with shredded flank steak on tostadas (Tostadas de Sapicon Yucateco "Dzik") tastes exactly that (fresh), with a tangy and cool finish, intensified by its chilled temperature. And that bowl of melted cheese (with some peppers, herbs and tortillas for dipping) - it's called Queso Fundido con Rajas, and it's the best idea ever."
Again, congratulations to the Frida team!

Smoke's Poutinerie

One of my favourite binge-restaurants in the city, Smoke's Poutinerie has, since its inception a few months back, become a staple in the Toronto Club District. Hailing itself as the world's first quick-serve restaurant dedicated to poutine, there truly is nothing in the city that is quite the same as Smoke's.
A friend and fellow poutine lover approached me one day and told me that this restaurant had just opened up down on Adelaide with lineups through the door. With a demented look of sheer excitement on my face, I was immediately warned that this was not just any poutine - and when I walked through the doors, I soon realized why.
Walking through the doors of Smoke's for a drunk, poutine loving Canadian must be the equivalent of walking through the pearly gates. The chalkboard menu flaunted such items as the Pulled Pork Poutine (traditional fries, gravy and cheese, layered with sweet shredded pork), the Nacho Grande (fries with chili, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and jalapenos) and I was even lucky enough to witness the induction of the Slaughterhouse poutine (traditional poutine avec pulled pork, ground beef, bacon, chicken, sausage and Montreal smoked meat). Of course there are slightly more normal menu items: the breakfast poutine (poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and peameal bacon)and a chicken curry poutine among them. Still, Smoke's does cater to the normal crowd: they DO make a regular poutine, but in my many visits, I've never seen one ordered.
In my many visits, I have yet to indulge in even a quarter of the menu. I've had my try at the double pork poutine (bacon and pulled pork), the Montreal (smoked meat, mustard and even a pickle), the prime beef (ground beef, mushrooms and onions), the Italian (with homemade Italian meatsauce) and the chicken peppercorn (with green peppercorn gravy, roasted chicken and mushrooms).
Smoke's also gives its customers the option to add any topping to any menu item and choose their own gravy (vegetarians, there is a veggie gravy made from mushroom stock). Take a traditional poutine and put your own spin on it!
I must give fair warning: Smoke's signature rich gravy is not what one would expect and took me a little while to get used to. It IS good, but has a unique flavour. It is sweet, salty and even a bit sour all at the same time. Perhaps their beef comes from a revolutionary new hybrid cow. Nonetheless, I have never had a disappointing experience at Smoke's.
Now, while I'm not proud of it, I am a self-dubbed poutine afficionado - even going to such lengths as walking two hours to grab myself the benevolently malevolent combo of crispy fries, sweet-salty gravy and squeaky curds. Having tried poutine's from all across the city, I must say that Smoke's is definitely near the top. The fries are nice and crispy, and gravy is interesting and the curds provide a nice squeak. I recommend it for anyone who is already a poutine lover, as it may be a bit too hard to get used to for an amateur poutinist.
To Ryan Smolkin, owner and visionary behind the Smoke's project: thank you for finally doing something new in the Toronto food landscape.

Smoke's Poutinerie is located at 218 Adelaide Street West, with locations in the Annex, Ottawa, Wasaga Beach, Kitchener and Kingston slated to open soon, and a mobile poutine truck coming to Toronto sometime soon. 416-599-CURD (2873).

Pizzeria Libretto

For my first review, I wanted to start with a restaurant that provided me with a truly spectacular meal. And boy, did I hit the jackpot.

It's not often that I find a restaurant that I miss soon after departing. In fact, there may only have been one of such places (the feeling has since dissipated), until last night. 

Most Torontonians can agree (at least those with some sort of culinary competence) that one would be hard pressed to find a great pizza in the city (no, Mamma's doesn't count). I was in agreement until last night, when I ventured to the southwest end of Toronto for dinner at Pizzeria Libretto, a seemingly small, neat restaurant tucked away at College and Ossington. 

Libretto's philosophy is simple: Authentic, delicious Neapolitan pizza. This means fresh, local toppings, blistered, bubbling crust, piping hot cheese and a whole lot of passion.

The restaurant itself was very interesting, small looking from the outside, but upon entry, the length was shocking. A few couples tables lined one wall, while the other wall was one long communal table. Light bulbs hung from strings on the ceiling.

Upon being seated at the communal table no more then 5 minutes after entering, we were given a jug of water that is purified and bottled in house, as well as menus that flaunted diverse, yet savoury flavours. To start, my party of three ordered two appetizers: the grilled calamari ($6) and the gnocchi with braised rabbit ($7). The calamari came grilled exquisitely on a bed of arugula with a roasted red pepper and almond garnish. The gnocchi with rabbit was lightly topped in olive oil, adding a nice Mediterranean flavour to the already light and fluffy appetizer.

For the main course, our party split two pizzas, both coming in at $15: a pizza with arugula, prosciutto, and parmeggiano reggiano, and one with imported Italian mozzarella, caramelized onions and house-made sausages. Saying both of these pizzas were fantastic would be an understatement. The prosciutto on the first was paper thin and perfectly salty and the crust was blistered from the authentic Neapolitan wood fired oven - but not burnt or crispy. What I found amazing was that it maintained a soft, delicate, light texture and flavour. In contrast to this pizza, the house-made sausage and caramelized onion pie was nice and sweet. It was a wonderful compliment to the salty prosciutto pizza. It tasted as though the sausage had cinnamon or nutmeg in it - delicious. Even while eating my scrumptious meal, I couldn't help but look around at the other tables. Everything else looked so damn good as well!

Needless to say, the meal was finished hurriedly. When a fourth member of our party arrived, we could barely contain our desires when she ordered the same sausage pizza. 

We were almost sad when we left, the pizzas sitting happily in our stomachs, while we were wishing that we were sitting happily with a few more pizzas. To be blunt, Pizzeria Libretto will not be a place I soon forget. It's too damn delicious.

Pizzeria Libretto is located at 221 Ossington Avenue just south of College Street. No reservations. Entire menu available for takeout. Monday - Friday 5-11PM, Saturday and Sunday 4-11PM. 416-532-8000.