Duck liver parfait with grape and marigold at Toronto's Canis Restaurant
If you want to get a resident of Canada’s Ontario region to begin an impassioned discussion of his/her position, you don’t ask about politics or religion. You ask about butter tarts. This small, sweet, pastry enclosed tart with a caramel/butterscotch flavored filling can either be runny or more solid (in which case easier to hold while you’re driving), plain as the traditionalists assert it should be or filled with raisins, pecans, walnuts or now any number of different fruits (borderline heresy). But as I learned during a week going through the southern part of the region in a trip organized by the Culinary Tourism Alliance, if you want to try the best, you go to DooDoo’s in Bailieboro, perennial winner in butter tart contests with the ribbons on display in the shop to prove it.
Butter tarts cooling in the kitchen at Doo Doo's Bakery & Cafe
Butter tarts, however, weren’t the original goal of this mission. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants conducts an annual 50 Best Explores trip, sending several of its listed chefs to different regions to inspire them to learn different ways about thinking about food. In the past, they’ve sent them to Peru and Thailand, destinations that seemed to be obvious choices. Ontario didn’t, mostly because when you think of Canadian cuisine overall once you get past poutine (a specialty of Montreal anyway) and maple syrup, you generally draw a blank.
70 year old, multi-generation family business King Cole Ducks raises what are considered the finest ... [+]
According to the decision makers at the organization, though, Ontario was chosen due to its rich farm to table operations and burgeoning food scene which they feel has been overlooked. The New York chefs chosen to explore: Junghyun "JP"Park, chef-owner of Atomix and Ignacio Mattos and Sam Lawrence, chef-owner and chef de cuisine, respectively, of Estela seemed eager to check it out because they didn't know anything about Ontario food either.
Le Select Bistro's Cassoulet
It was a good decision. Toronto has long been known for its creative chefs and restaurants displaying ethnic diversity but the infusion of artisan ingredients produced in the surrounding countryside has pushed the food to another level. You see it in the duck in Le Select Bistro’s cassoulet by chef Laura Maxwell, the ducks produced by artisan producer King Cole Ducks. Or the King Cole smoked duck Bokkeum with kimchi, pickled spring vegetables, dashi, red onion ham and blue potato salad at the pan Asian Dailo.
Some of the many varieties of tomatoes grown at Tamarack Farms.
Out in the countryside, chefs make a pilgrimage to Tamarack Farms, 400 gorgeously landscaped, rolling hill acres dedicated to artisan, sustainable produce and humanely raised livestock owned by Nancy and Richard Self, two former financial executives from Vancouver. They applied their professional drive to farming and even a tomato here is a religious experience, along with other packaged products such as maple syrup and marmalade that also often win awards.
Avling Kitchen & Brewery's rib steak with harissa over charred greens.
Tamarack doesn’t sell to everyone, just to 16 restaurants, among them Avling Kitchen & Brewery which grows a few of its own vegetables on the roof. It showcases these and Tamarack’s in dishes such as charred broccoli stems with green hummus and dukkah spice, the carrot relish that surrounds a masala fish fry and the charred greens beneath a succulent rib eye with harissa.
Duck with carrot and plum at Canis.
Chef Jeff Kang at Canis, a regular on best restaurant lists, specializes in tasting menus that really show off the ingredients produced by Tamarack and others. Among the standouts of a recent dinner: duck liver parfait with grape and marigold, lobster with cucumber and nasturtium pod and duck with carrot and plum. The dishes are pared down but elevated, matching the restaurant’s self described tagline of inspired simplicity.
The wedge salad at Aloette.
Over at Aloette, chef-owner Patrick Kriss's casual but stylish diner counterpart to his gastronomic showcase Alo two floors above, locals generally come for the burger accessorized with Beaufort cheese, onion and pickles. But he puts the bounty of the area on display: crispy oyster mushrooms with XO sauce, lime and ponzu, roasted lamb sirloin with squat blossom, eggplant and arugula mint. Even the wedge salad is nothing like any wedge salad you've ever had before with chive cream, avocado, parmesan and wild rice.
The reconstructed barn at South Pond Farms, site of country lunches.
To really be at one with the ingredients, though, nothing beats a lunch out in the countryside and it would be hard to find a better place than South Pond Farms, a two hour drive northeast of Toronto. Owned by transplanted Vermonter Danielle French, the farm to table ethos started as a food delivery service and grew to this farm which most often hosts private events. But lunch is available in the rebuilt, century old barn. Lamb slow roasted over the fire pit, grilled bread, fire roasted carrots and mushrooms all taste better in the country air.
