The restaurants participating in the 2016 version of the Taste of Toronto festival will be offering a special item called The Dish. The plan is for each to be a special representation of the chef’s skills, unusual ingredients or a classic from the restaurant’s back catalogue.
In most cases, The Dish comes with a higher price tag — The Drake tops the list with their $150 Chinatown Platter of crispy lobster, roast duck and pork belly plus all the accouterments — and a limited quantity per session.
The Drake’s chef Ted Corrado (left) poses with Darby Piquette, Mark McEwan, Michael Bonacini and Eric Chong at the 2015 Taste of Toronto (IMAGE: ROCKITPROMO)
Other notable offerings include Nota Bene showcasing the 2008 version of their suckling pig and boudin noir tart ($33), Richmond Station preparing four cotes du beouf ($100, with brown butter hollandaise, red wine mushroom jus and asparagus) per session and Barque offering a luxurious take on bbq with a smoked foie gras sausage ($54) charred over bichotan charcoal and served with marrow salad and époisses biscuits.
This will be the third year for Taste of Toronto at Fort York’s Garrison Common. In its first two years, the festival made headlines by bringing in special guests David Chang and Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto.
As well as the special menu items, organizers have also recruited a special restaurant for each day of the 2016 festival. They are: the Bar at Alo on Thursday, Antler on Friday, Kanpai on Saturday and The County General on Sunday.
The 2016 Taste of Toronto runs June 23 to 26 over six sessions. Tickets can be purchased online for $19 or $24 at the door. Outside of The Dish items, food items are $6, $8 or $10. More information, including the full schedule of sessions is available on the event’s website.
The full list of The Dish offerings is below.
- McEwan Group – Scallop Crudo, $16
- Barque – Smoked Foie Gras Sausage with marrow salad and époisses biscuits charred over binchōtan charcoal, $54
- Richmond Station – Cote du Beouf (4 available per session) brown butter hollandaise, red wine mushroom jus, asparagus, $100
- Piano Piano – Egg Yolk Raviolo Spinach and Woolwich Dairy Fresh Goat Cheese Puree, Black Truffles, $30
- Little Sister Indonesian & Noorden Food Bar – Ayam Goreng & War Frites Indonesian fried chicken & dutch frites, peanut sauce, mayonnaise, green onion, pickled chili, $16
- Rasa – Ice Cream Sandwich Fernet Branca cookies, pistachio gelato, $6
- El Caballito Tequila y Tacos & Los Colibris – Duck Carnitas Tamal Pulled duck carnitas in a corn Tamal with cotija cheese, crema, salsa verde asada and iceberg lettuce – $25
- Miku Restaurant – Taste of Lobster half lobster temari, five pieces topped with kagoshima wagyu, foie gras, o-toro, ikura, and Miku sauce with jalapeño, served on a lobster shell, $45
- Nota Bene – “2008” Suckling Pig & Boudin Noir Tart, Taleggio cheese, lemon truffle vinaigrette, $33
- The Drake – Chinatown Platter' Crispy Lobster, Roast Duck and Pork Belly on chow mein noodles, snow pea leaves and black bean sauce, $150
- Carver – Porchetta Pizza with fior di latte mozzarella, green asparagus, truffle, poached egg yolk & fresh basil, $15
- Kinka Family – Special Yakitori Set of premium Wagyu beef,Honetsuki rack of lamb, unagi eel with sweet Teriyaki sauce, Negima chicken thigh with scallion, tsukune chicken meatball with cheese, $30
- Fat Pasha – Grilled Foie Gras Pita with apricot amba, pine nuts and tahini, $40
And the Daily Special vendors will have:
- The Bar at Alo (Thursday) – Pain au Lait Cultured Butter, $8
- Antler (Friday) – Spice Ash Crusted Venison Chop, $12
- Kanpai Snack Bar (Saturday) – Big Poppa Bowl of beef noodle soup with farm fresh soft egg, agedashi tofu, Asian greens, jiao ma prawn, spiced chicken skin, togarashi, chili threads and micro basil, $15
- The County General (Sunday) – The County Fried Chicken with gochjang & hoisin espresso BBQ, toasted sesame, avocado chutney & pickled onions, $12
