As a supplement to yesterday’s announcement, Michelin let some of their inspectors elaborate on some of their favourite dishes. The dish from The Wood Owl definitely makes me want to dine there.
1 Like
I don’t diss what people in Toronto consider the best or the up and coming Toronto Michelin Stars or Canada’s Best.
I hope I didn’t come across as dissing as that wasn’t my intent. But I do think some of these chefs (and diners) need an ego check when comparing Toronto their international counterparts (because Michelin is an international ranking and they’re banking on some sort of consistencies for across their tiers). When the first announcement was made, there were some who were saying Alo is 2 stars. Hence:
I sincerely hope this would encourage our local chefs to elevate their offerings.
2 Likes
Sigh!! $21 for 4 cubes of 'Shrimp toast ’ at Mimi, when similar tasty products can be had in Hong Kong style cafes up north for 1/3 of the price…Man! Another take on Susur Lee’s price gouging approach by taking advantage of and charging an arm and a leg for dishes with exotic names and unfamiliar to the western palate and patrons. 
FYI, it’s cheap and easy to make and I too occasionally make an incredibly tasty version of these at home. Either buy commercial ready shrimp paste from Oriental supermarket or smashed and seasoned peeled shrimp meat. Next, spread a thick layer on white bread, cover with egg wash and then sesame seed and deep fry in medium heat oil!..EASY!! For better looking presentation, one can even put a whole bread crumb coated peeled shrimp on top before frying!
For the price they are charging, at least give the customers a few more pieces!..from a cost of $3 to $4!!! 
2 Likes
Tasting menu restaurant? Almost too easy. Next, Chicago.
But there are many non-tasting menu restaurants (Edulis style) that would do based on just dishes alone. Some old school examples in NYC: Grammercy Tavern, Crown Shy, Le Pavillion.
1 Like
Sigh!! $21 for 4 cubes of 'Shrimp toast ’ at Mimi
Lol. Yeah, I had a good laugh when that started to appear on menus in town at crazy prices.
1 Like
I was at Grammercy Tavern in May - the weakest meal of my roughly half-dozen on that trip.
In the 1 star category I would accept Le Jardinier as a worthy contender.
And in Chicago I’d rate Oriole ahead of Next - by a considerable margin. At Next I felt that I had to adjust to the restaurant’s schedule, rather than I was a ‘guest’. I’d also put Smythe ahead of Next as a more welcoming and responsive experience. It’s NOT just the food, but the entire experience.
Oriole and Smyth have two Michelin stars, so they probably should rate higher than Next (and Alo).
1 Like
From a ’ Chinese cuisine Foodie ’ perspective, here are some interesting facts on Michelin Star Chinese Restaurants which I managed to dig out pertaining to establishments outside of China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Taiwan.
First off, based on a number of past Chinese and Hong kong publications, Vancouver and Toronto are said to offer some of the BEST Chinese food outside of the aforementioned list of Chinese population based countries as well as within North America.
However, the following are some interesting but sad inconsistencies:
- Tokyo alone, has a total of 11 Michelin Star Chinese restaurants including one 3*. This is just one short of Toronto’s total number of Michelin star restaurants!
- London has 4 Michelin Star Chinese restaurants including a 2*…however, overall, IMHO, the quality of Chinese food, especially Cantonese cuisine, tasted better here in Toronto and in Vancouver than their transAtlantic Michelin star cousins???
- Even New york, San Francisco, Paris, Geneva, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have Michelin star Chinese Restaurants!!
Surely, Toronto can do or be judged better??!!
2 Likes
Fair enough - I didn’t check the number of stars.
However, Next’s chef/owner had 3 stars at both his previous places, and is likely devastated that he only got one the year of opening. And the price point is higher than the others mentioned - essentially it costs as much as a 3 star.
2 Likes
I’ve been researching Chicago restaurants in advance of an upcoming trip, and Next currently charges $175-195 pp (USD), about $100 cheaper than the two star restaurants previously mentioned and around $200-300 cheaper than Chicago’s one-and-only three star.
Not sure if Next’s price point dropped since you visited … but suffice it to say that you wouldn’t recommend Next and think Alo is better?
That’s not exactly what I said – but the inference is substantially accurate.
I was at both Next and Alo less than 2 weeks apart and I ranked the Alo meal the better of the two (although this was a couple of years back). I am unable to search the US cost as the US credit card that was used was not in my name – but my imperfect memory thinks the cost at Next was about double (after conversion to Canadian dollars).
Last year I was also at Alo and Oriole about 10 days apart – and ranked Oriole higher!
And for 2021 I made a list of my (Covid interrupted) top 10 meals of the year – and Alo and Smyth were ranked consecutively (with Alo a notch ahead).
Of course, these are different time periods, so my tastes may have altered, and the restaurants could have also changed.
So, my ranking would be (based on past experiences)
Oriole
Alo
Smyth
Next.
But qualitatively, I think Alo has slipped a bit. Since Covid the ingredients have seemed more similar (less innovation) and with multiple new outlets, the talent pool has been more distributed.
I do admit a slight bias – I’ve known the chefs at both Alo and Smyth for several years prior to their current restaurants, and followed them regularly.
I’ve also dined at previous restaurants for the Chefs at both Oriole and Next – but they probably wouldn’t recognise me!
And if it looks like I spend a lot of my time in Chicago – my daughter married an American and lives there, so I’m a regular visitor and do one ‘fine dining restaurant’ on each visit.
But if we return to the issue of ‘favourite’ 1 star Michelin (in North America) then, right now (and I was there this year), Meteora in Los Angeles gets my vote, both for quality and price. The tasting menu is $95 - but I defy you not to upgrade on some of the choices!
1 Like
That literally may have been one of my worst dining experiences last year.
1 Like
Different strokes …
Here was my menu (we had 1 wine pairing and 1 juice pairing. The entire meal was sensational):
Sparkling kiwi juice w pineapple
Stonington Scallop w charred pineapple, burnt mandarin, spiced longaniza oil, puffed cassava
2021 Assyrtiko - Santo Wines (Santorini)
J - Yuzu juice
Coal-Roasted English Peas w smoked almond custard, candied morita chile, avocado leaf, broth of roasted yeast
2021 Vermentino - Clos Nicrosi (Corsica)
J- Cherimoya Kombucha w essence of bergamot
Caramelized Plantain Dumpling w Cream of heirloom carrots & roasted kelp, grilled job’s tears, aji amarillo
2020 Marienburg Riesling Spatlese - Clemens Busch (MSR)
J- ? kombucha/tea
Pacific prawn cooked over hot stones w green peppercorn paste, soft lettuce (a wrap), coconut butter infused w prawn heads
Heirloom Brown Rice, crisped in black clay with glaze of sea lettuce, egg yolk, charred onion - topped w Wild King Crab
A Dry-Aged Duck w smoked beets, mezcal prunes, roasted duck caramel
2018 ‘Les Chibanettes’ - Phillipe Badia (Cotes du Rhone)
C Grass-Fed Wagyu Beef Shortrib w roasted black trumpet jam, swiss chard, heirloom sesame cream ($35 supp)
Juice Purple corn, tangerine, green tomato, blood orange
Whole Mandarin Sorbet w whipped tigernut mousse, puffed wild rice, almond pastry, young coconut, parsnip milk
2020 ‘Seres’ - Les Equilibristes - Languedoc
J sugar cane &?
Both the wines and juice were excellent matches.
I’ve just realized that I’ve been confusing (and Intermingling) two different restaurants in Chicago – “Next” and “Ever”; never could get the hang of this time thing!
Essentially, my rankings above still apply, but my other comments confuse the two.
“Ever” is a 2 star, Curtis Duffy helmed place charging $325 for the tasting menu.
“Next” is a 1-star, part of the Alinea group, helmed by Grant Achatz (but he’s NOT at Next restaurant)…
Both are exceptional chefs – I’ve visited each of these places once only, and ‘somehow’ confused the two in my comments (e.g. in my quote, I was thinking of “Ever” and chef Duffy, but the reference should have been to “Next”).
I rate “Ever” a bit below Smyth and above “Next”.
Back to the ‘original subject’ which was “Next”.
My meal there was disappointing in several respects. The theme was ‘Dishes from World’s Top 50 Restaurants’ and most dishes were competent, a couple excellent. HOWEVER, one of the dishes served was a ‘Foie Gras Parfait’ – essentially appeared to be an ice-cream sundae (served in the traditional sundae glass dish). One ‘dug down’ to reach the foie gras (nestled in the base) with cream above it. In my dish, the foie mousse was cold; in my companion’s dish the foie mousse was ‘warm’. Hmm – what was the concept here?
I asked the server to check with the kitchen – and waited, and waited – that server NEVER reappeared anywhere in my dining room (apologies if there was a medical crisis, but that service lapse was a major turn-off). One dish warm, the other cold – one HAD to be an error.
In summary the service throughout the meal was aloof and impersonal – it seemed that we were merely observers rather than participants.
1 Like
Like you said… different strokes as my experience was not even close to what you experienced. In my books, if Next is 1 star, Alo is a Bib… except they’re not in the price range of a Bib.
But I was discussing with a fellow globetrotter recently, how in the world do the Michelin inspectors get the reservations in order to check that current starred restaurants have maintained their standards? I’ve seen many treads of people not being able to get bookings at the starred restaurants in Toronto even on the day they open their reservation systems. How are they able to get X number of reservations (whatever X is) a year so they can do their evaluation when even locals are having a hard time getting 1 reservation? I mean, could that have been the reason Vongerichten lost a star? And if they’re able to consistently get a reservation, does that mean the restaurant knows the diner is an inspector? Food for though… 
1 Like
Great observation and deduction!! Love to see how Michelin inspectors managed to get a table at 'Edulis ’ anonymously!! Ha! 
BTW, a number of foodie friends have agreed that ALO quality is NOT as good as before…even offering their once famous freshly baked Brioche with a ‘cold center’!!! In our opinion, FRILU is more enjoyable and creative these days! Maybe Chef Kriss’s ego was hurt and deflated by the result of the ’ Red book’s ’ first edition?!..ALO not getting its anticipated 2* but only managed to tie with its lesser calibre brethren Aloette with a star?!
BTW, I just recently returned from a food crawl in New York. My meal at the 3* and the La liste #1 " Le Bernardin " was a disappointment. Food was good but a 3*!!! The taste profile of some major components and sauces were under-seasoned and underwhelming!..though the execution and timing of the protein was spot on. My meal at the 2* ’ The Modern ’ was more enjoyable and featured more ’ wow-factors '!
Inconsistencies everywhere??!!
1 Like
Excellent question! And some of the places don’t accept reservations for a single diner - implying that the Inspectors don’t always dine alone.
But, standing back, at least it appears that some sort of standards are applied, so that Users of the guide have a good idea what to expect (unlike some of the ridiculous local articles/comments which reflect individual preferences).
On the first go around, there was an uproar when Canoe was bypassed. This second time, not a peep or comment. Has Canoe declined precipitously, or has it merely maintained its standards of a year ago. Or maybe the commentators are more interested in clicks than information.
If people are arguing that, for example, Alo should be a 2 star (or no star) then maybe it is just about right at 1 star. Trying to assess objectively, I don’t think any of the Michelin rankings are too far off - could argue a ‘slight’ change, but all in the ballpark. And clearly omissions - but that should get fixed over time.
And Charles (“the”) my recent meal at Le Bernardin was also below previous visits, but then it was still better than The Modern (for me). Service at The Modern was perfunctory; I had different menu items, but the Tarte Flambee (a ‘specialty’ still on the menu from the Kreuther days) just wasn’t a tarte Flambee - used cheese instead of Creme Fraiche, and their wine prices were the highest mark up of any place we visited (specifically Krug in half-bottles, the current release, 70% higher price than Saga, which was the lowest mark up) - just a ripoff (IMO).
And finally, I rank Alo above Next! But then I’m not Michelin, and nobody would buy my guide!
I still think Canoe and George should get a star if Alobar gets a star. They are both consistently great. Maybe not as cutting edge or innovative, but still great flavours, presentations, wine pairings, and service (though not as good service as yesteryear).
Then again, comparisons never really work out perfectly. I have been to great places that don’t have a star and then 1-stars that are not quite as good.
With regards to the question about bookings. I am assuming that a Michelin reviewer has more openings on their schedule than me, so they can try to nab any available date when bookings open up for the highly coveted restaurants. It also makes sense to me that they don’t go alone, partly to allow them to sample more dishes.
2 Likes
I am most curious to see how Michelin is going to treat the newcomer " LUCIE " in its next edition?!
2 Likes
Some stories on how some have scored reservations in NYC: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/10/23/dining/restaurant-reservations-nyc.html
2 Likes
