Tai Sea Bream with Black Truffle

I might have been more easily able to enjoy my meal at what is widely regarded to be one of NYC’s sushi temples, had the waitress not been so stunningly uninformed about the menu. Word to the wise, keep your iPhone handy to look up those tricky Japanese words, as there is no guarantee that sleepy-eyed staff will have any idea what you are talking about.

Details: 10 Columbus Circle New York, NY 10019, United States (+1-212-823-9800)

Hummus Sandwich with Freshly Chopped Romaine Lettuce Topped with Israeli Salad, Kalamata Olives,  Feta Cheese, and Whole Wheat Zahatar Croutons, Topped with Tahini

If anyone out there still believes in the ”lazy Mexican” stereotype, please visit the Taïm falafel stand to be firmly disabused of your foolish notions. Employing an assembly line that is the very embodiment of “division of labour,” orders are taken, pitas are toasted, and sandwiches are filled with breathless, unflagging efficiency. Each crunch of cucumber and tang of tomato is all the more satisfying for having watched the meal itself prepared so magnificently before one’s transfixed eyes.

Details: 222 Waverly Place (at 7th Ave) New York, NY 10014-2404 (+1-212-691-1287)

Sushi Pizza

In many situations, it is fair to expect that price will be an accurate indicator of quality. Yet, to my surprise and delight, this affordable eatery presented a dish (tuna sashimi served atop a deep fried rice cake) whose inventiveness (not to mention crispy, creamy tastiness!) trumps all the modern Japanese experiences in my recent memory. 

Details: 515 Bloor Street West Toronto, ON M5S 1Y4, Canada (+1-416-516-3456)

Orange Jello

Does anyone else find it rather unfortunate that one of North America’s great natural wonders currently serves as backdrop to a Vegas-inspired strip, Planet Hollywoods, 80-foot buffets, and all?

Details: Sheraton on the Falls, 5875 Falls Avenue Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3K7 Canada (+1-905-374-4445)

Roasted Ontario Pickerel with Braised Red Cabbage, Crushed Celery Root and Kozlik’s Triple Crunch Mustard

From the permanent art installations in the lobby to the bathroom signage playfully exhorting customers to “sleep with Drake,” one can fully imagine this delightful, creative concept in the heart of Manhattan (or in any other fashionable city for that matter). This is not to suggest that it runs the risk of indistinctiveness. Indeed, where Canoe‘s culinary offerings disappointed, The Drake Hotel’s far exceeded expectations. While the Sexy Simmered Beef Brisket with Roasted Fall Vegetables and Horseradish Cream had my mouth watering even as I read the menu description, it was the Roasted Pickerel’s perfectly crisped skin and fragrant cabbage accompaniment that truly captured my affection.

Details: 1150 Queen Street West Toronto, ON M6J1J3, Canada (+1-416-531-5042)

BLT

What is  it about the particular vulnerability of travel that causes us to trust personal recommendations over sound research, or better yet, common sense? When a colleague of mine recommended taking a 20-min ferry out to the Rectory Cafe on Ward’s Island, I somehow totally overlooked the fact that taking an open-air ferry to try an open-air restaurant is far from the most logical choice during the heart of winter! Of course the bread was stale and the chicken almost inedibly tough. What else should I have expected on an island that mostly likely receives supplies from the mainland on a weekly basis?

Although I did get boatloads of fresh air and a stunning view of the Toronto skyline too boot, next time I’ll remember such experiences are generally more pleasant during summer!

Word to the wise: make sure to check the ferry schedule online and in advance!

Details: 102 Lakeshore Ave, Ward’s Island, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 1X9 (+14162032152)

Roasted Alberta Spring Bank Elk Loin with Allspice Tourtiere, Garlic Greens, and Soma Walnut Pickle

While the waitresses’ encyclopedic knowledge of the menu (replete with locally sourced fare impressed,  Canoe failed to live up to its reputation as one of Toronto’s premier fine dining establishments. Perhaps it is the fault of overly assiduous exploration of the New York restaurant scene, but to my friend Kelly and I’s admittedly skewed standards, this was a “fine” rather than the ”wow” we had expected. 

Details: 66 Wellington Street West
Toronto, ON M5K 1H6, Canada
(+14163640054)

Cotechino (Pork Sausage) & Sauerkraut

Business travel is a funny beast. While many make much of the indulgences an expense account enables, fundamental barriers to pure enjoyment (besides the work part of course) are the uneasiness of unfamiliarity and the insecurity of isolation. Humans thrive in communities; when a person is dislocated from his or her geographic milieu, the effects can be distressing. What should I do? With whom should I do it with? While tourist travel presumes volition, the corporate variety typically does not, and such in-built constraints as office location make a rich experience that much more effortful to attain.

Perhaps I just haven’t been doing this for long enough, but I still get an absolute thrill when I find out that work is sending me someplace new. Seriously, who in their right mind wouldn’t get excited when colleagues describe one must-try restaurant with such glowing praise as, “meat lovers paradise” and “outrageously awesome offal.”

Carniverous delights being on the high end on my priority list, despite bitter cold and knee-high snow drifts, it was with a spring in my step that I set out in search of Toronto’s The Black Hoof. While dismayed by the limited menu displayed on a single chalk board in the corner (no foie gras!?!), it was with great anticipation that I parked myself on a barstool and waited to be amazed. Indeed, the Caramelized Milk & Onion Perogies were a pleasant, gyoza-esque novelty, but even more enjoyable was the conversation with my new friend Jeff, a barstool neighbor who gamely offered a taste off his plate.

Solitude is a frequent (and potentially unecessary) complaint among the “road warrior” class. Indeed, in the 1999 cult classic film Fight Club, the travel-weary character Tyler bemoans (in his view)  the tedious exercise of making “single-serving friends.” To my mind, when I strike up a conversation on an airplane, in a waiting room, or even at a restaurant, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Why intentionally cultivate the alienation from one’s neighbors that modern life already so easily avails?

The next time you’re in a new city by yourself try a wild experiment: talk to strangers. Trust me, if you stop closing yourself to new experiences you might just have some fun. And you’ll certainly Never Eat Alone.

P.S. The reason why the menu seemed limited is that instead of dining at my original target, The Black Hoof, I managed instead to wander unsuspectingly into its less-sophisticated younger sister, The Hoof Cafe (in my defense, the signage was misleading!).

Details: 923 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON, Canada (+14165518854)

Poutine with Traditional Gravy

I endeavor not to fall prey to a checklist mentality when it comes to travel, however I must admit a certain degree of consternation at the fact that I managed to live in North America for four years without visiting either of the other two countries on that continent. Happily, a work commitment gave me the opportunity to make Canada my first novel destination of 2010.

After a day spent navigating the snow-covered streets of Toronto, I sought characteristically Canadian hearty dinner fare. Google Mobile informed me that Poutini’s House of Poutine had been awarded the title of “Best Poutine” by NOW Magazine. Not bothering with additional research, I entered the address into my onboard GPS, and off I went.

In the end, although I can certainly understand the draw of a dish whose primary components are cheese, bacon, and starch, it is the texture that I find singularly unappealing. In my opinion a good serving of chips should be steaming hot and crisp; singe-risk should be imminent! In contrast, poutine is soggy, poutine is mush. Give me NYC’s Pommes Frites or The Hind’s Head’s thrice-cooked chips any day.

Details: 1112 Queen St West, Toronto M6J 1H9, Canada

Tuna Sashimi

A question that I’ve been asked a lot lately is, “So do you photograph everything you eat?” And the answer is no; sometimes I hold back. Now don’t all rush down and contribute to the crowds that already descend at the conclusion of each workday and flock in ever-increasing numbers on the weekend, but I feel it’s time to let you in on a little secret. The freshest, most generously portioned, most reasonably priced sashimi in the city can be found at none other than the Whole Foods Columbus Circle sushi bar. A ten-seat establishment with all the quality and none of the unnecessary exclusivity of similarly-sized Momofuku Ko, here you may tuck into enormous pieces of tuna whose deep crimson color and melt-in-your-mouth consistency populate my office daydreamings with alarming frequency.

Details: 10 Columbus Circle New York, NY 10019