A 15 minute, not-inexpensive cab ride took us from the towering glass skyscrapers of Toronto’s financial district to the slightly more grimy, still developing neighborhood of Parkdale & Queen Street West. Among the boarded up windows & dark corners, hip boutiques, art galleries & new restaurants dot the street. A little out of our comfort zone (mostly because we really weren’t sure where we were, or if it was super safe (I know, I know, it’s Canada!)), we stepped into the tiniest restaurant of them all, Chantecler.
This 30-seat restaurant is actually two restaurants: one that serves delightful snacks & only one entree & one that serves a blind tasting menu. The kind folks at Chantecler allowed me to make a reservation via Twitter so I didn’t have to call international long distance & we were soon sidled up to the bar, smack in front of the sous chef was was cranking out amazing dishes. To our right, in what has to be the world’s smallest restaurant kitchen (that’s the entire thing, above), the chef cranked out lettuce wraps, the restaurant’s only entree., & other dishes.
We dove headfirst into cocktails (one which included an orange peel on fire) &, after extensive debate over the very short menu, an amazing parade of snacks: spicy popcorn shrimp (literally, shrimp covered in popcorn), the best calamari I’ve ever had in my entire life, creamy beef tartare. As if we could possibly eat any more, up came the lettuce wraps, served with the most delectable, melt-in-your-mouth braised pork. You think you know lettuce wraps? If you’ve not had them at Chantecler, you don’t. We capped off our meal with the world’s most perfect dessert: a banana split sundae.
After dinner, instead of taking another pricey cab ride, we wandered down Queen Street, hoping to take the streetcar back. A little confused, & in a neighborhood we didn’t know, we stopped a man on the street to ask for directions to the stop. He not only gave us directions, but walked us directly there. I’m not sure why we were so worried about exploring a new, developing neighborhood – we were in Canada, after all.
Know, if you go…
– they only accept cash & debt cards
– take a streetcar – much cheaper than sitting in a cab in traffic
– don’t turn your nose up at a seat at the bar – it’s where all the action is
– reservations are a must!
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