There's something special happening in the Canadian food scene, with groundbreaking new restaurants popping up from coast to coast and redefining local cuisine.
EnRoute, Air Canada's in-flight magazine, rounded up Canada's top 10 restaurants opened in the past year in its 12th annual list released on Thursday, and this one will probably keep many critics quiet with picks from seven cities across Canada, compared with only three last year.
"I do really believe it's a special year for the list. It kind of comes down to that diversity," Ilana Weitzman, enRoute's editor-in-chief, said in an interview.
"You see everything from a Japanese-Italian wine bar mash-up in Calgary to a crazy new architecturally designed restaurant in the farthest reaches of Newfoundland. That’s really quite interesting."
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EnRoute's Best New Restaurants 2013
10. Electric Mud, Toronto(01 of56)
Open Image Modal“Electric Mud is a twisted hymn to the American South.” (credit:Instagram/sophiasidiropoulos)
9. The Acorn, Vancouver(02 of56)
Open Image Modal“That the food is meatless is almost beside the point unless you’re a foodie vegetarian who’s long hankered for a compromise-free night on the town.” (credit:Facebook/The Acorn)
8. Le Bouchon du Pied Bleu, Quebec City(03 of56)
Open Image Modal"One of the most convivial, playful, unabashedly fun dining experiences I’ve had anywhere in North America.” (credit:Le Pied Bleu)
7. Maison Publique, Montreal(04 of56)
Open Image Modal“A mere 250 years after the Treaty of Paris, cooking Anglo food in Montreal is cool again.” (credit:Instagram/maisonpublique)
6. Carino Japanese Bistro, Calgary(05 of56)
Open Image Modal"A Japanese-Italian wine bar that defies logic in the most wonderful ways.” (credit:Carino Bistro)
5. Pidgin, Vancouver(06 of56)
Open Image Modal"The cuisine of Winnipeg-born Chef Ono, who ran restaurants in Beijing and Hong Kong, draws from multiple languages." (credit:Twitter/PigdinVancouver)
4. Supply and Demand, Ottawa(07 of56)
Open Image Modal"It’s not supposed to be this easy for a first-timer ... you notice all the little things that rookies Steve and Jennifer Wall are getting so right.” (credit:Facebook/Supply and Demand)
3. Fogo Island Inn, Joe Batt’s Arm, Nfld. and Labrador(08 of56)
Open Image Modal“There’s a terrific survivalist spirit bursting out of Chef McDonald’s kitchen, where most everything is made from scratch.” (credit:Facebook/Fogo Island Inn)
2. Shoto, Toronto(09 of56)
Open Image Modal"A storybook of a tasting menu, with all the typical annoying bits – the repetition of ingredients, the showy caprice, the monotonous pacing – smartly edited out." (credit:Facebook)
1. Bar Isabel, Toronto(10 of56)
Open Image Modal"Looks, feels and tastes vaguely Castilian but does far more than ape a menu straight out of Madrid.” (credit:Twitter/BarIsabel797)
Araxi(11 of56)
Open Image ModalCharcut Roast House(12 of56)
Open Image ModalLa Bodega(13 of56)
Open Image ModalThe Stockyards Smokehouse And Larder(14 of56)
Open Image ModalMaison Boulud(15 of56)
Open Image ModalFid Resto(16 of56)
Open Image ModalAtlantica at the Beach House(17 of56)
Open Image Modal20. Chives Canadian Bistro(18 of56)
Open Image Modal19. Edulis, Toronto, Ontario(19 of56)
Open Image Modal18. Chantecler(20 of56)
Open Image Modal17. Muse(21 of56)
Open Image Modal16. Mono Cliffs Inn(22 of56)
Open Image Modal15. Toqué(23 of56)
Open Image Modal14. Ruby Watchco(24 of56)
Open Image Modal13. Pastaga(25 of56)
Open Image Modal12. Hawksworth(26 of56)
Open Image Modal11. Rouge(27 of56)
Open Image Modal10. Raymonds(28 of56)
Open Image Modal8. Les 400 Coups(29 of56)
Open Image Modal7. Model Milk(30 of56)
Open Image Modal6. Acadia Restaurant & Bar(31 of56)
Open Image Modal5. CHARCUT Roast House(32 of56)
Open Image Modal4. Atelier(33 of56)
Open Image Modal3. Vij's(34 of56)
Open Image Modal2. Langdon Hall(35 of56)
Open Image Modal1. Joe Beef(36 of56)
Open Image Modal20. Narisawa: Japan(37 of56)
Open Image Modal19. Le Bernardin: New York(38 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr:arnold | inuyaki)
18. Le Chateaubriand: France(39 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr:arnold | inuyaki)
17. Pujol: Mexico(40 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Pujol)
16. L'Arpege: France(41 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr:fred_v)
15. Alinea: Chicago(42 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr: banditob)
14. Astrid y Gastón: Peru(43 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Facebook)
13. The Ledbury: England(44 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr:HannahWebb)
12. Frantzén/Lindeberg: Sweden(45 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr:Frantzen/Lindeberg)
11. Per Se: New York(46 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:star5112)
10. Vendôme: Germany(47 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Schloss Bensberg)
9. Steirereck: Austria(48 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr:richardmichaelshaw)
8. Arzak: Spain(49 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Arzak)
7. Dinner By Heston Blumenthal: England(50 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr: Ewan-M)
6. D.O.M.: Brazil(51 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:DOMRestaurante.com.br/)
5. Eleven Madison Park: New York(52 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr: scaredy_kat)
4. Mugaritz: Spain(53 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Facebook)
3. Osteria Francescana: Italy(54 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Osteria Francescana)
2. Noma: Denmark(55 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Flickr: cyclonebill)
1. El Celler De Can Roca: Spain(56 of56)
Open Image Modal (credit:Facebook)
Weitzman noted that a couple of the restaurants' chefs — Murray McDonald from Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland and Makoto Ono from Pidgin in Vancouver — have also returned to Canada from cooking abroad, a welcome sign that talent is returning to energize and evolve the food scene here.
The expat theme also played out with the choice of EnRoute's food writer and restaurant critic for the list — Andrew Braithwaite, a Harvard-educated Canadian originally from Vancouver Island. Braithwaite has family all over the Canada, but lives in San Francisco.
"He’s not linked to any one culinary scene or market, so he doesn’t have as much bias as let’s say someone coming out of a single city, and that I find exciting. And it also puts him kind beyond the tentacles of any PR, so it creates a kind of independence," added Weitzman.
For the challenge of finding the best new restaurants, Braithwaite dined at all 35 establishments on the magazine's shortlist, which was curated with the help of an eclectic mix of panelists including other critics, food producers and Canadian personalities such as the fiery CBC "Dragon" and entrepreneur Arlene Dickinson.
All this eating was done in a breathtaking (and button-popping) span of just one month.
The magazine also named a People's Choice winner, Vij’s Railway Express, a Vancouver food truck inspired by an Indian rail carriage.
What do you think of the EnRoute's picks? How does it compare to broader lists of best restaurants in Canada by Vacay.ca, Maclean's and others?
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LOOK —Canada's 10 best new restaurants in Canada, according to enRoute:
1) Bar Isabel, Toronto: “looks, feels and tastes vaguely Castilian but does far more than ape a menu straight out of Madrid.”
2) Shoto, Toronto: “A storybook of a tasting menu, with all the typical annoying bits – the repetition of ingredients, the showy caprice, the monotonous pacing – smartly edited out.”
3) Fogo Island Inn, Joe Batt’s Arm, Nfld. and Labrador: “There’s a terrific survivalist spirit bursting out of Chef McDonald’s kitchen, where most everything is made from scratch.”
4) Supply and Demand, Ottawa: “ It’s not supposed to be this easy for a first-timer ... you notice all the little things that rookies Steve and Jennifer Wall are getting so right.”
5) Pidgin, Vancouver: “The cuisine of Winnipeg-born Chef Ono, who ran restaurants in Beijing and Hong Kong, draws from multiple languages.”
6) Carino Japanese Bistro, Calgary: “A Japanese-Italian wine bar that defies logic in the most wonderful ways.”
7) Maison Publique, Montreal: “A mere 250 years after the Treaty of Paris, cooking Anglo food in Montreal is cool
8) Le Bouchon du Pied Bleu, Quebec City: “One of the most convivial, playful, unabashedly fun dining experiences I’ve had anywhere in North America.”
9) The Acorn, Vancouver: “That the food is meatless is almost beside the point unless you’re a foodie vegetarian who’s long hankered for a compromise-free night on the town.”
10) Electric Mud, Toronto: “Electric Mud is a twisted hymn to the American South.”