A pound of beautiful mussels bathes in a rich and righteous coconut cream sauce. Paddling in there, onions, capers, cilantro, and chopped kale crisped up with lots of garlic

By Anne DesBrisay

The captain’s chairs have the gnarly look you want from a place that calls itself a tavern. So do the checkered linoleum floors and the beat-up table bases.

But where did the white linen napkins come from? The reclaimed wooden table tops? What about the luscious beurre noisette in the butter pot? That same noon hour at the Elmdale Oyster House & Tavern, sitting in front of me was a stainless steel bowl with a pound of the best mussels I’ve had all year. If this is the tavern for the modern age — with a kitchen and a bar that shucks oysters — I’m for it.

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Trout — tangy, sour, spicy, and sweet. The flesh remained soft within its crisp crust and the sauce was simply joyful

By Anne DesBrisay

I wouldn’t ever do this in my own kitchen. This is a dish you leave home for.

Pla Sam Rot: described on the Thai Flame menu as “Deep fillet crispy topped with sweet and sour sauce.” Translated literally, pla sam rot means “three flavour fish,” generally cooked whole and smothered in a bright and lively, colour-charged topping that simply banishes winter.

It was looking for the old Taste of Japan restaurant in a little strip mall on Robertson Road (its windows sadly papered over) that led me here. I had had a sense that Taste of Japan was gone, possibly long gone, but I couldn’t remember. Sure enough, there it was, lights out, but (now) not forgotten and now with a neighbour worth exploring.

Thai Flame is a newish Thai restaurant, two doors away from the old Japanese, run by a Laotian couple who once ran the That Luang restaurant on Wellington West.

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Fine fish: The roasted cod wears a thick and bumpy blanket of toasted nuts, finely chopped and mixed into a chunky tomato and garlic sauce.

By Anne DesBrisay

In the 20-some years I’ve been walking into El Meson I’ve never not been greeted by José Alves. He’s been very much the man in charge of this rock steady Iberian restaurant for 25 years.

So it was something of a shocker to find myself face to face with a kid last week. Not much else was off. The place looks the same — there’s been no stripping tables down to the veneer, no hauling up of carpet, no reclaimed modernist overhaul. The lunch menu seems largely unchanged, and I certainly recognized my server from years past.

Looking around at the noontime clientele — a table of men in suits, a few of the New Edinburgh elegant elders — the crowd seemed ’bout right. But there is news at El Meson. Big news. José and Maria Alves retired last spring (and may I use this page to thank them and wish them all the very best).

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Comfort food with personality; Brut's fried chicken is fabulous.

This is a lunch pick, not a restaurant review, but for readers who are less familiar with Brut Cantina Sociale (the culinary “new kid” located on Hull’s main drag), allow me to offer a brief introduction. The name makes reference to its Spanish muse, the casual tapas bar, but this one-of-a-kind spot takes a modern, soulful twist on classic French and traditional Quebecois cuisines. The result is something special.

Following the vision of first-time executive chef Danny Mongeon, Brut is quietly earning a reputation as a creative, quirky, and downright exciting and delicious place to dine in the nation’s capital region. Mongeon’s constantly changing, largely carnivorous menu (horse and rabbit accompany the more predictable proteins) places an emphasis on fresh-from-the-farm ingredients (there’s a hand-drawn map of its local food suppliers on the restaurant’s chalkboard wall) as well as house-made everything from pastas and preserves to condiments and charcuterie (beef tongue pastrami anyone?).

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