GLOBAL
eATS
Chubby’S JAmAiCAn KitChen
Chef de cuisine Donavon
Campbell grills jerk chicken and
pork on a firepit—they’re licked
with scotch bonnet, and the heat
builds with each bite. There’s
also ferocious heat in his goat
and chicken curries, his pepper
shrimp, and even his hand-
pressed Jamaican patties. You’ll
need a few bottles of Red Stripe
or, better yet, the house rum
punch—so popular, it’s on tap.
104 Portland St., 416-792-8105;
chubbysjamaican.com
Aloette The menu here will
never leave you bored. The
kitchen is led by former Alo
sous chef Matthew Betsch,
who brings an uncommon
intensity—of flavour, of
thinking, of fun—to every dish.
Unfussy but terrifically delicious:
I’ve had lusciously meaty
Burgundy snails in a bowl of Puy
lentils, greens, and a squirt of
lemon; scallop sashimi served
on mini-tostadas with crema,
diced apple, and jalapeño; pulled
lamb shoulder, at once crispy,
fatty, and tender, tossed in a
salad of Israeli couscous, slices
of orange, chili, ras el hanout,
22 where
May-June 2018
yogurt dressing, and big leaves
of mint and basil. There’s a bread
course worth gushing about:
toasted slices of cheese bread
made with aged cheddar and
potato dough, with a spread
of brown butter mixed with
toasted yeast—toast upon toast
upon toast. The talk of the town,
however, is Betsch’s burger.
Naturally, it’s no ordinary chuck
patty, given added oomph from
aged beef fat, and topped with
fried cheese and pickled vidalia
onions, the bun house-made,
the side of fries double-crisped. Kiin Nuit
Regular built
her empire
of Thai
restaurants
with soporific bowls of khao
soi. At Kiin, she’s dabbling in
Royal Thai—a rarefied style
of cooking. Everything is
so daintily pretty. Start with
the platter of thoong thong,
mha hor, chor ladda, and
rhoom: four single bites that
combine the bright, contrast-
ing flavours of pickled turnip,
peanut paste, lemongrass,
fried shrimp, and gelatinous
rice dyed with bright blue tea
from the poetic-sounding but-
terfly pea. A grilled whole sea
bream, flesh kept moist with a
sea-salt crust, gets pulled apart
and wrapped in leaves of baby
gem lettuce with Thai basil,
pickled shallots, a