"When a trio of Maison Publique alum opened their restaurant/food shop in Montreal’s Little Italy in December, they named it Salle Climatisée after signs in Parisian café windows indicating that the place has air conditioning. In Covid times, the promise of good ventilation and a great meal are almost equally tempting. But it’s the latter that lures the passersby — for morning coffees and apple-tahini turnovers, lunchtime roasted-rutabaga sandwiches lathered with creamy garlic confit and, at dinnertime, bronzed half chickens lined with ’nduja sausage, chicken hearts and Swiss chard."

Rank: #47 "Martin Picard’s sugar shack defines FOMO in Quebec—a decade in, it’s still a race to get reservations. At his rustic outpost 45 minutes from Montreal, sidle into a communal table or hop onto bar stools made from John Deere tractor seats for 11 courses of unrepentant cuisine that reminds you to seize the day… or at least die trying."

"“We sat down and said, ‘Let’s make German food cool.’ ”Top Chef Canada finalist Nathan Guggenheimer and his team did just that when he took over the 22-year-old Old Black Forest Restaurant in Lunenburg, N.S. The new Old Black Forest still serves schnitzel and sausages, maultaschen and käsespätzle — but with a twist. “We wanted to bring it into the 21st century,” says Guggenheimer, aka Chef Googs."

"Remove from the equation the once-coveted stools at the bar and cut back by 50 per cent the seating in the small intimate dining room, and you’ll find that the prospective figures for operating dine-in at Jenner Cormier’s Bar Kismet to be wanting. So, last June, Cormier and his wife, chef Annie Brace-Lavoie, took a pass on Halifax’s controlled reopening and stuck to their highly popular takeout."

"Last year Ned Bell returned home. The Penticton-born chef became a co-owner — with his wife, PR whiz Kate Colley, and partners Paul Hollands and Maria Wiesner — of the Naramata Inn, an unpolished 1907 wine-country gem, now regaining its lustre as “a really good restaurant…with rooms,” as touted on the inn’s website. Already, the Naramata is the hottest reservation of summer."

Canada's 100 Best 2021 - British Columbia

"Tourism season is bread and butter for providers of hospitality on Prince Edward Island. Last summer, the island’s marquee attraction for hungry locals and visitors — TV-star chef Michael Smith’s Inn at Bay Fortune and Inn at Fortune Bridge — invited islanders to pop in and enjoy their Farm-to-Picnic baskets, packed with goodies made from the bounty of local producers."

"When Brandon Grossutti, owner of Vancouver’s Pidgin, signed his first contract with a third-party delivery service, he knew the numbers didn’t make sense. With a background in software architecture, algorithmic trading and business development, Grossutti was uniquely qualified to come up with a better grassroots delivery solution. He began coding in early March last year and then enlisted the help of two local software firms to finish the platform. The FromTo delivery service processed its first order in early May and now has 33 restaurants onboard, plus another 184 in staging, waiting on platform improvements, and a new app needs to be completed."

Canada's 100 Best 2021 - British Columbia

Rank: #82

Canada's 100 Best 2020 - British Columbia

Rank: #5 "A stone’s throw from the landmark Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, Raymonds is connected to its location in every possible way. But nothing here speaks of its place quite so loudly and compellingly as the cooking—and especially the seven-course tasting menus. In summer, expect local seafood, from halibut and lobster to scallops, sliced raw and simply dressed, or shredded snow crab with lightly cooked, peeled cherry tomatoes."

Rank: #34 "In the heart of Quidi Vidi Village, the historic fishing community in St. John’s, 300-yearold Mallard Cottage is officially recognized as one of the oldest wooden buildings in North America. But inside the 65-seat dining room, chef Todd Perrin’s reimagined Newfoundland cuisine is anything but traditional. With a daily menu written on a chalkboard near the open kitchen, the eatery feels more like a down-home kitchen party than a serious restaurant."