Awai Vegan Restaurant, Toronto

Awai is the creation of someone I consider one of toronto's most accomplished philosopher chefs, Nathan Isberg. Chef Isberg is remarkably creative in combining a very wide range of far reaching flavours. I have followed him through his evolution of restos, last being Atlantic and now the vegan Awai. At Awai, servers are not tipped as menu prices include gratuities. Chef Isberg has installed a large wood burning oven.

Porcini mushroom and cauliflower with mountain pepper jerk and topped with sliced black truffles.

Golden beet veloute with rose petals, pistachios and berbere spices.

A salad of apples cooked in coals overnight, dehydrated apples, raddichio cooked directly on embers, crisp castle franco with a mustard pickle-kombucha dressing and seasoned with rose and z’atar.

Roasted cherry tomato coca (Catalan sourdough flatbread cooked in the wood burning oven) with Temiskaming spices.

Shishito peppers, Morrocan olives and arugula allioli on coca.

Artichokes barigoule ravoioles, pea tips veloutes and migas.

Coal cooked potatoes ztrapacka, black kale and baharat seasoning.

Paella made with black rice, wild mushrooms (chanterelles, etc), huitlacoche, burgundian truffles, crisp trapline wild rice and amontillado sherry.

Tatin- confit of honey crisp apples, rosemary and almond cream 

Caramelized salsify brulee.