ith dexterous tongues and discerning palettes, you, our dear readers, have identified the finest in Canada's cuisine scene, skimming the worthy off the melting pot and helping to create the 101 Essential Restaurants guide. This year, Toronto's hot spots not only doled out fantastic fare but also strove to bolster the city's up-and-coming neighbourhoods, like culinary uppers. Montreal continued doing what it does best: straddling the line between its roots and the epicurean world's cutting edge. Calgary restaurants utilized the area's lush and plentiful produce for a healthy and flavourful finish, while Vancouver's chow world brimmed with young, talented chefs who melded East and West into delicious and unique Frankenstein-style amalgamations.
Now, peruse Canada's 101 Best spots to sit, sip, chew, and swallow - in that order - and make a point to explore the unfamiliar and fabulous. You're welcome.

101: Toqué, Montreal

Toqué is an expression for someone who won’t accept anything but the best, and this resto caters to that idea. Chef de cuisine, Charles-Antoine Crête (under the helm of Chef Normand Laprise), uses the season’s freshest ingredients. The fundamentals are covered: first-rate cuisine, attentive yet unobtrusive service, and subdued lighting that's perfect for stolen glances. Take a date and soak up the atmosphere; you’ll be back (probably with a different date (shh). Oh, and I know that you want to wear a warm winter hat, but that's because you're a philistine. Warmth has no place in haute cuisine. Wait, what? –M.A. 900 place Jean-Paul-Riopelle, Montreal, QC. 514-499-2084
101 Essential Restaurants: Complete Guide

100: The Tribune, Calgary

The Tribune offers double-Windsor-knot wearers meals of amped-up standard fare in aesthetically impressive packages. Chef Andrew Keen's menu features such items as chicken with tarragon-citrus marinade, New York steak, or red deer chop. The lounge has an exotic and lush urban feel that's perfect for relaxing after work with a martini or a glass of wine. Whether you’re the out-there type or not, this restaurant is certainly a good spot to visit for classy dining with a hip, urban feel. If you must bring the kiddies, dress them up in pint-sized designer duds and avoid tantrums at all costs, else face the wrath of your fellow haute diners. – S.B. 118 8th Avenue SW, Calgary, AB. 403-269-3160
101 Essential Restaurants: Complete Guide

99: Vella, Montreal

Chef John Vella assures restaurant-goers that his cuisine will be “just like Mom’s cooking.” I don’t know about you but, to me, that’s not a good thing. It means chicken fingers and anything frozen, not to mention bread pudding. Yuck! I’m pretty confident that Chef John Vella’s mother was a much better chef than mine (sorry, Mom). In the space that previously housed Alto Palato, the chef has launched his own self-titled eatery; a little cocky, but clearly he has the goods to back it up. The space is very similar to the deposed occupant, but the crowning glory is the Mediterranean fare. Chef Vella combines Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian influences in his cuisine, which makes this joint an interesting and worthwhile hot spot for somewhere new to stuff yourself. –S.B. 5282 Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC. 514-274-8447
101 Essential Restaurants: Complete Guide

98: Café Koi, Calgary

There’s something about local art that just makes me hungry. If I don’t go into a gallery with a full meal in a doggy bag, it’s inevitable that I’m going to cause trouble. Fortunately there’s a spot for me and my people in Calgary...I’ll never feel so painfully alone again. Restaurateur and head chef Philip Wong has teamed forces with some local artist and musicians to bring delicious meals to all the local art snobs. The menu has a deliberately nutritious bend (we are dealing with underfed art people here), but lessons the blow with such humorous menu titles as “ninja food” and "double happiness." Kidding aside, it is a wonderful menu in a stimulating environment (paintings by local artists fill the walls, and musicians frequently make appearances) with plenty of fascinating patrons just aching for attention and conversation. The only catch is that you have to be young and/or hip to attend, so figure out how to properly present yourself before you even consider making a reservation. – P.B. 100 1011 - 1st Street South-West, Calgary, AB. 403-206-1564
101 Essential Restaurants: Complete Guide

97: Restaurant XO, Montreal

Executive Chef Éric Gonzalez puts a new twist on French cuisine at XO. The menu mixes traditional French fare with contemporary touches from around the rest of the world. Take the tempura grouper fillet or the wild sea bass with paella-style risotto for example. XO is nestled into the private luxury that is the St. James hotel, which, like Gonzalez’s food, is a mixture of historical and modern architecture and design. Don't eat the stairs. –J.T. 355 St-Jacques Street, Montreal, QC. 514-841-5000
101 Essential Restaurants: Complete Guide

96: The Coup, Calgary

The Coup is a neo-hippie paradise. Owner Tabitha Archer’s philosophy is grounded in environmentally-conscious and health-conscious progressive attitudes. The Coup recycles everything and uses all the recycled material it can get its hands on from the sign out front to the toilet paper. Even the left over gas from the oven is put to use fueling a neighborhood friend’s vehicle. The menu is full of vegetarian and vegan options and every choice is a healthy one. The Coup is now open for breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays, so all you health freaks can go get some granola, quinoa and free-range eggs in the AM. –J.T. 924b 17th Avenue SW, Calgary, AB. 403-541-1041
101 Essential Restaurants: Complete Guide

95: Didier Restaurant, Toronto

Didier Restaurant should be treated as a reward for those times in life when you have been very good. Didier is proof that fine dining doesn’t have to be predictable. Credit goes foremost to Chef Didier Leroy himself, who, perhaps in a weirdly, unconscious tribute, left the space (formerly Rhodes) virtually unchanged. As one of Toronto’s most talented chefs, Leroy has shown he has the skill to orchestrate his own place. His menu is filled with signature dishes reminiscent of his days at The Fifth, or perhaps earlier at Auberge Gavroche, with each dish including at least one surprise ingredient that makes you want to try everything. –B.J. (edited by S.B.) 1496 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON. 416-925-8588
101 Essential Restaurants: Complete Guide

94: Zen Ya, Montreal

The appeal of Zen Ya can be summed up in three little words: damn good sushi. A line of ravenous, passionate, sushi-lovers forms outside this elegant, second-floor restaurant; inside, hungry diners choose from an interesting array of teriyaki and shioyaki selections. But, the real gem is the sushi, which features freshly prepared rolls of hamachi (yellowtail), unagi (broiled eel), and tekkyuu-maki (maguro and cucumber in a maki roll), all prepared by Chef Magu. The lengthy menu also offers miso-marinated baked Malpeque oysters, teriyaki and shioyaki plates and ramen and udon soups. A succulent identity crisis, Zen Ya will indeed, um, food Zen ya (sorry Buddhists, I've verbed your noun). - R.B. 486 Ste. Catherine Street West, Montreal, QC. 514-904-1363
101 Essential Restaurants: Complete Guide

93: Teatro, Calgary

The pillars, vaulted ceilings and Victorian banquettes of Teatro make an appropriate setting for Executive Chef Dominique Moussu’s extravagant Italian cuisine. Moussu has an obvious flare for cooking up traditional Italian fare and he adds a twist of his own, usually Quebec fois gras. All the pastas, bread, bruschetta spread, and chocolate are made in house. Teatro doesn’t even have a freezer, so you can be sure you’re getting the freshest food available. The luxury item on the menu is the fois gras-stuffed ravioli which is served with a few dishes or even on its own. Gorgeous. –J.T. 200 8 Avenue SE, Calgary, AB. 403-290-1012
101 Essential Restaurants: Complete Guide