Hot ingredient: Hay smoke
Kelowna, BC: Mission Hill Terrace Restaurant, 1730 Mission Hill Rd. The winery’s stunning vistas are matched only by the alfresco restaurant’s local menu. The chef Matthew Batey uses a deft hand (and nose) to pair local ingredients with the winery’s top tipples. The dish Tender, hay-smoked lamb is sauced with the winery’s own Oculus cherries preserved in Mission Hill Family Estates wine.
Boston: Clio, 370 Commonwealth Ave. This buzzy upscale restaurant in the Eliot Hotel boats a soupcon of French élan. The chef Co-owner Ken Oringer dishes out colourfully creative dishes. The dish A roasted-in-hay heirloom- carrot salad with harissa, Seville orange and goat butter.
Copenhagen: Noma, Strandgade 93, 1401 København K. One of the world’s top restaurants, it boasts hours-long multi-course meals for destination eating. The chef René Redzepi has reinvented fine dining so that every meal is a culinary adventure. The dish Redzepi uses hay smoke in countless creations, from an appetizer of hay-smoked quail eggs served on a bed of smoking hay to Strawberries and Stra, a dessert matching ripe fruit with a hay-infused parfait.
Toronto: Don Don Izakaya, 130 Dundas St. W. This izakaya (offering Japanese-style small plates for sharing) is always packed and delightfully raucous. The chef Daisuke Izutsu leads the busy kitchen line. The dish Gather around the bar or sit shoeless in private tatami rooms to enjoy rounds of sake and sample specialties such as hay-smoked butterfish, sliced sashimi-style, simply salted and served with sliced garlic.
