While Hogtown, in all its endearing wannabe charm, may never be a culinary capital like Paris, it has of late been experiencing a mini-French revolution. With beautiful boîtes like Batifole, Tati, Amuse Bouche, Atelier Thuet and Marron proudly waving the standard of le bleu, blanc et rouge in recent years, the fight to win over the cold, hard calorie-conscious hearts of Toronto diners everywhere is definitely on.

And though the battle may still be in its infancy, if Montreal-born chef Corinna Mozo’s new western outpost, Delux, is any indication of the quality that keeps coming out of these kitchens, we’ll gladly surrender our allegiance to the goddess of duck fat right now.

Mozo’s charming 38-seat bistro manages to feel sophisticated while maintaining a measure of rustic romanticism. An alphabet light box installation hangs on one wall, while bundled rolls of fluorescent tubing, designed by Mozo’s cabinet-making husband, hang from the ceiling — adding ambience and a certain gallery feel to the artist-friendly locale.

A gorgeous smoky flatiron steak ($23), done to a perfect medium rare, has a perfectly bloody carnivorous chew and an almost buttery consistency. An added mound of greaseless, thin-cut frites are like thrilling Obamas to the usual, tired McCains on most bistro plates. A Cubano sandwich ($12), loaded with ham, gooey gruyère, tart pickles and tender slices of pressed pork shoulder has us forgetting to breath between chews. Ditto the wild mushroom tart ($9) accented with squash and creamy ricotta wrapped up in a textbook butter pastry crust.

But there’s trouble in paradise: the moules mariniere ($11), although enormous and plump, remain mostly closed. And the white wine sauce they swim in can unfortunately be mistaken for a beurre blanc.

Thankfully, a trout meunière ($17) gets this repast back on track: fillets of crisp, lemony-skinned flesh sided with a delightful purée of cauliflower in a pool of garlicky brown butter. It’s an umami tsunami in the mouth.

By the time a free-form apple galette ($7) makes its way to the table, we’ve forgiven them their trespasses. As a matter of fact, the only thing worth whining about is the fact that our cramped booths are better suited for the Olsen twins than fully grown human beings. (With portions this generous, you have to account for some belly room.) And you definitely want to find room for this bundle of hand-folded pastry-and-apple godliness. Not to mention baked-to-order bittersweet chocolate chunk cookies ($7), which come with a refreshing glass of organic milk.

Just three months in, this crew is in fine form, with an exhibition of food finesse and fine service. We can’t say it more simply: Delux is utterly delicious.

Email us at: LETTERS@EYEWEEKLY.COM or send your questions to EYEWEEKLY.COM
625 Church St, 6th Floor, Toronto M4Y 2G1