It’s no secret that many gastronomes don’t look kindly upon vegetarian cuisine. Many chefs are disdainful to the point of hatred towards the meat-free set, and it’s rare to see restaurant reviews in the mainstream press give a mention to the menu’s vegetarian options, let alone see a completely vegetarian place get feature coverage.

So I was bit surprised to find the recently relocated Asian veggie restaurant Café 668 reviewed in today’s Globe & Mail, and even more surprised to find that the unrepentantly carnivorous Joanne Kates actually liked the food - except for, somewhat ironically, the faux-meat dishes:

[W]heat gluten, a.k.a. veggie chicken, has no taste and has the texture of an overcooked rubber tire. Feh. Same for the “veggie beef” and other unfortunate moments when wheat gluten is asked to be something it’s not.

But we adore the unabashedly vegetarian food. Café 668’s kitchen manages to pack more than the usual amount of flavour into non-meat items. Summer rolls are rice-paper-wrapped round mushrooms, deep-fried tofu matchsticks, julienne of green beans, carrots, celery and cabbage, with Thai basil and aggressively toasted peanuts. The result is deep flavour. House dipping sauce of sweet soy with rice vinegar doesn’t hurt. Fresh salad rolls sing a similar tune, as do non-greasy spring rolls. Gossamer pan-fried dumplings stuffed with mixed veg are equally charming. Who needs meat?

Also in the Globe:

• Beppi Crosariol tells us not to be afraid of having a white (wine) Christmas.
• Lucy Waverman has some recipes for Hanukkah (mmmm… latkes!), and also pops up in the Books section with mini-reviews of 13 cookbooks and foodie memoirs for your holiday gift consideration.
• Sasha Chapman marks the end of the Brickworks market season with fungi from the Fun Guy.
• In the Travel section, Barbara Ramsay Orr lists some of the best beachside restaurants and bars in the Caribbean.

Speaking of fun - over in the Toronto Star, Amy Pataki checks out two places known for giving their diners a fun time, Seven Numbers and The Big Ragu. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have much fun at either place, especially the latter:

At the rate of one dish an hour, we get a typical Big Ragu dinner: whiffy seafood salad ($14) and a nice prosciutto-and-fig plate dressed up with creamy Italian brie to start, followed by a pasta course three times larger than would comfortably allow further eating; regulars know to share. The vaunted rigatoni alla carbonara ($14) is tasteless, the sauce grainy. Gnocchi ($16) are light but gummy at the core, nicely punched up with smoked scamorza cheese.

When the server finally clears the half-eaten pastas dishes, she asks if we have room for dessert.

“We’re still waiting for our main course,” we say.

“Oh. I’ll call it in,” she says.

I’m ready to call it, period.

Also in the Star:

• Gordon Stimmell decants five big reds to help fight the winter blahs.
• Susan Sampson warns that you should “approach respectfully and proceed with caution” when using a mandolin.
• Bill Taylor pays a visit to Simon’s Newsstand and Restaurant, a Niagara Falls institution that’s been open since 1884.
• In the Travel section, Richard Ouzounian enjoys six meals in Charleston, South Carolina, and some tips are also given on several food-related Charleston happenings that are exclusive to the Christmas season.

In the National Post, Gina Mallet reminds us of her intense dislike for dry, flavourless, industrially-raised chicken, and then swoons over a free-range chicken dish prepared by chef Michael Steh at Reds:

My eyes slide past the Voltigeurs Chicken Supreme on the Reds menu. We’re six at the table, pledged to each eat something different, but when the orders are totted up, nobody’s gone for the hen. A little arm twisting ensues. With a martyred look, the designated chicken eater digs in — and then she has to hide the plate. The chicken is to die for. Chef Michael Steh restores the glory of the forgotten fowl. The free-range chicken is from Quebec and Steh has composed fat little rounds of juicy tender chicken breast with smoked bacon, delectable jus and a little pot of potatoes gratin dauphinois, a rich buttery crusty spin on homely scalloped potatoes.

Also in the Post:

• Michael Vaughan wonders who really needs a 5 litre bottle of a mediocre wine.
• Jason Chow tries some Mexican-style hot chocolate.
• Bonnie Stern suggests a stack of cookbooks for the food-lovers on your Christmas shopping list.