When I was a student at George Brown Chef's School, our teacher brought in renowned chef Michael Bonancini to give a pep talk to the class. It was 1994, and he had just partnered with Peter Oliver to open Jump, a big Manhattan-style power restaurant in the Financial District.
Tall, charming and armed with a crinkly smile, the Welshman's enthusiasm was so infectious, his confidence so assured, everyone in that room wanted to eat at Jump, work at Jump, hell they wanted to invest their life savings in Jump. It was clear that this man was going places.In 2010, Oliver and Bonancini Restaurants is an unstoppable force. They have four fine dining restaurants in Toronto, four O&B Café Grills around Ontario and three more projects slated to open in Toronto this year: an O&B Café Grill at the corner of Yonge and Front Streets, and two new concepts in the Bell Lightbox, future home of the Toronto International Film Festival.While I always try to support the little guy, I'm also fascinated to see what makes the big guys so successful. Which brings me to Biff's, O&B's bistro currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. With major renovations in progress at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts across the street and at the new restaurant next door, I expected Biff's to be quiet. Wrong. The handsome zinc bar is three deep with suits knocking back buck-a-shuck oysters, and at 6:25 p.m. we are shown to one of the last available tables. To paraphrase the Scorpions, the place is rockin' like a hurricane.To start, cream of mushroom soup is light in texture and deeply flavoured. I don't taste any of the promised tarragon, but I love the chewy threads of enoki. Shrimp pate has the consistency of a fluffy crab salad, barely bound with mayo and seasoned with chives. Served with toasted baguette, this is a refreshing antidote to the usual fatty, porcine charcuterie.Duck confit is awesome; a yin yang of cracker-crisp skin and salty, succulent flesh. A juicy link of boudin noir plays the wingman with a pot of house-made grainy mustard cutting through the fat. This is a dish worth returning for again and again. Lamb brings a tiny, yet tender New Zealand rack served with Parisian herbed gnocchi and deep red tomato compote. It's good, but not $35 good.Desserts are worth saving room for, such as a terrific date cake topped with a tangy scoop of creme fraiche ice cream in a generous puddle of plate-licking toffee sauce.Bay Street restaurants are generally not my cup of tea, but it's hard to resist solid bistro cooking and a well-priced wine list bejewelled with bottles like 13th Street Gamay Noir 2007, a Niagara-style Beaujolais perfectly suited to the hearty French fare. Throw in friendly service, and it's pretty clear why O&B is such a huge success. Biff's Bistro4 Front St. E. (at Yonge St.)416-860-0086Dinner for two with wine, tax and tip: $150www.oliverbonacini.com