Porco Rosso

Conch fritter

Deluxe is a Cuban-French restaurant that was one of the first trendy restaurants to open on the hot Ossington strip. Foregoing the typical Latin-American restaurant decor, the bourgeois dark chocolate look with plush seats would infuriate Fidel and his revolutionaries.

I stopped by for lunch on a pleasant November morning. The conch fritters ($8) were 5 pieces of deep-fried puree conch. There was only a hint of seafood in each bite, but the fried batter went well with the rich, aioli-like dipping sauce. The fried green plantain ($3) arrived out lumpy and starchy. I prefer the crisp, chip-like variation at La Bella Manuaga. No complaints about the fried ripe plantain ($3): slightly sweet, hot and tasty.

Pressed Cubano & fried plantain

My main dish was the pressed Cubano ($10), a variation on the ham and cheese. This version was loaded with ham, roasted pork, and dijon mustard. The bread was crispy and deliciously greasy. But this sandwich suffers the same deficiency as the tosta mista  (Portuguese ham and cheese) by Sky Blue Sky sandwich shop: a monotony of flavour. With so much meat and no other toppings, after a couple of bites, the lack of additional flavour or texture equals a diminishing enjoyment. This is best shared with others, leaving you room to sample other dishes. Lunch ended with coffee and donuts ($6). This sugary over-sized cousin to the timbit made a great dessert.