The Big Apple might be the Capital of the World, but it still has room for Canada’s West Coast in its heart—showing some love for our food in particular.

The venerable New York Times has given nods to two B.C. originals this week alone.

First, there was Monday’s (January 15) mention of local oysters. “Fanny Bays from the West Coast of Canada offer mellow flavor touched with salt,” wrote Florence Fabricant in a brief blurb, who noted the bivalves can be found at New York’s Chelsea Market.

Then, there was the glowing article—plus beautiful 10-photo slide show (by Rafal Gerszak)—dedicated to Kissa Tanto (263 East Pender Street). (The article ran online on January 16 and appears in print on January 17.)

Critic Pete Wells was wowed by the Chinatown spot helmed by chef Joël Watanabe, sous chef Alain Chow, and partner Tannis Ling.

“After eating in other restaurants that tried to pull off Italian-Japanese fusion, I have walked out asking: Why?” he wrote. “My first few tastes of Joel Watanabe’s cooking at Kissa Tanto made me ask: Why not?”

Wells described the place as conjuring a “parallel imaginary world”, one where the croquettes and a salad of eggplant with pickled daikon were “lovely”, the hand-cut tajarin pasta “virtually perfect”.

His only quibbles were a porchetta stuffing, in the agnolotti, needing more lubrication, while the lasagna “never came together”.

Never mind. He swooned over the golden fried whole fish and the roasted sablefish.

“At Kissa Tanto, there’s imagination all over the place,” Wells wrote. “It’s a restaurant to get lost in.”

As if getting reservations here wasn’t hard enough ever since Kissa Tanto was named Canada’s best new restaurant by enRoute magazine in 2016. Good luck with that now. You might want to start looking at your spring or summer schedule.