The Last Temptation

Kensington Market, where people moving to the ebb and flow of world events make a pit stop. Among them, enclaves of hippies, struggling students, chefs shopping with integrity, preppies from the suburbs buying torn jeans from secondhand stores on gold credit cards, and savvy restaurateurs and shopkeepers who've seen it all. Last Temptation is a cafe named after a novel by Kazantzakis and owned by William Pham. Hummus with pita is smooth with a garlicky tang, green and white linguine primavera is generous and fresh, Oriental chicken or shrimp stir-fry sings of garlic or ginger, spicy roti is fresh and cooked with a light hand. Fresh fruit salad on yogurt is swirled with honey and cinnamon. A tiny price buys a main course with salad. And it's all served on white plates with blue trim, gold edges, and pictures of Hebrew tablets.