200 Toronto Things: Come up to my room at the Gladstone

I headed to Parkdale  January 27 to see Come Up to My Room - where a bunch of artists decorate/make art in each Gladstone room. The cool bit was that they were at hand, and could explain their art. (I need that!)



These were in the common area - this piece of art was made with scrap cloth, and was all bow-ties.

And this one was cool too -  The postcards were tied with string, which was pinned to the pin corresponding to the location they were sent from. I'd like to do something like that with my souvenirs.

Somewhere, lying around in my apartment is the little art booklet they handed us. If I find it, I'll scan it in.

200 Toronto Things: A snack at Arepa Cafe

I was heading towards a Toronto Beer Lovers event at Wyrst on Feb 29, and was, for an incredible change, running super early. I took advantage of this rare opportunity, and stopped at Arepa Cafe for a quick snack.

Fried yucca, with guacamole. Accompanied by a trio of sauces (not pictured), including one hot sauce that was so spicy, I was in pain. Love it! (And a good value - this was $3.50. I like good values.)

200 Toronto Things: Wandering around Chinatown, with () an art gallery and () cookies

On March 2, I had a grilled cheese groupon that was expiring, so I headed to Leslieville Cheese Market at Queen and Spadina to grab some grilled cheese. 

Once that was done, I was a bit at a loose end, and decided to head to the Art Gallery to see an art exhibit. 

 

The exhibit was called Half The Sky. Cliff notes: 

The East Gallery celebrates International Women’s Day with ‘Half the Sky'.
The East Gallery celebrates International Women’s Day with ‘Half the Sky’, a group show of leading female contemporary artists from Vietnam and Burma. Burmese artist Nann Nann will join us for the opening reception and various events during the show.

 

The stuff was interesting, I guess. The problem was that the Art Gallery was also a coffee shop, and I couldn't really see everything for fear of disturbing people drinking their coffee. But the more fundamental problem is that I don't know anything about art, and so I really need guided talks to ensure I learn something. 

After the gallery, I wandered into a couple of bakeries, include Prince Bakery Hot Pot Cafe. I bought some walnut cookies, which, alas, are still languishing in my cupboards. I found them really, really eggy. Meh.

 

Somewhere there, there was also a stop at the Village Idiot, to grab a pint. It was a weird day though - I'm usually happy to wander, but on this particular day, I was pretty 'meh' about everything.

My 'meh'-ness can be summarized by this key fact - I only drank a half of my Sam Adams pint - declining to drink the rest. Weirdness.

200 Toronto Things: () Dinner at Commensal

Way back in the time tunnel, (Jan 29) I had dinner with my parents at Commensal.

A nostalgic Commensal story - when I was in my early 20s, I needed to travel to Montreal to get an American visa renewed. My friend Shirin and me set off in my car. We didn't speak much French, we wandered into Commensal, thinking it was a buffet, filled out plates high with food, and then got some sticker shock about the fact that it was a pay-by-weight place. I think each of us spent $15 on lunch, which seemed like a fortune in 1994-1996 dollars.

Anyway, Commensal has one location in Toronto, but I think, despite the nostalgia, that I've only been once. This time around, my parents had a Groupon, and so we went. I stuck to the salads and salad-like things, and liked what I had. Madhav had the hot food and disliked everything intensely. Overall, not bad, but definitely overpriced - without the Groupon, we would have spent close to ~20 a person for a small/medium plate of food (not piled high at all), and that's crazy for basically cafetaria-style food.

200 Toronto Things: Wandering on Queen East, with () Ethiopian food, () shortbread, () quiche and () coffee

Friday afternoon, March 16 - the weather was lovely and warm, and I decided I was going to give up on cleaning my apartment, and go for a food walk instead. (In which I walk from place to place, eating food.) The starting point was Queen and Yonge, with a goal of heading east along Queen till I ran out of steam. 

So much fun! Must do it more often. 

Food stops - the first food stop was an unnamed coffee shop where I grabbed some pumpkin bread. Alas, this coffee shop was not photographed. 

Right after, and practically next door was Keefaa - an Ethiopian coffee shop and food - where I shared a delicious bowl of foul with a friend.

It was pretty. 

But quickly eaten.

 As I headed east, I was intrigued by Mary Macleod's. I wanted lemon shortbread - they didn't have any. Instead I settled for some orange-chocolate shortbread, yummy!

  

Then, I walked a bit, till I got to Leslieville. In Leslieville, realizing that it had been more than 15 minutes since I'd eaten something, I quickly ducked into the Canadian Pie Company. 

I had a savory asparagus and cheddar quiche. It was yummy! (Wall of pies = total picture awesomeness.)

 The final stop was for some coffee. We picked this lovely, warm-looking coffee shop called Tango Palace.

The decor was funky and interesting, the light was warm, it was quite the most awesome place.

 The coffee was delicious as well.

Then, since it was dark at that point, I got on a streetcar and came home. What a fun afternoon! I should do this kind of thing more!

200 Toronto Things: Dinner at Loving Hut

Yesterday evening, I left work, it was lovely and warm, and I decided to head to the fashion district since King's Textiles was having a moving sale.

Sadly, I got there right at 6.00pm, when they had *just* closed. To console myself, I decided to eat next door at Loving Hut.

Meh. Expensive, not delicious. Organic and vegan somehow also seem codewords for not-good-value-for-money. My sweet-and-sour-strips were $12.

Still, if you don't try, how do you know, right?

200 Toronto Things: The List

1. Ka Chi - Korean food, restaurant, Jan 5, 2012.
2. Lucky Moose - grocery store, Jan 5, 2012.
3. The Construction Site - grilled cheese, restaurant, Jan 6, 2012.
4. Gandhi - Indian food, restaurant, Jan 6, 2012. 
5. Hyponogogic Logic - play, Jan 6, 2012.
6. Loblaws at Queen West - grocery store, Jan 6, 2012.
7. Chagall at the AGO - museum, Jan 8, 2012.
8. The French Cafe - coffee shop, Jan 8, 2012.
9. Om - Tibetan food, restaurant, Jan 18, 2012.
10. Bar Salumi - bar, wine Jan 18, 2012.
11. Propeller - art gallery, Jan 19, 2012.
12. Baccus Roti - roti, restaurant, Jan 19, 2012.
13. Dominion on Queen - beer, bar, Jan 20, 2012
14. Nella Cucina - class, bread, Jan 21, 2012.
15. Pampanguena - grocery store, Jan 21, 2012.
16. Mezzetta - tapas, restaurant, Jan 23, 2012.
17. Far Niente - contemporary food, restaurant, Jan 27, 2012.
18. Come up to my room at the Gladstone - art gallery, Jan 27, 2012. 
19. Commensal - vegetarian food, restaurant, Jan 29, 2012.


xx. Banu - Iranian food, restaurant, Feb 3, 2012.
xx. Moonbeam - coffee shop, Feb 3, 2012.
xx. Zeitun - Turkish food, restaurant, Feb 3, 2012.
xx. Pho Huang - Vietnamese food, restaurant,  Feb 10, 2012.
xx. Royal Conservatory Orchestra at Kroener Hall - concert, Feb 17, 2012.
xx. Leslieville Cheese Market - grilled cheese, restaurant, Feb 26, 2012.
xx. Dark Horse Espresso Bar - coffee shop, Feb 26, 2012.
xx. Arepa Cafe - Venezuelan food, restaurant, Feb 29, 2012.

xx. Half the Sky at Art Gallery - art gallery, Mar 2, 2012. 
xx. Prince Bakery - bakery, Mar 2, 2012. 
xx. Toronto Underground Market - market, Mar 4, 2012.
xx. Shangrila - Tibetan food, restaurant, Mar 7, 2012.
xx. The Big Guys - coffee shop, Mar 7, 2012. 
xx. Seeds - play, Mar 8, 2012.
xx. Crepes a Go Go - crepes, restaurant,  Mar 9, 2012.
xx. Treehouse talk at the Reference Library - talk, Mar 9, 2012.
xx. Ezra's Pound - coffee shop, Mar 11, 2012.
xx. Hart House 5 Buck Lunch - Iranian food, restaurant, Mar 14, 2012.
xx. Keefee - Ethiopian food, restaurant, Mar 16, 2012.
xx. Mary Macleod - shortbread, food store, Mar 16,2012.
xx. Canadian Pie Company - pie, restaurant, Mar 16, 2012.
xx. Tango Palace - coffee shop, Mar 16, 2012. 
xx. Loving Hut - vegan, restaurant, Mar 19, 2012.
xx. La Bamboche - bakery, Mar 20, 2012. 
xx. Morocco Travel Talk at the Adventure Travel Company - talk, Mar 28, 2012.
xx. TJO at the Rex, concert, Mar 31, 2012. 
xx. Hakka no. 1 - hakka, restaurant, April 4, 2012.
xx. Flaky Tart - bakery, April 19, 2012.
xx. Thobor's - bakery, April 19, 2012.
xx. The Little Dollhouse Company - store, April 19, 2012.
xx. Mela's - Italian vegan food, restaurant, April 19, 2012. 
xx. Caribbean Bistro - Caribbean food, restaurant, April 20, 2012.
xx. Walk, Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens - walk, April 20, 2012.
xx. City of Craft, exhibition, April 21, 2012.
xx. Taste the Waste at OISE - talk, April 25, 2012
xx. Ginger - Vietnamese food, restaurant, April 25, 2012

200 Toronto Things: (17) Winterlicious lunch at Far Niente

Ok, way, way back in the time tunnel (Jan 27), I went with Christine to have lunch at Far Niente.

I was in a bit of a rush - it was Friday afternoon, I needed to rush back for a meeting, and I was probably piss-poor company. But the food was luscious! In particular, the Jerusalem Artichoke soup - I think I licked that bowl clean. Yummy!

200 Toronto Things: A Friday night out - snacks, talks and dinner

This Toronto Thing campaign is making me do the things I've been meaning to do. Case in point - I headed Friday evening (March 9) to a Treehouse talk at the Toronto Reference Library. I've been meaning to go to a talk at the library for ages now.

There were 3 speakers. The first guy was awesome - good speaker, interesting topic, well-prepared. The second girl was hopeless. Her topic was "Why can't I quit Facebook", which would have been an interesting topic, except all she did was put up photos of herself, tell us that privacy is important, and ask us to google her personal information. Hopeless and ill-prepared.

The third guy talked about media - except he seemed to be advocating a return to an oral culture (music and storytelling vs. the written word.) He generated lots of interesting discussion - and pretty much split the room into the half that agreed with him, and the half that didn't (this half included me.)

Still, glad I went.

The talk was from 6.30 to 8.15, and I knew I needed a snack beforehand to sustain me until dinner. I stumbled upon the Crepes a Go Go next to the reference library, and went in, not really expecting much more than a fast food place. 

It was surprisingly good. I had a nutella and banana crepe. The entire staff was Francaphone, I got to listen to a lot of French being spoken. (Didn't understand very much, time to head back to French class, I think. )

Once the talk was done, I headed to the Paddock for dinner. (Travelzoo voucher.) For bar food, it was quite good. Forgot to take photos though - aargh - so I guess it doesn't count?

200 Toronto Things: Breakfast at Ezra's Pound

I was up and about astonishingly early Sunday morning (March 11) - the plan was to go grab the car from Madhav, and then head to the Sandbanks dunes east of Toronto.

Walking from Dupont Station, on my way to pick up the car, I spied Ezra's Pound. I hadn't had breakfast, so this was an opportunity to grab a quick bite before the long road-trip.

The food was simple, but nice. (Also pricey - my baguette, butter and jam was $4.) Totally hit the spot.

The road trip itself was really fun. The Blackberry battery was dead though, so no pictures. I went to a winery, then to the park, then a late lunch/early dinner, and back. A rare day out of the city, but very fun.

200 Toronto Things: 5-Buck Lunch at the Hart House

I've known about 5-Buck lunch at the Hart House for a while, but since it is a 30 minute commute on a Wednesday, it's hard to get to.

Today (March 14) though was the day. It's March break, the office is low-key and I sneaked away to get my cheap food fix.

The offering was Iranian, timed to coincide with the upcoming Persian New Year.

The food was tasty. I especially liked the rice and the salad. The omelet was ok, a bit tart. Dessert was plentiful.

Everything was served on real plates, with real silverware, making the $5 lunch an even better deal. I'm sure I'll be back!

200 Toronto Things: Winterlicious lunch at Banu

Way back in the time tunnel (Feb 3), I played hooky from work, and had lunch with the Toronto Foodaholics not-so-Anonymous. 

We went to Banu, an Iranian restaurant around Queen and Bathurst that never seems to be open. (Except, oddly, during Winterlicious and Summerlicious.)

The food was really, really good, though the portions were a tiny bit small. (Not really, but you get used to eating tons of food in North America, and then, when someone brings you the amount of food you should eat, the horror!)

Christine takes tons of pictures, and since she was there, I was encouraged to pull out my phone as well, and take pictures of the food, something I tend to avoid doing...

The good thing about Christine being vegetarian - we ordered different things and just shared. But I ordered the beet salad (the leaves are mint, not lettuce, interesting!)

 They'd run out of the stew, and so they made me an eggplant dish. It doesn't look like much, but it melted in my mouth - it was so good!

For dessert, I had the almond balkava cake, which was much more like an almond cake. Very dense, and very yummy.

Once I was done with that, I bought a ton of fabric since I was in the neighborhood. Bad Reethi!

200 Toronto Things: () Toronto Underground Market

Sunday March 4th was a crazy busy day - I woke up early and headed to Black Oak for a 'Rubber Boot Brew Camp' - a learn-how-to-brew day. Once that was done, around 4.30pm - I wandered all the way across town to Evergreen Brickworks, for Toronto Underground Market.

So, the premise here is you pay $10, and then you get into a food-market type thing - there's lots of different vendors with lots of food, and you pay $2-$5 for samples. So I sampled - some samosas, some taquitos, some soup, a cupcake, a donut, and much more.

It was all yummy, though I'd have had a lot more fun if it was warmer, I was freezing! It was so cold at Evergreen Brickworks. Too cold to pull out the camera, all I have is this one photo of the sign.

200 Toronto Things: A walk on Roncesvalles, including () Tibetan food and () a coffee shop

Wednesday (March 7) was beautiful and warm (>10C in March? Amazing!). To celebrate, I took the afternoon off, headed to Dundas West station, and devoted much of the afternoon to wandering on Roncesvalles.

Much of the wandering was aimless - I went into a few antique stores (on Queen, near Roncesvalles), there was a bedding store that was getting rid some of its fabric samples for $2 a pound, and I bought some scraps to make cushion covers, etc. But I made two stops that count - I ate lunch at a different Tibetan restaurant, ShangriLa, and got coffee at a nice little coffee shop on Queen and Roncesvalles.

For lunch, we ordered fried cauliflower, vegetarian momos and fried rice. The portions were huge, and the food was delicious - simple, homestyle cooking, done well.

The coffee was pretty good too, but the best bit about this coffee shop was they had a lovely wood table, nice and big, with the ability to seat ~10 people. The kind I dream of having. Is there anything better than big wooden tables?

200 Toronto Things: () Seeds at the Young Centre

My friend Ryan had suggested heading out to see Seeds - a documentary theater piece about the Monsanto court case around genetically altered canola. I know vague details about the case, of course, and I was interested in the whole 'patent vs. no patent,  big evil corp vs. little farmer' debate.

The play was last night at the Young Center. Phil, Jill, Ryan and me headed out. None of us really knew what to expect - how does one do documentary theater? As it turned out, it was really, really good. The actors did an excellent job, the play was well-written (most of it was interviews the playwright had done with the principals in the court case), there was a sense of investigative journalism about it, and it sparked some rather heated discussion among the four of us about intellectual property rights on the way back.

I'm really glad I went. I was on the fence a bit, especially because tickets were rather pricey ($35). But, as it turns out, it was money well spent. (The tiny, $10 glass of wine, on the other hand? Not money well spent.)