Is it still "Discovering T.O." now that I've been back here for a year?! I argue that it is, because my mom has lived in Toronto for 30+ years now and is still discovering the city. That's the fun thing about living in a big city: there's always something new to see, a new neighbourhood to explore, a new restaurant to try out, etc. I've had a lot of those experiences since my last "Discovering T.O." post, but I'd like to share a few I had this weekend to begin with...
It's been a busy weekend! One of those weekends where you don't have too much downtime, but that can be a good thing now and again. Friday night I went and saw the Toronto Symphony Orchestra perform at Roy Thomson Hall. I went with my girlfriend K. and two friends from high school. Kate's an opera singer, Rachel's a cellist, and Justine and I are former musicians (clarinet and cello, respectively), so all of us have an appreciation for classical music and symphonies. The main event at the TSO that night was Carmina Burana. You might ask yourself, "What's Carmina Burana?" You might be surprised to know that you know it! Or at least, I think you do... Check it out:
In a word, it was fantastic!!! The TSO and accompanying Toronto Mendelssohn Choir were stunning, the music was engaging, and the company was wonderful. I cherish the opportunities I have to experience arts and culture in the city. Nights like Friday always make me want to get out more!
Saturday (yesterday) was a bit of a crazy day. It was rainy, K. and I were in funky moods, and the energy of the day was just generally not great. Then we went to a Body Combat class at the gym and the endorphins rushing through us gave us a second wind. We had a delicious lunch at Fresh (there's now one in our neighbourhood!!! And right next to the gym!) and felt happier, so we went shopping for Halloween costumes (we were going to a party that night). Then we weren't having a lot of success at that, so our moods went sour again. Ugh! We got home, relaxed, I had a nap, and then we were feeling pretty good again, so we tried at successful Halloween costumes once again and... SUCCESS!!! I was a lumberjack (easy enough!) and Kate was our cat Spoon!!! Haha!
So off we went to the beautiful Roncesvalles neighbourhood in Toronto, where our friend Larissa now lives (and a lot of other friends, for that matter). Larissa & Co. ran quite the party!!! Orange-y lighting, cobwebs everywhere, jars filled with brains (cauliflowers), a candy bar, and more!!! It was a blast; great music, lots of friends, and great costumes! My favourite was a guy who dressed as Zack Galifianakis with two ferns on his shoulders, as in "Between Two Ferns with Zack Galifianakis". BRILLIANT. It was a great night!
And then today - Sunday - we woke up, relaxed a wee bit, and then headed to College & Spadina area for a brunch with friends, including our friend Josh who hosted us in St. John's, Newfoundland, where he lives, but he was home for a visit. Josh made us a reservation somewhere I'd never been, called Free Times Cafe. He said he was tempted by the Jewish brunch buffet, and I thought, that sounds amazing! It was! The place was busy, yet comfortable, and had excellent service. We got a table in the backroom where the stage was, and the band today played Klezmer music, which was excellent and put everyone in such a great mood. And then there was the food..... YUM! Lox, potato latkes, challah french toast, salmon patties, gelfilte fish, salads galore... mmmm. The company was excellent, the food was delicious, the vibe was great... another great Toronto experience.
And now I'm home doing laundry, enjoying some downtime and the sounds of K. practicing in the background... no complaints!
Showing posts with label discovering to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discovering to. Show all posts
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Monday, August 27, 2012
Discovering T.O. #10: Trinity Bellwoods Park
I spent a good chunk of Saturday and some of Sunday, too, writing a blog post for Sugar & Gravy that is very different in tone from the ones I've been writing as of late. However, I got busy with other things and haven't yet finished it. I promise that it will see the light of day sometime soon, but in the meantime, here's something more pressing.
Yesterday I spent about five hours in Trinity Bellwoods Park.
TB Park is not a new hot spot by any stretch, but it was my first time being in the park for any length of time, which is why I'm writing about it. I always hear about so many people spending the summer's most beautiful days there, and I kept meaning to give it a try myself. The other day my friend Waleed and I were trying to think of something to do together and I suggested it be something free. That's when I was finally compelled to put a desire into action, so we decided we would meet at the park around 12:30 pm, have a picnic, and hang out.
That's exactly what we did. I got there around 12:30 and started with a little journalling. Waleed arrived about 30 minutes later armed with everything two ladies could need for a day at the park -- a great mat to lie on, a bottle of green tea, and then he made us delicious tuna sandwiches with mustard and other fixin's.
Yesterday I spent about five hours in Trinity Bellwoods Park.
TB Park is not a new hot spot by any stretch, but it was my first time being in the park for any length of time, which is why I'm writing about it. I always hear about so many people spending the summer's most beautiful days there, and I kept meaning to give it a try myself. The other day my friend Waleed and I were trying to think of something to do together and I suggested it be something free. That's when I was finally compelled to put a desire into action, so we decided we would meet at the park around 12:30 pm, have a picnic, and hang out.
That's exactly what we did. I got there around 12:30 and started with a little journalling. Waleed arrived about 30 minutes later armed with everything two ladies could need for a day at the park -- a great mat to lie on, a bottle of green tea, and then he made us delicious tuna sandwiches with mustard and other fixin's.
For the next four or so hours we just relaxed. We randomly saw two friends, my sister and her boyfriend stopped by for a bit, we played cards, we talked, we people-watched, and we ate a bag of Cheetos. The weather was perfect -- sunny and warm, but with a consistent breeze that kept it completely comfortable all day long. Plus, we found a great shady spot under a tree, so it really wasn't hot at all.
What I loved most - and I had a similar moment when my girlfriend and I went to Centre Island - was seeing so many people taking advantage of something free and beautiful the city has to offer. The park was PACKED! People, dogs, bikes, birthday parties, baseball games, families, friends..... there was such a positive energy there, and I was really happy to be a part of it. The time flew by, just chatting and taking it all in. Again, it's one of those times where I felt I spent a summer Sunday exactly the way it's meant to be spent.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Discovering TO #9: Yours Truly
Friday, July 27th was my 3-year anniversary with my girlfriend. Being that we both love trying out new restaurants, we decided that our gift for each other would be to treat ourselves to a special meal at Toronto Life's #1 rated restaurant of 2012: Yours Truly. I'd been dying to try out YT, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. I booked well in advance, and on the big day, I picked up K from work and off we went to Dundas/Ossington to celebrate!
We had a relatively early reservation, but we still arrived in the neighbourhood with over an hour to go, so we started by walking up and down Ossington a bit to see what was going on. That's when we spotted Bellwoods Brewery, an awesome bar/restaurant/microbrewery. The spot had such a relaxed, community feel. There were picnic tables scattered around their patio, and if you were in a group of two, you might just end up sitting with another pair and even get to chatting with them. K and I kept to ourselves, but I loved the vibe and it having a beer outside was the perfect way to start the evening.
Around 6:00 (I told you it was early), we walked up to Yours Truly for the main event.
The restaurant itself was nice - dim, simple, stylish. We were seated at a table somewhat cramped in the corner, but it was good enough.
The draw of YT is that they do things so differently. It's my understanding that they have two dining experiences available - they have two or so seatings of their Yours Truly experience, which is what we took part in. It's a $45 4-course prix fixe. The second experience is the Carte Blanche, which is something like 10 courses around $100 all-in. It was a celebratory day, sure, but we've gotta be fiscally responsible. So our prix fixe worked like this: you got a menu with a matrix - 4 rows and 3 columns. Each row represented a course, and each item in the columns was the main ingredient of that course option (all unique and seasonal). So basically you pick four ingredients, and those are your four courses. I'm an adventurous diner because I've basically never met a food that I didn't like (except I don't really like cold cuts), so this was a fun and easy experience for me. I chose lox, bream, chicken, and cheese. I won't go into detail describing each course, but I will say that each was extremely delicious. Each course was also extremely creative, consisting of some ingredients that I'd never heard of, and also combinations of ingredients I could've never imagined. It was the kind of meal where you almost had to close your eyes when you took your first bite of each course, to experience every flavour and let it all roll over your tongue. It wasn't just about nourishment; it was about a total dining experience, trying new things, and treating ourselves!
One other thing - as if four courses weren't enough, we also enjoyed a signature YT cocktail each (I had the "John Candy" and K had the "Cibelle"), as well as three amuse bouche, which were delicious!
I also want to add that one of my favourite parts of the Yours Truly experience was the service; it was top-notch! All the servers had clearly bought into the mission of YT in its entirety, fully knowledgeable on every course option, flavour combination, and even the strangest of ingredients. They were friendly, attentive, and not at all overbearing: my favourite qualities in serving staff.
And that wraps up my 8th edition of "Discovering T.O.". Let me know if you ever check out Yours Truly and tell me what you think!
Currently reading... In One Person by John Irving
Posts to come... full rc-4 update!
We had a relatively early reservation, but we still arrived in the neighbourhood with over an hour to go, so we started by walking up and down Ossington a bit to see what was going on. That's when we spotted Bellwoods Brewery, an awesome bar/restaurant/microbrewery. The spot had such a relaxed, community feel. There were picnic tables scattered around their patio, and if you were in a group of two, you might just end up sitting with another pair and even get to chatting with them. K and I kept to ourselves, but I loved the vibe and it having a beer outside was the perfect way to start the evening.
Around 6:00 (I told you it was early), we walked up to Yours Truly for the main event.
The restaurant itself was nice - dim, simple, stylish. We were seated at a table somewhat cramped in the corner, but it was good enough.
The draw of YT is that they do things so differently. It's my understanding that they have two dining experiences available - they have two or so seatings of their Yours Truly experience, which is what we took part in. It's a $45 4-course prix fixe. The second experience is the Carte Blanche, which is something like 10 courses around $100 all-in. It was a celebratory day, sure, but we've gotta be fiscally responsible. So our prix fixe worked like this: you got a menu with a matrix - 4 rows and 3 columns. Each row represented a course, and each item in the columns was the main ingredient of that course option (all unique and seasonal). So basically you pick four ingredients, and those are your four courses. I'm an adventurous diner because I've basically never met a food that I didn't like (except I don't really like cold cuts), so this was a fun and easy experience for me. I chose lox, bream, chicken, and cheese. I won't go into detail describing each course, but I will say that each was extremely delicious. Each course was also extremely creative, consisting of some ingredients that I'd never heard of, and also combinations of ingredients I could've never imagined. It was the kind of meal where you almost had to close your eyes when you took your first bite of each course, to experience every flavour and let it all roll over your tongue. It wasn't just about nourishment; it was about a total dining experience, trying new things, and treating ourselves!
One other thing - as if four courses weren't enough, we also enjoyed a signature YT cocktail each (I had the "John Candy" and K had the "Cibelle"), as well as three amuse bouche, which were delicious!
I also want to add that one of my favourite parts of the Yours Truly experience was the service; it was top-notch! All the servers had clearly bought into the mission of YT in its entirety, fully knowledgeable on every course option, flavour combination, and even the strangest of ingredients. They were friendly, attentive, and not at all overbearing: my favourite qualities in serving staff.
And that wraps up my 8th edition of "Discovering T.O.". Let me know if you ever check out Yours Truly and tell me what you think!
Currently reading... In One Person by John Irving
Posts to come... full rc-4 update!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Discovering T.O. #8
Guess what?! I got an apartment!!! Yes, ma'am, I gave the super first and last and it's official: I will be moving into my 1-bedroom apartment on September 1st. Closest intersection? Yonge & Eglinton. I'm a happy camper!
In other news, I continue to discover Toronto and love to tell you about it. Here's what I did yesterday:
After a good night out in the Village on Saturday evening, a girl craves a delicious brunch, and that's what I got on Sunday at noon. My GF & I had never been to Lady Marmalade in Leslieville, but she heard it was great, so we headed east to check it out. It was as good as they say! Very unique atmosphere, not too long a wait (but a long enough line that you know it's worth waiting), relatively quick and attentive service, and - the most important part - DELICIOUS food. I checked in on FourSquare when I got there and many of the tips recommended the bacon, brie, and avocado eggs Benedict. Being a huge eggs benny fan myself, I had to go with it, and it was divine! It came with a small serving of potatoes and a delicious side salad. I also discovered the merits of tomato juice as my beverage. I really wanted a Caesar, but they weren't licensed, so I took a straight up TJ instead. Yummy! Would go back to LM in a second.
**Note: Lady Marmalade is cash only.
From there we headed to Cherry St. to the launch to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club to spend the afternoon on the island. We wandered around the RCYC for a bit and then headed from there to Centre Island to do some exploring. As we walked along to the "main drag", we saw tonnes of people on two-seated quadricycles peddling around. It looked like so much fun and they all looked so happy, so we rushed to get our own. For $17 you got the quadricycle for an hour, and it was just as fun to ride as it looked. We biked for the full hour, sharing steering privileges and stopping once to get on some swings we drove by. It was a blast! I kept saying, it seemed like exactly the way a person is meant to spend a Sunday in the summer in Toronto. Now that I'm officially a resident of the city, that's exactly what I want to be doing!!! After biking, we went and dipped our feet into the wading pool/fountain, lay on the grass, climbed a tree, and then headed back to the clubhouse for a bite, which was perfect timing as it started pouring rain. Around 5:30 we headed back to the mainland and wrapped up the night with some TV time.
Another fabulous time discovering T.O.
In other news, I continue to discover Toronto and love to tell you about it. Here's what I did yesterday:
After a good night out in the Village on Saturday evening, a girl craves a delicious brunch, and that's what I got on Sunday at noon. My GF & I had never been to Lady Marmalade in Leslieville, but she heard it was great, so we headed east to check it out. It was as good as they say! Very unique atmosphere, not too long a wait (but a long enough line that you know it's worth waiting), relatively quick and attentive service, and - the most important part - DELICIOUS food. I checked in on FourSquare when I got there and many of the tips recommended the bacon, brie, and avocado eggs Benedict. Being a huge eggs benny fan myself, I had to go with it, and it was divine! It came with a small serving of potatoes and a delicious side salad. I also discovered the merits of tomato juice as my beverage. I really wanted a Caesar, but they weren't licensed, so I took a straight up TJ instead. Yummy! Would go back to LM in a second.
**Note: Lady Marmalade is cash only.
From there we headed to Cherry St. to the launch to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club to spend the afternoon on the island. We wandered around the RCYC for a bit and then headed from there to Centre Island to do some exploring. As we walked along to the "main drag", we saw tonnes of people on two-seated quadricycles peddling around. It looked like so much fun and they all looked so happy, so we rushed to get our own. For $17 you got the quadricycle for an hour, and it was just as fun to ride as it looked. We biked for the full hour, sharing steering privileges and stopping once to get on some swings we drove by. It was a blast! I kept saying, it seemed like exactly the way a person is meant to spend a Sunday in the summer in Toronto. Now that I'm officially a resident of the city, that's exactly what I want to be doing!!! After biking, we went and dipped our feet into the wading pool/fountain, lay on the grass, climbed a tree, and then headed back to the clubhouse for a bite, which was perfect timing as it started pouring rain. Around 5:30 we headed back to the mainland and wrapped up the night with some TV time.
Another fabulous time discovering T.O.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Birthday Week!!!!! / Discovering T.O. #7 / Port Hope Showcase
Last Monday, May 28, I turned twenty-five years old. Quite a milestone, really. I keep wishing I had some sort of letter from my younger self to my 25 year old self to see what I was expecting / hoping for. The truth is though that it doesn't matter. I couldn't be prouder of who I am and where I'm at in life, so letter or no letter, I'm one happy 25 year old...
...made happier by the fact that I had the most wonderful series of mini-celebrations of the day of my birth. I'd like to tell you about them.
1) The Beamish House: locally just called "The Beamish", unfortunately this great pub and restaurant doesn't have a website. Once a year the school that I work for throws a huge reunion weekend for its alumni celebrating 5, 10, 15, and so on reunions. The weekend peaks with a dinner on the Saturday night on campus followed by an evening of debauchery, traditionally at The Beamish. This small, quaint pub is taken over, and although its interior doesn't have much space, its patio is sprawling. It's a great night, and two of my besties ventured out to Port Hope to enjoy the evening with me. This was on May 26, but it kick-started birthday celebrations in just the right way. Before they headed back to the city the next day, we indulged in the classic greasy spoon breakfast at Dimitri's in Port Hope. I had the Grand Slam breakfast. It may not have dill-infused hollandaise sauce drizzled all over it, but it did the job.
2) Jim's Pizza & Pasta: this is another classic Port Hope establishment that I highly recommend. The truth is that this wasn't particularly the highlight of birthday celebrations, but I find that restaurants are a good anchor in this blog for other stories. The real highlight was having my girlfriend come to PH on May 27 to have dinner, chill times, and then be there with me first-thing on my special day. That said, grabbing dinner at Jim's Pizza is ALWAYS a delight. This is my GF's favourite spot in Port Hope, and we always each get the pizza & salad combo. With this combo, you get a small, 4-slice personal pizza with any 3 toppings you'd like PLUS a huge serving of delicious Caesar salad (Greek is also a choice, but I mean, really). After our delicious dinner we bought some snacks and went home for a viewing of "Best In Show".
3) My Special Day itself: the authentic birthday day was no exception to the fun already had. I woke up with the GF and opened a gift from her and from other family members who had sent theirs in advance. Then I made us breakfast (she would've made it, but she likes the way I make eggs best!) and we lazily enjoyed the morning (I took it off from work), and then I drove her to Oshawa where she took the GO train back to Toronto.
I had a great day at work, complete with cheesecake shared with my colleagues!
When the work day was done, my Mom and sister came to Port Hope to take me to dinner. And what a dinner it was! We ate at Trattoria Gusto (finally a PH resto with a website). I've eaten here 3-5 times before and it's very delicious. I find that's a bit of an anomaly about Port Hope - not a lot to do, but 3-4 incredible restaurants! We went all out, sharing a beet salad, calimari, and carpaccio to start, and then for my main I had the chicken parmesan, which was succulent. We finished it off by sharing a decadent, rich brownie with a candle on top. It was fantastic!!!
4) Old school gay village celebration: Even though I'd had my fair share of celebrations, I wanted to do it up right with a night out in Toronto, which went down this past Saturday, June 2. I hemmed and hawed over how I wanted to celebrate, and it dawned on me - when was the last time I had a night out in the Church & Wellesley neighbourhood a.k.a. the gay village in Toronto?!?! I came of age in that neighbourhood and came into my proud, gay self, and I have great memories (nostalgic already?) of drag queens and dance parties, so I thought - it's about time I go back.
This evening started with appetizers and drinks at Smith on Church St. I'll be very honest with you -- I didn't really do my due diligence on Smith. I basically looked for a restaurant in the village that had a few classy-looking/sounding appetizers and said, why not? Full disclosure: all it took was seeing that Smith had a charcuterie board. Charcuterie = class. Thankfully my lack of research didn't result in 11 friends and I dining at a dive. Smith had us seated at a long table set for 12 upstairs at the restaurant, with a big window, a fireplace (too hot for that though), and a view of the goings-on of Church St. It had a great vibe and the drinks and food were great! For the record, I did order the charcuterie board and I loved it. I didn't look to see what was on it, but I did eat cow tongue and I enjoyed it!
After 3 lazy hours eating and drinking at Smith we head off to Zelda's new location on Yonge St. for a drink. I ordered the "Proud Mary" (for its name only) and we left shortly after that.
Where did we go? Where else does one go when they want an old school gay village celebration? Buddies in Bad Times. Buddies has such great music and so much sweaty and fun dancing on Saturday nights, and this past Saturday was no exception. We danced and drank and had ourselves a great time until about 2:30 when last call was made and it was time to catch the late-night Yonge bus home.
Being 25 is off to a fabulous start, and many thanks to the friends, family members, and Port Hope/Toronto establishments that made my birthday celebrations so special!!!
...made happier by the fact that I had the most wonderful series of mini-celebrations of the day of my birth. I'd like to tell you about them.
1) The Beamish House: locally just called "The Beamish", unfortunately this great pub and restaurant doesn't have a website. Once a year the school that I work for throws a huge reunion weekend for its alumni celebrating 5, 10, 15, and so on reunions. The weekend peaks with a dinner on the Saturday night on campus followed by an evening of debauchery, traditionally at The Beamish. This small, quaint pub is taken over, and although its interior doesn't have much space, its patio is sprawling. It's a great night, and two of my besties ventured out to Port Hope to enjoy the evening with me. This was on May 26, but it kick-started birthday celebrations in just the right way. Before they headed back to the city the next day, we indulged in the classic greasy spoon breakfast at Dimitri's in Port Hope. I had the Grand Slam breakfast. It may not have dill-infused hollandaise sauce drizzled all over it, but it did the job.
2) Jim's Pizza & Pasta: this is another classic Port Hope establishment that I highly recommend. The truth is that this wasn't particularly the highlight of birthday celebrations, but I find that restaurants are a good anchor in this blog for other stories. The real highlight was having my girlfriend come to PH on May 27 to have dinner, chill times, and then be there with me first-thing on my special day. That said, grabbing dinner at Jim's Pizza is ALWAYS a delight. This is my GF's favourite spot in Port Hope, and we always each get the pizza & salad combo. With this combo, you get a small, 4-slice personal pizza with any 3 toppings you'd like PLUS a huge serving of delicious Caesar salad (Greek is also a choice, but I mean, really). After our delicious dinner we bought some snacks and went home for a viewing of "Best In Show".
3) My Special Day itself: the authentic birthday day was no exception to the fun already had. I woke up with the GF and opened a gift from her and from other family members who had sent theirs in advance. Then I made us breakfast (she would've made it, but she likes the way I make eggs best!) and we lazily enjoyed the morning (I took it off from work), and then I drove her to Oshawa where she took the GO train back to Toronto.
I had a great day at work, complete with cheesecake shared with my colleagues!
When the work day was done, my Mom and sister came to Port Hope to take me to dinner. And what a dinner it was! We ate at Trattoria Gusto (finally a PH resto with a website). I've eaten here 3-5 times before and it's very delicious. I find that's a bit of an anomaly about Port Hope - not a lot to do, but 3-4 incredible restaurants! We went all out, sharing a beet salad, calimari, and carpaccio to start, and then for my main I had the chicken parmesan, which was succulent. We finished it off by sharing a decadent, rich brownie with a candle on top. It was fantastic!!!
4) Old school gay village celebration: Even though I'd had my fair share of celebrations, I wanted to do it up right with a night out in Toronto, which went down this past Saturday, June 2. I hemmed and hawed over how I wanted to celebrate, and it dawned on me - when was the last time I had a night out in the Church & Wellesley neighbourhood a.k.a. the gay village in Toronto?!?! I came of age in that neighbourhood and came into my proud, gay self, and I have great memories (nostalgic already?) of drag queens and dance parties, so I thought - it's about time I go back.
This evening started with appetizers and drinks at Smith on Church St. I'll be very honest with you -- I didn't really do my due diligence on Smith. I basically looked for a restaurant in the village that had a few classy-looking/sounding appetizers and said, why not? Full disclosure: all it took was seeing that Smith had a charcuterie board. Charcuterie = class. Thankfully my lack of research didn't result in 11 friends and I dining at a dive. Smith had us seated at a long table set for 12 upstairs at the restaurant, with a big window, a fireplace (too hot for that though), and a view of the goings-on of Church St. It had a great vibe and the drinks and food were great! For the record, I did order the charcuterie board and I loved it. I didn't look to see what was on it, but I did eat cow tongue and I enjoyed it!
After 3 lazy hours eating and drinking at Smith we head off to Zelda's new location on Yonge St. for a drink. I ordered the "Proud Mary" (for its name only) and we left shortly after that.
Where did we go? Where else does one go when they want an old school gay village celebration? Buddies in Bad Times. Buddies has such great music and so much sweaty and fun dancing on Saturday nights, and this past Saturday was no exception. We danced and drank and had ourselves a great time until about 2:30 when last call was made and it was time to catch the late-night Yonge bus home.
Being 25 is off to a fabulous start, and many thanks to the friends, family members, and Port Hope/Toronto establishments that made my birthday celebrations so special!!!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Discovering T.O. #6
I just had a GREAT weekend! Beyond having sorted out my computer situation (which only got better, by the way, when I figured out how to update my iPhone via a different computer than the one I originally installed it on), I also discovered a new spot in Toronto and revisited some old ones. Would you like to hear about it?
On Saturday, as part of some Mother's Day treats, my sister and I went out for a bite and a movie with our Mom. My Mom actually treated us to brunch/lunch to start with at Lola's Kitchen (Bloor & Church). I'd been to Lola's before back when it was called Lola's Commisserie (maybe they changed the name because
From Lola's we went to the Varsity to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", which I thought was really great! It was nice to see a movie about seniors. Seriously. It's not often they're the stars of the show, and it was refreshing to see that, never mind the fact that it was a SOLID crew of actors - Dame Maggie, Dame Judi, Tom Wilkinson... STELLAR. I liked it!
From there I headed north to Eglinton West and a great Vietnamese resto I've been to before -- Ha Long Bay. My GF and I went together (she was my date the first time, too) and we both went with the prix fixe... although since she's a vegetarian, she created her own veggie prix fixe which turned out to be less than the ones they offered. ANYWAY, I got the $25 prix fixe with mixed spring rolls to start, followed by a crab and asparagus soup, and then finished off with some delicious shrimp curry (if I get a prix fixe, I always get the seafood or steak options when they're there. When else are you going to get them so cheap?). It was a delicious meal, and then we walked across the street to Hotel Gelato to finish things off. YUM!!!
After dinner and dessert we went home and watched the rest of series 2 + Christmas special of "Downton Abbey". This is a hard show to write about in its own post... it's almost too special, if that makes any sense. I don't want to analyze it and offer my own opinions because I just love it and don't want to go into it more than that. Not my usual approach, but that's how I feel. I will say this - I can't wait for series 3.
And that, my friends, was my weekend.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Discovering T.O. #5
I'm ashamed to say that it's been over 2 weeks since I last posted on here. Oh well, no better time than now to update and get on with it...
I think now is a good time for another installment of "Discovering T.O."
This past Saturday, we celebrated my sister's bachelorette with a very classy day of enjoying some treats the city has to offer. My sister is a very low-key kind of girl, and her bachelorette reflected that. Guests were invited to attend one or both parts of the day. The first was...
High Tea @ MoRoCo Chocolat:
My sister (the engaged one) loves tea and baking, so my other sister (the organizer) suggested high tea at MoRoCo in Yorkville. She had been before and loved it so we all took her word for it and went there Saturday afternoon.
It was a very classy affair, to begin with. Beautiful decor and atmosphere, great service, and a really delicious menu. We began with a glass of champagne, followed by having our orders for tea taken (they provide loose-leaf tea selection; you choose yours and they bring you your own full tea-pot of it, with a beautiful tea-cup and a strainer). When your tea arrives, so does all the food (see photo below). The bottom tier of the tower has finger sandwiches, second tier has the most delicious scones you've ever tasted (complete with cream & custard), and the third tier has a variety of chocolate-coated and other sweets (strawberry dipped in chocolate, macarons, etc.). There was no rush to enjoy all of this and, as I said, the service was fantastic!
Next on the menu...
Dinner @ Gio Rana's Really Really Nice Restaurant (a.k.a. "The Nose"):
We took the TTC from Yorkville to Leslieville for dinner at Gio Rana's. Some of the guests just went to the tea, but 6 of us made the trip together from one hip neighbourhood to another and had 2 more join us. My sister (the organizer) booked us in their private room/vault/wine room, which provided an extremely cozy, cool, and intimate eating experience. We all kicked off the night with dirty martinis and then a couple of bottles of red wine to go with the delicious Italian food we were served. I chose the Involtini as my main: stuffed pork wrapped in a rib-eye, topped with goat cheese. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't get any better. I had the salad special of the night as a side, which was also delicious. A very perfect dining experience, with an Irish coffee to cap the night off.
Currently reading -- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Posts to come -- the long-awaited (I'm sure) Lady Gaga post, my thoughts on "Downton Abbey", and my feelings on The Hunger Games
I think now is a good time for another installment of "Discovering T.O."
This past Saturday, we celebrated my sister's bachelorette with a very classy day of enjoying some treats the city has to offer. My sister is a very low-key kind of girl, and her bachelorette reflected that. Guests were invited to attend one or both parts of the day. The first was...
High Tea @ MoRoCo Chocolat:
My sister (the engaged one) loves tea and baking, so my other sister (the organizer) suggested high tea at MoRoCo in Yorkville. She had been before and loved it so we all took her word for it and went there Saturday afternoon.
It was a very classy affair, to begin with. Beautiful decor and atmosphere, great service, and a really delicious menu. We began with a glass of champagne, followed by having our orders for tea taken (they provide loose-leaf tea selection; you choose yours and they bring you your own full tea-pot of it, with a beautiful tea-cup and a strainer). When your tea arrives, so does all the food (see photo below). The bottom tier of the tower has finger sandwiches, second tier has the most delicious scones you've ever tasted (complete with cream & custard), and the third tier has a variety of chocolate-coated and other sweets (strawberry dipped in chocolate, macarons, etc.). There was no rush to enjoy all of this and, as I said, the service was fantastic!
Next on the menu...
Dinner @ Gio Rana's Really Really Nice Restaurant (a.k.a. "The Nose"):
We took the TTC from Yorkville to Leslieville for dinner at Gio Rana's. Some of the guests just went to the tea, but 6 of us made the trip together from one hip neighbourhood to another and had 2 more join us. My sister (the organizer) booked us in their private room/vault/wine room, which provided an extremely cozy, cool, and intimate eating experience. We all kicked off the night with dirty martinis and then a couple of bottles of red wine to go with the delicious Italian food we were served. I chose the Involtini as my main: stuffed pork wrapped in a rib-eye, topped with goat cheese. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't get any better. I had the salad special of the night as a side, which was also delicious. A very perfect dining experience, with an Irish coffee to cap the night off.
Currently reading -- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Posts to come -- the long-awaited (I'm sure) Lady Gaga post, my thoughts on "Downton Abbey", and my feelings on The Hunger Games
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Discovering T.O. #4
The 4th "Discovering T.O." post (preceded by this one and that one... oh, and that one, too) comes in perfect time as it can be paired with an exciting announcement:
I'M MOVING BACK TO TORONTO!!!
WOO HOO!!!!!!!
WOO HOO!!!!!!!
Where am I moving from? Well, I've been living in the wee town of Port Hope, Ontario for the past (nearly) two years. I moved here for work and it's been quite the learning experience -- I've definitely enjoyed elements of it, but the small town life is decidedly not for me... at least not long-term... but more on that in another post.
What do I mean I'm moving back? Good question, because I haven't been living in Toronto for the entire time I've been keeping this blog. I haven't actually lived in Toronto for nearly 7 years now. Wow... time flies! I lived in Waterloo for 5 years, and now Port Hope for 2. I've spent tonnes of time in Toronto in between -- summer of '06, holidays, and every weekend since I moved to PH -- but I haven't really lived there. As of July 1st, I'll be living there. For real.
Beyond just living there, it'll be my first time living in Toronto on my own. Any time I've lived in TO up until now it's been with my parents. This will be Sugar & Gravy's first place of her own in Toronto. That's about a million times better.
Anyway, I'll keep you posted during the moving process, but moving on...
Discovering T.O. #4
I get the sense that even if I live in Toronto for the rest of my life, there will always be places to discover. My dad has lived in Toronto for almost his whole life, and my Mom for over 30 years, and they still find new places, so I'm optimistic.
Not this past weekend but the one before, I found two new spots I would recommend:
(1) Bar Volo -- as you likely know already, I'm an avid reader of Toronto Life. In this wee town I live in, it's my little slice of Toronto, and it helps guide me in making my weekend plans. They recently put out their annual "Where to Eat Now" issue, which includes a Restaurant Guide. I love this guide. I kept my 2011 edition at my office year-round and would mark it up with a highlighter (for the ones I'd been to) and mark with pencil the ones I wanted to go to.
One of the hot spots according to the 2012 edition is Bar Volo, which I'd read about on websites and in other mags, so I figured it was worth checking out. I went there for a few beers with a new friend and absolutely loved it. It's obvious that beer and other alcoholic beverages is "their thing" because the options are endless. It had a good vibe, relaxed atmosphere, and I really enjoyed myself. Check it out -- on Yonge, between Bloor & Wellesley.
(2) The Power Plant -- This is another Toronto Life-inspired visit. Way back when (November or December, I think), I saw an item in the TL events pages for an exhibition called: Coming After. You can click the link to read more about it, but in short it focusing on artists who grew up in the shadow of the mid-1980s to early 90s' queer experience. Artist Sharon Hayes puts it best: "What marks me generationally is that ... it wasn't my friends who were dying, it was the people I was just discovering, people I was just beginning to model myself after, people I longed to become."
The exhibition sounded great to me, so I snapped a photo of the ad and forgot about it.
Later I was flipping through photos on my iPhone and found the ad. I realized then that the exhibition was ending in about a week's time, so I asked a friend to join me, and on Saturday, March 3rd (the second-last day of the exhibition), we headed to The Power Plant (contemporary gallery) on the harbourfront to see what it was all about. It was a really great exhibition; diverse media, powerful imagery, and some incredible video installations. My best way to describe it is that I had never seen anything like it before. I was very engaged, and would very much recommend it... if it wasn't already over.
Posts to come -- my experience living in a small town & two films I saw recently that I think are important.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Great Weekend / Discovering T.O. #3
Another lovely weekend in Sugar & Gravy land... would you care to hear about it?
Friday:
Friday:
- Enjoyed some awesome delivery sushi from Sushi Supreme! I got the Sushi Bronze meal. YUM!!!
- Went for a long overdue visit to the Village and grabbed some casual drinks with friends at the Churchmouse and Firkin. Got some nachos w/ spicy beef + calamari, too. Zero complaints.
- Went grocery shopping and then made vegetable, guac, and salsa-filled tortillas with GF. So delicious!!!
- We enjoyed the tortillas while finishing up GF's first viewing of my favourite television series ever: Six Feet Under. It's taken her 2 years to finish it, but she really powered through at the end and, if nothing else, her uncontrollable sobs told me that she was moved by the ending. I cried, too. This show never ceases to move me.
- After an afternoon of food & SFU, we headed to an area in Toronto that I can't say I've spent much time in, if any: Jane & Sheppard. A good friend of mine spent a year in Ghana not too long ago, and has been searching the city of Toronto for some authentic Ghanaian food ever since. GF & I accompanied her and some other friends to a restaurant that you might miss if you weren't planning to head there: Panafest Sport Bar & Restaurant. I've never had Ghanaian food before, so I can't testify to its authenticity, but I can tell you that I've still never met a food that I didn't enjoy. I ordered the fufu - a big bowl of really hot & spicy soup with a big ball of fufu in the middle. Fufu - from what I've been told - is boiled starchy vegetables and plantains, pounded with a mortar and pestle. To me it was kind of a combination of mashed potatoes and dough. The important thing was that it was good!!! The custom is to eat with your hand, so even though I was offered a spoon, I wanted to eat in the real way! More than just eating with your hand, you want to eat with your right hand - definitely not your left. So that's what I did! You basically reach into the bowl, tear off part of the fufu, and kind of use it as a spoon, dipping it into the soup and popping it in your mouth. It was really amazing!!! What I wasn't able to eat there, I brought home, and it was pretty good the next day, too! A fun and interesting experience, and another food I enjoy!
- Met up with my bestie John at Osgoode station, and took the streetcar west to Ryerson Ave. to see a musical at Theatre Passe Muraille. What musical, you ask? We saw Long Dark Night, my friend Mark Shyzer's musical comedy satire of the film noir genre. Ambitious, I know, but as usual Shyzer delivered with a cleverly written, hilariously exaggerated, and just plain funny musical! I'm so glad I got a chance to see it!
- From there we hurried off to lunch (I was so hungry) at Fresh on Spadina. We started with spring rolls and then both had the Beach Bowl. So delicious! I was full after, but not bloated, just full of delicious, healthy, fresh food.
- Then we lazily made our way down Queen St. back to University. We stopped in lots of stores, including H&M, Urban Outfitters, and Black Market. I got two dresses at H&M and a new pair of shoes at UO.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Discovering TO #2
Remember how I've decided that I need to discover more areas of Toronto? Well, I didn't want that to stop with my first (and only so far) segment of "Discovering TO", so ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: "Discovering TO #2".
I had an appointment on the Danforth this morning, near Coxwell station, and since there was no rush to go home after, I thought, why not walk around the area? I had looked online in the morning to see if there was a nice cafe in that neighbourhood and decided on The One in the Only Cafe. I'm glad I did. It was an extremely relaxed atmosphere, I had a great cappuccino and scone, and sat and read for an hour, with the sun shining in through the huge front window, and a nice breeze coming in through the door. I think it says something when you realize that the owner of an establishment knows a lot of the people coming into the place. If other people frequent this place, then you know it must be pretty good!!! I had a great time, a nice walk from Coxwell to Donlands, and a leisurely morning in a new 'hood. The Danforth: thumbs up!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Discovering TO #1 + RC3
As I wait for my coffee to finish steeping in my FP, I will write...
I just had a FANTASTIC weekend!! As you may know, I am from Toronto, but I currently reside in a small town about an hour east of Toronto. I love my job so it's completely worth living in the town, but I get a bit stir crazy sometimes, and as such, I spend most weekends in Toronto.
Despite being from Toronto, and spending most weekends here, I really haven't discovered much of the city. Even in a place with so much to do, you still tend to stick to your tried, tested, and true neighbourhoods - go to the stores there, the restaurants there, the cafes there, etc. However, I really want to take advantage of this great city, so I've decided to start to try branching out, and what's a good way to do that? Find a resto you want to go to and let that be the excuse to explore a new area. Bam!
So this weekend I discovered new areas on two ends of Queen Street. On Saturday night I rode the streetcar East to Leslieville and ate at an amazing restaurant called Queen Margherita Pizza. My girlfriend orders the Margherita Pizza at any place that serves it, as she calls it the metric for a great restaurant. If their MP is good, then the resto is good. So - when I found out there was a restaurant with the pizza in the name? I thought, we've gotta try this! Plus - it has a rave review in the Toronto Life 2011 Restaurant Guide... not a bad reason to go! It was delicious. She obv ordered the MP, I ordered a pizza called just the Vegetarian Pizza, and both were amazing!! We also started off with a re-imagined bruschetta which was amazing, and finished the night with their Tiramisu which was the best I've ever had - light and yummy! We didn't walk around Leslieville enough, but it seems like a great area with some eclectic shops and a very relaxed vibe.
On Sunday morning I rode the streetcar West on Queen to Roncesvalles, and had brunch with my bestie Rachel at Easy Restaurant. It was also highly recommended by Toronto Life and www.blogto.com, so I wanted to give it a try. My friend was a "bit late", but I was in no rush so I relaxed with a cup of coffee and a book. The serving staff were fantastic - just kept refilling my cup but never pressured me to order or asked me when my friend was coming; they just left me alone... much appreciated. When Rachel arrived, we ordered - she got the vegetarian toscada, and I got the house specialty: Huevos Divorciados. They were delicious! Mexican-inspired breakfast food... no complaints. Unfortunately I didn't walk around Ronci that much either, but I love the vibe there, too. Once again - lots of neat shops, some hipsters walking and biking around, and it didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous day... so was Saturday. Man, good weather really makes walking around a total pleasure!! Anyway, needless to say, it was a great weekend!!
And that's not all... I discovered two areas of Toronto AND finished two books. I hate getting into a reading funk, but the fun of getting out is that if you have 5 books half-finished, suddenly you feel like you're breezing through.
- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
- The Girls by Lori Lansens
- Live from New York by Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
- The Divinity Gene by Matthew J. Trafford
HP7 - the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series - was awesome!! I laughed, I cried, and I enjoyed every minute of it... especially the last 100 pages or so - I felt as though I could not stop. It really was a fantastic story, and I'm already looking forward to re-reading it sometime in the not-so-near future. The HP series can't be double-counted in the reading challenge... that just wouldn't be fair. Anyway, so I'm done the series! I can't wait for the movie, now knowing what happens... it's going to be quite the show!
Secondly, I wrapped up reading The Divinity Gene by Matthew J. Trafford - who I know personally, but haven't seen in a while. Man oh man can that man write... wow!! I think I can safely say that aside from Margaret Atwood, that is the most inventive, imaginative writing I have ever witnessed. The stories... they were so out of this world that I couldn't believe they were conceived by the human mind... but that's why I love fiction! I also love reading a book of short stories for a change. For one thing, you don't feel as guilty setting it aside for a little while, and for another, it's so nice to have so much variety in one book. I highly recommend the book and bought a copy for a friend this weekend to support Matthew, as he deserves it!
That's all for now!
Also - 4 sleeps until NYC!!!!!
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