What Intersection is this?

Great way to test out the camera on my new i phone - pics of Toronto on a day where the sky seemed endless. Fully noted that i phone camera kind of sucks. Photos come out under-exposed and there is no zoom! Should have waited for the 4G....

Email me if you can figure out where I'm standing: but.good.different@gmail.com . Hint: West...

Starving for Waffles

I have a new best friend.

Her name is Waffles.

Don't get my wrong, Benny and I are still pals. But Waffles are so crispy and fluffy, and they can do anything! Including Benny!

Starving Artist, over at 584 Lansdowne, has brought Brunch to new levels by highlighting waffles on pretty much their entire menu. They have a sweet waffle section with fresh fruit and chocolate and ice cream - already known to be delicious. But they dare to dance with the benedict!? and the sandwich!?

Who wants toast when you can drench an adorable mini waffle in maple syrup?

Plus you can simultaneously shove waffles in your mouth and appreciate hip local art. Check out their website for info on live music and DJ nights too!

5.75 out of 6.1

e

Reason #51

...Because the most pimped out cab ride drives around our very own East End soliciting passengers keen for a little something else....

If you're East of Broadview and you're lucky enough to snag a cab with a neon blue sign that flashes "East End", you'll be greeted by: 

• A shrine-like ensemble of hundreds of figurines and collectibles acting as keepers of cab ride paradise
• Mini disco balls and flashing lights on the ceiling
• Two TVs with music videos of Michael Jackson's Thriller for your viewing pleasure
• Surround sound audio system to add to the "coolness" factor
• 10 magazines hanging off the back of the front seats for your reading pleasure
• An assortment of toys to entertain your kids, as if the collectibles aren't enough
• Neon-flashing "Welcome" sign to make you feel really at home
• And the great company of a cabbie who's been striving for 10 years to make his ride the pimpest ride ever. 

 One more reason to love Toronto now.

S.

Gotta love the TTC

Hot, sticky air, sidewalks full of people walking home, strangers talking to one another, multiple buses hogging the roads, back to back, moving metres per minute, spilling over with bodies...Clogged up traffic, exhaust fumes mixed with street meat smoke...bikes, skateboards, cars and motorcyles all sharing lanes, cars honking, people yelling.....It really could be anywhere but Toronto- Bangkok? Dehli? Nairobi? 

This was the tone, temperature and temperament when I biked home tonight from the Danforth. What caused this ruckus? The TTC broke down. This is one of my favourite Toronto phenomena. When the TTC breaks down. When masses of people are forced to exit subway stations and take slow moving shuttle buses to their destinations. Strangers suddenly start talking to one another about how inefficient the TTC is, how inconvenient this rupture in their journey is, how long it's taking for TTC officials to get shuttle buses along. People start talking about where they live, where they're headed, where they're coming from. Dialogue ensues. You learn a little bit more about your potential neighbour. Those who are closer to their final destination actually take it upon themselves to walk home; streets become busier, noisier, more energetic. Granted a lot of the energy is negative- misery does love company. But all the better, right?

I love it. 

Lucky for me I was on bike tonight and got to watch it from afar. 

Here's to Torontonians bonding...

S.

Dovercourt Village Jane's Walk

Last weekend I participated in one of Toronto's 123 neighrbourhood strolls, in memory of legendary Jane Jacobs. Since one of my themes of the year is staying local, I didn't want to take the TTC or go far to discover something new about the City. On Sunday afternoon I debated between supporting Sistering, which is across the street from me, or attending a tour of Dovercourt Village, hosted by a resident who happens to be big into architecture, history and planning. This Village is essentially the neighbourhood that I live in, except that I'm on Bloor Street. This time I went with the latter.

Having been an organizer in a Jane's Walk for two years in a row that happened to be in one of Toronto's inner suburbs, I was excited to attend one in my own downtown neighbourhood. We met at Dovercourt Park at 2pm. There were about 30 people there; couples, seniors, a few toddlers, and a fair amount of 20-30 something stragglers like myself. Most of the crowd seemed to be residents, with the exception of a few folks who who traveled from Scarborough and Ajax just to come to this Jane's Walk!  Dovercourt Park was a perfect central meeting point to commence our tour. I'm looking for close green spaces to hang out in and this park actually might do the trick. It's got a baseball diamond, playground and tennis court, but still enough grassy green space and 100-year old trees.

The walk was well-paced, twisty and curvy, full of interesting historical tidbits. We walked up to Hallam street, a main artery of Dovercourt Village and learned about the street's namesake, John Hallam. A literacy advocate, he was responsible for starting Public libraries in Ontario in the late 1800s! We paused in front of Dovercourt Public School, which established in 1911. We reviewed the unique architecture of a Gothic-inspired church, and learned that Dovercourt House, which is now a space shared by various artists and fashion designers, used to be an old Synagogue.

 
We walked through a distinct Toronto alley and learned that alleys were originally created for the purpose of heating houses with coal (I stopped by the bakery to get a snack when we were at this point in the tour- so I don't understand the logistics in this). It was also neat to note that street cars in Toronto were planned around neighbourhoods and not vice versa. And unlike the Annex, Dovercourt Village's houses are far from Victorian. Instead, you'll even find rows of some small, understated, cottage-like worker homes (near what used to be a coal-mining factory). Bonus tidbit of history: Dovercourt Village's claim to fame happens to be Marilyn Bell, who was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario (and she was only a teenager)!

It was a curious way to spend a Sunday afternoon, in the company of people who at first appear to be no more than strangers, but really, we were all just neighbours...and we bumped into the Sistering Jane's Walk as we were pouring off the sidewalk mid-tour, up on Hallam. They waved to us in walking tour solidarity, and I noticed that they had a fair following...so I didn't feel so bad about my walking tour choice in the end.

S.

Brunch on Trial

So I've been brunch hopping recently, and have ended up with a small pile of unreviewed restaurants that I've been meaning to share with you all. So I figured, why not all at once? You've all seen Video on Trial. You know it's often not very funny. Well it's ok, because I'm going to review a bunch of Toronto brunch places, and pictures of delectable foods can counteract any bad jokes made. And nothing elicits public interest like pitting stuff against other stuff. I can't include flashy sounds and colours like on muchmusic, because I don't know how.

Featured Judge: 
e - self proclaimed food consumer

Brunches on Trial:
Lola's Commissary   634 Church St.
Mitzi's College   890 College St.
Bonjour Brioche   812 Queen Street East
Irish Embassy   49 Yonge St.

First up: Lola's Commissary
Lola's is charged with being so pretty that I just assumed the food was delicious, no matter what it tasted like.

Pros: decor was nice. Lola's looks like it's someone's house. But like a rich someone. You walk in the front door, and you see stairs going up to more seating on the second floor in what I assume are supposed to be bedrooms. Then you walk into the living room and there are all the host's guests, seated at dainty tables, surrounded by exposed brick walls and industrial ceilings. Natural light floods in from the large windows, and there is a faint smell of cinnamon. Actually I don't remember what it smelled like, but I'm guessing something like cinnamon.

Speaking of which, food was good. In fact, food was pretty delicious. We ordered mimosas to start, because it was just one of those mornings, and then ordered one of the daily specials and a sugary indulgence and shared.

The special was poached eggs in a soupy tomato and bean sauce, with chunks of avocado and cilantro, and some sort of white sour cream-like sauce drizzled on top. It was like fancy eggs with salsa. We had to order bread on the side, because it didn't come with any, but it was tastey and unique and seemingly healthy.

We had read rave reviews of their cheesecake french toast, so we ordered one to share. They were fluffy and sweet and covered with syrupy berries and sauce. The cheesecake part was goopy cheesey goo on the inside of each piece, sandwiched between the

bread. It was sort of like that cheesey goo you get in your Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Kind of fake tasting, but I guess kind of good. The whole thing was a bit too sweet, but that didn't stop us from eating it all.

Lola's was good. Lola's was not so good that I fainted from delight. But I would willingly come to Lola's again. So I guess it gets a solid PRETTY GOOD. I would even say it was quite good, but the word quite doesn't look good in caps.

b) Mitzi's College

Mitzi's is charged with allowing children onto the premises. No one wants to see chubby babies standing on tables. Babies be dirty and they let their fluids drip all over the place.

So the College St. Mitzi's was pretty full last weekend, and we had to wait for a table because everyone brought their babies to Sunday brunch and let them run wild inside the restaurant, taking up precious grown up space. But whatever, free country.

The brunch menu is very small, all specials, and we were told they don't allow substitutions or ordering off the menu. They didn't even have the standard eggs and bacon and toast breakfast, but apparently that is the only thing they will make special if requested. So two of us ordered eggs and bacon, but substituted fruit instead of bacon. And more fruit instead of toast. The other two ordered the poached egg special, which included poached eggs and white fish with dill sauce, fresh fruit, and home fries and sourdough toast.

The food was....ok. Satisfactorily tastey, but not jump out at you delicious. And it wasn't cheap. I would rather try another place rather than go there again. 3 out of 5. Lower your prices, Mitzi.

3nd: Bonjour Brioche
Bonjour Brioche is charged with squishing their tables so close together that I could hear everyone's inane conversations around me, and I felt the need to pretend to talk about something really interesting.

Ok but seriously, Bonjour Brioche's food was delicious. We didn't have to wait too long, and the servers were no nonsense and got people what they wanted in time.

This place is a serious bakery. They make all sorts of breads and quiches and tarts and cakes. And brioche, which is this fancy bread that is delicious! yum! It was hard to decide what to get!

We ended up ordering the croque madame and the broccoli and cheese quiche, and then we took some fresh baked croissants and brioches home for later.

The croque madame was made with what was perhaps the most crazy good toast ever. The ham and cheese was all good and fine, but the crust of the bread had this heavenly crunch that was so satisfying. It was meaty, this crunch. Like on a different dimension from other bread. It was bread if it were made out of steak, and you aren't a vegetarian.

All the plates are served with a piece of their house made baguette and a giant triangular brick of butter. People really don't need that much butter. But the bread itself was chewy and dense and flavourful.

The quiche was light and fluffy, not at all like the crap you get at the cafeteria. It was as if it was steamed, but with the flavour of being baked. And the crust was flaky. And it came with salad. But who cares about salad.

Afterwards, they bring a plate over to your table so you can drool over their tarts, and then dare you not to get one. We dared. And then regret it after, because then we didn't have any tart, and that was sad.

4.75 out of 5. Because eventually the food was gone, and none magically appeared to replace it.

Last: Irish Embassy
The Irish Embassy is charged with being so uninspiring that I didn't bother taking my camera out to photograph anything. 

I considered ordering the Irish breakfast special, but I noticed it came with black pudding, and I suspected it was blood sausage, and I didn't like the sound of that. So instead I ordered the eggs benedict with back bacon. My companion ordered the daily soup - corn chowder - and the green salad with fried shrimp.

Blah, the food was mediocre. To be fair, the corn chowder was pretty tastey. She ate all the shrimp on the salad, but left half of the greens because the dressing had no flavour. The eggs benedict were...blah. The hollandaise was goopy and looked like it had been sitting on the plate for a while. The Irish soda bread it was served on was too thick and overpowering. The homefries were bland and were probably similar to those eaten by Frank McCourt as a child.

2 out of 5 on account that I didn't get food poisoning and I liked that my poached eggs didn't run too much. Irish Embassy is sentenced to play something - anything - besides Enya on their webpage intro. Made me lose my appetite.

Brunch! Stop being disappointing!
e

Apparently I look like Owen Wilson and Sophie Marceau's baby

hm wait...I also look like Stephen Chow.

Though often bizarrely way off depending on the photo you input, like telling you you look like Melania Knauss (Mrs. Trump) and Roseanne Barr in the same breath, this site is pretty fun. Then later, from another photo, they'll say you look like Elle Macpherson, and you can't stay mad.

e