The Best Looking Pho in Town

Hanoi 3 Seasons

Blog TO really missed out when they ran around the city trying to find the best Pho in T.O. They overlooked a taste of Vietnam in the heart of Leslieville called Hanoi 3 Seasons. While it may be slightly pricier than other Pho places, it is still totally affordable with main dishes being $7.50 to $9.50. The aesthetic is serene and green, with old wooden furniture and photos and woven art of countrysides and rivers adorning the walls.


When most people think of Pho, they think borderline meat, MSG, and dirty tables. Often the rule of thumb is 'the sketchier the joint, the more authentic the food'. Well Hanoi 3 Seasons turns this on its head. Owner Han Luke Tran is a former Bay Street money manager who decided to open this up-scale Northern Vietnamese restaurant 4 years ago. The decor is classy and chic, and everything on the menu looked so good I had serious difficulty making up my mind. Though we personally weren't bananas about the elevator jazz that was trickling through the speakers, we're willing to let that slide on account of the deliciousness level of the food.

Our party of 4 ordered:

• spicy shrimp with lemon grass served on vermicelli - I threw in a splash of fish sauce, and it was one of the best Vietnamese vermicellis I've ever had (and I've eaten a lot of vermicelli)


• garlic beef with vegetables on vermicelli with a spring roll - the garlic sauce was really tasty, the rest of us kept going back for more samples


• the standard beef rice noodle soup - warm and comforting and MSG-free


• spicy shrimp with lemon grass and tamarind noodle soup - delicious and light and made without beef

The staff was friendly and funny (our waitor jumped out at me while I tried to take a photo and I screamed) and knowledgeable. The place was quite busy for a Sunday night, though we didn't have to wait too long for a table. While its location in the trendy Leslieville might be a bit out of the way for some, it's definitely worth the trip if you like Vietnamese food and want to try something a bit different from the standard pho fare.

pho sho

e

How To Do Breakfast

Step 1.

Make a good friend, maybe from school, maybe from work. She must be fun and funny. She is equally good friends with all your roommates, and she frequently drops by your house unannounced just to say hi. She can spend entire days with you hanging out on your back patio reading, smoking hookah, and drawing on the walls with sidewalk chalk.

Step 2.

Your friend goes to Africa for 7 months to do her part in changing the world. You keep in touch via email and gmail chat, you read each others' blogs. You miss her.

Step 3.

Friend comes back. She comes to visit for a weekend. You go out and overeat with her, listen to her stories, marvel at her maturity, and drink beers. She stays over on the futon with three fleece blankets. The next morning on your day off, you wake up at 8:30 so you can hang out with her before she has to leave at 11:30 am. You plan out your day. Plans include a delicious breakfast and jumping on the other roommates' beds while they are at work.

Step 4.

You start off breakfast with a Honey Nut Cheerios Shot. You will eat something more substantial, but you enjoy cereal and you want something to ease you into the first meal of the day. Put some Cheerios in a shot glass and pour in a splash of milk. Your friend patiently waits while you run to get your camera to photograph it, and then helps you get a better angle because she knows her way around a camera better than you do. You cast the spoon aside in favour of shooting the cereal back. You have to add more milk to get at the last couple stragglers.

Step 5. 

Ask your friend if she wants ketchup or mustard. Then you make delicious breakfast sandwiches while she showers, using this information. Toast 2 whole wheat English muffins. While those turn golden brown, throw a little butter/olive oil in a pan, change pans because the first one was dirty, throw more butter/olive oil into second pan. Crack two extra large eggs into pan and break the yolks with a spatula. Season with salt and pepper. While those cook, grab the ketchup, mustard, cheddar cheese, and spinach from the fridge. Squeeze a spiral of ketchup onto one muffin, and mustard onto the second. Top with a few leaves of spinach. When eggs start crackling, separate them and flip, then turn off the fire and let them finish cooking with the residual heat, and congratulate yourself for saving energy. Cut about 10 thin slices of cheese. Spatula one egg onto each bed of spinach, then top with 5 slices of cheese each. Top with muffin tops and place each onto a small plate. Garnish with another spinach leaf, just to be fancy. Smile when your friend notices.

Step 6.

Sit at the table with friend and peek into sandwiches to determine whose is whose. Run and grab your camera, decide that the plate looks best on the red wooden chair, photograph, and debate whether food looks less appetizing on a chair. 

Step 7.

Take a bite. Get some Thai Sriracha chili sauce to take it to the next level. Talk about how much better food tastes with hot sauce.

Step 8.

Put on the kettle, eat the sandwiches, and enjoy your friend's company.

e

Some arts and crafts make the perfect gifts

So there was a time when I was all caught up on my favourite online TV shows, and I took it upon myself to engage in some serious arts and crafts. I had some vacation time where I chose not to travel anywhere and instead did meaningful activities like... bottle-painting! Or jar-painting. Or, just painting on glass. Anyways, it's the process of painting on glass that I wanted to share with you. And by you I mean a fellow artsy person who likes to use their hands, make pretty things and doesn't necessarily have a consistent creative pursuit or is even that talented. Sound familiar? Well, if so, here is something fun, cheap and easy you can do!

Here are the steps:
1. First you need to decide what glass object you want to paint. I always go with glass bottles or jars which you can get for just $1 at Dollarama! In the past I have also painted mirrors and candle holders, but glass plates could be cool too. Apart from Dollarama, Honest Ed's and Zellers are good places to look for this sort of thing.

2. Then you need to go out and buy glass paints by a make called Pebeo. They come in small 45 mL jars, offering a 20-plus colour range. They can be purchased individually or in a set. You have two options. You can buy the Pebeo Vitrail or the Pebeo Vitrail 160. What's the difference? The former is purely decorative so use it on objects that won't need to go in the dishwasher. The latter is dishwasher safe and meant to be used. However, you have to bake the glass once it has been painted. I always go with the former, because I don't know the first thing about baking glass! These paints are not available at all art stores, but in the downtown area De Serres carries the line, and they cost around $4 per jar. And, given that the amount of paint used per project is so minimal, these jars will last you for years.

3. To make your design more fabulous you need to purchase an outliner as well. This is a puffier paint that comes in a tube in different colours like brass, silver, lead, grey etc. and it is used to shape and outline your designs, or for you to draw out the bulk of your illustration. This outliner I have found in other art stores too, including Midoco on Bloor near Bathurst.

4. Now it's up to you to use your imagination and put paint to glass. As you can see from our p my friend chose a forest animal theme (see first image above) and chose to paint the entire jar blue. I chose a starry night theme and used more doodles (see image right). Regardless of what you do, your final product will look so pretty in the sunlight, sitting on a window-sill, and it makes the perfect gift for birthdays and holidays.
Keep in mind that the paints might be hard to remove from your paint- brush so use turpentine or a cheaper alternative like nail polish remover.

That is it; those are all the tips that I have to offer you, my fellow arts and crafts lover. Easter vacation is coming up around the corner, so if you're not doing anything, and tired of online TV, this is the way to go. Have fun!

S.

I didn't see it, I don't have a tv

We don't have a tv in our house (and yes, we love telling people about it). "Television rots your brain, I'd rather spend my time reading", we would say. We thought it would keep us from vegetating in front of a mindless flickering screen, and it would allow us to do more productive things, like learning to play the harmonica, engaging in lively conversations, and pursuing interesting hobbies like bottle painting.

Of course it merely forced us to awkwardly huddle around our laptop screens as we nurtured our newfound obsessions with youtube and internet television.

You can watch almost anything on the Internet (except maybe SNL sketches). There are countless websites (watch for pop-ups) devoted to streaming sitcoms, reality shows, and crime dramas. You can watch most of it for free, as long as you don't mind time limits, small screens, and you're careful to avoid irritating computer viruses (sorry PC users). Of course there is also youtube, that's ready when you are, where you can watch Wham music videos, clips of Japanese game shows , random musings on subjects like "why I love my cat" and "how to turn an old pair of jeans into a functional accordian", fan videos of Michelle Tanner set to Kelly Clarkson's 'Breakaway', and so much more. 

There is no end to the various ways the Internet can keep you occupied. And then afterwards, when you are away from the screen, you can talk about what you saw and read and make comments to your friends (Dude, I'm reading this blog, it's so awesome! it's like, different...but like...good different). 

So, ABDC, y'all. America's Best Dance Crew just wrapped up its third season this week. Y'all, it was a good season, y'all. The dancing was off the hook, y'all. But seriously, when did Shane Sparks and Lil Mama decide they needed to sound like a 15-year old Jessica Simpson? If you start a sentence with 'y'all', you don't have to close with y'all, it's understood that you're still addressing the whole group. And host Mario Lopez with his stupid puns? "Beat Freaks, can you FREAK away the competition this week?""Quest Crew, is it your QUEST to win ABDC?" Who decided everything AC Slater said had to be as lame as possible? "Oh, this show is too hip hop, nerdy middle American audiences may not be able to relate, we should make the beefcake dance show host say really geeky phrases that re-use the same puns week after week". And what's up with JC Chasez's need to rename everyone? "Hok, you're good at tutting, they should call you King Tut". "Quest, you should be called America's Best Hair Crew, cuz you guys all have different and unique hair styles that many of the guys I often spend time with don't have". Seriously NSync, that's neither complimentary nor funny. You think just because JT's hip and successful you can go around telling people what they should call themselves? You should rename Mario Lopez - 'AC Hater of un-punny jokes'. That'll show him.

You know what else you should watch? Alec Baldwin. Yah, I know it's not new news that the elder Baldwin is a shoo-in for America's Most Awesome Guy award, but he's really funny on 30 Rock, and I want to make sure you all know that. 

One more thing. America's snarkiest, most sarcastic news source, The Onion, keeps me occupied for hours, and you could be too! Their videos, available at their site or on youtube, are so funny I look around when I watch them in case I'm disrupting people with my laughter. So if you haven't checked it out yet, go read their articles and watch their videos.

So what's the point to this post? We like the Internet, and you probably do too, so although you may be going blind, you haven't seen sunlight in four days, and you're starting to think wikipedia is a legitimate information source (I know I am), we appreciate your dedication to our blog and we hope you start to need us like you need google.

xo

e

Graffiti Art and Happenstance

Some of you might already be familiar with this infamous Graffiti artist's work. The angular female face with heavy eyelids is littered across alley ways, garage doors, and building walls small and wide in downtown Toronto's commercial settings, residential neighbourhoods, you name it. A series of events transpired since I first fell in love with this face in October, 2008, which led me to come very close to meeting the mysterious Graffiti artist, purchasing their artwork and discovering a hip new art gallery along the way.



I had seen this face (or according to 416streets.com, more commonly known in flickr/blog discussions as the painted lady) in passing, but the first time I actively recognized it was when I was heading Southbound on the Spadina streetcar near College Street. It was love at first site. I was dumbfounded, completely drawn to its heavy Modigliani-inspired almond eyes. I was reminded of Francesco Clemente's portraits that I came across as a youth, the signature detail being disproportionately large eyes.

In December as I was browsing through photographs at a Christmas craft sale at the Tranzac in the Annex, much to my delight I stumbled across a photograph of the familiar black and white painted lady (see above). I immediately forked out $20 to purchase it. When inquiring about the location of the image and the artist's information, the vendor informed me that the photograph was taken outside of a Second Cup on Yonge Street, south of Bloor, but that since then, this image has been painted over. They had no idea who the artist was, but had also been drawn to these faces that peak out of Toronto streetscapes. Graffiti art is pretty unstable; transient, fleeting. One minute it's there, the next an establishment, the City of Toronto, or some official authority paints over it. I guess this is when we're grateful for photographs. I have this piece of artwork captured in a photograph, yet the original no longer exists. Do people remember it? Does anyone else have it?

Well, yes, someone else does. So in January, I was supposed to play pool at the Raq N Waq on Queen West, but the fancy clothes and loud music were a major deterrent, and since on our way over there we had seen an empty dive bar with pool tables, we moved our party over to this other place (the name will not be revealed, as we're claiming it for our own). Late into the night, a group of young guys came in and when my friend spent her last two quarters on Warren G's Regulate on the jukebox, there must have been some serious appreciation because one of them handed me a card with.... a colour version of the my beloved painted lady. I was truly taken aback. The card (see above) they handed to me was promoting a show at their art gallery which was called "A Mysterious Date with Anser". Anser, at least now I had a tag name for this Graffiti artist. They even said that I may get to meet the artist.... Well as my schedule would have it, that Thursday I was at a spoken word event at the Toronto Women's Bookstore, and did not make it to the gallery. But, fueled by my desire to know and see more of this artist, I ended up making my way over weeks later.

And let me tell you, the artwork is stunning. At Funktion Gallery, there are wall-sized portraits on canvases, pieces on wood, and numerous prints, sketches, photographs and more. A Toronto street art blog covers the opening in one of their posts and you gotta read it: http://www.416streets.com/2009/02/anser/09/02/anser/ . The gallery seems pretty new, only about a month old, and run by that group of young peeps we met, who look like they're in their 20s, so I was pretty impressed. When asked about how they ran across this artist, they said that his (yes it's a male artist) manager approached them and asked them to put on the show. An interview with the artist from the Torontoist tells me otherwise; they're just buddies. However, they weren't allowed to disclose any more information regarding his identity, as Graffiti is illegal and all, and this talented artist wants to remain anonymous. In any case I bought numerous prints. The photographs (first graphic above) are by the artist himself taking pictures of his own graffiti. I also got a very fun hoodie with a portrait silk-screened on it. If you like this hoodie and have also been curious about the painted lady, I would highly recommend that you walk over to Bloordale Village (opposite the House of Lancaster between Dufferin & Landsdowne) to check out and support these young curators' space and take a peak at some of Anser's artwork. The show has been extended until March 14th, so you're in luck!

Since we're on the topic of Graffiti art, this might be the coolest video ever of Graffiti art (in motion!): http://www.vimeo.com/993998 ! Enjoy.

S.

I heart these downtown bars

I figured since I trash talked two Toronto venues the other weekend, I have to write about two other popular but different venues that I kind of love. I went to Andy pool hall last Friday and Thymeless last Wednesday. (Picture courtesy of Toronto life). Here are some reasons why these places are classic:

Why Andy poolhall

• The red lighting and 60’s décor is really unique
• It offers a variety of activities so you never really get bored. You can play pool (it does get pretty crowded though), you can dance (pretty fun music), you can sit at the bar (there are two bars), or you can shoot the shit with a group of friends over drinks at your own table.
• They have an assortment of seating from funky bar stools, comfy couches, to retro spacey armchairs
• If you go before 11 on the weekend, there's no cover! Otherwise it's only $5!
  
• You can guaranteed make new friends every time you go. No doubt.
• I love bars that have a designated queer night, and Andy Poolhall does once a month!
  
• It is no nonsense, non-pretentious, eclectic and diverse. Different age groups, different styles, people come from all over the city. Here is what their website has to say and I think it's a fab description:
  

“Embracing Toronto's multi-cultural flavour, Andy Poolhall as well as sister bar Ciao Edie cannot be defined in simple terms such as gay or straight, black or white, suburban or scenester - Andy and Edie cater to the enlightened club-goer who rejects labels and stereotypes, and respects everyone's right to have a good time. Here, you are all VIPs!"

I bet you're itching to go now. It's good for birthdays and the such. 489 College Street.

Why Thymeless

• I love grungy bars. They are the best.
• Reggae soothes my soul. On Fridays and Saturdays, Thymeless DJs play a mix of old cultural reggae, dancehall, dub and 90s stuff. It's only $5.
  
• At DJ events in small venues you can’t detach yourself from the music and become immediately immersed in the sound and space around you.
• If you love bass this bar is for you. Wednesdays offers a wicked drum n bass/ dubstep night, which if you’re into dancing is really fun to dance to. The bass is intense. There are some sweet talented young guys who deliver some intense lines and even if you’re not into dub, it’s just interesting to watch/hear. It's FREE on Wednesdays!
  
• There is a back patio that people frequent no matter what season it is.
• The back patio has a fuse ball table which is a fun activity to change things up, as well as a good way to make friends with other patio dwellers.
• It says no smoking, but you can smell the ganja everywhere.
• You always can meet interesting Rastafarians.
• While it's definitely its own scene, no one is judging anyone else
• It's the one bar I'd feel comfortable going there on my own and it ain't no thang.
• Here's an apt review from Toronto Life:
  

http://www.torontolife.com/guide/bars-and-clubs/bars/thymeless-bar-grill/

While I'm sure there are plenty of decent places to listen to reggae and dub without a lot of U of T students and all, like on Eglinton West or even St. Claire West, this is a sweet downtown venue. Blog TO should do a Best of Reggae/Dub section on their website, but currently they don't have it. Perhaps I should suggest it to them? Anyways, it's located on 355 College Street, corner of Augusta, so check it out.

S.

I'm not a groupie, I swear

So there we were, outside the Drake, looking for somewhere for my friend to eat before the show. We saw a little Vietnamese restaurant a couple doors down, a Subway, and a Pizza Pizza. She was leaning towards the pizza, but I wanted to check out Saigon Flower’s menu for something small to munch on. So we paused to examine the menu outside the restaurant when K gasped and said “isn’t that…?” and I looked up, and who do I see staring back at me but Chris Chu in the window at a table with his band, the morning benders? For a split second I thought he was a friend who recognized me and I was going to smile and wave, until I processed the scene and realized that while I knew who he was, he had no idea who I was. So I refrained. But I begged K to go in so I could meet the band, just like I wanted!

So she agreed, and we went in and sat at a table close to the boys. There was hardly anyone else there, and I thought of all the ways I could casually pass by and say hello. I didn’t want to say hi and then awkwardly go back to my table and eat, so I had to do it when we left or when they left. I'm a giant dork. So we finally finished our meal, and I was all ready. I would non-chalantly walk by on our way out and say “Hey guys. I really love your album” and then they would say thanks, blah blah blah, and depending on how it went, I’d end with “have a great show, I’m gonna go and try to get a good spot”, flash a winning smile, and leave. And hopefully they’d invite us backstage. Or invite me to join the band. Or say thanks…

But alas, my heart was thumping, I over thought it, and I walked out without so much as a glance in their direction. So that was my missed opportunity. But it does get better. But first, the show.

The Submarines were first up, and K and I inched our way right up in front of the stage. Singer/guitarist/xylophonist Blake Hazard was losing her voice, but she had just enough juice left to deliver a highly entertaining and energetic set. She was adorable in her white country-bumpkin dress, pigtail braids, and cowboy-inspired boots. Her vocals were earnest and sweet, and her between-song banter was cute and ingratiating, from “I love Toronto! You have cute road signs” to “Family day? That’s f*#@in awesome!”. She charmed the pants off the audience. The music was upbeat, flowers decorated the stage, and they played all their familiar songs. Guitarist/singer John Dragonetti kept the pace lively and added complimenting vocals. All in all it was a great set, and Blake headed over to the merch table after where she chatted with fans and signed autographs.

I got a spot right up front for the morning benders as well. The boys set up fairly quickly and started their set with “Patient, Patient”. The album is largely acoustic-driven, but the boys wielded electric guitars for their live set, with some piano here and there. Three of the four wore plaid shirts, they all wore skinny jeans and beat up converse sneakers, and Chris had his guitar strapped high, maintaining their lanky and youthful appearance. While the songs had a harder, more rock and roll edge compared to the album, Chris’ vocals were consistent, and the Beach Boys-inspired harmonies helped keep their sound fresh and inviting. The songs were energetic and danceable, though they all ended with ‘freak out’ guitar solos at the end, at times causing the guitarists to head bang and fall to the floor. But in a cute way, because they all look like little boys. Chris also had some “I love Toronto” words to say, asking about Tim Hortons (“There’s a lot of them. Should I go there? Ok cool”) and inviting the audience to sing and dance along. They threw in a few new songs into the set, and ended off with the single “Waiting for a War”.

The boys headed straight over to sell their swag, and I took the opportunity to finally meet them. I picked up the 7” “Waiting for a War” and asked Chris to sign it, which he did, and then passed to drummer Julian, who also signed. Then I looked up, smiled at Chris, and then said “you guys are awesome” in an embarrassingly awkward way, and he smiled and said thanks. And I turned and walked away. And that was that.

e