Back To School

One of my favourite food finds in Toronto happened on my very last weekend there - always the way, isn't it! I followed the recommendation found on Crystal-Clear, and took Katie and Kylie on a trek to get there.

This find was also part of a quest to find a good brunch spot in the city, after a few disappointments. Of course, during the week leading to this last weekend one of my work colleagues gave me a massive list of places for brunch which she recommended. Oops! Just too late to get to them all.

School, however, made up for my other brunch fails.  Up near Dufferin in the West, we earnt our meals by walking up there, in the sun and humidity.

The restaurant is in full theme, with so many great and quirky details, and was packed on the morning we were there. The waitresses are in school uniforms, there are clocks adorning one wall, pages of school work hanging from the light fittings, and the drinks are served in beakers! So cool!

The food is amazing. Completely taken in by Crystal's review, I chose the toasted stuffed croissant with trout and scrambled eggs - it was a deal with that photo of hers and the hollandaise!

The counters all had loads of baked treats to choose from too, which we somehow managed to resist.  With the brunch menu served until 4pm on the weekends, I am so sad to have not discovered this place earlier!

Loved the attention to theme in the detail, the fast service, and the range of choices on the menu. I think it would be worth going here for Detention, too, and checking our their cocktail list!

Dinner In The Dark

Kylie was adamant that we go to Dinner In The Dark during the week Katie was in Toronto. The idea of being taken into a restaurant in complete darkness, and trying to eat a meal, sounded a little wacky to me, but sure enough, we went along!

Upon arrival, we were seated in the foyer area which is decked out very much like something out of Cluedo. Here, we were shown the menu, and after time to decide, our orders were taken out here, including when we would like our beverages of choice brought to the table.

I'll admit I was a little anxious about how I would cope in total darkness, in a room I couldn't see, with presumably people moving all about and food and drinks being transported all around us. But it was actually totally fine.

Once our table was ready, our blind waitress came to collect us, lining us up behind each other, hands on shoulders. We were led to our table, and with very clear instructions, the layout was explained to us. Drinks to the right of our bread plate, which was in front of us.

As we sat, and felt around the table for our bread and a knife and the butter...ekk!..we could hear tables of other people around. The room is complete blackness, and so we had to rely on our hearing and imagination to construct the room layout for us.

Soon our meals arrived at the table, with no visual warning of course, and we started our three courses. Kylie was the braver of us, ordering the "surprise" entree and dessert, relying on her tastebuds to figure out what she was eating - she thought the first was a mushroom dish, and that sweets was a chocolate mousse (which our waitress later confirmed was also half raspberry!).

The concept of the restaurant is that without your sense of sight, all of your other senses such as smell and taste are enhanced, and thus, the food could be simple and yet amazing. I think the fact that we ate at the CN Tower then night before probably took away from this meal in the darkness, to be honest. But it was a good meal, and a very different experience.

I did learn that I very much enjoy food for the aesthetics, being that if it looks pretty, I am most likely going to be more excited about it. I also eat in a very segregated way, so not being able to see and direct different tastes to my fork one at a time took that away from me.

The eating experience was something so different, having to chase around beans or a portion of risotto around on a plate you could not see. I challenge anyone to do this without the aide of your hands!

Dinner At 114 Stories Above Toronto

The CN Tower in the skyline of Toronto was one of my favourite features of the city.

Going up the tower was something we had saved for when my little sister came to visit, and in that week we booked to have dinner up in the sky.

60 seconds it takes to be whisked up in the elevator from the ground to the 114th floor where the 360 Restaurant is. With a glass front door and side looking out, we got a view of the Islands getting smaller as we got higher.

Before we were seated, we ducked down a flight of stairs so we could check out the glass floor. Which to be honest, was not as exciting as we had imagined. And the view straight down in the section of the floor chosen to be glassed was pretty dull. Shame.

Once seated at our table by the window overlooking the city as darkness quickly fell, we took in the view properly, before we studied the menu. The dining section of the restaurant is on a lazy-susan type floor, which completes a full circle of the tower in just over an hour, allowing you a full view of Toronto below.

We each chose our combinations from the prix fixe menu for our 3 course dinner, which was expensive but had also included the ride up to this level of the Tower, so we could justify the cost. I had the duck entree, complete with fushia decoration, then the salmon which was delicious, and then the butter tart. I took some photos of our meal, but alas, I am no foodie! The food was very good, and well worth the booking.

Once our plates were empty, and we finished off the bottle of Ontario wine we had selected, we got off the revolving floor and took the stairs down two flights to the outside caged area to take in the city of lights below.

Picking out the landmarks, and having funny discussions about different opinons on our orientation at times, we also got to experience the light show of the Tower up close!

I totally wish I had gone up during a clear day now, to get the view in the sunshine. But I had totally thought seeing Toronto without the Tower in the view, by being in the Tower, would be missing something. But it was actually pretty awesome. Oh well, next time!

Having this bird's eye view of the city I called home for 3.5 months was such a nice finish, as I was able to see all the landmarks that I had managed to visit or take in in different ways during my time here.

Moonrise Kingdom and Dusted at Amsterdam

An outdoor movie, with the view of the CN Tower, out on a barmy Toronto evening sounded perfect to me. The fact that this was held at a brewery, with a band to start the evening and a food truck serving dinner sounded amazing!

Natalie and I ventured down after work, and grabbed the wares from the Sky Blue Sky toasted sandwiches for dinner, and a beer, and found our seats.

Just as the sun was disappearing, and the lights started up on the CN Tower, the band of the evening, Dusted, started their indie funk set. Whilst the sound was not crisp enough to hear them properly, their energy set the mood for the night as the crowd gathered. The food was delicious!

The irony of having to line up just before the movie was about to start, with the rest of the crowd, to get a beer from the only two working taps was not lost on anyone. I had to listen to a group of people debate how many beers they could carry, how many beers they would need, and how many tokens they had whilst the opening narration of the movie began. Shame.

But once settled back into my seat, I could get into the film, and it was lovely! The story of two mis-fit teens who meet, strike up a penpal relationship, and plot to run away together. A quirky, awkward teen love story - so cute!

This is a movie I would have seen at MIFF and continues my attempt to fill my movie list despite being on the other side of the world!

Market 707

One of my food finds of Toronto has come within my last week here, when my supervisor took me on a little outing for lunch. She took me to Market 707, which is a street of food sellers set up in shipping containers along Dundas Street West.

It is across the road from Toronto Western Hospital, of which Toronto General Hospital has a shuttle that runs every 15 minutes all day - handy!

The row of containers house sellers from such diverse cultural food backgrounds, and ranges from Mexican to Korean, West Indian wares to Japanese and Vegetarian feasts.

The smells along the row make your mouth water, and the mix means that there are hard food decisions to be made!

Foods from all around the world, made right there, by the little businesses that bring this strip to life - a perfect city lunch escape.

The food truck craze is really starting to take off here in Toronto, and this permanent little gathering of a dozen food sellers is way ahead of the game. Good food, local businesses, and good prices will surely have the locals flocking to this place as the word continues to get out about it.

I had the Shrimp Ceviche (that's prawn to us Aussie's!), which was delicious.

Sadly I have run out of time to sample all the treats here, and would have definitely made the journey time and again for the dessert options as well as the different foods on offer if I had known about Market 707 sooner! And I lived so close to it! Ha! Always the way....

The Roundhouse Craft Beer Festival

Since arriving in Toronto, I have been trying to find my favourite Canadian beer. My go-to order for a pint...but have struggled because of the large spectrum, and the never-ending variety stocked by different bars. Instead, my tactic is to ask about the most local beer, and try that. The longer I am here, the more craft breweries I am aware of!

The Roundhouse Craft Beer Festival was perfect to try beers made here in Ontario, and the set up of this first time festival made access to each one all too easy.

The festival was set up at Roundhouse Park, alongside the Steamwhistle Brewrey, and across the road from the Rogers Centre and just under the CN Tower. Both iconic Toronto views!

Gina and I picked up our special Fest glasses and beer tokens, and entered the space in the park - here each brewery had a tent set up, there was a free water tent (very responsible, and a great idea!), a band playing, and then a couple of food trucks adding to the atmosphere.

One beer token, which was $1, gave you a half fill of the glass, which made the only tough decisions of the afternoon being which tent to target first, and then which of the two, sometimes four, beers to try first.

The Flying Monkeys impressed with the Stereovision brew. Loved the boots atop of the taps at the Wellington Brewery tent, and I loved the in depth discussions at each tent to help with our selections.

We tried Nickel Brook Green Apple Pilsner on a recommendation from Kieran, mainly due to our ongoing quest to find a good cider here in Canada. At the Great Lakes I chose the Green Tea Ale, cos it sounded so different I had to try it, but taking a sip of Gina's Crazy Canuck Pale Ale I had clearly made a silly choice! Green Tea beer is a little weird, but the Canuck was great!

The menu envy was reversed when we had our much needed linner (lunch and dinner combined) from the food trucks. Gina's lobster roll from Tide & Vine was disappointingly tiny, for the price. Whereas my Lumberjack toastie from Gorilla Cheese - the Canadians do like to add slices of fruit to the most unexpected dish, with delicious results!

For a first time festival, it was small and easy to access. The crowd filled up after the end of the baseball across the street, which validated the awesome location. I can see this gathering of brews from the province getting bigger with word of mouth and some more promotion for next Summer.

I was a guest of the Craft Beer Festival, but thoughts and opinions in this post are entirely my own.

A Sweet Tour of Kensington

Chrystal from Chrystal-Clear had been talking about her upcoming sweet-themed tour through Kensington, and it sounded too great to pass up! I joined her on the weekend for a Tasty Tours Toronto walk, which included some samples of desserts and treats. Delicious!

Our meeting place was a bakery that I have passed many times, but was totally not aware of what goodies are sold from within. Audrey, our tour guide, introduced the morning, and the small group had a chance to meet each other, which was such a warm starting point.

I had received an email the day before the tour, reminding me of the booking and the details, which included the weather forecast and tips to ensure I was prepared for the morning, was a really cute touch. I also received a follow up email a couple of days after the tour, which was personalised for our group, which just added to the sense of connection from the morning.


The tour takes the group to six locations in and around the Kensington Market area, and each store provides the group with a sample of their wares. Audrey tells you about their business, the treats they sell and usually make on-site, and she also has many interesting facts about sweets, sugar, and this particular local area of Toronto.

The tours run every second Sunday, and Audrey keeps them to a small group, which makes it an easy outing for a morning treat. It would also be awesome for a hen's afternoon. Audrey also does Chocolate tours in the Trinity Bellwoods area, every other Saturday...sounds delicious!

I was provided with a tour from Tasty Tours, as a travel blogger. The thoughts in this post, however, are entirely my own.

The Temper Trap In Toronto

I told my housemate that I was off to see The Temper Trap here in Toronto, and he informed me that they are huge right now - that's exciting to here, an Aussie band this far from home!

Kylie, Chloe and I met up and made our way over the the East end of the city, and stopped at Against The Grain for a bite and drinks. We experienced one of the weirdest times here, we wondered if we were on a candid camera show....which is a shame, cos we loved it last time where we here.

Walking across the road to the venue, the city was the backlight to the block of fluro colour that was changing hue at a pace.

Kool Haus is part of The Guvernment complex, and was a pretty modern and impressive space. It had several levels, and areas to it - and for this evening was near full, with maybe over half of the voices there Aussie accents.

These Melbourne lads mixed the set with tracks from the newly released self titled sophomore album as well as that amazing album from 2009. Tracks like Love Lost and Fader reminded us how amazing that album was, and the new hits Trembling Hands and Need Your Love had the crowd enchanted and singing.

Dougy's voice is incredible. This is a band that sounds so amazing live, better than their recorded material.

Sweet Disposition, of course, was the final song of the night, and it was a huge sing-a-long. It was so cool to hear a filled room this far from home, filled with the words of this band's songs...impressive!

Pockets of Toronto

Following on from our quest to get to as many of the different Toronto neighbourhoods and tastes as possible whilst I am here, I have found a handful of gems in the last month.

We made the trek out to the Danforth, or Greek Town as it's also known, where Kylie and Natalie and I had pints for a catch up, before grabbing a table at Mezes Restaurant for a feast. Having cheese brought to the table, and having the waiter splash brandy on it and set it on fire was almost as impressive as it tasted! The dips were to die for.

Coming out onto the street from our delicious meal, we stumbled upon a "candy" store, which delivered loads of fun and gadgets - and points of marvel for the Aussie girls. Despite our full bellies, there is always room for ice cream on a night light this, and we found Docle Gelato. The watermelon sorbet was the hero of my selection!

That same weekend I took a streetcar and bus up north to meet Arielle, and she took me to her local ice creamery. Dutch Dreams is the type of local legend where people line up down the street to get their chance at the front of the line, and make their cone choice. The waffle cones, made onsite, are coated with treats, making them too good to pass up!

The interior of the family run business is decorated with trinkets from Holland, giving the experience of eating in a very European feel. Again, the sorbet choices were sensational.

Kylie and I met up along Queen Street West the following Friday night, and put our names on the list for Kao San Road. Always a good sign when the restaurant is full early on a busy night, and that the line moves fast. This Thai delight was one I sampled as part of 1000 Taste of Toronto, and having the full menu selection this time was mouth watering.

The meals were fresh and delicious, as was the atmosphere within this busy canteen style eatery.

Then, the following Tuesday was Natalie's birthday, and I encouraged an outing to her favourite bar in Toronto. She nominated Three Speed along Dufferin, on a very very hot evening. We managed to survive the dash from the subway into this cute little front room, and settled in with refreshing cider and wine, and impressive meals from this tiny kitchen. The vibe in this space was very chill and casual, perfect for a week night out.

A Month of Friday Dinners

Since getting to Toronto, I have managed to have dinner somewhere different at the end of each week - finding such a spot was a task I set Kylie, and so began our Friday night dinner catch ups and restaurant discovery endeavours. I love exploring new places, and neighbourhoods, and given this city's vast multicultural vibrancy, we have such a range of amazing options!

The first dinner was really on the Sunday of the weekend I arrived, and ended up being the biggest and most fun night I have had to date. This was at the end of my introductory wander through the CBD with Kylie and Gina, and was at the Cloak and Dagger. This taco fest, and the 27 beers on tap still rates highly with me. Although taste testing such a range did not help me find a Canada beer of choice, and I still dabble in whatever is on offer!

The following week was Kylie and my favourite food place so far, being Guu SakaBar on Bloor Street. We were taken to the tatami area, where shoes were removed and we were seated at sunken tables. The staff were super friendly, and fun, and the whole place had such a buzz to it. This Japanese Izakaya restaurant has an array of dishes on the menu that were drool-worthy just from their description, and even more so on their plates! Deep fried Brie with mango and blueberry sauces....apple cinnamon spring rolls for dessert, a couple of our most memorable. Going to be very, very hard to beat!

Shanghai Cowgirl along Queen Street West with Kylie and Gina was a late night choice at the end of my second work week, and hit the spot with burgers and their hip interior.

I met Kylie and Meg, Chris and Damo in the city near work, at Red Lobster for another Friday night dinner. A chain restaurant, the meal was a seafood feast as the name suggests, and delivers amazing desserts!

In NXNE week, I wandered through Kensington Market area and found Supermarket for our dinner, and Kylie and Meg joined me for Asian tapas, with an international influence - like crispy fish and avocado tacos, which were delicious!

Just last week, we started with drinks at Bang Bang in Little Italy, we being Kylie and Gina and I, before Kylie and I headed for dinner in the next block. Utopia brought Mexican flavours to out palate, with burritos the choice - washed down with one of the few non-Strongbow ciders found in the city.

Very much looking forward to seeing what the next installments of food finds has for us! We are always looking out for suggestions and recommendations - where should we go next?

AGO and Picasso

Since arriving in Toronto and starting work, I have been walking past the Art Gallery of Ontario everyday and wanted to go in. On Wednesday last week, Natalie, Arielle and I went along after work, after a dinner and debrief from the first half of our week at Joe's with pizza and beer, in nearby Kensington Market.

Wednesday nights it is actually free entry at the AGO from 6pm, and half price for the special exhibit, which is currently the works of Picasso, on loan from the Musee National Picasso, Paris.

The exhibit works through the great artists' stages of work, from his stills and portraits, his Blue and Rose periods, being his paintings of the poor and homeless to using pinks and brighter colours.

The display also features many of his sculptures, and also his pieces with a variety of mediums, such as his Violin.

It was clear this man of many lovers, who died in 1973 at 92, after taking five wives and mistresses over this time, and having four children, was a boob man! His depictions of woman are a focus, and fascination, and something he worked through from his early art, through to his development of Cubism, and even in his later years.

Such a vast array of work, a whole room seemed to transform me back to Paris, with the Sacre Coeur being a memorable stand out for me.

I love the glass mold of the northern edge of the AGO, with the light reflecting the traffic below, it reminds me of a Christmas Beetle. This space inside the Gallery is so light-filled and spacious, and was the exit of Picasso. Here, Galleria Italia is the length of this space and it includes a cafe, and the large wooden doors back to the gallery rooms. We wandered through many of the maze-like rooms of Canadian art - the girls pointing out many of the more famous artists and pieces.

Picasso is here until August 26, and then I see Frida will take his place! How lucky Toronto is! I will miss this changeover, but I definitely see several more Wednesday visits to the AGO in the next few weeks to take in the rest of the regular collection, and also the unique building features of the Beetle!

NXNE on Thursday and Friday Nights

For NXNE I purchased an all access wristband for $50, which meant that I had a full ticket to all music gigs and films across town, capacity permitting. With 780 bands playing across the week, there was much plotting, and researching of bands and locations of venues, and tossing up a schedule for each night.

On Thursday night, after a film, I headed to Cameron House for a couple of Aussie acts on the festival line up. When I got there the front room, which I thought was all there was, was pretty empty as I got a beer and took a seat. I listened as an act started to set up, and was disappointed at my choice of band and venue, which had been a toss up with another at the same time down the road. I soon figured out, however, that there was a backroom, aka the bandroom, where REYNE were just starting.

A couple of Aussie lads with guitars and tunes in their heads, telling tales of picking up in the hostels of Toronto...I still kinda wished I went to the other gig! Ha!

The 20 minute window of time between bands the city over, I made the trek from one end of Queen Street West to the other and The Great Hall. Hindered somewhat by trackworks on this particular night, I still made it in time.

My next gig choice was to check out my housemate's band, Spookey Ruben. A massive venue, the small gathered crowd didn't really fill it, which did not allow the detail of the tracks carry as it could have at a smaller venue. Spookey and the band played Wendy McDonald and Dizzy Playground, as well as When You Fall In Love With Someone Who's In Love With Someone Else and a host of others through the set you could see the band was putting their all into.

My fourth planned gig of this night was up at The Garrison, but alas when I got there there was a massive line that was not moving, and so the pull to go home to bed on a school night won!

On Friday after work, I met Kylie and Meg for dinner at Supermarket, and could hear the background music of the NXNE gig playing in the back bandroom. The food was impressive, an Asian tapas style menu, and the music sounded like a band I should have checked out.

Alas, as planned I took the streetcar down to The Garrison to check out Art vs. Science. Oddly I haven't seen these Aussie lads live before, and was totally energised and amused by their stage presence and crowd engagement. Decked out in crazy silver space suits, the boys were each behind a combination of keys and mics, and pumped out fun and dancey tracks complete with moves and actions!

Setting up Parlez Vous Francais, I wonder how many times they have asked that of a crowd where there is a high chance a large proportion actually do!? As they encouraged the room to get involved, I heard some locals giggle and comment at the Aussie pronunciation of Toronto. The newer Flippers was also a massive track of the night.

The next band was the reason I had made my way to this venue, however the electro-pop sampling of Doldrums didn't really grab me, and I called it a night and made the trek home again in the wee hours, enlivened by the choices and vastness of live music on offer.

Metric

To kick off NXNE and to launch their new album, hometown band Metric put on a free show down at Sugar Beach on Monday night. I met Kylie as we both made our way south from work, and we soon found Gina perch at a good spot for the gig.

Kylie and I went in search of food, and found in this tucked away complex behind the sand of Sugar Beach, Against The Grain. Here, we managed to score a table before the rush, and took advantage of the Monday special of a burger and a pint. Perusing the menu has meant we are pretty excited to come back here over summer!

Back outside, we discover that the rain has started, and the crowd gathering for the music are now under umbrellas and soaking in some pretty steady rainfall.

However the rain did little to dampen the excitement from the decent crowd gathered to see their local band play tracks from the album they have released this week, Synthetica.

The new tracks delivered the indie rock edginess that the band is famous for, and lead Emily Haines was chatty between tracks and her synth playing. A busy band on stage, they relayed that they were excited to be doing the show, and for being in town at the start of the massive week long music festival ahead.

1000 Tastes of Toronto

Part of the opening weekend of the Summer festival of Luminato here in Toronto is the 1000 Tastes of Toronto. I made my way down to the Distillery District this afternoon, in search of "Linner" - the combined feast of lunch and dinner on a lazy Sunday.

Tastes was a trail of stalls, emitting smells and sizzling sounds, all around the old Distillery. On display and up for offer was the full range of foods from this multicultural city - almost anything you can imagine! Each stall had a dish or two on offer for the day, for $5, cooked onsite.

My first selection was the Spanish tapa on offer from Torito Tapas Bar, following it up with the Thai sausage, paw paw salad and mango drink from Kho San Road. I added one of the few dessert dishes on offer too, with Raspberry Strawberry Rhuba Icecream Sandwich - delicious!

There is so much going on in this city, and as the weather hits 30C people are out and about experiencing all that is on offer. This festival is a great showcase of the restaurants and range of tastes around town, a great initiative!

How To Dress Well

Ahhh, no, I am not turning into a fashion blogger all of a sudden (if only I had a clue!! Ha!) - How To Dress Well is the name of the band that is Tom Krell, a Brooklyn artist. Natalie put a call out for a gig buddy, and I jumped at the chance to check out a new gig venue and a new band to me.

After work, we headed down Queen Street West and grabbed a table at The Beaconsfield for dinner. Once our meals were done we crossed the road, and found the Underground at The Drake. Canadian music venues seem orientated to seated punters to start, and so we found a couch around the outer edge of the room with the handful of others there.

The second band on the bill soon started, Prince Innocence. Just two of them, the girl's lead vocals were overshadowed by the talent of her accompanying musician playing a host of instruments. They held the crowd's attention, nonetheless.

How To Dress Well arrived on stage without much fuss, and started into his set - electro-experimental tunes, with an R&B feel, and a unique and captivating voice.

Krell was chatty throughout the set, and introduced many of his new songs from an upcoming album release. He really drew energy from the filled room, which added to the intensity of the show. Ending with Decisions as the encore, after contemplating requests from the audience, this was an enchanting set from a band who clearly have a loyal and strong following. One to keep an eye out for!