Not to miss in Toronto?
onetet
1,754 Posts
My girlfriend and I will be up there this weekend staying near Kensington Market/Chinatown. I go up once a year in September for the film festival so I know the city fairly well, but... anything amazing going on this weekend -- music, film, art? Any under-the-radar year-round attractions you would recommend? Any new can't-miss ethnic and/or vegetarian food spots we should hit up? Bars in those neighborhoods with good atmosphere?
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Pride Week started this week - so tonnes of Pride-related parties will be going on - just pick up one of the weeklies. The big Parade is on Sunday. I'm playing a party on Sunday with a bunch of other folks and it's right in the thick of things, if you're interested, I can send you the flyer.
That Ethiopian spot sounds right up our alley, thanks. Know what street it's on?
we're driving back Sunday around noon so unfortunately can't make that party.
so is this pride week city-wide, or does the parade just hit certain neighborhoods? Just wondering how much it slows down traffic, streetcars, etc? In Baltimore it shuts down downtown for the day. Since we're leaving Sunday, that'll be good to know...
peace
h
Toronto people probably can give you a better response, but I know of at least two Fresh locations -- one at Queen and Spadina (I think) and one further west on Queen. Both are good and have identical menus; I would say they're better for lunch (good, simple sandwiches, smoothies, etc) than for dinner. I've been wondering if this is a bigger chain, I know they sell Fresh cookbooks, etc. I'm also not sure if they're all vegan or just vegetarian?
Unless you mean FRESSEN, also on Queen St., which is all vegan and has organic wines, etc. They're good, pricier. When I was in town last September they had switched to a tapas-based menu that I didn't like as much. Their brunches are excellent, and I think they have DJ nights?
There is one at Queen and Shaw (not quite parkdale) and one at Richmond + Spadina , possibly another one in the city but those are the two I know of.
You have to try their sweet potato fries and make sure you get the dipping sauce (for lack of a better description).
their veggie burger is good too .. they are slightly pricy on some stuff but worth it.
http://www.pridetoronto.com/
Yummy is at 1263 Queen St. W.??? that???s just West of Dufferin, on the South side, they have a green sign. I think some of their baked stuff is not vegan and they might serve cow's milk with their coffees, etc. but the Ethiopian menu is vegan.
Going West from there, you???ll be in the neighbourhood of a lot of galleries and the amazing and beautiful windmill is just South of there by the waterfront.
Here???s the link for Cinematheque Ontario. Killer of Sheep, that???s been getting a lot of air on the Board, is playing there on Saturday. Let me know if you want to go cause I get discount on tickets.
http://www.cinemathequeontario.ca/default.aspx
YES i would love to go... can you send me a PM ??
thanks ******* gotta love the asterisks
For bars, you should go to Sweaty Betties (go to the back patio) which is on the east side of Ossington just north of Queen. Also check out The Communist's Daughter right around the corner on the south side of Dundas just west of Ossington. It's a tad hidden as there's no sign, they've left the yellow Portuguese snack bar sign up, but you can find it if you just look around on that corner. Great atmosphere, great jukebox (any place that has the entire first Sonics album in the box is a-ok), and they sell cans of PBR for cheap which is rad too.
If you're into punk rock, go check out the newest vinyl record store to open up run by this awesome guy named Peter who is the same dude that ran Singles Going Steady in Seattle. It's on the north side of Bloor just east of Ossington. Great selection and price for power pop/crust punk/70s punk rock and metal. The store needs support too.
And you probably know about Sneaky Dee's already, but that's another good hangout.
Thanks for all the info. We'll definitely hit up Yummy. I'm guessing it'll be in (long) walking distance from out hotel. As for the parade, we'll be getting around by foot and streetcar all weekend, and we're getting into town Friday, so at worst we'll just have some traffic in and out of town to deal with.
Funny you should mention Killer of Sheep, we just showed it in May at the festival I work for here in Baltimore with star Henry Sanders attending. Good turn-out, good Q+A, great film. Then it had a week-long run in the local art-house theater, and no one came out for it. I went one night to see it again, and there were maybe 12 other people in the theater, half of whom walked out. I hope it's doing better in Toronto!
Thanks for the tips... I've been to the three bars you mentioned and iked all three, probably Communist Daughter best. Reminded me of some favorite Baltimore bars quite a bit. I haven't spent much time in Sneaky Dee's but I remember the one visit I had there, I asked them how much their Maker's Mark was, and they said $3. Then I asked them how much their single malts were, and they said... $3. Probably just that bartender's mistake, but I drank well for cheap that night.
Will check out Ghandi Roti and that record spot.
Saturday will be the first of three screenings - their summer progamming is usually well-attended as it's so good. Too bad Sanders didn't make it up here for Q&As.
Yes, that will be a good walk from Chinatown to Parkdale, but not a boring one!If you take Spadina down to Queen and then West on Queen, you will hit a number of record stores - Slinky, Acid, Cosmos x2, Rotate This and Neurotica. If you detour up on Ossington from Queen and head North a few blocks, there is also Babel for records and books.
We tried to get director Charles Burnett to come to the screening, but he was shooting a new film in africa during our fest. I'm curious about his short films prior to Killer of Sheep, too... I think they're coming out on DVD soon.
I think I know Babel -- I really liked their book selection if they're the place I'm thinking of; small but well-chosen fiction selection... isn't there a nice vegetarian restaurant on Ossington near there as well? I remember finding both those places just as I was leaving town last Fall. If that food spot is still there, I definitely want to hit it up, had a great brunch there just before heading home.
Directly next door to Babel check out Rua Vang a.k.a. Golden Turtle for excellent Pho .. very recommended.. get their pho soup and you will be a happy man . get some spring rolls too
Big up to ASER for showing me the light on that one!
The owner has a great garage rock records, his name is Tim and he is a very nice fellow.
Not sure of the veggie spot - I know the Sparrow across the street has brunch, but didn't know it was a veggie - does that sound like it? kinda dark and narrow place?
Yeah, that must be Babel I was at last time. Very good store.
The veggie restaurant was a narrow but bright, friendly-looking place with a really nice patio out back. I can probably find it again, just curious if anyone knew the name and if it's still around... I think it had just opened in September.
Also, I want to make sure my girlfriend has a good time. Any good art exhibits in town right now? I'm sure she'll like some of the galleries along Queen. Otherwise, she'd also be interested in any afforable independent/DIY clothing boutiques and knitting/sewing type shops. Or thrift stores/vintage clothing shops. Anyone know where the ladies like to go for this sort of thing in Toronto?
there is a lot of that in Kensignton Market, along Queen W too. there is a knitting store on Queen just a couple of blocks past Ossington, across the street from the construction site at the mental health centre. there are two really good vintage clothing shops on Ossington, one South of Babel on the same side and one North of it on the opposite side. West of Ossington, just past Dovercourt on Queen is Vintage 69 - pretty good second-hand stuff and at the very bottom of Queen W, near the water/Roncesvalles, there is Stella Luna - it is AMAZING for cheap, really well-chosen vintage clothes, shoes and purses.
h
Exactly the info I needed. Already planning on taking her around Kensington Market, but probably wouldn't have found these other spots. THANKS.
Word, I was thinking the same thing. Such a great city. I wish I lived closer.
I saw Johnny Guitar last week - so good! And I'm seeing All About Eve tomorrow...end of July and August is when it gets really good!
Bassie, do you work for the festival?
Thumbs up to Johnny Guitar.
I have in the past and I'm a Cinematheque member.
Ah, gotcha. So the Cinematheque is the year-round programming done by the festival, or they're separate. Also, they're still building a huge compound for the festival, right... maybe down by King St.?
Yea, that building is going to be a monster and I don't think in a good way. The Cinematheque theatre now is amazing; small and cozy, in the Art Gallery of Ontario with that 70's university hall vibe. I'm not looking forward to this $50m+ thing - there's going to be condo attached to it for fuck's sake. It is going to be at King and John, which is the other drawback - right in the middle of the 'entertainment' district aka tourist hell.
Sorry to go off, I guess I'm protective and nostalgic, I've been a member since I was a teenager and I hate to see it change into this.
I hear you. Working as a programmer for a much smaller festival, I'm amazed that they have the $$$ to pull all that off; we don't even own the two-story house we operate out of. But it sucks that they're going the plastic route. Condos attached? That's fucking ridiculous.
Called the Maryland Film Festival, but it's located in Baltimore.
I go up every year to TIFF to check out movies. Been doing it since 1998 as a fan, but now I get to go for work. TIFF basically starts a new "season" of films for North American festivals, and I track ones I like from TIFF throughout the year. If they haven't played Bmore by the time our festival runs around (the following May), I try to get em. In our festival this year I showed two that I saw at Toronto: the Thai film "Syndromes and the Century' and the Taiwanese film "I Don't Want to Sleep Alone."
The theater in Baltimore you're talking about must be The Orpheum Theater... on the second floor above a cafe across from the harbor. They showed 16mm via rear projection and had double features for something like $4! You entered via a dusty velvet curtain and felt like you were going back in time 50 years. I saw so many films there for the first time, including the previously mentioned Johnny Guitar. Sadly it doesn't exist anymore, closed around 2000 or so.
That's the one. A bunch of rep theatres just closed down here in Toronto, places where I had the same "seeing it for the first time" experience...
Anyway.
I gotta jet, but I'll PM you my # - you and your lady should call if you get a chance and we can go for a drink.
I don't think Live on Dupont is worth the trip, but at least they are thinking about the food they serve and it's clear that tremendous care goes into its production. They have a sensitivity to ingredients that I would expect from a joint that at least initially served only raw food. I respect their effort even if I find it overpriced and consistently underwhelming. It's a gazillion times better than Fresh.
There is so much interesting food in this city! Don't waste a meal at Fresh.