toronto - what to do.

Might be coming up this weekend.

Oh! Tim! Hello! Sundar, yes, go visit Tim! If I were still in Buffalo, I'd be up there in a heartbeat.

Visiting me will only really happen on Thursday evening I'm afraid (my precious few free hours on Friday may well be eaten by meetings, it seems.

I am flattered and delighted by personal recommendations from MAdchen and Molly: references don't come much higher-grade.

Oh booo! I'll be leaving town friday, sundar :(

update: i'm meeting tim at the cameron house at about 6:30 if anyone is around... he's actually staying at queen/university, which isn't a bad spot - basically just walk west along queen and see... well, lots.

I can see quite a lot where I am right now, which is on the 33rd floor of some great big tower.

See at least one of you later, I hope!

Sundar I don't suppose you're going ther for the TCAF comix festival?

I will be tabling at it w/some other NYC cartoonists (and former NYC cartoonists).

No, actually I don't even know what that is.

Just an "alternative" comic book show this weekend.

I've never been to Toronto. Plenty excited.

my friend is going to that comix show!

Who is yr friend?

I'll be volunteering at TCAF too...

Incidentally, bothTCAF (and Toronto) are awesome, you'll have fun.

I'm at the table with my wife Kar3n Sn3id3r, T0m K, Dami3n Jay, and M3lani3 "Minty" L3wis. In the directory we may be listed as AWP or "Artists With Problems".

I wish I could say I'll have a new comic for the show. But I've never done Canada, so hopefully my stuff will be new to a lot of attendees.

Oh darn, can't make it there any time soon.
Make sure you point out the bathroom where Handsome Ned died.

Hi Toronto! I am in Toronto *right now*. Can anyone recommend somewhere nice my boss and I can go for dinner tonight? Not too pricey and unavailable in Glasgow would be good. Also, can plebs see stuff at the Film Festival, or do you have to be wearing a posh frock to get into cinemas this week? Also, I might be up for a FAP if people are around, but I have to do some more work on the boss. When I told her that since 1999 I've met most of my friends on tinternet she laughed just a bit too hard. She is very nice, though, and likes her beer. Actually, if anyone can recommend somewhere to get an interesting beer tonight I'll be in her good books forever.

plebs can go to film fest but advance tickets are probably pretty much scooped up now for a lot of things. you can get same day tickets for lots of things though - just go to the box office and see what they
have. it's not as intimidating as it seems.

http://www.tiff07.ca/boxofficeinfo/tickets/

Interesting beers galore can be had at La Palette in Kensington market, which is a pretty fun area to take a stroll in after dinner. It's just a nice small French bistro, a bit pricey but not ridiculously so... You could probably find something similar in Glasgow though, but it is great for interesting imported and local beers.

http://www.toronto.com/restaurants/listing/000-124-461

oh madchen i just came back last week! toronto is a food lovers paradise.

i recommend sushi on bloor if you are on a budget (amazingly cheap for sushi) or foxley on Ossington street for something pricier (but still very cheap by uk standards for fine but casual dining) and more special this is in the cooler/ artsier area west of downtown. if you go to foxley i highly recommend a drink in the communist daughter just round the corner for afters.

http://www.sushionbloor.com/main.htm
http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2007-05-24/goods_foodfeature.php

http://www.torontolife.com/guide/bars-and-clubs/bars/communists-daughter/

Ooh, that looks nice, and the exchange rate makes the prices look pretty good! (x-post)

Aw heck, how do I manage to get work trips to food lover's paradises all the time? I came back from Singapore weighing about 50 pounds more.

also, if you go to foxley (and i think you should) there are no reservations. if there is a wait they will take your number and phone you when your table is free. you can pop round to the communists daughter or the crooked star (across the road) while you wait.

xpost again - hope you enjoy it!

flying in for the film fest... tonight!

If you're into south american food - you can try El Bodegon on College St, in little Italy, west of Bathurst. As far as places with loads o' beers all I can add, off the top of my head, is the Bier Market in the Esplanade.

xpost

You guys, your pedestrian crossings tweet like birdies! I had decent dim sum and pad thai on Queen St West, because it's close to the hotel and we have a 7.30 meeting tomorrow, ugh ugh ugh. And a very nice pint of honey brown too.

M, what hotel are you in?

I'm in London during the film fest - boo.

madchen, how long are you in toronto? we're arriving on saturday for the V fest and will be around till monday.

what should we do that will work alongside the fest?

i don't even know where to start about recommendations... so many good places for you to have good food/beer... how long are you in town?

oh DUH colette just asked you that... hi colette! ;)

i'm in a media lounge in the sutton place hotel.

IM COOL.

two more places I know of with a good beer selection are Caffe Volo on Yonge

http://www.dine.to/caffevolo

or Smokeless Joe's on John St.

http://www.dine.to/smokelessjoe

(I'd totally be up for a FAP but unfortunately 4 week old baby Julia is not likely to stand for it!)

One of the biggest, and definitely CHEAPEST beer selection in Toronto hands-down is the Rhino (http://www.therhino.ca/). Pretty close to other good west-side spots in the Gladstone-Drake strip, but I'm biased being a Parkdaler...

Ah yes, the Rhino!

The Rhino is pretty good + it has a JUKEBOX! but i like the cadillac better for its big patio. out-of-towners should at least poke their heads into The Stones Bar if they're in Parkdale, it's good for a laugh. I also love The Beaver at night, fun DJ's most nights and relaxed atmosphere for the neighbourhood. Hear the service can be frustrating for food in the day time though. Anyone been to The Parkdale Drink yet?

Oh - and one Toronto culinary delight you may not be able to enjoy in Glasgow is the Roti (more or less a West Indian burrito-style wrap filled with curry). I like Island Food at King + Dufferin best, but Gandhi at Queen + Bathurst is also great (though some might argue it's not "authentic" as it's more East Indian than West Indian).

It's still awesome - I'm going there tomorrow!

addictive! they opened a sister restaurant (Mother India) a block from my house and I am putting their kids through college one 12 dollar roti at a time

We totally have roti in Glasgow! But just the bread sort that you get on the side of your curry, not the filled sort, which I'll definitely look out for because I likes my food.

I'm in the Marriott Eaton Centre, the ground floor of which is a fecking building site. My flight is at 10.30pm on Sunday and I'm free for most of the weekend except for the ceilidh I've organised for Saturday evening and I'll have a bit to do that afternoon I guess (but after it finishes at 11pm, I'll be demob happy).

Wahey, everyone is in Toronto!

you MUST have roti. fritz you must live pretty close to me since i'm a block from mother india (mmmm) too!

yeah, cadillac has a far superior patio. but big proper grolsch bottles for $3.85 at the rhino wins out every time ;)

that new 'parkdale drink' is, as my rhino server described it, "a terrible gino bar". i.e. a small version of what you'd get in clubland. i walked by it once, looked in, and kept walking. did they even VISIT the neighbourhood before they opened it? i see that dragonfly (the place just past the stones bar), has already closed, so clearly parkdale hasn't embraced the velvet-rope-and-house-music-for905ers scene just yet

yeah, figures as much. that Chino place looks lame too. That stretch could use a couple more homey-type neighbourhood bars (like a Commie's Daughter or The Gem). Seems like a no-brainer if you know the neighbourhood, but all the new places seem like they've been opened by Drake wannabes without the deep pockets that actually made that place work as what it is: a "boho chic" amusement park for slumming graphic designer types to have an omg we did so much blow nite on the town

haha.. fritz you've summed it up perfectly. there are a couple spots further west like 'not my dog' but you're right that there's lots of boarded up stores crying out for something cool but not "wow look at how hard we're trying to be chic". i wonder what's going into the old "OVs" spot - that's a pretty big space.

sorry to de-rail thread into local parkdale talk! we can bugger off to torontoist or blogto or whatever ;)

i resent that comment about graphic designers.

for the mostpart we're just potheads, dammit!

ha! some of my best friends are graphic designers, but when they move in next door... there goes the neighbourhood

haha ha!

Relatively close to Marriott is the Beer Bistro or the afforementioned Caffe Vollo. The Salad King is a must.

I've never quite been down with the student sushi specials, but Bikkuri at Yonge and King was really good when Fune @ Simcoe and Adelaide cancelled their lunch specials.

BEER: When in Toronto, try to find Creemore (pale ale), Steamwhistle (pilsner) or Mill Street Tankhouse (I guess it's a pale ale) on tap.

Based on everyone's schedules with TIFF, V and such I'm almost thinking a FAB (fancy a brunch) at The Hot House (Front and Church) or Vollo (Yonge just south of Bloor) would work best.

Oh man, how am I going to get through this list by Sunday?

Rah rah I have been let off a potentially highly dull dinner with the widow of an alumnus tonight, so may join the "high energy in-crowd" at Salad King instead.

Bugger this laptop and its mind of its own, I swear I didn't press Submit. What I meant to add is that if any of you high energy kids were free and wanted to join me this evening (short notice I know) the email below works and I'll be here for the next hour. Or if you can't make it I have a copy of OK and will read about Katie and Suri and Owen and Wiliam and Kate and Britney instead, though the in-crowd might look at me funny.

DO NOT DRINK STEAMWHISTLE!

The Steamwhistle with Salad King's Thai Basil Noodle (3 or 5 green chilis) is teh good.

"high energy in-crowd" is that what they are calling Ryerson students these days?

Damm, I wish I saw this before I got the groceries.