Yorkville restaurants team up with designers for Toronto Fashion Week

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3:20 am

oronto Fashion Week designers have combined forces with restaurants in the city’s Bloor-Yorkville area for a two-day extravaganza of delicious food, drinks and fashion. From Sept. 4 to 6, the event will feature collaborations between restaurants and designers such as Cibo Wine Bar and HENDRIXROE, ONE Restaurant and Christopher Bates, STK and Victoria Hayes, and Sassafraz and ZOFF, to name a few. Chefs have taken inspiration from each unique collection to plate creations for the most discerning of palates as bartenders serve up colourful concoctions and models take to the runway.

Italian restaurant Sofia teamed up with Toronto-based womenswear label, NARCES, to create the Fashion Royale — a deep burgundy cocktail made with vodka, sweet Cointreau, passionfruit juice, and ginger grapefruit honey cordial. Sofia’s mixologist, Nishan Nepulongoda, says the inspiration for the drink came from the multilayered beauty of NARCES gowns.

“NARCES gowns are bold, dynamic and feminine, and I wanted the Fashion Royale to reflect that. The colour is a deep burgundy and it is a sipping cocktail that reveals many different layers of flavour and elements, similar to the brand’s designs. It’s simple yet sophisticated and vibrant,” Nepulongoda says.

Claudia Pontorno, corporate executive chef at Cibo Wine Bar, says her lemon seared bay scallop dish felt like the best option for the event based on the bright colours of Toronto Fashion Week and the produce currently in season.

“Being a dish exclusively for Toronto Fashion Week, I thought vibrant colours were really important to reflect the fashion world itself,” she said. “The vivacity of the red of beets paired to the green peas, sweet and sour after taste, balanced by the scallops and bittered by the lemon zest. This plate quickly came to mind when I thought about the current season and what was available. I love to cook what Mother Nature offers me at the moment as I always try to utilize the products of the season.”

Along with the scallops, corporate bar operations manager at Liberty Entertainment Group, Caylee Alzner, created the ‘Naomi Cocktail’—a fresh and elegant refresher inspired by the one-and-only Naomi Campbell.

“My inspiration behind The Naomi cocktail came from the legend herself,” she says. “It’s deeply complex with Tanqueray Malacca Gin, exquisitely balanced with St. Germain Elderflower liqueur and Contratto Aperitif. The perfect cocktail for the sophisticated fashionista.”

Alzner says the energy of the Yorkville area during fashion week never fails to pique her creativity as a mixologist.

“This event excites me because for three days, Yorkville is transformed into a hub of creativity and culture. There is something stimulating in the air and the energy can be felt all throughout the community. It is an event made to inspire,” she says.

Among the other restaurants and designers taking part are Bar Reyna and Christopher Paunil, Oxley Public House and Namesake, PLANTA and Triarchy, Kasa Moto and Tara Rivas and Amber and WRKDEPT.

The campaign is called Style Plate and it will run from September 4 to 6 in Yorkville.

Top TIFF 2018 flicks to catch this month

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Andrew Mannsbach

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1:27 pm

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For 10 days each September at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), thousands of miles of film unspool, movie mavens push the limits of their endurance to take it all in and movie stars decorate red carpets. The festival is more about celluloid than celebrities, however. Here’s a look at some interesting titles from this year’s crop (playing from Sept. 6 to 16).

From Toronto documentary director Ron Mann comes Carmine Street Guitars, the story of one of the world’s great guitar shops. The film documents a week in the life of the legendary Greenwich Village store, its master guitar builder, Rick Kelly, and his apprentice Cindy Hulej. The pair make handcrafted guitars using salvaged wood from historic New York buildings, “the bones of the city,” for the likes of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and Patti Smith.

Through Black Spruce stars Tantoo Cardinal, Brandon Oakes, Graham Greene and Tanaya Beatty in a story about the disappearance of a young Cree woman. When she goes missing it causes ripples in Moosonee — her northern Ontario hometown, where a drug dealer, convinced she is alive, hassles her family for information — and Toronto, where she worked as a model. Based on a novel by Joseph Boyden, who was not involved in the production, the film’s dual setting allows a deep dive into themes of Indigenous identity.

After shooting Handmaid’s Tale in Ontario, Mad Men star Elisabeth Moss returns to Toronto with the film Her Smell. She plays Becky Something, a self-destructive punk rock singer whose wild lifestyle alienates everyone around her, bandmates and audience included. As her band’s success slowly slips away, she watches as other bands, including the Akergirls (featuring Cara Delevingne as their singer) and a former friend, become megastars in this redemptive rock ’n’ roll story.

I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing director Patricia Rozema returns to TIFF with Mouthpiece, an adaptation of an award-winning two-woman play by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava. In this highly original look at how the main character, Cassandra Haywood (Nostbakken and Sadava play two sides of the same woman) tries to express grief over her mother’s death, Rozema utilizes drama, musical numbers and wild humour.

Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges star in Ben is Back

Specializing in genre films, Midnight Madness is TIFF’s tip of the hat to horror and subversive art. Among the 10 films, which are “guaranteed to either terrorize or mesmerize,” is In Fabric, a ghost story starring Oscar nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Gwendoline Christie. It is described as a “haunting phantasmagoria.”

Joel Edgerton is best known as an actor, but when he isn’t appearing in films like The Great Gatsby or Red Sparrow, he’s behind the camera as director. His latest film is Boy Erased, based on a memoir by Garrard Conley. Lucas Hedges plays Jared, the 19-year-old son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town. Outed to his parents (Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe), he is offered a choice: attend conversion therapy or be shunned.

After making a giant splash at TIFF two years ago with Moonlight, which went on to win the Best Picture Oscar, director Barry Jenkins returns with If Beale Street Could Talk. Based on the James Baldwin novel, it stars KiKi Layne as Tish, a pregnant Harlem woman facing an uncertain future as she tries to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime. This 1974 period drama is a story of desperation, love and justice.

Denis Arcand was inspired to make The Fall Of The American Empire — the thematic sequel to his Oscar-nominated The Decline of the American Empire — by a 2010 murder in an Old Montreal boutique. This story of a man whose life is changed when he finds two bags stuffed with money after an armed robbery examines the importance of money and status in a world where other values have been diminished.

Ben Is Back happens over the course of 24 hours during the Christmas holidays. Lucas Hedges plays the title character, a prodigal son who returns home to his parents’ (Julia Roberts and Courtney B. Vance) suburban place on Christmas Eve. He brings with him some troubles that test his mother’s love, as she does what she can to keep him and her family safe. Hedges and Kathryn Newton were both at TIFF last year, co-starring in two films, Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Do first-time candidates stand a chance in the upcoming municipal election?

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10:59 am

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It was long before the cockroach comments made by local councillor Giorgio Mammolitti, and before the bulletproof-vested MPPs showed up in her neighbourhood for a photo op gone bad, that Tiffany Ford made the decision to run to become the next city councillor in her ward because nobody in power seemed to care.

To win, the 36-year-old would have to defeat Mammolitti, on the job for more than a quarter century.

If the 25-ward structure forced upon the city by Premier Doug Ford via Bill 5 remains in place after a court challenge scheduled for Aug. 31, she will also have to defeat Anthony Peruzza, who has held a variety of elected positions in the area over the last 33 years.

Is the system rigged against Tiffany Ford and others trying to make a difference?

Whether it is 47 or 25 wards, it is a serious uphill journey to defeat a sitting councillor in a municipal election, especially when some have been lollygagging in their cosy fiefdoms for decades.

Still, meeting Tiffany Ford, currently the TDSB trustee for the area, at Yorkgate Mall at the corner of Jane Street and Finch Avenue West, she brimmed with confidence.

“My whole campaign is about togetherness. I can’t do it by myself, and it’s not really about me. It’s not about Giorgio Mammolitti. It’s about taking this seat back for my community because it’s been neglected for so long,” she said. “We haven’t been growing with the rest of the city, and it’s really unfortunate. I can’t be here my whole lifetime and see no progress. There is no way.”

The day after the Ontario Progressive Conservatives shoved Bill 5 through the legislature, Ford received a hundred donations to her campaign. When she woke up the next morning, 10 more were waiting for her.

“That’s the most I’ve ever received in one day,” she said. “It was amazing.”

Progress Toronto is a new organization lobbying for a progressive government with an interest in getting new candidates elected come Oct. 22.

“It is very hard for a new voice and an under-represented voice to get on city council,” says Michal Hay, Progress Toronto’s executive director.

“We know that council does not currently reflect the city of Toronto. There are under-represented communities and people who have a different lived experience that don’t have the same power as those that sit on the council.

So, other people are making decisions on their behalf who might not understand what a commuinty needs.”

“I just care about my community, and I know I’m the best candidate.”

Currently, there are no term limits and no ranked ballots to open up opportunities for candidates with new ideas.

According to Hay, with 47 wards, there would be 13 seats available to new candidates, which represents a huge opportunity that may be lost.

And that’s too bad because it means we get the same old ideas applied to serious issues that are only getting worse: affordable housing, gun violence, transit and homelessness, to name just a few.

Ford has long known that, for changes to come to her neighbourhood, the community would need to bring them about.

She grew up attending neighbourhood schools, and when she was elected, she managed to get much more money invested in local improvements than her long-serving predecessor could have imagined. And she did it by engaging students and having them advocate for change alongside her. That is the philosophy she wants to implement at city hall.

She knows what this neighbourhood — which suffers under a negative stigma that is overwhelming at times — needs to turn it around. She’s lived through gun violence. She’s been carded at her own door. She said she can even recognize what kind of gun it is when she hears gunshots.

“We need people who care enough to make changes. We need politicians who are not corrupt. Most importantly, we need people who are having these experiences getting elected,” she said.

“I just care about my community, and I know I’m the best candidate.”

East of Jane and Finch, in the neighbourhoods of north Toronto, former Toronto Police parking enforcement officer Kyle Ashley is challenging incumbent councillors Jaye Robinson and (potentially) Jon Burnside, in Ward 15 under the current 25-seat ward map.

One of the more serious issues facing the city is the safety of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. That is Ashley’s area of expertise, and he thinks he can help.

Robinson is a prominent member of the current council, and chair of the city’s public works committee, which happens to oversee the Vision Zero initiative for road safety launched in 2017.

“The reason I chose to challenge Jaye Robinson, first of all, was because nobody was challenging her,” he said.

“So I threw my hat in the ring to run against her. And that is the best opportunity to elevate the level of discussion around this (road violence) issue, which is also, within the ward, a major concern.”

Ashley is interested in looking at governance reform but said Bill 5 is the wrong approach because the opportunity for a new, more progressive Toronto will be lost.

“It silences and dilutes the progressive voices that were really going to bring about a new Toronto,” he said.

“It’s a consolidation of power and a brazen attempt to steal an election already underway.”

Locals clash over multiple Airbnbs in Toronto neighbourhood

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10:45 am

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The quiet residential street of Humewood Drive has been recently disrupted by the purchase of a number of properties that were turned into Airbnbs. Now, neighbours complain of late-night parties, noise disturbances and even rat infestations at nearby homes.

However, new bylaws for short-term rentals have yet to take effect in the City of Toronto, leaving Airbnb operators and their neighbours in a legal grey zone.

Lisa Sabato has lived on Humewood Drive for 23 years. Her small neighbourhood has seen the appearance of three Airbnbs over the last year. All of these properties were purchased and remain operated by one owner.

“This is not that kind of neighbourhood,” said Sabato about Humewood Drive. “It is not just tourists. It is also locals that just need a house to party at.”

Sabato is fearful of how Airbnbs are changing her small, quiet neighbourhood. She said that, soon after the property owner put his second house on the rental platform, her neighbourhood saw a change.

“There was a bachelorette party where at 2 o’clock in the morning they were drunk and disorderly on the front lawns,” said Sabato.

At the house owned by the Airbnb operator that is directly next to Sabato’s home, other unwanted house guests have appeared.

“In 23 years, we have never even seen a mouse,” she said. “I have footage of the Airbnb guests who just throw their trash [around], and rats infesting it. So now he has a rat problem.”

Sabato’s concern is also shared by ward 21 councillor Joe Mihevc.

“We have seen, in different communities, more in the downtown area –– not so much in the midtown area, but sometimes there as well –– Airbnb absolutely destroys street life and neighbourhood stability,” he said.

“There was a bachelorette party where at 2 o’clock in the morning they were drunk on the front lawns.”

The City of Toronto has yet to pass clear rules on Airbnb and other short-term rental programs. Last winter, Toronto City Council began the process, approving regulations, which, among other provisions, would have required operators to pay a Municipal Accommodation Tax of four per cent, and would have required operators to live in the property as the primary residence. However, after the regulations were passed, an appeal was made to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), and a hearing was scheduled for Aug. 30 and 31 of this year.

Mihevc was unable to identify who filed the appeal.

“We are very strongly opposed, as a city, to Airbnb where it is not someone’s principal residence,” said Mihevc, citing the traffic impact, potential noise complaints and other public nuisances.

A decision from the OMB will be released around eight weeks after the hearing. Because of the appeal process, any Airbnb that exists in Toronto before the decision at the OMB is finalized is technically considered illegal.

The Airbnb operator on Humewood, George (who did not want his last name published), remains adamant that he has a right to operate Airbnbs in the properties that he owns.

“There has never been any issues, never any complaints,” he said.

He is frustrated by the legal grey zone that he now finds himself in. He would like a legal right to continue to operate his Airbnbs, one that involves paying extra tax in exchange for a licence.

“With the appeals in process, it can take another eight weeks, minimum,” said George. “You have these people who want to pay extra tax, who may need some extra income and want to conform to the laws, but they can’t.”

However, Mihevc and Sabato are eager to see tighter regulations on the operation of short-term rentals, and they want to see the regulations passed by council.

“So our bylaw is before the OMB,” said Mihevc. “We look forward to the conclusion of that review, and we are quite confident that our bylaw will stand up.”

How one private school alumnus became a go-to comedy writer

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Andrew Mannsbach

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1:54 pm

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Steven Shehori is a noted comedy writer. He has won multiple Canadian Comedy Awards and has been nominated for three Gemini Awards and says that back in high school, at Toronto French School, most subjects were his worst.

“I was the first person in the history of the school to be barred from taking math,” he says.

Shehori describes himself as the “funny slacker kid.” He fine-tuned his verbal skills by competing in school debates and used his creative side to compose and play music, but due to a case of undiagnosed attention deficit disorder, he struggled a bit in his studies.

“The teachers thought I was just lazy, but there was an actual behavioural issue going on there,” Shehori says.

At the time, he thought music was his path, so he focused a lot of his attention on Loose Ties, a band that he played bass for.

“I was a little too self-conscious to act,” he says, “but I did comedy for events.”

It wasn’t until university that he started to really get a taste for writing when he hosted his own radio show at McMaster, called The Post Enchilada Show (which does make sense when you know that the show directly before his was called The Whole Enchilada).

At age 25, Shehori finally made the full switch from music to comedy. On a friend’s suggestion, he wrote a screenplay called Star Collector, a romantic comedy about a twentysomething guy trying to win back his lost love.

When he tried to get his screenplay read, no one would look at it.

“That’s when I started doing standup,” he says.

Over the next decade, he would continue to write and perform with the A.V. Club and the Huffington Post.

He also wrote and directed for The Naked News and wrote for high-profile Canadian comedy news programs, like George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

In the year 2000, Shehori and his brother Daniel were working on a co-written and co-produced play called Mikayla that was part of the Toronto Fringe Festival.

After attending the Fringe’s complimentary publicity seminar and receiving a theatre press list, Shehori started to get a knack for PR. And with his writing skills and the tips offered by the Fringe, he discovered that he could use those skills to promote all his work.

“Gradually, people started coming to us for help with their shows,” he says.

Thus Sweat Equity Publicity was born.

“When we started, my brother was running drinks for the Second City, and now he’s publicist for the whole Toronto chapter,” Shehori explains. “I like to joke that we Forrest Gumped our way into the Second City because neither of us ever did improv.”

The most recent feather in Shehori’s cap is Macaulay Culkin’s new project Bunny Ears, a podcast and website that satirizes lifestyle brands like Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop.

“Bunny Ears is basically if the Onion were a lifestyle brand,” he says.

Shehori began his relationship with Culkin by writing for his website. Eventually Shehori pitched a publicity plan for Bunny Ears and was invited to meet with Culkin.

“It’s been pretty great. Now I get to nerd out about Star Wars with Macaulay sometimes. He’s a great guy,” he says.

What ever happened to chef Jamie Kennedy?

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Andrew Mannsbach

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2:27 pm

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Chef Jamie Kennedy once had all of Toronto salivating at the thought of his legendary J.K. fries, with fond memories of tucking into them with reckless abandon at his eponymous wine bar. To the city’s dismay, after building a culinary empire starting in the mid-1970s, Kennedy shuttered his last urban outpost, Gilead Café, in 2015. Gone, but not forgotten, where is he now? It turns out that he bid farewell to city dwellings and now resides at his farm in the pristine countryside of Prince Edward County (P.E.C.).

After a 40-year career in the restaurant world, the transition has been a good one. “I’m very happy, perhaps happier than I was before,” explains the cookbook author and decorated chef (who has been awarded the Order of Canada).

“I had a lot of fantastic and rewarding experiences that helped define gastronomy and contributed to our Canadian cultural tapestry,” he recalls. “I’ve left that part of my career behind and have gotten into something else, but the heart of it still centers around food culture — its relevance and importance. In a sense, this is the next chapter.”

Away from the daily grind of the demanding restaurant work environment, he now resides at his summer home and farm, which he’s owned since 2001. He’s currently transitioning his 115 acres from a conventional to an organic farm (and applying for certification). Although the farm doesn’t officially bear a name, it’s affectionately been called “Pleasant Valley” (the historical name of the region, which is now referred to as Hillier), and “J.K. Farm”.

The J.K. Farm, a.k.a Pleasant Valley, in Prince Edward County

For Kennedy, the farm is an extension of his enduring food philosophy, passion for the surrounding land and his support for local produce.

“Niche farming is part of the new economy but this area has historically been a haven for growing crops,” he says. “Right now, I’m interested in organic grain production.”

Chef is currently cultivating and growing wheat, spelt and winter rye to sell to artisan bakers next spring. At the moment, he’s focusing on selling business to business, but pending success, he could expand and sell his grains to the public.

Indeed, the public still flocks to see him. Along with an annual fish fry that benefits the local community (this year, proceeds went to StoreHouse Foodbank in Wellington), for the last two summers he’s hosted intimate farm dinners at his property every Saturday. With only 60 spots available, and seats booked up fast and furiously. A self-described impresario, Kennedy played gastronomic guide, showing guests all that Prince Edward County offers epicureans.The weekly feasts included local ingredients, local wines that spotlight the region’s terroir and robust funk-tacular cheeses from all over Ontario.

Kennedy’s focus is not only on the food, it’s also on the experience itself.

“It means me having them simply hang out in my vineyard, listen to songbirds, feel the breeze on their necks and enjoy the beauty of being in an outdoor environment.”

“Especially if you reside in large cities, the first thing I have guests do is recognize the differences in where they are,” he says. “It means me having them simply hang out in my vineyard, listen to songbirds, feel the breeze on their necks and enjoy the beauty of being in an outdoor environment.”

It’s the ultimate in destination dining that’s bolstered with rural appeal. But back up.… Did he say vineyard?

“Yes, I have my own personal 1.5-acre vineyard where I grow Pinot Noir grapes,” Kennedy explains. “I’m no winemaker, but I do have a great French oak barrel-aged wine from 2014.” Chef explains that the temperamental weather has made it a challenge to continuously produce the vino — so for the time being, it’s simply a point of pride as well as his personal sipping stash.

Ironically, successes and growth have put a temporary halt to the dinners.

Kennedy elaborates: “We’re on a bit of a hiatus with the Summer Dinner Series at the moment because we’re rezoning the property for infrastructure purposes. The Prince Edward County planning department sees us as a restaurant, so we need to conform to these regulations and standards.”

But have no fear! They will be resuming dinners in spring 2019 — bolder and better than before. Plans include Barn Door Burgers + Fries, a collaborative dinner series, and even a beer garden.

The famous J.K. fries

Chef encourages people to visit his website and sign up for his newsletter to receive the most up-to-date information.

In the meantime, if your stomach is still growling for those J.K. fries, you can appease your tummy’s pleas and visit chef who still gets a kick out of serving at the Farmer’s Market in Wellington on Saturdays (from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.). Enjoy the organic thin frites piping hot — ideally dunked in one of his two homemade sauces (one is always a cider vinegar mayo, and the other is a seasonal creation).

Whether it is fries or farms, one thing’s for certain: Chef Jamie Kennedy’s curious nature and mission to champion local food culture permeates everything he creates and shares. The result is a resounding “yum” from both city and country folk alike.

A guide to the best hidden snack shacks in Toronto

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Andrew Mannsbach

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11:32 am

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Not too long ago, Toronto’s mobile and shack-sized eateries were limited to hot dogs and the very occasional ice cream truck. Around North America, food trucks blossomed into a culinary culture of their very own. Portland got their food cart pods, L.A. put Korean tacos from the back of a mobile eatery on the map, and Montreal sent out its gastronomic pride and joy, Au Pied de Cochon, in an upcycled UPS truck and won hearts across the city with a $6 sous-vide pork tongue sandwich served on a doughnut. Toronto, in response, had “Toronto à la Cart,” a short-lived pilot program that forced local restaurateurs to apply for expensive licences and purchase even more expensive uniform carts, something at least one mayoral candidate at the time dubbed, “Toronto à la Failure.”

Eight years later, one can hardly call T.O.’s food truck and cart landscape a “scene,” but we’re well beyond our meager sausage-and-stale-bun beginnings. Take a walk, and you may find a gem. But blink, and you may miss it: It could be tucked away in a plaza vestibule or at the mouth of a parking lot or even permanently parked on the (former) longest street in the world. Here we have assembled some of Toronto’s little-known street eats.

Kung Fu Dawg
Kung Fu Dawg isn’t your average street meat stand. The artisanal hot dog maker operates from a little shack set up in front of a parking lot next to a well-graffitied concrete building on Ossington Avenue. Despite its miniscule premises, this hot dog stand slings super-sized servings of handmade pork and beef franks, as well as a soy-based veggie option, heaped with gobs and gobs of artery-clogging accoutrements of unusually high quality, including baked beans, homemade chili, squeeze cheese and fennel slaw. Also on offer are corn dogs hand dipped on-site in house-made batter. Now there’s a good dog.
(19 Ossington Ave., 647-208-2445)

Kung Fu Dawg owner Stephen Payne

Kim’s à la Cart
The sole survivor of the Toronto à La Cart program, Kim’s à La Cart is still planted in front of a Shoppers Drug Mart at Yonge and Finch, having removed its wheels and rigged up a more secure roof early on to withstand the winter cold. It’s become a beloved neighbourhood mainstay, churning out an impressive array of down-home Korean street eats for folks coming out of the karaoke bar only steps away, as well as other passersby. It’s got compulsively snackable dumplings, pan-fried squid, pork belly skewers and noodle soup, but the star of the menu is the taiyaki. These fish-shaped red bean cakes are encased in a crispy batter, freshly unmoulded from a wide, circular, “how do they fit that in there?”–style, rotating taiyaki iron.
(5576 Yonge St.)

Mr. Chu
Nestled outside the vestibule of an Asian grocery store by Yonge and Finch, Mr. Chu is the kind of place you could walk by a million times without noticing. But the specialty items are more eye-catching than the yellow cart from which Mr. Chu operates. They turn out giant clouds of candy floss double the size of your head and horseshoe-shaped Korean churros (indeed a thing) glazed with a choice of condensed milk, chocolate, matcha or cream cheese and topped with peanuts or Oreos. Want that churro on a serving of black sesame ice cream? You got it. Want a little puff of candy floss tossed in there for the ‘gram? With sprinkles? Mr. Chu’ll do that, too. Want it on a unicorn? Fine, Mr. Chu doesn’t have unicorns. But by the time you’ve come down from your mid-afternoon sugar high, will it even matter?
(15B Finch Ave. W., 647-241-1889)

Confusion at new Toronto restaurant Constantine

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Andrew Mannsbach

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11:03 am

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I am rarely confused by a restaurant. But Constantine has me mystified. What sort of creature is it? At first glance, the place is 100 per cent downtown hipster. It’s hard to find a sign outside, which is a sure indicator of wannabe cool. Because if you’re cool, you already know where it is. And if you don’t know where it is, you’re not cool. This allows the restaurant to serve the social function of making you feel cool if you make it inside. Which is an important function of the modern Toronto restaurant: Conferring status.

Inside the place, status continues to be conferred by its beauty. It’s a big resto (145 seats) carefully divided into intimate spaces, with a huge open kitchen as centrepiece. Illuminated shelves with white vases lighten the sexy dark, and velour banquettes and walls both dampen sound and lend luxe. As does the menu, a magical mystery tour of Italy and the Middle East, Milan inflected with Ankara. The name is a reference to Constantinople, the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine empire which is now Istanbul.

Once the food starts arriving, it’s clear that this kitchen can deliver. And how could it not, with such lineage? The new Anndore House hotel brought in chef Craig Harding of Campagnolo and the delicious new La Palma, to helm the cuisine of Constantine.

The spiced carrots

But here’s the part I don’t understand. These people spent a fortune creating the Anndore House hotel and Constantine. They brought in Craig Harding, a gold-plated culinary team and built a great menu. And the service is appalling.

At first it seems fine. One waiter takes our order and seems to know what he’s talking about. He asks whether we want the pasta first, or the pâté with it. I reply that we’d like him to choose the order and pacing of the dishes. He assents.

First come the smoked sea bream pâté with sourdough. It is quite fabulous, a buttery cloud of lightly smoked sweet sea bream to spread on crusty warm sourdough. Almost heaven.

Then they bring everything else. At once. Is this what they call pacing?

We love the cavatelli Milanese, al dente pasta scented with saffron and rich with juicy long-braised beef ribs. And the slightly charred perfectly roasted sweet potatoes with fresh figs, goat cheese, scallion, chili and candied walnuts. And the spiced carrot zinged with chimichurri and baby mustard. The fish is also quite grand both in provenance and execution — perfectly cooked Fogo Island cod with melting leeks, crunchy walnuts and a hint of saffron.

Fogo Island cod

All quite wonderful, but not wonderful all at once. Delivery is done by three different waitstaff, none of whom exhibits any interest in anything related to our dining experience. After they bring the dessert, a marvellously crisp deconstructed labneh ’n’ cream milles feuilles, we wonder: Will the waiter who took our order return to offer coffee or tea?

Not only does he never make that offer, but the guy seems to have developed an allergy to our table. He drops something at the table beside us. I beckon. He ignores me. He walks by our table. I beckon again. He ignores me again. A third time he walks by and ignores us yet again despite our attempts to catch his attention.

So I end as I began. Confused. How can a restaurant with such a clear commitment to fine design and food have such abysmal service? Not once in a long dinner do I see a supervisor walking the floor. Usually in restaurants of this size, one sees a supervisor checking on tables and service, saying hello and … supervising. The parilla, the wood-fired oven, the clever cooks — all of that means nothing if bad service makes diners hostile.

Constantine, 15 Charles St. E., 647-475-4436

The best summer covers

By

Andrew Mannsbach

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3:14 pm

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A) LOOK FAB IN FUCHSIA
Maje, Yorkdale mall, $455
“It looks like a bomber jacket that grew into this little dress.”

B) FOLKLORIC FEEL
Snapdragon, 604 Mt. Pleasant Rd., $325
“It’s got the tassels and the ties. I love the embroidery and it has beading too.”

C) PYJAMA PARTY
Sandro, Yorkdale mall, $425
“I love the floral fabrication, and I love the fact that the buttons are almost invisible, so it sort of begs to be worn open.”

D) LUXE LINEN
Andrews, Bayview Village, $695
“Smythe really knows how to cut a jacket. I really love the combination of gold buttons with the pale pink.”

E) RETRO ROBE
Aritzia, 50 Bloor St. W., $235
“A very elegant piece with a retro floral print, it looks like something out of the ’40s. It’s very romantic.”

F) COSY CASHMERE
Canopy Blue, 2582 Yonge St., $399
“I love Line knitwear. This piece is very cosy for a cool summer night.”

G) THE SUMMER OF STRIPES
Maska, Promenade mall, $103.60
“We can never get enough stripes, and this fabric has a luxurious satin feel.”

H) METALLIC MUSE
Milli, 231 Avenue Rd., $1,295
“There’s something very artful about this piece. Very funky, an attention grabber.”

I) SILKY SMOOTH
Andrews, Bayview Village, $369
“There are so many different ways of wearing a piece like this, and it really has a vintage vibe going on.”

Introducing the world of sex technology in Toronto

By

Andrew Mannsbach

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1:31 pm

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Looking for a casual hookup downtown or a threesome north of Bloor? How about a sex therapist in the Annex or a vibrator delivered before lunch? Whatever your needs, there’s an app for that, and several of those apps are homegrown.

The Happy Touch app, for example, connects you to “pleasure practitioners” — from holistic sex educators to certified counsellors — with the touch of a button. HotMe.ca, also based in the GTA, is offering sex toy delivery within the hour. From mainstream apps like Tinder (and Tinder Select) and Bumble to niche versions like Feeld (for threesomes) and Happn (which connects you to people you’ve crossed paths with locally — my favourite!), sexual connections abound online.

Torontonians use technology for more than just hooking up, and couples continue to integrate tech into their relationships.

“I’d say about half of the sex I’m having these days is online,” says midtown resident Nancy*. “Since my divorce, I’ve discovered a whole new world and it’s not just about dating.” Nancy says the sex is better online because you’re forced to be more creative. “It’s not all about finishing. Guys online seem to take their time, and we do other stuff that we probably wouldn’t have tried in person to begin with. Sometimes it’s a striptease in the dark, and the camera filters enough that you feel less self-conscious, and sometimes it’s sex with a toy that he controls remotely from his phone.”

Canadian brand We-Vibe helped to pioneer sex tech in the adult industry over the past decade. Many of their products (from wearable G-spot vibes to bullet vibes and penis rings) can be controlled from anywhere in the world using their app, and you can even program the vibrations to hum to the beat of your favourite song.

“We invested in sex tech after seeing the tremendous potential to connect couples regardless of the distance between them,” explains We-Vibe spokesperson Denny Alexander. “We launched our We-Connect app in 2014 and have seen tremendous demand from customers for more sex tech.”

Beyond app-enabled vibrators, the sex tech industry is developing technology that facilitates communication, intimacy and sexual health. Programs like InTheMoodApp.com and Happy Couple allow couples to schedule sex and discuss desires, boundaries and fantasies in a playful and safe way, and products like the OhNut help to address sexual pain. Multiple platforms including TalkTabu.com and O.school provide free online sex education that is inclusive and addresses intersectional issues related to age, gender identity, income, race and ability that traditional sex education tends to ignore.

Video-synced toys are also under development so that you can feel the movements you’re watching on-screen via toys like the Fleshlight, and innovators promise integrations with other toys in the upcoming year. The field of teledildonics continues to grow with sex robot developers integrating artificial intelligence into their latest prototypes. There are, of course, ethical implications to sexbots, but experts, like Neil McArthur, co-editor of Robot Sex: Social and Ethical Implications (MIT Press), believe that they may have the potential to enhance relationships — especially those in which sex is the primary struggle.

“Even the most compatible couples aren’t going to be in sync about that all the time. Robots let people in relationships have as much sex as they want, when they want, whatever kind they want, without always having to put pressure on their partner.”

Sexual health care has also gone digital across Canada. Toronto-based @GetMaple, an app that allows you to see a doctor online within minutes, is particularly attractive to patients with sexual health concerns.

“Patients often see sexual health issues as urgent and sensitive or embarrassing, so they may not want to go to the clinic,” says Dr. Brett Belchetz, ER physician and co-founder and CEO at Maple. “Seeing a doctor digitally feels more private, and they don’t have to face a waiting room where they have to tell their issue to a receptionist.”

So what does the future hold for sex tech? According to McArthur, we’ll see more imaginative innovations that are less traditionally gendered and not exclusively humanoid. This means more characters, mystical creatures and immersive environments.

“Robotics and virtual reality will become more integrated, so that you interact with virtual environments that are increasingly sophisticated,” he says.

The way I see it, virtual experiences need not detract from in-person ones, but rather have the potential to enhance them. After all, if I’m going to don my VR goggles to ride a vibrating unicorn through a glowing forest of giant sunflowers, I’d rather do it with my partner than on my own.

*Names have been changed and relationship details have been shared with permission from all parties.

A love story that sparked at Dusk Dances

By

Andrew Mannsbach

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11:32 am

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Michael Caldwell has many fond memories with Dusk Dances. He is the guest curator for this year’s event, held at Withrow Park from Aug. 5 to 12, but it was at this event 11 years ago when he felt an initial spark with his husband, fellow dancer Louis Laberge-Côté. Here’s how it all went down.

How they met
Michael: We first met when I was auditioning for the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Louis was on the audition panel, as he was a member with Toronto Dance Theatre. Over the next few years, we passed each other in hallways and worked together a few times without actually ever having a conversation beyond surface-level pleasantries. It wasn’t until the summer of 2007, when we were roommates on the Dusk Dances tour, that we officially got to know each other and became a couple.

The first date
Louis: Our first date was a double feature at the Scotiabank Theatre — Ratatouille and The Simpsons Movie — followed by a late night dinner at Fran’s at Yonge and College. We had spent about six weeks together on tour and had already developed a close relationship, but it was important for us to go on a “real” date to make sure it wasn’t just the tour bubble that was driving our desires.

The courtship
Michael: Once we returned from the six-week Dusk Dances tour, we started dating right away and quickly formed a committed relationship after about a month. We were engaged five months later and married less than a year after we got to know each other on tour. I guess it’s like the saying goes, “When you know, you know.”

“We were engaged five months later and married less than a year after.”

The wedding
Louis: Our generous friends offered their backyard to us, and we had a small wedding with about 50 guests. At first, we did not go on an official honeymoon as we were working and dancing for the summer — though we certainly treated the following Dusk Dances tour as a celebration of sorts. About a year later, we spent a week at an all-inclusive resort in the Riviera Maya in Mexico.

Balancing careers and marriage
Michael: We are both very active in the dance community in Toronto, in a number of different capacities. I value symmetry in our relationship, so it is so great to be paired with someone that truly understands the stresses and successes of a career in dance. As for balance, we find that we are selective about when and how we speak about dance at home. It’s good for us to have a separation from our work life by exploring different aspects of ourselves in our home life.

Shared hobbies
Louis: Is Netflix a hobby? Otherwise, we are definitely foodies and love good food and wine. We try to go to a fine-dining restaurant once a month to partake in a multi-course dinner with wine pairings. It brings us so much joy.

The home
Michael: We have lived near Carlton and Church for years (since even before we were married) and have no intention of leaving anytime soon, especially with Louis’s recent appointment as an assistant professor in the dance program at the Ryerson School of Performance.

Secret to success
Louis: Humour. We laugh all the time, making jokes, trying on funny accents and just being silly together. Our work lives are so hectic that we find relief and solace in each other’s presence.

Looking to the future
Michael: Our immediate future is firmly planted in dance. In addition to Louis’s teaching at Ryerson, he is also presenting a major solo work entitled The Art of Degeneration at the Citadel at the end of October. I am the festival producer at Dusk Dances and artistic producer at Fall for Dance North in early October. So we really prefer to live in the present as much as possible and allow the ins and outs of life to guide us forward. We strive for financial stability but try to remain as flexible as possible to take advantage of whatever might come our way.

Councillor seeks $500K in defamation suit

By

Andrew Mannsbach

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1:59 pm

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Controversy continues in the chambers of Richmond Hill Town Council. At a recent committee of the whole meeting, councillors passed a motion to launch an investigation into the behaviour of Ward 5 councillor Karen Cilevitz, to be carried out by an independent third party.

This follows the leak of a contentious voice mail that was left on the personal mobile of local music organizer Steffi Goodfield.

Three weeks prior to the meeting, Cilevitz had filed a defamation suit, seeking $500,000 in damages, against Matthew “Groopie” Bergman, for alleged statements he had made relating to the voice mail.

During the committee meeting on July 3, council saw a brief deputation from Jason Allingham, from MacDonald Associates pc, representing Karen Cilevitz, who reminded council that this matter had already been dismissed by the integrity commissioner. After his deputation, Steffi Goodfield addressed council.

“I’m not quite sure that you can understand how physically and emotionally difficult it is for me to appear here in person today, as I am presently undergoing medical interventions,” Goodfield said. “This has not been easy for me.”

In her deputation, Goodfield addressed the defamation claim.

“She [Cilevitz] is claiming an outrageous amount of damages and is asking for a half a million dollar payout,” she said. “I consider this new attack on Matt and his efforts to stand up for me a direct attack on me and all the members of our musical community.”

Goodfield also announced that she was returning the personal $500 donation councillor Cilevitz had given her during a fundraiser in March 2017 to help pay medical costs related to breast cancer treatment.

“I consider this new attack on Matt and his efforts to stand up for me a direct attack on me.”

A lengthy debate followed, wherein councillor Tom Muench argued for an external and independent integrity commissioner to examine the complaint by Steffi Goodfield against the behaviour of councillor Cilevitz.

One of the key issues that Muench’s motion faced was that complaints can’t be brought to the integrity commissioner after May 31 in an election year. Mayor Barrow helped amend the motion by referring back to the original complaint, which was launched in May, when the voice mail initially surfaced.

Councillor Brenda Hogg did not support the amendment, calling into question the integrity of the workaround that was proposed.

“I cannot, I will not, accept this motion before us,” she said, addressing council. “I think it goes beyond the time frame. It exceeds the expectations of our policies and our procedures. It is just wrong place, wrong time, and it brings forward questions of fairness in the electoral process.”

After having been asked to comment on results of the meeting, Cilevitz wrote, “It concerns me that Cllr [sic] Muench’s highly prejudicial motion came before Council in the first place, and, that Council chose to ignore the advice of the Town’s legal counsel in this regard.”

Muench defended his motion, saying that he believed that public leaders ought to be held to a higher standard.

“I believed [Cilevitz] threatened Steffi. I think it was a harassment,” he said. “We as public figures.… We don’t own the terms. We don’t own the residents. We service residents.”

He also added that the reason why he moved such time-sensitive motions was out of concern that Steffi Goodfield may further succumb to her Stage IV metastatic breast cancer.

Goodfield had very little to say about the results of the meeting.

“It felt like we were finally being taken seriously,” she said.

When asked how all of this might impact her in the upcoming election campaign, Cilevitz stated, “I am running for re-election on Oct. 22 on the merits of the dedicated public service I have been privileged to offer our residents as the incumbent Ward 5 councillor for the past four years, working only in and for their best interests.”