Growing girl power and saying no out loud

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3:05 pm

I am a woman, mother of a daughter and a leader of young women in my role as a camp director. It is my job and my passion to think about how to keep young women safe.

Judging by the firestorm of women coming forward to name (literally) bad actors, sexually speaking, the world is a very unsafe place for young women. A quarter of North American women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.

Can we do anything about this?

Those of us raising sons and influencing boys can question the clichés of masculinity that elevate the penis to a pedestal of astonishing proportions. When we see shows like Jimmy Kimmel’s 50th birthday special, with nonstop penis and testicle jokes, we can start a conversation — ask our boys what that kind of imagery makes them feel and think about their body and what they could do about it. John Doyle wrote recently in the Globe and Mail that what the Kimmel show exemplifies is part of the problem, that the “ceaseless, casual penis celebration cannot be disentangled from the Hollywood culture of male exhibitionism, assault and exploitation of women.”

These small screen heroes are our boys’ role models. They’re watching these guys and absorbing their attitudes about women. That’s scary. How do we raise our sons to be not that guy? The most powerful weapon against it is a male role model (or three) who rejects that view of masculinity, who can be vulnerable and who models respect for women.

The next strategy is talking to our sons, by the time they’re in kindergarten, about what it means to be a man. Ask a five-year-old boy what men do and what women do. Ask boys to list all the “manly” qualities and behaviours. Then ask them to compare themselves to that list. Discuss it. Ask them what’s smart and what’s dumb on that “man list.” Do more questioning and listening than lecturing.

Next, talk a lot to boys about consent. By the time they’re four, they can discuss tickling and play wrestling. Ask them how they feel if someone does either of those when they don’t want it. It’s a short step to a child-friendly talk about consent. Throw in questions to tease out if any of their media heroes do stuff to women without asking. Model asking for consent by always asking if it’s okay before you play tickling and wrestling games with kids.

From Canadian Women’s Foundation fact sheet on sexual assault and harassment

Now about protecting our daughters. Too many mass culture messages teach girls to grow up afraid of displeasing boys or not attracting them. Ask your daughter if she sometimes says yes when she means no, for fear of that misogyny. The strongest inoculation against “false consent” is a female role model (or three) who is strong, independent and doesn’t pander to men.

Then come the conversations. Again inquire, don’t tell; give girls space to think aloud. Ask them: How do the boys treat the girls at school? What do you like and not like about that? What’s good about being a girl and what’s hard about being a girl?

Ask your daughter: What would you do if a boy tried to touch you and you didn’t want it? What would be hard about that? What would make it hard to say no or get help? Would it be scary? Embarrassing?

The goal of these conversations is to get them talking and reflecting about these issues. Telling them what’s right and wrong and what to do is a talk blocker. Ask questions. Give them space to think aloud and reflect.

And finally there’s all the news about women being sexually assaulted and harassed. We can’t keep it from our kids, and we do them harm by not discussing it. They need our help coping with this scary info.

Again, ask questions and don’t lecture. Ask them how it makes them feel. Ask what they would do in that situation. Ask why they think it happened.

We tend, as parents, to want desperately to shelter our children from the pain and fear about perfidy like sexual assault. But the irony is that, by our very silence, should we choose that approach, we increase their fear — because kids hear snippets and draw terrible pictures in their imagination, like the monster in the closet. Supporting them to talk it through makes it less scary — and them more prepared.

Which is why both boys and girls need to hear about #MeToo. For every girl and woman who suffers sexual assault and keeps the secret, their shame expands. Boys need to understand this too. Naming assault is preventive. Every girl and woman who speaks out grows girl power and gives girls the words and the space to say no out loud.

So yes, me too.

Richmond Hill teen Hannah Alper is one of 2018’s ones to watch

By

Andrew Mannsbach

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9:19 am

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Hannah Alper started a blog called Call Me Hannah five years ago to encourage people to make small changes for the betterment of the world. Now, at age 14, she has published her first book, Momentus: Small Acts, Big Change, and has been named in Bloomberg’s Ones to Watch in 2018 list.

Not only is this Richmond Hiller the youngest person on the list, she’s also the only Canadian and was nominated by fellow 905er Lilly Singh, a.k.a. YouTube superstar Superwoman. Alper’s book features 19 interviews that she conducted with change makers such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. She is also a WE ambassador and has toured the world as a motivational speaker and social activist.

Look out 2018, Hannah Alper has come to conquer.

City to expropriate Bayview homes

By

Andrew Mannsbach

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3:52 pm

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Two Barberry Place residents may lose their homes as the city moves to make way for a new road connecting Rean Drive and Kenaston Gardens near Bayview Village.

Action for the expropriation of the properties at 13 Barberry Pl. and 23 Barberry Pl. off Sheppard Avenue East was approved by Toronto City Council on Dec. 7. The homes had been marked for expropriation back in 2015, to facilitate a new east-west road that will improve traffic flow and pedestrian connections as part of the Sheppard Avenue East subway corridor secondary plan.

Councillor David Shiner, of Ward 24 Willowdale, explained the next steps in the process.

“If the [homeowners] decide they don’t want to sell … the city will take action to expropriate, which they’re permitted to do. And there will be hearings over what the value is that will assess the appropriate value of the site. Then the city will take ownership.”

A City of Toronto report last October stated that the city’s real estate staff had been in discussions with the homeowners in an attempt to purchase the properties.

“While the properties both continue to be listed for sale on the MLS, neither of the property owners is willing to entertain the city’s offer to purchase at the current appraised value as they have indicated that they expect to receive greater compensation from a developer,” reads the report.

The two-storey house at 13 Barberry Pl. is listed for $3.8 million, and 23 Barberry Pl. is listed for $6.8 million.

Myung Jik Bae lives at 23 Barberry Pl. and is also the broker for both properties.

Bae said 23 Barberry has been his primary residence for six years and his parents live right next door.

He said City of Toronto’s Real Estate Services had reached out with offers to purchase his property by email in 2015 and by phone in October 2017.

“The offered prices were significantly low with respect to the fair market value,” said Bae.

He would not disclose the actual purchase price offers.

The city’s real estate services confirmed offers were made, stating, “Discussions were held with both homeowners as to the fair market value purchase price … but an agreement could not be reached on the price.”

Most of the buildings on Barberry and the connecting streets are multi-storey residential condo towers, such as the Chelsea, Rockefeller and N.Y. Place, among others such as the Amica seniors’ building, surrounding the few detached, single-family homes left on Barberry Place. With developers keen on the area, Bae said he expects his property to be valued upwards of six million dollars.

Bae claimed he has been approached by property developers in the past and had an “offer on the table,” but declined to name the potential purchaser or disclose details.

Shiner said this has been in the works for years, and the through road is “85 per cent built.”

“The offered prices were significantly low with respect to the fair market value.”

He said it’s a safety issue to have an incomplete road because the city can’t maintain it until it’s finished. He cited problems with emergency vehicles not having quick access to the area’s seniors’ residences.

Shiner said that the plans were publicly available and therefore shouldn’t come as a surprise to homeowners.

“The plan for the New York Towers area was developed close to 17 years ago. There’s a public document that shows there’s a roadway in that location,” he said. “If you’re a real estate agent or anyone that lives in the area, you’d look at the city plans and see … those two [properties] are part of a road network.”

Although Shiner said that many of the developers building on Rean, Barberry and Kenaston have provided lands for the new road, a September 2017 municipal class environmental assessment report projected a cost of $631,242 to build it, and that was “exclusive of costs associated with property acquisition requirements,” it read.

The owner at 13 Barberry Pl. could not be reached for comment.

Toronto Neighbourhood Food Fight: Part One

By

Alana Alvarez

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3:21 pm

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We scoured our favourite Toronto nabes in order to come up with the best bites — poke, lasagna, pasta and more — and pitched them against the city's top-ranked foodie hot spots. Who comes out on top? Who gets the glory? Read on to find out.

Check out Toronto Neighbourhood Food Fight: Part Two here.

SANDWICH SHOWDOWN
There’s nothing run-of-the-mill about the T.O. sammie scene, but one shop is truly tops.

ROSEDALE
BLACK CAMEL
Get here before the lunch rush and order up the renowned brisket sammie.
4 Crescent Rd.

VS.

DUWEST
PORCHETTA & CO
Pork shoulder, prosciutto and belly are combined, resulting in this inimitable porchetta.
825 Dundas St. W.

VS.

LESLIEVILLE
LESLIEVILLE PUMPS
This smoked brisket is loaded with crispy curls of sweet onion and lotsa BBQ sauce.
929 Queen St. E.

WINNER: BLACK CAMEL

FINE FRENCH FISTICUFFS
Which purveyor of la grande cuisine does haute better?

CASA LOMA
SCARAMOUCHE
Haute French spots come and go, but this mainstay has nailed the recipe to success.
1 Benvenuto Pl.

VS.

OSSINGTON
LA BANANE
Brandon Olsen made old school French cool again thanks to his well-executed menu.
227 Ossington Ave.

WINNER: SCARAMOUCHE

POKE KNOCKOUT

YORKVILLE
CALII LOVE
1235 Bay St.

VS.

KOREATOWN
BIG TUNA POKÉ BAR
599 Bloor St. W.

At Calii Love, a brand new addition to Yorkville, an edited selection of poke bowls is dished out on the daily. We heart this number with salmon, avo, watermelon radish and spicy mayo topping black rice. But Big Tuna puts up a good fight with its refreshing, ponzu-laden take loaded with ahi tuna, macadamia nuts and sesame seeds.

WINNER: CALII LOVE

INDIAN SCRIMMAGE
Indian food abounds in the city, but these standouts always hold their ground.

AVENUE ROAD
THE COPPER CHIMNEY
Dishes like baingan patiala (stir-fried eggplant) continue to wow at this north Indian resto.
2050 Avenue Rd.

VS.

CHRISTIE PITS
BANJARA
Aloo gobi is but one of the stellar options at this space, which serves eats from across India.
796 Bloor St. W.

WINNER: BANJARA

TACO TAKEDOWN
T.O. is home to plenty of great tacos, but which taqueria gets the gold?

YONGE & EG
LA CARNITA
Thank the heavens that this joint opened in our ’hood. Can’t resist the Mexican chorizo.
130 Eglinton Ave. E. 

VS.

PARKDALE
GRAND ELECTRIC
The originators of the T.O. taco craze are still going muy strong. Go Baja fish.
1330 Queen St. W.

VS.

THE JUNCTION
PLAYA CABANA CANTINA
Always buzzing, this far west ender does rounds with chipotle-marinated kalbi beef.
2883 Dundas St. W.

WINNER: GRAND ELECTRIC

LOADED LASAGNA

FOREST HILL
7 NUMBERS
516 Eglinton Ave. W.

VS.

DUWEST
LA PALMA
849 Dundas St. W.

Our hearts forever belong to Mama Rosa Marinuzzi’s southern Italian soul food. At 7 Numbers, she dishes out her oh-so-tasty lasagna, packed with ground veal, sugo and loadsa mozza. But over at La Palma, Craig Harding’s in-demand resto, diners are going nuts for the 100-layer lasagna, which borrows from Italy’s north and south. A battle extraordinaire.

WINNER: IT'S A TIE!

ROTISSERIE RUCKUS
Two star chefs deliver juicy chicken with crisp skin. But who does it best?

HARBORD
FLOCK
Cory Vitiello’s whole bird comes with both Caribbean pepper sauce and chimichurri.
97 Harbord St.

VS.

YORKVILLE
CAFÉ BOULUD
Chef Daniel Boulud’s poulet is sat handsomely on a bed of rotisserie potatoes.
60 Yorkville Ave.

WINNER: CAFÉ BOULUD

INDIGENOUS FACEOFF
Toronto is home to incredible Indigenous fare, which doesn’t fail to impress.

MT. PLEASANT
KU-KUM
This French-influenced resto offers a tasting menu with elk, parsnips and squash purée.
581 Mount Pleasant Rd.

VS.

KENSINGTON
POW WOW CAFE
Arrive seriously hungry before tucking into hearty Ojibwa tacos on the wee patio.
213 Augusta Ave.

WINNER: KU-KUM

Read on to find out who reigned supreme in Toronto Neighbourhood Food Fight: Part Two.

All that glitters ain’t gold at RH Courtyard Cafe

By

Andrew Mannsbach

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1:48 pm

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Imagine being a lifestyle curator — showing people precisely which furniture and tchotchkes to have and where to put them. Oh, and selling them all the right stuff.… What would you do next?

Open a much bigger store, of course, and put a restaurant in it, so tired shoppers can sit down and refuel. Yes, it’s RH Yorkdale. Used to be Restoration Hardware, but they closed those stores and rebranded as RH, opening the big glam box in Yorkdale in late fall.

The store of course is gorgeous: 70,000 square feet of beauty on four floors. I walk by the couches, the fab chandeliers, marble and glass coffee tables, the tall armoires, the statuary. I picture myself reclining with a very sophisticated cocktail. Like a movie star. Perhaps a soupçon of caviar. Yah, sure.

But anybody can go to the restaurant. You don’t need the price of an RH sectional. RH first opened a restaurant in its Chicago store, and it’s going like gangbusters. The Toronto resto has a similarly glamorous look. But there is soon trouble in paradise. At first glance I find it gorgeous, reminiscent of a Venetian courtyard garden thanks to its interior wall mimicking a four-storey apartment with black iron balconies. And the marble tables and the sparkle from many crystal chandeliers.

But the oodles of ivy on the walls and the trees are artificial, and I am looking out on a blank white wall across a hallway. Our happy server says that’s going to be RH kids and babies in about six months.

Hurrah.

More lifestyle. Till then, ugly.

Rather like the food.

Truffled grilled cheese sandwich is good but nothing special. The cheese doesn’t have that borderline erotic molten just-pulled-off-the flattop mouth feel. And $23 feels a little steep for burrata with olive oil and cherry tomatoes, however lovely. And the $31 lobster roll? Meh. I adore lobster rolls. A generous pile of lobster stuffed into a warm toasted buttered white roll is irresistible. This one not so much. Barely toasted, barely buttery, insufficient lobster, slightly overcooked. The fries, on the other hand, were undercooked, pale coloured and not crisp.

And the service was appalling. We were never offered water. Three waiters chatted at the nearby waiters station while dirty dishes sat a while on our table. When they did finally clear, our server stacked the dishes.

Which my mother told me one doesn’t do. Not in a restaurant anyway. I was paying and dining with a man. She handed him the cool iPad mini to pay and ignored him — twice — when he said I was paying.

Perhaps they should stick to sofas.

RH Courtyard Cafe, RH Toronto, 3401 Dufferin St., 416-322-9422

Chef’s Pick: Toronto’s 10 best new restaurants

By

Andrew Mannsbach

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1:00 pm

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It may have been a bad year for… well, just about everything. But luckily for our taste buds, 2017 was a fabulous year for food, in which we saw some highly anticipated restaurants open their doors and start serving some truly incredible dishes.

Regardless of whether we were tucking into a French dip sandwich in a Victorian semi or enjoying a sit-down dinner and cocktails with friends, it’s safe to say Torontonians weren’t short of fabulous food options.

We asked Toronto’s best chefs, restaurateurs and food experts to share their favourite new restaurants from 2017. Here are their top picks:

THE JUDGES: Daniel Boulud, Massimo Capra, Kate Chomyshyn, Roger Mooking, David Lee, Renée Bellefeuille, Michael Bonacini, Suzanne Barr, Zane Caplansky, Missy Hui and Cory VitIello

No. 10
TENNESSEE TAVERN

IMAGE: AJ Fernando

“Why do I love the Tennessee Platter? Simple: I’m a huge honkin’ platter of meat kinda guy. Obvs.” —Zane Caplansky, Caplansky’s Deli

OUR EDITORS’ TAKE: If there’s one thing we know about noted chef and restaurateur Grant van Gameren, it’s that he can turn out upscale and downscale without either option feeling disingenuous. To wit: Tennessee Tavern. Found in the nether regions of Parkdale, Tennessee is a testament to van Gameren’s skills. The dark, sprawling space with a scruffy past has walls laden with oddities (crucifix collection, anyone?) and an eastern Euro menu that gives and gives. Dunk cheesy perogies in a vat of sour cream, plow through eggs speared with kielbasa and, if you’re brave, finish off that pile ’o meat that houses everything under the sun. And yes, there is rakija to be found. If you’re lucky, you’ll happen upon the resto during a wild eve, like say, a perogy-eating competition complete with a Balkan brass band playing tunes in the background. True story.
MUST-HAVE: Cheesy perogies
IF YOU CAN’T GET A TABLE TRY: Harry’s Char Broil and Dining Lounge
$$
Tennessee Tavern, 1554 Queen St. W., 416-535-7777
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No. 9
DRAKE COMMISSARY

IMAGE: Colin Faulkner

“The bread and pastry selection is fantastic. Definitely go for chocolate babka and an Americano any time of day!” —Renée Bellefeuille, AGO Bistro

OUR EDITORS’ TAKE: Surprising no one, the Drake has gone and done it again. Remember when the original Drake Hotel first surfaced on West Queen West, breathing a gigantic culture-y breath into the once-shabby strip? The 8,000-square-foot Commissary is now pumping new life into the Junction triangle. Drake exec chef Teddy Corrado oversees the culinary utopia, which dishes out made-from-scratch everything. Bakery and bar, takeout joint and restaurant, theatre of food and café, the Comm is quite the multi-hyphenate. Grab house-baked goods for home (veggie croissants! Mutsu apple pie!), get smorrebrod with house-pickled herring for your mid-afternoon desk snack, or sit yourself down for a proper meal. The kitchen, visible through a glass wall, invites patrons to ogle the chefs as they go about their daily duties, whipping up everything from Moroccan grilled chicken to Roman-style ’za topped with foraged ’shrooms, Parm and arugula pesto. It’s a lifestyle.
MUST-HAVE: Moroccan grilled chicken
IF YOU CAN’T GET A TABLE TRY: Drake 150
$$
Drake Commissary, 128 Sterling Rd., 416-432-2922
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No. 8
ATLAS

IMAGE: CJ Baek

“I have a ton of respect for Doug. The food is big on authentic, rich and bold flavours.” —Michael Bonacini, Oliver & Bonacini

OUR EDITORS’ TAKE: If you’re a foodie worth his or her, um, salt, you’re already well acquainted with Niall McCotter and chef Doug Penfold. The duo first charmed the city with the Spanish Cava, followed with their French boîte Chabrol and has moved onto Moroccan fare with Atlas. Chef Penfold was mesmerized by the north African cuisine while travelling the country. His menu offers plenty in terms of app-y bites and dips. Harcha skillet bread goes with the charcoal grilled eggplant zaalouk, or amlou, a spread of ground almonds, argan oil and wildflower honey. And yes, there are tagines to share. Go roasted goat with okra and squash or cod with zucchini, preserved lemon and sun-dried tomato. Dessert means M’hanncha, Penfold’s take on serpent cake. Baked-to-order, the almond phyllo pastry arrives warm tableside and is drenched in date syrup. Close your eyes and breathe in Marrakesh.
MUST-HAVE: Harcha skillet bread and charcoal grilled eggplant zaalouk
IF YOU CAN’T GET A TABLE TRY: Cava
$$$
18 Dupont St., 416-546-9050
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No. 7
KIIN

“Chef Nuit’s dishes are inspiring and remind me how important cooking from the soul really is. It’s an honour to eat her food.” — Suzanne Barr, Kid Chocolate

OUR EDITORS’ TAKE: Anyone who has been to Thailand can easily conjure up sticky nights spent at food stalls. There, heaping portions of noodles seasoned with palm sugar, fish sauce, peanuts and spice are de rigueur. But at Kiin, the latest restaurant from chef Nuit Regular and her husband Jeff, the diner is transported into a very different version of Thailand. Inside, the eatery is oh so pretty, thanks to stained glass shutters, potted plants and velvet banquettes. The cuisine is just as intricate as the room: made for sharing, the food looks to all regions of Thailand and includes royal Thai dishes, a saved-from-extinction cuisine. Handsome khao yum arrives in a giant golden bowl filled with rainbow-hued mounds of jasmine rice, pomelo, edible flowers and more. Gaeng boombai, a meatier option, sees braised beef short rib surrounded by ladles of fragrant tamarind sauce. But if there’s one must-eat, it’s the Roy Thai platter, a diorama of perfect dumplings that seduce with every bite. This food is as far away from pad Thai as Toronto is from Bangkok.
MUST-HAVE: Gaeng boombai
IF YOU CAN’T GET A TABLE TRY: Sukho Thai
$$$
326 Adelaide St. W., 647-490-5040
Instagram

No. 6
ALOETTE

“The food is delicious and exactly what I have come to expect from Patrick. After years of working side by side with him in the Daniel kitchen, I’m proud to see everything he has accomplished with Alo and now Aloette.” —Daniel Boulud, Cafe Boulud

OUR EDITORS’ TAKE: At Aloette they take your coat. For a diner, that’s pretty fancy. With his first restaurant, Alo, chef Patrick Kriss showed Toronto that fine dining wasn’t dead. At baby sister Aloette, the greasy spoon is reimagined. Servers wear spiffy bow ties, the wall panelling is sleek, and every so often, Kriss pops in to check that all is running perfectly. The menu delivers comfort food gone glam. Sit down and you’re promptly given adorable mini toasts with whipped bone marrow butter. Most tables order the iceberg wedge — a jaunty salad that comes topped with avocado, puffed rice, candied pumpkin seeds and flurries of Parm, all laced in chive cream. But the burger is just the ticket: cooked to medium, the patty is topped with lettuce, onion, melty Beaufort cheese and a cheddar cheese aïoli. Pair with their velvety malted chocolate milkshake (spike with booze if you’re in the mood). And when you leave, they’ll put that coat right back on you.
MUST-HAVE: The Aloette burger
IF YOU CAN’T GET A TABLE TRY: Marben
$$
163 Spadina Ave., 416-260-3444
Instagram

No. 5
LA BANANE

“Anything they do with duck is a winner. And I’m a sucker for well-executed classic potatoes.” —Missy Hui, Fabbrica

“My wife and I love the raw bar and the appetizers — especially the duck terrine, vol-au-vent and tartare.” —Massimo Capra

OUR EDITORS’ TAKE: In French, avoir la banane means you’ve got a big grin on your face. So it’s fitting that, prior to opening La Banane, chef Brandon Olsen was known for his fried chicken and chocolates, food that tends to put smiles on faces. But at his contemporary bistro on Ossington, Olsen reaches much further in his quest for happiness. Inside, the space makes you feel like you’re part of the artsy crowd thanks to filmmaker Sarah Keenlyside, Olsen’s partner in life and love. Keenlyside worked with design firm Mason Studio on the interiors and outfitted the resto in works of art. Meanwhile, the cuisine is a spin on classic French fare with plenty of seafood from the raw bar. Chilled king crab meets crème fraîche and cocktail sauce; an omelette gets a treatment of caviar (if you wish); and an 18-ounce rib steak is gussied up with some classic Bordelaise sauce, built on red wine, bone marrow and butter. And yes, one can’t help but order the well-named Ziggy Stardust Disco Egg, a dessert offering that is the child of an ostrich and one Jackson Pollock. Smash into it with a golden spoon and — voila! — truffles! Olsen’s work is done.
MUST-HAVE: The Ziggy Stardust Disco Egg
IF YOU CAN’T GET A TABLE TRY: Bar Isabel
$$$
227 Ossington Ave., 416-551-6263
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No. 4
PINKY’S CA PHE

IMAGE: CJ Baek

“They serve up fun and tasty food at a great price in a really cool atmosphere. Definitely worth a visit!” —Kate Chomshyn, El Rey & Quetzal

OUR EDITORS’ TAKE: Pinky’s Ca Phe is a rollicking good time. Tucked into a Victorian semi, the space is tricked out with potted plants, vintage photos from Vietnam and plenty of tinsel. It feels exactly like you’ve stumbled into your coolest friend’s home. The innovative menu parcels Vietnamese flavours into new packages. Tiger’s Milk Ceviche is yellowfin tuna with scallops and surf clams delivered in a pool of coconut milk and tom yum sauce. Scoop up with taro chips. The French dip sandwich goes Vietnamese with thin slices of brisket and melty Asiago housed in a baguette with hoisin sauce plus pho broth for dipping. So Fly Rice packs a wallop of flavour thanks to deep-fried soft shell crab with salmon roe, julienned egg crepes, fish sauce and plenty of cilantro. Order Hua-Hua iced tea — all the liquors poured into an adorable teapot — and make an eve of it.
MUST-HAVE: Tiger’s Milk Ceviche
IF YOU CAN’T GET A TABLE TRY: Oddseoul
$$
53 Clinton St., no phone
Instagram

No. 3
CAFÉ CANCAN

IMAGE: Courtesy of Café Cancan

“Victor Barry loves food! He is cooking classic dishes and making them new. Café Can is like going to Vic’s house for dinner.” —David Lee, Nota Bene & Planta

OUR EDITORS’ TAKE: Chef Victor Barry’s latest restaurant is, quite possibly, the prettiest room in town. Done up to the nines and tens by effervescent designer Tiffany Pratt, Café Cancan is dressed in the colour of bonbons and radiates joy. So why not have fun?! Sip on a champagne tipple and toss back a few east coast oysters. Tater tots are gussied up in crème fraîche and caviar, just because, while French onion soup gets Gruyère and shreds of short rib. There’s Barry’s burger, a nod to past tenant the Harbord Room and their famed burg. The dishy Cancan version is an eight ounce Cumbrae’s beef patty sandwiched in a house-made potato bun with more of that Gruyère. They also do brunch, which means that croque madames, with all that smoked ham and béchamel goodness, can be bookended by French 75s. Merveilleux!
MUST-HAVE: Fresh East Coast oysters
IF YOU CAN’T GET A TABLE TRY: Piano Piano
$$$
89 Harbord St., 647-341-3100
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No. 2
GREY GARDENS

IMAGE: CJ Baek

“I like the smoked fish chips ’n’ dip. Great bar snack while you’re waiting for a table. Grey Gardens has assembled one of the most talented teams, both front and back of house in the city.” —Cory Vitiello, Flock

OUR EDITORS’ TAKE: It goes without saying that Jen Agg is a polarizing figure. Love her (she’s a badass woman in a tough industry) or love to hate her (she’s snark personified), it’s hard not to fall for her restaurants. At Grey Gardens, Agg has enlisted chef Mitchell Bates and partner in crime Peter Jensen to run the kitchen (both hopped over from Shōtō). The duo delivers a seasonal menu that can be dubbed new North American, yet refuses to settle on one culinary region. Fancy snacks (for fancy prices) are the name of the game here. Shrimp arrive with paper-thin slips of radish and carrot, set off by crisp curls of lardo for a dish that somehow transforms wintry flavours into summery bites. A duo of plump scallops with a caramelized hat meet shimeji ’shrooms and black XO sauce with nutty hits thanks to sunchoke. And buckwheat hand torn noodles come topped with hunks of crab, matsutake mushrooms and a smattering of pine nuts. No reso? Just walk in and sit at the bar. Easy.
MUST-HAVE: Shrimp & Lardo
IF YOU CAN’T GET A TABLE TRY: Black Hoof
$$
199 Augusta Ave., 647-351-1552
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And the winner is…

No. 1
LA PALMA

IMAGE: Courtesy of La Palma

“As a fan of Campagnolo, I was excited to check out their new, more casual spot. La Palma has a great vibe and is good for an afternoon coffee and croissant at the walk-up counter, or a sit-down dinner with cocktails with friends and family.” —Roger Mooking, Food Network Canada

OUR EDITORS’ TAKE: With its prime location, lickable decor and roster of menus that simply don’t quit, La Palma was destined to be a hit from day one. But for chef Craig Harding and his designer wife, Alexandra Hutchison, opening a new Dundas West eatery wasn’t actually in the plan. Happy with Campagnolo, their rustic Italian resto, the partners couldn’t resist a new project when they heard their neighbours were retiring and the spot was up for grabs. Hutchison transformed the room into an airy space reminiscent of Venice Beach, while Harding crafted Italianish day-to-night menus where every dish begs to be ordered. A winsome crowd populates the room at all times of day: biting into pain au chocolat before the whirl of the day begins, sipping on cocktails during the blue hour and going full-fledged dinner after dark. Blistered pizzas arrive from the wood-burning oven, topped with fig, a duet of cheeses and Ontario honey. The 100 Layer lasagna marries both béchamel and bolognese sauces, while the veg options, like cauliflower studded with roasted grapes, are never an afterthought. La Palma is, hands down, Toronto’s best new restaurant.
MUST-HAVE: The 100 Layer Lasagna
IF YOU CAN’T GET A TABLE TRY: Woodlot
$$
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How They Met: From one wedding party to another

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11:48 am

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Crow’s Theatre is bringing back one of its most popular plays from 2017, The Wedding Party, from Jan. 2 to 20. So we decided to chat with one of the show’s stars, Jason Cadieux, about his own wedding party — the one he had back in 2004 when he married his wife Stephanie.

How they met
Stephanie and I were paired up in an acting class. It was a scene from Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley.

The first date
Pool, upstairs at the Rivoli. I remember winning every game, but so does Stephanie.

The courtship
Laughter, tons of laughter. Also we had so much fun working together. We admired each other’s work and work ethic, and that was an integral part of the courtship — writing and producing plays and learning how to tell stories together.

The proposal
We once did a show up at the short-lived Sudbury Fringe Festival, so I planned a proposal there. I rented a room at this little coffee roastery / bed and breakfast. I made a scrapbook complete with images of our relationship to date (we had been dating for six years by then). There was a page that had no picture, just a caption that read, “Today is the day I asked you and you said.…” I got down on one knee, and she said yes. Then we partied the night away … in Sudbury.

The wedding
We were married on Oct. 24, 2004, at a friend’s barn in Jordan Station near Niagara. We spent a good two weeks cleaning it out. We had approximately 70 guests, and it was a potluck wedding, so our friends and family all chipped in to make the day special. We had friends who owned a restaurant, so they supplied plates and silverware. Another musician friend provided the sound system. Then there was the food: all our friends contributed great dishes. It was an amazing meal.

The honeymoon
Well, we had one night at a hotel in Niagara Falls. I threw my back out at some point (stress I think), so Stephanie had to help me out of my suit.

Their lives now
We live in New York now. We’re both still acting and writing. Stephanie teaches acting at the Neighbourhood Playhouse, and I find myself travelling for work a lot these days, so we spend more time apart than we’d like.

We toured a show we created to London, England, that got great reviews and sold out our closing night performance.

Stephanie has two daughters. They were eight and nine years old when we met. Helping to raise them and meeting all the challenges that come with a blended family has been the biggest accomplishment.

Now they have kids of their own (each a daughter), so we’re grandparents, and that’s amazing.

Shared goals
We both want to keep working in this business as long as we can — acting is a tough way to make a living, but we love it and do our best to help each other pursue a career. We both love to write and produce new work, so staying productive and challenging ourselves as writers is ongoing.

Life after retirement
We are renovating our little house in Fonthill, Ont. Our ongoing goal is to make it a nice place to retire one day. The dream is to be in our garden, with our granddaughters, and some wine.

An authentic French connection

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11:08 am

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When Clara McBride and her husband Riane Georges Ikiouane decided to open a patisserie, they weren’t sure Paris was the right place to do it. While the couple (she, Canadian; he, Franco-Algerian) lived in the city of love, the place was crawling with bake shops. Toronto, however, was a little less saturated.

One hop across the ocean later — et voilà! — their new patisserie Fleur du Jour (603 St. Clair Ave. W.) has been welcomed to the nabe with open arms.

“He’s the creative wonder behind it all,” McBride says of Ikiouane, a longtime pastry chef whose specialties include the croissant, pain au chocolat (with gourmet chocolate chips), Opera cake, tarte tatin.…

This month, do like the French and order some galette des rois — the French Epiphany pastry with almond cream.

Armour Heights resident accused of clearing 50 trees

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9:50 am

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A property owner’s application to build a separate house in front of his existing house on Sandringham Drive in the neighbourhood of Armour Heights has been appealed to the OMB for a hearing after being rejected in Toronto City Council.

This past March, city council voted to reject an application submitted by the homeowner to sever his property at 20 Sandringham Dr. for the purpose of creating a new residence in front of his existing house.

Neighbourhood tension began earlier, when the homeowner, Victor Minas, cut down a number of trees on his property over the August long weekend in 2015, which area residents believe was to make space for the new residence.

“Everybody came home and kind of went, ‘Oh my God, what just happened?’” said Geoffrey Roche, who lives at 23 Sandringham. “All of these trees were gone.”

According to Roche, around 50 trees were cut down that weekend.

A spokesperson from City of Toronto, Urban Forest Management confirmed that the city had visited this property on two occasions in relation to a tree protection bylaw contravention in which 16 trees were injured. Those injuries were attributed to “landscaping work” and additional renovations, and the homeowner, Victor Minas subsequently paid the inspection fees and erected tree protection zones. Forest management confirmed that he later applied for and received a permit in 2016 for the removal of 16 city-owned trees, of which 13 were in poor condition, but did not confirm whether those 16 trees were the injured trees from 2015. Forest management was also unable to confirm that 50 trees were taken down. In October 2017, Minas also applied for and received a permit to remove an additional 10 private trees, all of which were in poor condition.

“I don’t understand, as a resident of Toronto, how he gets away with clearing away 50 some-odd trees when a normal resident has trouble removing one tree,” said Bill Benson, another area resident. “He’s trying to clear the lot to build a house in front.”

The residents are also concerned for what the potential building of a separate residence on a residential setback could mean for the neighbourhood.

“Our street has deep setbacks. It’s one of the beauties of our street,” said Benson, adding, “If he puts a house in front of another house … it could set a precedent, and I feel it will change the look of the street.”

A staff report prepared by the director of City of Toronto Community Planning — North York that was released prior to the committee meeting echoed those concerns, stating, “The consent application does not respect and reinforce the existing physical character of the neighbourhood and could lead to similarly configured severance applications on nearby large lots that would weaken the physical character of the neighbourhood.”

In the end, the Committee of Adjustment struck down the application.

The street and the York Mills Heights Residents Association has been involved in this issue. A petition garnered over 20 signatures from the street.

“Everybody in this neighbourhood is familiar with this,” said Roche. “When he went for Committee of Adjustment, there was only one neighbour who was for it, and everybody else was against him.”

Minas appealed the committee’s decision to the OMB. The hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2018.

Christin Carmichael-Greb, the councillor for the Eglinton-Lawrence area, submitted a request to send the city solicitor and city staff to attend the hearing.

“If I’ve received a petition from residents, we will act accordingly, to make sure that the committee is being listened to and what they want for their community is upheld,” said Coun. Carmichael-Greb.

Victor Minas declined requests for comment. His property at 20 Sandringham Dr. is listed with Harvey Kalles Real Estate Brokerage, Ltd.

Chef Mark McEwan’s best three blind taste tests of 2017

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Andrew Mannsbach

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9:51 am

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It’s been a fun year partnering up with celeb chef Mark McEwan to taste test the city’s best items from bakeries, restaurants and more. But there were three tastings that stood out this year.

In October, McEwan helped us celebrate Diwali by tasting some of the best tandoori chicken in Toronto. As the man behind Diwan at the AGA Khan Museum, he had great insight to bring to the tasting. A local fave ended up taking home the top prize.

Who doesn’t love the age-old pairing of apple pie and vanilla ice cream? So we thought it best to ask McEwan to dive into the city’s best apple pies, as well as some gourmet ice cream from local shops to decide which pairing is the best for your holiday dessert.

Finally, one of our first (and one of our favourite) tastings with McEwan was charcuterie boards. These boards are the ultimate summertime snack, (heck, all-year-round snack) whether you’re out for dinner with family or friends or off to the local park to have a picnic (after the snow melts). They’re also just so pretty to look at!

Restaurant Review: The Broadview Hotel’s glassed-in rooftop eatery is all about grown-up bar eats for cool cats

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Andrew Mannsbach

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9:27 am

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Taking an elevator to the 7th floor to get to a restaurant somehow feels glamorous. The big red Romanesque Revival brick pile at the corner of Queen and Broadview is the super cool new/old Broadview Hotel, and its rooftop resto/bar might have the best view in town.

The room is dark and noisy. Oldsters beware. Do all the women here except us have long straight blonde hair? If I go east of the Don River more often, will I look like that after a while? Will I be cool?

Because I sure feel cool here. The rooftop is a glass cube with a glorious view of downtown to the west. The tables are dark marble, the banquettes lush dark fabric divided by marble ledges, the bar long and curvy.

Erik Joyal and John Sinopoli, who’ve opened several restos together, are in charge of the food at the Broadview, a project of Streetcar Crowsnest, which put $26 million into a three-year reno of the old pile built in 1891 — now a boutique hotel with three restaurant/bar spaces. Bye bye Jilly’s strip club, hello hipsters. They’re calling it the Drake of the east end.

Joyal and Sinopoli recently opened the Gare de L’Est bistro inside Crow’s Theatre; they did Izakaya and Table 17; they have Hi-Lo bar and Ascari Enoteca. And now they also have the Midas touch. Funny how years of experience and hard work bring luck. The Rooftop is jam-packed. The duo have sprinkled stardust east of the Don.

I confess to loving it.

The food isn’t the least bit fancy. It’s grown-up bar food very well executed. Not too much of the deep-fried dreck that bars tend to feature; best are sweet skinny frites that I could eat every day. And won’t. Self control has to count for something.

Everybody in town is doing scallop ceviche these days, to which I say: Bring it on! What could be sexier than a super-fresh raw scallop sliced and dressed in lime and chili with pickled cucumber, crisped garlic, coriander and white sweet potato? We’re also pretty excited by the clove-scented jerk pork ribs served with unusually creamy corn bread. And wrapping up the minced lamb and beef kebab in a soft house-made pita with yogurt, pickled carrot spears and za’atar yogurt is a Middle Eastern dream come true.

For dessert they do a kick-ass ice cream sandwich — golden brownie-style cookies sandwiching house-made ice cream in strawberry cheesecake flavour.

Is this junk food? Bar food? A restaurant? A bar? Or maybe a delightful crossover. And way more delectable than the SUV van kind. Were this a decade ago, anybody old enough to vote would not seek out such a venue for dinner. Dinner — at least a quality one — meant white tablecloths and taking your coat and waiters intent on charming us slowly … and quiet. Big tables, small cool quotient. But since that sort of resto pretty much went out with French food, my device is to find ways to rejoice in the downscale new model of serious cooking. Take Hillary’s advice: Chardonnay helps.

The Broadview Hotel, 106 Broadview Ave., 416-362-8439

Dan Demsky on his crowdfunding success for Unbound Merino

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2:22 pm

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Being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone. The potential pitfalls are many and the odds for success minimal, but for Dan Demsky the entrepreneurial spirit struck early.

During high school at Newtonbrook Secondary, Demsky and his friends (eventually turned business partners), Andrew Cariboni and Dima Zelikman, funded their love of attending concerts by making art prints depicting their favourite bands (Phish, Grateful Dead, etc.) and selling them on the road to make enough money to get from one concert to another.

“In high school we were travelling all around, and we were self-funded. That primed us for at least the thought process that we would forge our own path,” Demsky says.

In the classroom, Demsky says his Grade 12 English class with Mr. MacDonald changed his life.

“He was a brilliant and passionate teacher who made me excited to learn,” says Demsky.

Now, many years after their days of selling art prints, the trio have co-founded Unbound Merino, a travel apparel company with a focus on helping travellers pack less.

They are currently seeing significant success following a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo.

Demsky is no stranger to start-ups (he previously co-founded video production company BizMedia and founded artistic sock retailer Hitsu), but with Unbound Merino, he really felt he was onto something special.

The founders began with a goal of raising $30,000, which they surpassed by a wide margin.

“We thought if we were lucky we would make $10,000 but we got to $375,000.”

Demsky came up with the idea for Unbound Merino while on his honeymoon, lamenting the need to check luggage and schlep overstuffed bags everywhere he went.

The desire to find a means of packing lighter led him to merino wool, a material known for its ability to wick moisture, regulate body temperature and resist both wrinkles and odour.

But all he was finding made from the material was high-performance activewear rather than comfortable basics you’d want to wear day-to-day.

Unbound Merino focuses on well-made basics that can be worn again and again without needing to be washed.

Having started with a small line of underwear, T-shirts and socks, Unbound Merino is continuing to add new colours and products and they are currently working on a women’s line.

Running any business, no matter the size or level of success, can lead to stress. But Demsky has a plan in place to handle whatever comes his way.

“In really tough times, I don’t let it get to me but just stay focused on what I can do in the moment to move forward,” he explains.