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| Myself in Toronto, ON |
Thanks
to my spirit of spontaneity, I found myself with a sour start to my travel to
the “T.O.,” as the border patrol thought of my ventures a bit differently. Let’s
just say that experience was enough of an experience for an entire lifetime.
However, as I inched closer and closer to this North American metropolis that I
love so dearly, it was the spirit of the folks in much tinier places such as Delaware
and Ingersoll, Ontario, that helped to restore my wanderlust mentality. But
finally there it was. As I turned the corner to head east on the Gardiner
Expressway, that breathtaking “needle” Canadian nationals hold so close to
their hearts, shot into my line of sight. The remainder of the Toronto skyline began
to pop-up around the CN Tower, soon after.
I
then found myself standing at the doorstep of the Bond Place Hotel, which arguably
gives you maximum Toronto bang for your American buck, and is just steps away
from Canada’s “Times Square,” the Yonge-Dundas Square. And this is where the
true beginning of my love for this city, commences.
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| Yonge Street in Toronto, ON |
After
exchanging a few Andrew Jackson’s (a must if American, as you avoid exchange
rate charges that will be incurred upon credit card use), I found myself
meandering down the busiest street, Yonge Street, in Canada’s largest
municipality on a Friday evening. This, my friend, is a sight that begs to be
seen, as cultures and interests from all across the globe, both citizen and
tourist, happily coexist with one another. Caucasians and Asians. Businessmen
and hipsters. Heterosexuals and homosexuals. In Toronto, anything goes, and to
quote Will Ferrell, “everybody love everybody.” However, the closest thing I
can compare the sight of Yonge Street on a Friday night with, is one’s first
sight of Las Vegas: glitz, glamour and lights galore, minus the gambling of
course. Finally, my feet decided they had enough, and my stomach began to
direct my every move.
Considered
the culinary capital of Canada, if not one of the major players on the global
culinary scene, Toronto knows how to do food and do it right. However, being
the simple guy that I am, what sounds better than a brand new Italian
antiquity-styled sports bar? With that being said, my stomach took me to the Scaddabush Italian Kitchen & Bar on
the corner of Yonge and Gerrard. Now trust me when I tell you this place was
awesome! The staff was made-up of the some of the friendliest individuals I have
met in ages, and with SportsNet’s “Friday
Night Hockey” Ontario Hockey League telecast being played overhead, this
experience could not feel more Canadian.
With
their pasta claimed to be made fresh in-house daily, I could not pass up their “Pesto
Pollo” dish, consisting of fresh fettuccine, sautéed chicken, baby spinach and
basil pesto cream sauce. Torn between portion sizes, my kind waitress said to
me “I can see it in your eyes that you are ready to put down some food.” Well
you know what, after the day that I just experienced, you are absolutely right;
give me the large! As the energy in the restaurant began to pick up around the
7:30 PM to 8 PM time range, a result of Toronto’s European influence over Canadian
lifestyle, I had finally packed my stomach to capacity, and it was now time to
explore the rest of city by night. Might I add a huge ‘thank you’ to the Scaddabush staff for their “places to
see” list discussed over dinner.
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| Chinatown in Toronto, ON |
In
Toronto, going-out on any night of the week seems to be considered a necessity.
As you quickly dip in and out of coffee houses whilst grabbing a hot chocolate
to warm your soul at this time of the year, you quickly pick up on the whispers
of workers as they discuss evening plans with coworkers. However, my plans for
the evening led me to first explore Toronto’s Chinatown neighborhood. As I
quietly strolled past hundreds of Asian-owned businesses, you could quickly
tell that although thousands of miles away from their homeland, the local
population was truly at home. Tightly packed into numerous restaurants along
the Dundas Street neighborhood, you could faintly make-out a plethora of Asian
dialects as families, friends and neighbors alike, ate, laughed and smiled
together. I then ventured down Spadina Avenue towards the King Street
entertainment district, as the brisk February Toronto air prompted my legs to
pick up the pace just a bit. However, as I neared the neighborhood, the time
was inching closer and closer to “that time of the night.” And when it’s “that
time of the night” in Toronto, this is the area of town you want to be!
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| Street-art along Portland Street in Toronto, ON |
With
the city serving as the stomping grounds of the likes of electronic dance music
producer Deadmau5, and recording-artist Drake, this city knows its music and
knows how to party. In this area of town, you have hundreds of bars that play
to the liking of nearly any taste, and not to mention some of the most popular
nightclubs in all of North America. I had my sights set on one such nightclub,
known as Uniun. On this night in
particular, Uniun was headlined by
the House music duo of Matthew Van Toth and Julio Mejia, better known as GTA.
However, with the air only getting brisker, and the line to see this “one heck
of a show” lining at least two sides of the building, I found an even better
opportunity to mix with Torontonians.
For
this, I headed just down the block to the corner of Wellington and Portland, to
bar Wellington. Inserting myself at the
bar of this corner pub for a few Arnold Palmer’s (although bar Wellington serves the finest in Canadian craft beers), I had
the chance to experience the true Canadian. They love their beer, their food,
their hockey, but most importantly, they live for their conversations amongst
one another that happen on nights like these. Nearing midnight (the typical “check-out”
time for me as of late), I tossed a few toonies (two dollar coins) to the
waitress at the “Welly” for her service, and took the cab back to the hotel. As
the majority of Toronto was hitting their evening stride, it was now time to
call it a night and recharge the batteries for all of what Toronto had to offer
the next day.
As
the rising sun signaled a new day for the Canadian metropolis, there was no act
of “pulling” myself out of bed for the day ahead. I quickly prepared myself for
the day, and hit the streets heading towards the world-famous and historic St. Lawrence
Market. As I near the market, the rest of Toronto shakes off the sandman and
begins their pursuit of weekend activities. Upon arriving at the already-bustling
St. Lawrence Market, colors and the smells of food run rampant, while shouts of
“here, here” ring-in from all across the market floor.
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| The St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, ON |
Each
vendor, from cheese and wine to seafood, proclaims their product to be the “world’s
best” whatever. However, after settling upon a chocolate chip bagel and cream
cheese from the St. Urbain Bagel Bakery,
I truly did stumble across something that was the “world’s best.” Whipping-up their
Montreal-style bagels in an old-fashioned wood fire stove, these little buggers
were to die for, and I am now questioning why I have not brought any back with
me to the United States? After taking in all the market had to offer, I made
like a Torontonian and purchased a few items of my own, and set out towards the
King Street area to meet up with a friend for lunch, and do a bit of shopping
along the way. All the while, however, I now came to the realization that Toronto
offers the complete package: Toronto has glitz, is quaint, provides excitement
and plays to the historian in us all.
After
perusing the streets of Toronto once more on my way to lunch, I finally landed at
the Fynn’s of Temple Bar, an Irish
pub located between Spadina and Portland on King Street. This is where I had
the chance to meet up with a friend of mine and his fiancé for a few laughs of
our own. Thirty minutes later, after ignoring our duty of deciding upon which
food item we’d each like to order, I finally jumped at their offering of the “Temple
Bar Fish & Chips.” Hey, if you’re at a place named “Fynn’s,” they must be
masters of their craft when it comes to fish, correct?
Regardless,
after scarfing down this fabulous dish and talking Toronto life and business in
the same, I realized I had just seen the true side of a Torontonian once more.
And as expected, they could not halt their proclamation of just how much they
love their restaurants and the city’s culinary traditions. After this
conversation, I could easily walk away with enough restaurants to visit for my forthcoming
three to four trips to Toronto! However, and in alignment of thought with
Torontonians, conversation with friends is always a pleasurable experience, and
I can only look forward to enjoying a possible Detroit Red Wings / Toronto
Maple Leafs game with them in the future (notice how my Red Wings were
mentioned first)!
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| The CN Tower in Toronto, ON |
As
the clock struck 4 PM, it was now time to head out on my final venture through
town. Out of necessity, I strolled towards the Rogers Centre and CN Tower, and
like always, glanced up towards the sky in awe. And for the swansong walk
towards the hotel to gather my belongings, I made one last shot down Yonge
Street towards the never-failing-to-take-your-breath-away, Yonge-Dundas Square.
Along the way, I made a stop at the world-famous shopping mall, the Eaton
Centre. But all the while I could not stop thinking in anticipation as to when
the next time would be, that I could experience this North American beauty.
However,
and in the same fashion that my nerves were put at ease on my way into town,
what made this trip to Toronto so fulfilling, was the time spent with the
people of the city. You can be known for your art, your culinary masterpieces,
or even architectural works, and Toronto has all of this and more. But what
Toronto has that not all cities can give themselves a pat-on-the-back for, is a
population that gives the city a soul and provides a livelihood for all
interests and walks of life. In all honesty, this is what truly makes Toronto
the “complete package” of a city. This is why I call Toronto “my type of place.”
