Tonight comedian Pat Thornton will run a comedy marathon, performing stand-up for 24 non-stop hours at Comedy Bar, all in the name of charity. It’s the fourth year that Thornton has attempted the feat to raise funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation (he raised $14,000 last year; the goal is $24,000 for this year) and he has no plans to stop the charitable, comedic craziness.
Friday Restaurant Recap rounds up the week’s Toronto restaurant news. In this edition: two new restaurants for Baldwin Village, a British food truck, the new College Street Bar and ramen. Lots of ramen.
Last night, a swarm of Toronto’s keenest mallrats headed north, awaiting a glimpse of the Yorkdale Shopping Centre makeover. Costing a cool $220 million, the 145,000 square foot expansion officially opened to the public today.
The different levels of movie engagement tend to fall somewhere along the lines of passive or interactive. Occasionally we want to be taken away to another world; other times, we want to unravel a mystery. And then there is Holy Motors, a film about films; a commentary on cinema and acting by French director Leos Carax that simultaneously engages you and sets you adrift, leaving you wondering just exactly what is going on, and what, if anything, it all means.
This is a well-made sparkler that could fool some into believing it’s champagne. It has a pale straw colour with an active mousse and small bubbles. Boasting an apple and citrus nose, it is medium-bodied with apple and green pineapple flavours. Good length.
For four days only, Spank! The Fifty Shades Parody will play at the Panasonic Theatre, mixing the excitement of Fifty Shades of Grey with the hilarity of The Second City. For those looking for pre-show drinks, a Spank! cocktail will be served. Stay after the show and you can grab a photo with Mr. Dangerous and meet the other cast members.
If you love mystery and are looking for a quick, cheap thrill, check out this book-vending machine — dubbed the Biblio-mat — at The Monkeyʼs Paw on Dundas West. Just pop in $2, and in a flash, youʼll be the proud owner of a new, completely random book. The mystery comes from not knowing what book youʼll actually get. Intense.
I didn’t mind the mumbling. At this point, it’s so firmly entrenched within Bob Dylan’s persona that it would almost be disappointing to hear him sing clearly. I didn’t even mind the virtual invisibility. Dylan’s never exactly been known for his stage presence, so struggling to see him while he was obscured by his grand piano failed to take away from the experience. In fact, you could make an argument that it even enhanced The Bard’s aura.
Opening a bottle of this rauchbier is like tending a grill stacked with ribs or leaning in towards a bonfire to blow out a flaming marshmallow: there is no avoiding the powerful aroma of wood smoke.
Channeling the style of the English is about to get a lot easier thanks to the arrival of Ted Baker London. A staple in the British fashion scene since 1988, Ted Baker is opening its first Canadian store at Yorkdale tomorrow as part of the shopping centre’s multi-million-dollar expansion
Baldwin Village received a much-needed culinary injection earlier this year with the opening of Kinton Ramen, and now another Asian concept aims to continue the upward trend. Veteran restaurateur Sang Kim is set to open two restaurants — to be known as Yakitori Bar and Seoul Food — which will share a space at 1 Baldwin Street.
Makeup mecca Sephora has undergone a makeover of its own with a revamp of its Toronto Eaton Centre location, the site of the brand’s very first Canadian store. The relaunched space will open its doors next Tuesday.
