Musicals are an acquired taste; we all know that. The ones that ancient people like myself (now in my late 60s) saw and loved — usually on Broadway, but often listened to on 33-rpm records — became as much a part of our lives in the ’50s as the early sounds of Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and The Supremes.
The Hoof Café used to serve up one of the most decadent and innovative brunches in town before it shuttered in 2011. From a “breakfast-appropriate” charcuterie platter to bone marrow beignets to French toast covered in foie gras, The Hoof Café, courtesy of East coast wonder-chef Geoff Hopgood, was a premier destination for nose-to-tail breakfast.
Ron Sparks is a comedic jack of all trades: stand-up, improv, sketch comedy — he’s done it all, and in a relatively short time span. Since bursting onto the comedy scene in 2003, Sparks has racked up a number of awards, including eight Canadian Comedy Awards, and is a common fixture on The Comedy Network. Once voted “North America’s Sexiest Comedian,” Sparks is obviously the total jocular package.
Riverside Fabulous Finds is the east end’s answer to an indoor flea market. Tucked away inside a former funeral home, various independent vendors hawk vintage and pre-owned goods in addition to contemporary clothes and antique furniture.
After a hard night’s work of tickling those ivories, these performers would congratulate each other, knock back a few gin and tonics and go off to play a game of drunken pétanque.
New breweries seem to be opening every couple of months in Ontario, and things are looking up for craft beer drinkers. That is unless they want to buy beer to drink at home.
A year that has been tough on local, family-owned restaurants and fresh food shops appears to have claimed its latest victim. Sun Valley Fine Foods (583 Danforth Ave.), a Greektown staple for nearly three decades, is shutting its doors for good this Sunday. We were not given a specific reason for the closure, but were told that brand’s other location, the Sun Valley Market (468 Danforth Ave.), will remain open.
If you ride a bike and live in the city, chances are you’re familiar with having your lights stolen. And after one too many dark rides home, avid Toronto bikers Steve Tam and Taylor Martin decided to do something about it. With their new company, Beacon, the two have come up with a light that “lives on your bike,” circumventing the need for that annoying detach and re-attach dance that sandwiches every nighttime commute.
“Ripasso” is a term Italians use for a wine that has been fermented on the skins of grapes from a previous fermentation. This technique originated in the Veneto region and gives extra flavour and heft. Recently, Vintages released this 2009 Valpolicella. It’s a medium-bodied wine that has sweet, spicy, raisiny-plum fruit flavours and finishes dry with a dark-chocolate note.
So the Summer Olympics kick off today, and though we’re used to seeing our athletes in tight spandex and revealing uniforms (hello, women’s volleyball), back in the early 1900s, it was all about the high-collared blouses and tight ankle skirts. Practical? No. Stylish? Yes. And hot as hell.
Cirque du Soleil’s return to the Air Canada Centre will be a “thriller” in more ways than one. After its wildly popular debut in a limited run last year, Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour will see the Montreal-based company mix the unforgettable music of Michael Jackson with its own unique blend of acrobatic, death-defying and often humorous entertainment.
This is what happens when you visit Market 707, the makeshift food court at Bathurst and Dundas where vendors hawk street food out of shipping containers: you realize that Toronto does, after all, have a remarkable street food scene. You scan the options: buffalo milk ice cream, dim sum, pork belly, camel hamburgers, bubble tea, pupusas, crêpes, ceviche, roti and wait hamburgers are not made out of camel.
