Are Remakes Any Good?

Thursday was sunshine for most of the day. I took advantage and went to Dufferin Mall to finish Christmas shopping. My nieces were into Bubble Tea (to their parents' chagrin) and an Asian store might have some Boba-themed merchandise. That one has closed but there was a new one called Miniso. I bought some puzzles and Japanese snacks ($54.23) as gifts since they went to Japan earlier this year. I stopped at OMG Tapas on Dovercourt for lunch. I have been meaning to visit for 2 reasons: I saw on social media that they had vegetarian versions of Brazilian and Portuguese dishes which are typically meat-heavy cuisines. Two, I wanted the neighbourhood to keep its roots even if new establishments have to be trendier.

Unfortunately, there were barely any non-meat items on the menu and trendiness meant higher prices. When I saw $16 for codfish patties (to be fair there were 6), I flashed back to getting them for a $1.50 at Nova Era. They might still be cheap at Tavora. The rest of the dishes were between $20-30 so I opted for the Oh Bla ($18) brunch item. From the description, I thought it would be a breakfast spread (bacon, eggs) with some Pão de queijo (tapioca flour cheese rolls) instead of regular toast. What I got was a small tapioca waffle sandwich with a bit of bacon, eggs, avocado, and arugula. It was tasty enough but finished in only few bites. With tax and tip, I wondered if I could get over the sticker shock (and the $10 threshold) by pretending I was converting from Euros since €10 would be a cheap meal overseas. In any case, I needed a beef patty ($4.50) from Caribbean Queen.

Last week, on my way to Acute Pizza, I noticed that Khaose was no more. In its place, Teany Thai touted a small selection of dishes. So I went there for dinner and commiserated with the owner, a young man who lamented the paucity of orders. I chose the pineapple fried rice with shrimp ($18.95) and, as if I was an food influencer, took some videos to hype up the spot. Unfortunately, the rice was oily and lacked wok hei. I didn't mind that he mixed up chicken for the shrimp, but the heavily gristled pieces wouldn't go over well with many customers. I did not post those short clips.

In the evening, I went to The Burdock to see Dickson Bonfield and Screenagers. It was yet another show of older musicians filled with mostly family and neighbours. Tonight, that also meant a gaggle of teens perhaps at their first "bar show". I don't think there's any pay-to-play shadiness, but pre-pandemic bookings were different at this venue. The twangy blues/rock of Bonfield, both their covers and original tunes, felt a bit dated with the ubiquitous guitar solos. Screenagers whose oeuvre was TV and movie songs was more fun. These were not straight covers but a starting point to riff on whether theme songs (Sesame Street, Inspector Gadget, Night Court) or soundtrack (She's a Maniac, Neutron Dance). The first set ended with a high-energy Movin' On Up. More funkified nostalgia was promised for the 2nd set but it was past my bedtime. Screenagers was good but not stay-up-late good.