Back To Life

A great free show given by Retrocity a few weeks back convinced me to give them another chance at Lula Lounge on Thursday. Unfortunately, it was still cabaret-style sitting because most people were also eating dinner. But all the tables were full, and extra chairs were set up in the back. I wanted to be at the front but compromised by standing near the bar.

The noisy, younger crowd gave Retrocity, who ditched the staid suits and returned to their 80s garb, a big cheer. Throughout the evening, there was lots of clapping and hooting for their a cappella arrangements of 80s tunes. This electric atmosphere made for a welcome change from recent shows. Kevin Fox, now with The Swingle Singers (who were sitting at a table on the side), came on stage for Talking Head's Once In a Lifetime and Toto's Africa. All told, a fun evening with great songs.

I recorded 12 songs from their 2 sets of about 25 songs. But it was less enjoyable looking through a camera during a show. For future performances, if I cannot record unattended, I won't bother shooting more than one song.

1. Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel)
2. Say Say Say (Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson)
3. Father Figure (George Michael)
4. Cloudbusting (Kate Bush)
5. Need You Tonight (INXS)
6. Synchronicity II (The Police)
7. Africa (Toto)
8. Here Comes The Rain Again (Eurythmics) + Milli Vanilli 
9. Everything She Wants (Wham)
10. 80s Rap Medley
11. I Feel For You (Chaka Khan)
12. (Encore) Man In The Mirror (Michael Jackson)

Land Of The Lost

There have been two Mexican places in my neighbourhood for a while: Mexitaco and El Jacal. Then Tortilleria moved in a while back, offering a grocery store, fresh tacos to go, and an eat-in option. Unfortunately, the fillings for their tacos are cold and unappetizing. A 4th hispanic/Mexican place opened up called Tierra Azteca at Bloor and Dufferin. I've been passing it by because it looked like a convenience store. But then I noticed through the window covered with posters and specials that there were tables inside.

I went inside on Thursday and realized I was in a Canadian-style bodega. There were Mexican products for sale, although they devoted less space than Tortilleria. A moneygram kiosk allowed people to send money home. After doing a bit of shopping and wiring money, the 100% hispanic customers sit down for a meal. The dishes came out a door in the back, which I doubt leads to a restaurant-style kitchen. You can't get more authentic than that, if you're the kind of person who insists upon it.

Maybe a little too authentic because nobody speaks more than a few words of english, especially the waitress/cook. We finally agreed that I would get 4 tacos ($10) - 2 chorizos, 1 pork, and 1 beef. I also grabbed a Mexican Coke from the drinks cabinet. Mmmm ... non-HFCS, sugar cane goodness. I sat there sipping my Coke, a bit hesitant about what I'll get.

But the tacos that came out were delicious. Stuffed full of tasty meat and topped with delicious salsa. The slight sourness of the salsa made me think that tamarind may have been used. I could have used a little more heat but maybe they took it easy on the gringo. I usually prefer the chorizos to the pork because the latter tends to have a smelly, coarse aftertaste but this pork went down nice and easy.

I would definitely go back to Tierra Azteca as they do have other dishes. But as this chowhound post points out, you'd have to come equipped with the names of the dishes in Spanish such as pozole (intriguing - there is a Vietnamese dish made with hominy) and pancita (tripe soup).

99 Problems

As the heat dome continues to smother Toronto and keeps me from good night's sleep, I decided to head down to the Dakota Tavern, a dive bar that can host about 120 people or so, to listen to some live music. It is the last week of a month-long residency every Tuesday night for Dwayne Gretzky. Besides Dwayne Gretzky, I have no idea who is in the line-up.

First up is Molly Rankin from the Maritimes. Her band plays a 50s retro sound with a few songs venturing into folk territory. Allie Hughes then takes the stage to play an abbreviated set. I've noticed this before, but her upper register is so big that once she starts her diva-esque wailing, the mike starts to clip. I have also noticed from previous shows that she puts on this slightly off-kilter glassy-eyed smiling persona. But looking at her interactions off-stage, I'm starting to wonder if it really is a stage affect.

Dwayne Gretzky finally takes the stage a little after 12 am. Comprising of members from Sweet Thing with a rotating line-up, tonight it would be Allie Hughes and her drummer, the bassist from Molly Rankin on guitar, and Spookey Reuben, they play cover songs from every genre: 60s soul, 80s rock, even 90s hip-hop. They get the packed house dancing and singing for almost 2 hours straight. The tunes finally end at 2 am. For a $7 cover, you sure get your money's worth.

They are so popular that their residency has been extended to August. So every Tuesday, they'll be taking the stage. It's not a bad way to earn a couple of hundreds regularly. I wonder if they'll do weddings, because that wouldn't be a steep fee, and being still young and passionate, they blow any wedding band out of the water.

Better With Bacon?

Saturday was such a hot day that I didn't want to brave the Big On Bloor festival, a street festival that runs from Dufferin to Lansdowne. So I saved it for for Sunday's lunch. But apparently the posters around the neighbourhood were wrong, it was only scheduled for Saturday. After wandering west from Dufferin for a bit, I decided to try the Bloordale Pantry, an eatery at the corner of Bloor and Lansdowne.

The restaurant was set up like a 50s diner, with a counter setup with red, padded stools. The long narrow dining area had the smallest tables I've seen. With two diners, there's no way each can order more than 1 dish, and even then there would be a fight for space. The place was packed with 20-somethings. Going on the theory that everything tastes good with bacon, I ordered the Baby-doll Stuffed Pancake ($10.99): 3 buttermilk pancakes stuffed with cheddar and bacon, topped with a fried egg.

I was pleasantly surprised when I received 5 pancakes instead of 3. But then I took a gander at the eggs, bacon (stuffed in every pancake), cheddar, and home fries, and felt a phantom heart attack. Oh, well; nobody gets out of life alive. I dug in but it was a mediocre offering. There were 2 main deficiencies. The pancake was too heavy. With so much greasy and substantive ingredients: bacon, eggs, cheese, fries, I wanted the pancake to be light for contrast. But it sat densely on my tongue and wasn't fun to chew.

Additionally, the syrup upstaged the soft, mild bacon. As I was eating it, I thought of a Portuguese bakery near Dovercourt that serves very crispy, extra salty bacon. This adds a little much oomph to their standard breakfast combo. But that crunchy bacon would have gone perfectly with these pancakes.

The Bloordale Pantry serves a good amount of food for a reasonable price but they need to tighten up their execution.

Head Over Heels

Circus in the Park is a group that meets at Dufferin Grove Park to experiment with Acroyoga postures and play around with circus apparatus like trapeze and silk. Sometimes jugglers, slack-liners and hoopers also join in on the fun. Once the equipment is set up, usually curious people come by to ask questions and try out a few moves. Kids especially love all the circus equipment.

Although late Saturday afternoon was the tail-end of a heat-wave, there were still a few people going out to hang upside-down. Fun was had by all of us, even when the rain started coming down around 7 pm. Finally the thunderstorm drove most people into the Dufferin Mall across the street.

Meanwhile in another part of the park, the Clay and Paper Theatre was putting on their annual puppet show. They all tend to preach a hippie, back to nature ideal. This year was no different. The Pedaler's Wager is about a Faustian bargain with "progress" to make our lives more mechanized in the name of leisure and ease. But we actually end up destroying our resources, which in the play includes an anthropomorphic river, and working ever harder.

Just Desserts

I heard about Chef Donald Duong almost 10 years ago. As a European-trained pastry chef, he was something of a rarity in the Vietnamese community. Back then, he was supplying desserts to the various cafe and restaurants around town as Dessert Trends, Inc. He had just opened up a shop at the corner of Dovercourt and Dundas. Not being a big dessert addict, I only bought his goods when I was attending a dinner party. However, once he installed a professional croissant roller in the basement and was making fresh croissants, I headed over every Sunday morning after the Y for the first hot batch of the day.

After a short stint, he moved his operations to Weston Road. A few years back, he came back downtown and opened up a second location called DT Bistro on Harbord St near Spadina. But I haven't gone to it (no fresh croissants) though I've heard good things about his brunch and dinner menu. I have encountered him at other occasions.

On a blistering Saturday afternoon, I passed by DT Bistro. The special menu sandwich board listed a gazpacho. The thought of a cool soup lured me inside. The place had a European feel with small tables in a long room. Large glass doors were spaced the entire length giving it an airy feel, although for this noon-time the shades were drawn down to keep the sun out.

The tomato-pineapple gazpacho ($7) had finely diced tomatoes, onions, and basil in a cool, refreshing broth. Though it was mildly flavoured, the soup masked the taste of the avocado chunks. Odd because avocado tends to be noticeably creamy and rich. So an uninspired combination. But the goat cheese was just the ticket to add a bit of pungency to change up the flavour profile.

The shrimp and dill frittata ($16) came with a mixed salad. The salad was average though the dressing had a nice spicy heat. The generous 7-8 shrimps were nicely cooked and salted. No asparagus that I can see though it was listed on the menu but there was zucchini. The egg was soft and well flavoured mixed with some dill and scallions. But best of all were the sweet peppers and caramelized onions buried in the mix.

With the golden colouring, the dill and scallions, and the bubbles of grease evaporating along the edges, this reminded me of a Vietnamese omelette which is made with almost the exact same ingredients. But usually the omelette is stuffed with minced meat.

It was a delicious but with tax and tip, the meal came to $30. Two thoughts. First, with minimum wage (i.e., working class wages) around $10, my frugal-minded grandma would have a conniption with such a pricey lunch. Second, tax and tip added almost 1/3 additional cost to the final tally. So the menu prices look misleading. I would much prefer, European-style, that both were included in the listed prices.

Summer In The City

Toronto has been sitting under a heat dome that's been cranking up the temperature day by day. Thursday, the temperature reached 37+ C. Living without AC and electric fans is a bit of a bother, but I've been coping reasonably well. I've been losing about 1 hour of sleep because of the oppressive heat. However, Thursday was definitely a test. I could feel the heat, accumulated in the roof over the course of the day, radiating from my walls. Combined that with small windows poorly positioned for a breeze and it was a sauna in my 3rd floor apartment.

I finally decided to leave my place around 9:45 pm in search of cooler environs. Although the Horseshoe was incredibly hot for NxNE, a tweet told me that they had fixed their AC. I arrived too late to see first act Huddle, but I caught the last few songs from Skirt Chaser. Their straight up standard rock was enthusiastically received by the crowd full of bros. So many wife-beater shirts, chains, and tattoos.

The Lovely Killbots was next and they played to a decidedly smaller crowd. Their electronica style doesn't come across well in a sparse crowd who are satisfied to stand around. They did their best but was hampered by a poor sound mix in general. In fact, at the start of one song, the mic for the lead singer was turned off.

There wasn't much of a crowd left for Birthday Boys so I decided to head on home. Even the guy manning the admission table had left. But given how long the guest lists were for each band, I wonder if anybody even paid the $6 cover. I got in for free when I ran into the Killbots' drummer at the front. It's great for me (and everybody else on those lists), but probably not great for the bands.

My place was still an oven when I came home, but I managed to get 35 winks. The elevated temperature caused numerous strange dreams including one where I hung a man to death in Chinatown. In my defense, he was trying to maim me with a metal chain.

Full Moon

During an actual full moon on Saturday, I attended a "moon yuet" celebration. The restaurant, Regal Palace, is located in Richmond Hill. I was excited to try the food, as the consensus is that good Chinese food has migrated out to the suburbs with the immigrant exodus from the downtown core. The presence of Saigon Star in the other lot was a good omen, as I have heard that the crab there is excellent.

Regal Palace was full when I entered, always a good sign. I did not get to try the red-dyed egg that decorated the tables for this particular tradition. The 10 courses were:

1. A cold meat platter with jelly fish and tofu/curd wrap
2. Shrimp and snap peas
3. Stir-fried greens with enoki
4. Roast chicken
5. Abalone, portobello mushrooms, and baby bok-choy
6. Winter melon soup
7. Fried cod
8. Lobster
9. Fried rice and noodles
10. Red bean dessert, jello, black sesame balls, and cookies

The dinner was better than most chinese banquet I've eaten. The waitstaff portioned out each dish into individual servings and replaced the plates after each dish. Usually you get 1 set of dinnerware to be used for the entire meal and the dishes come out pile on top of each until there's no more room at the table. I was pleasantly surprised by the tastiness of the cold meat, typically one of my least favourite because of its peremptoriness, and the crunch of the jelly-fish. A nice start, and possibly a taste of things to come.

Overall, the meal was good. There was a light, deft touch on all the dishes. The ubiquitous flour-based sauce that gives a lot of Chinese dishes that slippery sheen was dialed back. The goopy gunk that usually drenches Chinese-style lobster was barely there, I could actually taste the ginger. The roast chicken was crispy and slightly salty. Even the delicious fried rice was light on the oil.

I also enjoyed some the presentation. The winter melon served as a bowl for the soup broth, but you can still scoop out the melon. All the cod flesh was scraped out into bite-sized chunks, but instead of throwing away the skin, the left-over fish was deep-fried into a curved serving platter. It was edible too: skin and fish-bones all (except for the spine, as I discovered).

Dishes 6 through 7 were my favourite. But there was so much food that I didn't eat very much of the fried rice and dessert. Maybe I should have asked for a doggie bag.

Soul Music

2 Fridays ago, I attended a massive Motown party. This Friday, the next installment of A Soul (a tribute to soul music) took place at Holy Oak. The band was smaller but no less funky. The crowd was more reserved but by the end, everybody was dancing. This on-going gig is introducing me to lots of great old-school music. The bassist did a couple of groovy tunes including "Let's Straighten It Out" (Benjamin Latimore). As usual, Maylee Todd blew people's head off with such gems as "I Was Made To Love Her" (Stevie Wonder) and "If I Were Your Woman" (Gladys Knight and the Pips). Her performance was so outstanding that the tiny place demanded an encore and got "Yes We Can Can" (Pointer Sisters).

Between sets, I had a chat with Maylee. Not surprisingly, to find time for band practice and do tours, musicians have to work at jobs with flexible schedule. Along with Otouto and Tuuli, it reminded me that this is not something you do unless you love it; and even then, you'll probably end up with memories, not riches.

Portion Control

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Everything in Moderation is a 55-minute contemporary dance show taking place at the George Ignatieff Theatre as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival. It comprises two pieces "Overexposure" and "Race me to the red light. Faster, Better, Namaste" that explores the idea of moderation, or in these cases, lack of it.

Reading the biographies of dancers Christine Birch and Rhonda Baker, I notice that they both graduated from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Oh, dear. I think I know what the choreography is going to be like. And I'm right with the first piece: twitchy, spastic movements; repeating dance fragments; incidental interactions between the dancers. To be fair, there are some interesting vocabulary from this school such as mirroring and pattern exchanges. I also see a bit of Peggy Baker in the sometimes antagonistic, sometimes helpful relationship between the dancers. But I have seen enough of this style to find anything new in this piece.

The second piece is more comedic. The dancers portray two over-achievers, who strive to out-do each other and push themselves to their physical limits in the quest for slim perfection. Whether it's aerobics, yoga, cross-training, they'll work at it till they throw up or collapse in exhaustion. All the while, positive affirmations and shallow self-help advice play over the speakers. This is an enjoyable piece and its accessibility generates a lot of laughter from the audience.

It's a fun piece but afterward, I was thinking about the meta-narrative. These dancers are much fitter and more flexible than the average office worker. So their portrayal of gasping couch potatoes is played primarily for laughs. But with respect to the night's theme, wouldn't it be interesting to consider how a real, overly intense dancer would approach exercise? What does an aerobics routine or a yoga session look like for a professional dancer who believes in always giving it a 110 percent?

Auntie K

Gam Ja Tang ($7 all in!)

Imone (Auntie's) is a small Korean restaurant at Bloor and Manning in Koreatown. It claims to make home-style dishes hence the restaurant's name. One of its specialties is Kal Guk Soo ("Knife Noodles"), a flattened and knife-cut pasta. Although that looks delicious, I decide to order another famous Korean dish I've been meaning to try for a while: a large Gam Ja Tang (Pork-bone Soup). This comfort food is large hunks of pork-bone simmered in spicy broth until the meat is tender. The version at Imone is delicious and plentiful. Its selection of kim chi is also fresh and varied. With the entire meal costing $7 all in, I cannot think of a better bang for the buck, even the cheap Vietnamese restaurants or the Myanmar take-out Mother Home. Most other dishes here are in the $6-10 range. The most expensive is the Kalbi at $16. There appears to be combination orders posted on the walls. No doubt about it, I have found a superior "cheap Korean" replacement for Yummy BBQ.

I'm Checking In!

Cellar Hotel is a new rock musical by Chicken Coop Theatre making its debut at the Toronto Fringe Festival. A loose re-telling of Faust, it takes place in the eponymous hotel and its adjoining bar, Auerbach's Lounge. Dr. Gray (Mischa Aravena) and his mousy assistant Samantha  (Stacey Gawrylash) arrive for a conference. He is dissatisfied with his calling while she carries a secret crush for him. At the hotel we also find Richard (Ryan Galloway) and Maggie (Ashley Gibson) Valentine, a well-to-do businessman and his emotionally fragile sister. Richard's ambitious assistant Kate (Ruth Goodwin) is also there to keep things running smoothly.

We soon realize that the hotel manager Alara (Michelle Cabral) and her helpful staff are actually God and the 7 Virtues. On the other side, we have Mephistopheles (Brad Marks) and his 7 Sins manning the bar. So begins the fight for the souls of these 4 guests.

With 21 people on stage, this production is likely the largest at the Fringe. But it's doubtful all are needed. Outside of the intro and finale, the Virtues have nothing to do. Only Patience has a duet with Maggie (Slowly But Surely). Just goes to show that it's always more fun to be bad. This lopsidedness is also there in the staging, as most of the action takes place on the Lounge side of the divide. Luckily, I sat on the right side. Otherwise, I'd hate to keep having to look over at stage right. This also made the stage direction and dance choreography of those scenes feel cramp. The director should have thought of a way to rearrange the set more effectively.

Musically, the songs are forgettable. The genre of "rock songs" is already limited, adding mediocre musical theatre lyrics (narrative) compounds the issue. Most of the singers do not have the power to project their voice over the music. Only "Second Fiddle" sung by Samantha, Kate, Envy, and Greed has some bite to it. The most successful song is strictly in the "Broadway"-style. The drag-queen cook Gluttony (Christian Davies) got the loudest cheers when he belted out Everything's Good, an ode to an epicurean's dream and a dissipated cousin of Beauty and the Beast's Be Our Guest.

We also don't care much about the main characters. They don't seem to have much inner life, feeling more like stereotypes existing so that they can be tempted by various Sins. The tone of the production is also muddle. Is it going for seriousness or sly comedy? It should have stuck with comedy; after all, there is something a little bit ridiculous about people breaking into dance and songs in real life. The alternative, as seen on stage, is a Mephistopheles who prowls around on stage, growling all his lines and lyrics. He is risible not menacing, as if The Kids In the Hall character Simon (of Simon and Hecubus) is played straight.

The production is enjoyable but doesn't rise to the same levels as past Fringe shows such as Drowsy Chaperone, My Mother's Jewish Wicca Lesbian Wedding or Fairy Tale Ending. Given all the people working on stage and behind-the-scenes, that's a lot of effort for a C-grade musical.

A Light Snack

After buying some fresh fruit from Chinatown, I decided to do a light brunch of Dim Sum at Rol San. I ordered har gow, siu mai, fried squid, shrimp rice rolls, turnip cakes, and egg tarts. At Rol San, the food comes out after you check items of the Dim Sum list instead of being pushed around on carts. This meant that, for example, the squid came out hot and crispy. It was a pleasant brunch, and not overly heavy. On the other hand, I didn't indulge too much in the squid or the turnip cake and had some leftovers. One thing I did noticed eating about Dim Sum alone was that when the food wasn't that great when they cooled. The flour became heavy, the shrimp tasted noticeably stinky/fishy, and the squid got greasy and limp. Not sure if it was the cooking style or perhaps unless you eat at a fancy place like Lai Wah Heen, they don't use high-end ingredients.

Afterwards, I attended "The Premiere", a Fringe comedy show at the St. Vladimir theatre. I wasn't even aware that the St. Vladimir residence even had a theatre. Last time I was there, I was studying Distributed Algorithms with a cute grad student from Romania in the lounge (no visitors allowed anywhere else). A production of Les 3 Garcons from Montreal, the premise was 3 hapless performers putting on a variety show: the big doltish oaf, the keen beginner, and the egotistical veteran. The 12:30 pm show was sparsely attended: around 10 people were in the audience.

The comedic hook was that they were singularly untalented and woefully under-rehearsed, whether it was dancing, singing, or performing circus feats. I think there is a cultural divide between French and English Canada with regards to slapstick. I can't help but think of another Montreal production, the "Candid Camera"-style gag show produced by Just For Laughs which I just don't find funny. In any case, slapsticks such as a smarmy Catholic cardinal, a circus strongman bending an "obviously fake" steel bar, a Vegas-style performer over-emoting "Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" only got a few chuckles.

But they did get hearty laughs with the more physical acts: a 3-man Swan Lake, a magic act gone wrong, some cheesy acrobatics. These made us laugh at first with their antics. Then we realize that there are some skills being shown, which makes us appreciate their talent and allow us to laugh even more. The acrobatics were straight up typical acro-yoga/circus poses with a bit of clowning. The stand-out was the magic act. The keener sneaked out to show us his tricks and they were so silly you had to laugh. For example, making one finger appear on the other hand by tapping the hands together (known to kids everywhere). My favourite, which still gets a chuckle from me, involved making another kleenex tissue paper "magically appear" out of the tissue box when you pull out the current one. Ha! When looked like that, that is a pretty good "magic trick". But then he proceeded on to real ones: pulling out several metres of streamers from the oaf's mouth; and a levitation trick that was quite magical and got the biggest laughs of the show when the secret was "accidentally" revealed.

Overall, I got some good laughs despite a few cricket-chirping stretches. If Les 3 Garcons concentrate on these types of physical comedic acts, the show would be an unqualified hit.

All We Need Is Music, Sweet Music

On a warm Friday night, I checked out two musical events: Sweet Thing playing at Dundas Square, and a Motown dance party at the Great Hall. I had heard Sweet Thing played as cover band Dwayne Gretzky and a couple of songs done acoustically during NXNE Picnic in Bellwoods, but never a full set. Since they were scheduled to play a free set at Dundas Square as part of 'Indie Night', this was my chance to hear their own material.

Apparently, the majority of their fan-base are teenage girls. Aside from a few curious tourists, it was mostly high school girls filling up the space. This made it hard for opening act The Treasures to engage the crowd with their countrified rock: pedal guitars and twangy vocals. The screaming started when the 5 members of Sweet Thing came on stage.

Compared to the small stages of local bars, Dundas Square was probably their biggest stage. And they indulged in the space, especially the lead singer and bassist. Arms swinging, rock postures, running around, raising the mike stand, they did it all; and their fans loved it. The antics showed them to be veterans who were comfortable on stage and knew how to engage the crowd. Sweet Thing write some catchy, multi-harmony pop songs including Lorraine, Spider, Dance Mother, Change of Seasons, and their biggest hit Lazy Susan. They have a great sound and are fun to watch live.

Afterwards, I headed over to the Great Hall at Queen and Dovercourt for The Big Sound: A Motown party. I wasn't interested in the DJ spinning old Motown tunes (though I did work up a sweat dancing to them), but I was looking forward to the assembly of local musicians who were going to play some live Motown hits. What a band! 19 musicians crammed on stage: 4 horns, 6 singers each taking turns doing harmony and lead, a cello, viola, violin, 2 guitars, 1 bass, 1 piano, percussion and drums. If the band was big, the audience was bigger. I doubt the Great Hall could have accommodated the 600+ people who signed up on Facebook, but several hundred were definitely there, jamming the place tight and got the place over-heated and sweaty.

It got even more heated when the band came on and it was obviously a big sound played by enthusiastic and talented people. The entire place was rocking and dancing to 'Dancing In the Street', 'You Can't Hurry Love', 'What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted', 'Tears of A Clown', 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough', among others. But the stand-out was Maylee Todd; and it's not because I'm biased for her. Everybody got cheers and whistles, but when she finished 'I Want You Back' the place exploded. One of the most enjoyable night of music I've had. I'm looking forward to the next installment on October 21st.

Songsmith

One of my favourite singer, Basia Bulat, was up for a Best New Artist at the Junos this year. She lost out to a singer from Halifax named Meaghan Smith. Ever since then, I have wanted to see this "rival" in concert. Ms. Smith was on a cross-Canada tour that landed at the Rivoli in Toronto Saturday night.

I showed up at 9:30 and caught the last few songs of opening act Ian Kelly. This was a surprise, they actually started on time. I might have shown up earlier if I had known. The second surprise was the cabaret-style seating. In my opinion, this is the worst way to set up a venue because it wastes so much space. In fact, late comers like myself were crammed into the back though a lot of room could be made available. In any case, I made my way up to the front and side by the time Meaghan came on.

A touring band of two, Meaghan Smith and her husband Jason Mingo, were celebrating their 6th year anniversary that night. She was an engaging performer, regaling us with anecdotes that gave a back-story to her songs. There was the fiance who made a better rakish boyfriend than spouse ("If You Ask Me", "Take Me Dancing"); the friend-turned-love-interest who didn't show up to their first date ("Soft Touch") - don't worry, she met Jason 3 months after that; the convict boyfriend that broke out of prison and came to her place ("You Got Out"); and an reminiscence of a childhood love ("A Little Love"). She didn't just sing about failed romances though: a love song to her stoic grandfather ("I Know"); a lament to an old friend ("Drifted Apart"); a thank-you to her husband for encouraging and supporting her when she decided to quit her job as an animator ("Poor"); and a plea to her parents from her younger self about her early bedtime ("5 More Minutes").

It was an intimate setting for a confessional singer/guitar-player who had some nice turns of phrase. Jason made an excellent backup on his guitar, supplying the bass, the driving beat, and lead solos. It was like spending an evening in the home of a talented friend. I was impressed enough to pick up her debut CD "The Cricket's Orchestra".

The CD was a mixed bag. Some songs retained their lyricism. But for numerous others, instead of something similar to her stripped down performance, they were recorded in the old-timey style of a 1920s flapper Jazz arrangement: wah-wah cornets and saxes, oompa-loompa bass, etc. Her voice and style doesn't match this period and the artifice almost buries her lyrics. For me, I prefer the modern arrangement of her songs. I think she's that rare performer where I actually don't want to see her with a full band.

Back to Basia. How does Meaghan compare? Interestingly, though she grew up in Halifax, she was born and spent some time in London, Ont. Both Basia Bulat and Olenka (of Olenka and the Autumn Lovers) also lived in London for a period. Something in the water? I like Meaghan's music and will follow her. But I feel that there is a timeless quality to Basia's songs, as if they came down the generations as folk tunes.

Convoy

On a muggy Saturday morning, I headed down to the Distillery District to sample the food at Food Truck Eats, an event organized by Suresh Dosh of Spotlight City. The event was meant to highlight that there is a demand for better "street food" in Toronto and that the terrible bureaucratic approach of the failed A La Carte program is the wrong approach.

There were 5 food trucks Marcuz Burger (which for technical reasons did not sell any food), El Castronomo Vagabundo, Baker Street Bakery, Bonfire Catering (which has a pizza oven in the truck!), and The Cupcake Diner. There were also tables set up for other vendors including Cava, Marben, Gorilla Cheese, Simple Eats Fish and Chips, among others. The official start was supposed to be at 11 am, but some sellers jumped the gun (I'm looking you Cupcake Diner) and started selling early. So at around 10:40, I lined up for my first taste of Food Truck Eats.

From Simple Eats, I got the Wasabi Lobster Slider ($4) and the Cajun Catfish Taco ($4). The slider was tasty, with just a hint of heat from the wasabi. Except for the first bite, I couldn't taste much of the catfish over the sauce. Then I went over to Gorilla Cheese for a grill cheese sandwich. Here was the first indication of the under-preparedness of the vendors. The lines were starting to form and they had trouble getting the food out. Although it only took me about 3 minutes to get my order in, I waited more than 5 minutes to get my Canadian Lumber Jack ($5). In any case, it was much too greasy and large for a quick finger-food. I couldn't taste the maple syrup, but the bacon and apple slices were a nice combination. I think the Gorilla Sarducci would have made a lighter snack.

As I pondered my next move, I picked Cava because it had the shortest line (0 people). I settled on the Yucan Shrimp Tamales wrapped in banana leaves ($5). The corn-based shell was gritty, a bit heavy, and didn't pick up much flavour from the wrap, but the 2 large shrimps inside had great chewiness. I don't remember where I got the choripan ($4), Chorizo in a half bun, but it doesn't matter as the dish was just average. I finished up at 12 pm with a mango/coriander popsicle ($3) from Augie's Gourmet Ice Pop. I would have sampled more food but the average line-up was 20-30 people with Vagabundo having at least 100 people waiting for their Korean chicken wings and pork belly steamed buns.

On the whole, I would be glad to have of these types of food around Toronto streets, but I wouldn't line up for an hour for it (as people who came after 11:30 am found out). The organizers and vendors obviously underestimated the thousands of people who did show up. The trucks and tables were located much too close and awkwardly positioned. For example, some of the trucks faced the tables, thus reducing the available space for people to line-up for either sellers. This lead to lines that meandered, crossing each other, and bunching up.

The sellers themselves committed mistakes that would get them booted off Top Chef. Some had the cashier standing at another table right-angle to the server. This meant that you had to order your food, walk around to the cash to pay for it, and then come back to pick up your food. Why not reverse cashier and server, or trust that people won't run off without paying? Some, like Gorilla Cheese, miscalculated their food preparation time. If you have 30 people in line, and your food takes 5 minutes to make, you've got to think of ways to speed things up. For example, when they had messed up an order here or there (no one was waiting on it), some people in line who had gotten fed up of waiting simply paid for that unclaimed sandwich. That could be one approach; just start making your dishes and trust that someone will want it. Finally, some just made rookie mistakes. El Vagabundo had the longest line but it was quite slow too; it seemed counter-intuitive considering they only had 3 dishes, with the BBQ chicken wings already to go. Go figure. Part of the slowness was due to the fact that you couldn't order until you were at the front, even though there was a server dedicated to taking orders. So while the food was being made, the server simply stood there. With 100+ people in line, you should start walking down it 5-10 people at a time and start taking orders and collecting money. This would not only speed up the cash processing, but a full queue of orders allow the cooks to re-organize and maximize their schedule. A total of 10 tacos: ok! We already have 25 wings, get 'em out! (I don't think the people waiting in line would mind getting the wings and cucumber lemonade first while waiting on the tacos). Pre-orders is standard practice at any take-out place or fast-food outlet in food courts.

I also couldn't help but notice that with all the gourmet beef briskets, home-made kulfis, and boutique tacos, none of the people who had sunk tens of thousands of dollars into those city-mandated food carts were invited to take part. Now that the A La Carte program has been canceled, I'm sure they wouldn't mind making back some small fraction of their losses. And not being there meant that they were also not available to offer up their own thoughts to the media that was covering the event.

The next 2 Food Truck Eats will take place August 20th and October 1st.