Westside, Briquettes!

Almond and Raspberry Trifle

A friend's garden was yielding a nice harvest so she threw a small BBQ party Saturday night to celebrate. The guests were an interesting, eclectic mix including a professional astrologer and a professor specializing in globalization. It was a tiny BBQ oven but on such a nice evening, no one minded the wait, especially as there were numerous bottles of wine available.

I've never had kale before (and only knew of it because of Cheers' Veggie-Boy episode). Honestly, it tasted like roughage, though the lemon dressing and feta cheese were nice. But those in the know asserted that the fresh kale was excellent and not bitter like store-bought ones. The corn and basil taco dip was great. There were a variety of basil and they were so fresh and fragrant that a crushed leaf could be detected half a garden away.

Finally, the steaks and chicken wings were ready for consumption. With a couple of glasses of wine, the food went down nice and tasty. After a long languid rest, the more industrious guests brought out some home-made desserts including crumble cake and an almond and raspberry trifle. Both were tasty but I went back for a second helping of the trifle because of its light, fluffy texture; a slight tartness from the berries; and the nutty topping.

Eastside, Beaches!

I headed into enemy territory Saturday afternoon, namely the East side of Toronto. To fortify my courage, I stopped at Cafe Fiorentina near Broadview and Danforth for some brunch. I opted for the Brioche French Toast with Roasted Peaches and Cream ($11). The toast was good, soft, buttery, and eggy. There was just enough syrup to add some sweetness. One of the peach slice was tender and sweet and tasted great with the cream, but the rest were too tart.

Afterward, I headed further east toward the Beaches, the almost self-contained enclave that feels separated from Toronto, for its annual Jazz festival. It has been a few years, I forgot how beautiful the beaches were: wooden boardwalk, sandy shore, and murmuring waves. By the Big Band stage, couples were learning the Lindy Hop. Further on at the Latin Stage, a band played some Latin groove.

After soaking up some sun, I made my way to the Main stage at Kew Gardens. The Heavyweights Brass Band, a young group of Jazz musicians (trumpet, trombone, tenor/alto, sousaphone, drums), was setting up. They played a post-show in the Koerner Hall lobby after the Spanish Harlem Orchestra last Christmas, but I wanted to hear them in a more welcoming venue. They were energetic and got the geriatric, afternoon crowd happily engaged. Their music was comprised of primarily original arrangements of pop tunes. Some of would seem to be a natural fit (Bill Withers' Just The Two of Us), others were more surprising (Michael Jackson's Beat It, Justin Bieber's Baby.) The biggest cheer came when they did their own take on Rush's YYZ. But they had original Jazz compositions too including a dynamic Speaking My Language and their up-tempo "theme song" Heavyweight Don't Bring Me Down. On the latter, they were joined on stage by the tapping feet of Carlos Bustamente (host of YTV's The Zone.)

It was a fun show, but marred early on by the incompetent sound engineer. He failed to turn on the mics when the musicians wanted to sing or talk to the crowd, once by staring at the soundboard and not the stage, and once because he had his back to the show, chatting up his buddies. The third time was the most egregious, he actually did not know which input was the vocal mic, and fumbled around until the song was half-finished.

Hello, Toronto!

Since I discovered pedal-to-the-medal rock outfit The Bright Light Social Hour at CMW, it's always a pleasure to see them live. Friday night, they gave a free headlining show at Yonge-Dundas Square as part of Indie Friday. Recently, they had most of their gears stolen in Saskatoon. But thanks to their fans, they were able to raise the $9,000 non-insurable cost in 5 days. They also received on loan some equipment and found other gears, including a guitar replacement here in Toronto.

So it was a pleasure to see them at the outdoors stage with a full set-up. Although things started with perhaps 20-30 fans and some curious onlookers, by the end of their almost 2 hours set, the square was full with an energized crowd enjoying their sweaty performance. The biggest cheers were for funky numbers from their debut CD including Shanty, Bare Hands Bare Feet, Back and Forth and Detroit. Their new numbers, which tended toward long complicated jams (Maybe I Do, Cause I'm A Man, a cover of Young Man Blues), also got great responses but perhaps those too young to remember these type of drawn-out rock numbers got a little fidgety now and then.

Bands are supposed to make money of touring and merchandise sales nowadays. But from what I've seen at various shows, there's not much uptake at the merch table for unknown bands. So it's a testament to this group from Austin that there were at least 15+ new fans milling around afterward snapping up merchandise and getting autographs.

The only downer was that if you were rocking at the front, you missed out on some of the vocals and keys because the speakers were set to broadcast to the middle and back. I wished more venues would invest in front speakers at stage-level. Concerts with them, including recent shows by Rufus Wainwright and Sarah Harmer, had crystal clear sound.

Baby, I'm So Good

Tia Brazda

Monday night, on the 1-year anniversary of Amy Winehouse's death, singer Emma-Lee organized a tribute for her with a group of local female singers. Appropriately, all money raised went to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). But before the show started, it was chaos at The Orbit Room on College St.

An hour before the 10 pm start, the tiny venue was allegedly at its capacity of 110 patrons. No further admittance was allowed, according to whoever was in charge. But no bar staff or security was provided to manage the crowd, so it was up to the frazzled organizers (first one of the singers, then the ticket person) to block the entryway and pass the bad news to people who were still arriving and lining up along the stairwell that led up to the 2nd story club.

That sour note aside, the evening was a huge success, especially for the many Amy Winehouse fans in attendance who sang along on almost every song. All 5 singers had great voices and stage presence. They each highlighted a different side of Winehouse thanks to their personality and singing style. Emma-Lee sang her covers relatively straight and unadorned. Tia Brazda brought the wide-eyed ingenue. Treasa Levasseur showed delicate emotionality informed by musical theatre and cabaret. Saidad Baba Taliba was all lippy swagger while Tanika Charles epitomized the classy black soul diva that underlaid Winehouse's retro sound.

The band kept everything tight and strong, with jazz influences on the solos. Tyler Emond (bass), Matt Giffin (keys), Sly Juhas (drums), and Tom Juhas (guitar) were crammed behind the singers on the tiny stage. As a result, the horn section of Chris Gale (baritone sax), Alison Young (tenor sax ), and Steve Dyte (trumpet) was squeezed up against the wall between the stage and the kitchen.


It was a wonderful night of music. I would be surprised if this does not become an annual event.

Sweaty, Sweaty Night

Though they don't have a weekly show at the Dakota this summer, Dwayne Gretzky snuck in a Sunday night gig this past week-end. There's not much to say that I haven't said before: they play polished, high-energy covers of everyone from Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Van Morrison, The Beatles, and all artists in between. Not too many songs from the last 2 decades though. Credit for the great show must also be given to the crowd, though the place was really only about a third full. Instead of standing back from the stage and being stand-offish which is typical of Toronto shows, they crowded cheek-to-jowl right up at the front and needed no prompting to sing and dance. The "downside" to that atmosphere was another night of sweat-soaked clothing.

A couple of old Gretzky-ers who had disappeared from the line-up at the end of last summer showed up for a couple of songs. Nicholas Doubleyou and the B-Squad opened the evening. I saw them do an acoustic set for NXNE and they were even more enthusiastic amplified.

Playing Outside The Box

I headed to The Mod Club on College St. Saturday night to hear The Box Tiger play an early show. Upon arrival, chaos reigned. The club did not have the band on their schedule that night. In fact, a Burlesque festival was happening inside (as could be seen by a number of scantily clad ladies with nipple tassles smoking outside on the patio.) The band had no idea what was going on and the promoter could not be found or reached by phone. Meanwhile, fans, friends, and family were showing and milling around in confusion. Luckily, everything was sorted out and they finally played after the peek-a-boo show, though a few hours later than expected.

But I've been thinking that, under different circumstances, this scenario would make a great cover story for a compulsive liar and narcissist. Tell your friends to show up to your "gig". The club wouldn't know who you are. The non-existent promoter could not, of course, be located. Buy a few beers to unruffle some feathers, and you can spend the evening being the center of attention and sympathy. Pretty good emotional scam and can be done on the cheap. Not that I'm the kind of person who would scheme that sort of thing. Ahem.

North Eats

There's a joke that downtowners consider anything north of Bloor to be the boonies. That's a bit exaggerated of course. It's actually north of Eglinton. Nevertheless, I made my way for the first time to the Yonge and Finch area Saturday afternoon.

There is a debate about the best Korean restaurant that serves soon tofu, a spicy soup filled with seafood and tofu. For my money, it's Chodang Soon Tofu near Kipling subway station because they make their own tofu. But I have heard that there was a small enclave of Korean stores in the Yonge/Finch area that included a contender called Traditional Korean Restaurant. Time to find out for myself.

Alas I waited too long. The restaurant is now a Korean Fried Chicken franchise. As I was trudging back to the subway station, I noticed on the side street Drewry Avenue a Korean restaurant called Cho Won. They had an extensive menu including Soon Tofu ($6.99) and Haemul Pajun, Korean seafood pancake ($15.99). Along with the meal was the typical array of spicy kimchi dishes.

Soon Tofu

Korean Pancake

The soup was average. Like most Korean restaurants that buy their tofu, it doesn't have the freshness of house-made tofu. The pancake was a substantial dish, better for two eaters. The seafood filling was generous, though perhaps the green onions was a tad excessive. But the batter was too thick, leaving the inside soggy. It's a good restaurant if you are in the area, but not really a destination place (unless you have a hankering for unusual dishes like cow knee cartilage.)

I am, however, intrigued by some of the other places along that stretch of Yonge, including a strip mall packed with Middle Eastern businesses including a good-sized grocery store.

Hot-Blooded

Though I had recently seen the Motown tribute band, The Big Sound, opened for Bettye Lavette, I went to their show Friday night anyway. Prior to the Lavette show, I was becoming a bit jaded with their bi-monthly gigs: the performances were becoming a bit ragged around the edges and seemed under-rehearsed. Their strong showing opening for Betty convinced me to give them another try.

I was pleasantly surprised at the Friday show. They have grown ever larger, topping out at 26 members. First, it was impressive that their set-list was almost all "underrated" or less well-known tunes. No "Dancing In the Streets" or "Stop In The Name of Love" to give the capacity crowd that instant recognition. But the music was excellent enough to keep everyone entertained and dancing. They did sprinkle a few better known hits here and there include Maylee's take on The Love You Save.

Second, the calibre of all the singers have improved markedly. I have maintained previously that Maylee Todd was, by far, the strongest performer with her soaring alto and explosive stage confidence. It was sometimes a let-down when someone else steps up to the mic. But new singers added to the line-up gave her a run for the money tonight. Aria Zenua and Edward Dottin had strong voices and smooth presence. Andre Edwards-Roderique blew the crowd away with a powerful rendition of "A Change Is Gonna Come". And regular Tanika Charles grabbed the mic, let loosed a towering a capella intro, and sent the crowd home dancing deliriously to a high-energy cover of "Shout!"

The Great Hall had recently installed some industrial air conditioning units. Either they were not turned on or were insufficient to the task because everyone came out of that show drenched in sweat. Well, it might also have been all that dancing.

That's The Bomba!

Edulis is a new Spanish-inspired restaurant taking over from Niagara Street Cafe at Niagara and Wellington. Run by local husband-and-wife chefs Michael Caballo (Niagara Street Cafe) and Tobey Nemeth (J.K. Wine Bar) after their return from travelling overseas for the last couple of years. I ordered the 5-course $50 Carte Blanche menu on Thursday night.

Olive amuse

Red Fife bread

First up was some complementary Red Fife bread, baked in house, and some plumb olives. The bread was full and soft with a nice crust, doing a wonderful job soaking up the lightly flavoured butter. The olive added a touch of tart bitterness. The first course was warm Big Eye tuna with grape tomatoes, shiso, and snow peas. The tuna was tender, mild, and tasted more like good steak than fish. The shiso and veggies contributed a refreshing mintiness. A great start to the meal.

Big Eye tuna

Mussels and Berkshire pork

The second course was mussels, parsley, smoked Berkshire pork and romesco. This was another excellent dish with the mussels having a slightly firm chewiness. The romesco paste was nutty and buttery and the pork gave a smoky salt flavour to the whole dish. Some people may balk over the parsley stems but I wasn't bothered by them.

The third course comprised of glazed veal sweetbread, baby leek, crushed potatoes, and pumkin seeds. I liked the non-meat components but thought the organ meat was a mis-step. It alternated between pieces that were too strongly earthy and others that were blandly chewy. The sweetbread did not match up to the flavour profile of the previous dishes on the one hand, and was too heavy leading in to the main dish on the other hand.

Glazed sweetbread

Rabbit and chorizo paella

For the main dish, I had pre-order a paella plate. Unlike typical paella which usually includes the typical shrimp, mussels, and so on, Edulis uses seasonal ingredients. So for this evening, I was presented with a rabbit and chorizo paella. The bomba rice was juicy and soaked in oil, slightly crusty from the pan heat. The rabbit was tender and the sausage was excellent. A great dish, but perhaps too indulgently rich for regular consumption.

Golden plum ice cream

Baba au rhum

Desserts came in two forms. One, a baba au rhum and two, a golden plum ice cream with sugar cookie. I didn't take to the cake at first glance, as it looked like soggy Sara Lee pound cake with a side of Miracle Whip. The reality was better: Appleton rum, sugar, salt, and tiny orange peel made the cake moist and delicious. But I still preferred the ice cream. I liked that the the sweetness lay with the cookie, while the ice cream claimed a rich tartness.

Electric Circus

Having been at the Sarah Harmer concert Saturday night, I did not get a chance to see opener Miss Elizabeth for a show with electronica acts at the Garrison. But talking with an early attendee, it was clear they were still doing the same high reverb atmospheric dance that they did last time. This is an acquired taste which apparently not many people acquired.

The same can be said of the next act Dark Ages. With the singer being big, heavily tattoed, and wearing a black luche libre/executioner's mask, I was expecting some NIN/metal-electronic hybrid. Yes, there was the beat-heavy electronic tracks, that grew tedious after a while, and not enlivened much by the guitarist. As for the singer, he had a rather girlish, higher pitched voice which was an odd contrast. But there wasn't much lyrical content, just some looped vocalizations.

Parallels was less avant-garde but more enjoyable. They played an updated 80s dance-pop with an enthusiastic drummer, a keyboardist, and a female vocalist. Finally, the crowd started dancing. This should be the minimal requirement for any electronica band before they attempt anything else. Though way before their time, they ran through a fun cover of Gowan's Moonlight Desire.

The headliner Digits is originally from Toronto, but currently resides in Berlin. However, it has been a long day for me and I decided to call it a night.

It's Harmer Time

Sarah Harmer is a well-known Canadian singer but I am not particularly familiar with her music. I thought she did a great job singing a few covers at Andy Kim's Christmas show so I went down to the Garrison Common to see a free show with her Saturday night.

To celebrate Canada's victory in the War of 1812, there was a free concert down at the heritage site of Fort York. It was a good line-up of acts but with the unrelenting heat I couldn't muster the energy to drag myself down there. But Sarah was the last act at 9 pm, after sunset, so the temperature would be more bearable.

Odd how there are places in Toronto I have never visited. Fort York had an old-timey feel and reminded me of Upper Canada Village. It didn't have full-fledge medieval trappings of the Fortress of Louisbourg but the old homes, raised embankment, and strategically placed cannons were evocative in the falling dusk.

Garrison Common is a field just past Fort York itself, and she was about to take the stage when I arrived. For the first 6 songs (The City, Around This Corner, Pendulum, One Match, Almost, Silver Road), I admired her poetical lyrics but felt that the songs were too much "adult contemporary". It was mildly disappointing until she went to a stripped down set-up: only her on acoustic guitar, and sometimes accompanied by a stringed bass or electric guitar, that her songs soared. Without the bland arrangement, I Am Aglow, Oleander, Uniform Grey (with guest Kathleen Edwards) resonated with a timeless quality. She ended her set with Hideout, Late Bloomer, Dandelions In Bullet Holes, Washington, and Captive.

Answering calls for an encore, Sarah played solo two audience requests: In The Road and Dogs And Thunder. Though she had been making political statements all through her set, Escarpement was the most overtly political of her songs. Finally, Sarah, Kathleen and the band sent everyone home on the up-tempo Basement Apartment. For me, just Sarah and her guitar was the best way to listen to her songs.

Not Sketchy At All

The Helan Gardiner Phelan Playhouse is a large Victorian house tucked behind the University of Toronto Drama building on St. George. I went on Saturday to watch a sketch comedy show called Two Weird Ladies Bomb The Fringe.

Two Weird Ladies were Laura Salvas, short and dark-haired, and her sketch partner, Mandy Sellers, tall and lanky. They took the audience through a number of skits that tended to proceed from relative normalcy to over-the-top outrageousness (organic egg sellers one-upping each other) or expose the characters to absurd situations (office drones deciding to ditch it all for Broadway.) Opening the show with a birthday celebration for a 90-year-old nana that deteriorated into inappropriate songs from her grand-kids (sample lyric "When there's a will there's a way; When there's a way, nana where's the will?"), the ladies were consistently funny. I didn't have any major belly laughs, but I was entertained the entire 60 minutes.

Specializing in "female situations", they played insecure double blind-daters whose critique of their own failings grew ever more hyperbolic; wedding guests that alternated between sweet congratulations and nasty comments about the bride; and blue-haired matrons delighting in revealing shocking secrets to each other. Though they played various characters, Mandy tended to portray out-going, confident, and oblivious doofuses while Laura gravitated toward manic, uptight rule followers. This also applied when they "played themselves" a couple of times in the show.

What made the show worked well was its pacing. Every sketch ran without flubs, transitions were smooth and natural, and often included small throwaway scenes to segue between the main skits. It was like watching a well-edited television broadcast with seamless changes and excised bloopers as opposed to a typical live show with forgotten lines, missed cues, or overlong pauses. At the end, they earned some well-deserved cheers by reprising all of their sketch characters in a musical about, per the title, a bomb that was about to blow up the theatre.

Noodles On Baldwin

Shio Ramen

The proprietors of Guu decided to open up a ramen noodle shop near Baldwin and Henry, along a block jam-packed with restaurants. There are already 2 ramen vendors in the neighbourhood, Ajisen in Chinatown and Kenzo by Bay and Bloor. Will Kinton Ramen fare just as well?

At 11:40 am on Saturday, 10 minutes after opening, every seat was taken and the wait list was growing. It also took 30 min for the food to arrive. First suggestion: go after the lunch rush. 2 tables for 6 are located at either end of a long narrow space, with the remaining seats propped up facing the bar or the open kitchen. The atmosphere was trendier than the competition: upbeat J-pop piping through the speakers, dark bar top, wooden square blocks covered the walls corner-out to form diamond patterns.

Every waitress and barkeep was tiny, pretty and slender in black outfits. Like Guu, the whole staff shouted greetings when you arrive. Luckily, they didn't shout every order either. I got the Calpico Sawaa ($6): vodka, calpico and soda; Hot Karaage ($4.8): spicy fried chicken; and Shio Ramen ($9.5): sea salt, pork, and soft-boiled egg.

Karaage

The drink was sharp with a bitter flavour, refreshing on a blistering day. Unlike the other shops,  you can pick your broth's fattiness (light, regular, rich) and pork (shoulder, belly). I don't know about the rich broth because the regular was almost overwhelming with the first few sips: richly fat and strong; I could practically taste the bone marrow. Perhaps too much of a good thing, second suggestion: go with the light broth unless you are anemic. The noodles were thicker than Kenzo so they were a bit chewier, though both diners have great noodles. The pork belly was also perhaps too much of a good thing. On the other hand, the strip of fat added a nice contrast to the tender meat.

The Karaage was one of just a handful of side dishes. It was lightly battered and not too oily but could have use more spice. The smaller pieces were soft and tender, though the larger pieces had too much cartilage and gristle.

It's Cool In The Pool

Listening to Maylee Todd is always a fun experience so I went down to the Harbourfront Friday night to hear her play new songs from her upcoming 2nd CD as part of SoundClash 2012. It was a good-sized crowd but not full for the 8 pm set, and new listeners were bemused by this slight girl in an over-sized smock with a strapped on harp playing soft, tropical music (Summer Sounds) from Choose Your Own Adventure. But it was mostly new material (I Try, Hieroglyphics, Did Everything I Could, Baby's Got It) steeped in cool, sexy groove. It was so authentic to that aesthetic that on the 2-song encore, I thought her cover of the Isley Brothers' Work To Do was an original song.

A number of people came up to the stage to express their enjoyment afterward, but compared to her usual manic shows this was one of her more low-key performance . The crowd was in a bit of a stupor from the languid heat (no dancing for these people even with Maylee's encouragement); and the high fenced-off stage prevented the usual interaction between Maylee and the audience. Nevertheless, with the lake behind us and the air filled with sweet rhythm, it was more than good enough to get the toes tapping.

Bonus: Maylee plays an acoustic number after soundcheck.

Man, I Feel Like Emma Lee

I first caught Emma Lee at Andy Kim's annual Christmas show last year. Her duet last month with Peter Katz confirmed for me that she had a strong, husky voice. I finally got a chance to hear her sing her own material at an early show Wednesday night at the Dakota Tavern.

Playing with a full band, her live performance toned down the country-pop flavour of her CDs and amped up the rock. I thought her "new country"-esque tunes were middle of the road. But when there was a bit of soul to her ballad (Phoenix) or rough blues/rock accents on Not Coming By or Shadow of a Ghost, the songs had more spirit and verve. Emma also tried out 2 new numbers: a 21st century "Life Is a Highway" driving song called Better With The Top Down and a tribute to Tom Petty that incorporated a number of his song titles or lyrics called What Would Tom Petty Do. That second song was catchy, though most of the references were probably lost to the 20-somethings; but that song title/refrain reminded me too much of South Park's What Would Brian Boitano Do. She has to find another line for that tune.

Garage Sale

Just east of Keele and Dundas, a Sunday flea market has started. On the second Sunday of every month, numerous vendors sell their wares, typically old and vintage bric-a-brac. This seems a natural fit for the Junction as it not only has gentrified in recent years but contains a fair number of stores peddling similar items.

The food vendors did the briskest trade on this sunny afternoon. To combat the heat, I got a mango-raspberry "gourmet" popsicle ($3.50). Too much raspberry, not enough mango. Let's not even talk about the price. I also got grilled corn with goat cheese, chopped basil, and aioli ($5) from The Kissing Booth. The salty cheese went well with the sweet kernels, but the aioli's sweetness didn't add much to the snack.

Looking at the vinyls, record players, typewriters, film cameras, 60s kitchenware, and old leather bags and belts on sale, with both vendors and sellers mostly younger than 30, I thought of this recent article about the IRL fetish as a reaction to being "online".

BBQ

The long week-end is all about the BBQ with friends and family. But depending whether it's East or West, the spread may be different. For the Eastern BBQ, there is plenty of grilled goodness including vegetables, shrimp, and Asian pork skewers, and rice noodles to go with it. But we also have fresh rolls (goi cuon), stuffed with Asian sausage instead of the usual pork and shrimp mix, spring rolls (cha gio) and dumplings. There is also a green papaya salad (goi du du) with spicy beef jerky and chopped basil. The complication is that there is a different dipping sauce for every dish.

For the Western BBQ, we have toasted bread, fresh salad, salmon, and large steaks. Grilled corn adds a touch of sweetness to the meal. For dessert, a slice of chocolate cake from 3 tarts hits the spot. But to mix it up, some lychee and rambutan will do nicely.