Mall Rats

Long Winter has been expanding from its home base at The Great Hall to other venues including the AGO. But it scored a social media coup when it was able to host a special show at The Galleria Mall. This sad mall sits at Dupont and Dufferin and has been neglected for years. But now developers have snapped it up for condo development. This "last call" status, combined with perhaps an (ironic or not) nostalgia for the suburban mall experience, made this one of the hottest event this Saturday.

Advanced tickets were long sold-out given the demand, though I did get one myself. So I wasn't surprise to see the non-ticket line snaking around the mall entrance when I arrived. How was the experience inside the first (and last) Long Winter Galleria evening? It was a little like Nuit Blanche, some highlights and a bunch of disappointments. The minor disappointments included the various art installations dotted throughout the space. They weren't compelling and too few in number. People had more fun playing the arcade video games, having instant portraits at the photo booth, and getting their fortune told at the electronic palm reader.

The main disappointment was the odd capacity limits being imposed by over-zealous security, which I've experienced at other, recent Long Winter shows. I've been in busier malls during Holiday periods, and at venues like Lee's Palace and Horseshoe where it was insanely packed. So I'm not sure why there were restrictions that left a space mostly empty.

The highlight was the stage set up in the food court. Even better, most of the bands that played (Teenanger, New Fries, VCR, S.H.I.T.) were loud and furious, which seemed a perfect antithesis to a "mall experience". And that sort of music didn't suffer too much from the terrible sound. I also enjoyed the "Shoppers Dance Mart" inside an empty storefront. I haven't danced to beat-heavy dance/techno in a long time. It would have been even better if the space was filled more than 40% (while a queue 50-people long waited in the mall corridor).

With my cheaper advanced ticket, it wasn't a bad Saturday night. But if I was waiting in that long line  outside to pay $20, I'd think it was a rip-off. The people who had the best evening was likely the couple who kept their food kiosk open, selling hot dogs, pop-corn, pop and other mall food. They've probably never been busier.

Hopes of Spring

It has been a rather mild winter although Wednesday was one of the colder days. But I decided to brave the gusty wind and grabbed lunch at Lara's Restaurant. This Armenian/Middle-Eastern joint was next to Beiruti, in the same strip mall just off of Consumer Road. It has much less foot traffic than its competitor. This may be due to its' sit-down-dining status, and thus slightly more expensive options. That's a shame, because I had quite a tasty meal here.

I ordered the shish tawouk platter ($13.95) and a tahn drink ($2). The entrée comprised of large portions of salad, fragrant pilaf rice, and flavourful chicken. Despite being fat-free, the pieces of chicken were tender and carried a good grilled taste. The rice was fluffy and rich. I found the salad a bit too tangy. But the yogurt drink neutralized the acidity. Looking around, I saw other interesting dishes (probably appetizers) served with pita. There were also some intriguing breakfast items on the menu, including an Armenian soup called pacha. But these were only available on week-ends. All in all, Lara's is a more intriguing dining option than Beiruti or the giant Paramount franchise down the street.

Small Eats

On Saturday, I went to new Japanese joint Shio Tapas Bar at College and Ossington. It took over from a Portuguese BBQ and an "Iberian" restaurant, both had very little success at this corner. You walk by the kitchen station into a long and dim space, decorated with various Japanese knick-knacks. The menu was divided into sushi, cold and hot tapas. The sushi was pricier than the standard down-market joints (like Gobo Sushi directly across the street).

Looking over the menu, I opted for Yaki Nasu ($5), crispy tofu cubes ($5), black cod with saikyo miso ($10), and a 6-sushi selection ($13). The first two plates offered the best bang for the buck. Yaki Nasu was several pieces of grilled eggplant which has been chilled. The grated ginger added an occasional kick. The tofu was lightly fried and covered with a sweet sauce. The cod seemed smaller than other places, but it was nicely seared.

The sushi is pricier than its competitors at 6 pieces for $13. But each had a large portion of seafood draping over the rice. I started with the squid which was much slimier than expected. Not a good start. Luckily the remaining pieces comprising wild salmon, tuna, BC tuna, mackerel, and yellowtail were all quite tasty.

Wrong Frequency

On Thursday, I popped by a small gallery on Markham St. at Bloor. With the huge Honest Ed's department store being turned into a condo within the next few years, the developers have created a centre to tout their vision complete with miniature-scale setup. Since there will supposedly be initiatives to involve the neighbourhood including artists in the development, this pre-cursor space will also host artists and musicians. Tonight, it included a selection of 15 years of Wavelength (a weekly indie showcase) posters and concert photos.

I suspected the bare venue probably wouldn't have great sound. So when weird-pop outfit Animalia started their set, it was a bit of a disaster. Then you have middle-aged doyens, with drinks in hand, who pushed their way to the front, only to stand there chit-chatting (and occasionally exclaiming, "I like her voice!") The cherry on top was the second floor, which was open over the "stage", so that all that din came floating down. Singer Jill Krasnicki actually cursed out the upstair talkers.

I didn't think it was going to improve for the second band so I made my exit after the set. But I did take a quick look at the photos and posters. Most of the shots were banal close-ups. As for the posters, it was a bit depressing to realize that probably 99% of the bands started and ended in obscurity. Only Do Make Say Think and The Constantines achieved any success.

Stardust in the Wind

Iconic singer David Bowie died this past Sunday. By coincidence, a Bowie tribute band was already scheduled to play this Tuesday. So what may or may not have been a low-key affair became a sold-out night of people both anxious and hyper. Tribute band was also a bit misleading as it was headed by bassist Tony Visconti (a producer for Bowie) and drummer Mick Woodmansey (a "Spider from Mars" who played on his early albums). As Visconti later pointed mischieviously, "we're the real deal". They both spoke about David Bowie and urged the audience to celebrate loudly his music.

In the beginning, this was a bit of a hard sell since the band played the album The Man Who Sold The World in its entirety. Only the really hard-core fans enjoyed these obscure cuts. But the mood picked up half way in with the hard Running Gun Blues till the eponymous song. After a few more words, they covered more familiar tunes from the early Bowie catalogue. Finally, the crowd joined in on classics like Five Years, Changes, Ziggy Stardust and Life On Mars. The two song encore ended the night with the earnest Time and the rocking Suffragette City. Lead singer Glenn Gregory (Heaven 17) didn't quite have Bowie's unearthly timbre but he performed admirably. Perhaps showing their age, the harmonized guitar solos got tedious. The songs themselves remained outstanding.

Try Both

Cheap sushi joint Tokyo Sushi went belly up late last year, and another Japanese spot took over the space, offering an odd kind of fusion or rather a "2 menu" take. It goes by the name of Coo Café Bread or Rice. So when I looked over the menu for a Sunday brunch, it was exactly that: half the menu had items like eggs benny and the other half served Japanese fare including Yakitori Don. The things that tie the menu together is whether you want a particular ingredient such as chicken or beef done "Western" or "Eastern" style.

This time round, I choose Eastern with a Shrimp Tempura on rice ($10.90). But I couldn't help but sneak in of Western food in the form of French Fries ($3.50) with Togarashi mayo. The fries were excellent, golden and crispy. In fact, the Eastern restaurants (e.g., Masheel) seem to do a better job on fries than most gourmet burger spots. The house-made mayo came in two flavour: mildly tangy or slightly spicy. I also enjoyed the tempura choices (including shrimp, zuchini, and "de-spiced" jalapeno peppers). The sauce was mixed with the fluffy rice and had a slight sweetness. Overall, I thought this was a good meal.

Pizza

Beiruti Grand Café is a Middle-Eastern spot in a hidden strip mall a block or so from Sheppard Ave and Consumer Road. They get a lively lunch crowd from the offices around the area. It's a rather large cavernous space that they've tried to humanize with lowered ceilings in some areas, plants, and bright decorations. Nevertheless, it does feel like eating in an upscale airport cafeteria.

Though most people order from the soup and salad counter, I decided to get something from the Middle-East section. I finally opted for a "labneh flatbread" ($9), obviously inspired by traditional thin pizzas such as lahmacoun. The free soup was a tasty lentil concoction, except for the odd addition of too-soft elbow pasta. The toppings for the labneh was excellent: fresh vegetables and creamy greek yogurt. Unfortunately, the dough itself was bland and tasted like it came out of a microwave. There was none of that aroma and flavour of a freshly baked pie. My guess is that though these are created in-house, the various flatbread offerings are pre-made for convenience and speed. Then it's just a matter of doing a quick reheat.