Future Past

Groundhog's Day holds a special spot for me. But the usual haunts are gone: Black Skirt is now Cafeteria, one of Playa Cabana's restaurants, and Rikishi has closed. The elderly sushi chef is probably either too weak to keep working or has passed on; he was already past his retirement age years ago.

So I decided to recreate a few routines I did way back when. The first was a lunch-time visit to Pho Linh. This no-longer hole-in-the-wall is still in business, decades later. The clientele has also greatly expanded from the Vietnamese community to other East Asians, as well as Caucasians and the Portuguese and Latinos in the neighbourhood. No doubt it's good for a few more decades.

In the early afternoon, I walked to Eaton Centre along Dundas St. W. This was one of my route when I worked for a nasty boss and his underlings near Shuter St. These walks gave me energy before entering my soul-numbing office. This street has definitely gentrified: niche shops that specialized in knives or crochet; ubiquitous coffee shops; and re-purposed former dives like Mây, a former Vietnamese karaoke.

In the Eaton Centre, I watched break-out singer Kiesza did a short acoustic 3-song set including her new single Dearly Beloved for her sponsor, cosmetics company Mac. Afterward, I dropped by Japango. This was my first exposure to better quality sushi. The tiny space with the closely packed tables still evokes the only-in-Japan feel. And the sushi deluxe dinner ($30) delivered some good sushi. I thought about indulging in the omakase dinner like before. But it has gone up to $100, and there are now better sushi joints in Toronto for that price.