Little Vittles

I have noticed a small restaurant in the new building at Queen St. W and Gladstone. On Tuesday, after a yoga class, I dropped by Lao-Thai for dinner. It was a tiny spot with only room for 4 tables. This might explain why it was mostly people dropping in to pick up their orders. And apparently busy too, because my first choice of crispy coconut rice salad (Nam Kao) was already sold out at 7:30 pm.

I opted for the Papaya salad ($8.50) and Chicken Laab ($12.50). The dishes were home cooking. That is, there wasn't much flair in the presentation, the flavours were good but not exceptional, and the portion size was generous. If I lived in the area, I'd probably make it a regular take-out spot.

Update: I came back for the Nam Kao. It was an interesting but disappointing dish. After talking to some Laotian friends, it seemed that perhaps the coconut flavour was too strong in this version. After a couple of bites, it was like eating a plate of coconut macaroons.

French Toasty

A little french café and bakery, Les Moulins La Fayette, has opened at Queen St. W at Tecumseh near Bathurst. Looking through the window, we can see the usual baguettes and croissants. On Sunday, I dropped by for a quick meal after a yoga class.

There are two sets of glass display on either side of the cashier. The first had various savoury goods including croque-monsieurs. First time visitors may miss that past the cash register was also large selection of sweets such as tarts and mini-cakes. All were made on-site, according to the staff. Though everyone spoke English as expected in Toronto, a quick listen will confirmed that all employees were bilingual Francophones.

Today I opted for the veggie sandwich ($8). There wasn't any free tables in the narrow room nor in the peek-a-boo patio in the back, so I grabbed a seat by the wall. It was a tasty lunch, rich and creamy. Overall, the food and ambiance here were great.

Update: I came back to get some desserts for a trip to Ottawa and they were a big hit. But I will be taking a break from this bakery. The last time I was here I found a broken piece of plastic in my food. I pointed out this problem to the workers, merely as a courtesy, since I did not accidentally bite or swallow the fragment. But there was no inquiry if this had caused me any issue, nor any offer of reimbursement. This was poor customer service, but this café is a good spot. So I'm splitting the difference and doing a 1-year boycott.

Island Breeze

On Thursday, I attended an album release party for The Tiki Collective. Their new CD entitled Muse contained both Jazz standards and Jazz versions of pop songs. I didn't love this style of easy-listening arrangements. From the opening number, I was picturing the opening theme to the classic video game series Monkey Island.

Two things redeemed the evening for me. First, I had no idea a venue like the Berkeley Field House existed in Toronto. I have passed by it numerous times and have always thought it was a club given the gated fencing. It turns out behind the anonymous façade was an airy, rustic spot with a tiny stream, tree house and pretty wedding venue.

Secondly, Muse was meant as a spotlight for the female singers in the city. Not all of them were here tonight, but they were all wonderful performers: Lily Frost, Jocelyn Barth, Genevieve Marentette, Melissa Lauren, Mingjia Chen, Tyra Jutai, Paget Biscayne, Avery Raquel, Irene Torres, and Denielle Bassels.

Thai Right

A few years back, there was a burst of new restaurants that offered more authentic Thai dishes. Or at least variety beyond pad thai and green curry. It's been mostly ramen joints lately. As I was walking through Little Italy on Tuesday, I noticed a new Thai place was having a soft open. Imm (full in Thai) was decorated in the contemporary style. The dishes were similarly prettily prepared. Obviously the owner is trying to position this place as, if not upscale, then not the typical "cheap ethnic food" joint. The dishes had strong, vibrant flavour. Both the crispy, papaya salad ($10.95) and the Tom Yum Pad Thai with shrimp ($16.95) tasted less Westernized than some of the ostensibly authentic places around the city. This is a great addition to the neighbourhood.

Lunch Munch

I was wandering around looking for a lunch spot and passed by the shops housed in metal shipping crates at Bathurst and Dundas. It's a hard business and I wasn't too surprised that only a few survived since my visit a few years ago. But hope springs eternal and there were some new contenders.

Looking over my options, I settled on Delightfully Delicious. Since Mother Home closed, I haven't had food from Myanmar. Oddly enough, the proprietress also knew of that restaurant, despite being from The Maritimes until recently. I chose the southern noodle dish ($7.99) and an avocado smoothie ($3.99). It was a good meal but because of the limited cooking space wasn't quite as complex in flavour as Mother Home. The smoothie was Vietnamese-style with condensed milk and perfect for a hot day. They also do catering and I'd bet you can have a greater variety of choices.

Not a Love Song

I was at The Burdock on Friday to hear two young singer/songwriters. First up was Belinda Corpuz. Given her background as an actress, a recent role was in the play Prairie Nurse, there was a hint of the theatre in her prose lyrics. She also had a big voice that was judiciously employed. Allison Lynch, a jazz singer from Calgary, was doing a mini-tour of Ontario. Her local band included an older cousin on upright bass and Alice Walker on piano. She had a warm voice and played some mellow chords. Her scatting was fun but will benefit from some maturity. Most interesting was that outside various covers, including several Brazilian songs, she wrote a number of original songs. It's rare to hear a jazz singer who does more than the usual standards.

Soothe Sayer

On Monday, I was at The Drake Underground for an early show. Kate Goldman opened the evening. Her solo set was the standard mix of pop and americana. I was expecting a larger crowd for Olivia Chaney than her previous times at The Dakota since she was exposed to more mainstream audience through Offa Rex, her collaboration with The Decemberists. But those of us who were there was treated to a warm, quiet set of contemplative English folk. To be fair, most of the songs from her new album were closer to pop. Alternating between guitar and piano, she led us through run-down cottages and wind-swept hills. Her violinist added some atmospheric notes or quiet singing. As she wryly noted, despite her label's protest, she included another Henry Purcell piece on her new album. This time, it was her plaintive arrangement of O Solitude.

Chaney finally brought some merchandise to her show. Because she was touring both Canada and the U.S., and due to restrictive Canadian border rules, her team did not actually bring any merchandise. It was a local distributor who provided her latest CD for tonight. As such, I wasn't able to buy any items from her back catalogue.

A Tale of One City

On a holiday Monday, I was at both the North and South ends of Toronto. Since the line 1 subway has been extended further north, it was finally convenient for me to attend the Rogers Cup tennis tournament. I hopped off at the Pioneer Village stop and made my way to the tournament grounds. Outside of the main stadium, they had set up several courts and also had plenty of other activities. As this was only the early goings (of a lower-tiered tournament), I watched mostly low-ranked participants duking it out. Professional athletes are amazing. I could barely follow any of the shots. And to think that although these players could demolish any amateur, they would also be equally helpless against a top ten opponent.

With the outrageously pricey food and darkening clouds, I decided to leave early and head downtown. Luckily, after I made it to the station, the sky opened up in a torrential downpour. Line 1 took me all the way south to "condo central", all clustered near the gardiner express and the various sporting venues. These are dead zones because at ground level, there are hardly any business. I was meeting up with some out-of-towners at Mi-Ne Sushi. The owners did a good job making this spot seemed organic and cozy though they are housed in a condo with chain restaurants. The food presentation was also nice but unfortunately, this was strictly average sushi.

Je T'aime

As I was walking along Dundas St. W between Ossington and Dufferin on a bright summer day, the gentrification of the neighbourhood continued apace. One such place, with retractable windows that opened wide onto a bright open space, brimming with smartly dressed people, looked intriguing. So on Sunday, I returned to check it out.

It turns out Paris Paris was a wine bar, for those who don't want a beer or another ho-hum choice from the LCBO, but marked up. Looking over the small food menu, I settled on a dish of white beans, tuna, and onions ($12) and a glass of Portuguese red ($13), in a nod to the neighbourhood's former identity. The food was all right but it's the ambience of Paris Paris that was the draw. Exhibit one: even as a non-drinker, I opted for another glass.

I can see the popularity of this place. Whether as a hang-out or especially a date venue, there will be people in the future for whom Paris Paris will invoke fond memories of being "our place".

Carnaval

Despite living in Toronto, I haven't been to many Caribana parades. My first time almost 20 years ago was a sodden mess in the rain. I even skipped out last year's 50th anniversary because of a thunderstorm. This Saturday, I was determined to catch a bit of the festival.

Thinking that the main entrance at Dufferin gate would be packed, I made my way further west to the Jameson bridge down onto Lakeshore. That was a good move. Unfortunately, the parade itself does not start that far. Nevertheless, the parks and street all along the lake was filled with people pic-nicking and enjoying the sun and heat. Eventually, I made it near the grounds of Exhibition place and finally caught sight of the parade. Bright, feathery costumes; fantastical contraptions that needed wheels to be pulled by the wearers; joyful floats; and lots of mobile platforms with huge speaker set-up playing upbeat music kept the crowd jumping and excited.

Afterward, I headed back to Jameson, made my way to Ali's Roti, and got some doubles and plenty of water to quench my thirst. I was thankful for the copious sunscreen as well. Toronto felt like the tropics today.

Grar Grar

I was coming from another show on Tuesday so I missed Mother Tongues' set at The Baby G. I did have an interesting conversation with a taxi driver about the business in the age of Uber. Luckily, one of the two bands I wanted to see had just started their set. NYC-based T-Rexstasy plays weird noise-pop, combining exuberance and hooks with performance art and noisy feedback. The sound system at this little venue wasn't great for their sound, but most of the fun still came through.

I first saw Peteborough's The Lonely Parade opened at a Sheezer show. As new graduates of Girls Rock Camp, they had a DIY garage band feel back then. Since then, I've seen them developed more of a rock edge. They needed to borrow a guitar amp because theirs died after a sound check. It probably gave up the ghost as this was the final stop of their tour and maybe due to Lonely Parade's style. This was loud, heavy, angry rock with burst of skittering hooks on songs like Bored. They need more fans bashing each other in a mosh-pit or at least flailing around.

Call To Me

I don't usually go see well-known artists so Wednesday night at The Sony Centre was a rare event for me. There was no opener for St. Vincent except for a DJ. This seemed like a lost opportunity for some local band to get exposure to a bigger audience.

Though it was a seated venue, everybody stood up for the main set. Luckily, it was a slanted floor so my sight wasn't blocked. The stage set-up was simple: 3 raised platforms for St. Vincent, her bassist/synth, and drummer. The light show was more complex and perfectly choreographed to the songs. She didn't venture from her platform until near the end of her set even when doing solos. The numbers from her latest album were more pop so Los Ageless and Pills played well. But fans who wanted some edgier stuff also got noise/rock from her older material. Before Annie Clark played New York, she thrilled the crowd by trying to ad-lib a few lines about Toronto.

I couldn't stay for the entire encore because I had another show across town at the much smaller Baby G.