Over And Out

I have been grocery shopping on Spadina Ave. to avoid the line-ups at my local chain store (and also to grab a hot slice of pizza from Fresca). As noted, I'm seeing closures throughout both Kensington Market and Chinatown. Pink Canary, Fresh Collective, Hibiscus are closed while St. Andrew Poultry and a few others have shuttered for years. With empty storefronts and a hollowing out because of Airbnb, Kensington felt more derelict than boho. Perhaps the lack of the usual busy crowd revealed its true state.

Chinatown also felt precarious to me. Ever since the loss of some major stores, foot traffic has diminished. Now there were several billboards proposing major redevelopment including the building housing dim sum favourite Rol San. This area never had the social cachet but with its local stores gone and nearby Kensington possibly failing, I'm curious as to what the condo dwellers expect when they move in. That is, what are the selling features here?

I decided on Wednesday to get a pick-up pizza from Garfield Eats. I was previously on the fence about its lasagna and many people find its business plan a bit "out there". But I wanted this sort of weird store to survive in Toronto. Despite its link to a commercial product, a "franchise" of one was hardly a threat.

I found its claim of "farm-to-table" to be credible since the ingredients did taste fresh. But the pizza failed for 2 reasons. First, they botched my online order and missed several ingredients including green olive and broccoli. I'll allow a possible computer glitch since my email confirmation did not include the add-ons. Ultimately though, a pizza's reputation depends on its crust. In this case, a soft and bland thin crust that brought no joy.