Caren Is Sharing

On Sunday, I visited the Yonge St. area between Rosedale and Summerhill. Since it lies between two subway stations on my way to elsewhere, I have never walked here at street-level. The area was quite fancy since it abuts the priciest neighbourhood in Toronto. There were a number of tony shops and restaurants including an enormous LCBO housed inside an old railway station. Possibly only the Rosedale Diner with its slogan "real food for real people" was for the hoi polloi. With the rising street elevation, looking South was an impressive view of all the gleaming condos and buildings marching down to the lake.

I was there to meet up with a friend for brunch at Carens. Its regular menu skewed French but the brunch items were more diner-style from an egg breakfast to a mac and cheese entree. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich ($16) and a Stella Artois ($7). This wasn't Kraft slice but a tasty mix of emmentel, gruyère, and raisin walnut bread. But it was grilled a little too hard for my liking; those hard edges could cut up some gums! The red pepper jelly spread added a touch of sweetness, but it was even better mixed in with the salad.

We sat in the bright sunshine and caught up on matters. For them, an operation went well and their family member was making a full recovery. For me, plans for a family investment in real estate fell through with too many conflicting desires. But most significantly, they were going ahead with semi-retirement and will stop working at the end of October. It was a decision that took close to a year but it was finally made. I was impressed with their gumption given the current uncertainties around the pandemic.