Led Poole

Saturday morning, I left my short stay and walked along College St. to Little Italy. Almost all the old Vietnamese businesses except for Pho Ling have been replaced: jewelry shop Cuchara was once Do Hue Fabrics and interior design firm Spaces by JacFlash took over BQ Signs. My destination was a yoga studio at the corner of Montrose. Yogaspace was located on the busy Ossington strip for 2 decades. They muddled through the pandemic and even installed HEPA filtration, but finally closed for another location of Avoca Chocolate.

I wasn't really a part of that community as I practiced mostly at the YMCA and on Queen St. West. But I did get my training there just before everything shut down. The owner was retirement age so I was surprised that they would invest money in a new spot. Inside, it was much smaller than the old place. Whether or not they used pricey material or pulled off a miracle renovation on a budget, it looked great.

I've practiced with the Vinyasa instructor before, and especially with their spouse in the hard-core classes at Downward Dog. It was interesting to follow someone else's cues and sequencing since I haven't been in a class in a year. With decades of experience and fully immersed within yogic philosophy, they spoke with assurance and humour. Their story about the origin of the half-"lord of the fish" twisting pose was new to me. They advised the students against extreme back-bends with personal experience: from a giant poster as a Lululemon ambassador back in the day to a middle-aged body with back issues. But that didn't stop the younger practitioners from doing "full wheel".

Afterwards, I tried going to Kiss My Pans on the same block. This cheese shop also offered Singaporean dishes thanks to one of the co-owners. But this week-end was their grand opening so it was full even at 11 am. Their neighbour, the gluten-free/Paleo Konscious Kitchen (Yam Chops for a long while), sounded a little too kooky for me. I headed back but Prairie Boy Bread (which sank under debt) was now Lardo. Meanwhile, Shiba Poke's College location was in arrears. Then across the street, I spied a new place called Bricolage Bakery.

It was run by an Asian couple and offered items such as sausage rolls, cheese tarts, and baguettes. I settled on a butter croissant ($3.70) and a pretzel ($2.40). The croissant was large (not my favourite style) and reasonably flaky. But similar to defunct Bonne Nouvelle (also an Asian-owned store), I didn't love the sweet glaze. Give me more butter, please.

I bought some mixed nuts at No Frills that wasn't available in Ottawa. Then I ate a slice ($5.50) from 241 pizza while watching people queue up at the new location of The Common café. Buying lunch for my trip back tomorrow, I realized that even Subway subs were cheaper in Toronto!