60s Minute

Thursday was much colder than previous days. After posting on social media about the allure of Bloorcourt and Bloordale, I headed out along College St. My destination was Barbershop Patisserie to pick up a pre-ordered box of Christmas cookies. I saw that Middle-Eastern café Arabesque was opened so I went in for a bedouin spiced tea ($3). I also ordered an arabesque pizza ($3.99) which resembled a rolled-up pita with stuffing. Mostly I wanted to chat with the owner as it has been over a year since I've stopped by.

He seemed to have aged quite a bit since then, having trouble remembering cities and locales. Since immigrating to Canada, Toronto has been good to him and his family. He spent decades working in auto manufacturing before retirement. The café was just a chill place to hang out during the week; on week-ends he drove his sports car up to the family cottage. His sons had successful lives in the States. But today I found out that, as a young man, he was a jet-setting journalist. Backed by Saudi money, it was the life to fly first class, stay in fancy hotels, and travel all over Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle-East, and even East Asia to report on "human interest" stories.

The topic came up because I was talking about Moroccan shop Mashi Moosh in the East End. It turned out his spiced tea was inspired by his visits to that country. He also had a connection to Ottawa. One of his sons got his doctorate from there and still maintained a house in the area. But as for himself, he also thought that the Nation's Capital was a boring place to live.

At Barbershop, I was tempted by the store display and bought some croissants and savoury pastries in addition to my cookies. I thought about doubling back for pho at Pho Linh due to the frigid weather. But I needed some greens and headed up Delaware to Bloor for a veggie plate at Laziza. I also grabbed samosas at Dosa Mahal though I was tempted to order masala fries.

In the evening, I pondered my choices because there's always something going on in Toronto: Jason Collett's Basement Revue at the Paradise, Jennifer Castle at The Great Hall, or Miranda Mulholland and Michelle Willis at the new Hugh's Room location in the East End. Maybe a showcase of up-and-coming POC comedians (Kulture Shock Comedy) at Comedy Bar or new music (Whisper Gang, Day Jasper) at The Burdock? But in the end, with the cold weather and all the walking over the last three days, I decided to stay in instead. You can't FOMO in Toronto even if you're visiting; it's a no-win situation.