On Thursday, I was off to Toronto to visit my dentist and see a few shows. This was the cheapest Rider Express bus ride at only $20 each way. This made up for the higher price on the last trip. Unfortunately, this wasn't due to buying early but was likely some sort of special discount. Although there was no such indication when I bought it so perhaps a software glitch got me the deal.
At our stopover in Kington, I went to Fat Bastard instead of Mr Sub. I've only eaten a handful of times at these types of Tex-Mex franchises when I had no good alternatives. Overall, they have been entirely disappointing. I had forgotten I went to Fat Bastard when it was still a Toronto franchise back in 2013. My choice of a large veggie burrito ($10.49) was a filling lunch but that was about it. I supposed bland ingredients was better than a mediocre sub comprising of mostly bland bread.
I also regained some of the time lost last trip when that bus got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I was 20 minutes early this time round but I wasted it and an additional hour because of an unwise decision. Realizing I would be early for my AirBnB check-in time, I decided to walk around Union Station for 10 minutes. This deliberate delay would also give me enough time, once I got on the subway, to arrive at my rental, unpack, and head to Bloorcourt during the 2-hour window of my transit ticket.
Unfortunately, this plan fell apart because there was a mechanical problem on the Bloor line just as my subway train arrived at St. George Station. I then headed south to College to take a streetcar as an alternate route to my AirBnB. The ride across town to Coxwell and Gerrard was pleasant but lasted an hour because of rush-hour commuters including office workers and grade school students. Despite this extra detour, after I unpacked and cleaned up for my dental visit, I still made it to the subway with 5 minutes left on my transfer. So yay to dense urban development and efficient transit. But it meant that I had no time to shop at Dufferin Mall before my appointment.
It was a more pleasant cleaning than last time. I guess my usual 3 month visits were more effective than a typical 6-month cleaning. But given their price-gouging, I'll have to find another dentist once I no longer have work benefits. Once again, my post-visit dinner was at Pam's Roti. This time it was a spicy goat roti for $16.95. The worker there, who suffered from terrible vision problems, hadn't gotten their surgery yet. They were hopeful that the operation, originally scheduled for last December, will occur in 3-4 weeks. But they had to pay thousands of dollars to book an OR. I thought we had free healthcare in Ontario?
I walked around the old neighbourhood to see what's changed. Bloorcourt was chock-a-block with restaurants now. Mazz sushi was no more, replaced by a Mexican cantina. The short-lived Royal Comedy Theatre (once a bar then chicken joint) was back to being a restaurant. Gus Tacos opened a location on busy Bloor. But this one looked forgettable with its gleaming stainless steel kitchen and white tiles compared to the "corner taqueria" charm of its older sibling at Shanly and Gladstone. I was wrong about the construction at Dovercourt. They weren't keeping any of the old building as a facade; everything was a pile of rubble.
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