The Freshmaker

The Thursday morning trip was as dreary as I felt. After my visit to my grandma 2 week-ends ago, I came down with a fever. She thought I didn't dress for the weather (it was a cool-ish Spring day) but I think it was that I forgot to wear my mask on the bus. After my fever cleared, I wasn't surprised that a cough lingered on. For about 2 decades, this was the bane of any illness. So I was feeling rather low-energy from sleepless nights and interminable bouts of coughing.

Toronto was sunny and hot but compared to previous trips, I couldn't muster up my usual enthusiasm for The Big Smoke. But once I made it to my East End rental, the heat and liveliness finally perked up my spirit. I was staying on a main-floor bedroom instead of the usual basement suite. It was smaller but the higher ceiling and window view onto the street were good compensation. I chatted with the owner: must be nice to have an income from renting out rooms and traveling all over the world.

When I stay here, I often walk down to Riverdale to buy some comestibles. With summer coming, some of the local shops were setting up their sidewalk patio. I made purchases at Banh Mi Huy Ky but my detour to No Frills was a bust. I was planning to buy my usual Deluxe nut mix as well as some canned food for a charity concert at The Garrison. I should have paid attention to the signage back in April. All the stores have closed to make way for a new subway station and high density development.

I thought about returning to The Real Jerk but one of the newcomers finally opened. Nutmento was a small space that also offered Caribbean fare. There were a few tables and paintings of Bob Marley and Drake. Given the recent beef between the latter and Kendrick Lamar, handily won by Kendrick, a giant mural of Aubrey was a bold choice. I debated between just a sandwich (not usually offered at these places) and a regular meal. I finally opted for a full bowl ($12.95) to support the new business.

It was a large meal comprising of both saffron rice and rice and peas as well as your choice of toppings (I picked coleslaw, corn, tomatoes, daal, and some jalapeno peppers). I'm always astounded at the amount of food compared to Ottawa. The curry chicken was soft and tender but the sauce was too runny. Nutmento didn't dethrone Real Jerk based on flavour but it gets kudos on price; the full bowl was several bucks cheaper than the competition and the $7 jerk-chicken sandwiches would make an affordable lunch.

Lacking canned donations for the concert, the distant location of the venue, and a possible transit strike at midnight, I settled my tired body down for an early night instead.