Winding Down

The last few days felt like a redux of my final weeks in Toronto back in 2021. But this time, I kept it local to just my neighbourhood. On Tuesday, I made an effort to look for the owner of the abandoned shopping carts. It's hard to recognize someone who, to be honest, was in the background as you walk by over the years. But I was 90 percent sure that the woman sleeping in the lobby of a bank was her. I originally wanted another "calzone" from 241 Pizza for dinner, but the main proprietor wasn't working. Sure enough, my go-to option the veggie slice ($5.50) wasn't quite as good as usual.

Still feeling peckish, I walked East looking for dessert but bakeries have closed at 5. I stepped inside Banquet Burger at Delaware and ordered regular fries ($4.99).  The fries came in a larger portion than a fast-food joint and satisfied my carb craving. At first, I thought it was a replacement of a previous burger joint (that my friend and I visited once) which was itself a follow-up to Fancy Franks. But it was simply a signage change and a menu switch from regular to smash burgers. Still, I hate when a property becomes a restaurant because it will never be another business again. Restaurant rows, like the Ossington Strip, were the worse sort of gentrification despite their lively night-time vibe.

On Wednesday, I was back at Delaware for a veggie plate ($14.99) from Laziza. I usually have these to go, but with the craziness from work, I needed to take a mid-day break outside of my sublet. I recognized my server who was the sort that didn't overfill my container. But he gave everyone a small lentil soup which was a nice, warming side. I can't complain too much since there was still enough left-over for lunch the next day.

In fact, I was inside all of Thursday. My boss, stressing about the upcoming deadline, kept me in a meeting that lasted from 11:30 am until 2:30 pm. The sunshine became a continuous drizzle well into the evening. My final dinner from South Pacific was both a mistake and completely appropriate. I thought I was getting a combo with mixed veggies with shrimp and fried rice. It turned out to be all fried batter: spring rolls, sweet and sour chicken balls, and also sweet and sour shrimp. It was the quintessential "take-out food" and quite addictive. So I made an effort to leave most of the fried rice for another day.