Johnny Stromboli

Closest match to Johnny's

Ever since I read about stromboli in a food article I've been on the look-out for this tasty-looking snack as I am more of  a fan of savoury treat than sweet pastry. Yet despite the presence of numerous Italian restaurants (as well as pizza joints) in Toronto, there doesn't seem to be any offerings in town. A few months ago, a Taste T.O. article lead me to Slice of New York, which has a location on Edward St.

But the fare was disappointing. First, being a primarily take-out place, the stromboli is already pre-cooked and is only re-heated in the pizza oven. This only makes the dough slightly warm and toasted, leaving the inside blandly cool. There is a decidedly lack of stuffing, probably to keep costs down. Finally, for some reason, it has a shiny sheen that you usually see on store-bought dessert pastry. It's definitely better to stick to the pizza at this place.

But last Friday before going to see Sheezer, I accidentally discovered that John's Classic Pizza at College and Clinton, a place that I have passed by hundreds of time, also offer stromboli. So exciting! The meat option came out piping hot, with that great cooked dough smell. Each piece that I sliced was filled with gooey cheese goodness, with pepperoni and italian sausage. There's also tomato-based dipping sauce on the side. It was tasty for the first half, then it palled. The problem is that unlike a similarly sized pizza slice, there's a lot more dough. And the cheese and meat didn't quite have enough flavour to balance it out. It would have been better if there was the addition of some fresh herb, or a spicy and herb-infused sausage. Alternatively, images of stromboli on the internet show it over-stuffed with ingredients, and so not so much dough - which I suppose wouldn't make business-sense.

But now I know where to go for better-quality stromboli (I'll try the veg option next time) as well as fresh calzones. The pizza made there also look good enough for a try-out on my continuing quest for the best pizza in Toronto.

Weezer, Geezer! Where'd You Get Those Sheezer?

I was browsing through the local free weeklies last week, and there was a number of positive profiles of an all-female Weezer cover band called Sheezer. Apparently, there's quite a buzz about them in the Toronto indie scene since last winter given that they've only played 2 shows (and as more of a lark than anything else), and the name even came before the band (2 of them had to learn new instruments.) The (mini)-hype is because they are all members of other local bands. Their hotly anticipated 3rd show was to be at the Garrison on Friday. I had never listened to Weezer in the mid-90s, and the Garrison's sound system is underwhelming. So I would have passed on Sheezer except that the group photo had a shot of Laura Barrett. As I like her brand of weird, quirky songs I decided to check out the group. First, of course, I had to familiarize myself with Weezer's first two albums (The Blue Album and Pinkerton) with a couple of listen thanks to youtube playlists.

Laura Barrett, who was actually shorter than I am up close, had chopped off her long hair into a fetching jaw-length short cut. Yay! Then I learned that she was moving to Vancouver. Boo! No more songs about crystalline banyan trees that tinkle like wind chimes!

I made my way up to the front row by the time Sheezer came on at a very late 11:40 pm as they were the only band on the bill. But the wait was worth for me and sold-crowd of 300 or so. Sheezer put on an energetic show that was tight, skillful, and exuberant. Most of the women took turns doing lead vocals except for lead guitarist Alysha Haugen. Magali Meagher (The Phonemes) was the elder stateswoman, keeping things cool on rhythm guitar. Robin Hatch (Sports: The Band) was sweaty on guitar, synthesizer, xylophone, and harmonica. Dana Snell (The Bicycles, Gentleman Reg) contributed a fine voice and a fierce muscularity to the drums. Boy, she smashed those skins but good. The surprise was bassist Laura Barrett (Hidden Cameras, herself) and lead guitarist Alysha Haugen. I couldn't believe Laura only learned to play bass a few months ago for Sheezer; her usual instruments are the piano and kalimba. But there she was, in full nerd rocker with her short hair and glasses, hopping around covered in sweat, laying down some catchy bass lines. I remarked afterward that this was quite a difference from her usual gig and she enthusiastically agreed.

As for Alysha, before tonight she was known as a local music promoter; no one had any idea she could rip out those jangly solos and screeching chords with such ease. With her short curly hair, glasses that kept slipping down her nose, and not a drop of sweat to stain her dress ... well, she did have that sexy librarian/teacher vibe going (if librarians rock out between the book-shelves.)

The night was a smashing success. It'll be interesting to see where Sheezer go from here as each member has her own musical pursuit. Why not open for Weezer? Heck, they might out-draw those old fogeys.

As for the geezer bit, I guess this song from Weezer sums up my attitude at this time. I hope they're not being ironic.

…And I don't wanna be an old man anymore
It's been a year or two since I was out on the floor
Shakin' booty, makin' sweet love all the night
It's time I got back to the Good Life
It's time I got back, it's time I got back
And I don't even know how I got off the track
I wanna go back…Yeah!

Win, Lose or Thai

Thai food has lost a bit of its cachet. Being almost as common as "chinese" food, and often as mediocre, I don't often go out for it anymore. There's even a fast food franchise, Thai Express, at my local mall food court.

I tried Sukho Thai on Parliament Street as I was in the area to check out an art installation by Silvana Bruni in the Distillery District, having heard good things about the restaurant. On a strip dominated by African stores, it's a tiny narrow place, dotted with a smattering of tables. On one wall is a profusion of framed personal photos. Though the reviews describe the place as packed, it was quiet on this Saturday afternoon, though there was a steady stream of take-out customers.

I ordered the Khao Soi, having only been recently made aware of curry-style soup. The bowl seemed substantially bigger than the menu photo. Instead of noodles in a curry dish, it was kissing cousin to a bowl of Vietnamese pho. The noodles were adequate, but I especially enjoy the crispy noodle topping. The large cubes of beef, no doubt left simmering for hours, were supremely tasty. The tender meat reminded me of Vietnamese beef stew. The broth was delicious but left me mildly concerned. It tasted strongly of curry and coconut milk, but I usually pour a bit of curry on my rice, not slurp it up by the spoonful. With each gulp, I was thinking: "How many calories am I ingesting?!" The cassava cake dessert was too sweet and did not have the starchiness I was hoping for, probably from the layer of caramel. A nice place to grab a quick and tasty meal, although its small size, and having insufficient ventilation for with the kitchen in the back means that you'll come out smelling of fried food and grease.

My faith for Thai food reasonably restored, I checked out Vanipha Lanna on St. Claire West. This restaurant has been in Toronto for awhile. I believe it finally moved to St. Claire about 5-6 years ago. Being a Lao-Thai place, I had to try the Larb Gai, a Laotian specialty. This is one of my favourite dishes, simple to prepare, but the combination of minced chicken with fresh herbs and a lime chilli dressing is wonderful. Unfortunately, the traditional sticky rice accompaniment is not part of the dish here so I had to order it as a side. The "correct" way to eat Larb Gai is to use your fingers and scoop up the chicken with some sticky rice, even if other diners look at you askance. Lanna's version was excellent, but I would have liked a bit more chopped herbs and significantly more chilli kick.

I also ordered Gang Hung Lay, a dish unfamiliar to me. However, the fact that the meat came whole (medallions of pork tenderloin) instead of typically chopped up was intriguing. It was a tasty dish, with an slightly sweet curry. This is a first for me, as Thai curries are usually richly coconut in flavour (green, red), indian-style (yellow), or tangy with tamarind (musuman). Perhaps it was the slices of apple in the dish. The ginger also gave the curry a bit of zing. It seems that this curry does have tamarind in it, according to recipes online.

The service at Vanipha Lanna was prompt and attentive. I appreciated the fact that the waiter was nice enough, as I was a single diner nursing a beer, to tell the chef to get my dishes out first before the table of 8 that had ordered long before me.

Death Becomes Them

Having read such a great review for Ride The Cyclone, a musical from Atomic Vaudeville Theatre, amongst other positive reviews, I wanted to check out this show at Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace for Summerworks. I stood in line for 1.5 hours to get a ticket and a good spot for the performance on Saturday. Let me preemptively say that it was so fantastic that I went back on Saturday and stood in line for another 2 hours to see it again, just in case this troupe from Victoria, B.C. do not mount in production in Toronto again. Although like the Globe and Mail reviewer, I hope they make it big with this hilarious musical.

The Amazing Karnak (first cousin to Zoltar?), recounts a sad tale. He can tell you the time of your death. This being a downer, his carnival owner switches him to "family fun mode". But he has another power: the ability to bring the dead back to life to tell their story. And so he does, at least until his own demise at the hands of a bass guitar-playing rat named Virgil.

The dead are 6 members of the St. Cassius Choir, high school kids from the small Saskatchewan town of Uranium (previously introduced 3 years ago in Legoland.) There's Noel Gruber (Kholby Wardell), the only gay kid in town, who lamented his banal death in a cabaret torch song about wanting to live (and die) a passionate life as an opium-addicted prostitute in post-war Paris. The over-achieving head of the choir is Ocean O'Carroll Rosenberg (Rielle Braid) who transformed herself from her need-to-please childhood balancing act between her Irish and Jewish kin into a skilled, and under-handed, debater who can argue any side of an issue. That is, until the angel Karl Marx showed her that "only your soul is keeping score". Misha Bachinski (Carey Wass) is an angry Ukrainian immigrant who'd rather be a gangsta rap star and leave Uranium to marry his Internet girlfriend from Kiev. Ricky Potts (Elliot Loran) is a non sequitur-spewing, comic-book quoting, piano-playing savant who may be the ruler of a distant planet populated by giant cat people. Constance Blackwood (Kelly Hudson), Ocean's much put-upon BFF, is tired of being labeled a mousy Uranium-lifer. Finally, there is Jane Doe (Sarah Jane Pelzer), who was unidentified because she had lost her head. She staggers about in a doll's head (Ms. Pelzer wears ringlets and black contact lenses), freaking out her fellow choir-members with depressing statements.

The cast members are excellent: singing, dancing, moving props and scenery - always in motion. When they are not doing the solo for their character, they help act out the other people in the singer's life story. So there's a real sense that it's a bunch of "theatre kids" who enjoy putting on show so they can sing, dance, wear silly costumes ... even in death, and even if the topic is someone's sad life. The songs are catchy and hummable, spanning all genres from musical theatre, glam-rock, rap, gospel, and so on.

Underneath all the humour and funny songs (except for Jane Doe's melacholic number), there is sadness. These teenagers won't grow up and leave their teenage angst behind. They won't get a chance to do something with their lives - to "live a life of glory" as Karnak says at one point. And for all their funny patter, as Ocean lamented at one point (although a bit over-dramatically) : "[their] death has really affected [them]". This sense of regret and loss elevate the show to more than just some catchy tunes and one-line zingers.

It was a great performance and I hope they come back to Toronto to put on this show for a longer run. Certainly, this 6 performance run would not have covered much of their costs. At 185 seats for $10/ticket, that would make their total to be just over $11000 for 6 full-house performances (which is likely). Even if the theatre charges minimally for the festival, there are 6 cast members and probably a few behind-the-scenes people. This article reveals that they needed to have a fund-raiser as well as an $18000 donation from their non-for-profit board to secure enough money to mount the production in Toronto. It's too bad they didn't have any CDs for sale. That would have easily netted them an extra $500+ per performance, assuming a profit of $10/CD.

The audience was a different mix at each performance. On Saturday, it was a mix of younger (20s/30s) and older (50s+) people while the Sunday crowd skewed to the younger set. However, next to me on Saturday was a cute girl in a short bob. She was dressed completely in black and didn't seem to react much (polite clap, no laughing). Her expression was one of bemused interest, like one of those anime girl robots who don't "get humans". I wonder if she's going to go out and buy those black contacts. Both days, most people standing in line around me seemed to be "in the theatre", related to people in the theatre, or friends with them. I stood next to Audrey (from Haunted Hillbilly) on Saturday and talked a bit to Rielle on Sunday while she stood in line with some of her friends. I find it a bit disappointing if true since it would mean that Summerworks is just the same people "talking" to each other. And economically, since we were just on that topic, it would mean that the same dollar is being passed around.

Anyway, I hope this Glee-like, but wholly original, piece of musical theatre gets the wide exposure and success it deserves. And if it returns, I will definitely go ride that cyclone one more time.