27

Sep. ’10

Everyone’s A Winner

The Usual Suspects are leading the pack at the 35 kilometer mark

Canadian Matt Loiselle, left, is looking good

I consider myself a twisted Sartorialist, here is my vote for best dressed

I have a soft spot for Scotiabank’s Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I always think of it as the marathon that got away. Flashback to 1998: Oh how I wished I had run this flat, breezy, cakewalk instead of the Toronto International Marathon with its up and down hills in Hog’s Hollow and Forest Hill. And on that particular day, October 18, the weather was cold then hot, then rainy, then cold again. The only thing consistent was the wind although even that seemed to change direction. I learned a few things that day though: hills are for skiing and running is for people who have somewhere to go. Which is why now I just like to stay put and watch others go places. The Waterfront Marathon is perfect for that because the weather is always just right and the 35 kilometer mark is at the bottom of my street in front of Starbucks. The runners have 7 more k’s to go to finish the whole 42.2k’s . The last quarter is the toughest and most intense so it’s important to cheer these athletes on. I remember losing my pace bunny at the 30 k mark but I adopted two finely dressed Italian men both of whom were worried about what the humidity was doing to their hair. And I had problems of my own, I had lost my shirt(!) on Rosedale Valley Road and I had severe upper buttcrack chafing issues because I should have cut the tags from my shorts. Fun times! But in a marathon, anyone who crosses the finish line is a winner but some are more winny than others.

And speaking of races, the one where even winners can be losers, Toronto has a municipal election coming up on October 25. Do you need me to remind you how important it is to vote? For Ward 30, the Leslieville Post (see blogroll) has a Q & A with the candidates for councillor, click here for the link. I’ll keep you posted on the other east end neighbourhood wards in the coming weeks.

Posted by . Categories: Get out of your comfort zone, Hanging Around. Tags: , , . Leave a comment

23

Sep. ’10

Modern Prohibition

Prohibition:  That was then, this is now

I’m on Week 2 of boot camp.  Amy promised it would get easier but last night was a lady chain gang featuring hoops, hurdles, pylons, and the soundtrack to “An Officer and a Gentleman.”    3 sets of 5 obstacle course activities performed under a full moon.  My shoe lace is untied!  I have a very important text message from someone I need to respond to right now for a very important appointment I have!  Do you see that man over there?  I think he has a gun!  Diversions served only to prolong the event…longest hour of my life.  Then, home in the dark, and I missed the first episode of Glee!  My other, more important blog, My Tv Fez, will describe this anguish in full.

Anyway, boot camp doesn’t mean “no booze” but it definitely means cutting back.  The whole concept of booze deprivation seems virtuous, but I’ve learned that abstinence is a dangerous thing.  Don’t kid yourself, your liver wants to work, it’s like a horse in that way.  It doesn’t want to be clean, otherwise it will get bored, lazy even, so the next time you take cough syrup (in earnest) after a righteous”cleanse”, don’t be surprised if you wake up at the DIY car wash, with the hose slammed in your trunk.  Anyway, today I met one of my favourite friends, the one I can count on for never ordering a soda water or worse, a diet coke, when you go out for lunch.  It’s Pinot Grigio or go home.  What better place in the hood for us, than Prohibition Gasto House, at 696 Queen Street East, at Broadview.  This place has been around for a while and it is my default, go-to place for lunch or hanging out on the weekend.  For one, they have an in-house oyster shucker, say no more.  They have bands, crap on tv, and really good food.  And really, really good french fries or frites, the real French from France way.  I know the secret and am keeping it to myself.  Quack.  The staff is really great and the who doesn’t have a crush on Michael.  And when I was there, I got a phone message from none other than boot camp Amy:  “Where are you?  I’m parked right behind you!”  damn, my big red box…  I didn’t dare tell her where I was, some things are better kept secret.

Posted by . Categories: Eat & Drink, Get out of your comfort zone. Tags: , . 1 Comment

18

Sep. ’10

No Rest (or Shwarma) For The Weary

I see Jesus

Some of you have been following me for the last few months and read about how I blithely ate my way down Queen Street, 3 blocks of Gerrard, and various points on the Danforth.  I am East Toronto’s takeout version of “Eat, Pray, Love.”  I’m willing to admit, I think I spent too much time on the “eat” part, it’s time to pray.  I do have an ashram set up in my house, complete with all the game systems and Rogers on Demand, that will help with the meditation part but last week I turned pro-active with the prayer part.  I have bootcamped and grunted with my girl-cush, Amy and aerobicized and walked out with that taskmaster of torture, Jen.  I’ve also yogo’d (?!!! I can’t even explain why he calls it this: spinning and yoga) with David, who is my own personal Jesus, I love him so.  He’s married though, all the good Jesuses are married, gay, or dead.  So far after my first week, I have learned that I am a piece of work in progress, and that while Jesus may love me, he is not *in love* with me.  So I better just do what I’m told and shut up.

I’m already anticipating the third part of my “eat, pray, love” journey.   I came across a beautiful mattress store called essentia at 2180 Queen Street.  I was so tired, I needed to lay down also I am looking for something unique in a mattress that will help with my coccyx condition (I wish)….okay!  I’m looking for a bed I can watch tv in that I don’t have to order from on the Shopping Channel.  Essentia mattresses are made of memory foam without the toxic ingredients which means mites won’t stick around.  They range in thickness and vary from luxuriously soft to my favourite, the fit and firm.  The company is all about quality and the environment, what more can you want?  There’s always more to want and I have found it:  Hello, Lover!  They have a bed called the Flex Drive, that offers full range of motion and you can adjust it with the flick of the wand.  I see tv!

Flex Drive TV Watching mattress

essentia, 2180 Queen Street East

For more information and more locations, click here.

P.S.  you could even eat in that bed without spilling and the shwarmas at Delina’s are fantastic!

Posted by . Categories: Do This Not That, go girl. Tags: , , . 2 Comments

15

Sep. ’10

These Boots Were Made For Laying Around

The best part of Boot Camp, laying down

Boot camp started today.  I joined the army against cellulite so for 8 weeks, twice a week, I will fight my self-imposed war.  Amy from Quantum Physique( click  here for her website) is our drill sergeant.  She runs boot camps all over the city.  This one is in Cabbagetown near Riverdale Farms, I’m keeping the exact location a secret because it is the army after all.  The first day, there were four of us grunts, lunging and squatting, and scuttling like crabs between two pylons.  It’s the opposite of pretty.  Here is the grossest excercise, the burpee, although Amy makes it look easy:

I don’t think I put that in the right order at all but you get the drift.  You do ten of them and it goes against every natural instinct your body has so when you are done, you are shaking and coughing up all your past wrongs….beef jerky is not worth it anymore.  By the way, Amy has up her sleeve a patented little excercise that targets the sweet spot of cellulite refuge in a woman, where ass meets leg.  I’m not going to tell you what it is because in 8 weeks I want you to be jealous of me….will post the before and after!  And tomorrow the fresh hell is Spoga!  Spinning and yoga, then nap with the tv on…by the way check out my new blog here  CLICK HERE!!!

Posted by . Categories: Get out of your comfort zone, go girl, LOCAs gone wild. Leave a comment

09

Sep. ’10

How Now Brown Drink

Whiskey Sour

I feel all displaced now that the weather has gone from sultry hot to cold and freaky and this back to school business is ridiculous.  I’d home school my kids except I’m dumber than them.  Anyway, I’m trying to roll with the times and embrace the cold and the loneliness.  I’m still wearing sandals but that England World Cup tshirt is for the gym only.  The fall wardrobe is still up in the air.  I read in the Toronto Star last week the camel coat was the autumn must-have.  I told this to someone at a wedding on Sunday and they thought I said  “camel toe”…of course they did…but camel toe is always in season.  Enough of fashion.  I do like a change of season  because you can change your eating and drinking habits.  Fruit:  be gone and take your little flies with you.  Vodka, you’re starting to bore me, there are only so many flavours of Vitamin Water to disguise you.  Bring on the gourds and the brown drinks.  Yesterday I made myself a “whiskey sour” while I hunkered down in my ashram to watch Episode 7 of Madmen.  In a flurry of inspiration, I have started another blog call “My Tv Fez” where I will invite discussion of what I watch, instead of just falling asleep afterwards, click here for the link….it’s still a baby so it’s not on google-able yet.  Anyway, Don Draper drinks a lot of Canadian Rye which I think is hot.  Bourbon is good too.  Here is the recipe:

Shot of brown drink (bourbon, rye or whiskey)

Squeeze in a half a lemon

Simple syrup…sugar dissolved in water…to taste and serve it on ice, with or without the cherry

And let the autumn come!

Posted by . Categories: Eat & Drink, go girl, Hanging Around, Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , . 2 Comments

07

Sep. ’10

More About Cheese

 

No, I haven’t gotten too lazy to post but I did go on a little vacation back to my hometown of Montreal.  Funnest vacay EVER!  The point of the trip was my high school reunion so my best buddy from Grade 6 (!) and I took the train.  We took first class, of course, because we are ladies of a certain age and have requirements.  I thought they were going to kick us off at Belleville though, we were laughing and snorting so hard.  There is a reason were always separated by our high school teachers.  We stayed at my brother and his wife’s house in the heart of it all, where crack meets trend, Sherbrooke and St. Hubert.  Except they were still away on vacation for the entire month but their twentysomething sons were home so we were basically two LOCAs in a frat house.  Never a dull moment or a clean towel and we had to hide our food stash under our beds.  I think they were even eating coffee grounds.  There is a lot to say about Montreal I guess but I will say my Montreal does NOT involve smoked meat or those colon clogging glue bagels.  I got my Coco Rico Portuguese chicken fix and my cheese curds from the Depanneur.  Here is something I know but I always forget:  the magical cheese curds from real Quebec poutine are waxy in texture and squeak on your teeth.  I have found some in Ontario but it was from a vendor at Beer Fest ’09 and they claim that the texture is because they are not refrigerated.  Whatever.  If I have a bag of cheese curds I do not have to bother with the whole enchilada, ie. fries and gravy.  I’m happy keeping it simple.  And  the highlight of my Montreal eating was Mike’s homemade burgers…he made them square shaped to match the bun!  I’m still dreaming about them!

Back home and speaking of cheese, I met my friend for lunch.  She is a LOCA but has even more mojo than me and acts it out,  therefore she has the best stories.  I am only proud because I can out-eat her.  We went to Queen Margherita on Queen St. East at Vancouver (east of Greenwood).

Queen Margherita  Queen St East, just east of Greenwood

As far as I’m concerned, you can have too many coffee shops, but you can never have too many pizzerias.  Queen Margherita holds its own on the genre and it is a really cool airy, lofty space.  I ordered the Napoletana, which is anchovies and black olives.  Do you know it was so salty good that I had finished half of the pie before I realized there was no cheese involved?  Of course real Italian pizza doesn’t require cheese….I know that but I am not a carb bunny.  My friend ordered the Diavola which had some cheese on it and spicy meat.  But mine was so good I wasn’t even jealous.  Pizza *sans fromage* on dough, who knew it could be so good?

Posted by . Categories: Eat & Drink, Field Trip, LOCAs gone wild. Tags: . Leave a comment

27

Aug. ’10

The Beginning of the End

Date Night at the CNE

The more things change, the more they remain the same.  The CNE isn’t what it used to be, so I’m told.  There is no free ride and I paid 7 Dollalhares for a hotdog…yes, a hot dog (more on that later).  The bearded lady is gone….or is she?  Maybe she just went to the the Shoppers Bazaar in Building A just right of the Prince’s Gates and got herself a honey ginger hair removal system and now she walks among us, flying her freak flag at half mast.  There is still some pretty good people watching (it’s free and see picture above, zoom in wherever) and there is some good things to eat.  Take my hotdog:  I got it in Building A:  a kobe beef weiner (shhh), with wasabi mayo, Japanese curry, and a hovering of deep fried julienned onions smattered on top.  Seriously, the best hot dog ever.  Seven dollars.  And so what?  I got a foot massage for a quarter and a pair of Doc Martens for 60 bucks, I am so way ahead.  I also had another lunch of a vegetarian Middle East platter  from the actual foode court:

Falafel balls!!!! This one is for Scotty

But the best part, of course is the rides, of which I am too old, too chicken, and too incontinent to partake, but Claire did:

The Scary Drop Zone

I’d rather have a hot dog, same sort of thing.  And another big buddy Budweiser, I’ll be back before it all ends.

Posted by . Categories: an inconvenient truth, Eat & Drink, Field Trip, Get out of your comfort zone, Hanging Around. Tags: . 2 Comments

25

Aug. ’10

Don`t Worry, Eat Cheese

 A brilliant ad campaign  from the real life Madison Avenue “Madmen”

Back in the days of Lard and Fluffy White Wonder, there was only one way to make a grilled cheese sandwich:  a slice of Velveeta in between two pieces of white bread, and fried up in a pan of rendered fat.  And just like the way someone decided to put a lime in a bottle of Corona, one culinary genius discovered the sublime awesomeness of dipping the sandwich in a dollop of ketchup on the side of the plate, with a pickle!  And then came the Kraft single (which still exists in the secret compartment in the fridge, don’t lie) and people started to use butter instead of lard, an improvement for sure.  Me personally, I don’t like the bread all greasy so I use a George Foreman grill, the most highly civilized piece of clutter in my kitchen.  Did you know you can use the grill to fry bacon so the strips are even and flat, not curly and burnt on one side?  Also I use real cheese, not a “cheese product.”  Leslieville Cheese Market is the place to go to explore the world of fromage:

Leslieville Cheese Market, 891 Queen Street East at Carlaw

The shop also serves grilled cheese sandwiches which will expand your palate and blow your mind:  you can choose your cheese, the bread is herb flavoured and it is served with a spicy chutney in lieu of the ketchup.  Crazy!  The owner, Michael, is very cute and drives a Scion Xb like me.  Last year, they did have the best booth at the Food and Wine Expo at the Toronto Convention Centre.  Click here and let the Leslieville Cheese Market cater your next event.  Eat cheese, be happy!

Posted by . Categories: Eat & Drink, This Charming Man. Tags: , , . Leave a comment

21

Aug. ’10

Take That, Vampires

True Blood vampire mania

Collective insomnia seems to have taken over the city.  I know I can’t sleep and I can tell by the blue dots on Facebook that there are others out there.  And I blame it all on vampires.  On every celebrity website I troll through in the dark hours of the night, there is something going on with vampires.  There was Twilight (*yawn*) and now the new season of True Blood which I have yet to see but I should because it was created by Alan Ball who also did Six Feet Under, which I loved.  I hate it when I don’t know a show that everyone is talking about, but there is something about vampire mythology that makes my eyes glaze over.  The only vampire related thing that interests me is a bowl of Count Chocula, without the milk because I am back to being lactose intolerant.  I hate that vampires don’t sleep or get old or die, their high maintenance eternal lifestyle must be tedious beyond belief.  And thinking of this is what keeps me up at night:  what if a vampire breaks into my house and sucks my blood and I can’t ever eat Greek foode again?  Or fall asleep to the sound of Anderson Cooper’s voice? Or fulfill my destiny of becoming a crazy old lady in Kensington Market?

I have decided to become pro-active in my quest for sleep and went to visit a shop called Keetsa at 2245 Queen Street East.  Keetsa is a mattress store that sells unique eco-friendly sleep products.  The mattresses are recycled, recyclable, and they use natural ingredients for anti-bacterial benefits.  Cedar and green tea extract keep the mites away.  They also have pillows, toppers, and sheets.  I tried every mattress in the store, and this Goldi-loca loved them all.  They’re firm and with varying degrees of mushiness, depending on your preference.  And the price is actually surprising reasonable, considering you are laying in a rectangle of heaven.  A Queen size starts at $499.  Find out more about them, check out their website here.  I think even a vampire could fall asleep in one of these beds.

Keetsa mattresses at 2245 Queen Street,  phone: 1-877-KEETSA-3

Posted by . Categories: an inconvenient truth, LOCAs gone wild, shop til you drop. Tags: , . 1 Comment

18

Aug. ’10

Wooing the Woohoo

Blueberry Pie from Cafe Florentin, everyone wants a piece of pie and the filling is up to you

Shut your pie hole, yes we all know the end of summer is looming.  Sadness.  My gauge is August 16, Elvis’ Death Day, from this day on it is downhill, just makes me think of peanut butter sandwiches and toilet mishaps and then having to change the rest of your life.  The back-to-school commercials are on in full force, the new one from Staples, featuring our own East Ender, Stefan,  is the best, click here to see it if you haven’t already.  It’s not all about death, there is hope in the fall.  In fact, all the best romances occur in autumn weather.  I think when leaves start to fall, men go mental and question their own mortality and that’s when they start to go all *serious*, that or golf season is ending and they know they have to keep warm in the winter somehow.  For some reason, this year, my stock is up, and I’m not going to ride wave all tee-hee and twirling my hair, I am a LOCA (lady of a certain age) so I’m going pro-active.  I am going to learn how to bake the perfect pie.  That’s how my mother and father met, she used to bake pies in the diner where he used to go when he was at the University of Manitoba.  All fresh-faced and farm-fed, he ate her pie and then some more pie.  And he is still eating her pie 60 years later because she makes the perfect crust!   

My personal favourite pie is blueberry and as it turns out, so is my son’s, Freddy’s.  He ate the whole Farmer’s Market pie from Loblaws in between missions of Mario Galaxy. I had a sliver of it, pie goo: delish, crust: meh.  So a more upscale kind of pie I got was from Cafe Florentin at 2010 Queen Street East in the heart of the beach.  Now this place has been around for four years or so, advertising the “best Espresso in the beach,’  totally the slogan that would go off my radar.  The only coffee I drink is the black juice I brew first thing in the morning for medicinal purposes only so I can ensure that I will poop in my own toilet and not get caught spontaneously at some random spot where I will resist the urge and hold it in then freak out at a gas station 40 blocks out of my way.  Privacy and an abundance of toilet paper is what it’s all about.  If that’s TMI then tough bananas.  Anyway,  Cafe Florentin has pies at the beach location and a smaller shop in Leslieville, check out their website here.  Not only are their pies fresh and gorgeous, I could have a coffee here, if I were on a date, say, and needed to act civilized.  The crust is flakey and the blueberry filling is not too sweet because it doesn’t have to be…in a pinch, I will pretend to have made this pie myself and warm it in my own oven and serve it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.  And Labour Day won’t be so bad.

Cafe Florentin, 2010 Queen St. East

Posted by . Categories: Eat & Drink, LOCAs gone wild. Tags: , . 1 Comment