Stay Cool

 Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share
Sunday Salon

July 2024 - Toronto ON

Bloor St. West Toronto

Saturday was a rainy foggy morning so I got going on my base curry sauce (it needs a few hours of simmering) and prepping dinner (all before noon!).

Sunday John slept in until 9:45!!

We had tickets to see the Blue Jays. 

So we left around noon. The Spadina streetcar is replaced with buses (due to track work) so it was a longer trip than usual. We thought we would get the 501 Queen streetcar, but instead a 504B King St. via Queen and Shaw. This was perfect as it took us closer to the stadium and we just walked instead of getting the bus.

Along Queen St.

It was cold and windy out.

Loved our seats 320 R10 S3/4. 

I don't know if it was Asian politeness or ageism, but we were waved through the security gates without having my purse inspected. 

Two beers = $32!

It was junior (kids) day.

The roof was open but they closed it around the 4th inning.

We left at the bottom of the 7th inning - final score NY 8 TO 1.

Monday Canada Day we treated like a Sunday. Although I did get all my new spices sorted out with homes.

Other administrivia was performed and some plans made.

Tuesday John golfed at Crosswinds (north Burlington). I made soup for his lunch, carcass of rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken curry, and some bits and bobs hanging around.

We received the revised shuttle schedule. It's okay, but doesn't address the morning problem as the schedule stayed the same. I wonder who is on the bus committee? I would have reduced the mall schedule as it takes a morning bus out of commission from 10 to noon every day. 

The afternoon schedule has a reduced 11 runs instead of 15, but makes sense. The old schedule had buses leaving 15 minutes apart in the afternoon.

I went up to College Park. Union Station has opened its streetside food market for the summer.

Am I the only person who just can't develop a taste for bao? I just find it too soft.

I bought this cheese and we loved it.

Wednesday John had his weekly golf. is nursing his hip with ice and heat and taking a week's rest from golf.

I headed out on the train to Appleby/Burlington to meet my BFF for lunch. 

We went to The Piper's Arm and I had a really good steak quesadilla.

With the new bus schedule in effect, I aimed for the 4PM bus that showed up at 3:45 and was home by 3:30  then we were ahead of her schedule as she didn't have to head back downtown until 4:50! You can't win!

I received my Nexus card renewal, now all my cards are updated.

Thursday we had tickets for F1 Exhibition at the Lighthouse Artspace, in partnership with immersive experiences production company Round Room Live. It's billed as a groundbreaking show that gives fans an inside look at the sport's greatest stories.

The Art of Banksy is also in town, but we decided not to go as we've been to other Banksy exhibits.

We caught the 11:20 and strolled tried to dodge the baseball fans headed to a 1:30 game, down to 1 Yonge St. 

Pinnacle One Yonge, for 1 through 7 Yonge Street, is designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects for Pinnacle International. This database entry covers the half of the block north of the Harbour Street extension, covering three primarily residential towers approved at 65, 92, and 105 storeys.

Click here to see the completed project images.

Scotiabank Arena was a buzz of activity as they host WWE on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Friday Night Smackdown, Saturday Money in the Bank and Sunday NXT Heatwave.

I had planned to have a late lunch at Harbourfront but John had mentioned ordering chicken and we wanted to avoid running into the mass exodus from the ballgame so we thought we would get Starbucks (strawberry Frappuccino for me and caramel ribbon Frappuccino for John) and catch the 2:30 bus. As it happened we saw people still waiting for the 1:45 so decided to wait for that which ended up arriving around 2:10.

Friday we headed out to lunch, John had no idea where I was taking him!

Walking along King St.

We remembered going to a sales/presentation in 2018 to see the plans for this.

Where I'm taking John for lunch - it only opened this week.

History meets modernity at Waterworks. This unique, mid-rise building integrates portions of a former industrial complex constructed in 1932. Comprised of 288 units, a new YMCA, and a European-style food hall, Waterworks celebrates the synthesis of past and present through the preservation of original Art Deco details woven with innovative, modern design.

The site, once owned by the City of Toronto, operated as a public market from 1837 to around 1900. The Water Works Buildings were designed in the Art Deco style by City Architect, J. J. Woolnough and completed in 1933. The construction project was part of a plan supported by federal, provincial, and municipal governments to provide work during the Great Depression. The complex of buildings faced three streets, Brant, Richmond, and Maud, and was organized around a central courtyard, with the St. Andrew’s Playground to the south. The site was designated in 2013.

The adaptive reuse of the Waterworks includes the full retention and reuse of the machine shop building as a food hall.

You can also bring your food and drink and sit out here. It was busier when we left.

Spheres hang from the ceiling, each varying in size and design. They were hand crafted and-created by Canadian artists including Priscilla Yu, Jimmy Chiale, Jacquie Comrie, Kelcy Timmons Chan, Courtney Wotherspoon, Thomarya (Tee) Fergus and Andre Kan to name a few.

Harry's Burgers - has gluten free buns.

Musoshin Ramen - has gluten free noodles.

Dave's Genuine Deli 

Otto's Berlin Doner - next time I will get the currywurst! We had tried it in Berlin in 2015.

Pizza and tacos.

We decided on empanadas (gluten free) from The Arepa Republic, We shared two chicken and two ground beef. I didn't care for the chicken. The beef was good but a bit bland. I would have really liked a more spicy dip for them. We had never tried empanadas before so it's a ✅.

We took our lunch to the Waterworks Bar which serves local beer, cider and wines. 

This place immediately reminded me of the Caterina Market in Barcelona! There is plenty of seating, you can pick up your food and sit anywhere. They also have servers that will bring your order to you!

There is a large park outside, you can sit out here too. Too hot and muggy today!

Interesting perspective, John is not actually that far away from me!

We checked out (on my planned agenda)  the new Revery Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton with a Hollywood theme. Behind the entrance's velvet curtains, you'll find the "Box Office" under the marquis lights and monochromatic checkerboard concrete tiles, with big screen backdrops playing classic black-and-white movies and historic images of Toronto's landmarks. 

In their Cinema Room on the second floor.

The hotel's cinematic theme also applies to its restaurant, Deauville Club, which offers dishes like lobster linguine, steak tartare, charcuterie, and oysters. 

Almost done! I worked in the building on the far left (rounded windows) when those townhouses were worn down and dilapidated. They are now incorporated into the Theatre District Residence and Rio Hotel.

Theatre District Residence is a pair of towers designed by Quadrangle for Plaza at Adelaide and Widmer streets in Toronto's busy Entertainment District. The 49-storey south tower will be all condos. The 48-storey north tower will include a 350-suite Riu Plaza hotel occupying the bottom 28 storeys of the building, while the upper portion of the tower will house 655 condos.

Champs is still hanging onto this precious piece of property, although he is now sharing with a vaping shop. 

Since 1990, Champs Food Supplies is a wholesale meat distributor famous for our hot dogs and sausages (street meat) which are used by hot dog vendors all around Toronto. 

Also on my agenda was a stop here.

Opened in July 2021, Grasett Park celebrates the response of the City of Toronto, particularly its physicians, nurses and other caregivers, to the influx of Irish migrants during the summer of 1847. Many of these migrants arrived gravely afflicted with typhus, known then as ship fever.

At the time, Toronto’s population was roughly 20,000.  The arrival of 38,560 Irish migrants fleeing the Great Famine, including thousands who became sick during the perilous journey, quickly overwhelmed the Hospital’s capacity and resources. Temporary fever sheds were erected in the field behind the hospital, where Grasett Park now stands.

If you click on the label/tag "Irish emigrants" below this post, you will get more of the history in this area.

On Front St. we spotted this which was so serendipitous because I had just read about these sketches popping up on FB's Weird Toronto page that morning. They've been spotted at St. James park, Front and Berkeley, Union Station, 

My hibiscus appears in shock and is dropping leaves since I moved her into full sun, but she graced us with this, the first in over a year!

COOKING

Saturday - shrimp curry p124   since it was so miserable out, I decided to make a base curry (p164) to go with the prawn masala (p233) and spiced samosa patties (with chutney) with cauliflower and potato. We used the rest of the samosa patties for Monday's lunch.

I froze the rest of the base curry (2 more meals) as well as the leftover tomatoes and coconut milk.

Sunday - ham, asparagus roast potatoes

Monday - sweet and sour pork belly bites and spicy jalapeno cilantro cauliflower rice with oven broccolini, onion, tomato with oil and soy sauce.

Tuesday - ploughman's bread ham egg cheese English beets pickles tomatoes cucumbers

Wednesday - chips and eggs, tomatoes, ham (John)

Thursday - ordered in Swiss Chalet

Friday - steak baked potato and broccolini. We are working our way through the bag from Costco.

WATCHING

Heat is a 1995 American crime film. It features an ensemble cast led by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, with Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Wes Studi, Jon Voight, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, and Danny Trejo in supporting roles. The film follows the conflict between an LAPD detective (played by Pacino) and a career criminal (played by De Niro) while also depicting its effect on their professional relationships and personal lives.

The Prestige is a 2006 psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan and based on the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest. It stars Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier and Christian Bale as Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in Victorian London who feud over a perfect teleportation illusion.

The cast also features Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Andy Serkis, and David Bowie as Nikola Tesla.

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is a 2005 concert film by Lian Lunson about the life and career of Leonard Cohen. It is based on a January 2005 tribute show at the Sydney Opera House titled "Came So Far for Beauty", which was presented by Sydney Festival under the artistic direction of Brett Sheehy, and produced by Hal Willner. Performers at this show included Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, The Handsome Family, Beth Orton, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, Linda Thompson, Antony, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, with Cohen's former back-up singers Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen as special guests. The end of the film includes a performance by Leonard Cohen and U2, which was not recorded live, but filmed specifically for the film at the Slipper Room in New York in May 2005. 

This was fantastic!!!! Here's a link to it on YouTube.

Iron Reign (Spanish: Mano de hierro) is a Spanish crime thriller television series. Set in the Port of Barcelona, the plot follows the control exercised over illegal cargo by the owner of the port's main terminal, Joaquín Manchado, and a gang war that ensues after an accident and the loss of a stash of cocaine.

John and I are working our way through MasterChef Australia season 16, I haven't watched the last two episodes, I am saving to watch with John. This means I have to avoid social media!! 

We have our laptops connected to the TV screen to watch.

I started watching Gordon Ramsey's Food Stars season 2 but thought John might like it.

READING

The Sanatorium I wasn't sure when I first started, and then gave up on it.

I started Bourdain - The Definitive Oral Biography. He definitely was a complicated and interesting person. It isn't the easiest book to read since it is written like an interview with his friends, family and co-workers.