Tuesday Treasures

 Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

March 2023 - Toronto ON

Maison Selby sits at the bottom of The Selby, Tricon’s recently completed rental building, which offers residents inviting shared spaces, an expansive gym, outdoor pool and terrace, and a custom spa. Its collection of bright, modern suites beautifully juxtaposes the storied mansion below, steeped in Toronto history.

After a multi-year restoration, the mansion has been returned to its Victorian splendour. ERA Architects were tasked with preserving both the exterior and interior. Outside, the brick was starting to crumble, while inside, they needed to restore six fireplaces, the original window shutters, and plaster cornices, among other original details. The laborious process, which also required ERA to oversee the moving of the building—it was moved 14 metres east—took almost seven years to complete.

It is now a French-inspired bistro run by O & B, Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality (O&B) is recognized as one of Canada's leading fine dining restaurant and event companies.

Bonacini is one of my favourite chefs in the city, you can find him as a host on MasterChef Canada.

We dined here in March.

The Selby has always been an address associated with good times. Many well-loved bars have taken up residence in the building. In the ’40s, the Skyway Lounge, a popular sports bar, operated out of The Selby. The spot then became the watering hole for sports stars. Hockey players Turk Broda and Rocket Richard, as well as boxer Whipper Billy Watson, were all known barflies who’d come by to celebrate their wins and nurse their losses at the Skyway Lounge. Later on, another bar, called The Men’s Beverage Room, replaced the Skyway. William Shatner was a fan of the atmosphere and popped in when visiting Toronto. In 1981, the gay dance club Boots moved in, making this a hot spot for LGBTQ+ events for two decades.

1883 - The mansion was designed by acclaimed architect David Roberts Jr., who had extensive connections to Toronto’s prominent Gooderham family (the cofounders of Gooderham and Worts Distillery, now known as the Distillery District). Roberts Jr. was also responsible for designing Toronto’s Flatiron Building.

1910 - 1912 - The prestigious girls’ private school Branksome Hall—founded in 1903—relocated from its original home on Bloor Street East to the Charles Horace Gooderham House.

Margaret Eaton, of the Eaton family, attended the school at this location. She went on to become Commanding Officer of the Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Corp. and the highest-ranking female officer during World War II.

1912 - The C.H. Gooderham House became home to the Selby Hotel, originally founded as a private “hostel” that catered to elderly female clientele (when it wasn’t hosting Canadian and British officers during WWII), and was viewed as one of Toronto’s cultural focal points. The Selby became a public hotel in 1920.

1923 - Internationally renowned author Ernest Hemingway was one of many creative heavyweights who stayed at the Selby Hotel. During his brief career as a foreign correspondent at the Toronto Star, he occupied two adjoining rooms: room 301 and the “Gooderham Suite.”

Restored inside.

Bean Head

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader

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March 2023 - Toronto ON

Sep 2022 - Toronto ON

It rained all day Saturday but since it is usually a PJ day we didn't care. We dawdled over our coffees reading/watching. Did a couple of loads of laundry. Hung my latest embroidery. 

Got rid of cardboard boxes that have started to accumulate.

I have spent some time yesterday and today going through the multitude of CDs we had used as backup. Hopefully I will finish on Sunday. UPDATE I did finish on Sunday! YAY me! I just have to dispose of them. I kept the old laptop with the CD read/write.

I received our new compost bin (I had been using a bowl on the counter). This works really well. 

Sunday was certainly productive for me. A load of laundry, I cleaned out the freezer as repairman coming tomorrow (fingers crossed) reorganized and threw out a bunch of crap. It seems like the freezer is freezing and unfreezing on the right side so any bakery products were mushy, soup stock went in garbage. Then I ended up with a gazillion reusable freezer bags to wash and a bunch of tupperware. Finished CDs as above, washed kitchen floor.

Decluttered the bar and moved the tech chargers/plugs into the drawers of the coffee table that got rid of a basket on the bookcase.

I even had an hour telephone chat with a friend.

John descaled the coffee pot, something we should do more often.

Cleared out the empty boxes were were keeping "in case".

Heck, it's Sunday...

Then I sat down to embroider and watch stuff.

Monday John used the golf simulator. 

Fridge repair guy came, nice guy, said it was because ice was building up blocking fan and unable to push cold air down...Okay...we were told to defrost it for 24 hours. So we packed up the meats and put in the other freezer, got ice and put the rest on the balcony. 

Tuesday we headed to meet friends for pizza at Libretto's, we were early so we took the long way underground.

Since it was 24 hours later, we plugged the fridge in. Waited a few hours, freezer felt cold but bottom is still at around 60 F. We put some stuff back but left the meat in the other freezer.

Wednesday I checked temperature in the morning 54 F.

We left at 9:40 to catch the bus downtown, I noticed the sign said to Dufferin. Sure enough, at Dufferin we had to get out and catch the streetcar. It was not warm out! 

Got off at John St. and walked up to the AGO for the Leonard Cohen exhibit. We found a new mural at OCAD, check back on Monday.

Back of the AGO

Entitled Couch Monster: Sadzěʔ yaaghęhch’ill Jungen’s new sculpture for this outdoor space is a monument to creative form and engineering. In his first large-scale work in bronze, Jungen has constructed the figure of an elephant from discarded leather sofas. “The use of discarded couches came from my experiences of walking the streets of Toronto and seeing them abandoned on the sidewalks waiting to be picked up at night,” said Jungen. “This was foreign to me and surprising, but to the residents of this city, accustomed to seeing them, they are invisible. I look forward to making them visible again.”

Intrigued by the tragic story of Jumbo, a captive circus elephant who made international headlines when it was killed by a train in St. Thomas, Ontario, in 1885, Jungen is deeply concerned with the terrible price all living things pay when forced to perform for others. That concern is embedded in the title of the work. “Once captured and trained, things are no longer themselves: Jumbo was no longer an elephant, but a monster created by humans for entertainment. Its will and spirit were broken,” he says. The Dane-zaa subtitle of the work, “Sadzěʔ yaaghęhch’ill” translates to “My heart is ripping.”

Click here for our visit to Jumbo in St. Thomas.

Click here for my full post on the Leonard Cohen: Everybody Knows exhibit.

After a cappuccino in the Galleria Italia we walked over to St. Patrick Station and took the subway up to St. George and transferred over to Shelbourne for John's birthday lunch at The Shelby.

1883 - The mansion was designed by acclaimed architect David Roberts Jr., who had extensive connections to Toronto’s prominent Gooderham family (the cofounders of Gooderham and Worts Distillery, now known as the Distillery District). Roberts Jr. was also responsible for designing Toronto’s Flatiron Building.

2018 Interloper Cabernet Franc from 13th St. winery in Niagara on the Lake.

Delicious steak frites! We both gave the sauce a miss.

Crème Brule sooooo good.

Other dining rooms. 

My BFF was gardening this morning then sent me a text asking if we were getting the storm? Yes.

We came home to the mystery of the missing crocs. John had put them on the dining room chair, out of the way of the cleaning lady. We couldn't find them anywhere so I messaged her and she said she had no idea. Around 8 PM I went to sit on the couch and found them! I sent a photo to the cleaning lady and we had a good laugh. Her husband said she had probably put them there.

Came home and the fridge was still 54 F. John attempted to contact them and got the run around.

Thursday morning fridge was 49 F but it soon climbed back up. John eventually reached a representative, Eve, who was actually helpful and scheduled another repairman for Tuesday. But he still had to provide the same information over again and again and then to the actual company who sent the previous repairman.

John used the golf simulator and I went to Longo's to get our Friday steaks.

Friday, John's birthday, so we went to Kitchen on 6th for a big breakfast. Delicious, we will be back!

Grapefruit mimosas.

We picked up gluten free cannoli from Holy Cannoli!

Cirque de Soleil Zooza is setting up a new show down the street from us. I also noticed the restaurant in our building had a poster made. It will be interesting to see the impact on traffic.

It was a very rainy day.

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COOKING

Saturday John suggested Chinese curry and I remembered I had bought a mix from Blighty's. When I opened it, it is just a spice mixture so I used it. 

Sunday pizza

Monday pork chops beans and mashed potatoes

Tuesday lunch out - sushi for me and peanut butter cheese and toast for John

Wednesday lunch out - popcorn

Thursday - chicken quarters and salad

Friday breakfast out - steak with gluten free garlic bread. We tried the Schar baguettes and they were great.

WATCHING

We finished The Consultant, not sure how to explain this one...we enjoyed it. It is described as
horror/satire/workplace comedy-drama.

We also watched a movie Dead Drop 2013, After surviving a fall from a plane 3000-feet over the ocean, a former CIA operative turned government contractor re-infiltrates a dangerous North Mexican drug trafficking ring to find his own killer. With his memory unraveling, he descends into a murderous rampage while trying to uncover the truth. Who threw him from the plane? Was it his best friend?

Bullet to the Head 2012.

READING

I finished The Girl With No Past, this was a GOOD read, the ending totally surprised me.

I started A World of Curiosities, Louise Penny's (Three Pines) number 18 in her series and it's got me hooked. It has also introduced me to a fascinating piece of art The Paston Treasure that I am also reading about. Another great article, this one gives an interesting perspective.

Mixed Salad

June 2019 - Toronto ON

When in Longo's on Friday, I was glad to have John with me, as chicken thighs and extra lean ground beef were two for one, I went back on Wednesday for more!

Tuesday we had a business lunch at Lena, a new Bonacini restaurant. The food was good.

John'a beef brochette with two quail eggs and frites.

Grilled octopus and sauteed kale.

Mosaics of Adelaide St. in a laneway.

Wednesday I dropped into the Royal York hotel for a pop up sale of clothing from the UK.

Nothing bought.

Thursday we went to Kensington Market and mooched around.

The neighbourhood is awash in murals, down every alley.

Elicser was painting this last year when we were here. Click here to see lots more of Kensington Market from last year.

Raptors fever continues.

John, taking the above photo, last year the gates were closed.

Lunch at the Burgernator, they do a gluten free bun.

We spent some time poking in the unique shops dotting the area.

Hot sauces.

Bunner's gluten free bakery.

Yarn Untangled.

Gardens are sprouting throughout our city.

One of the entrances to Kensington Market.
Generations of cats have been born in Kensington—you see them everywhere. In “Home Again, Home Again”, the cat and the kitchen chair evoke the comforts of home.

On Spadina, we missed it last week by Talie Shalmon.

Into 401 Richmond to see some new displays.
This was titled Land Line.

Friday I went shopping but didn't find anything enticing. John did a Costco run.


A couple of movies stood out for me this week. Lantana from 2001.

The Last of the Bombshell Blondes

I decided to try some online courses and started with The Art of Cathedrals from Yale University.
I also found a course on the European Paintings: From Leonardo to Rembrandt to Goya

We had Veal Parmigiana.
Clam chowder with these new biscuits Quick and Easy Cheese Puffs which we both really liked and so easy to make.
Since I had all this ground beef I made a batch of spaghetti sauce. I even had a small piece of pork belly left over so I ground that up and added it.
BBQ chicken thighs.
Steaks on Friday with salad as someone gave me a huge amount from their garden!



BOOKS
I have to say I finished Year of Wonders and absolutely loved it.
I also finished When the Lights Go Out and it took three quarters of the book before it got my interest. At the beginning, I just thought meh. I still wouldn't it was a great read.
Started Give Me Your Hand.

LINKING UP WITH

Beth hosts Weekend Cooking where you can post anything food related.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by A Web of Stories.
Sunday Salon

Seasons

Say Cheese

Monday Walks

Monday Morning Blog Club