Art Square

 

July 2021 - Toronto ON

Dundas St. West Toronto

We have entered Stage 3 this week and valet service is now restored in our building for residents only at the moment. Building amenities are opening such as the pool, gym,library.

My favourite Stage 3 City rule:

Bathhouses and sex clubs can also operate at up to 25 per cent capacity for indoor events. Patrons must also keep a distance of two metres “except when physical distancing cannot be maintained while participating in the activities for which patrons normally frequent such an establishment,” the rules state. Similar rules apply to patrons for mask usage.

Sign at a local strip club it also says No vaccine No entry:

No point in going anywhere last weekend as the Gardiner was closed for repairs. No problem, we don't usually venture out on weekends. But it was so quiet! Saturday was a gorgeous day after all that rain and I even sat on the balcony. Sunday was another washout.

Monday we tidied up as we had a designer coming to look at the bar area we want to install. We came up with a plan, and install dates are booking out in November thanks to the lockdowns.

Tuesday John headed out with a friend for their annual Wooden Sticks golf day with dinner included.

 I had a haircut booked WOO HOO! I had time to kill before my appointment and wandered underground in the financial district. You can feel it coming back to life, although the big banks have not yet announced when they will reopen their towers to staff. Smaller firms are slowing allowing workers back.

I had a great time catching up with my stylist after eight 8 months!! They have not been allowed to open since last November. Even now, since the office towers are not yet back to work (they are in the heart of the financial district) they are only working four hours a day per stylist, closing early and no Sunday opening.

From there I headed to the Eaton Centre to Bed and Bath Works to stock up.

I also went to some other stores, nothing bought, and stocked up on truffles at Lindt. While I waited for the bus I had a Frappuccino at Starbucks on the patio, the skies opened but the rain passed quickly. John got it on the golf course but they were told to return to the club house, it passed quickly as well.

Wednesday we had plans to head out at 10:30. I had it in my head to check with John that his license sticker hadn't expired. Since the pandemic started they have stopped sending out notices. Sure enough it was March 2021, oooops. So we came back up and he renewed online. Then the printer wouldn't print so we put it on a USB key and took it to the shop downstairs and had it printed in case he is stopped.

By then it was 11:30 and traffic was bumper to bumper on the DVP so we said screw that and drove back to the west end. We stopped for gas, had a burger at Burger's Priest, went for fruits and vegetables (bonus it was seniors' day) at Lanzarotta's, not impressed with their prices lately and they weren't carrying a lot of local produce! 

And picked up John's latest Scotch of the Month from the post office.

John had a parcel at the loading dock, an early birthday present for me us. Engraved brandy glasses.

John's weekly golf was moved to Thursday. 

Gorgeous colourful outfit outside Union.

I went to Collage Park, Winners and Farm Boy. Produce was all local and prices were great.

Had to buy these colourful scallions!

Friday John also golfed. I decided to go to Kensington Market. 

Union Station food court was open!

Mask of the Day Award.

Chinatown - Dundas St. West

Construction hoarding on Dundas West.

Javid Jah

Never knew there was a city pool right here on Dundas.

Housed in retrofitted shipping containers, Market 707 is Toronto’s most unique street food and retail market. This space brings together local entrepreneurs serving up more than 10 types of delicious international street food, along with unique goods and services to create an urban food and shopping environment unlike any other. 

First day of indoor dining and Kensington Market was gearing.

Yet another cannabis shop. I featured the Elicser mural on the inside wall here.

This was Zimmerman's Fairland grocery store opened in 1953 and now Kensington Market's first (but not last) legal dispensary.

Ozzy's Burgers.

Funny votive candles in Blue Banana.

I will definitely be trying this place out!

St. Andrew St. I've never walked down.

Anshei Minsk (formally Beth Israel Anshei Minsk, informally the Minsk) is a synagogue in the Kensington Market neighbourhood. It was founded in 1912 by poor Jewish immigrants from what is now Belarus (mostly Minsk), which at the time was part of the Russian Empire. The current Byzantine Revival building was completed in 1930.

The congregation has had only three full-time rabbis: Meyer Levy (1916–1921), Meyer Zimmerman (1940–1954), and Shmuel Spero, who has served from 1988 to the present. It is the only Orthodox synagogue in Downtown Toronto with a full-time rabbi, and the only one that holds daily services.

Another mention of a Zimmerman? A relation?

Interesting house on St. Andrew with gorgeous gardens.

Chinatown busker.

At Spadina and King, part of the Scotiabank CONTACT exhibit.

Exploring questions of race, gender, culture, class, and their complex intersections, Frida Orupabo fuses together varied sources of archival materials to question colonial and modern representations of Black womanhood. Positioned on the façade of a Victorian-era building, monumental images by the Oslo-based, Nigerian Norwegian artist portray Black women’s bodies as sites of knowledge and empowerment.

SOPHISTICATED SHAKERS

I chose the Spiced Mule from the LCBO early summer magazine. This was very tasty.

COOKING

Saturday easy mozzarella chicken with penne and fried mushrooms.

Sunday coconut shrimp, calamari,  ordered Swiss Chalet chicken.

Monday Asian lemon chicken  slow cooker beef stew

Tuesday John had dinner at the golf course.

While I had a pork chop with carrots and turnips.

Wednesday I tried firecracker shrimp with salad since we had burgers at lunch. I went a little overboard with the siracha as I was thinking it was the chili sauce. Definitely a keeper as John said. 

Thursday doner kabab I used veal and we had pita, Farm Boy tzatziki (good but not as good as I gave at the Market), tomatoes, onions and lettuce. And hot sauce!

Friday steak and loaded baked potato. But the potatoes were still a little hard so we chopped them up on a baking sheet and mixed them with the broccolini, sour cream, butter, scallions and cheese and it worked well.  

WATCHING

Masterchef Australia 2021 - WOW I didn't see that ending coming! They were all incredible. Congrats to Justin!

We went back to The Underground Railway.

I finished Mad Men.

READING

On my laptop Vij's Indian: Our Stories, Spices and Cherished Recipes

Vikram Vij (born 1964) is an Indian-born Canadian chef, cookbook author, and television personality with restaurants in Vancouver BC.

He mentions panch poran just as The Curry Guy did this week so I will definitely require a trip to India Town.

On my phone The Missing Hours, turned out to be a really good read with lots of twists and turns I didn't see coming.

On my tablet Exit, intriguing subject. I had read an earlier book dealing with the same subject, helping people die, but this was much better.