annetti

Morningglory: Wanda's is a popular spot; isn't it? Should we have held out for a piece of pie?

annetti

ggg: we have walked into Fresh, but could not make up our mind to stay. This town overwhelms up with choices!

annetti

Morningglory:Regarding curtesy, it used to amuse me no end that in Victoria and Vancouver both, passengers would exit the bus saying thank you.

Maybe, I do a disservice to my home town's image, but I cannot imagine a rude bus driver becoming as issue on the heresay of a passenger, unless it was a very very slow week media wise.

goddesstogo

It really is a good restaurant town, especially with ethnic choices.

If I'm getting off at the front door of the bus and there's not a crowd getting on, I do say thank you to the bus driver! We're a funny lot, we Torontonians!

Morningglory47

Annetti - ALL Wanda's desserts are good - the monkey bread is making me hungry thinking about it but the pies are the specialty of the place. I have a class tonight at 6 at Lettuce Knit in Kensington so trying to avoid the pies comes up two days in a row for me.

Goddess - Suggestions but I am by no stretch a fine diner, I'm a grab and go or food court person most of the time - Just now looking at all the Grid's choices for pizza which is done by the slice - slice #1 is from Queen Margherita near Greenwood and Queen East, on the edge of Leslieville and in the same building as Red Rocket Coffee; there's Wanda's, it's vegetarian, there's the Lakeview on Dundas near Ossington; there's Phipps on Eglinton - that's convenient to you and Annetti. Or is there somewhere else along Eglinton that does lunch? There's the Danforth for all things Greek. I will say I don't eat sushi.

When it's not crowded, I thank the driver or say good night if I get off at the front door as long as I haven't heard him being crappy to someone but say it especially if someone has been crappy to him.

BAK

Low buses. If by chance you get on a low different looking bus up at the Steeles end of the subway, and the bus ride is really jerky, it is NOT a rude driver, but a terribly designed bus.

I thought of crabby drivers the first few times, but when everyone drove like this -- almost impossible to stand up -- I started asking questions.

Enjoy toronto.

BAK

I just posted a thread about the Canadian Broadcasting Corp open house tomorrow.

See cbc.ca and then put Open House in the search box.

From your place, either the Yonge subway or the Univsity Ave. subway south to Union Station.

That's the bottom of the subway route's U-shape.

Then walk west on Front Street to the CBC. Big building with red cross marks on the side, across from the CN Tower.

BAK

annetti

Thank you, BAK!

I cerainly do not want to be discourteous, so I made a point of saying thank you when I exited the trolley and bus today. Maybe, people do it at home, though I seriously doubt it, LA is not a big public transit hub. I can't remember the last time I took a bus back home; it must be years!

annetti

Today, I was all set to take BAK's tour listed above, but I tried and so did N to print it out, but neither of us could figure out the printer. We've been trying for two days now without success and yes, there's paper in it and more importantly it is plugged in. I will have to copy it out longhand.

Today, N suggested we visit Greektown; a clerk at one of the bookstores suggested it the first day we were here. We exited the subway at Pape Street and Danforth. There are tons of Greek restaurants in the area, and of course we had no idea which one to try.

We wandered around, walked into the vestibule of the very pretty St Irene Chrisovalantou Greek Orthodox Church and peeked into the church through the glass windows of the entry doors. It is a small church, but has some attractive frescos and stained glass windows. There was no one about, but there were candles for prayers lit. It reminded me of village churches I had seen in Greece many years ago.

We then wandered up and down neigborhood streets. The houses vary from very well maintained, gentrified to respectable. Some are single homes with small gardens, others semi-detached. I iamgaine, they too date from the middle 1920s. One or two red bricked homes with their open porches reminded me of Rocky's neighborhood, in the movie I mean. I noticed some Greek flags hung along Canadian flags and even some street signs written in Greek.

We, then debated where to eat. N was leaning towards Alexandro Takeout adjacent to a pretty little park, but it was overcast and cool; I did not want to sit outdoors. We wandered into one of the kitchen stores, bought a few little things, but still did not decide on lunch. Walked into a pastry shop, N wanted to try loukoumades (honey/dough-like balls), but the minimum amount sold was 6 and we had not eaten lunch.

The problem was that about the 10 or so restaurants we tried/looked at the menu were virtually empty and we hesitated to enter any of them. Finally, we walked in to a small place (I think its name was Messini) around the 300 block of Danforth. It was packed; the first place that was lively and friendly. We stayed. N had a chicken pita served with french fries INSIDE the pita and roasted potatoes; His meal included a drink. I had a greek salad served with pita. The whole bill without tip could not have been more than $15 and it was very good. A nice find.

For dessert, we returned to another pastry shop and bought the loukoumades which were served warm. They are sweet and moist with honey; totally decadent, but very good, a little like a donut with a sweet honey sauce. Greek food is occasionally seen in my neck of the woods, but it looks very different from what is served here in Toronto.

Friendship_Bay

Bookmarking! We live in Ottawa, and get to Toronto frequently, but I am learning lots from this!

annetti

St Lawrence Market again. We wanted to see how it differed from the weekday, almost a different place, tons of people, also the North side is opened (only on Sturdays for the Farmers' market.) So much activity and so many wonderful places to eat, "a cornucopia" like the Fodor's Toronto Guide states. The choices are endless from Uranian knishes, apple latkes, to Italian eggplant sandwiches,pastries, bakeries, fresh fish, pizza places, Asian sushi, olive oil tasting, fresh fruit and vegetables;it boggles your mind and your taste buds. We really did not know how to choose. We kept narrowing it down to two places and then something else would entice us.

For those familiar with LA's Fairfax Market, this is similar, but I hesitate to say for fear of offense, much better. The choices though different (perhaps, that's the clue) are so much fresher and better. Per Fodor's 2010 guide: "considered to be one of the world's best food markets, it is renowned for its local and imported foods such as fresh shellfish, sausage varieties, and cheeses."

Yes, ggg, you are right, we had tried the Montreal bagels; I saw the sign today above the bagel place - St Urbain's. Made me think of Morechai Richler. I know it's a famous street in Montreal; we had bagels there yrs ago, but I don't remember the sweet taste; I was such a sugar addict in those days, I proably would not have noticed.

We ended up splitting an eggplant sandwich - wonderful and huge for $8.00, a ukranian knish and some tasteless/sugarless muffin that N sort of liked over on the North side.

I believe by the stairwell on the second floor, there are about 10 or so pictures showing the history of the St Lawrence Market, once Toronto's City Hall. The second floor had been its original council galley. If I remember correctly, it opened as a farmers' market in the early 1900s, making it over 100 yrs old. Definitely still a vibrant and wonderful place to spend a Saturday. Tomorrow, Sunday has antique dealers displaying their wares in the same building, along I imagine with all the wonderful eateries.

annetti

ggg: Just found your recommendation for Pantheon; I knew it was something with a P when we were in Greektown and I was hoping, the name would spring to mind. However, it did not! Also, saw The Big Carrot. Well, most likely we will have a second chance at the Pantheon. Darn!

goddesstogo

If you go to the Pantheon, afterwards walk a block or two east (same side of the street) to the Athens (or maybe it's Athenian) Bakery for dessert. They have the honey balls there but they also have a fabulous dessert that's custard in phyllo. Heaven.

Meesthare

Annetti: just a possible long-shot suggestion about the printer. You've probably already tried this, but - have a look at the setting on the computer when you instruct it to print. It might be sending stuff to a nonexistent printer and you'd have to scroll down to find the right one. We got a new printer a couple of years ago and DH still occasionally makes that mistake and announces that the printer isn't working.

Re Greektown: one of our favourite haunts when we revisit Toronto (where I was born and lived for most of my life before moving to BC). We love Pappas Grill in particular, although I'm not sure they have a wide enough variety of vegetarian options, but you might want to check it out.

annetti

Hi Meesthare: How's the weather in Sooke? I bet a bit warmer and dryer than here. You're rt, we tried scrolling down for other printer options, but it did not work. They were always rerouting my printer at work and I would always forget, a real pain.

Thanks for the recommendation for Greektown - now I just need to remember it. Not to worry about the veg options, I only need one or two and generally don't expect many. N loves eating out here, just laments that we're not eating enough "green stuff."

Meesthare

Hi, Annetti - it's actually a bit cool here in Sooke these days, although it hasn't rained all that much. Our summer was very late this year and seemed to make up for it by lasting longer than usual. DH just came in from picking blackberries; we have a freezer full of them now but they're still ripening on the bushes.

I hope the weather in Toronto improves; I'll be there visiting my family next week!

annetti

Woke up to a cold and rainy Toronto day. Have to admit, I have forgotten how wet and cold it can be when you don't have a car, an umbrella, and your Calif tennis shoes have mesh tops to breathe. However, we were wise enough to bring rain coats with hoods, but with hard rain they don't do a very good job and in a few moments my socks were damp. Fortunately for us, the bus came in less than a minute, for once I timed it correctly and we dried out on the warm bus.

We planned to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario today; we had been waiting for a rainy day. However when N saw that the Gallery which is on Dundas was close the Buddha Vegetarian restaurant we visited a few days ago, he wanted to detour for lunch. I saw King's Noodle Shop, pointed it out, said this was a Fodorite recommendation, so we walked over. The place was packed - N was intrigued with all the ducks hanging in the window, but his heart was set on the Buddha. Maybe next time, he said. (I think we'll make it there, ggg)

By the time, we arrived at Buddha, we were pretty wet, the rain had not relented, and it was probably about 3 or 4 long Toronto blocks without an awning or overhead hanging to give you respite from the rain.

We were welcomed like old friends in the Buddha; it, too was very crowded. N read somewhere that Sunday is the most popular day in Chinatown. We ordered egg rolls, some fried noodle vegetable dish that everyone in the 20 person room seemed to be eating. Tons of good food and would you believe with tea and a 20% tip, it was only $10 or $11? While, we were getting our coats on, preparing for the great outdoors, one of the patrons came over, started a conversation about the weather, whether to reassure herself or us I am not sure but in halting English, she told us that we would be seeing sunny weather all week long. I hope she's right. Meanwhile, I think a new pair of short boots would be a good Torontonian souvenir along with an umbrella.

annetti

The rain had stopped; we were a bit groggy from the food, it was late and a visit to the museum appeared foolhardy since we'd have less than two hours to explore it.

We decided to wander in stores, have dessert, essentially meander without much purpose. We bought several Toronto t-shirts; some woolen gloves and walked in and out of stores. Then N remembered Wanda's Pie in the Sky was near by. Wamda's was drawing a healthy Sunday afternoon crowd; I wanted the monkey cake, so pie was put on hold. It was a huge piece, utterly delicious and we had a cup of tea to balance the sweetness. The place is small, unpretentious, restaurant chic furnishings and just a pleasant spot to sit around, relax, and people watch or read a newspaper. We probably spent an hr or so there. It was very nice. So if you live in an Eastern rainy city today, you may very well have spent a similar Sunday if you had the energy to leave your warm dry home.

annetti

Meesthare: I checked the weather forecast for the week; It clears up after Tuesday. Should be sunny all week for your visit. Blackberries! I can't imagine blackberries surviving in this cold weather, but I imagine Torontonians know better!!

annetti

Some trivial observations:

N and I noted so few "gangsta" wantabees or the real thing as we travel around Toronto. We don't miss that part of LA, for sure. What brought this to our mind was seeing a young man slide down the rail on the escalator today at a dizzying speed. So where are all the young men with their hands holding up their oversized pants and trouser cuffs trailing on the street?

Love all the civility; it's not dead in Canada! Why has it bypassed LA?

By and large there is little grafitti. I see it very occasionally, don't miss it of course, but downtown areas are usually rampant with it. Do all the video cameras keep it down or are Torontonians just better behaved that Los Angelinos?

Subway is clean, too and people seem pretty respectful of others. Even though I see one or two people eat occasionally on the subway (don't know if that's permitted), I don't see the fast food trash. Are the video cameras helping here, too?

Listening more now and I do hear the thank yous often as I leave the bus.

No one yet has ignored our request for directions and pretended they did not hear us. Always get a friendly answer, too. If we're on the bus, the person next to us will answer our question and often two or three more people will help out, too.