Toronto restaurants that I miss...

Some of the places that I miss from Toronto may just get a visit when I am there next week.

I am sure most of these are not even close to how I remember them, but in my mind they are the stuff of legend.

Thanks to the wonders of google, I can find pictures of them whenever I miss the thought of grease.

First up... Johnny's Hamburgers. A place introduced to me by Plaka. Thanks so much for this heaven of Hamburgers. A place with no tables, no chairs. Get your food and leave. Or eat on an old picnic table outside.


Along the same lines... Apache Burgers in Etobicoke. A spot I first visited around 1988 on a comic book store run. I think that the burgers are not quite as good as Johnny's, but the onion rings from this place are worth a visit on their own. As I recall, you can crack one open and watch the fat drip out. mmmmm. fat.
A Place of Legend... the VESTA LUNCH. We became acquainted with this lovely establishment when Gord and the lads had their downtown place. It was directly in the middle of our to-from path for weekend club/pub visits. It was ideal for a place to stop off for dinner, or the on the way home greasy snack.

Now, I am sure the place is 100% clean, passed all the health code regulations... but if there was ever a restaurant that looked like they should be smoking while they handed you your food, this was it.

As I recall, the best thing in here was Souvlaki, and also a wicked tasty milkshake.
Last but not least, a restaurant I never actually visited, but they did a food booth in the Phoenix where we used to go for our big music nights. They were home of the "Awesome Jumbo" an eggroll the size of a softball as I remember it. Mr.Pong's.

I also saw Mr.Pong's food wagon driving around the city.

I remember hearing a story, that a chain of local robberies in the 1990s in fact led back to Mr.Pong's. Many stories I googled referred to stories in the Toronto Star mentioning how the restaurant was a front for a fencing operation and the police found a dumpster full of assault rifles....

However, did I mention the Awesome Jumbo? Criminal or no, Mr.Pong made a mean egg roll.Lets see what the schedule and hunger is like next week when I am in Toronto. I may just have to take a trip down memory lane to some fine fine eats.

Six Days until Canada

So, the big trip draws ever closer.

I am flying Air Canada (thanks to my airmiles) and when I booked the flight, I made sure that I was going to be getting on one of the new airbus 77w planes.

I had a look around the internet to learn about the various planes as I booked my ticket. I have flown enough times to know that planes cary quite a bit and on a long flight I want to make sure that I can have the least discomfort possible along with the most amenities.

From all accounts, the 77W seems like quite a nice ride. Here is a photo of the economy cabin, where I will be spending most of next Thursday.
The features I found most appealing were the fact that all seats have a power port for laptop computers (yay!) as well as a pretty advanced TV/Movies system.

I am sure that I will still find lots to dislike about the flight... food, space, boredom. However I hope that I will be amused enough with the plane that I can enjoy it at least a little. I will be fully stocked with electronic distractions from my laptop and ipod as well as a lot of book to get through.

I will be sure to be a little more diligent in my picture taking and documentation of the trip. I know I have really slacked on my blog in the last while.

And for all you in Canada who are planning to meet up, look forward to seeing you! Plans are still to have the big meet and greet in Toronto on Saturday the 24th in the evening. Venue is not final, but the invites went out on my Facebook to those of you on there too. If you know a good place to meet up and chat & snack, I am very open to suggestions.

Gardening - Part 1

Recently Claudia decided that her new hobby was going to be gardening. This basically means that my new hobby is going to be shoveling. There have been a number of lengthy involved projects over recent weeks, and I have to say I was pretty horrible at photographing most of them. But here we go.

The first small project was to put in a little tree in front of our house.

After going to the nursery and selecting a tree, we returned home and had to remove the small shrub that was currently in the front garden. It is a nice enough shrub, but we thought it was a little small for the spot.
Here is the new tree in his pot. I would tell you what kind of tree it is, but I don't remember and really don't care enough to check....
Some digging and moving around and here is tree in his new home...
another angle of our new green buddy.

Wasserschloss

We recently drove 20 min down the road to a little castle. Because it was a couple of weeks and I failed to write it down, I totally forget the name of the place...
To Liam however, this is "RITTERBURG" which is German for a knight's fort. It does look quite like that sort of castle from his little books.

It is quite a small castle with a moat around it, but it looks pretty nice.
The real reason we came here was to go to the cafe that is in what used to be the stables and kitchens of the castle. They are renowned for the quality and size of the cake.

Here is the entrance and the outdoor seating area.
Knowing that he would have a nice treat inside, Liam had no trouble marching right in like he was king of the place.
It has a very interesting decor inside. It quite felt like being in a nice old castle.
I sadly did not take a photo of the cake, which seems silly in hindsight, but trust me, it was HUGE and tasty. I am sure we will go back sometime and I will make sure I capture the actual cake in the next visit.