T.O.

Goin' to Toronto for a couple of days. We don't go nearly as often as we should, seeing as how it's just about my favorite city. If you haven't checked it out, you must go to the St. Lawrence Market (closed Sundays). I like to stay at the Novotel on Esplanade, which is a couple of blocks from the market. Rolling out of bed and checking out the market with coffee in hand gives me a sort of "I live here in this big city" feeling, that I miss from time to time. Although you probably can't bring back any beef, they have great cheese, bread, non-beef-meat, and poultry there. I wouldn't trust bringing fish back, though, since it would have to sit in the car or a cooler for a while. The best is Anton Kozlik's mustard. They have a sick number of varieties, and you can try them all. My favorite involves maple syrup. There's also a great balsamic & fig mustard. Try that with some grilled bratwurst. Downstairs at the market, you can get this odd Toronto specialty - the veal sandwich. It's basically a huge slab of deep-fried, breaded veal on a roll - with sauce and optional cheese. It's awesome. There's a sushi guy, a coffee shop, a Russian food stall, and a coffee roaster downstairs, too. Across Front Street is the North Market, which features a lot of homemade sausages, some vegetables, baked goods, etc. Then head West on Front Street over to the Dominion Supermarket a few doors down. If you've bought provisions for a picnic, for instance, you can get the extras you missed at this really nice supermarket. We also like to go up to the Bloor-Yonge area; particularly Yorkville, which features a lot of fun boutiques and shops, as well as a massive Roots store, Holt Renfrew, Indigo, Chapters, and I think there might now be a Restoration Hardware around there (nope - it's way up near Eglington). I know, it's mostly shopping, but so what? The ROM I haven't yet been to. The AGO is fantastic. Especially with kids. Let me also plug: Linda Penwarden Custom Jewellery. Very nice. On the way up or back, we're bound to stop at Ikea for meatballs and browsing. Anyway, posting will probably be light the next few days.