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Hospital serves up blood bag cocktails & gets a paintjob

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Paint the Halls TorontoYour average hospital fundraiser is a pretty stuffy affair. Golf tournaments, silent auctions, and gala dinners are the norm, and they tend to cater to a very specific demographic (and tax bracket). So when the Women's College Hospital Foundation announced that their latest benefit would allow attendees to run rampant through the halls of an empty hospital while local artists did some serious redecorating, young Torontonians came out in droves.

Paint the Halls was exactly that: an opportunity for artists and guests to paint, draw, and generally deface the walls of the hospital before it moves to a new, state-of-the-art facility right next door. In partnership with the popular competitive painting event Art Battle, 75 artists were selected to create their own mini-murals under a strict time limit, and to compete for $5,000 in prizes awarded by an audience vote.

Paint the Halls TorontoAnd after the professionals were finished, paints and markers were then provided to guests. I gotta say I was incredibly proud of the restraint everyone showed, especially as the night wore on and things got messier. I can count the number of dicks I saw scrawled on the walls on just one hand!

Paint the Halls TorontoOnce you got over the initial creep factor of mingling and drinking in a building in which countless people had received medical treatment, the night was an insanely good time. Guests were granted access to almost the entirety of the hospital's second floor, and stumbling upon operating rooms, dispensaries, and other generally awesome looking areas made for a totally unique experience.

Paint the Halls TorontoBut with an expected turnout of 1,400 filling the hallways, things also got oppressively hot real fast. Thankfully, mini bars were liberally scattered around the hospital's second floor. I wasn't ready to drop $10 on a blood-bag cocktail or a syringe shot full of "botox" (circulated around the event by volunteer "orderlies"), but they did look incredibly cool. Mini-poutines, fried chicken biscuits, and sushi hand rolls were also available to satisfy the hungry, and easily won the title of most appetizing hospital food ever.

Paint the Halls TorontoThroughout the night DJ's spun a crowd-pleasing mix of Motown, disco, and funk, providing great beats to circulate to, though disappointingly, dancing never really picked up. Toronto musician Maylee Todd and her Heavyweights Brass Band also injected some soul-pop groove into the night with their energetic performance, though finding the band in the labyrinth of hallways and operating rooms posed a real challenge, and I'm sad to have missed the first third of her set.

Maylee ToddIt really was impossible to walk ten steps without hearing someone say that Paint the Halls was a "had to have been there" night, and I completely agree. Here's hoping that its success inspires a new breed of fundraisers, ones where innovative ideas and accessible prices allow a new generation to support causes they value, and that those old gala dinners and golf tournaments become a thing of the past.

Paint the Halls TorontoPaint the Halls TorontoPaint the Halls TorontoPhotos by Andrew Williamson


New cafe brings a bit of Sweden to Kensington Market

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Swedish Cafe TorontoA Swedish-inspired cafe has recently opened in Kensington Market serving up java-fulled drinks from Pilot Coffee Roasters, baked goods made at Splendido and damn tasty sandwiches pieced together in house.

Read my profile of Fika Cafe in the restaurants section.

10 creatives elevating Toronto's DIY & small press scene

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Fake Injury PartyOn Saturday night, artistic hotbed 163 Sterling played host to the launch of the Commonwealth, a new collective founded by Go Home Print, Marishka Anne, and Kelsey Stasiak. Banding together over 25 of the city's independent artists, zine creators, and small presses, Saturday night's event was only the first of an upcoming series of curated events to promote Toronto's DIY scene. The turnout was great. Things got real sweaty.

Here are ten of my favourite artists, publications and DIY creators from Commonwealth's inaugural edition.

Fake Injury Party
After graduating from the Sheridan Illustration program, Derrick Guerin, Scott Leeming, and Paul Tjepkema came together to found the Fake Injury Party collective, and have since produced the fabulously titled MAWHORGHAN FAHREEMAN and How the West Was Won't. If you missed Saturday night's sale, copies can also be picked up at the Beguiling.

Go Home MagazineGo Home Magazine
Go Home Magazine is the crown jewel of Go Home Print: a beautiful quarterly publication that features art, photography, illustration, interviews, creative writing, and all manner of artistic ephemera from contributors around the world. The summer issue's theme is "You Look Good," and damn it if it (and you) don't look fantastic.

papirmassePapirmasse
Papirmasse is an innovative print subscription that mails out monthly art prints with poems, essays, or short stories featured on the back. Including work from over 40 artists and writers every year (and at just $60 for 12 mailings) it's really the easiest, most affordable way to support exciting new artists and to jazz up your wall space.

Little Brother MagazineLittle Brother Magazine
Little Brother Magazine is a cerebral collection of stories, essays, and photography for the discerning connoisseur of independent press. Each issue's launch also doubles as a literary salon, where contributors read their work aloud to a beard-stroking crowd. Shame it only comes out twice a year.

No Fun PressNo Fun Press
No Fun Press is an independent publishing house that handles zines, shirts, and other limited editions. They were also responsible for the "Eat Shit" socks and the most awesome t-shirt lining the walls: Tupac's "Have You Seen Him." Take note, Father's Day is fast approaching.

Laura Lynn PetrickLaura-Lynn Petrick
Shot on 35mm without any post-production techniques, Laura-Lynn Petrick's dreamy, sun-soaked photographs were a blissful escape from the swell of the crowd. Though she's shot for everyone from Mac Demarco to American Apparel, Petrick's display table featured only serene landscapes .

Yo Sick
Everybody likes pizza. So obviously, everyone will like Prashant Gopal's zine Yo Sick, which so far has produced three pizza-themed issues. On Saturday, Gopal had the entire series on sale inside a pizza box, along with his "Pizza Butt" stickers and t-shirts. This guy's on to something, I tell you.

Jesse HarrisJesse Harris
Jesse Harris' wry typographical prints and illustrations have been all over town lately, with pieces shown Cooper Cole, Art Metropole, and Georgia Schermann Projects. My favourite is his neon "Reasons not to buy art" print , which cites "Too Young, Too Poor, Too Simply, Too Busy, Too Late" as possible excuses.

Up and Coming Magazine
For purveyors of "cerebral, entirely tasteful fine smut," there's Up and Coming Magazine. For this quarter's issue, features included "Things I've Put Up My Ass," and other surprisingly erotic photo series.

Jenn Kitagawa
A featured artist in the latest Go Home Magazine, Jenn Kitagawa also showed off her colourful riso prints and seriously covetable painted wooden pins. I really regret not carrying more cash with me to bring one of those beauties home.

20 photos from the weekend rave at the Rogers Centre

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Bud Light SensationIt was a sea of white at the Rogers Centre on Saturday night as a packed house filled the dome to take in the sights and sounds of Bud Light presents Sensation. The $150 a ticket event didn't leave attendees disappointed with audio, visual, booze and eats providing fuel that kept energy high well into the night.

Check out this slideshow for a visual recap of the event.

Photos by Alejandro Santiago and Brendan Healy.

The Best Irish Pubs in Toronto

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Irish Pubs TorontoThe best Irish pubs in Toronto offer more than a pint of a Guinness and a handful of vaguely traditional menu options. Sure, some of them are about as Oirish as Tom Cruise's accent in the movie Far and Away and have as much to do with a traditional Emerald Isle experience as the Lucky Charms Leprechaun, but what they do all have going for them is a healthy does of that famous Irish hospitality.

They're places with a neighbourly vibe and welcoming atmosphere where you might feel just as at home drowning your sorrows as you would kicking up a jig; and, of course, fresh kegs of the black stuff don't hurt either.

See also:

The Best Pubs in Toronto
The Best Gastropubs in Toronto

Want more pubs? Download out Bars, Pubs & Late Night Eats iPhone app.

Ben Johnson also writes about beer over on Ben's Beer Blog. Photo by Lyndsay Jobe in the blogTO Flickr pool.

The Feisty Jack at Corus Quay

Radar: Shilin Snack Shack, Scarborough Film Festival, Queens of the Stone Age, Rachael Yamagata, Bill Clinton

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Bill Clinton TorontoToronto events on June 4th, 2013

FOOD | Shilin Snack Shack
Influenced by the night markets of Asia, Shilin Snack Shack will serve up easy-to-eat foods from 10PM until 1:30AM again tonight. Following yesterday's snack shack set-up, the featured foods of tonight's Shilin will be fried chicken, cold noodle bowls, barbequed skewers and Chinese pancake wraps. The snack shack will pop up following Chef Matthew Sullivan's six-course tasting menu of Taiwanese-inspired foods ($70 through Boxed Toronto's eventbrite page). The Shilin Snack Shack takes place at Happy Child with all foods ranging in price from $3-$7. Bring your pocket change--this event is cash only.
Happy Child (1168 Queen Street West) 10PM Free

MUSIC | Album Release Tuesday: Queens of the Stone Age
Albums are released on Tuesdays and The Beaver is the place to experience a Tuesday proper. Playing one new album in full each Album Release Tuesday, The Beaver is inviting fans and those who are generally okay to party on a weeknight to experience the songs from Queens of the Stone Age sixth studio album ...Like Clockwork. The album will be played in full and a DJ will play a set inspired by the band while the bar sells cheap beers ($3.50-$4). If that doesn't get you, there will be a Super Nintendo system hooked up to a projector.
The Beaver (1192 Queen Street West) 11PM Free

FILM | Scarborough Film Festival
With a goal of enhancing the Scarborough cultural scene through film, the Scarborough Film Festival is a six-day showcase of Canadian and world cinema that takes place in the (far) east end rep cinemas. Opening tonight at Fox Theatre, the festival begins with the Toronto premiere of the French/Estonian feature A Lady In Paris and Canadian short Chance. With a strong schedule of 17 films and a jury that includes Sudz Sutherland, Karen Bruce, and Eli Glasner, this festival has chops and is definitely worth the trek outside the city.
Fox Theatre (2236 Queen Street East) 6:30PM $20

MUSIC | Rachael Yamagata
American singer-songwriter and total babe Rachael Yamagata has released three studio albums and five EPs but somehow is not a household name. Her music has been everywhere for the last ten years and tonight is the perfect chance to experience her live. Playing at the Mod Club, you can watch the indie alternative musician perform and learn more about her musical style tonight as there are plenty of tickets left through Ticketweb.
Virgin Mobile Mod Club (722 College Street) 7PM $16.50

ALSO OF NOTE:

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Morning Brew: City split on existence of Rob Ford tape, new staff join mayor's office, Towhey's final order, guns for cameras, foreign objects, and no private island ferry

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toronto bike bridgeA new poll suggests roughly half of Toronto residents believe the alleged Rob Ford crack tape is real. The Ipsos Reid poll commissioned by CTV News and CP24 found half of the 530 people polled thought the story was part of a media agenda to oust the Ford brothers. Support for the Fords was strongest in (drum roll) Etobicoke.

Speaking of Rob Ford, the mayor spent yesterday afternoon showing four new recruits the ropes. Victoria Colussi, Jonathan Kent, Rob Krauss, Katrina Xavier Ponniah plug vacancies created by internal shuffling related to the departure of five important staffers, including chief of staff Mark Towhey and press secretaries George Christopoulos and Isaac Ransom. All are listed as special assistants. [via @benspurr]

Mark Towhey's last order as chief of staff was to tell other staffers to ignore all calls from the mayor, the Toronto Sun's Don Peat revealed yesterday. "Do not answer calls from the mayor tonight," Towhey said the same day Ford was fired as coach of the Don Bosco Eagles. "Take the night off." Towhey was dismissed the next day.

Toronto police have launched a guns-for-cameras amnesty aimed at taking unwanted guns off the street. For each gun turned in the owner will receive a $100 digital camera as part of the Pixels for Pistols initiative. Ironically, the news comes a day after a Toronto Star photographer was placed in a headlock and cuffed by a cop for taking pictures at Union Station.

There's something distinctly unappetizing about this Island Foods lunch. A Reddit user posted the picture of what appears to be a stray blade yesterday, saying it was found in food purchased from the King and Dufferin location of the West Indian restaurant. The company hasn't had a chance to respond yet.

Finally, So much for Terry Turl's private island ferry. The city has put the kibosh on the yacht owner's plans to make a quick buck carrying passengers from the crowded ferry terminal to the picturesque offshore park, telling him it's against the rules. The private ferry is now in "bureaucratic limbo," according to the Star. Should the city allow private ferries to compete with its own vessels?

IN BRIEF:

  • Police ID woman's remains found in duffel bag [CBC]
  • No injuries reported in Bloor Street West blaze [CTV News]
  • Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

    Image: Jeff Stewart/blogTO Flickr pool.


    This Week in Home Video: Mad Max, Breaking Bad, Warm Bodies, Best Toronto thrift stores for movies

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    Mad MaxThis Week in Home Video previews all the latest Blu-ray, DVD and on-demand titles hitting the street this week, plus lost gems, crazed Cancon, outrageous cult titles and the best places to rent or buy movies in Toronto.

    Mad Max Trilogy(Warner Bros.)

    Before he became an unhinged mealy mouthed lunatic, Mel Gibson was Mad Max, a post-Apocalyptic crusader whose freewheeling antics in this full throttle trilogy of hard boiled Ozploitation action placed him atop the pyramid of revered 1980s superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis. Finally available together in one slick package, this collection is a must-own for fans of wild and frenetic film making.

    Starting with Mad Max (1979), Gibson owned the screen as Max Rockatansky, chief badass of the Main Force Patrol. Leading his Turbo cops in a black Ford Falcon V-8 Pursuit Special with the super-charger on the hood, Max prowls the lawless highways in the Australian outback fending off the anarchic motorcycle gangs who spell the collapse of civilization. The Road Warrior (1982) finds Max drifting after a nuclear war, stockpiling gasoline and helping a desolate group fend off even more crazed gangs in the most fondly recalled installment, while the trilogy concludes with the underrated Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), sadly best remembered for its cheese ball Tina Turner ballad.



    Extras include a frank discussion with George Miller (who has since gone to direct the likes of Happy Feet), original trailers, and a neat short film looking at Mad Max: The Film Phenomenon; however it's the high octane, adrenaline fuelled films, looking better than ever, that deserve your full attention.

    ALSO OUT THIS WEEK

    Warm Bodies (eOne)

    It was only a matter of a time until the seemingly endless zombie boom produced a bone fide Zom Rom Com, but thankfully it isn't as dreadful as you might imagine. Essentially a re-telling of Romeo and Juliet (deep referencing, Zombie boy = R, Human girl = Julia) set in b-roll from The Walking Dead, this cheery Valentine's day gift for horror fans is more Shaun of the Dead than Dawn of the Dead. Berkshire native Nicholas Hoult as zombie with a heart R seals the deal, in lesser hands this would be a mess.

    Breaking Bad - The Fifth Season (Sony)

    Coming after the delirious high watermarks of Breaking Bad's insanely great fourth season, there was sadly almost nowhere for season 5 to go except for down. The good news is that even sub-par Breaking Bad is just about better than the best episode of practically any other show, and still managed to deliver some of the most cinematic set-pieces in the show's so far amazing run (the train heist, yo). However, the crystallization of Walter White as pure evil was a bit Debbie Downer, and we can only speculate on where all of this is leading in the show's final run of episodes airing this summer. Un-missable, nonetheless.

    Escape From Planet Earth (eOne)

    Family friendly, charming 3D inverse alien invasion pic plays like diet Pixar, high on imagination but low on budget, with some nice animation and great vocal performances from Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry and Jessica Alba. Cool extras include The Making of Escape From Planet Earth, "How to make an Animated Feature" with director Cal Brunker, and music featurettes with tween sensations like Delta Rae, Owl City and Cody Simpson.

    Rawhide Season 6, Volume 1 and 2 (Paramount)

    Long before he lectured chairs, or chivvied punks with a .44 Magnum revolver, or chewed cigarillos in the surreal spaghetti West, legendary tough guy Clint Eastwood played Rowdy Yates on TV's Rawhide. Part of what is often classed the "Golden Age of Television", Rawhide chronicled a continuous cattle drive across the expansive West, allowing Eastwood to interact with guest stars who either joined the cattle drive, or attacked him. Featuring a memorable theme song and a breezy outlook, Rawhide is the kind of show that goes down best with Sunday afternoon warm beer and BBQ.

    Electra Glide in Blue (Shout Factory)

    One of the great lost bananas cult films of the 1970s, Electra chronicles the life of short Motorcycle cop John Wintergreen (played with icy menace by Robert Blake) who finds that sometimes life deals incredibly bad hands, no matter how good your intentions may be.

    STILL FRESH

    TOP THRIFT STORES FOR MOVIES IN TORONTO
    Toronto Thrift VideoWeather you dig dusty old ex-rental VHS tapes, scratched up out-of-print DVDs, or rare-as-hens-teeth LP film soundtracks, thrift shops are your best bet for mainlining physical copies of old movies. If you're really lucky, you might even stumble upon a Laserdisc, or CEDs! Toronto thankfully is crawling in thrift shops, and these are some of the best for hunting down old movies:

    Salvation Army Thrift Store
    252 Parliament St, Toronto, ON M5A 3A4 ‎
    (416) 955-0362

    Value Village
    924 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1J5 ‎
    (416) 778-4818
    valuevillage.com

    Goodwill Toronto
    4975 Dundas W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1B6 ‎
    (416) 207-9691

    Value Village
    1319 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6H 1P3 ‎
    (416) 539-0585
    valuevillage.com

    Goodwill Toronto
    585 St Clair Ave W, Toronto, ON M6C 1A3 ‎
    (416) 656-5550
    goodwill.on.ca

    Salvation Army
    1447 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6R 1A1 ‎
    (416) 536-3361 ‎

    While the key to thrifting is frequency - don't expect to find a pristine Betamax copy of The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires on your first trip - these places can be quite traumatic and are therefore not recommended for the faint of heart. Everyone else, get digging!

    Leslieville gets its own flea for summer 2013

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    Leslieville FleaEast enders seething with jealousy (not to mention irritation at an eternity in transit) over the Junction Flea can now rejoice—and maybe even compete. Leslievilleis about to get its own flea market, and Sunday, June 16 marks the first one. Treasures for grabs will range from furniture and antiques to vintage items to art and photography.

    Thus far, vendors include the likes of Scandimania (modernist jewelry, Canadian studio pottery, etc.), Objektkul (renewed and repurposed items, like furnishings),Tatiana Kozlov Design (one-of-a-kind, handmade pouches). There are also a number of vintage clothing vendors. Sounds like fun times, and at the very least, a good opportunity to pick up gifts for summer birthdays and grads.

    The markets will be held on the third Sunday of each month behind the Duke between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., at Queen and Leslie. Check out the Facebook page for updates.

    Photo of Tatiana Kozlov Design

    Breakout Toronto Bands: SlowPitch

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    SlowPitch Toronto BandBreakout Toronto Bands features local artists that we think you should give a listen to.

    Who is he?

    SlowPitch is Cheldon Paterson, a DJ-turned-turntable artist, instructor at east end DJ school Off Centre, and lover of sci-fi who moved to Toronto from Grenada when he was four years old. He currently lives in the city's west end, where he's been crafting his sound and vision full time.

    SlowPitch has been around for about three years and is Paterson's newest musical endeavor: he's also a member of turntable band iNSiDEaMiND, and has performed in the past as DJ Vision, Professor Fingers, and ProEf. After trying as ProEf to create a more portable setup, sans turntable, Paterson recognized the importance of having something special on stage and committed himself to exploring any new realms his turntable could conjure. With that, SlowPitch was born.

    Paterson's since collaborated with filmmakers and video artists (most recently at TV Party), instrumentalists, dancer and spoken word artists — though he still hungers to soundtrack more futuristic fantasy films and visual mappings.

    SlowPitchHe sounds like...

    A sci-fi odyssey — but more on that in a minute.

    One of the forces behind SlowPitch's success is his versatility. He names out-there acts like Kid Koala, John Cage, Birdie Nam Nam, DJ Krush, and Bjork as influences.

    Working with both deep-creeping drones and slow building rhythms to suit his sound to his environment, Paterson uses a special, more versatile turntable called a Vestax, which allows him to slow his sound down by 50 per cent, together with a KAOSS pad, MPC, mixer, and little else.

    Paterson doesn't ever just press play on his records, and sometimes there's no record on the turntable at all. With the EQ high, he'll work with the vibration of the table itself to create beats, or (don't let your parents read this) touching the needle-head itself to create bass sounds which lend themselves to the cinematic narratives he imagines.

    I asked Paterson what's going on visually in his brain when he plays.

    "Fantasy science fiction, future stuff, what the world could turn into, crazy future technologies, interesting creatures: I like that because I feel like my sound evokes those kinds of visions. Some sounds I'm creating are new sounds — sounds that aren't heard — and I imagine a strange world that is alive and moving and unpredictable. I'm inspired thinking about other worlds; it helps me to make my music. Building sound-scapes to go with images imagined."

    SlowPitch 2Hear him / see him

    SlowPitch keeps busy: he's played one shots in Sweden and London, appeared in Toronto at the Images Festival alongside Tim Hecker debuting Emoralis (an audio/visual performance he spent the winter perfecting), and just returned from Montreal's Mutek festival.

    You can see him this Saturday at BLK BOX opening up for experimental UK techno artist Actress, where Paterson promises not an ordinary set but something he calls an "adventure soundtrack".

    "I like to challenge people with sets, not just playing but challenging. I have mixes on Soundcloud with talking in between, like sci-fi inspired imaginary stories: experiments, and segues. It will be fun: some noise and experimentation, and some beats. There will be visuals too."

    SlowPitch will also be performing Emoralis at the upcoming Sound In Motion festival, and will release an album, also titled Emoralis, on Montreal's Phonosaurus Records soon. From dark lofts, clubs, and cinemas to galleries and festivals, who knows where else SlowPitch is going to show up. Channel your inner Agent Mulder and keep your eyes on the sky.

    This week on DineSafe: Hooters, Amaya, Mavericks Pub, Dhaba, Ghazele, Grill Master

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    DineSafe TorontoThis week on DineSafe, Hooters on Adelaide made the shit list with no fewer than eight infractions. Apparently employees there failed to properly wash utensils and operate in such a way as to mitigate food safety issues. But, hey, that's okay, because titties. There were no closures this week, but North York Danforth Food Market clocked in at 11 infractions (none of them crucial, though). Also, just FYI, Toronto has a restaurant called The Shizzle Dizzel. That's right. It's not on this list, but you can check out its DineSafe review here.

    Hooters (280 Adelaide St. W.)
    Inspected on: May 30
    Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
    Number of infractions: 8 (Significant: 6, Minor: 2)
    Crucial infractions include: N/A

    Amaya (108 Ossington Ave.)
    Inspected on: May 27
    Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
    Number of infractions: 7 (Minor: 2, Significant: 5)
    Crucial infractions include: N/A

    Ghazele (504 Bloor St. W.)
    Inspected on: May 29
    Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
    Number of infractions: 3 (Crucial: 3)
    Crucial infractions include: Failure to ensure food is not contaminated/adulterated, failure to maintain hazardous foods at 4 C (40 F) or colder, failure to maintain hazardous foods at 60 C (140 F) or hotter

    Dhaba (309 King St. W.)
    Inspected on: May 28
    Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
    Number of infractions: 7 (Minor: 2, Significant: 5)
    Crucial infractions include: N/A

    Mavericks Pub (804 Danforth Ave.)
    Inspected on: May 29
    Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
    Number of infractions: 6 (Minor: 1, Significant: 4, Crucial: 1)
    Crucial infractions include: Failure to maintain hazardous foods at 4 C (40 F) or colder.

    North York Danforth Food Market (3701 Keele St.)
    Inspected on: May 29
    Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
    Number of infractions: 11 (Minor: 3, Significant: 8)
    Crucial infractions include: N/A

    Grill Master (1700 Wilson Ave.)
    Inspected on: May 30
    Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
    Number of infractions: 5 (Minor: 3, Crucial: 2)
    Crucial infractions include: Failure to maintain hazardous foods at 4 C (40 F) or colder, failure to maintain hazardous foods at 60 C (140 F) or hotter.

    La Rosa's Bakery Deli and Snacks (209 Augusta Ave.)
    Inspected on: May 29
    Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
    Number of infractions: 4 (Minor: 1, Significant: 2, Crucial: 1)
    Crucial infractions include: Failure to ensure food is not contaminated/adulterated.

    House of the Week: 102 Joicey Boulevard

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    102 Joicey TorontoThis home at 102 Joicey Blvd. (just west of Hoggs Hollow) looks like a cross between a sauna and the interior of M.C. Escher's cranium. The house totally defies any pre-existing norms and constructs of what a house should look like, and instead just subverts that shit into oblivion.

    Storeys? Forget about it. This place has nine 'levels' accessed by open staircases. Check out this video to see what I mean. The design is truly imaginative, with a hyper-modern twist on '60s-style wood paneling.

    102 Joicey TorontoSPECS

    Address: 102 Joicey Blvd.
    Price: $4,299,000
    Size (square feet): N/A
    Storeys: 9 levels
    Bedrooms: 4+1
    Bathrooms: 8
    Parking Spaces: 3-car garage
    Property Taxes: N/A

    102 Joicey TorontoNOTABLE FEATURES

    • Salt water fish tank complete with exotic fish
    • Hidden service kitchen for entertaining
    • Wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows in some rooms
    • Inground pool
    • NEON LIGHTS AND MUSIC IN THE BATHTUB. What!?
    • Two laundry rooms
    • 250-bottle glass wine cellar

    102 Joicey TorontoGOOD FOR

    Fancy bowling. Fish enthusiasts.

    102 Joicey TorontoMOVE ON IF

    You're afraid of stairs. You're conventional. Or you're not able to express your desire for defamiliarization via the purchase of a multi-million dollar home.

    ADDITIONAL IMAGES

    102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey Toronto102 Joicey TorontoRead other posts in this series via our House of the Week Pinterest board

    What's a Saturday night like at the Brunny?

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    the brunnyEverybody seems to have an opinion on the Brunny, even those who haven't been in a decade or more. But what's the place really like if you give it a chance? I entered with a bit of skepticism, but was determined to give this most notorious of U of T hangouts the college try.

    Find out what it was like in my review of The Brunswick House in the bars section.

    This is where bicycles come to die in Toronto

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    toronto bike scrapThe death of a Toronto bicycle can come about in a number of undignified ways: untimely accidents, mechanical failures, and abandonment await even the most beloved of steeds. This spring, the city performed its annual clean-up blitz, tagging and removing the tragic, unwanted bikes left hogging lock space on the public right of way while fixing potholes, removing graffiti, and picking up litter exposed by melting snow.

    Though there's a burst of activity at the end of winter, the city tags and removes bicycles year-round.

    The collected bikes are sorted into two piles under the supervision of Mike Perikleous and Ken Ridgeway at the city's solid waste management division: those in good enough shape to be sold at auction and those so battered they only have value as scrap metal. The latter are typically missing vital parts or in the process of being consumed by rust.

    toronto bike scrapWhen an abandoned bicycle is reported using 311 or spotted by one of the litter operations team the city issues a notice warning the owner the bike will be removed if it isn't claimed. If the bike is still there after 7 days, the city cuts it free and holds it in storage for 60 days.

    Very few people come to claim bikes at this stage; the city averages a 1,000 removals a year and only three were reclaimed in 2012, according to Kyp Perikleous from the city's Right of Way Management team. During the spring clean-up 322 bikes were tagged for removal - not one was claimed by the owner.

    The lucky ones get a new chance of life at auction. "We put them in containers and ship them down to fleet services (the city division responsible for vehicles)," says Mike Perikleous as we inspect the current stockpile of disintegrating bikes. "They take 5 or 10, bunch them up, and auction them off in a bundle ... to auction them off one by one would take ages."

    toronto bike scrapThe auctions are held on the last Saturday of every month at North Toronto Auction in Innisfil. Typically the bundles go for between $10 and $30. The city received just $741.44 - roughly $3.88 a bike - in 2012 before the cost of shipping and sales commission was deducted.

    "We don't make much money on this," says Vukadin Lalovic from fleet services. "In September 2012 we sold 60 bikes. It was 10 in a bundle for between $10 and $15. In January 2012 we didn't have any, in February nothing."

    The bikes that are sent for scrap fetch between 5 and 10 cents a pound. Recyclers remove non-metal parts (handlebar grips, plastic pedals, etc.) and throw what's left of the unwanted bikes into a giant shredder designed to tear apart cars. The machine separates out steel, aluminum, and other metals, and the raw materials are melted down and re-sold.

    There's a chance the metal could eventually become a brand new bicycle, thus completing the cycle of life, but an abandoned junker is just as likely to end up as a can of beans or a washing machine.

    Should the city re-think how it handles the abandoned bicycles? Would it make sense to donate the bikes to charity or organizations like Bike Sauce and Bike Pirates?

    MORE PICTURES:

    toronto bike scraptoronto bike scraptoronto bike scraptoronto bike scraptoronto bike scrapChris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

    Image: Chris Bateman/blogTO


    You can now get beer delivered with your groceries

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    Beer Delivery Groceries TorontoEarlier today Steam Whistle Brewing announced a partnership with Grocery Gateway, a division of Longos that handles home grocery delivery. The partnership means that if you're ordering groceries for home delivery, you can add a few Steam Whistles to your order as well.

    The service, which naturally comes at a premium means you'll be able to order 12 packs of bottles, 6 packs of cans, ($1.50 fee) or even single tallboys of pilsner ($0.50 fee) to your grocery order (the press release even boasts that they'll be delivered chilled!).

    Unfortunately, if you're thirsty right now, you'll still need to put on pants and leave the house for beer (or call someone else). The press release was devoid of one important piece of information, namely "How fast can you bring me the beer?!" so I called Grocery Gateway's customer service line and confirmed that the fastest delivery possible is next day — specifically, if you order beer or groceries today before 7pm, you can expect your order to show up sometime tomorrow between 6am and 7am (but, hey, what a great wake up call!).

    While it's only Steam Whistle for now, and only when ordered from a grocery delivery service, this partnership might just be just the first step toward Toronto's craft brewers finding innovative ways to sell their products in a province that often makes it hard for them to do so, and that could be good for everyone.

    Is this a step in the right direction?

    Photo from Steam Whistle's Facebook page

    The top 10 wine lists in Toronto

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    Wine Lists TorontoThe top 10 wine lists in Toronto don't have to be all about massive cellars and 50 year old vintages. Although the city has its fair share of internationally acclaimed restaurant lists with 1000+ bottle selections, over the last few years a new crop of wine bars have offered an alternative way to go about satisfying one's lust for the most noble drink there is. Shorter lists with more esoteric offerings are now a regular part of the landscape, while a focus on local wine is starting to develop that actually stands a chance of securing a following. It's a good time to be a wine drinker in Toronto, and in honour of that, here are my picks for the top 10 wine lists in Toronto.

    See also:

    The best wine bars in Toronto

    EXECUTIVE CLASS

    Via Allegro
    You might not expect a restaurant in an Etobicoke strip mall to be the country's premier destination for wine, but what's that book/cover saying again? At any given time, Via Allegro will have between 5000-5500 selections of wine, with world class selections of Italian and Rhone reds, amongst others.

    Le Select
    A French wine lover's dream, Le Select's ample cellar — there's about 1000 labels on offer — is heavy on vintages from Bordeaux, the Rhone, and Burgundy. Look for attainable (and superb) bottles from the Languedoc or save up for something with 30 years on it — the mark-up on the dusty stuff is surprisingly good.

    Opus
    It must suck to be a chef with an ego at Opus. All everyone ever does is talk about how fantastic the wine list is. This is a place for the deep-pocketed. Petrus verticals? Check. Ditto for Grange, Tignanello, Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Dominus, and a host of others. Got a special occasion coming up? Go all out with a magnum of 1961 Petrus. It'll only run you 45K. Too much? There's always a 1990 Romanée Conti (25K).

    Barberian's Steakhouse
    Let's be honest, lots of other candidates could have taken this spot (like any one of those linked below), but Barberian's gets the call for its old school charm, which is matched with a wine list that puts heavy focus on those most steak-friendly of wines, big California cabs, Bordeaux and the wines of the Rhone Valley.

    Also of note:

    SHORT BUT INTERESTING

    Midfield Wine Bar and Tavern
    Although the list at Midfield typically hovers at about 15 bottles or so, it'd be hard to find a better curated selection anywhere in the city. Sommelier Christopher Sealy works hard to source wines from lesser known producers or those made with less common varietals, and the results are often fantastic. The only problem is that I often leave bemoaning the fact that it'll be tough to find wines of similar interest at the LCBO.

    Mavrik Wine Bar
    If there's a couple of rules at Mavrik, they're pretty straightforward. No LCBO wines and no big producers. Even burgeoning wine snobs like me struggle to recognize most of the stuff here, and that's just the way it should be. If you want to shake things up or try something new, Mavrik's a good place to start.

    Edulis
    Carrying on in the tradition established by Anton Potvin at the Niagara St. Cafe (the former occupant of the space in which Edulis now operates), the wine list here is a bit all over the place, with the emphasis put on value, quality and intrigue rather than a particular country or region. Everything on the list is worth trying, including those at the lower end of the price range.

    Also of note:

    LOCAL FOCUS

    Globe Bistro
    The wine list at Globe kind of has it all. There's ample by-the-glass options and a few genuine show-stoppers on the reserve list, but where it really sets itself apart is with its local offerings, which number in the hundreds. Better yet? Most of the list (i.e. everything but the reserve bottles) is half off every Sunday. Sold.

    Archive Wine Bar
    Archive may not match a place like Globe in terms of selection, but it's rare to see a wine bar focus so heavily on local grapes. Here you'll find top notch but not widely available wines from producers like Hidden Bench, Norman Hardie, and 13th Street.

    Also of note:

    CHEAP

    Le Paradis
    The mark-ups at Le Paradis make you cringe when you see the same bottles at other restaurants for twice the price. And while you'll always do better taking advantage of a cheap corkage deal at restaurants that offer that sort of thing (stay tuned for a list of those places), this is pretty much as good as it gets as far as general lists go. Stick with the stuff from the Languedoc; it's by far the best value.

    Thanks to the New Listerine UltraClean for sponsoring our wine-soaked adventures.

    New Kensington taqueria has great drinks and a patio

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    Kensington TacosKensington's newest hotbed of taco activity is now open in the former site of The Bellevue. While the tacos I tried we excellent, the most distinguishing ingredients at this joint might just be the abundance of patio seating and an amply stocked bar.

    Read my profile of Valentia in the restaurant section.

    A slippery love story

    Radar: A Century of Chinese Cinema, A Moment In Music, The Dandy Warhols, InspiraTO Festival 2013

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    Dandy WarholsToronto events on June 5th, 2013

    FILM | TIFF presents 'A Century of Chinese Cinema'
    Today marks the opening of "A Century of Chinese Cinema", a two-month festival and exhibition presented by The Toronto International Film Festival and Royal Bank. This is a major film and cultural event in the city that will find approximately 80 films screened, in addition to an exhibition component, which will feature work specifically commissioned for this event, including installations created by cinematographer Christopher Doyle, and visual artist Yang Fudong. There will also be roundtables and lectures, and many screenings will find creators giving introductions or talks in the theatre. 'A Century of Chinese Cinema' runs until August 5th.
    TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West) see website for details

    PHOTOGRAPHY | A Moment In Music - A Month-Long Interactive Photo Exhibit By The Indie Machine
    An interesting photography exhibit that borders on installation art opens tonight at Steam Whistle. Toronto-based music blog/radio show/concert series, The Indie Machine, has put together A Moment In Music, which features the work of several Indie Machine photographers: Ryan Stephenson Price, Liz Gareri, Darryl Block, and Alexa Pavliuc. An extra dimension that is explored here is an audio component, which will allow you to listen to an iM pick from each captured musical act's catalog. There will also be performances by London's Lonnie In The Garden and TO-based band, Attagirl. This show is a unique combination, celebrating both music and photography, in an age where the ubiquity of both make it even more necessary for exhibits like this to curate and present the "real deal" to us. A Moment In Music runs until June 30th.
    Steamwhistle (255 Brenmer Boulevard) 7PM

    MUSIC | The Dandy Warhols + The Shivas
    Portland, Oregon's alt-neo-psych rockers, The Dandy Warhols, hit town for a show tonight at The Phoenix. The Warhols aren't touring a new album, which is what normally brings a touring band through town. Last years release, This Machine got some very mixed reviews. Instead, they are touring on an older album, their 2000 release Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia, which happens to be celebrating its 13th anniversary this year. Word has it that the album will be played in its entirety. This band definitely has what could be called a "cult following", or at least a very devout one, so there should be some good energy at what will likely be a well-attended show. The Shivas are also on the bill tonight.
    Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne Street) 8 pm $43.50

    THEATRE | InspiraTO Festival 2013
    InspriaTO continues tonight! This theatre festival has been going on since the end of last week, and focuses on the "ten-minute play" as its format of choice. Think of these pieces as theatrical haiku, with much substance distilled down to the art form's bare essentials. There are four distinct "shows" being presented, each centered around a specific attribute or theme, and each show containing six ten-minute plays. Tonight's early show is the "Orange Show" (at 7pm), bearing the specification "plays that take place in a tunnel", and the later show is the "Red Show" (9pm) where each play contains the opening line, "I see a rabbit". InspiraTO runs until June 8th.
    Alumnea Theatre (70 Berkeley Street) 7PM/9PM $15 ($12 students)

    Also Of Note

    Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

    Photo by giovani on Flickr

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