Saturday morning we were greeted by an abnormally warm breeze. Ahh that freak heat wave had rolled over the northeast. Sweaters were quickly replaced by short sleeves and sunscreen… Damn! -- forgot the sunscreen. But hey we’re in Canada – how hot would it get when spring had barely sprung? No need to think of that as we had coffee/breakfast/more coffee on our minds.
Our destination was a little neighborhood breakfast joint called Yasi’s Place in West Toronto/High Park. I don’t know whether it’s just because we’ve had shiteous breakfasts galore for the last 7 months, but damn Yasi’s was amazing! And of course Matt and I loved the funky, eco-friendly vibe of the place. Yes, it’s arty and v. crunchy in case you’re wondering. First up was a much needed coffee – the best mug o’ joe I’ve had at a restaurant thanks to the folks at I Deal Coffee and their fair-trade, organic beans. Seriously this drip coffee was as tasty as our Jasper coffees made in the Bodum. And even better, we got a free refill!
Matt looked at the menu for a whole 5 seconds before deciding on Benny’s Cousin, Yasi’s version of eggs benedict consisting of 2 poached eggs served with peameal bacon on an organic English muffin with a dill hollandaise. I chose the scramble of the day with portobello mushrooms, spinach, and caramelized onions and a side of homemade tempeh sausage. Both dishes were served with a salad of greens, sprouts, and seeds in a lemony vinaigrette and their signature curried home fries. My scramble also came with a piece of dense, chewy multigrain bread from ACE bakery. You could seriously taste the love and care in every bite of this breakfast. (Yasi’s was so good we actually went back the next day for the Auntie Rosa before heading back to Florida.) Do not miss this place if you’re in Toronto!!!
Our afternoon was spent exploring downtown Toronto starting with Harbourfront. I don’t know whether I was tired or just hot and bothered, but the city just didn’t do it for me. Granted we were very impressed by the St. Lawrence Market. One of my biggest regrets of the day was not buying some gorgeous roasted artichoke hearts to munch on…. But 85 F and humidity were taking a toll on both my patience and the street cars. So Matt and I limped our way down Queen St West before heading back to the inn. But first we decided on a cold one (or two) at Loon’s pub where I discovered 1) the fruity yet spicy yumminess of Rickard’s White and 2) my lobster-red chest…. Bloody heat wave!
Fast forward an hour or two. Matt and I scrubbed up nicely for the highlight of this particular trip to Toronto – seeing the great Great Lake Swimmers at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. So off we went for a quick bite to eat in Chinatown before the show. The sky was looking very ominous at this stage so we picked up the pace as the winds started to blow. About 5 blocks from our destination, 60 mph winds blew up a dust storm over the city before the rain started to pelt down. So much for dolling up for the show! I looked like a dirty, drowned rat as we sought refuge at the New Ho King on Spadina. Over ridiculously large and mediocre plates of sizzling beef and bean curd with veggies, we watched massive lightning bolts illuminate the CN tower and rain coming down in horizontal sheets. By the time we were finished with our meal, the violent front had moved on leaving only a cold drizzle in its wake.
Like sheep we followed the masses (OK maybe not masses…) through the maze-like Exhibition complex until we finally found the QET. This was a seated venue, and we were lucky to be only 5 rows back from the stage behind the band’s families. After seeing the GLS in tiny, dive bars in both Atlanta and Asheville a few weeks earlier, we were thrilled to experience the band in a large theatre with plenty of home crowd support and love. Highlights included Bob Egan on pedal steel, opening with "I Saw You in the Wild", a haunting solo performance of “Merge, A Vessel, A Harbour” and Basia Bulat’s guest appearance. What a magical end to our 3-day introduction to Canada!
Epilogue
As previously mentioned, we sneaked in a second Yasi’s breakfast before putting the pedal to the metal and thundering down the QEW at a whopping 50mph towards Buffalo. With the tin can (sorry rental car) due back at 1pm, we had little time to explore Niagara. But never fear, we did manage to get lost for 20 painful minutes in the tackiest downtown strip in Canada before illegally parking to take a quick picture of Horseshoe Falls and finally crossing the border back into the US.
Our destination was a little neighborhood breakfast joint called Yasi’s Place in West Toronto/High Park. I don’t know whether it’s just because we’ve had shiteous breakfasts galore for the last 7 months, but damn Yasi’s was amazing! And of course Matt and I loved the funky, eco-friendly vibe of the place. Yes, it’s arty and v. crunchy in case you’re wondering. First up was a much needed coffee – the best mug o’ joe I’ve had at a restaurant thanks to the folks at I Deal Coffee and their fair-trade, organic beans. Seriously this drip coffee was as tasty as our Jasper coffees made in the Bodum. And even better, we got a free refill!
Matt looked at the menu for a whole 5 seconds before deciding on Benny’s Cousin, Yasi’s version of eggs benedict consisting of 2 poached eggs served with peameal bacon on an organic English muffin with a dill hollandaise. I chose the scramble of the day with portobello mushrooms, spinach, and caramelized onions and a side of homemade tempeh sausage. Both dishes were served with a salad of greens, sprouts, and seeds in a lemony vinaigrette and their signature curried home fries. My scramble also came with a piece of dense, chewy multigrain bread from ACE bakery. You could seriously taste the love and care in every bite of this breakfast. (Yasi’s was so good we actually went back the next day for the Auntie Rosa before heading back to Florida.) Do not miss this place if you’re in Toronto!!!
Our afternoon was spent exploring downtown Toronto starting with Harbourfront. I don’t know whether I was tired or just hot and bothered, but the city just didn’t do it for me. Granted we were very impressed by the St. Lawrence Market. One of my biggest regrets of the day was not buying some gorgeous roasted artichoke hearts to munch on…. But 85 F and humidity were taking a toll on both my patience and the street cars. So Matt and I limped our way down Queen St West before heading back to the inn. But first we decided on a cold one (or two) at Loon’s pub where I discovered 1) the fruity yet spicy yumminess of Rickard’s White and 2) my lobster-red chest…. Bloody heat wave!
Fast forward an hour or two. Matt and I scrubbed up nicely for the highlight of this particular trip to Toronto – seeing the great Great Lake Swimmers at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. So off we went for a quick bite to eat in Chinatown before the show. The sky was looking very ominous at this stage so we picked up the pace as the winds started to blow. About 5 blocks from our destination, 60 mph winds blew up a dust storm over the city before the rain started to pelt down. So much for dolling up for the show! I looked like a dirty, drowned rat as we sought refuge at the New Ho King on Spadina. Over ridiculously large and mediocre plates of sizzling beef and bean curd with veggies, we watched massive lightning bolts illuminate the CN tower and rain coming down in horizontal sheets. By the time we were finished with our meal, the violent front had moved on leaving only a cold drizzle in its wake.
Like sheep we followed the masses (OK maybe not masses…) through the maze-like Exhibition complex until we finally found the QET. This was a seated venue, and we were lucky to be only 5 rows back from the stage behind the band’s families. After seeing the GLS in tiny, dive bars in both Atlanta and Asheville a few weeks earlier, we were thrilled to experience the band in a large theatre with plenty of home crowd support and love. Highlights included Bob Egan on pedal steel, opening with "I Saw You in the Wild", a haunting solo performance of “Merge, A Vessel, A Harbour” and Basia Bulat’s guest appearance. What a magical end to our 3-day introduction to Canada!
Epilogue
As previously mentioned, we sneaked in a second Yasi’s breakfast before putting the pedal to the metal and thundering down the QEW at a whopping 50mph towards Buffalo. With the tin can (sorry rental car) due back at 1pm, we had little time to explore Niagara. But never fear, we did manage to get lost for 20 painful minutes in the tackiest downtown strip in Canada before illegally parking to take a quick picture of Horseshoe Falls and finally crossing the border back into the US.
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