The missus and I went to
Toronto for a night, leaving the kiddos here with their live-in grandparents (another benefit of three-generational living). Growing up in
Western New York, the city was for me
The City, but I had not been there this millennium, during the time in which I was living in the
Far East and my parents were sojourning on the other coast.
All in all, it seemed a lot smaller than I remember it. The
Eaton Centre, which seemed so huge when I was a kid, failed to impress me. It was good to walk down
Yonge Street and
Spadina Avenue, but
Chinatown, Toronto was not at all as exotic as it used to be. We did, however, have a great meal at
Asian Legend, whose
Mapo Tofu and
Szechuan Chicken Soup satisfied our mutual desire for something spicy.
More fun for me was exploring
Queen Street West and
Bloor Street, areas I only started exploring in my twenties.
Koreatown, Toronto was, like
Koreatown, Fort Lee, just like one of the shabbier neighborhoods in any city back in the home country.
The Annex was a new neighborhood that I did enjoy. It was similar in feel to the
South Wedge here in
Rochester, which begs the question, why did we really need to go to another country in the first place.
The Beer Station, our penultimate stop for the night, provided one answer:
Sir Perry's Pear Cider. The beverage from England was much to my wife's liking. My choices were less than stellar.
Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale was an
unhoppy choice, literally. It's a crime that they get away with calling this pisswater an
India Pale Ale! Do Canadians persist in making fun of us for
our beer? I then opted for the far superior
La Fin Du Monde, from
Quebec but I confess, Belgian-style ales are not really my thing. However, a second and even better answer to my question was to be found across the street at
Smoke's Poutinerie. What better way to end an evening than with french fries covered with cheese curds and gravy?
Well, , to make a late night even later, the missus and I did find a few better ways to end the evening back at the highly-recommendable
Shuter House, a.k.a. the
Heritage Townhouse. The place is centrally located in an historic building, and is both clean and cheap. What more could you ask for? We has reserved the
Winter Room, but they gave us the roomier
Garden Room at the same price. When we return with the kiddos, the
Autumn Room of
Maple Leaf Room will be ideal.
The trip coincided with the expiration of my passport, which happened precisely (and perhaps symbolically) at the moment we were enjoying our
poutine. I had planned a speech about my taxes and government workers upon returning to the United States, but the border guard waved me through, almost as easily as the old days before
GWOT. Still, the Canadians were nicer. You'd think American border agents would at least be kind to the people who pay their salaries.
Labels: America the Beautiful, Asia, Corea, Drink, Family, Food, Her Majesty's Dominion of Canada, Rachacha, The Middle Kingdom, Tyranny, Vive le Québec Libre, War and Rumors of War