Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2023 i Toronto Life

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“This spa is not a place for millionaires”—Therme Group CEO Robert Hanea, p. 28 September 26 was a hallelujah moment at BMO Field. The women’s national soccer team secured its spot at the Paris Olympics in front of 29,212 fans—an attendance record that usurped the men’s 2022 World Cup qualifier. It also reflected a broader trend. Women’s sports have skyrocketed in popularity, and Toronto has the money, diversity and infrastructure to be the epicentre of the action. In January, the Professional Women’s Hockey League will launch with Toronto as a founding member. In 2025, AFC Toronto City will debut with pro league Project Eight. And the city is a favourite for WNBA expansion—with rumours of Drake as a potential team owner.…

$500 Surcharge insurance companies are billing Ontario drivers who own cars that are popular with thieves. Police data shows that nearly 10,000 vehicles were stolen in Toronto last year—three times as many as in 2015. $1,200 Price Vijay Patel of Scarborough paid to fix his furnace and water heater after a power surge fried them. Toronto Hydro admitted that the damage was caused by an equipment failure but refused to reimburse Patel, saying there was no wilful misconduct on the corporation’s part. $605,000 Donation the University of Toronto’s law school received from Amazon to fund a series of anti-trust webinars. Following criticism from faculty over a lack of transparency and the threat to academic integrity, the school announced that it would return the money. $8,700,000 Amount owed to the NHL…

DURING THE PANDEMIC, Salah Bachir, former president of Cineplex Media, started sharing tidbits of his life on social media. People told him they wanted more, so with the help of a writer—his friend Jami Bernard—he decided to compile the stories into a memoir. First to Leave the Party: My Life With Ordinary People…Who Happen to Be Famous opens with Marlon Brando attending a Lebanese barbecue at Bachir’s parents’ house and goes on to chronicle intimate stories of friendships with Elizabeth Taylor, Muhammad Ali and Andy Warhol. In addition to his LGBTQ activism and arts patronage, Bachir is known for his support of new Canadian artistic talent; his massive contemporary art collection; and his flashy, blingedout style—especially his signature stack of pearls. We asked Bachir about the home decor items he’s…

THE INESCAPABLE CROONING of Mariah Carey signals that the holiday countdown has begun, so it’s time to start party-planning. And nothing says festive celebration quite like a multi-tiered seafood tower. One of the city’s most impressive piscine platters is found at Clockwork, the Fairmont Royal York’s gilded lobby bar. The so-called Sea and Be Seen is a—dramatic pause—$550 cantilevered brass sculpture that rises three feet above the table and is loaded with crustaceans, mollusks, ruby-hued tuna loins, gleaming caviar pearls and other subaquatic delicacies. Here’s a closer look at the treasures that make up Toronto’s most extravagant shellfish dish. Oceanic Honourable Mentions Black and Blue The Deluxe Seafood Tower at this opulent Financial District steakhouse embraces the more-is-more ethos. Underneath its crown of nigiri and sashimi, there’s a quartet of…

What is Therme, and how did a Viennabased conglomerate find itself in such a heated debate over Toronto land? Our company started in Europe 20 years ago, when new heating and cooling technology allowed us to bring the thermal-bath experience to the masses. About eight years ago, the Wynne government put out a call for bids to revitalize Ontario Place. We had already been talking about a North American flagship, and we liked Toronto for its diversity and vibe. In terms of opposition, the land use was decided by the province. I realize that a lot of people have sentimental attachments to Ontario Place, but 50 per cent of Torontonians were not born in Canada. They need a new history, a new place to connect to the water. And what…

CREATED FOR Art collectors and enthusiasts, mark your calendars for Art Toronto 2023, a world-class art fair featuring galleries from across the world. This year’s celebration is bigger and better than ever, showcasing 110 galleries with works from renowned and emerging artists from Canada, the United States and abroad. Raising the curtain Kicking off the event is the much-anticipated opening night fundraising celebration on Thursday, October 26, in benefit of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The gala is the perfect opportunity to catch a first glimpse of the works and buy from the fair, while enjoying drinks and light bites. Legendary Canadian curator Kitty Scott known for her visionary work at the Canadian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale as well as her cocuratorial work at the Liverpool Biennial, joins Art…

THE RENTERS: Adrian Chung, 36, an IT specialist, and his wife, Sarah Israel, the 37-year-old owner of the vintage shop Dwelling on the Past THE STORY: In late January, Adrian and Sarah were renting a condo off Eglinton when their landlord gave them an N12 notice, stipulating that they had to vacate by the end of May. It was a surprise, but they needed more space anyway. Sarah’s vintage inventory was being stored in three locations, and a new home would allow her to bring it all under one roof. They set their sights on Durham, where they could get more space for their money and be closer to Adrian’s Whitby office. Their wish list included two bedrooms, a garage and outdoor space with grass. With a $2,700 monthly budget, they…

THE COMPONENTS of a cocktail menu are pretty standard: liquor, simple syrup, soda, citrus, bitters, seaweed, mushrooms, bean sprouts—wait, what? At his Dundas West cocktail bar, Project Giggle-water, owner Alfred Siu offers a drink dubbed Pho Get About It, a rum-based beverage that’s all about savoury flavours. To make it, he starts with a mis en place of pho essentials: star anise, cinnamon, coriander, fennel, cloves and cardamom. Siu infuses Plantation rum with those herbs and spices, then shakes it with lime juice and a cilantro-basil rice milk syrup. The final creamy green product is finished with a sprig of Thai basil and some bean sprouts. It’s like the gazpacho version of pho, but boozy. Drinks like Siu’s soupy sipper lean harder into umami and oddball flavour combos than the…

I GREW UP IN WOODBRIDGE, in a close-knit family with two sisters. In 2011, I graduated with a bachelor of science from Western University, majoring in medical sciences. My next ambition was med school. I was ecstatic when I was accepted into the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, a joint program between Western and the University of Windsor. I had to adjust to a new group of talented and driven peers and master an overwhelming breadth of material. By my second year, I’d begun to excel, but it came at a cost. I spent all my time studying and often slept only three or four hours a night. Still, I had a loving family, supportive friends and a budding career. The future looked promising. One weekend in late January…

The Perilous Practice of Ranking Listen closely and you can almost hear the murmurous rage: Toronto Life is at it again. They’ve ranked every part of the city in one gaudy, infuriating list, pitting Leslievillians against Riverdalers, North Yorkers against L’Amoreauxois. Well, yes and no. We have ranked every neighbourhood—one through 158—with the vital assistance of some professional dataheads. But the idea isn’t to incite neighbourhood warfare or publicly shame those areas that placed near the bottom. Our city is growing so fast that it sometimes reminds me of raising a toddler. The grandparents don’t see the little gremlin for a few weeks and then remark on his wild growth spurt the next time they visit. Meanwhile, you, covered in spaghetti sauce, have barely noticed. In Toronto, if you miss…

JASMEET SINGH RAINA Crave’s Late Bloomer Dream job as a kid: “Anything in the arts, but I gravitated toward acting.” You knew social media was a viable career when… “I started paying for my university tuition and books with YouTube earnings.” Craft services go-to: “They made really, really good oatmeal on set—every day a different kind. I used to think it was boring white-people food, but no.” Comedy hero: “Dave Chappelle. Whether you agree with him or not, his ability to take risks and stay true to himself is admirable.” Toronto or LA: “Toronto. People here dress better than people in LA.” Favourite place to come up with ideas: “I wrote a lot of my show in Leslieville, at Tango Palace Coffee Company. I would go there every day. The…

IN 2016, MATT BARNES was married with two young daughters and living in a condo at Bloor and Lansdowne when he came upon a 19th-century red-brick church for sale in the village of Sheffield, near Hamilton. Barnes is a photographer, and he wanted a space that he could use as both a studio and an escape from the city. He bought it for $460,000. By the time Covid hit, Matt and his wife had split up, and he was dating fellow photographer Nikki Ross. They were shooting a project in Jamaica, and they needed a place to quarantine upon their return. “We thought, Why don’t we go to the church?” Nikki says. They loved it so much that they decided to live there full-time. They figured that they could drive to…

FOR THE SMALL-TOWN FEEL Sunnyside Provisions 287 Roncesvalles Ave. sunnysideprovisions.ca Next-level fulfillment is the goal at this Roncesvalles takeaway, grocery and bottle shop that corners the market on convenience. Here, business partners and hospitality-industry vets Sarah Lyons, Jeff Carroll and Laela Mahjoub O’Kelly stock the shelves with beautiful cheeses and spreads including St. Brigid’s Creamery butter, Irish snacks like Butler’s chocolates (because of Dublin-born Mahjoub O’Kelly), a selection of consignment wines, and Carroll’s line of pre-batched cocktails. Freezers are full of house-made soups and ready-toreheat meals (braised lamb shanks, sloppy joes and chicken paprikash inspired by Lyons’s Hungarian grandmother) for easy dinners. A takeout counter serves up sandwiches (hello, confit turkey), vegetarian and gluten-free poutine, and beerbattered Nova Scotia haddock with hand-cut fries. Customers can even order a glass (or…

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