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By Gary Roberts, November 15, 2009

Coffee at the Luna Cafe

There was a young 20-some-year-old girl sat opposite me yesterday, as I stopped for a coffee at the Luna Café at Argyle & Dovercourt. She was listening to her iPod while reading a magazine. Her eyes never remained still for long, though, on whatever article she was supposedly reading. She kept glancing furtively at what few patrons were in the coffee shop, including myself. It was a bit disconcerting to feel like I was being watched continuously, as I sat and read at my own table not too far from hers. It made me nervous to the extent that I found myself copying her by peeking in her direction a few times. Once or twice our gazes clashed and we looked away quickly, as if caught in an illegal act of some sort. It was beginning to irritate me and I had to make a conscious effort to focus on my reading and not look over at her table.

I wonder what she was thinking at the time? I wonder if she’s now writing a blog entry about the strange guy in the café who kept looking in her direction?

Whatever. It was all very weird.

Our visual fencing didn’t stop me from enjoying the last rays of the sun, however, as it streamed through the windows of the café. I’d discovered this place while on a bike ride a few months ago and had promised myself I’d return to sample the coffee. I was also looking for a bite to eat, but the waitress told me they’d sold out of pastries and the kitchen was closed (it was around 3:30 p.m.). My only option was a packet of small, soft cookies. Meh! I settled for the coffee only, which was very good; thick, dark, strong. It packed a punch!

I read for a while—revising for a class I’m taking—before making my way home after an hour-long stroll around the west end of the city. The day was glorious, for November, but I could feel a chill in the air whenever I was out of the sun’s rays.

As I left the café, I couldn’t help but risk one more glance at the gadfly by the window, whose eyes quickly darted away from mine as she pretended to go back to reading her magazine.

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By Gary Roberts, November 5, 2009

I went to see the play True Love Lies, recently; a comedy about a husband, wife, son and daughter—and a former lover whose surprise return heralds chaos for all.

Canadian playwright and director Brad Fraser manages to weave a fast-paced plot in this Toronto production, now playing at the Factory Theatre at Bathurst and Adelaide.

On the surface, nothing seems out of place with this nuclear family. They’re content to live their lives cooking, working, laughing and loving, arguing every now and then or just spending time on the computer. Sounds normal, doesn’t it? Like lots of other families in most neighbourhoods in almost every North American city.

But the recipe for this marriage’s success is spoiled by the addition of an extra ingredient; enter into the mix the father’s former gay lover, back on the scene after living in New York. His return to former haunts has repercussions that turn the family’s comfortable world upside down as confessions are made and past lives revealed. Each family member has to come to terms with a sudden change in the dynamics and their relationship to one another.

That’s what this play is all about; the interaction on a personal level between individual family members, and an acceptance of the past as each moves forward into the future.

There are moments in the production when the acting can be a bit wooden. The deadpan delivery of some of the one-liners is a bit forced. On the other hand, those one-liners are witty enough to catch the audience off guard, so the occasional hamming it up is easy to forgive.

Overall, the play is a lot of fun; the dialogue and familial shenanigans make for a quick, cheeky and tragically funny experience.

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By Gary Roberts, October 21, 2009

Getting ready for the next exhibit in the Toronto Sculpture Garden

On my way to work today, I noticed what appear to be the beginnings of a fresh installment in the Toronto Sculpture Garden.

Nestled on the east side of La Maquette restaurant at Church and King Streets, just opposite the St. James Cathedral, this little al fresco gallery has served as home over the years to a number of artistic displays; such as an artist’s studio in the shape of a giant mushroom and, more recently, a 1970s-inspired Disco Fallout Shelter.

These structures have, over the last 12 months or so, both delighted and intrigued passers-by, as they make their way to the office or stroll around the city in hopes of discovering such gems in their role as tourists.

There’s a waterfall that flows down the side of the wall just through and to the left of the main entrance to the Sculpture Garden. It looks as if the way is being paved here (or boarded, to be more precise) for yet another sculpture; right now, there’s a wooden platform currently under construction directly beneath the waterfall.

According to the Sculpture Garden website, the soon-to-be-revealed piece of art is to be named Bear Hunt, a work by Dean Drever, a Haida artist who was born in Edmonton but who now lives in Toronto.

Drever’s piece will depict four orange bear figures as they move towards the wall, passing through the water, into the stonework, and whatever world lies beyond.

October 28 is the launch date for this new exhibit.

Update: And here are the bears!

Bear Hunt

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By Gary Roberts, September 10, 2009

The intersection of Bay and King Streets in the downtown core of Toronto can be a busy and treacherous crossing for pedestrians. This is where the Go Train crowds gather as they make their way to work in the mornings, or as they head back to the train station on their way home at the end of the day. One of the city’s busiest intersections has to be Yonge and Dundas, but Bay and King can be pretty damn hairy at times, too.

That’s why—even with the benefit of lights—it’s best to always look where you’re going and check for errant traffic before stepping foot on that asphalt.

I noticed on my way to work this morning that the little fella below mustn’t have been following this piece of advice, and he obviously paid the price on the road at Bay and King for not doing so…

Street art, or road kill?

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By Gary Roberts, August 28, 2009

Too much butter, maybe?

I went for my usual Friday fried rice at the St. Lawrence Market at lunchtime today. As I was walking along the street, I remembered that yesterday was the start of the annual Buskerfest, so the streets were packed with people by the time I got there.

I managed to get to my favourite Chinese food stall before dying of starvation, however, and sat down outside to eat and people-watch before heading off to the coffee shop for a post-lunch Americano.

Sitting at a table outside gave me another opportunity to watch life go by, as I read the paper, drank my coffee and watched a huge, fat caracature of a French chef, waddle by and stop every now and then to have his photo taken with all the children.

There are some really good street acts to see at the Buskerfest, so if you’re in the neighbourhood this weekend I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

Witness performers skateboarding through fire, riding a unicycle across a slack rope and juggling, and enjoy street theatre by comedians, contortionists, magicians, mimes, human statues, yo-yo artists, acrobats and more.
www.toronto.com

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By Gary Roberts, August 24, 2009

I hadn’t been out on my own on my bicycle for quite a while, so it was with with pleasure that I set off from home on two wheels yesterday afternoon, to wander the streets and weave my way through the west of the city in search of hidden gems.

It doesn’t always happen that I come across places of interest, but as I was speeding down Dovercourt at Argyle—trying to catch the lights before they turned red on me—I spotted a funky little café on my left and hit the brakes immediately to turn back and go take a look-see.

What I discovered was this beautiful little corner café with a definite European feel to it: small bistro tables outside; a big old gorgeous leaded window with black painted wood frames; a glass-brick-floored entrance way (with big plants reaching up to press their leaves onto the bottom of the glass from the basement below!), which then opened onto a cozy, intimate, sun-drenched, exposed-brick space inside.

The name of the venue was the Luna Café and it was a wonderfully charming little place.

I asked the waitress if I could take a look at the menu, which was fairly standard with its sandwiches, wraps, salads, roast potatoes and vegetables; as well as your usual weekend brunch fare of bacon & eggs, omelets, Eggs Benedict and its many variations.

It was around 5 p.m. when I stumbled (or rode?) upon the Luna Café and its staff was getting ready to close shop, but I’m really looking forward to venturing out to 181 Dovercourt Rd. again sometime soon, so I can sample the coffee (which still smelled great at that time!) and food there.

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By Gary Roberts, August 21, 2009

Promo images for the single

I’ve always like that song, by R. Dean Taylor. Ironically, he was from Toronto, Ontario, which is where our guests Tony and Marie were flying out of last night, on their way to Indianapolis, Indiana, to visit family. Having stayed with us for a few days already, they left our home yesterday afternoon for the second leg of their trip to North America.

I have to say, they were the perfect guests—clean, tidy, extremely helpful in the kitchen; they even washed, dried and folded all the bed sheets and towels they’d used during their stay, and then left a ‘thank you’ card and two bottles of wine on the kitchen counter. It was certainly a pleasure to have them stay.

I wonder if they had Indiana Wants Me playing in their heads as they sped towards the airport in a taxi—and as huge black thunderclouds loomed on the horizon, preparing to unleash their fury on southern Ontario?

There was some fairly widespread damage done last night by the resulting tornadoes that touched down in certain areas. The atrocious weather conditions caused all flights from Pearson Intl. Airport to be canceled, including the one Tony and Marie were scheduled to take.

So it came as no surprise when we finally received a text message from them, asking if they could come back in a cab and stay with us some more!

The earliest flight they could take, after the scheduled one was canceled, was for the following day. Given that they were only staying in Indianapolis for a couple of days before flying on to Montreal, it didn’t make sense to fly back and forth across the country in such a short period of time. So, we made enough food for four people, cracked open the wine they’d left for us and threw open our door for their return visit.

At least there were crisp, clean sheets already washed and folded for them.

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By Gary Roberts, August 19, 2009

Fruit and vegetable stalls in the St. Lawrence Market

It’s nice having guests stay with us. It’s like having your own little family there, ready and waiting when you arrive home from work and shout: “Hi, kids - I’m home!” Of course, our current guests aren’t exactly kids; they’re two friends of mine, Marie & Tony, from way-back-when in the U.K. I got to know Marie at work, when I still lived in England, and she and I hit it off and became friends over a long period of time. Her husband, Tony, also worked for the same company as us, although he arrived there much later. They’re both very well traveled and have lived in a number of countries over a period of 10 years or so, including such places as China, Switzerland, Spain, Singapore and Dubai.

What makes such guests even more welcome is when they happen to be good cooks! I met Marie at lunchtime yesterday and we grabbed a bite to eat at the historic St. Lawrence Market in downtown Toronto. After we ate, I left her as she went on her merry way and did some food shopping for later on that evening, when she and Tony had promised to cook us a meal. So by the time El Franco and I got home yesterday, everything was prepared for a delicious dinner of:

• Freshly-made bruschettas for the appetizer
• Some melt-in-your-mouth risotto with leek, sage and plenty of parmesan
• Fresh strawberries cooked in a reduction of balsamic vinegar and basil, with dollops of soy ice cream

Hmm, mmm! Tony and Marie, if ever you read this: there will always be a place for you in our home, our hearts, and more importantly, our kitchen!

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By Gary Roberts, July 27, 2009

We’re plagued by raccoons right now. The little buggers have a den up under our neighbours’ roof, right next to our rooftop terrace. They usually come out at dusk to begin scavenging for food—after they’ve used our terrace as their personal, conveniently-located latrine, of course. Pretty gross!

Over the weekend it rained heavily, so we were stuck inside most of the time. At one point I was looking out the window at the back yard during a lull in the deluge, when I saw two of the young raccoons climbing up our fence. I’m not sure if they were just being playful and curious, or if they were looking for food, but it was certainly unusual to see them out during the day.

As much as they can be pests, they’re also damn cute, the little devils!

I managed to grab my camera and and shoot some footage of the inquisitive critters before startling them. See video below.

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By Gary Roberts, July 24, 2009

1.) Take an ordinary-looking van.

2.) Instead of pimping it out with chrome, bling, or any of the other accoutrements you see on some vehicles that outwardly display the maturity of the people inside, fit it bumper-to-bumper in a soothing, green carpet of AstroTurf to calm the senses and pique the interest of passers by on their way to work in the morning.

3.) Slap a strategically-placed advertisement on the side and you suddenly have people asking “Who the hell is Jones Cane Sugar Soda?”

This is what I saw on the way to work this morning, and even though I’m probably not in the market for cane sugar soda right now, it immediately grabbed my attention in a funky kind of way.

I thought it looked pretty cool. A soothing bit of eye candy on wheels on this dull, grey, and very un-summerlike morning!

Click on the image for larger version