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allabootmatt

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More great press in the Times travel section. Admirably long on interesting neighbourhoods and shops and short on the tacky "attractions" circuit that a lot of folks seem to think the city needs to improve in order to bring in more visitors.

May 18, 2008
Frugal Traveler | Toronto
O Canada, Where Have Your Bargains Gone?
By MATT GROSS

ONCE upon a time, not all that long ago, there existed a magical country that was a lot like the United States, only less expensive. Its enchanted currency — the other dollar — allowed Americans to indulge as they could not back home. This delightful fantasyland was called Canada, and for centuries it was synonymous with frugality.

No more. With the precipitous decline of the United States dollar, Canada has slid off the budget-travel map, and nowhere is the challenge to stay frugal greater than in Toronto, a city of 2.5 million whose ascendancy is not merely attributable to fluctuating exchange rates. Toronto has, in recent years, become a hub of development, an eating-and-shopping paradise and even a celebrity magnet: Jay-Z held his bachelor party at the Lobby Bar and Restaurant, where the Zen Margarita costs a whopping 25 Canadian dollars (about $25 U.S., give or take a buck, since the two currencies have been close to parity since last fall).

As the Frugal Traveler, however, I live for this sort of challenge, and so in late April, I set off for Hogtown — so nicknamed for the abattoirs that once dotted downtown — to attempt a weekend of revelry on a budget of $500. I arrived early on a sunny Friday afternoon, winging in on Porter Airlines, a budget carrier that at the end of March began nonstop service from Newark (with one-way fares as low as $99; see www.flyporter.com). Not only was the flight itself surprisingly pleasant (free red wine — in an actual glass!), but it landed me at the City Centre Airport, on an island but right downtown, just a 400-foot ferry ride away.

From that ferry, the 15-minute walk to my hotel began to reveal to me the city’s many facets. To begin, there was that skyline — the dome of the Rogers Centre and the jumble of skyscrapers, all anchored by the iconic, 1,815-foot CN Tower straining heavenward like a space ship. Closer to my path, I saw crisp apartment buildings, green parks interleaved among the highways, a skein of railroad tracks threading into the distance and the excavated foundations of coming luxury condos.

My destination was an anachronism, an old-school three-story motel squeezed in among more recognizably urban buildings. Once the Executive Motor Hotel, it was now the 88-room Travelodge Toronto Downtown West, and it had come recommended by my Toronto friend Murray as affordable and well-situated — if generic. Murray was right on each count: 271.10 Canadian dollars got me two nights in a ground-floor box with mismatched floral fabrics, and I got $50 in rebates from www.travelodge.com.

Plus, I couldn’t have asked for a better location: King Street West and Bathurst. To the east lay the tourist sites of downtown; to the north and west, hip Queen Street West and a dozen ethnic microneighborhoods. After verifying that the motel’s free WiFi worked, I walked to Queen Street West, where the elite hold court among rainbow arrays of cupcakes and pastries (at Red Tea Box), Korean- and Indian-fusion restaurants (Seoul City, Indus Junction), toy robots for grown-ups (at Magic Pony) and robotic toys for adults (at Come As You Are).

Most of what I browsed was beyond my budget by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But at Sydney’s, a clothing shop with well-worn dark wood floors, I found a bargain amid the designer labels: a baby-soft raglan-sleeve shirt by Alternative Apparel that fit perfectly. I got it for 16.95 Canadian dollars.

Queen Street West is not, however, solely a yuppie playground. Plenty of less upscale businesses thrive among the boutiques, including Bakka Phoenix Books, which was founded in 1972 and calls itself the oldest science-fiction bookstore in Canada. Bakka Phoenix isn’t just for geeks — Toronto sci-fi can be quite literary (see Margaret Atwood) and trendily mainstream (see Cory Doctorow).

The employees and I couldn’t agree on exactly why Toronto produces so much sci-fi, but they suggested “Spin,†by the Hugo Award winner Robert Charles Wilson, as an exemplar of the city’s style. It cost 11.54 Canadian dollars, and they threw in a free ticket to the documentary about Harlan Ellison, “Dreams With Sharp Teeth,†the next night at the Hot Docs film festival.

The nearby free Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art was temporarily closed, so I wandered east into the grittier, less highfalutin parts of Queen Street, where I perched on a parking-spot curb to watch students and streetcars amble past. Walking had worked up my appetite, so I turned to the city dweller’s standby, the hot dog.

As a New Yorker, I am loath to admit this, but I think Toronto has a better handle on street dogs: grilled, not steamed, with a panoply of toppings unavailable in the five boroughs — corn relish, pepperoncini, bacon bits, green olives, pickle slices, sriracha sauce. At 2.50 dollars, they do, however, cost more than my hometown tube steaks.

But the hot dog did not quite sate, and after a twilight beer on the patio of the Hideout on Queen (8 dollars with tip), I hopped the subway north (2.75 dollars). (This was to be my first and last subway ride; the Toronto transit system was closed by a strike that night.) Not far from the Rosedale stop was my destination: Rebel House, a pub that, according to Chowhound.com, had affordable, above-average pub food.

I sat at the bar, drank a rich, bitter Neustadt 10w30 Brown Ale, devoured my mushroom-rich meatloaf (27 dollars with tax and tip) and listened to my 20-something neighbors discuss the ice-hockey game on TV. After evaluating the physique of Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ star, one woman declared, “I’m going back to Pilates!â€

The next morning, after free toast and coffee at the Travelodge, I embarked on a whirlwind tour of Fort York, the waterfront, Union Station and the Hockey Hall of Fame. Actually, these prime tourist sites went by rather speedily — I was on my morning jog, following a roughly four-and-a quarter-mile route from the Web site of a local club, the RunningRats. It was a nice way to experience this city without getting trapped by anything too gimmicky. (Also, it was free.)

After a shower, I left to explore more microregions of the city. Ossington Avenue, just north of Queen Street West, was up and coming, with design shops like Ministry of the Interior hawking beautiful Alfredo Haberli bookshelves (12,297 Canadian dollars) and vinyl wall art (49 dollars and up).

I was more interested in Rua Vang Golden Turtle, a Vietnamese restaurant reportedly frequented by Susur Lee, perhaps Toronto’s hottest chef. An excellent bowl of pho — the beefy broth was also surprisingly light — cost 5.25 dollars, about the price of a spoonful of guava sorbet at one of Mr. Lee’s places.

As I walked north, Ossington became more Vietnamese (billiards, video stores), then Portuguese (banks, sports bars) and a bit Italian (kitchen supplies). Very multiculti — no wonder Jane Jacobs, the proponent of urban diversity, settled in Toronto.

Then I turned east on Dundas Street. Realizing I would miss the free Heritage Toronto tour of terra-cotta architecture at 1:30, I stopped at Caffé Brasiliano, whose open window offered a perfect place to sip a machiato (1.75 dollars) and observe neighborhood goings-on. Farther east, Chinese characters replaced “falamos português†signs, and the smell of roast duck and pork-filled pastries hovered in the air.

Nestled in Chinatown, however, was Kensington Market, a few rough-and- tumble blocks of vintage stores in crumbling row houses. I had heard Toronto was great for thrifting, but all these 10-dollar hockey jerseys, 50-cent chiffon scarves and 4-dollar bright plastic sunglasses made my head spin.

At the Rage, however, I found a measure of peace and creativity. Each garment was customized by a local designer or artist: Converse All-Stars slathered with Swarovski crystals; a skirt silk-screened with a bearded man saying, “I used to skate.†I walked out with a rep tie embroidered with a scorpion (29 Canadian dollars), plus a 3-dollar CD sampler of Toronto bands.

That got me thinking: What to do at night? A bit farther north, on College Street, I visited Soundscapes, a music store recommended by the Rage’s owner, and asked Ernest, a clerk, a variant of the Bakka Phoenix question: Who’s most representative of Toronto music today? His answer: Sandro Perri, a singer-songwriter who just happened to be playing that very evening.

And so, after dinner with Murray at Musa, a semi-Mediterranean restaurant — I had a hearty falafel sandwich and a couple of beers for 25 dollars — I headed to a big, creaky old theater near the University of Toronto. This was Tranzac, the Toronto Australia New Zealand Club (admission 10 dollars), but there was nothing particularly antipodean about Mr. Perri. He stood alone onstage, coaxing a startlingly full sound out of his electric guitar, thumping a somber beat on a single, small bass drum and crooning lines like “Interdependency depends when we unwind†in a voice that was equal parts Stan Getz and Kermit the Frog — in a good way!

As he played, I closed my eyes and tried, for the first time in a weekend of incessant walking, to really relax. The music was unhurried, soulful and inventive, with just enough futuristic techno-tricks to elevate it beyond simple folk.

A metaphor for Toronto? Possibly. The ideal way to finish the weekend? Absolutely.

Total: 482.30 Canadian dollars (including 26 dollars in cab rides; Sandro Perri’s CD, “Tiny Mirrors,†for 16.94 dollars; and an awesome 16-dollar Sunday brunch at Aunties and Uncles).

THE MELTING POT TO THE NORTH

WHERE TO STAY

Downtown Travelodge, 621 King Street West; 416-504-7441; www.travelodgetorontodowntown.com.

WHERE TO EAT & DRINK

Aunties and Uncles, 74 Lippincott Street; 416-324-1375.

Caffé Brasiliano, 849 Dundas Street West; 416-603-6607.

The Hideout on Queen, 484 Queen Street West; 416-910-2015; www.thehideoutonqueen.com.

Hot dog stands are all over the downtown area; hot dogs generally cost $2.50, sausages $3.50

Musa, 847 Dundas Street West; 416-368-8484.

Rebel House, 1068 Yonge Street; 416-927-0704; www.rebelhouse.ca.

Rua Vang Golden Turtle, 125 Ossington Avenue; 416-531-1601.

WHAT TO DO

Heritage Toronto, 157 King Street East; 416-338-0684; www.heritagetoronto.org.

Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, 952 Queen Street West; 416-395-0067; www.mocca.toronto.ca.

RunningRats, www.runningrats.com.

Tranzac, 292 Brunswick Avenue; 416-923-8137; www.tranzac.org.

WHERE TO SHOP

Bakka Phoenix Books, 697 Queen Street West; 416-963-9993; www.bakkaphoenixbooks.com.

Ministry of the Interior, 80 Ossington Avenue; 416-533-6684; www.ministryoftheinterior.net.

The Rage, 13 Kensington Avenue; 416-588-5177; www.ragetoronto.ca.

Soundscapes, 572 College Street; 416-537-1620; www.soundscapesmusic.com.

Sydney’s, 795 Queen Street West; 416-603-3369; www.sydneystoronto.com.
 
This may be the best tourist review article on Toronto I've ever read. He really took time to explore the city and look at it for what it is.

The sad thing is that he probably got to know the city better than a lot of people who've lived in the GTA for years.
 
They do a good job eh? It reminds me a lot of the 2006(?) NYT magazine article on the TO music scene, which was about as good a portrait of a cultural moment as I have ever read.

Also lots of fun that the writer stayed at the Travelodge, even though he seems to have missed the fact that its immediate environs are one of the hippest bits of the city. I have a long-term dream that it will be bought up, left exactly as it is on the exterior, and turned into the local version of LA's Standard Hotel, but I think a Freed demo and condo is much more likely.
 
Also lots of fun that the writer stayed at the Travelodge, even though he seems to have missed the fact that its immediate environs are one of the hippest bits of the city. I have a long-term dream that it will be bought up, left exactly as it is on the exterior, and turned into the local version of LA's Standard Hotel, but I think a Freed demo and condo is much more likely.


No. No. Not "left exactly as it is on the exterior". At least not in its present state of EIFS disfigurement. Go that extra step and allow your long-term dream to see its restoration back to 60s Motel Modern...
 
Good article about traveling to Toronto...

Matt: Good article about traveling to Toronto on a budget-the NYT's Matt Gross enjoyed his stay-he might have missed a few points but I say no one is perfect. He is right about US travelers-Canada is more expensive with the Dollars so close to par these days. He writes that even though it is more expensive budget-minded travelers can still enjoy a good visit.
LI MIKE
 
The benefit of a better Canadian dollar is that I've managed to get to New York City twice this year - and I didn't have to be all that frugal.
 
No. No. Not "left exactly as it is on the exterior". At least not in its present state of EIFS disfigurement. Go that extra step and allow your long-term dream to see its restoration back to 60s Motel Modern...

yes it was a sad day when they destroyed that motel in the name of kitsch.

pathetic timing as well. its almost a certainty it WOULD be a uber-hip Standard type hotel if they'd just left it alone.

another great brainwave--and far greater tragedy was the destruction of this, on the north west corner of King and Bathurst:

kingbathurst.jpg


in order to put up this fine specimen in the mid-eighties:

17587_8.jpg



I'd like to strap the developer of this thing to a Breuer chair and get all medieval on his ass.

The whole King strip would have been spectacularly anchored on the west side by that lost building.

hotel? condo? arts complex? if only....
 
And why, pray tell, was that lovely old building taken down? Do I really want to know?
 
And why, pray tell, was that lovely old building taken down? Do I really want to know?

it was torn down to make room for that stellar piece of garbage that sits like stinking poop on the corner now.

i remember before they demolished it, the developer tried to sell the new building by pointing out that the new building ALSO had a clock tower. so we weren't really losing anything at all!

in the end it was just very very bad timing, as the era of the conversion of the 19th century warehouse had not yet begun. the Carpet Factory at King and Dufferin, Berkeley Mews at Front and Parliament etc. were only a few years off....

sad sad sad
 
Wow, that truly boggles the mind. It would have made a wonderful conversion. Seeing these kinds of atrocities over and over makes me wish there were some kind of movement in this city to get some of the best buildings of Toronto's past re-built accurately (not some cheesy, cheap faux interpretation). Europeans seem to be good at it.
 
IIRC there might also have been "structural" issues as well; it either caught fire or partially collapsed or threatened to do so during demolition c1982.

Also note that it was the "next stage" of a multi-stage redevelopment, starting with the mid-70s block on King to the west. So, in effect, the jig was already up long before--even though the block was already infested with artists, the unsung 48 Abell of its time...
 

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