[gabe]

I don't normally go to places like this, but was at Stock today for lunch....first time in the Trump building....

Fantastic impression overall, good place for a business lunch, although not cheap. The couple next to us had the chocolate specialty for dessert, they present it with someting that looks like a cheese cutter, you cut up the pieces of chocolate and then eat by hand.

Room was full, and noisy..you could actually hear some construction sounds (drilling) from above where the pool is being worked on, over the music in the room..

Very sumptuous decor, lots of black (washrooms are all black marble)...and very, very friendly staff...everybody helpful and smiling..

Thanks for info! I see the menu is all A La Carte and no tasting menus. In time maybe that will change. Trump Chicago has both tasting and A La Carte menus. Problem with Toronto people would rather spend $200 on Leaf tickets instead of a 12 course tasting dinner.

 

[gristle]

Problem with Toronto people would rather spend $200 on Leaf tickets instead of a 12 course tasting dinner.

Now, now. Watch out for those gross generalizations.

 

[kkgg7]

If you can't speak French then they automatically hate you.

When I was in Paris with my dad and older brother in '97, we were hassled by an artist outside of a restaurant where we were drinking Cokes, on our way to Sacre Coeur. He asked us three times if we wanted our portraits drawn and we politely declined each time, then he said, "Fine, save your money and buy three more Cokes!"...and stormed off. That was just one example of several that displayed their collective snobbishness. I'd never go back to France without a translator.

I don't think they hate you. They just feel offended why you speak no French yet come to their land acting as if everyone is responsible for serving you in English. Honestly, this "English is the world language and everyone should speak it“ attitude held by many anglophones can often be really annoying.

I was in northern where an Italy guy said something like "It's Italy, why do you speak English to me". I only regret that I don't speak much Italian and eventually came up with a few Italian words I learned before, and I don't blame him whatsoever. In the end, it is our responsibility to make ourselves well understood in their country, instead of expecting everyone else in the world to speak English. It is like an Italian guy will not whine about the lack of service in Italian in Canada.You can argue about the importance of English all the way you want, but in an non-English spoken country, nobody is supposed to be able to speak English, nor should they be willing to.

But there is another explanation: he thought you were an American. Do you how self-important Americans can be sometimes.

 

[FAC33]

If you can't speak French then they automatically hate you.

When I was in Paris with my dad and older brother in '97, we were hassled by an artist outside of a restaurant where we were drinking Cokes, on our way to Sacre Coeur. He asked us three times if we wanted our portraits drawn and we politely declined each time, then he said, "Fine, save your money and buy three more Cokes!"...and stormed off. That was just one example of several that displayed their collective snobbishness. I'd never go back to France without a translator.

Friends of mine have told me that this attitude is mainly confined to Paris. Those who have visited Normandy or the south of France have encountered very friendly people.

 

[brockm]

Well, it's only the romance languages and cultures that get offended. If you go to Scandinavia, you don't see that. They have more or less accepted that English is de facto lingua franca. Germans too

My German colleagues have all talked to me about this, and whenever they're anywhere but Germany, they assume the default language is English.

The specific problem with the French is that their language once was the lingua franca. All diplomats spoke it. Etc.

The French of course still see such special importance to their language and culture that the idea of a neutral location for the EU parliament wasn't good enough for them. They insisted that it be shared between Brussels and Strasbourg -- you only need look at a map to see how absurd this is.

 

[drum118]

Feb 16

 

[TOBoy]

Nice pix! Thanks for the round drum.

 

[coolcanadian]

If everyone who only knew English stopped visiting Paris, their tourism would drop dramatically.

 

[steveve]

the interiors are slick. even from the street, they're eye catching...

From yesterday, trump on the skyline with shangri-la:

 

[kkgg7]

Friends of mine have told me that this attitude is mainly confined to Paris. Those who have visited Normandy or the south of France have encountered very friendly people.

so not speaking English is defined as "unfriendly"?

 

[vegeta_skyline]

Problem with Toronto people would rather spend $200 on Leaf tickets instead of a 12 course tasting dinner.

I find the thought of spending half a days pay on either of those things ridiculous.

 

[Tarantulal Downpours]

I don't think they hate you. They just feel offended why you speak no French yet come to their land acting as if everyone is responsible for serving you in English. Honestly, this "English is the world language and everyone should speak it“ attitude held by many anglophones can often be really annoying.

I was in northern where an Italy guy said something like "It's Italy, why do you speak English to me". I only regret that I don't speak much Italian and eventually came up with a few Italian words I learned before, and I don't blame him whatsoever. In the end, it is our responsibility to make ourselves well understood in their country, instead of expecting everyone else in the world to speak English. It is like an Italian guy will not whine about the lack of service in Italian in Canada.You can argue about the importance of English all the way you want, but in an non-English spoken country, nobody is supposed to be able to speak English, nor should they be willing to.

But there is another explanation: he thought you were an American. Do you how self-important Americans can be sometimes.

I understand that. We did do our best to use the limited French we knew, but they were still a-holes. And in Europe, everyone learns English in school. They pretty much all can speak it better than Canadians can speak French, so it's not as if the French don't understand us; they just don't want to use English.

I find the thought of spending half a days pay on either of those things ridiculous.

I can't figure out why people are so obsessed with a team that has only won 5 division titles in 95 years and hasn't even made it to the finals since the league expanded beyond something that was smaller than the CFL. I guess that's why they always bring in guys like Johnny Bower and Darryl Sittler for pre-game ceremonies; to trick the fans into thinking that the Leafs have such a rich history?

 

[Towered]

Wow, that bar is delightfully tacky - I mean, gold chairs? You gotta love that!

 

[gabe]

I find the thought of spending half a days pay on either of those things ridiculous.

People spending $200 on a tasting menu is no different than spending 200 bucks on a theatre ticket sporting event or a Paul McCartney ticket. It's all entertainment!
5 star chefs are the rock stars or the Wayne Gretzky's of the culinary world. Trump Toronto landed Canadian Executive chef Todd Clarmo. i'm looking forward to trying some of his creations.

 

[CITY_LOVER]

Wow, that bar is delightfully tacky - I mean, gold chairs? You gotta love that!

In this case, yes, it does look ... off .... I'm curious about something, Towered, do you consider gold jewellery 'tacky' or 'ghetto'? Just wondering...