Best of Toronto
The Best Soup in Toronto
The best soup in Toronto is the perfect comfort for a cold winter day. And even though the weak light of spring is finally in view, there's still plenty of time to enjoy a bowl of soup in its perfect context - when there's a damp chill in the air outside. Soup might be the most elemental meal of all, a dish so simple and nourishing that it's sometimes treated like medicine. City
The never-ending lament for Queen West
Anyone who's lived in Toronto for at least a few years has their own Queen Street in their head -- it's usually the place they remember from their first visit, a strip of storefronts that are always in their memory, and make a ghostly overlay on top of the shops that are there now. It's only been gone for a few months, but I'm sure there's some young person for whom Pages never existed, and the expanse of papered-over windows at Queen and John is a blank slate waiting to be filled in -- whereas for me, whatever moves in next will always be haunted by the shadow of Marc Glassman and his tables of cultural theory books. City
Hockey Players vs. The City of Toronto
While it's tempting to dismiss the ongoing dispute over city ice rinks as a symptom of citywide midwinter cabin fever, there's a lot more going on beneath the complaint launched by the Leaside Girls Hockey Association against North Toronto Memorial Arena in December, alleging discrimination in their denied attempt to get ice time. What was unusual up front was the obvious commitment the mayor demonstrated over the issue of equitable distribution of ice time, and the rapidness with which he urged council and city bureaucracy to move on finding a solution - one that would inevitably see city administration folding the running of the eight community-run rinks into the 40 they already oversee. For anyone with a skate on the ice, however, it was a scenario that galvanized them into action.
Eat & Drink
Who Eats Ice Cream in February? Toronto Ice Cream and Gelato Shops Face Winter Months Conundrum
Facing the long, grimy chill of February, it's hard to imagine why anyone would think Toronto is a great place to sell ice cream, never mind how gelaterias and ice cream shops can survive for not just seasons but decades. It's probably a testament to a wishful thinking that helps us survive a winter that seems to last half the year, and a summer whose heyday is as brief as the interval between the buzz of the first cicada and the last ripe tomato.At La Paloma, an anchor of St. Clair's Corso Italia neighbourhood since 1967, only one of the three gelato fridges is stocked and working, featuring the core of the shop's bestselling flavours. Owner Salvatore Giannone says that he sells more lemon and chocolate than any other flavour - twice as much right now, up to three times in the summer. In July and August the lineups go out the door and a table comes at a premium; right now I'm the only person in the shop, as a trickle of locals drop by for a chat and an espresso.
City
Condo Development Forcing Move of Heritage Building at John and Adelaide
The building that currently houses the Fox and Fiddle pub at John and Adelaide will be taking a bit of a trip soon - up a foot or so, and then across the street for a short rest before it gets moved down the block a few dozen yards to its new home near the base of an as-yet-unbuilt 42-storey condo tower.It's a rare instance where the city's heritage authorities have prevailed over developer convenience and set in motion the most dramatic of preservation actions, and Christopher Borgal has made it happen.
Music
The End of the Big Bop
It's likely many of the people who'll lament the passing of The Big Bop - the Queen and Bathurst club that was Toronto's home to metal, hardcore and other music with a notable underage following - are the sorts of people whose opinion isn't usually sought. Many of them can't vote, don't buy much, and certainly won't be among the clientele for the new tenants rumoured to be taking over the space - an American home furnishings chain that specializes in the loft market. 
