blogTO | Posts by rickmcginnis

Get to know a barista: Josh Flear of Sam James

Rick McGinnis — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:59:57 EDT

Everybody loves Sam James. It's the coffee bar without the panini press or the WiFi, where you probably won't get a seat, on a tiny strip of shops on the otherwise retail-barren Harbord Street. But it's become the gold standard for an espresso shot, and a place to bother making the detour up from College or down from Bloor. Even if the avuncular, eponymous Sam isn't behind the counter, you'll likely get your coffee from a barista like him - someone as unflappably casual as Josh Flear, who walks a few feet from the espresso machine to do his profile, the better to keep an eye out for the next unexpected rush.

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Crowd descends on Leslieville for espresso throwdown

Rick McGinnis — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:44:01 EDT

Te Aro held its second annual Espresso Throwdown this past weekend, packing the cavernous main room of its Leslieville coffee house in aid of an appropriately coffee-themed charity. A tireless team of baristas volunteered their time to keep the crowd caffeinated with non-stop pulls of a selection of European-roasted beans, while Bellwoods brewery provided the (pale) ale and Fidel Gastro's set up their pop-up restaurant for the night.

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The Best Blues Bars in Toronto

Rick McGinnis — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:44:22 EDT

The best blues bars in Toronto have come a long way from the tavern back rooms and down-at-heels cocktail bars where the blues were played here a couple of decades ago. The Albert Hall at the Brunswick House was the archetype of this period, but it's long gone, and something's changed in the meantime.

Where once you might have seen old hippies playing Muddy Waters tunes at full volume in between cherished appearances by ancient blues legends, the Toronto blues scene has become a fully vested part of our jazz scene, and has benefitted from an influx of young musicians in the process. The clubs are also a lot more friendly to musicians, many of them run by players, with an obvious passion for the music and adventurous booking policies. You're a lot less likely to hear blaring versions of "Mannish Boy" these days, and a lot more likely to tuck into a decent dish of blackened fish with your blues.

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The National Home Show meets Canada Blooms 2012

Rick McGinnis — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 10:40:04 EDT

For the first time ever, the National Home Show and Canada Blooms are sharing a venue and a ticket price, which means that you can indulge all of your nesting fantasies under one very large roof. Because this is where we all end up, after shopping for clothes has become depressing and partying is simply exhausting, and you realize you'll never drive a Lambourgini on a summer weekend afternoon, and that most of your personal equity is tied up in your home and whatever scant square feet of grass and weeds are out back.

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Get to know a barista: Brett Johnston of Crafted by Te Aro

Rick McGinnis — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:58:45 EST

Crafted, the Ossington satellite of Leslieville coffee house Te Aro, is just finishing its morning rush when I show up to interview Brett Johnston. It's a cozy shop, so it always seems busy, and on this bright, spring-like morning it's all very Ossington — everyone looks like they own a shop nearby or have a deadline this afternoon; at a table by the window an architect is going through the floor plan of a renovation on his laptop with a client.

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Get to Know a Barista: Jason Galbraith of Rooster Coffee House

Rick McGinnis — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:34:34 EST

It's always amazing how many people you'll find at Riverdale's Rooster Coffee House on any given mid-morning or mid-afternoon - times that are usually lulls for downtown cafes on busy streets. The big table at the back with the pile of board games is full, but no one is playing Scrabble, and Jason Galbraith is behind the bar, pulling shots for the crowd.

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Canadian International Auto Show 2012

Rick McGinnis — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:35:43 EST

If the streets are banal reality, auto shows are a fantasy land where every car is unique, shiny and new, and the occasional auto is a true work of art. It's a thought you can't escape after you spend a day at the Canadian International Auto Show and head out onto streets filled with dusty, salt-sprayed cars in sensible shades of brown, blue and silver, the overwhelming majority of which are the dull quotidian types: compact sedans and hatchbacks, trucks and SUVs, with nary a supercar to be seen.

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Dufferin Underpass finally set to get public artwork

Rick McGinnis — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:37:19 EST

Over a year has passed since the venerable Dufferin jog passed into history with the opening of a new underpass connecting Dufferin Street to itself on either side of Queen Street West. The novelty of bypassing Gladstone Avenue might have worn off by now, but the tunnel itself still seems austere, lined as it is with two rows of conspicuously blank insets in the concrete that were supposed to house artwork.

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Where to get your car pimped out in Toronto

Rick McGinnis — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:19:11 EST

Road salt and slush are two reasons why Toronto will probably never have the almost venerable custom car culture that you see in the United States. A tour through the industrial parks and main drags in the far suburbs will reveal, however, that it still thrives here, despite the long winters that send these chopped, dropped, flame-covered, bass-pumping labours of love under tarps and into garages for at least four months of the year.

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Where to get your haircut while getting a tattoo

Rick McGinnis — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:20:49 EST

The classic barber shop may be experiencing something of a resurgence in Toronto, but that doesn't mean that every worthwhile place to get a cut operates out of a conventional space. Located at Red9 Tattoo near Danforth and Woodbine, this shop is little more than a single chair. But the razor and scissor work is fantastic.

Read more in my review of Prince Cut Kings in the Fashion Stores section.

Get to know a barista: Derek Johnston of Dark Horse 3

Rick McGinnis — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:20:47 EST

If they keep breeding at this rate, there'll probably be a Dark Horse near you before your birthday, and the latest location seems to be doing just fine on Queen near Bathurst, in an area now known for its abundance of cafes. I've been told to be at the Queen West Dark Horse at noon, where I meet Derek, who's also in charge of the place just before the lunch rush begins. There's a quiet moment, however, so we head to the back of the shop.

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Get to know a barista: Matthew Sonberg of R Squared

Rick McGinnis — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:12:02 EST

There's a flock - a herd? a gaggle? a brace? - of baristas at the counter when I drop into R Squared near Queen and Palmerston, and a lineup constantly forming. I don't know who I'm supposed to talk to, but the owner pulls me aside and introduces me to Matthew. We head to the back of the shop where the music is a bit quieter and there's a gap in the laptops.

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The Best Schnitzel in Toronto

Rick McGinnis — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:03:31 EST

The best schnitzel in Toronto has made a long voyage here, from the tables of middle Europe to a city where paprika was an exotic spice and Wiener Schnitzel was like Pad Thai in a town that closed up tight on Sundays. A couple of the restaurants on this list actually date from this era before tapas and cheap sushi, and have survived mostly because there are probably few things as filling as a big slab of breaded and deep fried meat on a plate of potatoes and slaw.

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Get to know a Barista: Liam Bradford at Crema Coffee

Rick McGinnis — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:56:09 EST

If there were any half dozen points at which the Junction began to change from a sleepy retail dead zone into an up and coming neighbourhood it would probably have to include the opening of Crema, which has not only helped revive street life on this stretch of Dundas West but survived the opening of a Starbuck's right across the road. Its youthful staff has probably been part of its key to success, which has spread into a mini-chain of cafes across the city, staffed by baristas like Liam, interviewed during a lull on a rainy Tuesday morning.

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The Best Wine Bars in Toronto

Rick McGinnis — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:46:04 EDT

The best wine bars in Toronto will sell you wine by the glass, but that's about all they have in common. From deluxe spaces for banker and high-end eateries to little storefronts with wine lists you could fit on the back of an envelope, the range and style of the wine bar has certainly evolved from the fern bar of the '80s. Right now it seems like Italian food is the dominant wine bar nosh, but that's as momentary as the decor, as the wine bar has become a great place for a decent chef to try something new under the cover of a thicket of merlot.

Here are the best wine bars in Toronto.