blogTO | Posts by Tanja

Propane Depot Fire Lights Up Toronto Skyline with Massive Mushroom Cloud

Tanja — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 07:33:21 PDT

Details are sketchy at this point but an absolutely massive fire at Sunrise Propane near Keele & Wilson is filling the city skies with smoke, ash and just in the past hour, a massive mushroom cloud explosion that rocked the socks off of balcony observers -- see the youtube video footage below and live updates below.

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Pride 2008: Dyke Day Saturday in Photos

Tanja — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:40:05 PDT

Despite forecasted thunderstorms, thousands showed up for Pride Toronto 2008's Dyke March and Pride Saturday festivities yesterday. Of course, lucky us, the supposed forecast didn't hold true (what else is new?) and the afternoon was sunny and beautiful.

Saturday was a jam packed schedule of incredible concerts, drag royalty, burlesque, dancing and the all-important marching... photo highlights after the jump.

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Toronto, Prepare to Dance Yourself to Death This Weekend

Tanja — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:00:44 PDT

Toronto queer indie darlings, Dance Yourself To Death, are becoming one hot ticket these days, and thanks to hat-trick style gig booking this Pride Week, they're also making it pretty much impossible for you to miss a performance.

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Pride Toronto Hands Out Top Honours

Tanja — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:50:41 PDT

Last night, Pride Toronto rolled out the red carpet for their annual Pride Toronto Gala & Awards. The event honours local LGBTQ heroes as well as big name celebrities who've done their part to affect social change.

Thanks to the a few big name attendees and presenters like Sandra Bernhard, the event was very well attended by major media (watch those elbows, Global!), which will hopefully help spread the word about the work being done by many of these honourees...

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Artwherk! Opens Pride Week at Hotshot Gallery

Tanja — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:19:52 PDT

The 4th Annual "Artwherk!" exhibit is on!

Dedicated to showcasing the work of talented, emerging queer artists, the Artwherk! Collective has once again brought together an inspiring group of people this year. The Pride Week art extravaganza opened last night and runs through til June 30th at Hotshot Gallery .

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Subway Down & Shuttles Soaring After Spadina Station Shoot-Out

Tanja — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:38:09 PDT

Just stepping in after a long trek home tonight featuring police tape, shuttle buses and service delays after an all out shoot-out broke out on the subway at Spadina Station.

Holding back on profanity I feel compelled to hurl at the individuals who decided to make a subway car their personal battleground, I'll just share what's being reported right now.

Frequent, packed, shuttle buses are running between St. George & St Clair West station along Spadina & Bathurst St at this hour. CityNews is reporting that "Heavy gunfire erupted on a subway train just after 8pm." No one was killed but a woman was hit in the leg. City is also reporting that one of the suspects is, "a black male in his late teens or early 20s. He's 5'8, with a medium build, wearing a black baseball cap with a jean jacket and jeans."

If you have any information, call Police, post your comments here, and/or speak up.

Update: The National Post is adding a report that this all started with an argument between a two teenaged girls and three teenaged boys who boarded the train at the same time. Out came a knife, then a gun, then a girl in the hospital with, thankfully, non life-threatening injuries. More on that from the Post.

Update 2: The Star checks in with more witness statements.

Java House - Long Live Cheap Eats on Queen West

Tanja — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:45:24 PDT

Sitting on the corner of Queen West and Augusta, Java house is a ragged-yet-lovable little cafe/resto with a big patio, tiny kitchen and cheap eats menu that sees no borders.

Read more about Java House in our restaurants section.

Purple Onion

Tanja — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:40:00 PDT

When I was a kid, a trip to the Purple Onion meant crossing at least one of two railway lines to find a lone diner sitting in the middle of them at Keele & St Clair. At the time, there wasn't much of anything else to visit in the area - unless you like railways and stock-yards -- but still every weekend the place would be packed with working-class people, kicking back with a coffee and Purple Onion's steak & eggs.

Today, the area has been completely redeveloped, but the Purple Onion couldn't quite wait it out. Owners made a move to the thriving Junction community a little while back and re-opened on busy Dundas West.

Read the full review of The Purple Onion in our restaurants section.

House of Gourmet an Instant Favourite

Tanja — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:10:50 PDT

When going for dinner in Chinatown, it's so easy to stick to a few fave places and ignore the rest. Sometimes though, it's nice to try someting new... and that's where my head was when I walked up the front steps of House of Gourmet.

I was up for something different, and after a couple conditional pass signs in windows along Dundas, I remembered House of Gourmet. It's a big place, right in the heart of Chinatown, but I'd never really stopped there for a simple dinner. It was always some grand party where I didn't get a chance to eat much or order dishes I wanted. The menu is pretty varied though and the service fast, so I figured I'd see how they'd do with my favourite eats.

Read the full review of House of Gourmet in our restaurants section.

Great Northern Inspires the Early at Mod Club

Tanja — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:52:21 PDT

Review contributed by Paul Lancaric. All photos by Tanja-Tiziana.

On a recent road trip spanning Toronto to California, I was introduced by friends to Great Northern's music. We listened to their infectious album for most of the trip, driving through the Midwest, the Rockies, and along the coast of California. The music became the soundtrack for an amazing trip - so imagine my excitement when I found out they were playing a show right here in one of my favourite Toronto concert venues, the Mod Club.

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Reese Baguio's Touch Charms the Flipside Festival

Tanja — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:40:33 PST

This weekend, the Carlos Bulosan Theatre (167 Augusta Ave) presents, Tales from the Flipside 2008: Claim Your Baggage. The two-day Flipside Festival features four plays written by members of the theatre's play creation group.

Touch, by Reese Baguio is one of the featured plays taking the stage both Friday and Saturday night. I spoke with Reese earlier this week about the show...

Q: "Girl meets girl. Girl loses girl. Drag queen gets her a stripper... chaos ensues." With a tag line like that, I'm already sold, but tell me a little more about the storyline here.

A: Touch is about a young woman named Alex, the proverbial girl next door, who is secretly attracted to the girl next door. Very much hindered by her conservative upbringing, she struggles to navigate the world as a new lesbian. With the help of her misguided mentor and friend, Richmond (a flamboyently filipino drag queen), she tries to find love, and more importantly, learn how to... breathe.

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Abnormals Anonymous: Sideshow Comes to the Gladstone

Tanja — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:00:06 PST

Come one, come all. Ladies and Gentlebloggers, tonight the Gladstone Ballroom hosts a rare treat. It's not every day the circus rolls into town, and even less, anything like this.

The Hobo Homos present an evening like nothing you've ever seen on Queen West (even on a rowdy night): Abnormals Anonymous-- a celebration of circus freaks and social deviants!

Promising a colourful queer carnival, the Hobo Homos have gathered local talents ranging from burlesque dancers to contortionists and all kinds of deviations in between. Come for the candy apples, stay for the strippers...

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Yitz's Deli Draws Us In From the Cold

Tanja — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:22:52 PST

Standing at the chilly corner of Eglinton West & Avenue Rd, the bright lights of Yitz's deli appear like a mirage in the midst of another blizzard. No surprise, of course, as nothing could be more appealing with all this winter weather than good ol' stick-to-your-ribs comfort food.

Shuffling through the sausage-handled doors and past the bustling bakery entranceway, my friends and I settle into the back of this 35-year-old Toronto landmark and order up favourites from all over the menu.

Read the full review of Yitz's Deli in our restaurants section.

Art Square Cafe: Dessert Delights on Dundas

Tanja — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:25:33 PST

While the AGO will remain closed for "transformation" 'til later this year, there is still plenty to art to experience on this stretch of Dundas West - and by that I mean *culinary arts*, of course....

The Art Square cafe, located directly across from the AGO, features an exhibit of painted works and a little hidden gem of a cafe all tucked into one narrow townhouse-turned-gallery.

Read the full review of Art Square Cafe in our restaurants section.

Pho Rang Dong Brings Vietnamese to Corso Italia

Tanja — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:30:13 PST

Living near Lansdowne & St Clair, a pho craving is usually satisfied by heading westwards to the little pho village that's formed over near Weston Road. In the last year though, a little spot called Pho Rang Dong has brought this classic Vietnamese noodle soup much closer to home, opening shop right in the heart of Corso Italia.

Read the full review of Pho Rang Dong in our restaurants section.