Toronto Life articles from August 2002

Toronto Life archives from August 2002

Jackasses. (This City).(teen carjackers arrested)
August 1, 2002... The crimes were violent, frenzied and absurd. For four days in early summer, the city was bullied by a posse of toy gun--wielding carjackers who couldn't even handle a stick shift. From Forest Hill to High Park, from the Scarborough Town Centre...

Prairie boy. (Profile).(TV's Brad How)(Interview)(Biography)
August 1, 2002... A typical weekday for Bradford Michael Lorne How goes something like this: wake up as close to nine a.m. as possible, before noon preferably; leave Bay-Dundas condo for work at MuchMusic; stop at Tim Hortons beside 52 Division on Dundas near...

Aix DJs. (Telling Tales).(fired)(Brasserie Aix)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... For some, it's not enough to just eat at Brasserie Aix. They want to take the experience home with them. At least, that's what the management was banking on when, in early May, they produced a house-branded CD featuring the tunes of the...

Flower arrangement. (Telling Tales).(Prince buys a painting )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The singer currently known as Prince, who recently scooped up a pied-a-terre on the Bridle path, sauntered into an early-summer exhibit called Flower Girls at Arts on King, the Wagner Rosenbaum gallery. On display was the work of Karen Sloan, a...

Don't know much about history. (Telling Tales).(Transport Minister David Collenette)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Many of the academics, councillors, cabinet ministers, business leaders and concerned citizens who attended the Toronto City Summit--a two-day conference in late June designed to shape a new planning agenda--hoped to walk away from the event...

Doctor, heal thyself. (Telling Tales).(Treat Williams)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Some travelled first class, others took limos, but actor Treat Williams flew his own plane from New York to Toronto for the launch of CTV's fall season. The ruggedly handsome 50-something star plays a world-renowned neurosurgeon on the...

There goes the neighbourhood. (Telling Tales).(Adrienne Clarkson)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Speculation is rife that everybody's favourite talking head turned royal representative, Adrienne Clarkson, and her pundit hubby, John Ralston Saul, have purchased a new Cabbagetown mansion. Nosy neighbours and rabid realtors alike could...

Urban Decoder.(Toronto lore, history)(Column)
August 1, 2002... Dear Urban Decoder: Aren't those houses at the top of the Scarborough bluffs going to tumble down and hit the beach at some point? --Jack Hughes, Rosedale Dear Jack: It's true that the bluffs are erosion prone. In fact, a few...

Massive gathering. (City State).(World Youth Day, papal visit)(Calendar)
August 1, 2002... Maybe they'll come for the enlightenment. Maybe they'll come for a last glimpse of an increasingly infirm pontiff. Or maybe they'll come simply because World Youth Day is the ultimate Scout jamboree for Catholic enthusiasts. What's certain is...

Morninq glory. (Camera).(Torontans - odd World Cup hours)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... This year's World Cup demanded a whole new set of rituals: the loyal hauled themselves out of bed to watch the 2:30 a.m. games; fanatics just stayed up. Alarm clocks beckoned the faithful to cafes at 7:30 a.m., where double espressos took the...

Shore thing. (Letters).("improve" the waterfront?)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2002... I thoroughly enjoyed your June issue ["Reinventing the Waterfront"]. Be sure to send a copy to Prime Minister Chretien, with page 86 flagged, highlighting the text "The Dutch government has declared that architecture, as an art form that...

Calendar. (Advertising & Promotion Events & Opportunities).(Directory)
August 1, 2002... Get the inside scoop on this month hottest events and promotions from the following advertisers: CONCEPTS SALON & SPA Rivage Dead Sea Mineral Mud Mask Facial is a deep-cleaning, nourishing and revitalizing treatment that purifies,...

Grade war. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2002... James Cowan's article "Atonement" [June] pays too much homage to defence lawyer Clayton Ruby and his clever attempt to put U of T's law school and Bay Street firms on trial for perpetuating desperate acts by first-year law students. The fact is...

Isn't it rich? (Letters).(["One Hundred Years of Attitude," June 2002 issue)(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2002... Does the monthly cocktail society spread in This City have a point? Looking at all those well-cleavaged, sandblasted and spoiled rich drunks month after month pretty much makes my skin crawl. I am sure Biff and Muffy get quite a narcissistic...

Designer digs. (Letters).(John Macfarlane)(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2002... Congratulations to John Macfarlane on his editorial in May. I was cheering at his depiction of architecture as having a higher purpose than mere development. As he pointed out, Toronto has never really grasped this concept. The new ROM...

Oops! (Letters).(Correction Notice)
August 1, 2002... An error appeared in July's "Who Earns What." Share the Warmth, an organization that provides heat and energy assistance to l-income households, was identified and described incorrectly. Letters to the editor must be accompanied by the...

August at a glance. (This Month).
August 1, 2002... 1 Bed-headed author Ethan Hawke reads of love, denial and responsibility at Harbourfront. See page 46. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 4 Local R&B queen Jully Black brings her sultry sounds to the Guinness Island Soul Festival. See paqe 46. ...

Theatre. (This Month).(performances and festivals)(Directory)
August 1, 2002... OPENINGS Sing-a-Long-ABBA. A live band plays ABBA faves, and lyrics are projected onto a giant screen (and, as if in an Orwellian karaoke nightmare, you sing along). This tie-in to the success of Mamma Mia! is courtesy of the producers of...

Miller's crossing. (This Month).(Jonathan Miller)(Biography)
August 1, 2002... He's the prof whose lectures made you wish you knew shorthand, the dinner guest whose wit caused you to ignore the other invitees, the renaissance man your mother would periodically threaten to leave your father for. Trained as a doctor,...

Classical music. (This Month).(concerts, festivals)(Directory)
August 1, 2002... ELORA FESTIVAL Celebrating its 23rd birthday, this is arguably the most ambitious of the Ontario summer music fests, featuring an eclectic mix of concerts. Below, a selection of highlights. For more information, call 1-800-265-8977, or...

The fall. (This Month).(Eldon Garnet exhibitions)
August 1, 2002... Poking into the fissures of vulnerable bodies, zeroing in on the worm within the apple, the rotting tooth, the torn wing, Eldon Garnet captures Eden after the expulsion. His large-format blow-ups of naked bodies covered with dirt or lying...

Dance. (This Month).(performances)(Directory)
August 1, 2002... FRINGE FESTIVAL OF INDEPENDENT DANCE ARTISTS Due to the sheer wealth and breadth of talent, the non-curated fFIDA is one of the most influential festivals in the country. The international coterie of dancers is chosen by lottery, resulting...

Sweet sorrow. (This Month).(singer Beth Orton)(Biography)
August 1, 2002... Tall, willowy singer Beth Orton-drip-fed on techno and bleary folk--bridges the sonic gap between swelling dance floor and sleepy churchyard. Graced with a mesmerizing heart murmur for a voice, she hit her creative stride with a low-flame...

Art. (This Month).
August 1, 2002... Living in Afghanistan. Denied education, medical care and the most rudimentary human rights under the Taliban regime (and others before it), Afghan women never stopped weaving, embroidering and sewing. Inevitably, war--like sand--has a way of...

Nightlife. (This Month).(pop music concerts and clubs)(Directory)
August 1, 2002... Area2. The pop, rock `n' DJ fest--brainchild of the formidably successful Moby--is even richer than last summer's wave-breaking inaugural festival, Area: One. At bat are David Bowie, Busta Rhymes, Carl Cox, John Digweed, DJ Tiesto and DJ Tim...

Jazz and standards. (This Month).(concerts and clubs)(Directory)
August 1, 2002... Markham Jazz Festival, now in its fifth year, combines community spirit with spirited music. The prime draw this year is Fred Hersch's tribute to pre-eminent fellow pianist Bill Evans. He's mounting an ambitious homage, crafting arrangements of...

The sacred and the profane. (This Month).(Rocco and His Brothers (1960))(Movie Review)
August 1, 2002... When Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers was first released in 1960, it was banned in Milan, Visconti's hometown, because of its "inopportune resemblance to reality." The auteur was outraged (he had moved away from neo-realism and toward...

Kids' events. (This Month).(Directory)
August 1, 2002... Ontario Place. Arthur the aardvark brings his adventures and cronies (dog Pal, the Brain, et al.) to the Festival Stage, June 29 to Sept. 2. Also on the bill: couch potato Loonette and doll Molly, from YTV's Big Comfy Couch, demonstrate with...

Diversions. (This Month).(music, arts, literature, sports)
August 1, 2002... Ashkenaz: A Festival of New Yiddish Culture. Synonymous with klezmer since its founding in 1995, this colourful fusion of tradition and the avant-garde is back with more of the same, including the popular Canadian group the Flying Bulgar...

It spot. (This Month).(Shanghai Cowgirl)(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... Shanghai Cowgirl, 538 Queen St. W., 416-203-6623 What: The Peach Pit is crossed with Boogie Nights at this R-rated retro diner. On weekends, a spiky-haired DJ spins classic rock out front while revellers luxuriate under giant orange...

Ward games: what really happened to Tom Jakobek at Toronto East General Hospital? They don't want to talk about it. He doesn't want to talk about it. Although he was a vice-president there for less than a year and a half, it appears he overstayed his welcome. (Politics).(Company Profile)
August 1, 2002... TOM JAKOBEK IS A MAN WHO never worked outside politics until his tumultuous management stint at Toronto East General Hospital. Thai posting, touted as a kind of realworld sabbatical from the hurly-burly of city council, lasted a mere 17 months....

Newton's law: when he joined the Shaw Festival, Christopher Newton pledged to build a troupe where actors--not egos--would be the thing. Twenty-two years later, the outgoing artistic director leaves behind one of the finest ensembles in North America. (Arts).(Christopher Newton)(Shaw Festival)(Biography)
August 1, 2002... THE TWO CHRISTOPHERS COULD hardly have been more different. One was tall, aquiline, hyper-confident, the other shorter, cherub-faced, shy. It was 1967, the Stratford Festival's 15th season, and Christopher Plummet was returning in triumph as...

Asylum. (Summer Fiction).(Fictional Work)
August 1, 2002... LITTLE HAD CHANGED, AND YET EVERYTHING HAD CHANGED. On this, the anniversary of his attempted suicide, Walter Barnes sat in one of the two chairs he owned, reading one of his two books. Of the two, a Bible and the Arden King Lear, he had chosen...

Accident. (Summer Fiction).(Fictional Work)
August 1, 2002... THERE IS NO ACCOUNTING OF HIS OWN CONDITION. No inventory of missing parts or locating of hurt. He doesn't even wonder where he is. At first, there is only the search for his voice. Jenny. She had been next to him in the passenger...

Crusade. (Summer Fiction).(Fictional Work)
August 1, 2002... YOUR NEW BOYFRIEND IS NOT WELCOME IN YOUR HOUSE. YOUR mother declares that his curly red hair is an assault on her senses, and that she doesn't understand how any girl in her right mind could be attracted to him, not with that shiny Christian...

Clown lessons. (Summer Fiction).(Fictional Work)
August 1, 2002... HE BANK HAD CALLED EACH DAY TO FIND OUT WHEN I'd be in again, offering up casual Friday as some sort of carrot-as though the lure of cotton casuals just might bring my fever down. The third time the assistant manager phoned, I clung to my...

The blue and the white. (Summer Fiction).(Fictional Work)
August 1, 2002... MARTIN WASN'T AT THE HOSPITAL WHEN HIS son was born at ten twenty-seven on May 2, 1967. The Leafs won the Stanley Cup that night, precisely three minutes before the boy emerged into the cold light of Toronto General. Martin was busy hugging...

Rhapsody in blue. (Hot wheels and cold comfort).(Motoretta - refurbishes classic scooters)
August 1, 2002... If you've ever imagined yourself in an early Antonioni film, in sunglasses and a head scarf on the back of a Vespa, you are so in luck. With the opening of the chic new Motoretta, a retail ode to the legendary Italian motor scooter, finding...

Merci buckets. (Hot wheels and cold comfort).(Barbecue Bucket portable grill)
August 1, 2002... As entertaining as the ideal guest, the Barbecue Bucket is a smart addition to your next gathering. Entirely portable for picnic use and a space saver on a small deck, it's made of enamelled steel, with a unique cone-shaped stand that reverses...

Allusions of grandeur. (Hot wheels and cold comfort).(Aero Studios furniture)
August 1, 2002... Thomas O'Brien of Aero Studios is the swish New York decorator of choice for the likes of Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan. His furniture, now manufactured by the prestigious Hickory Chair of North Carolina, is a surprise addition...

Coneheads. (Hot wheels and cold comfort).(La Paloma Gelateria)(Woodbridge)
August 1, 2002... On stifling nights when the kids don't even have the energy to run through the sprinkler, La Paloma Gelateria is hopping. Open since 1967, it's now run by two Italian families: the Giannones, from Sicily, and the Ciarlandinis, from Calabria....

Hip to be square. (Hot wheels and cold comfort).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... This summer, fashion designers are dreaming of the rich and famous in `70s Biarritz. Thus big rocks on big rings must glitter at the edge of every pool and around every cool glass. What to do when your budget is more WalMart than Harry Winston?...

Motion pictures: when commuters board the subway on the new Sheppard line, they'll ride through stations notable not for their architecture, but for their public art, each stop like a visit to a neighbourhood gallery. (Design).
August 1, 2002... ARCHITECTS HAVE A HALF-JOKE ABOUT commissions: "Sometimes you get the elevator, sometimes you get the shaft." Those chosen to design the subway for the TTC's new Sheppard line might have wondered at times whether they'd gotten the shaft. ...

Night crawler: gastronomic adventures in Clubland, where the strangely dressed inhabitants speak Kloob and subsist on a diet of fruit kebabs. (Food).
August 1, 2002... I HAD THAT DREAM AGAIN--YOU KNOW THE one--where you're drowning in a sea cave in a parallel dimension and an eel is swallowing your foot. Only this time I was fully conscious (relatively speaking), and the cave was the soaring void of Shmooze,...

Tasting notes. (Margaret Swaine).
August 1, 2002... Oak lore A recent backlash against wood-heavy wines has produced a flurry of labels that proudly proclaim their contents "unwooded" or "unoaked." While too much timber is a dangerous thing (much like with makeup, heavy application masks natural...

Crush.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... [NEW] *** The latest addition to King West's evolving scene successfully combines the attributes of bona fide bistro, bar and serious wine shrine. Walls of beige brick give the huge, high-ceilinged room a casual feel to offset the formally...

Prego Della Piazza.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... *** If the film festival were on, one might understand, but what's this? Four servers all stepping up to seat the humble patron? Joanne Kates, come on down! Packed with cinema luminaries or not, the busy summer patio is still a place to...

When all was said and done, Didier Leroy's departure from The Fifth was amicable. (Tidbits).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... When all was said and done, Didier Leroy's departure from The Fifth was amicable. "After five years, it was time to move on," says Leroy. "Sometimes when you can't change the things around you, you have to change yourself. I'll be focusing on...

Not content with their twin successes Zoom and Rain, Michael and Guy Rubino are deep into a new project, creating a restaurant in the new boutique hotel Le Germain, across the road from Rain on Mercer Street. (Tidbits).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Not content with their twin successes Zoom and Rain, Michael and Guy Rubino are deep into a new project, creating a restaurant in the new boutique hotel Le Germain, across the road from Rain on Mercer Street. "We're calling it Luce," says Guy,...

Big kudos to Ganesh Mohan, proprietor, executive chef and sommelier of Solo Grill and Wine on King Street West, who has taken Chilean sea bass off his menu. (Tidbits).
August 1, 2002... Big kudos to Ganesh Mohan, proprietor, executive chef and sommelier of Solo Grill and Wine on King Street West, who has taken Chilean sea bass off his menu. Although it was Solo's top-selling fish, concern for the survival of the delicious...

No one throws a party like Michael Stadtlander. (Tidbits).
August 1, 2002... No one throws a party like Michael Stadtlander. His parliament of super-chefs, wineries and musicians convened on June 2 to cook for 200 fans, who sat underneath a Daliesque construction of bark-stripped poles, recycled chicken wire and straw...

Terrace at the Fifth.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... [NEW] *** When a Caribbean resort isn't an option, there's this civilized rooftop. Five floors above the Easy's throbbing dance floor, the Terrace is more clubhouse than Clubland. French manicures clutch icewine martinis at the covered...

RD's BBQ and Blues.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... [NEW] ** Don't tell the bar crowd, but the old Red Devil at Duncan and Pearl, like the other links in its small Ontario chain, has gone upmarket. Gone are the raw brick, shelves of hot sauces and baseball caps, replaced by dark wood...

Shopping with chefs. (Restaurants).
August 1, 2002... Compact and energetic, his hair more pepper than salt, 42-year-old Pedro Quintanilla is rummaging through bins of dried chilies at Perola (247 Augusta Ave., 416-593-9728), which is unusual for a Cuban-born chef. Despite his island's proximity...

La Bodega.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... *** If you can suffer the rather preppy m'as-tu vu crowd at elbow's length, the boite is a perfect destination for a tete-a-tete over fresh takes on French classics. Old World elegance and New World flair meld perfectly in the cozy,...

Le Papillon.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... ** If not for the fireplace, Quebec is about the last place you'd imagine yourself. The former garage feels like a big, breezy greenhouse, with yuccas and spider plants growing under the glass-panelled ceiling. Blue-checked table-cloths...

Local brews. (Restaurants).
August 1, 2002... The best beers are consumed at the brewery gate, goes the old adage. That may seem like an endorsement of the bottle-in-a-paper-bag school of drinking, but really it's a comment on the limited lifespan of most ales and lagers: the nearer the...

Jodhpore Club.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... ** 1/2 Spanish-style stucco and beam hung with prints from lives of the maharajas and wracked with Bollywood melody oddly conjures up the rustic atmosphere of a Nilgiri hill station amid the international buzz of Baldwin Street. The menu,...

Citrus.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... ** 1/2 The faux-marble Woodbridge-palazzo style of the hotel lobby sets the restaurant's tone, surrounding formally accoutred tables with metal railings, miniature trees and a piano bar. Through picture windows, fountains, terraces and pin...

Courthouse.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... ** 1/2 Few dining rooms match the epic grandeur or historical significance of this 150-year-old beauty. Massive marble fireplaces flank either side of the main dining room; elegant columns stretch way up to support distant ceilings; while...

Noce.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... *** Before the hip clothing boutiques, cutting-edge galleries and mod design shops, there was Noce. It wears its nine years well: the yellow stucco walls have a timeless comfort, as does the white linen, and the Italian service has never...

Ematei.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... ** 1/2 Steps away from the hustle and bustle of Queen Street, an unassuming facade hints at a cozy interior. Dark latticework, two intimate tatami rooms (complete with slippers), wooden Shinto prayer cards and an entire set of shogun...

Kobe Japanese Steakhouse.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... * 1/2 Megumi's old premises have been reconfigured to offer many aspects of the Japanese-Canadian restaurant experience--sushi bar, demure tatami rooms and stark curtained booths, teppan tables for in-yer-face searing, an exposed central...

Ramboia.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... *** No flashy trappings or high-end design concepts to distract from the menu here. A line of comfy banquettes holds court over white linen tables and a central wooden bar; a few water-colours of Portugal adorn the exposed-brick walls. But...

Sejong.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... ** 1/2 This self-assured boite caters to Little Korea's establishment set. Named after a 15th-century king known for his reign's cultural prosperity, Sejong offers a gracious reception that would impress royalty--and distract from the...

Circle.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... ** Thai goes uptown: no beaming Buddhas, caparisoned elephants or temple guardians. Instead, soft designer hues in keeping with the St. Clair and Yonge location, and riffs on Yabu Pushelberg, from cunning lighting to an undulating cloud of...

On the Twenty.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... ** 1/2 The pioneer Niagara winery restaurant is as successful as ever, one of many attractions clustered around Cave Spring Cellars winery. Marble balustrades and fiats of local produce are eye candy for those who sit with their backs to...

Peller Estates Winery Restaurant.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... *** 1/2 The marketing lessons of Napa reached Niagara some time ago, and this large-scale, professional operation demonstrates that fact while projecting its own congenial, confident sense of self. The chateau-like view onto vines is...

Bacchus Roti Shop.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... It's at the heart of Parkdale, in the old town square, across from the library and an art deco former police station. The long, narrow, fluorescent-lit space is as much of an institution, rolling out Guyanese roti (toothsome, steam soft) for...

El Bodegon.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... Colour-soaked, spirited ambience, Latin pop tunes on the hi-fi and warm, welcoming staff do a convincing job of transporting the Toronto weary to sunny Peru. Not surprising, then, that the place is routinely dotted with lively groups chatting...

Kubo DX.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... This is the tony downtown lunch for those who can't pony up $100-plus for dinner. It's sexy, too: low lighting flatters the windowless room just off the main space of the Design Exchange. The Plexiglas bar is lit from within, an orangey red....

Pappas Grill.(Restaurant Review)
August 1, 2002... On any night, the bustling grill welcomes with the seductive aromas of an open kitchen. Soft lighting and warm woods complement the large cathedral-style windows overlooking one of the city's busiest patios. The extensive menu offers a...

Richard Addis: Editor, The Globe and Mail: Auqust 1999-July 2002. (The End).
August 1, 2002... Toronto Life asked the noted 16-and-a-half-year-old British satirical poet E. J. Thribb to compose an encomium to mark the close of the Addis era at the Globe: So. Farewell, then Richard Addis Editor-for-a-while of ...

Dream China.
August 1, 2002... Whatever you dream, whatever you imagine, China will surprise you. WHEN YOU DREAM OF CHINA, do you think of perfect golden beaches? Lush tropical rainforests? Snow-capped peaks? Deserts that recall Lawrence of Arabia? China has it all. Plus...