Toronto Life articles from November 2002

Toronto Life archives from November 2002

Shock jock. (Profile).(Michael Landsberg of TSN's sports talk show 'Off the Record')(Biography)
November 1, 2002... Michael Landsberg is always on. Which isn't to say that his vigour is affected; he radiates natural energy. You sense it in the bracing first handshake, in his animated gaze and taut posture. His every gesture seems to imply an exclamation...

No business like cannabis. (Telling Tales).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Film fest stars are so primped and pampered by their intrepid uber-concierges and entourages of assistants that all they have to remember is to smile for the paparazzi. But apparently there's one premier prerequisite that celebrity handlers...

Babe drain. (Telling Tales).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Since moving to New York last year, former MuchMusic VJ Rachel Perry has not only become the host of All Access on VH1 (MTV's smarter older sister); she's the music channel's reigning hottie--reaching something like 83 billion drooling...

Snappy couple. (Telling Tales).(wedding of Allan Gregg and Sharon Salson )
November 1, 2002... What do you get when you combine a female Buddhist minister, an acoustic guitarist and a bamboo wedding chuppah? The candlelit nuptials between former pollster and aging rock enthusiast Allan Gregg and Lola magazine's publisher, Sharon Salson....

Anchors away. (Telling Tales).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... What are we to make of CNN broadcaster Amanda Lang's return to ROBtv this fall? She was such a hit as a New York Stock Exchange correspondent that she made appearances in the chat room of the fan site CNN Belles. The normally stuffy network...

Double booked. (Telling Tales).(two different editions of Booker Prize-nominated 'Life of Pi')(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Fiction lovers eager to snatch up a copy of Yann Martel's Booker Prize-nominated Life of Pi be warned: the edition at your local library might not be the one on the short list. The version originally published by Knopf Canada was significantly...

Urban Decoder.(Ward Island Frisbee golf course, verse carved into laneway at University of Toronto and other information explained)
November 1, 2002... Dear Urban Decoder: There are odd-looking basket contraptions on poles with chains hanging on them all over Ward's Island. What are they, UFO launching pads? --Kamal Mehta, Scarborough Dear Kamal: The truth is much less out...

Payinq the Pyper. (Camera).(launch party for Andrew Pyper's 'The Trade Mission')
November 1, 2002... Bookish sorts make fashion statements with their shoes. At the launch party for Andrew Pyper's The Trade Mission, slim young women in slimmer black dresses wore slides that flaunted immaculate pedicures, while puckish men sported Converse-style...

There goes the neighbourhood. (Reality Check).(Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman will build 16,903-sq. ft home)
November 1, 2002... As a youngster in Winnipeg, Gerald Schwartz lived in a modest house with his socialist grandmother, but the renovations on his current Rosedale digs are anything but proletarian. The project, which has involved the purchase of no fewer than...

Wonder years. (Letters).
November 1, 2002... I remember Philip Marchand from the '70s, when I was a mess and had come to Lea Hindley-Smith and Therafields for help. I've watched his career grow and felt delight at how he and others I knew went out to make their mark in the world. I was...

Rabble rouser. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... Interesting profile of Rick Salutin ["The Antagonist," September]. I must, however, correct your reference to rabble.ca as an, ahem, "on-line anarchist newsgroup." Sounds interesting, I suppose. But rabble is actually an on-line...

Clothes ranks. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... Upon reviewing the article on former Hazelton Lanes retailer Chez Catherine ["The Last of the Glitter Girls," September], we were shocked to read the following inaccurate information: "The smells from Whole Foods--pizza, roast chicken--drifting...

Mother knows best. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... In September, you printed a gossip item about the birth of my first child ["Mom's the Word," Telling Tales]. That took class. In my blissed-out maternal state, I hate to have to respond to the rampant misinformation in your pathetic piece, but...

Trash talk. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... I read with disgust the comment in your 2002 Fashion Guide that states Old Navy's "Ts and khakis... are cheap enough that they can be tossed after a wear." In a world where millions (many in the GTA) go without proper food and clothing,...

November at a glance. (This Month).
November 1, 2002... 2 Dale Chihuly's baubles, blooms and baskets defy the fragility of glass. See page 40. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 22 Tony Bennett, the steward of all things hep, promises a really good shoe at Roy Thomson Hall. See page 42. ...

Theatre. (This Month).(play openings, continuing and festivals)
November 1, 2002... OPENINGS The Beard of Avon. Amy Freed's new play is another bit of meta-Shakespeare, viz. Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) and Shakespeare in Love. This one explores whether or not Will actually wrote the plays. Basta. Starring...

The importance of being Eugene. (This Month).(comedian Eugene Levy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Where is it written that a nebbish named Eugene Levy, with a feral perm and eyebrows like a pair of woolly slippers, can't become an icon? The Hamilton-born comedian began his gut-busting 30-year roll in Ivan Reitman's 1973 cult farce Cannibal...

Classical music. (This Month).(Sinfonia Toronto, Tafelmusik, Toronto Symphony and others)
November 1, 2002... ORCHESTRAL Sinfonia Toronto. Concertmaster Etsuko Kimura delights with Bach's Concerto in A Minor, while Verdi's Symphony for Strings provides sparkling closure to the baroque affair. Nov. 23. $18-$32. Glenn Gould Studio, Canadian...

Master steps. (This Month).(Esmeralda Enrique's new four-piece work 'Picasso Flamenco')(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Picasso once referred to painting as "the organization of proper chaos." That short phrase convinced dancer and choreographer Esmeralda Enrique that the famed Spaniard was at heart a flamenco artist. To Enrique, who arrived in Canada 20 years...

Dance. (This Month).(Ballet Creole: Soulful Messiah, DanceWorks, Esmeralda Enrique Spansih Dance Company and others)
November 1, 2002... iArte Flamenco! Spanish Dance Company. Artistic director Elena La Comadre's new work Perdida (Lost) brings social issues into the flamenco realm by portraying a woman of the sandwich generation, caught between the needs of her aging parents and...

Spy games. (This Month).(Lynne Cohen's photographs of research labs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... In these nouveau Cold War times, even oblique references to military-industrial complexes engender deep unease. Diplomatic rumblings are so ominous that Lynne Cohen's photographs of restricted research labs and training facilities are more...

Art. (This Month).(opening of Sandra Ainsley Gallery, Gardner Museum of Ceramic Art exhibit, works by James Welling and other art work)
November 1, 2002... [FREE] Chihuly. Sandra Ainsley's new glass sculpture gallery in the historic Gooderham and Worts distillery complex opens with a show that has the dramatic flair of a production of Aida, sans live elephants. For his largest ever exhibition...

Nightlife. (This Month).(concerts, and bars and clubs)
November 1, 2002... CONCERTS Roch Voisine. The dishy gamin from St. Basile, New Brunswick, is downplaying his superstar stadium rocker profile for up-close-and-personal time. Voisine is promoting his fourth all-English album, Higher, and it's just him and his...

Jazz and standards. (This Month).(singer-guitarist John Pizzarelli, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Sound of Toronto Jazz and other performances)
November 1, 2002... John Pizzarelli. The singer-guitarist has won a large following with his light treatment of romantic ballads and up-tempo swing tunes. His group--with guest pianist Ray Kennedy, regular bassist Martin Pizzarelli and drummer Tony...

Sticks and stones. (This Month).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Unlike most social commentators, Christopher Hitchens keeps malice in check. While the English-born, Washington-based writer's broadsides against Mother Theresa ("a political opportunistic promoter of a cult of submission"), the Clinton White...

Kids' events. (This Month).(Column)
November 1, 2002... Candy Unwrapped goes a long way to make science easy to swallow, exploring the biology, chemistry, physiology and psychological effects of the sweet stuff. At the Taste Bud Tango, kids can jump on a cushy giant tongue (not as vulgar as it...

Diversions. (This Month).(Cavalcade of Lights Festival, Cinematheque Ontario, Elite Elegance: Couture Fastion in the 1950s and other activities)(Column)
November 1, 2002... [FREE] Cavalcade of Lights Festival. Hundreds of thousands of lights illuminate Nathan Phillips Square as the city launches the holiday season with an evening of choral music, celebrity guests and a laser and light show atop the curved towers....

Ice storm. (This Month).(Sigur Ros band)(Sound Recording Review)
November 1, 2002... Rumbling up from Reykjavik, Sigur Ros-roughly translated as "Victory Rose"--combines the wide-screen glory of classical music with the serene spaciness of Jagged art rock, all brought to a point of heavenly grace by vocalist Jonsi Thor...

Farm fatale: to teach city folk where hamburgers come from? To encourage the propagation of gargantuan pumpkins? To introduce school kids to a tic-tac-toe-playing chicken? As the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair turns 80, its purpose has never been murkier. (History).
November 1, 2002... TORONTO'S RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD combines equal parts fear and art. Will we be killed by mad cow, E. coli, anthrax, salmonella? Will we find salvation and joy in the delicate vertical creations at Zoom or the sublime combinations at Susur? The...

The prize widow: after Charles Taylor died, his wife, Noreen, established a $25,000 book award in his honour. But adding pizzazz to "literary non-fiction"--as the Giller Prize did for Canadian fiction--is proving to be a tall order. (Books).(Biography)
November 1, 2002... AT THE COURTYARD CAFE IN THE Windsor Arms Hotel, 150 carefully chosen guests gathered for lunch and the presentation of this year's Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. A photo of the late journalist and millionaire horse breeder...

City of athletes. (Cover Story).(Toronto remains a sports town, despite two financially troubled teams)(includes information on individual athletes)
November 1, 2002... THE LIFE (AND DEATH AND PLACE in the pecking order) of a North American city is measured by the success of its pro sports teams and the size and condition of its Palaces of Sport (its Saddle- and Sky- and Astrodomes, its Mile High and Varsity...

Fancy sacs and a bean stock. (Super Shopper).
November 1, 2002... Bain aid With fall's crisp in the air, a good, long soak in a tub is a welcome luxury--particularly when the bath is scented with rosy Egyptian geranium, Indian palmorosa and citrusy ylang-ylang and dotted with pretty rosehips. Bloom en...

Jie's the bomb: when he opened his Avenue Road salon last month, Jie, self-anointed God of hair, began a new chapter in his personal mythology, which includes torture, kidnapping, and coiffing Ivana Trump. (Fashion).
November 1, 2002... IT'S THE WEEK BEFORE THE FILM FESTIVAL, and Jie is booked solid, tending to some 17 heads a day. An appointment is never less than a three-week wait, but at festival time there is pressure to fit in his most prominent clients. Jie--whose last...

Calendar. (Toronto Life).
November 1, 2002... Get the inside scoop on this month hottest events and promotions from the following advertisers: CANADIAN WINE AWARDS Taste Canada's finest wines! The 2002 Canadian Wine Awards luncheon takes place at the Imperial Room, Royal York...

Sweet and low down: from Parisian Poilane at the new Holt's Cafe to weighty Vietnamese soups on Spadina: in search of a midday meal that's good for both palate and wallet. (Food).
November 1, 2002... "WE'RE GOING TO LONDON NEXT MONTH," total strangers too often tell me. "Where do you think we should eat?" I make a small bow and reply that I haven't lived in the capital for 20 years. Their guess is as good as mine. "Nowhere too expensive,"...

Tasting notes. (Drink).
November 1, 2002... Boot camp Central and southern Italy have an illustrious wine tradition--many of the "grand crus" of Roman times were culled from their vineyards--but the regions' more recent history has been less impressive. South of Rome, bottles are...

Accolade. (A La Mode).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... *** 1/2 Chef David Chrystian restores the reputation of the dignified salon with a seasonal menu that draws tellingly on prime Canadian ingredients. An amuse balances intense flavours to rouse the palate: two tiny rolls of seaweed and...

The Fifth. (A La Mode).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... **** Past the bouncers in the alley off Duncan Street, on through the hurly-burly of a nightclub, up in the freight elevator to the fifth floor: an evening of opulent flourishes awaits. Marc Thuet has held sway since Didier Leroy's June...

Earlier this year, J.P. Challet, late of the Windsor Arms, cooked for a private dinner party at Vines wine bar on Wellington Street West. (Tidbits).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Earlier this year, J. P. Challet, late of the Windsor Arms, cooked for a private dinner party at Vines wine bar on Wellington Street West. Owner Brian Reeve was so impressed that he formed a partnership with Challet, closed Vines and reopened...

"Sarkis was here" was the message Xacutti's Brad Moore found written on one of the expensive paper chandeliers in his restaurant. (Tidbits).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... "Sarkis was here" was the message Xacutti's Brad Moore found written on one of the expensive paper chandeliers in his restaurant. Sarkis Tossounian had been in for dinner the night before. Sadly, the same motto now applies to Sarkis,...

Now you see them, now you don't. (Tidbits).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Now you see them, now you don't. The Four Seasons hotel has made major changes in its culinary team, with long-time Truffles manager Joanne Kulha set to open Henry Wu's new boutique hotel, SoHo Metropolitan, as food and beverage manager, and...

The Toronto International Film Festival has always preferred to stipulate which restaurants will host festival parties, passing on a list of the favoured few to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which then grants the restaurants licences to extend opening hours. (Tidbits).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The Toronto International Film Festival has always preferred to stipulate which restaurants will host festival parties, passing on a list of the favoured few to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which then grants the restaurants...

Talking of proactive restaurateurs, Phil Sabatino of Via Alleqro has been bending the LCBO's ear with an imaginative scheme to raise the standards of wine lists across Ontario. (Tidbits).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Talking of proactive restaurateurs, Phil Sabatino of Via Alleqro has been bending the LCBO's ear with an imaginative scheme to raise the standards of wine lists across Ontario. The LCBO, he suggested, should give out awards that would recognize...

Splendido. (A La Mode).
November 1, 2002... *** 1/2 Tempus fugit. A year has passed since Splendido was reborn with David Lee at the stoves. In that time, service has polished itself to a welcoming, highly professional sheen, and Lee has established himself as a bona fide culinary...

Blacksmiths Bistro. (Bistro).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... ** First among equals on Unionville's crowded, charm-laden main street. An imposing redbrick building yields two spaces: a main floor that's all hard surfaces, towering bar tables and open kitchen, and the sedate, more formal upstairs...

Shopping with chefs. (Restaurants).(buying supplies with Jenn Stone of J.S. Bonbons)
November 1, 2002... Jenn Stone of J. S. Bonbons, 163 Dupont St., 416-920-0274 It began as a nocturnal habit. Not content to confine her sweets to daylight, the young girl kept a stash next to her bed, to raid between dreams. "Actually, I still do," admits Jenn...

JOV Bistro. (Bistro).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... *** 1/2 It is the very model of a small neighbourhood restaurant, friendly, informal but serious in its attitude to food. The small bar in the front window becomes a holding bay on busy nights, but servers cope well: proud standards and...

Happy Seven. (Chinese).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... ** 1/2 Every downtowner needs one reliable Chinese resto to count on for such emergencies as unexpected guests, or those sick-to-death-of-cooking blues, where you don't have to dress up or break the bank and you know they're consistent...

Flatbread. (Restaurants).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... It's the best thing since before sliced bread, nearly as old as the ancient grains that make the dough. Every culture has a version: chapati and tortilla, pita and lavash, Ethiopian injera--you get the idea. But while most flatbreads may be...

Le Trou Normand. (French).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... ** 1/2 One of Toronto's true Gallic veterans has new clothes--or, perhaps more appropriate, a new growth, since the interior, sensuously appealing with its walnut tables, French country style and romantic lighting, really needed no...

Kama. (Indian).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... Kama * 1/2 Across from Roy Thomson Hall are a number of options for a quickie unplanned meal; most are time sensitive to curtain call. This particular spot, patio and all, is below street level, the interior brightened by mirrors...

Masala. (Indian).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... ** 1/2 [NEW] Shiva Nataraj, the multi-armed deity and original Lord of the Dance, graces the entrance and surrounds the bar of what may be Toronto's only Goan fusion restaurant. In lieu of bread, pappadum arrives in a balti (a wee copper...

Breakwater. (International).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... *** 1/2 The barrier in question shelters the mouth of the Credit River, its marina, 100 yards inland, twinkling with lights in view of the floor-to-ceiling windows of this elegant, spacious 85-seat dining room. What comes to the tabla is...

Gamberoni. (Italian).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... ** 1/2 Where are the crinolines and circle pins and Vinnie with the ducktail haircut? Gamberoni inhabits another time, from its checked tablecloths and stuffed sailfish to the golden oldies menu: escargots ($7.50), spaghetti and meatballs...

Gio Rana's Really, Really Nice Restaurant. (Italian).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... *** [NEW] Gio "the Nose" Rana returns to the east end--eat yer heart out, Tom Jakobek--with a really nice resto. Irreverently, a bank facing a beer hall on a desperate corner of Leslieville has been transformed into a raucous temple of...

Azul. (Latin).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... *** As Queen Street cool continues its westward drift, Azul finds itself well situated at its scrappy little Bathurst corner. The decor is pure rec room, and though most of the chairs are made from ancient moulded plastic designed to fit...

Indochine. (Other Asian)r.(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... ** 1/2 Taking cues from Yabu Pushelberg's school of restaurant design and SpringRolls' pan-Asian bill of fare, one of Toronto's senior Vietnamese addresses--remember the Saigon Star?--bounces back with a new look and the gusto of the...

Mediterra. (Seafood).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... ** 1/2 Carefully appointed in earthy, comforting touches, this broad-dimensioned eatery plays in part to the downtown hotels in the immediate vicinity. Groups enjoy its spaces, but although seafood is the theme, this is no theme restaurant...

Starfish. (Seafood).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... *** 1/2 Genial Patrick McMurray, Canada's champion oyster shucker, is host of his own place, a comfortable room that finds a happy medium between the elegant and the casual. Customers can watch the performance from stools at the bar or...

Carters' on Downie. (Out Of Town).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... *** [NEW] Soon enough (perhaps already), tourists of the gastronomic persuasion will be making the pilgrimage to Stratford simply to dine--theatre be damned. This latest destination is across the street and up from the Avon Theatre....

The Other Brother's. (Out Of Town).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... ** 1/2 Housed in the original blond brick Raymond Sewing Machine factory on Guelph's picturesque Yarmouth Street, this dining room is reasonably comfortable (lots of elbow room) but lacking in any cohesive design strategy. The most...

The Red Tea Box. ($25 Gourmet).(Restaurant Review)
November 1, 2002... [NEW] Behind an eccentric tea shop lies this otherworldly salon--Alice in Wonderland goes to Queen West. Cushioned rocking chairs and settees decorate the converted back garage, which opens onto a small patio in the summer. Sandwiches, like...

Sidney Glass: Cabbie, 1947-2002. (The End).(cab driver: Toronto, Ontario )(Biography)
November 1, 2002... You don't drive a taxi in Toronto for 50-plus years without learning a few things. The city's oldest and longest-serving cabbie, 81-year-old Sidney Glass, goes over the high points. Luck helps. Luck made Glass too short for the Germans to...