Lucky Dip – Monday, March 19th, 2012

In Toronto:

Roving chef Matt Kantor has announced plans to settle down, specifically at a space at 1256 Dundas Street West (at Dovercourt), where he’ll be cooking up Spanish-influenced cuisine. Plans are for Bakio to open in about 12 weeks, but maybe double that to allow for delays and a potential CUPE strike.

Oliver & Bonacini Cafe Grill at Bayview Village (2901 Bayview Avenue) is closed for 4 weeks starting today for renovations.

Angelo’s on King (791 King Street West) is no longer open for lunch but will continue to open for dinner.

The Golden Apple Confectionery (warning – flash and music!) is coming soon to Liberty Village. They plan to open in April at 171 East Liberty Street, unit #142 where they’ll be offering various types of caramel apples and chocolate delights.

Porchetta & Co. (825 Dundas Street West) brings back the uber-popular porchetta and waffle dinner, this Thursday and Friday after 5pm only.

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You Like Shop Chinatown?

It’s that invisible, emotional umbilical cord that ties us to our past. Chinatown, especially when it’s hot, reminds me of that day in August of 1987, when I stepped out of an airport limousine and into a different world.

The stench hit me even before the heat that day, and as long as I lived there, I wondered if I carried the smell with me; if I invaded nightclubs and restaurants perfumed with the smell of durian fruit and greasy bread and sesame oil and fish.

Today, my quick tour through Kensington Market and Chinatown is mission-based. Beads of sweat forming on the back of my neck, I want to get what I need and get out.

I don’t dally in the market, hitting the health food store and the fruit stands for what I need. It’s too hot, and I want to be home in front of a fan. On Spadina Avenue, in the crush of bodies and racks of knock-off Hello Kitty purses and cheap luggage, I move with purpose, sliding gracefully around the tourists and the delivery people pushing dollys full of boxes. Like riding a bike – this way of moving, thinking, looking up to assess the sidewalk – comes back easily. This is my ‘hood. Get out of my way.

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