A Walking Tour of Toronto

Toronto is a melting pot like I’ve never seen. It is as diverse as any of the world’s capital cities I have visited including New York, London, Singapore, Sydney and Los Angeles. In addition to being diverse, it is well integrated with one neighborhood and its residents seamlessly blending into the next.

Toronto has a vibrant economy, plenty of parks and restaurants, a brilliant lakefront and some of the most interesting ethnic urban neighborhoods in the world. There is a lot to like about Toronto and little to fraught at. It even has a crime rate that is nearly ¼ of that of Chicago despite the fact that it has a population (2.5 million) nearly as big as Chicago’s (2.9 million). Recently, I spent 5 wonderful days in Toronto experiencing the full breadth of what this modern metropolis has to offer. For me and my wife, that meant running along the lakefront and walking up and down College, Carlton, King and Queen Streets to experience every ethnic neighborhood we could find. Our days began with wonderful breakfasts at our B&B in Cabbagetown enjoyed alongside travelers from Detroit, London and Dusseldorf and included trips through St. Lawrence Market, University of Toronto, Kensington Market and one memorable afternoon in Little Italy. Along the way, we accumulated experiences and memories that are encapsulated in my Toronto “diary” below.

Day 1 – Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

• As soon as we get off the short 1 hour and 10 minute flight from Chicago, we meander through Toronto’s modern Pearson International Airport. Quickly, we make our way outside and hop on a shuttle bus headed for downtown Toronto. Driving along the highway into the city, excitement sets in after we catch a glimpse of Toronto’s impressive skyline. After making multiple stops to drop the other passengers at their hotels, we finally arrive at the Chelsea stop which is nearby our Bed and Breakfast in Cabbagetown.

• We make the short walk to our B&B and are greeted warmly by the owner, Tan. Tan is a friendly Singaporean Canadian man a bit on the flamboyant side who is full of suggestions about Toronto. He is very helpful and proud and runs a clean, well organized B&B.

• We check into our pleasant, comfortable room and quickly organize our things before heading out to a nearby restaurant and bar called the House on Parliament. This recommended English style pub near our hotel has good food (I had the fries with garlic mayo and the caprese sandwich) and a lively atmosphere. Of note are the chalkboard menu inside and a nice below ground patio that looks up towards the street. Although I am only a 70 minute flight away from home, I feel like I am somewhere else far away from Chicago. I feel like I am in another country?

Day 2 – Friday, September 4th, 2009

• Today began with a 20 minute walk from Cabbagetown in the direction of the Toronto Harbourfront. As we walk, we pass through a nice park (Allan Gardens) and the St. Lawrence Market where we whet our appetite for lunch while perusing through meat and cheese stalls and various sandwich shops. Continuing on, we pick up our pace and run for an hour (over 6 miles) along the Harbourfront. As we run, we peer out at Lake Ontario in the direction of Toronto’s popular islands and take appreciation in our surroundings. Toronto’s Harbourfront is full of artistically designed walking paths and parks, a small beach and plenty of grassy areas to relax. As we run, we see ferries and sail boats, plenty of high rise lakefront living, playgrounds and parks. The Toronto music garden is especially impressive with intelligent landscaping and chairs strategically placed in a garden that weaves from left to right and rises and falls. The music garden offers free summer concerts on Thursdays and Sundays.

• After a shower back at our B&B, we put our feet back to the pavement in pursuit of the St. Lawrence Market for lunch. On the way to the market, we take in parts of the St. Lawrence neighborhood including an eye catching flat iron building decorated on one side with an illusory mural that depicts large windows and makes me question whether it is actually a painting or a hanging that has been tacked to the wall and is peeling off.

• Hungry and excited, we patrol the market in lookout for something we can sink our teeth into. We take pictures of meat cases and large stock bones for sale and glide through the market from one stall to the next. We make our way through cheese shops, clothing stalls, jewelry shops and many food shops. We decide to order a pork sandwich loaded with grilled onions and peppers from a Portuguese sandwich shop for starters. As good as the sandwich is, we only order one since we want to sample another type of food. After deliberating over a peameal bacon sandwich, eggplant parmigiana or dolmades and in between tasting 6 or 7 of Kozlik’s 35 varieties of mustards, we decide to finish our lunch with a plate of Eastern European goodies from a restaurant located in the basement of the market. We pick from the display on the counter and end up with a combination of meat pierogi, a potato latke and whitefish stuffed with crabmeat. I never would have imagined that this is what I would have had for lunch but Toronto is diverse in more ways than one and that includes dining establishments. The food is excellent and filling and we are now prepared to enjoy the 75 degree weather and see more of Toronto.

• From here, we walk through a string of parks before eventually making our way to the Distillery District. This self described “creative zone” has a warehouse neighborhood feel to it with loft living, numerous art galleries, shops and restaurants and a 14 foot tall sculpture made of 2000 pounds of steel that goes by the name Koilos. The sculpture features a creature in the crouching position that has a head fringed with flames, giving the impression of a monster eager to pounce. The Distillery District hosts many outdoor festivals and events throughout the year including the Toronto Roots Festival, the Toronto Wine and Spirit Festival and on this weekend the Artisans Art Fair. We view some art and photography and I buy a piece of homemade jewelry for Ivy before finishing off an enjoyable few hours in this “hip” area with an organic lager beer at the Mill Street Brewery.

• After more walking and wandering, we pass by the Rex Jazz Club. Recognizing the name and realizing that this is a place we want to visit, we walk inside for some late afternoon jazz over a pre dinner drink. Emerging from the Rex, we move onto Rodney’s Oyster House for dinner.

• At Rodney’s, we take great pleasure in sitting at the bar and watching the barman shuck oysters and clams amongst other items before we ourselves indulge in a combination of oysters, clams and a scrumptious bowl of periwinkles (sea snails) that require the use of toothpicks to coax these tasty critters out of their shells. At this point, it I mid evening and we decide to walk back to Cabbagetown before finishing the night with 1 more drink (and a late night snack) at the House on Parliament.


Day 3 – Saturday, September 5th, 2009

• Today brought another beautiful 75 degree day that fit perfectly with our agenda which includes plenty of walking. We begin by walking straight up Carlton Street and eventually making our way to the University of Toronto. The University of Toronto is one of Canada’s premier universities and this area has an unmistakable collegiate atmosphere. King’s circle is reminiscent of a typical American University “quad” with architecturally impressive University buildings surrounding a large area of green space that is currently being used for an intense soccer match. Queen’s park looms around the outside of the buildings. This well maintained park is full of benches to relax in, trees to read under and paths to jog or walk through. After walking through the park and munching on some sushi for lunch in the high rent Yorkville area, we find the closest subway stop and make our way to Korea town. After walking though Korea town, we stroll through more neighborhoods before finding ourselves back on College Street. We stop at bar for a pint and stare out at a large festival that seems to be monopolizing a ½ mile stretch of College Street. As we enjoy a pint of Guinness in the sun, each of us takes a stroll to get a glimpse of this festival. Impressed, we decide to investigate the party before our eyes a bit further.

• The 6th Annual Firra Festival in Little Italy is one of the best street festivals I’ve ever attended. To indicate just how much we liked this festival, we arrived at 2 PM for a pint of beer and didn’t leave until after 9 arriving back at our B&B at nearly 11 PM. Over the course of 7 hours, we ate a lot and immersed ourselves in an Old World Italian showcase which included:

• 40-50 different classic Fiat cars in an array of colors lining each side of a section of College street
• Street food – lamb sticks, tripa alla calabrese, Indian samosas and barbeque
  chicken are some of what we sampled
• Outdoor dining and music of all sorts
• Lots of people and lots of families
• Diversity – This festival may have been Italian, but this is Toronto which means Thai, Indian and Middle Eastern shops and restaurants right next to fabulous, sprawling patios full of locals eating pizza, pasta or stuffed squid at places like Café Diplomatico

Day 4 – Sunday, September 6th, 2009

• After walking up to the Harbourfront with the intention of taking a ferry to the Toronto Islands on another beautiful morning, one look at the line convinces us to reconsider our plans. Instead, we opt to relax and read by the lakefront for a bit before meandering our way up near Chinatown and Kensington Market. This would be a day of many neighborhoods and even more walking. After making our way up Front Street and past the Royal Bank of Canada building I worked in over 6 years ago, we walk past the Canadian Walk of Fame taking in the stars of TV producer Lorne Michaels, Star Trek’s William Shatner, Pamela Anderson and Michael J. Fox amongst others. Approaching Chinatown, we walk past the Art Gallery of Toronto which is flanked on one side by a quaint park that provides a perfect viewpoint from which to appreciate this architectural structure. The gallery was recently renovated by world famous Canadian born architect Frank Gehry with a new glass façade that swells out above the sidewalk and seems to wrap the building and blend into the residential neighborhood that surrounds it.

• Toronto’s Chinatown is around the corner from the art gallery and at first glance, seems to be just a street filled with Chinese shops, restaurants and markets. While many so called “Chinatown” areas have similar shops, I am glad I took a second glance as Toronto’s Chinatown extends and extends along Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue leading us right into colorful Kensington Market.

• Kensington Market is a pedestrian area mix match of different stores and restaurants a block off of Chinatown. This colorful and lively area has its fair share of hippies, second hand clothing stores and a subculture all its own. There are plenty of shops selling fresh produce, meat, fish and spices right next to others selling fabrics, lace, jewelry and numerous shops selling vintage clothing. In between are a few bars and many restaurants serving up Portuguese, Indian, Fish and Chips, and diner style breakfasts just to name a few. We spend a few hours in this area wandering in and out of stores but end up only buying food and drink. We have a nice Indian lunch, a couple of drinks and a great spicy chicken empanada at a store that sells over 30 different variations of these tasty pastries. One of the variations is filled with kimchi, but even my Korean wife isn’t excited about the prospect of spicy fermented cabbage in a pastry shell.

• After exiting Kensington Market, we decide to continue our Toronto neighborhood tour and give the Greek town area in and around Danforth Street a look. This popular area, which served as the backdrop for the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding (it was imitating Chicago), is full of restaurants, shops and bars and is known for its nightlife. We enjoy walking up and down Danforth Street, peering into the various shops and restaurants and soaking up the culture. We end up popping into a Euro trash bar for a drink that is reminiscent of something you might see in Europe that has a contingent of middle aged Greek men out front loudly philosophizing about the state of Canada, the world, Greece, etc. over what sounds like a few beverages. While this could be annoying, it actually adds to the neighborhood and environment. After a drink, we have dinner at a Greek restaurant nearby and end another enjoyable evening with a walk over a bridge spanning the Don River that takes us through Cabbagetown in route to our Bed and Breakfast.


Day 5 – Monday, September 7th, 2009

• Due to our late afternoon flight, we are fortunate enough to have another five to six hours to soak up more of Toronto’s abundance of culture and atmosphere. After another excellent leisurely breakfast with some travelers from London, one of whom works for a UK film magazine and is in Toronto to cover their well renowned international film festival, we pack our bags and say goodbye. The owner of the B&B, Tan, is a very sweet man. He sits down with us and chats about Toronto and his plight to this city from Singapore amongst other things. His B&B feels more like a home to us than any place we’ve stayed in years and we intend to stay here again on our next visit.

• Blessed with more beautiful weather, we put our feet back to the ground once again began one final romp up Carlton street in the direction of a neighborhood called Little Portugal. After walking for 30 minutes and realizing we still have another couple miles to go, we jump aboard a streetcar to get us closer to our destination. Jumping off of the street car, I feel like I am 12 hours away in a neighborhood in Porto or Lisbon. I have been to Portugal and it is a rather small country, but have never been to a Portuguese neighborhood in a North American city as they usually aren’t advertised due to the rather small number of Portuguese immigrants (not counting those in Brazil). In between Portuguese shops selling day to day goods, meat and produce, there are local bars (nothing trendy here) for those wanting to catch some Portuguese football and more than one Portuguese bakery. We stop at one that looks too good to pass by and order a couple of scrumptious custard tarts that remind us of our time in Portugal in 2007. I didn’t know you could get these things outside of Portugal and savor the gooey, caramel like custard inside a flaky pastry.

• After walking around and soaking up the atmosphere in this area, we continue up College Street once again before finding ourselves in the Little Italy neighborhood. It is lunch time and we still have a few hours to spare so we decide to sun ourselves on Café Diplomatico’s patio over lunch. We have some good bruschetta and a couple of decent pasta dishes along with some beer and the sun. Café Diplomatico was opened in 1968 as a bar where Italian nationals could gather for coffee and conversation in the morning. They were one of the 1st restaurants to offer a large patio for al fresco dining that has now become the standard in this area.

• We finish off our time in Toronto with a nice hour long walk up College Street which turns into Carlton Street before grabbing our bags from the B&B and departing for the airport. While I felt nostalgia immediately on the bus ride to the airport, I also feel that this is the 1st of many trips to a place that just feels right. Ivy and I feel like we belong here and blend in with the fabric of this diverse city. Maybe it is because we are an interracial couple or maybe it is because we are on vacation away from our day to day, but whatever it is, I feel a sense of home here in Toronto that I rarely feel outside of my hometown in Chicago.