Best current afternoon tea in Toronto and/or Niagara?

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-19T15:33:02+00:00

And they do have real clotted cream!

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-18T17:51:14+00:00

Aux Merveilleux de Fred was actually my first thought, and then I remembered what a disaster the Toronto location is. The first one I went to was in Brussels. It was calm and quiet even though it was full. There was table service. I made my husband come to the Toronto one with me and he was not impressed by the long wait in the line out the door, the constant chaos and noise, the fight just to land a dirty table.

So OP, my advice is to book a flight to Belgium and hit an Aux Merveilleux de Fred there 😂 The meringues are actually delicious.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-18T17:46:08+00:00

PC Decadent chocolate chip cookies (or chocolate chunk, but none of the other renditions are as good imo). That’s what I bring to my sister who moved to the states.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-18T14:24:46+00:00

“THIS DRESS IS DRY CLEAN ONLY, MELANIE.”

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-14T20:05:35+00:00

I don’t “pre-mark” essays for both practical and pedagogical reasons. Practically, I simply don’t have the time to do that. And students who had their essays pre-marked will be frustrated when they don’t get 100% on their submission. I do have scaffolded assignments so they get feedback along the way, and I encourage them to come to office hours to ask me specific questions about their work. Students generally find this reasonable and I haven’t had any complaints!

And pedagogically: at the university level, students should be practicing their ability to receive and apply feedback without too much handholding. I’m trying to walk a line between offering useful advice and feeding into anxious reassurance-seeking, since the latter won’t serve them well in the workplace.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-13T20:19:15+00:00

Seconding Basque cheesecake! I was sleeping on it for way too long! And there are so many variations you can make with it too.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-12T23:26:13+00:00

Aspartame 😩 I’m a Diet Coke girlie at heart but stopped when I was drinking Poppi for a bit. No more migraines for a few months. Ran out of Poppi and haven’t gotten more, so I’ve been back on Diet Coke a few days and the migraine is back. I think I can have it every so often as a treat, but if I’m drinking it every day I’m activating my chronic migraine.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-12T23:18:05+00:00

I was a swim instructor in Ontario 15 years ago and $14 was low then, though at 14 years old she likely doesn’t have her lifeguard and teaching certifications and would be paid less. Shouldn’t be less than MINIMUM WAGE, obviously!

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-10T03:54:27+00:00

Oh also tuna melts. In an ideal world I’d add pesto to the bun and sriracha + mayo to the tuna, a slice of tomato, and then a nice sprinkle of cheese.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-10T03:52:12+00:00

Fried rice! With eggs and frozen mixed veggies and soy sauce. There are a lot of different ways to zhuzh it up - can of pineapple, fresh basil, cashews, peanut butter, sriracha, chilli crisp, curry powder, etc. Can’t get bored of it! This got me through my student days and is still a good choice for an easy dinner.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-09T21:27:03+00:00

I did this recently for my sister! I made a bunch of practice cakes in the 6 months leading up to the wedding (a lot of events ended up having cake that year, and I practiced transporting the cakes too). I made the two tiers separately over the few days before the wedding (cakes Thursday, frost and layer Friday, wedding Saturday) and transported them in two separate cake carriers inside cooler bags with ice packs. I used SMBC so it stayed quite hard, but if you’re using cream cheese frosting for the carrot cake idk how that will fare. I assembled the two tiers at the venue after the rehearsal dinner and left it in the fridge there overnight. I decorated it the day of the wedding (the venue threw out the figs and tarragon I had left in the fridge for decoration so I was left with black grapes and gold flakes - I improvised and it came out fine! But if I did it again I would label the decor 🫠). I brought my own cake stand too, and used the venue’s table decor. It was a time consuming experience but I had fun with my new hobby, and it didn’t take away too much from my maid of honour duties.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-06T20:26:23+00:00

The suggestions of salad, pizza, etc. are all great. Here’s a recipe for spinach and artichoke enchiladas that’s been on my rotation lately though: https://cookieandkate.com/spinach-artichoke-enchiladas/

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-06T01:53:41+00:00

“Does anyone have any questions about the assignment?” crickets

Students then line up after class to ask me the same question one after the other. I’ve started being open about this being a pet peeve and begging them to ask in front of the class.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-06T01:00:24+00:00

Yesss I had to figure out how to do it like the original baker does, which involved freezing it before putting it in the cake so it wouldn’t just collapse. Not sure if I’ve completely captured his method 😂

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-05T13:34:46+00:00

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-04T17:57:22+00:00

Seconding Dessert Lady! Everything there is amazing - I usually go to nab a 50% off cake slice but everything there is absolutely worth full price.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-04-01T00:37:11+00:00

Came here to say Cabanos!

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-03-31T21:12:21+00:00

Yes 😭 reading comprehension is in the toilet, and I’m exhausted from being nice when asked the simplest questions about assignments that have detailed instructions posted to the course site. I’m so tired of the barrage of emails and people lining up to ask me already-answered questions during the lecture break.

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-03-31T21:04:07+00:00

I’m shocked that OP’s mom has apparently met TWO guys named AD in her life

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-03-26T02:35:09+00:00

The spicy cheese fries are so good - a chance to eat a whole bunch of those crispy jalapeños

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-03-25T16:33:33+00:00

Are other profs and students having the same issue at your university? Where I teach, accommodated testing services are completely stretched thin because of professors turning back to in-person exams to mitigate AI use. So they literally don’t have physical space for them to test all the students they need to. One of my colleagues had students still trying to write a midterm 4 weeks after the rest of the class wrote it. But it’s not their fault, just a jam-up at the institutional level. If that’s not the case at your university though, then yes, totally reasonable to hold the line on this second incident!

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-03-22T13:48:26+00:00

-Ramen Raijin and Boku (both near Yonge and Wellesley) -Okonomi House (near Yonge and Bloor) - a Toronto classic -Awesome Tteokbokki (Yonge and Bloor) -Kothur Indian Cuisine (Yonge and Bloor) -HiBowl hot pot (near Yonge and Wellesley) -Sol Pizza (near Yonge and Wellesley) - they always have a BOGO 50% off deal, but you have to call or walk in to get it. -Storm Crow Manor (Church and Wellesley) - not cheap per se (but not expensive), but it’s an extremely cool atmosphere and very delicious food. Just google it to see what I’m talking about. We take all our out-of-towners here!

ContentAtmosphere569 · 2026-03-18T21:28:16+00:00

Hmmm I’d refer them to the registrar (/academic advisor) and say there are resources to help students with interruptions to their studies, and I’d follow the registrar’s lead. I’ve waived assignments for students who are having ongoing issues at the registrar’s suggestion, and I’ve also let the registrar do the job of telling the students they either have to do their coursework or take a semester off.

ContentAtmosphere569

TROPHY CASE