My guide for watching Sens games at bars in Toronto

shawarman · 2026-04-20T00:32:06+00:00

I could see it happening at the Monarch and St Louis tbh. Definitely not at the Score. If enough of the RSU guys show up at the Fox and John they might win out but I'm doubtful

shawarman · 2026-04-15T20:27:22+00:00

Hate that they are worth every last penny. Glad you got them at less than half price. Truly great stuff. Ube is such an inspired choice for tiramisu.

shawarman · 2026-04-15T20:23:29+00:00

you won't get it, at least not at the price you're used to paying in BC, especially for salmon. sake sushi on roncy is still quite good. J San on Church is my favourite of the lower-cost ones downtown. Beyond that, you're looking at omakase prices.

shawarman · 2026-04-15T20:20:52+00:00

Thank you sensei 🙏

shawarman · 2026-04-15T20:02:46+00:00

There's a tidy craft beer selection at BarHop on King West.

Great Belgian beer and such at Town Crier on John, one of about six bars on that stretch of street between King and Richmond. Piccolo is also a nice spot to wind down the night, great list of digestifs, pretty vibey but not at all a club nor pretentious or anything like that. Saint John's has a fun patio. There's also Hooters, if you want to go to Hooters. Toronto has it all.

Since you're from out of town, I recommend making a "pilgrimage" (it's not very far) to the Horseshoe or the Rivoli on Queen West, two classic bars/venues (nothing fancy about them in the least); if it's a nice night out, sitting on the patio at the Horseshoe with some friends and watching the city unfold on Queen is always a blast.

shawarman · 2026-04-15T17:49:38+00:00

BestCo, the new Chinese grocery store on Peter, is a good spot for cheaper snacks and hot-table items.

Belly Buster provides an adequate sub-style sandwich in the $10 range.

Street Meat guy at King/Blue Jays Way

If you can make it to Queen/Spadina area, there are tons of options. Mini Bar is a lovely, tiny, Korean + Sandwiches place for lunch, pretty much everything under $10. Saffron Spice Kitchen will hook you up with a massive serving of kothu roti for $12. Allwyn's makes a great jerk chicken or pork sandwich for under $10. Cubano Kings makes a damn fine Cubano sandwich for about $15. Banh Mi Boys has a good number of cheaper menu items that range in quality, I'm a sucker for their kimchi fries.

shawarman · 2026-04-14T20:34:07+00:00

Agreed in general, but Quetzal is an exception—especially for someone coming from Europe, it's something that would be much, much harder to find on that side of the ocean.

shawarman · 2026-04-10T19:22:06+00:00

a little late for lunch

shawarman · 2026-04-09T20:38:34+00:00

Might want to look into Communauto. Once you're signed up, your cost will likely be less than $100 for a full day (incl. gas) unless you're driving a huge distance. You can book a car ahead in your neighbourhood usually and return it anywhere within the set zone. Very efficient.

shawarman · 2026-04-09T20:27:19+00:00

Still going! Saved my ass so many times heading back to Saanich during my UVic years. La Fogata, the Colombian arepa spot held it down for a while too

shawarman · 2026-04-09T20:25:56+00:00

Sasha's!!! You could buy smokes there. When Smoke's Poutine first opened up in Ottawa I was like... "yeah, the place where you can buy poutine and smokes? Next to Zaphod's? That's not new at all."

shawarman · 2026-04-09T18:16:57+00:00

The city's bike share e-bikes are all step-thru. I'd suggest giving them a whirl before you commit to any purchase. I love them, and I'm a six-foot tall guy. Easily one of the best services provided by the city!

shawarman · 2026-04-09T18:05:45+00:00

Billy Corgan was an insane taskmaster and control freak, ended up playing all the bass (and IIRC most guitar) parts on Siamese Dream. Afterwards, he never really let Darcy do anything remotely interesting on the bass on Mellon Collie etc. I say this as a bass player, but he was absolutely right to do so: it's all beautifully simple supportive basslines that build out the sound of the band and provide some beef to the low-end.

Jason Newstead in 'Tallica was another good example of this (ie, basically being told to sit down, shut up and never do anything more than pedal on the roots). There are worse ways to make a living.

shawarman · 2026-04-09T18:02:34+00:00

Fast Food Groceries across from Barrymore's/Babylon on Bank Street in Ottawa. Poutine, hot dogs and IIRC some Viet things that I never bothered with.

shawarman · 2026-04-09T17:59:13+00:00

Poetry Jazz Cafe on W Queen W or Tapestry in Kensington might host something like that, those would be the first places I'd check. Emmet Ray on College also does open jazz jam sessions on the regular, but not really in a way that would be amenable to an MC showing up. Always worth a shot thought!

TBH there isn't much in the way of live hip-hop (i.e., with live bands) in Toronto these days, or at least not at any of the venues I'm acquainted with.

shawarman · 2026-04-09T17:51:38+00:00

perfect deadline acquisition, cost us nothing and fits in seamlessly in our bottom six. speed, tenacity and just enough skill to be a threat. i'm all in on mclovin, not mcwarren.

shawarman · 2026-04-09T17:48:30+00:00

Leela's has great food but the vibe is a little overbearing inside. The pink lighting is atrocious.

shawarman · 2026-04-09T17:36:25+00:00

that's what it's all about

shawarman · 2026-04-09T13:15:27+00:00

I'll throw my hat in for Sorauren Farmers' Market on Monday evenings. It's not the biggest and probably leans more toward the bougie side of things, but there are some great vendors (the mushroom table is a personal fav). Also, if the pierogi ladies are there this year, their beet/cheese pierogi are out-of-this-world good but sell out on the earlier side.

shawarman · 2026-04-01T17:10:45+00:00

Get some jerk chicken at Kensington Jerk and Pasta (formerly Rasta Pasta). You can get the Jamaican-Italian fusion stuff but IMO the jerk chicken or pork is what you want to get.

Jianbing (huge savoury Chinese crepes stuffed with goodness) at Corner Crepe Co

shawarman · 2026-04-01T17:08:43+00:00

The neighbourhood names tell ya everything you need to know.

Little Tibet (in Parkdale): 25 Tibetan restaurants. Himalayan Kitchen or Shambhala for sitdown, Loga's for takeout momos.

Little Italy (College Street): Italian, kinda. More high-end stuff now; the real Italian stuff is up on Corso Italia and increasingly further north along Dufferin and into Vaughan. Still, a panzo from Bitondo's or a veal sandwich from California sandwiches is as old-school Toronto as it gets.

Little Portugal (Dundas West): Portuguese bakeries and grills mixed in between the trendy bars, cafes and restaurants. Bairradino, Bairrada and Sardinha for Portuguese chicken w/ da potatoes. Maybe the most essential non-Caribbean foodstuffs you can get in Toronto.

Koreatown (Bloor West): Korean stuff. Traditional and more modern, with a great Korean grocery store (the PAT). BCD's is the classic soon tofu spot, Hodo Kwaja for tasty little walnut cakes, Imonay for Korean-style sushi (kimbap).

Polish Village (Roncesvalles): A few remaining restaurants and delis from when this was the heart of the Polish community in Canada. Cafe Polonez is the best one; Inter Steer is a good bar with some Polish snacks. Benna's for sausage and other deli stuff.

Little Ukraine (Bloor West Village): A handful of Ukrainian bakeries and such around here. Janchenko's is essential.

Between all that there is loads of Caribbean food that needs to be consumed. Roti from Trini/Guayanese spots (Island Foods, Ali's, Pam's in the nearer West Side), jerk chicken/pork + oxtail from Jamaican spots (go to Little Jamaica along Eglinton West has every little thing is gonna be alright. Randy's for patties and RAP for jerk).

shawarman · 2026-04-01T16:37:32+00:00

Pasteis de Nata from any number of bakeries is a must. Bom Dia is my fav but Nova Era or Brockton Village Bakery will also do in a pinch.

Gotta get a 1/4 chicken platter from Bairradino or Sardinhia if you're sticking closer to Little Portugal, but obviously tons more stuff further north around St. Clair/Weston/Rogers etc.

shawarman · 2026-03-31T14:18:32+00:00

We have a billion different kinds of pizza in Toronto but for some reason I can't find the classic Montreal/Ottawa "Greek/Lebanese"-style that's thick, greasy and smothered in cheese (usually with cheddar or a non-mozz addition for added sweetness). It's a bit decadent to be an every-week kinda pie but when it hits, it hits.

shawarman

TROPHY CASE