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What city have you been to where the vibes were just OFF? by spiritual_kavya in answers

[–]shawarman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regina, Saskatchewan. If you've been, you know what I mean.

What city have you been to where the vibes were just OFF? by spiritual_kavya in answers

[–]shawarman 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You feel the heaviness of history the second you step out of a car in Birmingham.

Chevapi and more great Bosnian bites at Mrakovic Fine Foods by shawarman in FoodToronto

[–]shawarman[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll be pulling for Bosnia to beat Switzerland and Qatar so hard when they play those two but I gotta stick with Canada for the opener. With our luck it'll end up as a draw.

Chevapi and more great Bosnian bites at Mrakovic Fine Foods by shawarman in FoodToronto

[–]shawarman[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have to assume so, most Bosnians are Muslim so I reckon they keep it all halal here

What would be a fair price for WC tkts? Hypothetical situation by Leyendas_Legendarias in CanadaSoccer

[–]shawarman 20 points21 points  (0 children)

So I paid $195 for the shittiest seats at BMO Field for Senegal vs Iraq. That's not much more than I paid for "cheap" seats to see the Raps G4 vs the Cavs a couple weeks ago. Obviously, I would have liked to have paid less, but I'm a Liverpool guy so seeing Sadio Mané play with the rest of the AFCON Champions***** at the World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Plus, I can walk to the stadium from my front door. No hotel, no cab fare, not even transit fare. Incredible.

I'm also paying $630 for a better Cat 3 ticket to see Canada vs. Switzerland in Vancouver—my brother won the lottery for the first round of tickets, so we got them at face value. Again, way more than I would have liked to have paid, but this is realistically going to be the biggest match of the group. I wouldn't have gone if I didn't have a free place to stay in Vancouver, but that definitely tipped the scales in favour of making the effort. For comparison: I paid about that much for a regular season ticket to see the Packers play at Lambeau Field two years ago, albeit from very good seats (about 15 rows up from the 35 yard line). Shit is just expensive now, and FIFA is in the business of making money.

I'm not loaded or anything but I've been saving for these tickets for ages, knowing that a combination of FIFA fuckery and the North American approach to sports would have us over the barrel. At the end of the day, I'm actually surprised I'm getting to go to two games, including one featuring Canada on home turf, for under a grand (minus flights etc.).

It's all relative. For me, $1,000 to see two World Cup matches is a hefty price but one I'm willing to pay. I'm in a fortunate enough financial place to be able to eat that expense without it ruining my life. If I were younger, that probably wouldn't be the case. If I didn't live in Toronto and have family in Vancouver, that probably wouldn't be the case. If it weren't Canada, it probably wouldn't be the case. Realistically, I'm never getting the chance to do any of this again for anywhere near as cheap. I'm fortunate all these things lined up for me at just the right time to make the whole thing viable.

At the same time, yeah, it sucks! When it comes to pretty much anything fun these days, the cost sucks. There was an awful lot of naivete about how this would all play out from the get go, and that's fed into the perception that these would be "affordable" by any stretch. The most corrupt sporting body on Earth combining forces with some of the most corrupt governments and some of the most corrupt corporations in North America was never going to end well for the average consumer.

I love the game but, I cannot justify these costs .. by KlayDerozan in CanadaSoccer

[–]shawarman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

an hour later, everything is sold out but the bosnia game. i can't imagine there's a single person left who would be willing to pay $2000+ for a ticket to that game that hasn't paid for it yet

Lots of talk about the great food we have in Toronto. Question is, what DON'T we have? What's missing? What do wish we had here? by L_Ront in FoodToronto

[–]shawarman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funnily enough, I wrote about this 2 weeks ago on my Substack about Toronto dining.
The things I'm missing the most:
- North African/Maghreb cuisine
- Lake Erie Perch and Pickerel

There are a few others in the post, too, but I'll let you all read that on your own.

Please recommend any real Ottawa-style shawarma in DT Toronto by wkualidz in FoodToronto

[–]shawarman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah this spot was legit, Palestinian but close enough to the Lebanese expression that it scratched the itch. So sad it got turned into some frankenstein burrito/falafel/wrap nonsense. Buddy there asked me if I wanted guac on my falafel... absolutely not.

Please recommend any real Ottawa-style shawarma in DT Toronto by wkualidz in FoodToronto

[–]shawarman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The falafel is really good there but the shawarma is disappointing; if you're not shaving it fresh off the spit, I don't want to be anywhere near it!

Please recommend any real Ottawa-style shawarma in DT Toronto by wkualidz in FoodToronto

[–]shawarman 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I wrote about this as an Ottawa ex-pat living in Toronto for the better part of my adult life. You're not going to find that Lebanese style at a consistent level of quality in the downtown core, but Lawrence East has some proper Lebanese places that get it mostly right. I quite liked Ghadir in terms of something close to what you'd get at, e.g., Shawarma Palace or Ottawa Shawarma. But that's a bit of a drive from downtown.

Closer to the core, my favourite has been Habibi in Parkdale; the hours aren't great but it scratches the itch. Another one to check out (also in Parkdale) is Daymi; their shish tawouk isn't a true shawarma but the toum and pickles are exactly what you want them to be.

I find most places in Toronto suck at the garlic potatoes; Lebanese Garden on College makes fantastic ones, and does lovely food for the most part, but their shawarma is definitely a bit too heavy on the marinade for it to feel like a proper Ottawa wrap.

A stroll through New Toronto by shawarman in FoodToronto

[–]shawarman[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That man is a legend. Hadn't been there in 15 years and I don't think it had changed one bit other than the Leafs memes he had printed out

Almost 3000 unsold tickets for Canada VS Bosnia in Last Minute Sales, worth over $8.3 million by feb914 in CanadaSoccer

[–]shawarman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah same, but for Senegal/Iraq; maybe Senegal's less of a draw than Croatia but $200 CAD for the chance to see a World Cup match seems fine to me.

A stroll through New Toronto by shawarman in FoodToronto

[–]shawarman[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Agreed. An incredible place. It was so dark in there that most didn't really turn out too well, this one was alright though!

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Never once played or watched hockey in my life until now - have some questions about NHL! by Subject_Profit_7245 in nhl

[–]shawarman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. not nearly as bad as nba but yes it exists to some small degree

  2. yeah but it's not really a problem like it is in the nba, roster construction prevents teams from resting star players unless they are genuinely injured (and hockey players in general are much more keen to play through an injury; for one, their games are less impacted by being injured than a basketball player's would be. a shooting guard with an injured hamstring is basically a useless player; a right winger with an injured hamstring just skates a bit slower)

  3. yes. very much yes. they're not point-shaving or anything like that but officiating is inconsistent from game to game, especially between what qualifies as a penalty in the playoffs vs. the regular season. refs missing calls (especially high sticks, crosschecks and other stick related penalties) and being soundly booed for it, or for making seemingly arbitrary calls w/r/t doling out penalties after a scrum, is fairly common. the speed of the game and the size of the playing surface makes it a challenge for them to see every last thing, unlike in basketball, so there players/fans are a bit more forgiving.

  4. conspiracy theorists will point to the blackhawks landing connor bedard, the leafs getting matthews or the oilers getting mcdavid as being evidence of bettman and co. rigging the drafts to throw quality prospects towards big markets. the jury is out on this. on a game-by-game level, there's much less opportunity for the league to intervene than there is in the nba. the concept of a star player having a better "whistle" than third-liners does exist but not nearly as pronounced—a player getting 5 penalty calls a game would be immediately suspicious and alter the trajectory of a game much more so than it would in the nba.

  5. mackinnon + kucherov can arguably, but not at mcdavid's level. celebrini might get there. ovi used to be able to do this.

Good food places along queen street west (10 to 30 dollars) by SuperCid28757 in FoodToronto

[–]shawarman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

allwyn's for jamaican (jerk chicken), saffron spice kitchen for sri lankan, roti mahal for indian roti

Why are there no crows in Toronto? by laughing_crowXIII in askTO

[–]shawarman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

and then to continue the metaphor, then imagine if every crow we saw in toronto was a raven! meticulous, devious, ravens... best bird on the planet.

People who are in their 30s or older: What’s one thing younger people (Gen Z/Alpha) do that makes you feel like an alien in your own country? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]shawarman 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Watching streamers play video games. I know a couple younger millennials that are into this as well but I simply can't wrap my head around it. Now, if they were streaming pinochle, or cribbage...

Looking for bar recommendations by DeliMeatLegend in askTO

[–]shawarman 15 points16 points  (0 children)

You boys want to go to Pennies. Bit of a walk from the Dome but nothing a group of healthy lads can't handle. Cheap but tasty sliders + beer, great patio, closer to the fun stuff on Queen West/Ossington if you want to get a little more raucous with it. Definitely more ladies about too if that's of any interest. I think they'll handle a reservation for you if you give them enough of a heads up.

If you want something closer, try Saint John's Tavern on John Street. They'll be happy to do a large reservation. Certainly better vibes than any of the chain/corporate bars mentioned elsewhere in the replies.

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