The Nicholas Hoare book shop is certainly one of the most beautiful and charming independent bookstores in Toronto. There used to be several of these gems (Remember Britnell? It's now a Starbucks.), but big chains like Chapters have put most of them out of business. For that reason alone, I like to pop into Nicolas Hoare every now and again, even though it's out of the way, and even though it often doesn't have what I'm looking for.

I just like supporting the little guy.

The best things about Nicholas Hoare:

• It's beautiful
• It's got comfy chairs and a squashy sofa grouped around a fireplace in the store
• You can browse and read to your heart's content and no one bothers you
• The collection is highly curated
• The gift wrap is free

The worst things about Nicholas Hoare:

• It's too highly curated -- often doesn't have what I'm looking for
• It's way downtown, on Front St., which isn't convenient
• The staff are occasionally snooty
• The store specializes in British books (which is cool, but limiting)
  

I would highly recommend Nicholas Hoare for a holiday visit (it's lovely at Christmas), or as a stop on a tour of the city. It's a shop that will impress the grumpiest of tourists. It's also nice to visit on a lazy Sunday, when you feel like browsing and don't have a specific book in mind.  Or check out a book events there sometime. The shop hosts launches, signings and the like.

All that said, if you ARE looking for something specific, I suggest you call the store first. They will order you something if they don't have it in. But that means waiting. Personally, I don't like waiting. It's annoying, but then again, it's not like it'll kill you.

I'm not a gourmet chef, by any means, but I am a solid home cook. I mastered staples like roast chicken and pastas when I was still a teenager and have built up a decent repertoire of asian, french, italian and classic american dishes. I make my own soups, sauces and broths.

Well, most of the time.

We all take short cuts now and then, and the truth is, store-bought bullion is my most common cheat. In my defense, we have a tiny apartment and a wee freezer above our fridge. I just don't have the space (or the initiative) to make a lot of broth for future use. I use cubes, cans and boxes. What can I say? I'm lazy.

But that doesn't mean I don't care about taste. And one packaged broth tastes WAY BETTER than any other I've tried, ever:

Swanson clear chicken broth.

It's just the best. Unlike cubes, it's not too salty. It's cheaper than (and tastes more authentic than) Campbell's.

It's made properly, so it's clear and light, but has a strong, natural flavour. Whitish beads of fat tend to be visible when you open the can, but in my opinion, they just contribute to the "this seems homemade" quality.

I use this broth in EVERYTHING from risotto to gravy to soup. It's the handiest, most useful thing I have in my pantry. No other broth compares.

Found a really cute little local store on my lunch hour the other day. (I work in the Queen West/Parkdale area of Toronto.) It's called Madam Vintage.

It's a tiny little corner shop, located in a space that probably started life as a convenience store.

I was lured in by the flapping cowboy shirts displayed on the front patio. Nathan's been obsessed with plaids and snaps lately, so I thought I might find something for him.

I definitely found a lot of options but decided not to buy anything until he was there to try things on. In addition to the cowboy shirts, boots, and other plaid paraphernalia, I noticed some cute heels, purses and blouses.

According to its website, Madam Vintage carries "cowboy chic" and "80s vintage" for both men and women. The lady working there when I popped in (the owner, I believe, who looked like she was still in her 20s), told me she imports a lot of her stuff directly from Alberta - that is to say, the Canadian hub of cowboy-land. So I think it's all pretty authentic.

The one thing I REALLY wanted to buy was a black and white cow hide rug, but it turns out the rug wasn't for sale and while I asked, the owner was unwilling to part with it.

Madam Vintage is an out-of-the-way place, but I found it (and the owner) to be surprisingly cute, casual and friendly. I'd like to see it succeed. So if you're in the neighbourhood and you have a penchant for plaid, I suggest you stop in.

Madam Vintage
168 Gladstone Ave. (between Dundas and Queen)
(647) 348-2264

So I recently returned from a road trip around the Maritimes and during our last stop (in Fredericton), I came across a lovely bookstore that I just had to write about: The Owl's Nest.

I. Loved. It.

It's a place to get lost in. You walk in, and are immediately confronted with a large room, piled high with used books of every variety. And then you realize that there's another room beyond the front room. And another room beyond that. And ANOTHER room beyond that. AND AN UPSTAIRS. It's intense, man.

Intense and wonderful.

Stylistically speaking, the store is pure kitch. It's filled with odd owl figurines from the '70s, and papered with snarky little notes that say things like "Hardcovers are NEVER $1!" And "There used to be an owl here. Did you steal the owl? Why would you steal the owl?"

I dunno. I thought it was funny.

I took home a few paperback tomes that I loved when I was a girl for about $2 a piece. (Paula Fox - that sort of thing.) And if I ever go back to Fredericton, I'll be buying a whole lot more.

* Store front image from the Owl's Nest Biblio site; Store image from their Facebook page.
* Creative commons owl image by Mikenan1 from Flickr.

So Nate and I ventured out to a new(ish) place in the neighbourhood for burgers last night: Chuck and Co.

We'd been meaning to go for awhile, but only just got around to it.

The menu and website promised "globally inspired" fare, but frankly, the burgers were really just burgers. Sure, some of them had some interesting spices (like marsala) worked into the mix, but they're still just burgers.

Still, they're good burgers.

Nate had the much-lauded Montreal Burger $7.50 (apparently called one of the "best burgers in the city" by Toronto Life). I tasted it, and while I'd say it was good, I wouldn't go that far. The smoked meat is ground right into the chuck and it was a little dry for my tastes.

I had the cheapest burger on the menu: the Chuck Burger ($6) and was certainly satisfied. The meat tasted like real meat (as opposed to those horrible patties you get at fast-food joints) and the ciabatta bun was hearty and satisfying. My only complaints would be that there was a little too much mayo on it, and it didn't come with a pickle. (I love my toppings and like it best when there are lots of options. You get your usual lettuce, tomato, onion, here, and ketchup, etc., but nothing fancy, really.) I NEED MY PICKLES!

We also tried the fries. I had the 50/fifty fries -- a half-sweet potato, half-regular combo, which was a nice option, but not cheap at $4.50. The sweet potatoes were pretty mushy, but good nonetheless. The regular fries were better.

Nate had "twice-fried" fries, $4. They tasted the same as mine...exactly. Maybe twice-fried fries are their standard? I'm not sure. Regardless, they were crispy, chunky and good. We had to ask for salt for the table, however. As a lover of the white and artery-hardening stuff, I hate to have to ask for it. Vaguely embarrasing.

It's like, "I know it's unhealthy and I know I'm a horrible person who's sure to bloat later, but could I have some salt please?" MOAR SALT. Sigh.

Anyway. We enjoyed ourselves and will definitely go back. I'd even say that the Chuck and Co. burgers were better than those from the much-talked-about Stockyards across the street.  (Ya. I said it.)

*Update: after posting this, I received a tweet from @chuckandco that mentioned that they DO have pickles and that I should ask for them next time. Word to
Chuck and Co.
672 Saint Clair Ave. W.
Toronto, ON M6C 1B1
(416) 533-3500

* image from the Chuck and Co. website.

A couple of weeks ago, my sister and I finally got around to going to Tea at the Windsor Arms (a posh hotel in Toronto).

It was... okay. Fun. Sort of silly. Like playing dress up.

The hotel has been serving "Tea" since 1927 and there's definitely a retro vibe about the whole affair. You show up, sit in the French-style tea room, choose your tea (from a wide selection which includes fair trade and organic varieties) and then you eat tiny sandwiches. Each person is served a full pot of tea, and the food arrives on a tiered cake stand.

Our tea was a "full tea" featuring a menu of four large scones, a selection of the aforementioned teeny sandwiches - smoked salmon, cucumber, etc. - and an array of sweet desserts (petit fours - mini cakes, tarts and the like). Plus (of course), clotted cream and fancy jams.

Though there didn't seem to be a lot of food at the table, both of us were too full to finish.

Here's a peek at a bit of the room we were in, complete with a display of silly hates. The room we were in is actually adjacent to the main tea room. I feel like they sat us away from the fancier guests. Maybe we didn't look right. Or maybe it's because we paid as part of a Groupon on Living Social deal. I don't know. My sis set it up. Snobs. ;)

All in all, the experience was nice. I would recommend it as a holiday treat for a mother-daughter duo or a pair of friends. But beware, it's not cheap. Full Tea is $30 per person (not incl. tax/tip) on weekdays and $38 per person on weekends. And around the holidays, the price goes up again to about $43. That's a lot for a couple of scones and a few baby sanwiches. But I guess you're paying for the experience as much as for the food. 

Oh... one more thing. I really liked the upholstery the Windsor Arms had on the banquette seating - brown and cream. Any idea where it's from or what it's called? Here's a close up:

I really didn't want to like this book. I mean... I really didn't. REALLY really.

I picked it up with the intention of hating it. After all, Crosley is my age. (Or close enough.) She's annoyingly pretty, with shiny, perfect hair, a cherubic little face, and a teeny, tiny waist.

And she's a book publicist, so clearly, she's connected. Just look at the cover! The cover of her first book compares her to David Sedaris and Sarah Vowell! (High praise, likely undeserved, I thought. Harumph.)

Worse still, the thing was a NY Times bestseller. Bestseller! And HBO has purchased the rights. Rumor has it, Crosley is writing the pilot herself. Herself!

God, I wanted to hate her.

And I REALLY wanted to hate her book. But I didn't.

I loved it.

Jealousy is burning black, smoking hole in my heart as I write this, but Sloane Crosley is funny. Very funny. Sarcastic, a little sardonic, but charming as well. Seemingly kind. And (goddamnher)... smart. That's the worst part. She's smart, too. I felt I HAD to hate her. Or compel her to be my new best friend. One of the two.

Neither option's worked out (yet).

I Was Told There Would Be Cake, a series of personal essays in the vein of (yes, I admit it) David Sedaris, starts a little slow, but as I traversed the worlds of awful first jobs, strange collections of children's toys, the horrors of moving in Manhattan and (worse) the horror of having to serve as bridesmaid to some chick you haven't clapped eyes on in ten years... it grew on me. Fast. Like an out-of-control tumor.

I want to tell you more, but I don't want to give anything away. I will say this much: once, someone shat on the woman's bathroom floor. And she wrote an essay about it. So clearly, she's not universally beloved, but her experiences do make for some fine story-telling.

I read the whole darn thing in a single afternoon and I laughed out loud not one, not two, but THREE times.

Drat. Now I'm going to have to buy How Did You Get This Number, her second effort, which came out in paperback just last week.

The jealousy might kill me.

Anyway. Here's a clip of Crosley being interviewed by Craig Ferguson, in which she illustrates just how annoyingly perfect and charming she is, even when he's hitting on her. It's not a bad interview. Curse her!

Ferro Bar and Cafe (which isn't a bar/cafe at all but a full bar/restaurant) has been in my life for a long time.I grew up in the St. Clair West neighbourhood and the little Italian restaurant opened when I was about 12 years old. 

In the mid-1990s, my then-boyfriend even did a co-op placement at the place, which serves fairly classic Italian fare. (He - the boyfriend - wanted to be a chef. I think he learned something. At the very least, how to chop a lot of garlic.... but I digress.)

Ferro is a nice place, but it's never top of mind when I find myself trying to think of where to go for dinner. I've had good experiences there... and less good experiences. I've popped in for wine with the girls, tried their much-lauded lobster dishes, and been overwhelmed by their antipasto platter (which is enourmous and way too full of veggies). It's always been... okay. Just okay. I haven't had any particularly bad experiences, but I never really loved it, either. And then, out of the blue, I had a GREAT experience there that completely turned me around.

Being in the space was nice too. What was current in the early days of the restaurant now feels dinstinctively vintage. Very 1993. It's like stepping into an old episode of Friends. The name - Ferro - means something like "iron" or maybe even "wrought iron" and that plays out in the dated decor. But there's something warm and charming about it.

Anyway. I recommend you go. That linguine was truly tasty. I've been dreaming about it ever since. Yum.

Ferro Bar and Cafe
769 St. Clair Ave.
Toronto, ON, M6B 1B4
(416) 654-9199

Usually, I hesitate to plug people I know or am related to on the blog. I guess I'm worried about seeming nepotistic or something. But my friend Stef is in a really neat band at the moment and I legitimately like the music and they're beginning to blow up a little, so I decided nepotism be damned. I'm plugging them. Before they get so big that Stef forgets he knows us. (Which he wouldn't do, because he's nice. But anyway.)

If you don't like dreamy, folky Canadiana, then The Wilderness of Manitoba won't be for you, but if (like me) you're into quiet, earnest singer/songwriter types who actually know how to play instruments (Stef plays several) and can manage some pretty harmonies, then hop on board. Like, now.

The acoustic music this band produces isn't likely to get you up and dancing, but it's perfect for a quiet winter day, a slow walk, or a lazy afternoon.

Personally, I recommend enjoying it on a late night with some red wine. (That's the way I do it, but to each her own.)

Though they're hometown, Toronto locals, the band will be touring around in the summer, with scheduled dates in places like Chicago, Phlly, Brooklyn, Denver, Seattle, Portland... all over. So check out the tour schedule and consider hitting a show. Or buy the new album, When You Left the Fire,  which will be hitting stores in the U.S. on May 10, 2011. It'll be worth it, I promise.

'Evening' is a song from the EP Hymns of Love and Spirits.
Video directed and edited by Zuzana Hudackova, DP: Kaan Akalin.

Okay, so this isn't exactly a review. It's more like a recommendation. It's a recommendation to buy a betta fish for the next little kid on your gift list.

Shown at the left is a picture of one of my first bettas.

His name was Princess Fancy Pants. Because he was... well, fancy. All pink and purple and pretty.

But most importantly, he was incredibly easy to care for.That's why bettas make such good little-kid pets.

This past weekend, Nathan and I bought two new fish for two very cute little girls. We got a red one for his little cousin Ella, who was turning six, and a teal one for my neice Katherine, who was turning four.

Don't worry, we asked their parents first.

Anyway, I highly recommend you go right out to get a betta. And if you do, here's what you need to know:

Creative Commons licensed red betta by Chlorine26 from Flickr.

How to Buy and Care For a Betta of Your Own
A good betta, complete with habitat and food (which, as a gift-giver, I think you should provide) will cost a minimum of about $20. The fish itself will cost about $5. They're available at all major pet stores. And while I'm not crazy about supporting the pet store industry, buying a fish from a pet store means rescuing a little guy who is living in a tiny beer cup and a couple of inches of dirty water. It's hard to squelch the desire to rescue a creature in such a bad situation.

Next, you'll need a home or habitat. I like a traditional glass fish bowl, but any large glass vessel will do. A big ol' vase, for example. Get one at Goodwill if you want. Or at the dollar store. That would be fine. You'll also need food, a tap water treatment solution, a bit of aquarium gravel, and a plastic aquarium plant. (Or a real plant, but that will result in more work.)

Approximate Prices
Betta Fish - Approx $5 (with good care, he should live 2+ years, easily)
Tap Water Treatment Solution - About $5 (a tiny bottle will last well over a year)
Betta Pellets - About $5 (will also last well over a year)
Freeze-Dried Blood Worms (alternate food) - Less than $10 (will last for years)
Aqua gravel (any colour) - Less than $10
Habitat or Vase - $0.99 + (depending on what you go for)
Plastic Plant - $2.99 to $10 (depending on what you get)

Strong Little Guys
Bettas are very hearty (unlike goldfish), and they come in a huge variety of colours (red and blue being most common). They are able to breathe both through their gills and by taking gulps from the air like a mammal. That's why you can house them in bowls instead of proper tanks. They are also very tolerant of odd feeding patterns. If you need to go away for a weekend, don't worry about it. You won't need a betta baby sitter. That's why they're great for kids.

Be Kind
That said, a fish is a living creature and deserves good care. I like to give my bettas five pellets a day. I fast him one day a week (usually Sunday), because he tends to become constipated and fasting helps. And I give him a treat of freeze-dried blood worms every once in awhile, just because the pellets can get pretty boring. I change his water every 3 - 4 weeks.

There are lots of other bits of care information online, and if you decide to buy a kid a betta I advise you to do some reading first, but even if you don't, I highly recommend this pet.

Betta are awesome.