College Falafel, Toronto, ON

I've been craving a donair lately and stopped to picked up a couple for lunch today at my usual spot, College Falafel (at Ossington Avenue and College Street).  The owners, Oljana and Bard, are so nice and friendly and they make good donairs!

There are a wide variety of condiments but traditionally a donair has meat, tomatoes, onions and donair sauce.  The donair is served in a pita pocket.  The meat was good and tender and the sauce was tasty.  I got mine with tomatoes (I'm not a fan of onions) and Gord's had onions (he's not a fan of tomatoes).

Happy 20th anniversary, Sister Sarah and Joey

Sister Sarah and Joey got married 20 years ago today ... in a lovely park in Halifax, NS!

Book ~ "Learning to See: A Photographer’s Guide from Zero to Your First Paid Gigs" (2022) David Molnar

From Goodreads ~ Whether you want to take better photos in your everyday life or make a full-time income as a photographer, the five-part framework author David Molnar teaches in "Learning to See" will work for you:

• See: have a vision for your shot and execute that vision
• Shoot: become technically proficient with your camera
• Edit: help re-create the emotion from the day of the shoot
• Develop: identify your area of focus for photography
• Earn: start getting paid for your art

It’s a proven process every photographer follows but few talk about. But if you use it, it will shave years off the learning curve he himself went through as an amateur photographer.

This book teaches readers to learn to see, because in the end, that’s what a photographer does: notice what other people often miss and understand how to capture those things in a masterful way.

I recently retired and now that I have time, I want to get back into photography.  I do take a lot of pictures but it's more quick point and shoot with my cell phone.  I have three cameras and I want to get back into putting the time into creating photographs.  So that's why this book caught my eye ... to get me into that mindset.

I found it was a good reference to get me thinking about charging up the batteries for my cameras and getting out and taking photographs.  I didn't find it overly in depth about HOW to use a camera or take photographs ... it was more to get you thinking about becoming a professional photographer and what you needed to think about ... like what kind of photographer do you want to be (ie what kind of pictures ... wedding, landscape, portraits, etc.), setting up a website, getting clients, etc.

Book ~ "Taste: My Life through Food" (20201) Stanley Tucci

From Goodreads ~ Before Stanley Tucci became a household name with "The Devil Wears Prada", "The Hunger Games", and the perfect Negroni, he grew up in an Italian American family that spent every night around the table. He shared the magic of those meals with us in "The Tucci Cookbook" and "The Tucci Table", and now he takes us beyond the recipes and into the stories behind them.

Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about growing up in Westchester, New York, preparing for and filming the foodie films "Big Night" and "Julie & Julia", falling in love over dinner, and teaming up with his wife to create conversation-starting meals for their children. Each morsel of this gastronomic journey through good times and bad, five-star meals and burnt dishes, is as heartfelt and delicious as the last.

Written with Stanley's signature wry humour and nostalgia, "Taste" is a heartwarming read that will be irresistible for anyone who knows the power of a home-cooked meal.

I haven't seen a lot of things that Stanley Tucci has been in but Julie & Julia comes to mind.  I like reading bios/autobios and thought his story would be interesting ... and it was.

The book starts with Tucci's beginnings, the son of Italian immigrants, and what it was like living in the States with Italian traditions and foods.  He headed to New York to become an actor and worked the jobs he had to so he could pay his rent.  He talks about his marriages (his first wife passed away from cancer in 2009) and his children, his travels, the food he has eaten in his travels, his own battle with cancer and more.

I liked the writing style ... it was honest yet amusing at times.  I found it to be conversational, like he was sitting at the kitchen table having a glass of wine or cocktail and chatting.  Interspersed with his life stories are the recipes he was making or experiencing at the time ... it's obvious he love love loves food.  As a head's up, he likes to swear (I had no issue with that).

Burrito Boyz, Toronto, ON (Adelaide W)

Gord, Shawna, Trish and I had small burritos for an early supper at Burrito Boyz on Adelaide W. 

Gord had shrimp, Shawna had ground beef, Trish had ground soy and here’s my chicken burrito. Yum!

The Roy Public House, Toronto, ON

After the Leslieville Beer Fest, Gord and I had supper at The Roy Public House in Leslieville. 

I ordered East End Curry (authentic butter chicken curry served with basmati rice & peas, butter brushed naan, topped with fresh cilantro).  

Leslieville Beer Fest, Toronto, ON

Gord and I went to the Leslieville Beer Fest this afternoon … they closed off Dundas Street E between Logan and Carlaw for it.  The last time we'd been to this one was in 2016.

It was from 1pm to 8pm ... we got there just after 1pm.  We stayed until 4:30ish ... by then, we were getting hot (the sun had shifted and it was hard to find a shady spot) and hungry.

With your ticket price, you received a sample glass and three drink tickets ... and you could purchase more ($20 for 10).

It was crowded but not too crowded. It was good thinking of them to have lots of picnic tables in the shade to give the option of getting out of the hot sun.

Here's what I sampled:

Lager - Kugo

Port Light On Bloor, Toronto, ON

Port Light on Bloor opened about a year ago (at Bloor W/Ossington) and I’ve been following them on Instagram. It looked like a fun place so I stopped in tonight. It has a pirate/ship theme … it was a busy spot and had a lively vibe. The staff was really friendly.

Hurricanes Roadhouse, Toronto, ON

When I moved to Toronto in the late 1980s, Hurricanes (Bloor W/Dovercourt) was my neighbourhood bar. They had fun cheap boozy cocktails, good wings and organized bus trips to the Blue Jays games. I moved out of the area and haven’t been back in years. I’ve been thinking about them this week and walked there for supper this evening. 

I ordered wings with Buffalo sauce and fries and they were good.

Marley was friendly and took good care of me.  I’ll be back!

Book ~ "Irish Eyes" (2000) Mary Kay Andrews (Kathy Hogan Trocheck)

From Goodreads ~ Callahan Garrity is the owner of House Mouse, a cleaning service that tidies up after Atlanta's elite. She's also a former cop and a part-time sleuth. She and her coterie of devoted helpers can ransack a house for clues faster than it takes a fingerprint to set.

When Callahan Garrity gets caught in a liquor store holdup on the way home from a St. Paddy's Day party, one of her best friends is shot. Callahan and her House Mouse cleaning crew dive into the investigation - only to discover that her old friend might have been working both sides of the law as an accomplice in a string of robberies. It will take every trick they've got to pierce the veil of secrecy surrounding an Irish police organization and prove that the case is more than it seems. 

Callahan used to be a police officer and changed careers when she bought House Mouse, a cleaning service that she runs with her mother, Edna ... but she still does private investigating on the side.

Callahan goes to a St. Patrick Day's party with her best friend, Bucky, put on by the Shamrock Society, a drinking club for Irish police officers.  Bucky wants her to meet his new girlfriend, Lisa, who he is in love with, something that has never happened to Bucky before.  Lisa is a cop and is tied up with a case and doesn't show up.  When Bucky gives Callahan a drive home, he makes at stop at a liquor store along the way where he is shot twice in the head.  It's reported that that clerk working in the store disappeared that night with the store video of what happened and lots of money from the store safe.

Bucky is essentially brain dead and Callahan starts to investigate how this happened to her friend ... was he targeted or was in the wrong place at the wrong time?  She learns that he has been working part-time doing security at the store and other members of the Shamrock Society do security at other stores and restaurants in which the owners are eventually robbed at ATMs.  Coincidence?!

In the meantime, Mac, Callahan's longtime boyfriend has been offered a job five hours away in Nashville and he wants Callahan and Edna to go with him.  Edna's psyched but something is holding Callahan back from making the move.

The writing was okay.  It is written in first person perspective in Callahan's voice.  Because it was originally written in the late 1990s and is set in the late 1990s, they are still using pay phones, answering machines, cheques, VCRs, etc. Some of the terms used are now cringe-worthy such as the "N-word" and "coloured" which makes the book seem racist.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

This is the eighth (and last) in the Callahan Garrity Mystery Series. Though part of a series, it works as a stand alone as there is enough background provided.  It wasn't a great series but I read them all.  This book ended really depressingly rather than happily as most series do, which was surprising.

King Slice, Toronto, ON

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a slice of pepperoni pizza at King Slice (Queen W/Dovercourt). The last times I’d been there, they weren’t good experiences … their slices sitting around waiting to be reheated weren’t great.  

I stopped in today for lunch and asked for a pepperoni slice.  It was a 5 minute wait as they were still in the oven.  Right on! Hot and fresh and worth the wait.

Alltrue, Summer 2022

Alltrue went bankrupt in April and I had written off the 3 boxes still owed to me. Then there was new ownership and operations resumed. Yay!

Boxes are usually customized by members but Alltrue curated the summer boxes with “new and past favourites” to get them out. Customization will return with the fall boxes.

My summer 2022 Alltrue box arrived today. Here’s what I received:

Book ~ "Midnight Clear" (1999) Mary Kay Andrews (Kathy Hogan Trocheck)

From Goodreads ~ It's a few days before Christmas and sometime sleuth/full-time cleaning lady Callahan Garrity has things under control for a change, until her ne'er-do-well brother, Brian, shows up. He's kidnapped his toddler daughter, Maura, from his estranged wife, a vengeful shrew with the law on her side.

When his ex-wife is found dead, the cops suspect Brian. To save her brother and her holiday, Callahan, along with her irascible mom, Edna, and a gaggle of House Mouse employees, will crisscross yuletide Atlanta, going everywhere the search for truth leads. 

Callahan used to be a police officer and changed careers when she bought House Mouse, a cleaning service that she runs with her mother, Edna ... but she still does private investigating on the side.

It's a couple days before Christmas and the House Mouse is having their holiday party ... when they are surprised by the the arrival of Brian, Callahan's younger brother, who hasn't been in touch with the family in about ten years.  Edna is ecstatic but Callahan is pissed, especially when he drops off his three-year-old daughter, Maura, who they didn't know existed.  Apparently Brian had married Shay, the local tramp, and when they split up, Brian didn't have any custody rights so he grabbed Maura and is hoping Edna will take care of her for a couple days as he gets himself settled.  Then Shay is found murdered and Brian, of course, is the main suspect and he's being less than cooperative.

The writing was okay, though the editing could have been better as there are typos.  It is written in first person perspective in Callahan's voice.  Because it was originally written in the late 1990s and is set in the late 1990s they are still using pay phones, answering machines, telephone books, etc. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

This is the seventh in the Callahan Garrity Mystery Series.  Though part of a series, it works as a stand alone as there is enough background provided. It hasn't been a great series but this has been the best book so far (only one more to go).  I liked that it was less about the House Mouse employees' flakey side stories and more focused on the main story.  I found Brian to be an unbelievable character ... he cared enough about the welfare of this daughter that he kidnapped her but then pretty much abandoned her with his family who he abandoned ten years earlier.  He was disrespectful of the help that was given to him.

Book ~ "Strange Brew" (1998) Mary Kay Andrews (Kathy Hogan Trocheck)

From Goodreads ~ The winds of change are blowing, bringing gentrification to Callahan Garrity's funky Atlanta neighborhood. Though it probably won't harm her House Mouse housecleaning service, not everyone welcomes the rebirth. And when the body of a murdered microbrewer is discovered in the aftermath of a furious Halloween gale, suspicion falls on the aging "flower child" shopkeeper whom the victim put out of business.

A former cop, Callahan isn't as quick to condemn a colorful local character as some law officers still on the force. But her investigative zeal is stirring up secrets that are forcing her to reassess old friendships and a one-time love - and is brewing up more lethal trouble than Callahan and her "mice" can safely swallow. 

Callahan used to be a police officer and changed careers when she bought House Mouse, a cleaning service that she runs with her mother, Edna ... but she still does private investigating on the side.

The neighbourhood where Callahan and Edna live is cleaning itself up ... trendy and cool businesses are pushing out the struggling businesses that have been there a lot time.  One of them is Wuvvy's shop where she sells posters, teeshirts, etc.  Wuvvy is a the local free spirit who drinks, smokes weeds and sleeps with everyone.  There is a brewpub moving into Wuvvy's shop and she doesn't like it one bit and she's not quiet about it.  When the owner of the soon-to-come brewpub is found murdered, Wuvvy is the suspect, especially since she has disappeared.  Callahan's not convince that Wuvvy did it so starts to investigate.

While this is happening, a storm brings destruction to Atlanta and there is a lot of damage, including to Callahan and Edna's house.  But this brings extra business to House Mouse, which is good because they need the extra money to repair their house and van that damaged in the storm.

The writing was okay.  It is written in first person perspective in Callahan's voice.  Because it was originally written in the mid 1990s and is set in the mid 1990s (just after the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta) they are still using pay phones, answering machines, cheques, etc. Some of the terms used are now cringe-worthy such as the "N-word" and "coloured" which makes the book seem racist.  Edna was nastier than usual in this book ... she was fed up with the "winos", "bums", etc. in her neighbourbood so she forms a neighbourhood watch.  I found the craft beer angle in this one interesting.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

This is the sixth in the Callahan Garrity Mystery Series.  Though part of a series, it works as a stand alone as there is enough background provided. It's not a great series but I only have a couple more to go so I've kept going.  This book was better than the last two.

Book ~ "Heart Trouble" (1996) Mary Kay Andrews (Kathy Hogan Trocheck)

From Goodreads ~ Callahan Garrity has her hands full trying to expand her House Mouse cleaing business. So she's reluctant to take on a client in need of detective services, especially when that client is the most notorious woman in Atlanta - Whitney Albright Dobbs. Whitney is a wealthy socialite who, while under the influence, hit and killed a young black girl and just kept driving.

Whitney's light sentence has set the city's racial tensions on simmer and Callahan is not especially keen on helping track down Whitney's soon-to-be ex-husband's hidden assets. Against her better judgment though, Callahan launches a full-out search for Dr. Dobbs's dollars. But it only takes a glance to see that more than Whitney's alimony is at stake.

Callahan used to be a police officer and changed careers when she bought House Mouse, a cleaning service that she runs with her mother, Edna ... but she still does private investigating on the side.

House Mouse has been asked to bid on a big job but Callahan would have to hire more staff if they won the job and she's having issues trying to find people.  In the meantime, she has been approached to take on an investigation job ... a wealthy woman is in the process of getting divorced and she suspects her soon-to-be ex-husband is hiding his assets and she needs someone to look into it.  Callahan can use the money but the wealthy white woman is one of the most hated women in Atlanta ... she recently ran over and killed a young black girl while under the influence and got away with it because of a technicality. The woman agrees to pay Callahan double her normal rate so Callahan accepts.  On top of all this, Edna is having heart problems so her health isn't great.

The writing was okay, though it could have been edited better as there were words left out. The storyline was more racial-charged than I was expecting and there was a lot going on (too many unimportant side stories like Neva Jean's husband buying emus and Callahan's sister and brother-in-law moving in because they are renovating their house). The ending came quickly and I wasn't buying it. 

It is written in first person perspective in Callahan's voice.  Because it was originally written in the mid 1990s and is set in the mid 1990s (just before the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta) they are still using pay phones, answering machines, cheques, etc. Some of the terms used are now cringe-worthy such as the "N-word" and "coloured" which makes the book seem racist. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

This is the fifth in the Callahan Garrity Mystery Series ... I read the first one in 2018 and recently picked the series back up again.  Though part of a series, it works as a stand alone as there is enough background provided.  It's not a great series but I'm now more than halfway through so I'll keep going to the end.

Burritoz, Toronto, ON

Burritoz opened last Monday at King Street W/Shaw Street. 

Gord got a burrito for his supper there last night and said it was good so I got one for my lunch today. I got a regular size with grilled chicken, rice, refried beans, corn, cheese, salsa and burrito sauce. It was hearty and jammed … good and filling.