1st Time in Toronto! (But w/bonus former Torontonian!)
posted June 19, 2013 8:59 AM RSS | iCal | +googleCal
Tue August 27 at 6:00 PM, The Beet
2945 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON M6P 1Z2, Canada (Map & Directions)
Hello Toronto Mefites!
Shepherd and I will be in your fair metropolis as a last-minute-holy-cow-Via-Rail-fares-never-get-that-cheap visit from August 25-28th.
For me, as a Canadian permanent resident by way of the American South, it will be the first time since I have lived in your fair country that I see its largest city. Shepherd used to live there a long time ago, so is much more familiar with your landscape than I.
I realize these dates are at the beginning of the week (sorry!), but would you like to meet up? If so, what date works best for people? And where can we meet up that would have cold drinks and delicious foods (preferably vegan-friendly on the latter)?
UPDATE: Food at The Beet first along with a drink or two, and we're open to suggestions for apres dinner drinks. Yes? Yes!
I realize these dates are at the beginning of the week (sorry!), but would you like to meet up? If so, what date works best for people? And where can we meet up that would have cold drinks and delicious foods (preferably vegan-friendly on the latter)?
UPDATE: Food at The Beet first along with a drink or two, and we're open to suggestions for apres dinner drinks. Yes? Yes!
The Hogtown Vegan has good reviews. I've never been there. Can anyone vouch for it and/or its suitability for a meetup?
Location is Bloor/Ossington.
posted by cranberrymonger at 3:08 PM on June 23, 2013
Location is Bloor/Ossington.
posted by cranberrymonger at 3:08 PM on June 23, 2013
There are also a couple vegetarian options at House on Parliament. Location is Carlton/Parliament.
posted by cranberrymonger at 3:18 PM on June 23, 2013
posted by cranberrymonger at 3:18 PM on June 23, 2013
What do people think about either Bellwoods Brewery, India Alehouse, or Get Well? Cursory research indicates the former two seem to have vegan-friendly options on their menus; the latter is just a Twitter feed but the beers they carry sound yummy.
posted by Kitteh at 6:34 AM on June 24, 2013
posted by Kitteh at 6:34 AM on June 24, 2013
The Indie Ale House is in my neighbourhood (the Junction) and has had great reviews. Kitteh, do you see anything vegan-friendly on the menu besides those awesome samosas? We had one MeFi event in the neighbourhood a few years ago, but it's rare for people to travel this far west. /single tear
I mean, I guess I could force myself to go there soon and recon for you all. It would be a burden, but I'm generous like that.
Get Well's site is here, but there isn't much info there, either. They are a little closer to downtown at Dundas and Ossington.
posted by maudlin at 6:55 AM on June 24, 2013
I mean, I guess I could force myself to go there soon and recon for you all. It would be a burden, but I'm generous like that.
Get Well's site is here, but there isn't much info there, either. They are a little closer to downtown at Dundas and Ossington.
posted by maudlin at 6:55 AM on June 24, 2013
Well, I figure if worst comes to worst, we can grab a bite before meeting up with folks. And you're right, it does seem like the samosas are the only vegan-ish thing on the menu. Maybe if I emailed them and asked politely?
posted by Kitteh at 7:05 AM on June 24, 2013
posted by Kitteh at 7:05 AM on June 24, 2013
If you're considering the Junction, there's The Beet. Both omnivores and vegans should find lots of choices on the dinner menu, and the drinks list looks interesting. Reviews on Yelp and Urbanspoon are good.
posted by maudlin at 7:11 AM on June 24, 2013
posted by maudlin at 7:11 AM on June 24, 2013
They aren't open Sunday evenings, and they close by 9 on Mondays and Tuesdays, but there are nearby places (like the Indie Ale House) that we can go to for more drinks if needed, for those who can carouse a wee bit on week nights. (The Junction was dry until 2000. They're trying to make up for lost time.)
posted by maudlin at 7:25 AM on June 24, 2013
posted by maudlin at 7:25 AM on June 24, 2013
The Indian Ale House is really good.
posted by chunking express at 7:42 AM on June 25, 2013
posted by chunking express at 7:42 AM on June 25, 2013
I live very close to the Junction and would be most interested in Junction-related things, and I would like to subscribe to a Junction newsletter of IRL events. Etc.
There's an embarrassment of riches for this stuff in the Junction, you know. My own suggestion would be La Revolucion at Dundas & Keele, then the Indie Ale House.
posted by randomination at 11:41 AM on June 28, 2013
There's an embarrassment of riches for this stuff in the Junction, you know. My own suggestion would be La Revolucion at Dundas & Keele, then the Indie Ale House.
posted by randomination at 11:41 AM on June 28, 2013
The Beet is quite small, and would be okay for dinner, but it's not really a hang out until all hours and talk sort of place. Though, if the service hasn't improved since the last time I spent half an hour waiting for a takeout sandwich, you might spend hours sitting around talking before you get a chance to eat, though. It's probably the most vegan friendly sit-down dinner place in the Junction.
I think the food at Indie Ale House is only good, but not great, and it's not very vegan friendly. The food at 3030 is similar -- it aims a little higher than Indie Ale House, but its reach exceeds its grasp in my opinion. It has a couple of veggie options, but mostly a lot of meat. The advantage of 3030's menu is that it's more small plates oriented so people could choose whether or not they wanted a full meal or just a light snack depending on budget and inclination.
Playa Cabana Cantina is a better, though significantly more expensive, Mexican restaurant than La Revolucion. They're fairly different in terms of style and tone -- Playa Cabana Cantina is a more modern fusiony take on the food, while La Revolucion is more basic, but sometimes the dishes have weird elements on them -- cheddar cheese on a cocinita pibil burrito, for example. I suspect either of these places could accommodate a vegan, but Playa Cabana is a little more likely to would be my guess.
A 'start at The Beet, move to 3030 or Indie Ale House' plan is probably going to work best for a Junction meetup. Though, really, other than the general excitement of our several Junction denizens, I'm not sure this is actually intended to *be* a Junction meetup. There must be places in town where vegan-friendly is a bit less of a stretch?
posted by jacquilynne at 7:22 AM on July 2, 2013
I think the food at Indie Ale House is only good, but not great, and it's not very vegan friendly. The food at 3030 is similar -- it aims a little higher than Indie Ale House, but its reach exceeds its grasp in my opinion. It has a couple of veggie options, but mostly a lot of meat. The advantage of 3030's menu is that it's more small plates oriented so people could choose whether or not they wanted a full meal or just a light snack depending on budget and inclination.
Playa Cabana Cantina is a better, though significantly more expensive, Mexican restaurant than La Revolucion. They're fairly different in terms of style and tone -- Playa Cabana Cantina is a more modern fusiony take on the food, while La Revolucion is more basic, but sometimes the dishes have weird elements on them -- cheddar cheese on a cocinita pibil burrito, for example. I suspect either of these places could accommodate a vegan, but Playa Cabana is a little more likely to would be my guess.
A 'start at The Beet, move to 3030 or Indie Ale House' plan is probably going to work best for a Junction meetup. Though, really, other than the general excitement of our several Junction denizens, I'm not sure this is actually intended to *be* a Junction meetup. There must be places in town where vegan-friendly is a bit less of a stretch?
posted by jacquilynne at 7:22 AM on July 2, 2013
But the junction so faaaaaaaaaaaaar! ;)
posted by typewriter at 5:17 AM on July 11, 2013
posted by typewriter at 5:17 AM on July 11, 2013
But end of August so faaaaaaaaaaaaaar!
posted by typewriter at 5:18 AM on July 11, 2013
posted by typewriter at 5:18 AM on July 11, 2013
I can't believe I'm missing a meetup that's walking distance from my condo, but I'm going to be out of town.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:59 AM on August 10, 2013
posted by jacquilynne at 10:59 AM on August 10, 2013
Aw, boo!
Is anyone else coming? I figure if no one says they are, we'll cancel.
posted by Kitteh at 4:44 PM on August 10, 2013
Is anyone else coming? I figure if no one says they are, we'll cancel.
posted by Kitteh at 4:44 PM on August 10, 2013
There wasn't really a post announcing the final date/time so people on the maybe list might not realize that it was finalized. I'm sure some of them will firm up now that we're getting closer to the day.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:47 PM on August 10, 2013
posted by jacquilynne at 4:47 PM on August 10, 2013
Is this happening? Im waaaaaay on the other side of town, so I'll be late.
posted by typewriter at 7:21 AM on August 24, 2013
posted by typewriter at 7:21 AM on August 24, 2013
We (me/omdtlp) will be there barring airport troubles (we're flying back to Toronto that day; that's why I was a "maybe"). I hope it's still happening!
posted by ilana at 7:32 PM on August 24, 2013
posted by ilana at 7:32 PM on August 24, 2013
It is still happening!
Shepherd will be the bald slightly sleepy-looking dude with glasses; I'm a little shorter than him, with short dark hair and retro-style glasses. I smile a lot.
posted by Kitteh at 5:45 AM on August 25, 2013
Shepherd will be the bald slightly sleepy-looking dude with glasses; I'm a little shorter than him, with short dark hair and retro-style glasses. I smile a lot.
posted by Kitteh at 5:45 AM on August 25, 2013
If you guys are there late i'll try and pop in. Need to wait for my wife to get back from teaching Karate.
posted by chunking express at 11:32 AM on August 26, 2013
posted by chunking express at 11:32 AM on August 26, 2013
OK, I'll be by. But I won't be around until 8:30 or so. Could somebody jump in and let me know where to find you at that time?
posted by randomination at 9:47 AM on August 27, 2013
posted by randomination at 9:47 AM on August 27, 2013
OK, I still have deadlines and a 9 AM conference call Wednesday, but I neeeeed to get out of this house (just a 5 minute bike ride from The Beet), so expect me there at 6. I may have to leave closing the meetup to other people, though, which just feels so wrong.
Looking forward to meeting you guys and sharing Québec talk!
posted by maudlin at 2:09 PM on August 27, 2013
Looking forward to meeting you guys and sharing Québec talk!
posted by maudlin at 2:09 PM on August 27, 2013
We had a slight phone-fixing emergency, so we will be late, so sorry! We're leaving in the next five minutes.
posted by ilana at 2:21 PM on August 27, 2013
posted by ilana at 2:21 PM on August 27, 2013
I'll be there with my phone, too, so I'll be the human portal for the evening, letting anyone in this thread know when we move on to the Indie.
posted by maudlin at 2:29 PM on August 27, 2013
posted by maudlin at 2:29 PM on August 27, 2013
About to head into my submersible, I'll check 3030 and Indie Ale House when I arrive
posted by randomination at 4:07 PM on August 27, 2013
posted by randomination at 4:07 PM on August 27, 2013
Argh I totally forgot about this. I am so lame god damn it.
posted by chunking express at 8:56 PM on August 27, 2013
posted by chunking express at 8:56 PM on August 27, 2013
A splendid time was had by all! Kitteh is not having a splendid time this morning, however. Thank you all for joining us!
posted by Shepherd at 7:48 AM on August 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Shepherd at 7:48 AM on August 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
Great seeing you all, but sorry to hear that Kitteh is feeling poorly. Hopefully a nap on the train will help.
posted by maudlin at 7:51 AM on August 28, 2013
posted by maudlin at 7:51 AM on August 28, 2013
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by one more dead town's last parade at 10:46 AM on June 19, 2013