Apart from being a truly delightful person, my friend Meghan comes with an extra benefit -- she is a member at our major art gallery, the AGO. Members are allowed to bring guests any time, at no charge, but even more special than that is the fact that they and their guests are invited to exclusive viewings of each travelling collection that comes to Toronto. I've been lucky to be invited to many of these evenings, where we've had the opportunity to really get a good look at the art, without the crowds that normally flood the gallery for such shows.So on Friday night, she and I met to see the exhibit called,
, where 29 drawings were on display, loaned by the Casa Buonarroti in Florence. These drawings were from what had been Michelangelo's own personal collection. It is almost unbelievable that these drawings, created by an artist born 540 years ago, survived to be displayed today. How did that paper hold up for all these years?Usually, at these shows photography is not permitted, but for this one we were allowed to take pictures without a flash. Nice.
Monday, 12 January 2015
Just before Christmas I spent an afternoon with a friend from school, who was visiting from California. One thing she wanted to do was a little shopping, so after having lunch at The Queen Mother Cafe on Queen Street West, she and I walked along that stretch of the street, popping in and out of shops that looked interesting to her, as she was the guest, after all.
One of her requests was Tribal Rhythm Vintage and Accessories (located at 248 Queen Street west, across from Much Music.), who carry a great selection of vintage clothing for men and women, and also some new accessory items.
Friday, 9 January 2015
* * * Update: Ryoji Ramen restaurant in Toronto has permanently closed. * * *It was a coincidence that the day after I watched the first episode of this PBS series, 'The Mind of a Chef', hosted by chef David Chang, my friend Nyla suggested we try a new Japanese Noodle House called Ryoji, which she had noticed on College Street, for our upcoming dinner together.The program I had watched had been entirely dedicated to the subject of Ramen soup, and a look at their website, Ryoji, states that they are a place that specializes in Ramen and Izakaya, which I discovered is a 'Japanese drinking establishment that serves food to accompany the drinks' (thanks Wikipedia).So, after seeing the show, the desire to try some real ramen had set in, and I was happy to go with her choice of restaurants! A bowl of hot noodle soup sounded like the perfect thing to eat on a cold winter evening.As a committed lover of sushi, I am no stranger to Japanese restaurants (this one being my current favourite), however my experience with eating ramen was limited to those packages of dry noodles and powdered broth, that you add boiling water to and wait for five minutes before eating. I enjoyed my fair share of those through high school and university, and for the occasional work lunch at my desk, but I had never had the real thing, prepared by a chef who makes this dish their specialty.Ramen Soup is apparently a staple in Japan, with restaurants and counters serving it all over the place. It is prepared in a variety of ways, with chefs guarding their own secret recipes, but the commonality is that a flavourful broth and ramen noodles come together in a big bowl. Ramen noodles are unique in that they are based on an alkaline formulation (they include baking soda, or an ingredient called Kansui), that will result in something that will hold up when soaked in liquid, no matter how long they're immersed. Anyone who has just used up leftovers from their Christmas turkey dinners making turkey soup will know that regular noodles, eventually get so soft and soggy in liquid, that they eventually become an unappetizing mush. This is not so with ramen, which maintains its texture. (Note that those instant noodles referred to above are precooked ramen, that are allowed to dry out, which is why they are ready to eat after a minute in boiling water.)When done right, the broth is steeped to perfection, over many hours. Ryoji takes 18 hours to make theirs, and they offer 3 different types.
Wednesday, 7 January 2015
As mentioned in previous posts where I've discussed my drugstore beauty department finds, the store I go to is Shoppers Drug Mart, and the items are bought with points, rather than cash. So basically, the stuff I come home with is free, which allows me to try some things that I might otherwise not go for.
In this most recent haul, I ended up getting mostly basic items, that are meant not to be noticed when used. Well, all except for the red lipstick, but I had to include something fun.
Several of the items I got are things I've tried before and liked so much that I regularly repurchase them, but we'll begin with the 'new, never tried-by-me before' things :
Monday, 5 January 2015
ass="aligncenter size-full wp-image-26947 blk-brdr" src="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/kim-in-alleyway.jpg" alt="kim-in-alleyway" width="640" height="480">Hi! Now that the holidays are over, I am going to back up a bit and talk about something neat that my friend Kim and I saw the day we went out before Christmas (posted about here).Kim is relatively new to Toronto and I've lived here since I was 4 (well, I grew up in a suburb called Mississauga, but moved downtown the first chance I got). Being really into architecture the the history of the city, I find myself sharing what I know about the streets and buildings that surround us, when we are out and about together. So when we found ourselves on Yonge Street, just north of King, I pointed out a newly renovated building, called The Dineen Building (located at 140 Yonge Street, at Temperance Street.)Anyone who has lived in this city will have seen this building at one time or another, since it has been there forever, having been built over 115 years ago in 1897, and sitting on one of our main streets. But most people have probably passed it right by, barely noticing, because for decades it has looked pretty run down and unloved.It was built for a company called 'W and F Dineen Company', who produced and sold hats, caps and furs.Over the years, it became quite derelict, and had it not been designated a 'Toronto Heritage Property' in 1973, and therefore not allowed to be torn down, it probably would have been considered for demolition at some point. Apparently the ground floor tenant was the only renter, and there were crack dens and mattresses all over the other floors.Note: I took the picture below later in the day than the rest, as I forgot to get a shot of the whole building from a distance when we were first there, so I got it on our way home ...
