Levack Block

Ossington Avenue between Queen St and College St is becoming the newest area for re-development. Every time I go by this new trendy area I discover new restaurants. Most of the area is a remnant from the past. I love to experience a mixed neighborhood like this.

Adam is the new daring owner of this restaurant. He named the place as homage to Levack who built the shops from 88 to 94, thus Levack Block. Adam is currently working on opening another new restaurant a few doors north. Within this block we saw 4 new restaurants. All of them maintain something from the past but still have a new look.

Levack Block has the restored brick wall. Make sure you take a good look at the four naughty black and white pictures on the wall. I love the large wooden bar that speaks of the past but has a new upgraded look. The floors are wooden. The furnishings are simple. The large back room becomes a dancing spot after hours.

My friend Nadia wanted to join me for dinner at this spot. She grew up on Dundas St at Ossington and wanted to re-visit her old neighborhood. She regaled me with stories about what it was like growing up here ‘a few years ago’.

Fiona was our server and she was absolutely delightful and more than willing to tell us about the restaurant and very knowledgeable about the menu. We loved her friendly manner.

The menu is small and so it should be. This is not a large place and I always say it is better to do a few things well.

The signature dish is the Straight Up Burger. ($11.00) A lamb and beef patty is served on a kaiser bun with greens, tomato, red onion and pickles. A house salad is included. The Levack Burger is also lamb and beef topped with voodoo onions and goat cheese with a mint yogurt spread.($13.00) Arugula, tomatoes and cucumber are also added for more taste. It is served with a side salad.

Nadia took her nostalgia to her dining choice. She ordered the Grilled Cheese Sandwich. ($9.00) Aged cheddar is melted between large slices of challah bread. It is served with a side salad. The portion was enormous and the taste was more than satisfying.

I opted for the Ravioli.($15.00) I think there was enough for 4 people. I loved the fact it was served in a large white bowl. This kept the delicious tasting ravioli from getting cool too fast. The pasta was filled with ricotta and spinach in a homemade sauce topped with parmesan. The sauce was so tasty and I found myself eating the sauce by the spoonful. The Stuffed Chicken Breast is herb marinated and stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese and arugula.($17.00) It is served with cous cous.

I was tempted by the Mediterranean Platter.($11.00) Warm pita, hummus, cous cous, cucumber, feta, olives, domata and marinated artichokes makes up this tempting platter.

We marveled at the giant platter of Nachos served to another table.($12.00) Monterey jack, cheddar, kalamata olives, salsa, sour cream, tomatoes and green onions are served with guacamole. It looked sufficient for the whole table and it looked mighty tempting.

I can’t wait to come back and see the new restaurant that Adam is constructing. Newspapers still covered the windows but I expect it will also be a success.

Nadia and I had a wonderful evening. We are both keen to come back and to discover more about this scene on Ossington Avenue.

Shrink

It is almost time for the Toronto Film Festival 2009. That means that all the good new films are held back until that time. By the end of summer I find myself watching grade B films. I’m not even sure this one makes that grade.

Kevin Spacey plays the part of the shrink, Dr Henry Carter. He badly needs a shave. He looks tired and his face is drawn and sullen. No wonder because he is on drugs. The film opens and Dr Carter is making a speech on ‘Happiness’ Based on his best seller. What an irony that is. When not seeing patients he sits in the empty lot beside his office and smokes. At night he can be found sitting on a garden lounge chair by his pool. He is in deep grief over the death of his wife.

Throughout the film we meet some of his patients. One young man is an aspiring writer but seems to be having a writers block. He gets so angry at one point that he throws his computer on the floor.

Robin Williams has a small part in the film. He is an alcoholic who refuses to accept the label. He prefers to be known as a sex addict. He also badly needs a shave.

Jemma is a school girl in much distress. She runs out of class, is rude to the teachers and cannot find herself. At first she is unable to talk to the psychiatrist. They later build a bond. The bond is built on a common problem faced by Jemma and the doctor.

I didn’t like the characters. I found the story to be contrived. At one point the doctor and his drug dealer get very ill due to some arsenic in the drug. They both end up side by side in the same room in the hospital. I resent spending the money on a bad film. The theme had such possibilities.

Fifty Dead Men Walking

Good: I walked for an hour to reach the cinema and then walked home after. The director was in attendance and the Q & A was most interesting and helped explain many things. The film dealt with a violent historical time in Ireland (1980’s) and I wanted to know more about it. I realize that this is a fictional account of a Belfast man hired by the English to rat on his IRA friends. He did this for several years and almost ended up dead. He is still in hiding somewhere and threats continue on his life.

The acting was superb. Jim Sturgess played the part of Martin McGartland. His acting truly was phenomenal. Ben Kingsley aptly played the part of Martin’s boss.

Bad: I can only stand so much torture. The killing and torture was endless. I couldn’t look at half of the film. The Irish accent was so strong I couldn’t understand half of what they were saying and that was very frustrating. I also confess to getting the characters confused at times. They all wore black leather jackets.

The filming was in a dreary black and white to fit the mood. The director stated that she wanted the film to have a vintage quality but not appear as an old film. She stated that she did not want this to be a political film. It was a journey of one man and a story about the troubles in Ireland. The writer director, Kari Skogland is Canadian. She was motivated when she read the book by the same name. She feels that the troubles are relevant to what is going on today.

Just for interest sake she commented on how fabulous it was to work with Ben Kingsley. She called him the ‘ultimate professional.’

The filming was done in Belfast and the director stated that it was important to be sensitive to the people of Belfast. They are still ‘smarting’ over the fact that their comrade was a turncoat.

The Ugly Truth

Every Tuesday the Markey Square Theatre charges $4.00 for a film. As you can imagine there are lengthy lines and all the auditoriums are filled. It was a rainy miserable day so I headed out for The Ugly Truth. It was all very ugly. The average age was 20 and they were noisy and the place was packed. I should have stayed home and cooked. The film was as ugly as the atmosphere.

Why do they make such bad films? Katherine Heigl is a delight to look at and Gerard Butler is a cutie. They alone could not save this film.

This story has been told many times. It is the old Kiss Me Kate story. Girl is difficult. Girl meets boy. Girl hates boy. Girl comes to love boy. That’s it.

Abby played by Katherine Heigl is a director of a TV program. She is bossy and controlling. There is some humor in the terrible program. The masters of ceremony are a man and wife team. The tension between them does provide a few smirks.

One evening Abby calls into a late night cable show to complain to Mike about the ‘garbage’ she is listening to on his program. He is the announcer at a show called The Ugly Truth. The program basically talks about relationships. He is down on women and uses abusive coarse language about women and their needs.

What a coincidence. Mike gets hired by Abby’s bosses and she now finds herself as his producer. Mike starts changing everything and the ratings go up. Abby finds herself in a helpless situation as far as work goes.

Mike also helps Abby to attract the handsome man who moved into her housing complex. He tells her every move to make. I suppose it was supposed to be funny when Abby is at a business dinner with her handsome neighbor. A vibrator just happens to be in a strategic place and gets activated while she is dining. Funny? I don’t think so.

Abby and Mike discover that they have a lot in common. I just saved you a lot of money.

Go and see a different film that has some redeeming qualities.

The Beaches of Agnes

I have come to love the Royal Cinema.(608 College St.) It is almost guaranteed that any film that plays here is noteworthy. I actually didn’t even know what this film was about. The Royal Cinema is in the midst of ‘Little Italy.’ You step outside of the theatre and you are in the midst of a dozen restaurants all lively and offering great food. The street has a beat. Red Pegasus is a gift shop just west of the cinema. I always stop in here for a look and I always find some little piece of jewelry that is creative, colorful and inexpensive.

The film was a delight and so informative. Agnes Varda is a brilliant French director. This retrospective documentary is a film made by Agnes herself. What a colorful character!

Her hairdo remains the same throughout the film but the color often changes. She wears very bohemian clothes and looks very much like the artiste that she is. We learn a lot about her childhood from photos and her story. She uses the photos in creative ways in order to tell her story. In her early days she introduces us to some of the actors with whom she worked. Pictures of a very young Depardiieu were very funny. Harrison Ford tells the audience that he was advised to forget being an actor because he had no talent

At various times throughout the film we see Agnes walking backward. I suppose this is the symbolic gesture of her going back in time to tell her story.

Much of her work centers on beaches. We visit beaches in California and in Europe. In one scene she arranges mirrors in the sand around the beach. We are able to see the action through the mirrors. It is a unique way of filming. For one of her films she actually sets up a beach in front of her house. The street is covered with sand and you would believe you are on the beach. Only when the camera strays do you realize that the filming is all taking place with a one block area.

Jacques Demy was also a famous director in France. Agnes and Jacques were married. We see their two children when they are very young. We meet them again as adults. Jacque dies of aids and you feel the pain felt by Agnes.

The cinematography is so unusual and quite magnificent. My only complaint is that the picture needs a bit of editing. There is so much factual information thrown at the audience. It is fascinating but too much to take in. I think a little editing would have improved this film. It truly is a one of a kind art film.

The Girl From Monaco

What a strange little French film with English subtitles. During the film I found myself disliking the story. As the film progressed I discovered that there were worthwhile qualities to the film.

There are three main characters. Bertrand Bauvois is a renowned lawyer who has been hired to defend a woman in Monaco on murder charges. Bertrand is a plain, unsophisticated man. He is a master lawyer at trial using the correct words and asking proper questions He is purposeful and direct during the trial. In his private life I saw him as an ineffectual man.

The murder has Russian mafia ties. Because of the mafia implications Bertrand has been assigned a bodyguard. The bodyguard is sullen and very competent. He wears dark suits and glasses and is very protective of Bertrand.

Enter the third character. Audrey is a beautiful, young extremely sexy young woman. She wears the most provocative clothes and loves to party. It appears as if she has had sexual relations with everyone she knows including the bodyguard.

She seduces Bertrand and pushes herself into his life. Bertrand begins to have troubles as a result. He cannot think clearly at the trial and his bodyguard worries about him.

The bodyguard realizes that there is only one way to solve the problem. The vixen has to disappear. How this happens and the resulting problems changes the course of the story.

I found the young vixen to be a bit too much. I did love looking at her exquisite body and brief little costumes. Her liaisons with the lawyer (and all the men around her) were a bit ridiculous.

I found the transformation of Bertrand very fascinating. He thrived on the sexual activity with the ‘bombshell.’ It did threaten to upset his work. His ultimate change of character after her disappearance was the most interesting part for me.

There was also a mild interest in the facts of the murder trial. It added to the suspense.

Munshaw's Bistro

I’ve just returned from a perfect weekend up north near Collingwood. My son and daughter-in-law have been inviting me all summer (and even before) to come for a visit to the ’cabin’. The cabin is three floors of Canadiana. It is situated on rolling hills leading down to the beautiful pond. The wild flowers are in bloom and the place is exquisite. I always marvel at all the hard labor they continue to do to make this a perfect retreat and an aesthetic experience.

In the afternoon we had the good fun of visiting the Coffin Ridge Winery and having a delectable tasting experience. The winery is at Woodford at 2^nd concession N Sydenham. The Winery Pear Wine was our favorite and I can’t wait to open the bottle I purchased. Check them out on the web. They are a private winery and not listed with the LCBO.

We then drove to Flesherton for dinner at Munshaw’s Bistro. A reservation is definitely in order because this is a very attractive busy spot. They are open for dinner and lunch from Thursday until Sunday. Paul is the chef and his wife and son work the front of the restaurant. I was so fascinated to learn that Paul was not trained at some fancy cooking school. He is a creative genius who has picked up all his skill through experience and great creative talent. He worked in Windsor for many years and now happily keeps the Toronto weekenders well fed at this establishment up north.(about a 2 hour drive from Toronto)

The ambiance is charming. There is lots of parking right in front. The best part was the gourmet food that we found most pleasing to the palate, stomach and brain. Outstanding!

All three of us shared the Baked Goat Cheese appetizer.($9.00) I don’t have sufficient words to praise this dish. The cheese was warm and covered with pumpkin seeds. There was a warm leek marmalade that sent me into ecstasy. Apparently the leeks are cooked in brown sugar and balsamic vinegar for a very long time. All the flavors melded together and the large portion was so satisfying. We did consider the Artichoke Fritters with garlic yogurt dip.($7.00) We will have to leave that for another time. Perhaps we will decide to have the Tequila Lime Shrimp appetizer on chile corn bread.($11.00) Everything was so tempting.

Kathy ordered the Strip Steak with Frites.($24.00) It was tender, tasty and delicious. Ray and I opted for another special of the evening Grilled Salmon.($20.00) I don’t even know how it was cooked but it was fantastic. I can’t believe I actually got excited about the rice so I inquired about it. There were 7 grains involved and it took many hours of cooking to prepare the dish in various stages. The Ratatouille was fresh and tasty and completed this work of art.

I have already decided that for my next visit I will have the Garlic Shrimp Linguini served with garlic, olive oil, tomato and pasta.($19.00) The Grilled Tarragon Chicken Breast was a favorite of many in the restaurant.($12.00) It is served in a wine sauce with Yukon mashed potatoes.

I must tell you about the exotic dessert because I can’t stop thinking about it. I have tried Flourless Chocolate Cake before but this was the best ever. There were two layers of this moist, very chocolate delicious cake. There was even a peanut butter filling. Ice cream and whipping cream graced the plate. Great Food! A Wondrous experience! Wow!