fourONEsixSTYLE

gondry
Originally uploaded by 416style

I messed up previously laid plans when I was offered preview passes to Mos Def and Jack Black’s new flick Be Kind Rewind. The clincher was the Q&A with director Michel Gondry. Gondry’s well-known in film for directing The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind but it’s his unique style directing music videos for the White Stripes and Bjork that gets my attention. Bad news is I got to the screening (right on time) and all the seats were filled (yeah, apparently there’s a disclaimer you’re supposed to read) so my friends and I had to change course. We headed to Caren’s Wine Bar across the street (158 Cumberland) since I’d heard they had some swish mac and cheese and a tasty fondue too.

We sunk into our seats upstairs and I noticed that Richard Crouse, the easily recognizable host of Rogers Television’s Reel to Real, was seated near to us. Hmmm…I wonder who he’s dining with in Yorkville. Sure enough it’s Michel Gondry, having a glass of red before ducking into the theatre to begin a round of questioning.

I wanted to give him my two cents too, tell him that my photo of him is used in his wikipedia profile, but best we could do was “So you couldn’t get into the movie either?” He seemed rushed and faked a laugh, but he seemed to be doing that a dinner with his guests too. Solemn and reserved; not at all what I’d expect. Shouldn’t you be a people person as an accomplished director? Maybe not. This is the guy, after all, that developed what’s now called “the bullet technique”, made famous by The Matrix. Oh well, I guess he’s a technical guy. I can appreciate that.

We missed our chance with him and we missed the Q&A, instead we sat at Caren’s waiting forever for food and drinks to have overly formal staff bring us overly mediocre food. (And, hey, shouldn’t you have a decent selection of wines if you want to call yourself a wine bar?)

Besides good company the night was a bust - but hey, I did get another movie pass, to try and get into the movie another time.

Saturday night Brassaii is officially launching their patio season with a sexy little jam that’ll knock your socks off. If you made it out to the recent Contact Festival launch party hosted by the sexy crew at blogTO you’ll know what a sweet spot it is.

Saturday night will bring together talented house music DJs JoJo Flores of Therapy and Nicolas Matar from Cielo in NYC. I heard Matar spin one night at this intimate club in the heart of the meat-packing district and you couldn’t have pulled me out of there, and JoJo, well he’s been bringing sexy beats to the Toronto scene for years. Together they’ll be launching Cielo’s newest CD Seventh Heaven. Tickets are $15 in advance from ra sunspa.

Brassaii 461 King Street West 416.598.4730
ra sunspa 388 Richmond street West 416.977.3748

Consistency is one of the main ways I rate a restaurant. It’s important to set a certain standard and continually live up to that standard one’s set. Dr. Generosity is one of the rare places I’ve found that does just that.

Since the first time I walked through the door of this Bloor West Village restaurant a couple years ago, I’ve found it a hospitable place with a great menu. Add to this the friendly Doctor, Dr.G, who really cares about how his restaurant is run.

Their menu has a ton of variety, for kids, vegetarians, for everybody. My fav is their lunch menu (really a brunch menu) that lasts until 3pm on weekends. I usually show up with about 10 minutes left and chose from a tuna melt deliciously made with apples or my regular, Eggs Dostoyevsky (Eggs Benny but with Salmon). With a side of salad and lemon basil sauce, and a tiny cup of fruit salad, it’s definitely a generously-sized meal, and always made with fresh ingredients. The caesars with horseradish are made just right too, every time.

Dr. Generosity, 2197 Bloor Street West, 416-604-0704

Czehoski Restaurant on Queen West
Originally uploaded by hc916.

I’ve been having a bit more fun rating restaurants in Toronto on Restaurantica. My favourite place out there is Czehoski. It’s a great place to meet friends for drinks in summer or winter. Menu is small but there’s a great selection of drinks, even organic wines.

It was my top pick too when I wrote a piece last fall for Variety magazine. New Yorkers (Gotham edition) could get a quick look at the best places to hit in Toronto for nightlife when visiting during the Toronto International Film Festival.

At the time I sat down for an informal interview with the Manager of Czehoski; he revealed great stories about the former mob hangout and butcher shop, remnants of which are immediately obvious when walking through the door. On the second floor it’s another world entirely, small intimate areas make up the space.

Visit Restaurantica for more of my review.