arts & culture \\ 10

{ArtsAndculture@thestrAnd.cA } THE STRAND | 14 march 2012

How the West was fun

In need of a little adventure? Spend a day heading toward the setting sun. Weve prepared a map from campus for youwhether you decide to walk, bike, or take the TTC is your call.

erin Duff e rov G Park

RONCESVALLES

OSSINGTON
4. The Lakeview 1132 Dundas St. West Yep, its the truthThe Lakeview is ALWAYS OPEN. That, along with a wideranging menu, a big space, and a lucky location at the North end of the recently trendy strip of Ossington, explain its popularity over the past few years. Dont be surprised to wait in line. At 3 am Epic Mealtime drunks drool over deep-fried mac n cheese balls and wannabe gourmands devour fungi salads with dijon dressing. Eight hours later, the hungover stagger out of bed for poached eggs and mimosas. Stop by to witness the spectacleand for a spot of lunch. The warm goat cheese, pear, and walnut salad is pretty drool-worthy. Eat it on the patio though a bit too close to the din of Dundas, it`s still a great excuse to get some sun when the weathers feeling friendly. -Leila Kent

1. Mrs. Huizenga 121 Roncesvalles Ave. This alternative retail destination offers unique and superbly picked vintage finds for affordable prices. With its helpful and friendly staff and array of enchanting merchandise, its impossible to say if it will be a sequined trophy dress or cherry-wood jewelry box that ends up coming home with you. From handkerchiefs to bookshelves, Mrs. Huizengas has it all and is definitely worth a visit. -Anne Rucchetto 3. Balluchon Raymond 221 Sorauren Ave. One of the many perks of Parkdale is that there is not a Starbucks in sight (for now). Balluchon Raymond, nestled between Dundas and Queen on Sorauren Avenue, is a friendly hangout for the trendy Roncesevalles crowd. With the oddly complementary aromas of cheese and espresso, as well as its exposed brick walls adorned with paintings, you feel immediately at home. When I walked in, the entire caf was singing The Cures Friday Im in Love. Balluchon is both a caf/restaurant and gourmet grocery, serving tasty buttery pastries and daily features like cranberry cured elk. -Alice Tallman 5. The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art 952 Queen Street West The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) is one of a kind. Offering free admission with a pay-what-you-can option, the MOCCA features art from around the globe-with special focus on Canadian talent. The MOCCA was one of the main kick-starters in developing Queen West into the cultural hub the area has now become. If youve got a free afternoon or want to beef up on your art knowledge, swing by the MOCCA. -Anne Rucchetto

2. Keriwa Caf, 1690 Queen St. West With a chef named Aaron Joseph Bear Robe and a Queen West address, you know its got to be good at Keriwa Caf. As of August 2012, this little Parkdale restaurant will be celebrating one year in business. Their philosophy: presenting food as rich as the heritage of Canadas people, Aboriginal and non-aboriginal, that make up the culinary landscape of our country today. A menu that changes monthly takes inspiration from the many traditions of this culinary landscape. Everything from the bread to the bison brisket is hand-made. Plus, you leave at the end of the meal with complimentary cinnamon buns. Urban living meets Canadian heritage, exposed piping meets birch bark mosaicsall at Roncesvalles and Queen. -Kate Latimer

Dufferin Grove Park

FRANCES TUFFORD

Where in the city can you find freshly baked bread, pizza, and cookies, a bustling organic farmers market, homemade community supper, a skating rink, wading pool and campfire space? In one outdoor place: Torontos Dufferin Grove Park. Located on Dufferin St. just south of Bloor, Dufferin Grove encompasses fourteen acres of urban park serving as a busy hub for the areas residents. The park`s unique amenities include two outdoor wood-fired ovens where park staff bake bread weekly throughout the year, for sale at the parks organic farmers marketevery Thursday from 3-7 pm. In the winter, two skating rinks provide hours of fun for leisure skaters and shinny players alike. Skates are available to rent for $2 a pop, while chili, cookies, hot-chocolate, home-made muffins and fair-trade coffee are for sale inside the rink house at the Zamboni Caf. All

PHOTOS BY NUMBER: 1, 2, 4, 6. LEILA KENT; 3. ALICE TALLMAN; 5. MOCCA; 7. NICK KOTOULAS; 8. FLICKR: ANOTHER SERGIO; 9. FLICKR: MPBECKER. MAP BY LEILA KENT & NATHAN WATSON. BANNER BY NICK KOTOULAS.

arts & Culture

KENSINGTON MARKET

The smelly environmentalist

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SONYA SURACI resident eco-fiend

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7. Cafe Pamenar 307 Augusta Ave. Cafe Pamenar is everything youd expect from a hip cafe on the north, and dare I say, the less dilapidated side of Kensington Market. The cafe is bigger than it appears on the outside and theres a nice patio out back. The general layout and decor is pretty simplemostly consisting of wood with the usual exposed piping and antique light bulbs - but some flavour comes from using an old weighing machine as a condiments table and a flashy banner along on the wall. Most hot beverages are offered and there are a few danishes and sweets but the real treat is the selection of pre-frozen paninis which are surprisingly delicious. -Angela Sun 9. Sonic Boom 201 Augusta Ave. 8. Thirsty and Miserable 197 Baldwin Ave.

Thirsty and Miserable is Kensingtons newest watering hole. The dive bar, owned by the guitarist of Toronto hardcore band Brutal Knights, fittingly owes its name to a Black Flag song. It occupies the narrow spot that was once home to the Havana Cuba restaurant, near the corner of Baldwin and Augusta. Thirsty and Miserable offers a long list of craft brews waiting to be tasted. Its mantra: Lifes too short to drink shitty beer! Youll find beer made around the corner as well as across the Atlantic and limited-run bottles from local brewersbasically nothing youll find at Sneaky Dees. If you know a beer geek, or are looking for something new to try that wont burn a hole through your wallet, you should give Thirsty and Miserable a shot. -Nathan Watson

With Dollaramas purchase of Sonic Booms flagship location last summer, music fans feared the rumours must be true that nobody really buys music anymore. But despite the music industrys generally declining sales, Sonic Boom revealed that their business has been actually growing with each year. In addition to relocating to their new Honest Eds location, Sonic Boom expanded into a cozy new Kensington store. With less space to work with, the market location focuses its collection almost exclusively on new and used vinyl. Updated daily, the stores stock boasts an extensive catalog of whatever it is youre looking for. If you need a break from browsing, they have a few arcade machines in the front of the store. Dont have a turntable? They can help with that, too! -Nathan Watson

6. The Monkeys Paw 1229 Dundas St. West Situated very west indeed is the self-described old & unusual books & curiosities shop The Monkeys Paw. The small store is just as gently worn as youd expect, complete with peeling paint, wooden chests as end tables, and zoology diagrams on the walls. While it mainly peddles well-read books and rare editions in a variety of odd subjects (whatever is interesting to the owner), they also sell such curiosities as insects set in lucite, prints from vintage book illustrations, and retro tourist maps. The prices may be a little higher than what you`re used to, but if you can appreciate the aesthetics of typewriters, then this store is a must-visit. -Angela Sun

With the weather these days as moody as your teenage sister, it is not uncommon to find yourself wildly overdressed on any given (surprise) sunshiny school day. Your expedited bolt across campus lands you in class on time, and also hot, sweaty, and out of breath. Snug in your compact Sid Smith chaise, elbows dancing, awkwardly unzipping and disentangling excess layers, (which are now sticky) you are struck with one solitary, paralyzing thought; did I remember to put on deodorant today? There it is! A fully-formed paragon of bromidrophobia, the fear of body odours. But dont worry, you arent the only one. In fact, the paranoia of leaching unpleasant smells is one of the most common of our generation, and the generation before that. North Americans spend billions of dollars a year on deodorants and antiperspirants, despite the fact that nearly everyone has now heard at least the murmurings of the hazards these products present for your body and the environment. Those handy little sticks of anti-smell agents are concocted from a litany of chemicals. Essentially wrapping up your pits in Saran wrap, aluminum is one mineral that is found in most antiperspirants that clogs up your pores and prevents wetness. Despite its familiarity, it is a known water pollutant and may not be the friendliest to your kidneys, and theres dozens, if not hundreds more where that came from. The sheer number of articles published in the last few years about alternative, eco-friendly deodorants proves the point that people are learning about the potential dangers of deodorant. But here, we find ourselves in quite the pickle, because although these ethical alternative choices are theoretically attractive, with their charming country bumpkin flavours like clary sage or wild ginger, quite frankly, they dont work. Pee-yew! Is weird-smelling deodorant or chronic body odour the price we pay for giving up evil chemicals? Well, along with the extra few bucks we put down for that sustainable roll-on at the health food store, the short answer may in fact be yes. An itchy question arises. How on earth did people deal with their own unpleasant stenches before the invention of deodorant? And whatever happened to if everyone smells, no one smells? It worked in 17th Century France, didnt it? The culture of clean has infiltrated so many aspects of our lifestyle, the age-old logic fails us. Certainly now that everyone smells like peach blossoms, if you show up smelling like a real human being, you are sure to be forever banished from all respectable forms of society. The truth is that personal cleanliness is a multi-billion dollar industry, and if advertisers can instill the fear of God in us humble consumers to make an extra buck, why shouldnt they? Commercials promise that smelling daisy-fresh will secure us everything from a job promotion to a Friday night date. The alternative? Social ostracism. Years and years of media bombardment from the Old Spice guy and the like, and were all hopelessly conditioned by a pathological fear of B.O., with deodorant as our only hope. Its due time that consumer choices be re-evaluated. A discrimination between what is socially mandated and what is actually needed for each individual has never been more necessary.

priceslike everything that is for sale in the parkare priced by suggested donation. A lively rink house doubles as skaters changing area and community meeting place and is kept warm with an old-fashioned wood-burning stove. At the helm of all this is community icon Jutta Mason, who became frustrated by the state of the park in the early 90s, and gathered neighbours to reclaim the space. After almost two decades of hard work, the park has seen a remarkable transformation and now serves as an indispensable multi-use space for a diverse community. Dufferin Grove straddles an affluent area and social housing, and the park strives to remain accessible to all users, despite cultural, economic or language differences. The grass-roots style of governance promoted by Mason has proven very successful at this local hotspot. Although park staff and users have dealt with a variety of feedbackfrom positive to discouragingthe warm and welcoming atmosphere of Dufferin Grove has continued to prevail for almost two decades.

Rink season has ended now, but the farmers market continues all spring and summer, when park activity picks up again. Community suppers will start once more, and for a suggested donation of $7 a plate, diners can choose between a homemade vegan or meat option. The menu changes weekly; some examples of past suppers include pulled chicken tacos with fresh corn tortillas, pickled onions and salsa verde, polenta and vegetable ratatouille, and even a turkey dinner around the holidays. Summertime sees campfires, a lively wading-pool and endless play at the citys biggest sand pit. Stop by, and participate in this remarkable mobilization of community resources and exciting use of public space. If you enjoy yourself, send a quick note to the wards councilor, Ana Baillo (ana.baillo@toronto.ca) and let her know you support this kind of community work in Toronto. Dufferin Grove Park is also on the map