an urban fish tale
The food stand inside the rink's changing area. Definitely not your typical arena fare (venison, anyone?), some of which tied into the farmer's market earlier in the evening. Since it was nearing closing time, the staff gave out the remaining pizza buns. The lobby also had the latest park newsletter and a pocket-size guide to Toronto's outdoor skating rinks, put together by CELOS (Centre for Local Research into Public Space).
Next stop, Dufferin Mall. Most of the mall had closed by the time we reached it, except for the Bentonville Behemoth. The Duff continues to spiff itself up - with few vacancies, it doesn't look like it will join the ranks of dead malls anytime soon. The group took a fancy to the couches.
Portions of a mural north of the mall, between two schools.
Wandering west along Bloor, we soon came upon a decor store window full of metal warriors like this fellow.
Another creature from the same storefront. Eagle? Gryphon? Vietnamese mythological figure? (the store advertised "Vietnam's Original - Everything here by handcraft 100%).
After a brief pit stop at one of Toronto's finer gentlemen's clubs, we were drawn by a basket of nut-like clusters in the window of the Caribbean Queen of Patties. These turned out to be giant chunks of coconut fused together like brittle, with a strong dash of ginger. Laurel and Dylan tested them - the clusters are shown here at half their original size. Hard to break apart, but extremely tasty. There were other, nut-based varieties, which I suspect I'll have to try one of these days...
West of Lansdowne, we passed under a rail bridge. Looking up on its west side, we noticed some odd items strung along the railing of an apartment complex.
We were split between guessing that these were cornstalks or fish. To find out, we hoisted Niko, the newbie to the group, for a closer look.
Verdict: dried fish.
The catch of the evening. Perhaps being dried next to the railway tracks instead of closer to the building adds a special, smokey flavour.
The walk wound down with a stroll along Wallace Ave, from Symington to Dufferin. Interesting side street, full of small shops, homes that appear to have once been stores and the odd factory...but no dried fish. - JB
Comments