MOCA

All this talk of Toronto's new MOCA site and not once did I ever hear anyone say anything about having to walk through Nestlé to get there.

Local Kitchen & Wine Bar

Last night's view of a candle through a wine glass containing dregs from a 2009 bottle of Macchiona La Stoppa.

Gleaned from the AGO Gift Shop

"She's pleased with the little pastel from the other day. No Birds, an allusion to van Gogh's last painting, the one he was working on when he died -- Crows in a Wheat Field." from Robin Lippincott, Blue Territory: a meditation on the life and art of Joan Mitchell

Street Food

For as long as I have been coming to Toronto: the hot dog stand at Queen and Spadina. The northeast corner, a few storefronts west of the Horseshoe Tavern.

On this trip I took a closer look, to see if the stand had a name. All I could find was signage for its other offerings, like burgers and "fresh cut fries."

No name, only menu items.

It was too early for a hot dog when I took this picture yesterday morning, so I walked west to Augusta and had breakfast at the Java House (537 Queen). The exterior looks like a battered roadcase, but its $5.25 breakfast (including coffee if you order before noon) can't be beat!

Art Bar Poetry Series

Reading tonight with Chris Bailey and Nicole Haldoupis at the legendary Free Times Cafe (320 College Street), 8pm.

Blue Monday

Today is Blue Monday, what UK psychologist's have described as the worst day of the year. It is also a full moon. It is also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

A 10 a.m. I will be speaking at OCAD U's 201 Richmond St. (Room 511). The talk is open to the public but is not advertised as such. Later today I will be taking part in a benefit reading for Nellie's Shelter at the Gladstone Hotel. The event is called Frostbite: a Literary Icebreaker of an Evening, and is co-presented by Another Story Bookshop. Come!

Bishop Strachan School

This is "one of Canada's oldest independent girl's schools."