Culture vultures circle the wagons

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2:30 pm

Torontonians like to think our city is home to world-class galleries and museums. We have dinosaur fossils, works by Pablo Picasso and chestnut-crushing clogs. But when the Art Newspaper recently released its annual report on international museum attendance, not one local museum drew more than a million visitors, paling in comparison to the real heavyweights around the world, such as the Louvre (8.8 million). The ROM, the highest ranking museum from Toronto, drew approximately 980,000. We checked in with the brains behind Toronto’s top three draws to see what all the hubbub is about.

The ROM: More than bat caves and dinosaurs?

The ROM first opened its doors in 1912 and has since grown to be one of North America’s largest museums. With the 2007 crystal addition, it gained an extra 80,000 square feet, increasing capacity to 1.6 million visitors per year. The museum hosts nearly six million items and is known for its collections and exhibitions of world culture and natural history. The museum drew 987,534 visitors in 2011. Its funding breakdown is 50 per cent government grants, 40 per cent earned revenue and 13 per cent grants and philanthropy.

Why are numbers down?
Visitors are mainly local, whereas many of the international museums, those with higher numbers, draw their visitors from tourism. The uncertain economy likely contributed to decreased attendance.

So how does it plan to rebound in 2012?
Reduced admission prices. In October 2011, the ROM lowered its prices by up to one-third. In March 2012, nearly 30 per cent of ROM visitors said the lower pricing was an important factor in deciding to visit. A new Friday-night program for adults, Friday Night Live @ROM, runs for 10 weeks until June 22. Each edition offers a unique lineup catering to adults. Spring Family Fun Days on weekends feature themed programming such as interactive exhibits like Walking on the Moon. The family-friendly exhibition “Ultimate Dinos: Giants from Gondwana,” a feature exhibit, opens June 23.

Why should you go?
•   The ROM’s internationally renowned collections
•   The quality of exhibitions
•   The opportunity to interact with experts by visiting exhibitions, attending lectures or participating in an array of diverse programs

Target for 2012: One million visitors.

The AGO: Will Pablo light a fire under art lovers?

Founded in 1900 and expanded in 2008, the AGO boasts nearly 600,000 square feet and more than 80,000 items. The collection focuses on European and Canadian art with works by heavy hitters such as the Group of Seven, Vincent van Gogh and Edgar Degas. Complementing contemporary art, the museum also holds historical works dating back to AD 100. Fun fact: the AGO is home to the world’s largest public collection of works by world-famous sculptor Henry Moore. The AGO drew 601,693 visitors in 2011. It gets its funding through a combination of government support and grants, admissions and program revenue, donations and corporate support and revenue from business streams.

How are the numbers?
The AGO’s visitor numbers are around 20 per cent higher than its average before the Transformation AGO project.

How are they going to put bums in the seats, so to speak?
Special exhibitions. The AGO is the only Canadian venue on the international tour of “Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris,” which opened May 1. A new exhibition opens this fall, “Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting.” During the Picasso exhibition, the unique Frank Restaurant will offer Spanish-inspired dishes, such as Tuesday Paella Night.

Why should you go?
•   A permanent collection of 80,000 works
•   The Weston Family Learning Centre is the city’s newest spot dedicated to hands-on and online exploration of the creative process
•   The museum store, shopAGO, offers a unique shopping experience

Target for 2012: The AGO is mum on numbers, but says it hopes “to connect as many people as possible to great art.”

Gardiner Museum: I thought this was a Pottery Barn!

The Gardiner Museum may be young in comparison to the ROM and AGO, but the 28-year-old institution is certainly one of a kind. It’s the only Canadian museum to focus exclusively on ceramics. The intimate collection boasts nearly 30,000 pieces of ceramics from the ancient Americas through to contemporary exhibitions. With 14,000 square feet added to the museum in the mid-2000s, the museum now includes new galleries, studios and more.
The museum gets its revenue as follows: 30 per cent endowment, 30 per cent fundraising, 25 to 30 per cent earned revenues and 10 to 15 per cent government funding.

Works from the Gardiner Museum collection

Were the numbers low?
2011 was a great year for the Gardiner, with numbers up by 10 per cent.

What’s the 2012 game plan?
The exhibition “Rule Britannia” will mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee at the end of May, showcasing historic photographs of Queen Elizabeth in Toronto and celebrating British pottery. From September through November, Toronto-based painter Joanne Tod will hold an artist’s intervention at the museum, interspersing her work throughout the permanent collection. The museum will partner with other cultural organizations to bring new audiences to the Gardiner, such as the lunch and learn series with the Literary Review of Canada.

Why should you go?
• Gardiner Shop voted best museum shop by Vogue USA and features unique artist-made and artist-designed merchandise
• Jamie Kennedy Culinary Series: specific spring and summer evenings featuring locally sourced meals by Canada’s famed chef
• Professional artists teaching hands-on clay programs

Target for 2012: 70,000 visitors or more.

What I Wore: Graham & Spencer, Helmut Lang, Roots and a vintage army jacket

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1:39 pm

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During the transitioning seasons in Toronto, you never know what’s going to hit you. Sun, snow, heat, hail — these are all things we’ve had to endure from day to day over the past few weeks, making it incredibly frustrating to get dressed in the morning.

When battling the elements, I can’t think of anything better to wear than a trusty army jacket. It’s durable, warm and can provide the perfect amount of protection and comfort whether the temperatures are high or low. This particular jacket was found at one of my favourite vintage stores in the city – Pretty Freedom – in Kensington Market. I still can’t decide if I was more excited about finding the jacket or the old school Club Monaco button that the owner pinned on me to go with it. From shielding me from a (near) hurricane in Brooklyn to acting as a park blanket when the sun was out, I don’t know how I would have survived the past few weeks without this jacket.

In fact, this entire look was put together to prep for any weather and any situation I might face. The bag? Big enough to hold a pair of flat shoes, an umbrella and a cardigan (in case the weather turned). You already know how I feel about the jacket, but in this case it also made my Helmut Lang top and leather-look pants more daytime appropriate. However, I would easily be ready for dinner and drinks with it off.

When I leave my house in the morning, its hard to know where my day will end up taking me, so I dress to be prepared for anything that comes my way.

What I Wore: Vintage army jacket from Pretty Freedom, black cut-out sports bra by MICHI, draped chiffon top by Helmut Lang from Fashionably Yours, pleather pants by Graham & Spencer from Fashionably Yours, bag from Roots, shoes from Aldo.

Grace Carroll is a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in ELLE UK, ELLEcanada.com, Plaid magazine and FILLER magazine. Keep up with her daily blog at www.graciecarroll.com.

Toronto's Best Taco

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12:50 pm

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Mexican food has never been hotter — or better — in Toronto. Just in time for the annual celebration of Mexican heritage, spicy food connoisseur and host of Everyday Exotic and Heat Seekers on Food Network, Roger Mooking, tells us which of the city’s tacos is tops.

Winner: Hand-held heaven

MILAGRO CANTINA MEXICANA

Mooking first opens the taco shell from Milagro to inspect the braised pork and black bean filling, claiming that it “smells great!” He’s not disappointed when he finally tastes it, claiming it has the most flavour of all the tacos tested. He happily declares it the winning dish.
3187 Yonge St. Price: $17.95 for 3 tacos plus sides.

Some like it hot

LONE STAR TEXAS GRILL

“This is a fresh dough, man!” the delighted judge exclaims, immediately impressed just looking at Lone Star’s taco shell. He awards this dish the runner-up title, praising the smoky heat and tender texture of the pork.
9301 Yonge St. (Richmond Hill). Price: $14.99 for 3 tacos plus sides.

Fold over

EL TROMPO RESTAURANT

“This looks promising,” says Mooking with a cheeky grin, speculating on which eateries make their shells in-house. He squeezes some lime on the taco before going in for a first taste. Ultimately he enjoys the pineapple added to the pork, but finds the taco altogether a bit too sweet.
277 Augusta Ave. Price: $9.75 for 5 tacos.

Double delight

TACOS EL ASADOR

“This is a classic presentation that you see a lot in L.A.,” Mooking says, referring to the double shell, which is meant to hold in the juices from the filling more effectively. Ironically, he finds this taco too dry — although he compliments it for its “robust flavour.”
690 Bloor St. W. Price: $2.90 per taco.

Spice is right

MEXICO LINDO

When our affable judge takes a hearty bite of the beef taco from Mexico Lindo, the shell falls apart in his hand, leaving him wishing they had doubled up à la Tacos el Asador. However, he claims the flavour, particularly of the salsa verde, is very good — the perfect amount of heat.
1618 Bayview Ave. Price: $10.95 for 2 tacos plus sides.

Identity crisis

Z-TECA

Looking at the ingredients used in the chicken taco from Z-Teca, including romaine lettuce and a creamy sauce, Mooking jokes that it more closely resembles a chicken Caesar wrap than an authentic Mexican dish. It does, however, get high praise for its freshness.
1800 Sheppard Ave. E. Price: $7.95 for 2 tacos.

Casino referendum a big gamble for Toronto

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10:49 am

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Dropping a casino option on Toronto has provided a marvellous insight into the decision-making processes of the city’sl politicians. Who wants the issue decided by a referendum? That’s not such an easy question to answer. Mayor Rob Ford and his sidekick brother Doug might both believe that a casino for Toronto is exactly what’s needed, but they are not of one mind on the matter of a referendum and for good reason.

Mayor Ford has always taken the position that his political agenda is simply a reflection of what most Torontonians think, hence his support for subways over every other kind of public transit whatever the cost. But if there is a referendum on casinos and people say no, the mayor can no longer make that claim. Indeed, if the referendum says yes by just a thin margin, his status as a mayor speaking for most people starts to look shaky.

That’s why preliminary consideration of the casino option has been pushed off to the city’s executive committee, a committee stacked with councillors appointed by the mayor and therefore likely to respect his ambivalence. It’s unclear what the committee can do with the issue other than delay any decision for a while. Maybe it will agree a referendum could take place during the municipal election in 2014.

Should the casino decision be made not by referendum, but by city councillors? If so, public hearings will be required, and it is fair to say that those who are opposed to casinos and gambling are far more committed to their position than those who favour them, so the hearings will be stacked with speakers in opposition.

This is, after all, Toronto the Good, where as recently as 1950 Mayor Hiram McCallum was heard to say in reaction to the idea of Sunday baseball, “You can shoot a cannon off on Yonge Street on Sunday, and I hope that will continue.” There’s a legacy here and in many other North American cities that gambling is a social pathology to be avoided: it is not by chance that Toronto does not have a casino.

Unlike most municipal decisions, a casino raises a host of moral issues, particularly about the role of government and the nature of taxation. The brilliant political commentator Tony Judt remarked, just before his death two years ago, “Whether or not we think gambling is a sin, we can hardly deny that it is a step backwards in social policy: gambling is regressive, selective, indirect taxation. You are basically encouraging the poor to spend money in expectation of wealth, whereas the wealthy, even if they did choose to spend the same amount of money, would not feel the loss.”

Agreeing that it’s ineffective to ban gambling altogether, Judt says, “It is one thing to acknowledge human imperfection, quite another to exploit it mercilessly as a substitute for social policy.” I suspect such views would find powerful expression at public hearings.

There’s the other question of location. MGM, a gigantic global casino operator, has made it clear that the downtown waterfront is the only location where it would invest a few billion on gambling dens and the hotels and restaurants that support the activity. That would be bound to create strong opposition from the downtown restaurants and hotels that would find business drained away by the discounts casinos generally provide patrons. These arguments would hold some sway at the Ontario Municipal Board.

Much less attractive is the Woodbine racetrack location in the far reaches of Rexdale — Ford country, for sure — but even the shopping mall promised by then-councillor Rob Ford never arrived even after years of hoopla.

In short, this is a tricky issue for those who think a casino should be established in Toronto. At this point, it’s not clear how they can arrange things to get a positive decision quickly. We’ll have to see how the municipal lobbyists and spin doctors push the issue in the next few months in their attempt to close the deal.

Morning Throwback: before Brad Smith, the ladies all wanted a piece of this guy

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8:00 am

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Forget Brad Smith. Back in the mid-1900s, George H. Hees was the ultimate ladies’ man. Armed with a killer throw and a righteous ‘stache, Hees was the bees mother freaking knees. A rose? Hees gave out ghost orchids. A helicopter ride? Try a zeppelin. A hiatus? There was only one day when Hees wasn’t working his magic with a lady and that was the stock market crash of 1929.

Brad Smith: officially Canada’s most eligible bachelor

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4:25 pm

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After an intense search through the nation’s unmarried men, The Bachelor Canada team have finally found their guy. CityTV announced today that Canada’s first Bachelor will be 28-year-old Canadian footballer Brad Smith. The show has yet to announce the names of the 25 bachelorettes who will be competing to receive a rose from him, so while the nation waits with bated breath for that news, let’s distract ourselves with a closer look at Mr. Smith.

He’s sporty. Smith is a CFL free agent who previously played wide receiver for the Montreal Alouettes, the Toronto Argonauts and, more recently, the Edmonton Eskimos.

He knows the language of love. Smith hails from from Hudson, Quebec. Coming from La Belle Province means he speaks French — expect him to use this talent to induce swooning at opportune moments.

His dad is kind of a big deal. Daddy Bachelor is Larry Smith, a former running back and president of Montreal Alouettes as well as a former commissioner of the CFL. Smith Sr. is currently a member of the Senate, having been sent there by Steven Harper in 2010.

He’s not very decisive. In the “20 Questions with Bachelor Brad” media release, the CityTV PRs ask him if he's a boxers or briefs guy. The answer: boxer briefs. Asked to make a choice between small towns and big cities, he likes both. Vanilla or chocolate ice cream? Vanilla … with chocolate. Are you seeing the trend?

The Bachelor Canada will premier on CityTV this fall.

Storys hosts a Spanish-themed pop-up restaurant; expect really good ham

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4:05 pm

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Restaurateur Hanif Harji and chef Stuart Cameron are hosting a three-day pop-up restaurant “to get people excited about Spanish food and wine,” Harji tells us. The pop-up is taking place at Storys, a four-storey entertainment venue that will soon house a restaurant and a cocktail bar.

The pop-up will serve an à la carte selection of around 30 tapas such as Spanish octopus, traditional ham croquettes or jamón Ibérico de Bellota — made from acorn-fed pigs — which is some of the most expensive cured ham in the world. Tapas are expected to range from $2 to $10. Libations will focus on Spanish wines and beers, along with a selection of cocktails by mixologist Elan Marks.

Some of the food on offer could find itself on the menu at Patria, an upcoming Spanish eatery by Harji and his business partner, nightclub magnate Charles Khabouth. The duo has another eatery in the works too: Weslodge Saloon, which will apparently serve “modern saloon fare.” Chef Cameron (ex-Kultura and Nyood) will act as executive chef for all the new venues. Weslodge Saloon is slated to open in June of this year, while Patria is set to open about a month later. The restaurants will be adjacent to each other in the same building at 480 King Street West.

As for the pop-up, seating works on a first-come-first-serve basis, so get in early.

Storys, 11 Duncan St., 416-340-9995. Pop-up runs May 3-5.

Trending in Theatre This Week: The Real World, Crash, The Tennessee Project, Bring It On, Gruesome Playground Injuries

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3:55 pm

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The Real World

The old adage says, “write what you know.” Well, in The Real World, a playwright takes that to heart when he writes about his family for his first work.
Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave., 416-531-1827. May 2 – June 3.

Crash

Suppression sucks. Especially when, like the protagonist in this play, you’re hiding the memories of an unsolved crime that are only triggered by the death of your father.
Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave., 416-504-7539. April 27 – May 13.

The Tennessee Project

If you have a hankering for mint juleps and southern drawls and don’t mind jumping from one neighbourhood to the next, then you’ll love The Tennessee Project, a theatre-crawl featuring the works of — who else? — Tennessee Williams.
Various locations. May 1 – May 7.

Bring It On: The Musical

Remember when you first watched the 2000 cheerleading movie Bring It On, starring what’s-her-name Kirsten Dunst, and thinking that it would make a great musical? No? Well, too bad, because that would have made you psychic.
Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St., 416-872-1212. May 2 – June 3.

Gruesome Playground Injuries — Top pick!

Two childhood friends compare scars and wounds for 30 years, exploring a tortuous relationship that asks: how far can a person go to heal another’s pain?
Theatre Centre, 1087 Queen St. W., 416-538-0988. May 2 – May 13.

Hot Docs interview: why you shouldn’t believe everything you read

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1:20 pm

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Shadows of Liberty is a pull-no-punches kind of film that looks at how quality news reporting is being crushed between government and corporate interests. It is the work of Jean-Philippe Tremblay, a U.K.-based Canadian director, writer and producer, and received its world premiere on Friday at Hot Docs. Although Tremblay has years of experience in documentaries, this is his first feature-length film. Nevertheless, it shines with high production values, and the list of names in it — including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and former news anchor Dan Rather — is impressive.

To get the inside news on what corporate-owned mainstream media won’t tell us, we spoke with Tremblay, and one of his stars, media critic Jeff Cohen. Here are some highlights.

First, the bad news

Cohen: [The U.S.] is a country that was founded by revolutionary journalists and pamphleteers… Now it’s devolved… There are half a dozen conglomerates that are sitting on the windpipe of the First Amendment.
Tremblay: Mainstream media are this very sophisticated propaganda where they can do whatever the hell they want. They can take an issue and divert it every which way, prioritize certain issues that have no reason for being there except to hide information and divert people’s attention. And that’s why we made this film.

The good news

Tremblay: There are more and more Americans and people around the world getting involved in media reform. But for change to happen, we have to all get involved, we have to get mad. And the change is going to happen over the next decade with new technology and the Internet.
Cohen: The way of the future is independent media. There is an ethic among the ethical big bloggers that is far beyond anything in the mainstream media.

The changing meaning of the word “news”

Cohen: Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show and The Colbert Report do the kind of feisty reporting that news is supposed to do. In [the U.S.], you can’t say that stuff unless you’re a comedian. Since they don’t pretend to be journalists, they can get away with journalism.

ABC, BBC, CBC

Tremblay: I don’t think [BBC and CBC] are perfect institutions, because they are tied to the government, and these governments are kind of lapdogs to the American government. That being said, they do serve the public better than any of the mainstream media organizations in the United States. I’d much rather listen to CBC news or BBC news than NBC or ABC or Fox News.
Cohen: I was watching CBC today and it is so much better than U.S. news. And on the BBC, I was stunned to see four people analyzing the global economy talking about the disappearing middle class and how we can’t fix things with more austerity. Now, in my country, that’s an “alternative” view. But on the BBC, it was the mainstream position.

Viva la revolucíon!

Cohen: People in the movie have organizations and websites. Amy Goodman hosts Democracy Now!, John Nichols writes for The Nation. Hopefully people will leave the movie critical, not trusting, and they’ll search the Internet. And as long as we maintain a free Internet, they’ll be able to find alternatives.
Tremblay: Apart from just the film, we are going to start building an outreach program on media reform through our website.

Evan Andrew Mackay is a Toronto playwright and humorist who writes about culture and social justice.

According to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, Canada is a culinary wasteland

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10:47 am

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The world’s 50 best restaurants were announced yesterday, and Canada has plenty of reasons to rejoice. Our bad — what we meant to say is that Canada has no reasons to rejoice, because not one single Canadian restaurant made the list (again). It gets worse: Canada didn’t even get a mention on the top 100, when in 2010 we at least had Cambridge’s Langdon Hall at number 77 and Calgary’s Rouge at number 60.

The list, compiled by Restaurant Magazine and sponsored by S. Pellegrino, was once again topped by Copenhagen’s Noma, which has held the spot since 2010. Other notable performers included New York’s Per Se, which moved up four spots to number six, and London’s Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, which debuted at number nine.

The good news is that Canadians can at least live vicariously through restaurateurs on the list that are coming to Canada. David Chang, who is apparently opening his Toronto ventures in August of this year, earned spots at 37 and 79 (for Momofuku Ssäm Bar and Momofuku Ko, respectively), while Daniel Boulud, who is also opening a restaurant in Toronto this year, has a spot at number 25 with Daniel.

As strange as it may seem, Canada has not always received the cold shoulder from Restaurant Magazine. Michael Stadtländer’s Eigensinn Farm came in at number nine in 2002 — dropping to number 28 the next year — and Susur Lee’s erstwhile Susur came in at number 49 in 2002.

See the full list here.

Morning Throwback: before Settlers of Catan, Toronto had this game called “chess”

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8:00 am

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Ah, yes. The great chess match of 1914-ish: Morrison vs. Marshall. Never heard of it? Here’s all you need to know. Team Morrison’s slogan: “I’ll take your pawn, all day long;” Team Marshall’s tagline: “This is a stick-up: give up your bishop.” The game was so epically long that those two dudes’ beards turned white in the process. The game was won in only four moves. Marshall ended up losing, but his great-great grandson invented the game Connect Four, so it all worked out in the wash.

Big Smoke Burger set to expand pretty much everywhere

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5:11 pm

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Toronto franchise Big Smoke Burger (previously known as Craft Burger) announced today that it’s planning on making inroads into the U.S. and other global markets, starting with a Manhattan location set to open later this year. The team behind that location is looking to eventually open 50 Big Smoke Burgers in the New York and Chicago area.

Big Smoke Burger has hired franchise development company Fransmart (the company that helped the expansion of Five Guys Burgers and Fries and other brands) to ramp up its expansion.

Currently, Big Smoke Burger has four locations.