Toronto, at the moment

[Lex]

Toronto sure has a fun mayor.

 

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Accused of Smoking Crack

By Samantha GrossmanMay 18, 20134 Comments

 

AP

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford leaves his home on May 17, 2013.

 

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been criticized in the past for his indelicate behavior, and now, he’s facing questions about whether or not he smoked crack, after reporters at Gawker and the Toronto Star insist that they’ve seen video proof.

Wow. Rob Ford is even more fun than I thought.

 

From CBS News -

 

 

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said Tuesday he smoked crack "probably a year ago" when he was in a "drunken stupor," an admission that follows months of accusations during which he has refused to step down.

 

The allegations that he had been caught on video smoking crack surfaced in May. Ford initially insisted the video didn't exist and sidestepped questions about whether he had ever smoked crack. He was forced to backtrack after police said last week they had obtained a copy of the video, which has not been released publicly.

 

"Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine," Ford told reporters outside his office. "There have been times when I've been in a drunken stupor. That's why I want to see the tape. I want everyone in the city to see this tape. I don't even recall there being a tape or video. I want to see the state that I was in."

 

Ford walked out of his office and asked reporters to ask him the question they first asked him in May. He acknowledged he smoked it but said: "Am I an addict? No. Have I tried it, probably in one of my drunken stupors a year ago."

 

[Sneakeater]

Yup, the drunken stupor excuses the crack use.

[Lex]

It's worked for me in the past.

[Adrian]

It's like The Wire.

[Lex]

Senior Toronto city officials react to Ford's admission of crack use. "Disappointment" reigns.

Police Chief Bill Blair:

"I have been advised that we are now in possession of a recovered digital video file relevant to the investigations that have been conducted." When asked whether he was shocked by the video, Blair said: "I'm disappointed."

 

City councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong, a member of Ford's cabinet-like executive committee:

... said he will bring a motion to the next city council meeting asking Ford to take a leave of absence. [The] Council does not have the power to force Ford out of office.

"It is very disappointing to have the mayor of the City of Toronto admit to smoking crack cocaine," he told reporters. "I was disappointed at two levels: firstly that he did it, but secondly that it took him so long to admit it."

[Lex]

I want to be fair to our northern cousins. We set the example for a crack smoking mayor in Washington DC back in 1990 and gave the world a great quote.

Jurors View Videotape of Barry Drug Arrest
By Tracy Thompson and Elsa Walsh
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, June 29, 1990; Page A01

Eighteen jurors, intent on missing no detail, watched yesterday as a television screen showed D.C. Mayor Marion Barry taking two long drags from a crack pipe in a room at the Vista Hotel on Jan. 18. It was the first public screening of the FBI videotape that showed Barry's arrest on drug possession charges.

Within moments, the screen became a blur of sound and action as FBI agents stormed the room, grabbing Barry, placing him up against a wall with his arms outstretched and reading him his rights before leading him away in handcuffs.

The enraged Barry muttered over and over, "Bitch set me up . . . . I shouldn't have come up here . . . goddamn bitch" -- references to the woman who lured him to the hotel, former girlfriend Hazel Diane "Rasheeda" Moore.

 

[Adrian]

For those interested, I highly recommend robfordfiles.com for keeping up with one of the most fascinating, sad and troubling municipal political stories ever. You've got drugs, gangs, murder, potential corruption, conflict between the downtown and the suburbs, older residents - both suburban and urban - and recent immigrants, and possibly some other pretty dark stuff, some great villains in Rob and Doug, great heroes in the Star reporters (Donovan and Doolittle), and the fascinating, ambiguous Chief Bill Blair. David Simon would have trouble writing this stuff.

 

Hurrier is kind of a cool service - I can now get Electric Mudd, Banh Mi Boys, Grand Electric, Porcetta and Co. and other over-hyped but thoroughly decent restaurants delivered to me by bike courier for a hefty delivery charge. Worth it? Depends on how lazy one is. I was lazy enough to order some Electric Mudd. If I'm feeling slightly less lazy, I can get a better meal at Farmhouse Tavern but the menu is getting a bit tired - they need to freshen things up for fall.

 

But what's got me excited, not that I have any basis, is the Persian brunch at Takht y Tavoos (brunch and lunch only). Kalleh Pacheh is lambs "head" (really tongue) and hoof in a hearty stew with cinnamon, parsley, lemon and preserved garlic. If that's too thick, fatty and rich for you, Haleem is wheat berry, cooked to a paste, with shredded lamb, spices (corriander, cumin and tumeric came through, but the spice was, I think, a bit weak. Again, no real basis of comparison) and a slightly sweet finish. With the heady aroma coming off the chai, this is good stuff for late fall. The crowd was all hipsters, Persians and a few ladies from the affluent Bloordale pocket near Christie Pits on the edge of the Annex. I'll be back, probably a lot.

[Adrian]

If you didn't watch the start of the Daily Show last night, you're missing out on peak vintage Rob Ford.

 

A couple new standouts at Bar Isabel - charred leeks with wild mushrooms and sheppard peppers and a whole lobster, poached then lightly grilled, with a butter based sauce of wine, lime and aji amarillo ($38, am I benefiting from the down market now?). Both show Brandon Olsen's deft hand on the grill, using bits of char to impart just the right amount of campfire bitterness. The lobster meat was barely cooked, sweet, not robbery in the least. Wine was a 2010 Musar Jeune viogner-vermentino-chardonnay blend(Lebanon), very good with everything and I guess I can't complain too much about the mark-up if I can't buy it retail.

 

Bartender Michael Webster just won some major bartending comp in NYC over at the Dead Rabbit. His cocktails are, as always, best in class.

 

They're now taking bookings for February and March. Thankfully, they hold back a few tables for walk ins. Yeah, you've got to wait, but it's better than planning my meals four months out.

 

comp disclosure: two glasses of cava

[Sadistick]

We ended up (as we were in the neighbourhood to see a friends band play nearby) at Libretto last night (Ossington location).

 

I really don't get what the hype is about, it was tasty, but......

 

The dough itself is nice, they get a good char, but there is no crisp aspect to their crust, quite the contrary in fact - the middle of EACH pizza, even white ones sans tomato liquid which one may attribute as a source, was soft borderline mushy. From my experiences in abroad and in making them myself, the thin crust pizza is a balance between a bit of crispy aspect to the crust, with some chew.

 

I can attain a better result with a smoking hot Wolf oven and some quality ingredients.

 

Not worth the drive - if we had more time, I would have checked out Yours Truly as it was also quite close. Oh well...

 

Scaramouche is next up in a couple weeks time. How life changes when you have an 8 month old!

[Adrian]

Yeah, Libretto ain't worth the drive. It was great when it was the only game in town, but now that most neighbourhoods have a passable Neapolitan pizza restaurant, it's no longer the unique experience it once was. Ultimately, they have issues with consistency - they don't stoke the oven enough and the pie suffers.

 

We probably should head back to Yours Truly and Chantecler, but it's such a pain to reserve (people complain about no reservations waits and I agree, but booking dinner well over a month, or even a month, in advance is a bit much if we're not talking about a fine dining restaurant). Let me know how Scaramouche goes. We've been thinking of going, but the current menu isn't lighting my fire and it's out of the way (adding $45 in cab fare both ways is aggressive). The view is a marvel, however.

 

Congrats on the baby!

[GordonCooks]

Scaramouche always wows me.

 

Maybe not the food but service, the view, the mood....it's a very pleasant, serene restaurant experience best shared with your significant other.

[Sadistick]

Thank you Adrian, Chantecler is also on my list, but this little guy makes 'going out' quite a bit tougher!

 

We have been going to Scaramouche for years, almost every 'occasion' is celebrated there. There are some standbys that I quite enjoy, also some things that are unique.

 

My wife loves the 3 way goat cheese App and their truffle pasta (the pasta is fantastic). I am quite a fan of their Foie apps, he also does some great variations on duck.

 

I will report with feedback upon return.

[mitchells]

"You know what is nice? No matter how badly my kids do in life I can always say, "You can still be Mayor of Toronto.""

 

Tweeted by Albert Brooks

[Adrian]

Thank you Adrian, Chantecler is also on my list, but this little guy makes 'going out' quite a bit tougher!

 

We have been going to Scaramouche for years, almost every 'occasion' is celebrated there. There are some standbys that I quite enjoy, also some things that are unique.

 

My wife loves the 3 way goat cheese App and their truffle pasta (the pasta is fantastic). I am quite a fan of their Foie apps, he also does some great variations on duck.

 

I will report with feedback upon return.

It's a Toronto institution. Froggert is doing something right to maintain his rep. Chantecler is definitely worth a shot, though Edulis and Isabel are, I think, our two most vital and essential restaurants right now.

 

The more posts here the better. If you leave me alone, I may start cracking up.

[Adrian]

Nice piece on Toronto Pubs by the Star: http://www.thestar.com/life/2013/11/29/pubs_are_torontos_living_rooms_micallef.html

 

Queen and Beaver and Rebel House two favourites that they mention. The Rebel House, in particular, is great.

 

Food wise - okay meal at Cava, the top half of the menu is better than the bottom half. Best dish was probably the Gamay poached foie pintxo with plum mostarda. The wine imparted a good flavour to the well made slices of torchon. Sardines with sun dried tomatoes and olives were nice as well. Fried eggplant was a bit close to eggplant parm, but not in a bad way. Sablefish with black rice was weak - bitter and boring. Sweetbreads weren't properly fried. Braised brisket with celery root puree was workmanlike. Not a surprising meal in any way. Flavours didn't reach or surprise or show much thought even when execution was quite good. This is a problem I have with the old guard here - especially with main proteins, the restaurants tend not to go beyond starch plus brown sauce. I wasn't in charge, but the wines were the Prospector Pinot Noir from New Zealand (only a 2x markup on a menu that has 4x at times!) which I liked a lot as a good middlebrow wine. It certainly didn't fall prey to the worst excesses of the Southern Hemisphere but had just enough fruit and fullness to remind you that you're not in France. 2011 Evening Land Pinot Noir followed was a bit spicier than expected, which was nice.

 

THR & Co. never impresses me much, even if it shows more civility than its west end equivalents. It's casual but quiet and they take your coat. Wilfrid would like and, frankly, I don't mind the change of pace either. The black squid ink spaghetti is probably th most interesting thing on the menu. It's certainly not the chicken with a smoked-chili based sauce. The less said about the barley cooked cauliflower with sumac and raisen the better. Dessert was an undistinguished cake of some sort with a very nice plum ice cream. An undistinguished wine from the Rhone was pretty nice given the weather.