50 Things To Do Within 50km of Toronto This Long Weekend

Whether you call it Simcoe day in Toronto, Mackenzie Day in Sarnia, Col. By Day in Ottawa, or the oh-so-simple “Civic Holiday,” the August long weekend is always welcomed in Ontario. If you’re tired of the cottage scene or are looking for some new material for your “staycation” in Toronto, here’s a handy list of fave things to do this long weekend and throughout the month of August to get you re-acquainted with summer in the city:

1. Pet a shark at the Stingray Bay exhibit at the Toronto Zoo

2. Pick in-season blueberries, cherries, and peaches at Springridge Farms

3. Gain a new perspective with the Surreal Things exhibition at the  Art Gallery of Ontario

4.  Get a taste of the French life with crepes in Yorkville

5. Find the best sushi you’ll ever have at an Etobicoke strip mall

6. Detoxify with a Green Coffee & Grapefruit Body Scrub at Hammam Spa

7. Tear apart $3 pork scratchings at Crush Wine Bar

8. Bounce to 90s hip hop with DJ Jerk Chicken at Levack Block

9. Pretend to be vegan for a today and sample the city’s best vegan cuisine

10. Expand your wardrobe for under 100$ with a visit to H&M

11.  Revamp your home with new furniture at Roomy Home’s pre-renovation sale

12. Find rare perfumes at knocked down prices during Blossom Bath and Body’s sale

13. Cool off with a scoop of roasted marshmallow ice cream at Greg’s in the Annex

14. Play a softball game in the sun at Trinity Bellwoods Park

15. Catch classic movies for only 6$ at the community-run Revue Cinema in Roncesvalles

16. Find the ultimate deal at the This and That Flea Market in Whitby

17. Taste the city’s best crème brule at Celestin on Mount Pleasant Road

18. Enjoy the best guacamole in town with a date at Julie’s Cuban Restaurant

19. Unearth the best bargains in Toronto with a stroll through Kensington Market

20. Take the kids to see the farm animals at Riverdale Park

21. Snag spring and summer wear for 50% off at Hugo Boss

22. Pick your favourite dim sum items straight from the cart at Sky Dragon

23. Contemplate art and life at Toronto’s Sculpture Garden

24. Ride your bike along the countless trails dotting the Don River Valley

25. Sing your heart out at XO Music Studio in Koreatown

26. Take a tasting tour of international beer brands at Bier Markt Esplanade

27. Inhale a mouth-watering brisket sandwich at The Black Camel near Rosedale Station

28. Brave a seven-course meal at VIP Vietnamese Restaurant

29. Get inked up while rocking out at Tattoo Rock Parlour to really remember your long weekend

30. Hit some balls at the Polson Pier driving range then wait for it to turn into a drive-in movie theater to catch a flick

31.  Awaken your tastebuds with a butter chicken roti at Ghandhi’s

32. Have a relaxing getaway at Langdon Hall in Cambridge

33. Gorge on a vegetarian poutine on the outdoor bench of Poutini’s House of Poutine

34. Make room for Golden Star’s famous burgers: the pride of Thornhill

35. Socialize inside one of Conde Nast’s top ten bars of the world at the Gladstone Hotel

36. Trek uptown to Stars of Thai for a duck curry meal not soon forgotten

37. Learn to stretch your paycheque with the best deals on the right nights

38.  Stop by Bolton for fresh homemade pizza

39. Sip on homemade lemonade at La Hacienda on Queen Street West

40. Get a tan while sipping on mojitos on the patio at Brassaii

41. Dance to reggae and soca on Lakeshore this Saturday at the Caribana parade

42. Organize a volleyball game at Woodbine Beach

43. Witness Shakespeare’s The Tempest in High park

44. Watch a movie you’ve never heard of at Cinematheque Ontario

45. Witness one of the world’s greatest archeological finds at the ROM’s Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit.

46. Visit Toronto’s first settlement at historic Fort York

47. Dive into Toronto’s best nacho platter at Sneaky Dee’s

48. Teach your kids the arts of espionage at the OSC’s Science of Spying family exhibit

49. Marvel at more than 10, 000 items on display at the Sherway Gardens Summer Antique Sale

50.  Picnic with your extended family at Jack Darling Memorial Park

What’s on your own TO-DO list this month?

French Fry Faceoff: Smoke’s Poutinerie vs. Poutini’s House of Poutine

With swimsuit season finally here, what better time to put our tastebuds (and waist sizes) to the test with a good ol’ fashioned poutine faceoff?  The mission: To see how established Toronto poutine dealer Smoke’s Poutinerie would fare against newbie Poutini’s House of Poutine, and whether either of these could satisfy our penchant for the product. So, with an appetite for answers we set off to compare these two purveyors of the quintessentially Canadian mix of fries, gravy, and cheese.

SMOKE’S POUTINERIE

The first stop was Smoke’s, located on Adelaide above burrito legend Burrito Boyz (a two-storey combo that’s any dieter’s nightmare).  As a veteran in the Toronto poutine scene (if you can call it that, Smoke’s opened in November 2008), Smoke’s has built up an impressive menu of unique poutine styles incorporating pork, beef, chicken, and vegetarian choices.

Smoke's offers a clean space and a chalkboard prime for drunken ramblings

The purist in us ordered the traditional serving, but it was hard not to try unholy creations like the Hogtown, which is laced with double-smoked bacon, Italian sausage, roasted mushrooms, and caramelized onions. Smoke’s prides itself on having cheese curds brought in from a dairy farm in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. This region is renowned for producing fine French cheese – the kind that has that distinctive “squeak” noise when you chew it. Even though Smoke’s serves up its fair share of cheese (you’ll get a curd with every bite), they didn’t taste as fresh as hoped.   The Yukon Gold fries are a bit too soft, a drawback in the poutine experience if you enjoy the occasional crunchy fry.  In any case, for $5.45 we got a pretty hefty serving of traditional artery-clogging goodness.

Grease stains on the box three seconds in is usually a good sign

Smoke's traditional poutine

POUTINI’S HOUSE OF POUTINE

Fast forward (and westward) to Poutini’s House of Poutine, which opened last month near Queen and Dovercourt. Poutini’s cheese hails from Maple Dale Cheese Farms in Ontario, which supplies fresh curds daily. You can taste the freshness, and the difference, here. Like Smoke’s, Poutini’s doesn’t go cheap on the cheese helpings either, and some of the curds are even the size of a finger.

Poutini's bench is perfect for post-poutine recovery

Poutini's forks, napkins, and containers are all 100% biodegradeable.

The gravy (which comes in either regular or vegetarian) is creamy with just the right amount of salt. Poutini’s fries are authentic Prince Edward Island spuds, and this maritime delicacy merges well into the poutine mix. And they’re crispy. Even with a regular-sized serving ($6.19, slightly more and slightly larger than at Smoke’s) and sample of a small veggie poutine, you’ll be able to walk away with a surprisingly less bloated feeling than at Smoke’s.

The Verdict: Smoke’s and Poutini’s were both able to stimulate taste buds, but in very different ways. Smoke’s works by offering non-traditional poutines that are surefire hits with the 4am crowd, while Poutini’s comes as close to an authentic Quebec poutine as you’ll ever see. Therefore, in our quest for the best (or better) poutine, the West Queen West newcomer Poutini’s comes out on top.

Poutini's: The taste of victory

What do you think is the best poutine this city has to offer? New challengers welcome.