City July 19, 2012 8:58 AM

Worlds away yet close to home

Worlds away yet close to home
queenseyes
queenseyes 22
On a recent foray from Toronto to Buffalo, SwallowFood.com's Ivy Knight attended the Taste of Buffalo, with a stopover to one of her favorite watering Elmwood Village holes (see here). As much as this is nothing new for Ivy these days - she appears to have taken to Buffalo - her sentiments of the day trip were similar to the emotions that I feel when I head to Toronto for the day:

Buffalo is one of my favourite road trip destinations because, after just a few hours* on the road, you arrive and it feels like you've gone much farther afield than you actually have. It seems worlds away from staid old Toronto, just walk into a convenience store and gaze in awe at the beverage coolers stacked with insanely cheap beer. That alone can make my eyes well up.

Toronto is one of the fastest growing cosmopolitan cities in North America and we are fortunate to have it so close. Where Ivy finds fortune in many of the places that that we take for granted, I find hidden (and not so hidden) treasures upon a visit to her hometown. To know, as Ivy knows, that upon a whim I can immerse myself in the delights of Queen Street East and West, the Saint Lawrence Market and the Distillery District, it's empowering to have such an incredible city so close. Even though I don't head to these destinations on our doorstep nearly as much as I should, it's comforting knowing that they are there. I'm happy to hear that Ivy feels the same way about some of our own neighborhoods.

*Regarding a trip to Toronto, it's only an hour and a half a way and if you plan it right you can usually avoid the traffic at the bridge and traffic once you get there. Photo: Swallow.com
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schvanstuchen
July 19, 2012 10:11 AM
schvanstuchen

I heard recently that Toronto is now the 5th largest city in North America!

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No_Illusions
July 19, 2012 3:06 PM
No_Illusions

Apparently you are right.

5th in North America by city proper.

6th by Metropolitan Area

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_North_America

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Meliq
July 19, 2012 10:37 AM
Meliq

Toronto is my favorite city of all time! Some of my picks include:
Greektown (Danforth Ave.) You can't walk there from downtown but take the drive, park and be delighted at both the retail and grocery stores. I want to live there!

Little India--a color explosion for the eyes! The saris are gorgeous!

My Market Bakery--in the Kensington Village/Market area. Cheddar Cheese Bread :)

Queen St. West--fun for fabric and home decor shopping--always find a little something.

Cafe Diplomatico--(College St., Little Italy) The best Carbonara sauce you'll ever have--they use Canadian bacon!!!

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BuffaloRox
July 19, 2012 11:01 AM
BuffaloRox

Checkout Bloor West Village - laid back neighborhood of shops, pubs and restaurants that aren't as pricey as Queen St. West or downtown. www.bloorwestvillagebia.com Great burgers (and variety of burgers) at the Yellow Griffin Pub.

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AKBuffalo
July 19, 2012 10:38 AM
AKBuffalo

Buffalo and Toronto enjoy a symbiotic relationship in that what I love about big cities, Toronto has in droves. Same, I assume, for those in Toronto in that Buffalo provides an "escape" from the big city. I used to fight it, but I enjoy our neighbors (neighbours!) to the north more for making Buffalo a little more interesting.

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pfk67
July 19, 2012 11:11 AM
pfk67

Does anyone remember growing up in the 70s and 80s and kind of ... thinking that Toronto and Canada was... behind us and almost 3rd world. The exchange rate was heavily in favor of the dollar and the Canadian economy was suffering. In the early 70s Buffalo actually had a population near 600K. Boy how things have changed. I guess that makes me feel good in one way, and see the obvious in another. 1. That nothing lasts forever, and Buffalo's downward spiral is temporary. 2. Toronto is a great example of Canada's liberal and diverse immigration policy. Cities and economies grow with an influx of people. Thoughts?

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300miles
July 19, 2012 12:04 PM
300miles

I never would consider Canada or Toronto as behind us or "3rd world"... either today or in the past. I think I always grew up thinking of Canada as almost, but not quite, just like us.


However I do remember when Toronto was considered a cleaner version of NYC. I don't think that's true anymore.


I agree with QE in that I don't visit Toronto nearly as much as I should. A couple times per year doesn't cut it. Considering how close-by it is, I should go every month!

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pfk67
July 19, 2012 12:35 PM
pfk67

I wouldn't say that today as I view us as behind them, but Toronto wasn't always the city it is today. In fact Montreal was Canada's pride and glory 40 years ago. The shift to Toronto happened in our lifetime. (I'm 45)

And I'm not sure if you remember when Canada's economy was in chaos. Things (raw materials in particular) have saved Canada and their economy is strong now, but back in the day... they struggled. I have friends who grew up in Canada (Mississaga and St. Catherines) and they tell me stories how they yearned to visit Buffalo and they all listened to Buffalo TV stations, etc...

Now, I even find myself watching CTV from time to time.

Dont get me wrong, I like Canada...quite a bit. And visiting Toronto is really amazing. I'm just saying it wasn't always like that. I wish Buffalo could employ similar immigration policies, but that's not possible. We will have to build from the bottom up. But that's OK. I am a firm believer in cycles and especially long term ones. Buffalo is due for an uptick.

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Dan
July 20, 2012 9:52 AM
Dan

> Does anyone remember growing up in the 70s and 80s and kind of ... thinking that Toronto and Canada was... behind us and almost 3rd world

Not really. Field trips to the Science Center, ROM, downtown TO, and the like, left me feeling jealous.

I did notice that the houses in the subdivisions all along the QEW were much smaller than those in a typical suburb of Buffalo. They all seemed to have tall steel lattice towers topped by large television antennas, all pointed towards Buffalo.

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Travelrrr
July 19, 2012 11:13 AM
Travelrrr

I agree that Buffalo and Toronto can have a perfect, symbiotic relationship, and that Buffalo can be a perfect weekend retreat for our northern neighbors (and vice versa). However, Buffalo needs to work to maintain its authenticity and charm--THAT is what will attract Torontonians and tourists--particularly as Toronto continues to grow exponentially and lose some of its own authenticity.

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EricOak
July 19, 2012 4:14 PM
EricOak

Exactly. I've been both a Torontonian and a Buffalonian (glad that I am now only the latter!). Buffalonians have-- for better or worse I'm not sure-- a rosily distorted view of Toronto. It used to be a duller but much more charming and human place; then immigration, and the banks moving from Montreal to Toronto, made it big, crammed, and sometimes unbearably self-conscious. It is now mostly a city owned by people from outside Canada, and its glassy personality I guess appeals to people from older, more intimate cities like Buffalo. But what Torontonians increasingly thirst for is the picturesqueness of Buffalo, which is pretty hard to glean in cheap-condo-glut Toronto. It's just not a pretty city. And living there is not nearly as pleasant as visiting there. If a giant city booze-shot is what one needs, New York seems to offer a better, more elegant tonic.

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defender110
July 19, 2012 12:47 PM
defender110

Toronto is a great city with cosmoploitian colourful neighbourhoods buts it's heyday of being a safe and clean anomaly of a large North American city is ending. We try to live here ( Toronto) with incredibly high costs of home ownership, declining public services, dysfuntional city council and unending traffic congestion.....and it's getting progressively worse and can only roll my eyes when I here Buffalonians and others visitors extoll what a great place we have. It was... like 15 years ago, but it is and has been moving in the opposite direction , as say NYC, for a quite a while already. Buffalo has been a basket case city for quite a number of years but see a renaissance of pride with both the people and architecture eventhough still have quite a way to go but really do enjoy visiting and experiancing a less hectic and graceful feel of your city.

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gearbm95
July 19, 2012 4:53 PM
gearbm95

Ever visit the Galleria mall on a weekend? It will completely turn you off on Canadians. The ones that infest that mall are the most materialistic, rude, and impatient people I've ever met. It's actually quite sad how anytime they are told "no" on anything they resort to "well, we came all the way from Toronto"...it's 90 mins away dumbass, don't act like you took planesm, trains, and automobiles to get here. Also, when will they elarn how to tip properly? Ugh...

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DOC
July 20, 2012 5:27 PM
DOC

"Ever visit the Galleria mall on a weekend?" Please.... gearbm95, there is no such thing as the "GALLERIA MALL." The correct name is the "Walden Galleria". A Galleria is a large mall. Using the phrase "Galleria Mall" is like saying "let's go to the drugstore store" or I drove down the street road." It's redundant to say Galleria Mall. "I'm going to the Galleria" would be proper. And yes, I have been to the Galleria. And I know who the Canadians are because they are normally sveldt and well-dressed, in sharp contrast to some of the other patrons; and they are not eating and walking at the same time. I have never been treated rudely by anyone at the Galleria.

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PaulBuffalo
July 19, 2012 5:47 PM
PaulBuffalo

The negative comments posted here about Canada, Canadians, and Toronto are incredibly insulting. Those who live in glass houses....

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Dan
July 20, 2012 10:06 AM
Dan

Go to Toronto, get into a conversation with someone at a bar or someplace else, and tell the you're from Buffalo. You'll see "incredibly insulting", often with a heavy dose of trademark Canadian smug. Old Irv Weinstein references like "Seen any good fires lately, eh?", other comments about how awful Buffalo and Niagara Falls are, and maybe something about health care, US foreign policy, English weights and measures, being "uptight" and "repressed", or George Bush.

Fortunately, Canadians I've curled with have been friendly and fun; the opposite of the stereotypical "smug Canadian". Go curling, and meet Canadians at their best.

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PaulBuffalo
July 20, 2012 10:35 AM
PaulBuffalo

Dan, I've encountered more insulting comments about Buffalo during my travels in the US than I have ever encountered in Toronto or the rest of Canada. I lived in NYC for many years and Buffalo was viewed negatively, and insultingly, by most folks that I knew. (The architects knew better, though.)

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gearbm95
July 20, 2012 10:11 AM
gearbm95

Maybe because you don't deal with them on a daily basis...

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PaulBuffalo
July 20, 2012 10:26 AM
PaulBuffalo

My grandparents were Canadian and I've spent a lot of time in Canada from Vancouver Island to Halifax. When I grew up in Buffalo, I worked retail at Main Place Mall and had customers from Canada on a daily basis. No rudeness encountered.

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BFLOwatch
July 19, 2012 11:23 PM
BFLOwatch

What is being said about Toronto Ian's and Canadians in general is true.
Rude beyond belief and horrible at tipping. We are always so concernrned when traveling overseas not to be perceived as "ugly Americans" yet letting all others act as rude as possible.
I've never encountered any culture as rude as Italians in Italy. The pretending not to understand english deserves a major bitch slap.

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Dan
July 20, 2012 10:32 AM
Dan

Anyhow, despite what I said earlier, attitudes held towards Buffalo by those north of the border do seem to be changing. That's a good thing.

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pyrexmaniac
July 20, 2012 1:02 PM
pyrexmaniac

My partner and I divide our time between our homes in Leaside,Toronto and the Park Place district of Niagara Falls. We have the best of both worlds in this region. People who haven't been exposed to both cities don't realize just how fortunate we are to live in a region that has so much to offer. I have lived in other cities in North America and no area can match the "bi-national golden horseshoe" area around western Lake Ontario and eastern Lake Erie. We have so much to be thankful for in this truly magnificent region.....fresh water, gorgous seasonal weather, easy transportation, plentiful self-sustaining agriculture, great shopping, entertainment, major league sports teams, etc......I would never want to live anywhere else.

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