Tennis, Pickleball, Pizza, Red Wine and friends these are a few of my favourite things. Welcome to my small space on the internet. Come stay a while.
All in Musings
My passion for tennis has been a lifelong journey, a journey that has been part of my worklife and social life. Unlike some children who found their second home in hockey rinks, perpetually shooting pucks, I was the quintessential "tennis rat."
September is also US Open tennis time, and it's my favorite tennis tournament to watch. I rarely ever sit and watch any type of sports for hours on end, but I have had tennis on the tube most days, much to the chagrin of my significant other who now believes our television has a strong preference for yellow fuzzy balls. I find myself grabbing my phone and checking for scores – who is up, and who is on their way home, probably already planning their revenge for next year. I won’t bore you with images of trips to NYC (mostly because I haven't been recently), but I could sure use a slice of great pizza from one of the many great red sauce joints in the city. A New York slice is basically a hug in carbohydrate form.
And finally, the food. While there were a few fleeting moments of pizza perfection, the real highlight was a pilgrimage to Sunny's in Kensington Market. This place is so hot right now that getting a reservation is like trying to win the lottery. My original dining partner, Ms. Sheila, had other plans, so I enlisted my trusty backup, Ms. Sarah. Finding Sunny's is an adventure in itself; the address leads you down a dark alley, and you feel like you're about to stumble into a secret society meeting before finding the restaurant door.
But my pizza pilgrimage didn't end there. We recently also made our way to Stella's, a charming local spot conveniently located just a short "stumble" from our humble abode. Stella's holds a special place in my heart, particularly on Tuesday evenings, when they offer a delightful buy-one-get-one-free special for dine-in customers.
I’m okay - are you okay? A look backwards.
After 30+ fun and rewarding (mostly!) years of working retirement hit me like a perfectly aimed…. Well, not a tennis ball anymore (more on that later!), but definitely something unexpected. When I say nudged, it was something that had been brewing for a number of years. Although we were profitable, it would seem that it was never enough.
The never-ending "increase your EBIT!" chant – a financial voodoo spell that baffled the masses – was the company's broken record. For ages, the higher-ups were whispering about shake-ups (and I had my ear to the keyhole!). Turns out, sticking around forever, while noble, can also make you feel like a dusty museum piece. My chats with the young guns hinted that my old-school wisdom wasn't exactly the hot new gadget anymore.
Ah, yes, the "golden years" they promised! Turns out, "golden" might just refer to the color of my simmering rage. And the leisurely strolls? More like a hobble punctuated by involuntary noises of discomfort. Yelling at squirrels isn't an inexplicable urge; it's a public service announcement to those furry little menaces.
My body's rebellion tour is less Cirque du Soleil and more "Weekend at Bernie's," except Bernie is a collection of protesting joints. Sleep? It's a mythical creature I vaguely recall from a bygone era, replaced by nocturnal negotiations with my bladder and the insistent whispers of "things I should be worrying about." And the world? Don't even get me STARTED on the "newfangled nonsense." My internal monologue sounds like a broken record stuck on "Back in my day..."
Let's be honest: pickleball can be incredibly frustrating. I’m putting it out there because I know I’m not alone. Anyone who's tried to learn a new skill, whether it's a sport, cooking, or building something, understands that progress isn’t always linear. Some days, it clicks; other days, you just shake your head in disbelief. And yes, there's also a thing called "pickleball politics," which we'll delve into later.
One and done and its in the books. I have now officially played my first “outside” pickleball tournament and it was an interesting experience. Lot of great observations from playing it. So…where to begin. When I say first outside event, I mean that its the first event not played at the club where I am a member. One that would involve playing people you have never played again
Yes, I can well imagine that probably no one cares about anyone’s recap. As 2024 came to a close the media, especially old style print would provide all kinds of the “best of” in various categories. The best movies, TV show, theatre, books etc…etc. I wouldn’t look at all of them but when I did I usually would realize that I had actually not seen or read many of the best of the best. The Toronto Star listed the following movies as the best of 2024.
If you type in a search bar the best lasagna in Toronto you get a list of places and on this list and taking the number 1 spot is Porzia's
So, as you would surmise the bar is now raised pretty high. I wasn’t completely sure where it was? I had been riding my bike to play pickleball this fall and I would often take a detour and ride on Oakwood to look for it and for the life of me, I simply couldn’t find it. Eventually, I did locate it. Its a very, small drive by and miss it type of place.
My list of places included Mayfair, Glendon College,Fairgrounds and a new place called the Jar. I have to be more selective because I don’t have a car for the winter so getting to places that are far away is simply not an option. I thought Mayfair would be a good choice because they have made physical changes to their clubs by replacing tennis courts with new pickleball courts.
When a new restaurant opens in the area I’m almost always very interested in what it is going to be like. And, this one so far has not disappointed. Just around the corner, or what I would suggest a short stumble is a new place called “Stella’s Italian Kitchen.” It’s located at 182 Dupont Street very close to the intersection of Davenport and Dupont.
Well, you might wonder where this blog post is going, and frankly, I wouldn’t blame you. Trust me it’s all good. I recently found myself in NYC one weekend when a well known “influencer” was introducing new products for her brand dairy boy.
It got me thinking about who makes the best steak/frites in Toronto.
For some those would be considered fighting words while for others it’s simply a great opportunity to clog your arteries with red wine and delicious steak and frites.
As a bit of historical reference my baseline or comparison is the chain of restaurants in Paris called “ Le Relais de l’Entrecote.” A legendary stopping point for both locals and tourists while visiting Paris. I was taken there over 25 years ago by some colleagues at Wilson to the location just off the Champs Élysées. For whatever reason, I still remember the street name - 15 Rue Marbeuf, How could you go wrong - steak and frites. What a simple but wonderful combination.
I guess it’s fair to say, I may have veered off the wagon. No….nothing to do with drinking too much - lets save that for another day. I am talking about staying current with blog posts. Can’t give you any good reasons, so I won’t try. But, I’m back.
If you do an internet search for the best pizza in Toronto, one place that is appearing on almost recent lists is - Pizzeria Badiali. I had first read about this place over a year ago and it has been on my list to get there, but alas had never found the right opportunity to make a pilgrimage to it - till recently. As the cool weather has come on too quickly, my opportunities to get out on my e-bicycle are becoming less and less. So, I try to make the most of them when the sun is out. Recently, I was riding out in the west-end of Toronto and I thought I was fairly close. I did a quick check on my phone and I could see it wasn’t very far away.
I have a couple of go-to websites that I look at daily and they are BLOG TO and the other is TORONTO LIFE. Like all forms of social media you have to make your own judgments, however what I look for is articles on new types of food/restaurants, real estate and events happening in the city. I recently read one about a new restaurant on College Street called “Danny’s Pizza Kitchen.
This seems to happen to me every year. Usually around one month prior to the Grand Slams, I start to think - maybe, I should go! Now, this doesn’t happen for Australia (too far), but usually it does just before Roland Garros (Paris) and just before Wimbledon (London). And typically, I think and think and don’t actually ending up going.
