HOME  |  March 10, 2010  |  Blogs: Daily Dish and Style

My Toronto Life: Sign In  |  Register  |  Contests  |  Subscribe

Toronto Life

Advertisement

Posts Tagged ‘books’

Heather Reisman not invincible: Pistachio’s Yorkdale mall location to close

The Yonge and Eg Pistachio location will remain open (Image: Google)

Not even a powerhouse like Heather Reisman could withstand the economic downturn. The Indigo CEO is closing the Yorkdale location of her green lifestyle and stationery shop Pistachio, reports Quill and Quire. Indigo has yet to make an official comment on the closing, but a sign went up in the store window last week—merchandise is now marked down between 35 and 75 per cent—and a staffer has said the last day of business will be March 31.

The large Yonge and Eglinton location, once home to modern furniture store Nestings, will remain open, though businesses in that area have been quick to turn over in the past year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Did Apple iSteal the design for iPad’s iBooks?

One of the biggest reveals at yesterday’s insanely over-hyped Apple iPad launch was iBooks, which allows users to select titles from their own virtual bookshelf. It’s a smartly designed feature, and as one savvy Tech Crunch blogger points out, looks uncannily similar to Delicious Monster’s award-winning Mac app Delicious Library. Here’s a comparison of the two products.

books

Left, Apple's iBooks shelf; right, Delicious Library

Read the rest of this entry »

McNally Robinson blames Shops at Don Mills for Toronto store failure

e-reader

Bookstores are competing with digital technology, like e-readers (Photo by Mike Lee)

Earlier this week, we reported on over 30 stores that didn’t make it through 2009. The list included a handful of indie bookstores, such as McNally Robinson, which filed for bankruptcy in December and closed its newly opened Shops at Don Mills location. But unlike its compatriots, who’ve pointed to difficulties resulting from the economic downturn, chain stores, on-line retailers, increasing rents and e-readers, McNally is laying the blame for the closure largely on the Shops’ developer, Cadillac Fairview.

Read the rest of this entry »

Thirty-four Toronto stores that didn’t make it through 2009

pagesclosed

A huge rent increase forced Pages to close last summer (Photo by Neal Jennings)

Last year was for Toronto store owners what recent seasons have been like for the Blue Jays: difficult to endure and full of loss. Thanks to the most severe economic downturn in decades, the city said goodbye to many long-standing businesses, notably Dack’s, Syd Silver and Rotman’s Hat Shop and Haberdashery. There was a high turnover of businesses on Queen Street West and at Yonge and Eglinton, and the independent bookstore sector was hit hard. Here, a look back at 34 shops we lost in 2009.

Read the rest of this entry »

New book takes a bite out of Toronto

EdibleCoverMedThe Toronto food scene gets a ton of media coverage, but until recently there has been a dearth of books covering the city’s ever-expanding dining experiences. One of the latest contributions to the genre, The Edible City: Toronto’s Food From Farm to Fork, launches this Sunday at the Gladstone Hotel as part of This Is Not a Reading Series. The book details Toronto’s food past, present and future in cutesy chapters titled Antipasto, Primo, Secondo, Contorno and Dolce.

Read the rest of this entry »

The best running gear for fall

running_thmbIn the latest installment of Super Shopper, we tracked down the best jogging loot. Here’s how to keep up with the marathoners circling the city, or at least look good while trying.

See the items >>

The healthiest meal in the world, the scariest foods ever, the enduring success of Farmville

• The travel Web site concierge.com lists the world’s scariest foods. At first glance, we thought Jell-O reigned supreme as the scariest—at least scorpions and tarantulas are natural—but then we watched this video of a writhing plate of sannakji (live baby octopus). Imbibers have to contend with still-active tentacle suckers, which apparently present a choking hazard. [Concierge]

New York Times writer Micheline Maynard visits Ottawa’s Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute to see if it lives up to its worldwide reputation. There, she experiences the highs and lows of professional cooking, including a successful lobster in verbena cream sauce, and a not-so-successful platter of skate. [New York Times]

Read the rest of this entry »

Geoff Pevere talks to us about Toronto’s role in cinema history

pevere“It’s kind of like living in the world’s biggest stand-in,” writes Toronto Star veteran film critic Geoff Pevere in his essay for the book Toronto on Film. He and other contributors such as TIFF director and CEO Piers Handling chronicle the role of Toronto in cinema history. At last night’s book launch at the Gladstone Hotel, we sat down with the now Star books editor to discuss whether a movie set in Toronto could capture an international audience, why local filmmakers try to hide the CN Tower and the irony of having a British film open the festival on the city’s 175th birthday.

Read the rest of this entry »

The List: Shinan Govani

shinanIn the latest installment of The List, we talk to gossip gadfly turned novelist, Shinan Govani—whose first book, Boldface Names, debuts next week—to find out what he can’t live without. See his top 10 picks >>

See previous editions of The List >>

Decoding the real and imagined T.O. restaurants in Shinan Govani’s new novel

boldfacenamesAs the social columnist for The National Post, it is practically part of Shinan Govani’s job description to eat out in Toronto. No wonder, then, that in his debut novel, Boldface Names, there are plenty of dishes served along with the dishing. Govani calls the book a “tell-some,” in which Ravi—a fictional gossip columnist for, ahem, The National Mirror—navigates the semi-imaginary Toronto “of the rich, the famous and the wicked.” This includes the restaurants, of course, and some of the locales may seem very familiar to local foodies and gadflies. We’ve pulled back the thin veil and created this crib sheet to the eating establishments of Boldface Names.

Read the rest of this entry »

Follow Toronto Life on Twitter, Facebook and via RSS

Current Issue
Get more
Toronto Life

MONTHLY: Don't miss a word. Subscribe to our award-winning magazine today
WEEKLY: Find the latest it-spots, top wines and the hottest parties by signing up for our free weekly e-newsletters

Latest comments
  • IMANT: “my back hurts, my feet hurt” can’t wait for the whining to begin.
  • Liz Liz: As a nurse, I can’t fathom that it is legal to offer breastmilk cheese to customers. Viruses,...
  • monstereo: Did you speak to Parkdale locals who expressed excitement over this as you stated in the article? Because...
  • Lou Ettore: Wow! C’mon are we slipping that much as a society? Is this even legal?
  • Rashad Ahmadov: My company was cleaning Dolce for 2 months. They asked me to buy wax for floors so I can bill them...
Today in Toronto: March 10, 2010

 |  RSS

Special messages from our partners Toronto Life and Yellow Pages Wedding Guide 2010. Click here for Perfect Escapes Click here to view the full Private Schools Directory Click here to view the Home Renovation Guide Click to search careers on Toronto Life. Powered by Career Builder Canada

© 2010. All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part strictly prohibited. Toronto Life is a registered trademark of Toronto Life Publishing Company Limited