With so many Canadians avoiding the United States these days as a vacation destination due to the trade war and the man occupying the office of President, Toronto offers pretty much anything you’d have on your list for good holiday: professional sports, Broadway musicals courtesy of Mirvish Entertainment, museums, a large amusement park, a zoo, an aquarium, shopping, world class restaurants and more.
Toronto’s visitor economy is a vital economic engine for the city, generating nearly $9 billion in visitor spending in 2024. Originally incorporated in 1926 as the Toronto Convention and Visitors Association, the appropriately named Destination Toronto (https://www.destinationtoronto.com) operates in partnership with the City of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Hotel Association. They market and promote the city to attract visitors and major meetings and events, and support local businesses to maximize the opportunities of the visitor economy.`
Summer in Toronto is pure magic. Sunshine sparkles off Lake Ontario, patios buzz with laughter, and every neighbourhood feels like a festival. Whether you’re visiting for the first time or rediscovering the city you love, these timeless Toronto summer activities are your go-to experiences—the kind of warm-weather moments that never go out of style. Looking for the best Toronto skyline views? Head up the CN Tower for a panoramic cityscape or try the EdgeWalk for the thrill-seekers. Prefer something low-key? Enjoy skyline snapshots from a ferry ride, or lay down a blanket at Riverdale Park East for a relaxing, photogenic picnic. See the city from a fresh perspective by paddling Lake Ontario. Rentals are available from the Harbourfront Canoe & Kayak Centre or on the Toronto Islands, making it easy to hop in a kayak, canoe, or paddleboard and explore the waterfront. Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned paddler, it’s a relaxing way to experience Toronto’s waterfront charm.
Consider an Indigenous-led paddleboarding experience at sunset for a truly powerful way to connect with the water. Toronto’s beaches are summer essentials. Whether you’re diving into the lake at Woodbine Beach, enjoying a quiet swim at Cherry Beach, or soaking up the sun at Hanlan’s Point, there’s a sandy spot for everyone. These beaches are perfect for volleyball, sunbathing, and picnicking with a city-meets-nature vibe
I had the privilege of attending a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game, with access to the field before the game and then the press box. As of this writing the Jays are one of the best teams in the majors this year.
There is indeed a Jewish flavor here right from the top. President and CEO Mark Shapiro was born to a Jewish family in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His dad Ron was a noted player agent. In interviews Shapiro has said he was reared with a “strong Jewish identity,” associating most with the “education, culture, understanding of history, and the values intertwined in that history.” They include, he said, “work ethics, commitment to community, compassion and tolerance,” which, he said, were “defining attributes and values that were a part of my childhood.” Prior to arriving in Toronto in 2015, he was the general manager of the Cleveland Indians
Looking for kosher food at a Jays game? Bay St. Deli has you covered. Already present at Scotiabank Arena for Toronto Raptors and Maple Leafs games, they can be found in section 210 at Rogers Centre except on Shabbat or Jewish holidays. They serve up kosher hot dogs with caramelized onions. pastrami sandwiches on rye, chicken tenders and a veggie dogs. I went there during the game. There was a long lineup and most of the people were not even Jewish. They just like the food. I met Brad and Josh, who served me a delicious pastrami sandwich with curly fries and a giant chocolate chip cookie. But as I waited for my order, I heard some teenagers calling out my name. Now who among the 41,000 fans in the stadium would have known me? It turned out they were youngsters from Camp B’nai Brith of Montreal who recognized me from my Instagram profile. And yes, they made the long walk from the fifth level to get their hands on some kosher food and loved every morsel of what they consumed. This will be a “must stop” next time I come here and I would strongly recommend it to others. In addition, I hope to get to a Leafs game as well. You can follow them on Instagram @baystdeli.
The vice-president of communications for the Jays is Andrea Goldstein. This marks her fourth season in that post, where she oversees strategic communications, media relations, and publicity for all areas of the organization. A former sports reporter, she has more than 30 years of experience in the sports and media industry. Prior to joining the Jays, she spent 11 years at Rogers Sports and Media leading communications and public relations for the country’s most diverse portfolio of media assets, including Sportsnet. She has also led communications for TSN and Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium for the Vancouver Olympics. She has a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University and an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from York University. She was very helpful to me at the game I attended.
I also got to meet Dan Shulman, who is in his second stint in the Blue Jays broadcast booth, having returned in 2016 after a 15-year absence. The Toronto native began his broadcasting career locally in 1990 at CKBB in Barrie before moving to the FAN 1430 (now Sportsnet 590 The FAN) in 1991, where he hosted a number of shows, including Prime Time Sports, The Major League Report, and Baseball Today. He began serving as the Blue Jays*’ play-by-play commentator in 1995 alongside current *Blue Jays announcer, Buck Martinez. Following his departure from Toronto’s broadcast booth in 2001, he joined ESPN full-time after having worked for the network part-time beginning in 1995. The graduate of Western University was the voice of Wednesday Night Baseball (2002-2007), Monday Night Baseball (2008-2010), and served as ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball play-by-play announcer from 2011-2017. In addition, Shulman called ESPN Radio’s MLB postseason from 1998 through 2022, including the World Series from 2011-2022. He has been a play-by-play voice for NCAA basketball for ESPN since 1995, including the network’s signature Saturday Primetime games since 2007. Shulman has also covered two Olympics, calling hockey in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994, and basketball for the Tokyo games in 2021. Shulman has received many honours and accolades for his work, including being named the 2011 NSMA National Sportscaster of the Year in the US. He was the first two-time winner of the Sports Media Canada Broadcaster of the Year award (2000, 2007). Shulman was named the winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award in 2020, won the Canadian Screen Award as best play-by-play announcer in 2022, and is a two-time finalist for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award.
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has a vibrant and growing Jewish community of over 180,000 people. At last count, there were some 118 synagogues. In the downtown area you will find the First Narayever Congregation (http://www.narayever.com) at 187 Brunswick Ave, just a few steps north of Harbord Street. This is described as a warm and welcoming traditional-egalitarian synagogue.
BROADWAY IN TORONTO: Mirvish Productions is Canada’s largest commercial theatre production company. It owns and operates four major downtown Toronto theatres and in my opinion serves as a driving force for the city’s tourism industry. Every year, Mirvish Productions produces and presents dozens of plays and musicals, chosen from the best theatre originating in Canada, New York, London, Australia and beyond. The company programs two subscription seasons: the Main Season, which offers popular, large-scale productions, and the Off-Mirvish Season, which specializes in smaller more challenging productions. It also programs many stand-alone shows of new works and revivals, supplemented with special concert engagements of dance, music and comedy.
Owned by the Mirvish family, the company got its start when Ed Mirvish, an iconic Jewish Torontonian who founded the landmark bargain department store Honest Ed’s, made headlines in 1963 when he purchased and saved from demolition Toronto’s historic Royal Alexandra Theatre, one of the oldest and most famous legitimate theatres in North America. For the next 23 years, Ed Mirvish operated the Royal Alex — as it had been operated for most of its history — primarily as a “roadhouse”, staging short-run touring productions from London and New York and renting the space to local companies, such as the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada. But Ed Mirvish did more than just operate the Royal Alex, he created an exciting neighbourhood in which the theatre could flourish. In 1963, the King Street West area was filled with derelict warehouses and foundries. Ed bought several of these buildings and opened popular restaurants, laying the foundation for what is now the most thriving entertainment neighbourhood in Toronto.
In 1986, David Mirvish assumed the responsibility for the family’s theatrical interests. He changed the focus of the company to not only offering touring productions but also producing original plays and musicals, producing local productions of blockbuster international titles starring Canadian talent, as well as co-producing with such regional Canadian theatres as the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, the Manitoba Theatre Centre and the Citadel Theatre and bringing their works to Toronto.
The Mirvish theatre family doubled in size in 2008 when the company purchased two Yonge Street venues: the 2, 300-seat Canon Theatre — now the Ed Mirvish Theatre, which was renamed in honour of one of Toronto’s most beloved city boosters — and the intimate 700-seat Panasonic Theatre, now the CAA Theatre.
THE ULTIMATE POOL EXPERIENCE: While in Toronto we were looking for an outdoor pool experience. Having previously stayed at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel downtown, we remembered how beautiful their pool scene was. Fortunately, non-hotel guests can sign up for day passes and that is just what we did. The cost is $250 for two people (extra guests are subject to an additional charge). For this you get two lounge chairs with an umbrella and side table, two environmentally friendly bottles of water, a poolside snack pack and complimentary WiFi.
The snack pack contains two bags of chips, two chocolate bars, a bag of popcorn and some twizzlers. It all comes in a nice-sized reusable bag. We were given identification wristbands and key cards for access to the fitness club and the sauna.
You can order lunch to your seat all via handy QR code. It asks you to identify yourself as pool deck guest and to provide the number on the small table next to your chairs. I ordered a double smash burger, with all the fixings while the other two members of the entourage enjoyed some steak sandwiches. The delivery came within 20 minutes and it was relaxing to enjoy at our chairs.
Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel is Canada’s largest property within the Sheraton Hotels & Resorts portfolio and recently underwent an extensive transformation. That journey brought a new arrival experience, a reimagined lobby with town-square energy, world-class culinary experiences, open and collaborative workspaces and over 130,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. The downtown hotel is connected to Toronto’s PATH system, a 16-mile underground network of shops and services. With 1,372 guest rooms and suites, a 24-hour fitness centre, 360-degree skyline views from its 43rd-floor Sheraton Club, a unique outdoor waterfall and garden area and the city’s largest heated indoor-outdoor pool, this is an iconic meeting spot in the heart of the city for friends and business travellers alike.
The pool was very much part of the upgrades. Framed by lush greenery, the year-round pool and 6,000-square-foot urban and waterfall garden is an urban oasis in the heart of downtown Toronto, offering a premiere location for weddings, social gatherings, and events. It is a popular spot for Montrealers illustrated by the fact my optometrist ended up being seated in the row behind me at the pool. He and his wife were in town for a wedding and this venue was their first choice, no doubt enhanced by the outdoor pool option.
The Sheraton Hotel Toronto is located at 123 Queen Street West. You can call 416-361-1000. Log on to: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/yyztc-sheraton-centre-toronto-hotel/overview/
The Ritz-Carlton in Montreal has been a favorite spot of ours in the past. So, it was very nice to do the same at the Toronto location’s lovely EPOCH Bar & Kitchen (epochtoronto.com). We were guided to a comfortable table in the restaurant overlooking the terrace. Our server Lindsay provided a comprehensive overview of the tea selection and what a treat that was!
They are divided into categories of white, green, black and herbal loose-leaf teas. She brought them over in a box, with each flavor in different jars. We were offered to first enjoy the scent before making our selection.
While I chose the sugar plum fairy decaffeinated tea (organic rooibos, natural tangerine flavors and rose petals), the other two members of our party went for the eros (black tea scented with essential flavors of natural mandarin orange amd Madagascar vanilla) and the pear tree (organic young hyson green tea naturally perfumed with the essence of freshly plucked ripe pears).
Lindsay brought an hourglass to the table with three different colors of sand to match our selections. We had to wait until each moved from top to bottom before commencing what turned out to be a delightful experience, with the option of adding cubes of sugar and honey.
You can also elevate your experience with a toast and we took advantage of that option with two glasses of champagne.
The service is classy all the way. In no time at all a tower of delicate butter scones, finger sandwiches and sweets arrived at the table. It was so stunning to look at that I immediately took a photo before the bites began to disappear.
So, what did the towers contain? The scones, traditional and cranberry, with house-made devonshire cream, strawberry jam and rose petal raspberry jam, came to us hot out of the oven so began with those first. The next tier featured was the mini lobster roll (sesame, poppy seed brioche bun), sablées salés au prosciutto (rosemary sable cookies, whipped goat cheese, apricot jam), mini croissant with smoked salmon (lemon caper cream cheese, pickled onion and argula) and the chicken sandwich (milk, bread, gold raisins and dill crème fraiche).
For sweets, the Meyers lemon cake (lemon cake, lemon curd and candied lemon), mango coconut pavlova (crispy meringue, mango compote, coconut chantilly and mango jelly), the Ontario strawberry Paris brest choux (choux croquelin, strawberry compote, strawberry whipping ganache and strawberry coulis) and the tonka chocolate caramel tartlet (caramel tonka cremeux, chocolate cremeux, caramelia whipping ganache and cocoa nib crumble). The EPOCH Bar & Kitchen can accommodate dietary restrictions, including vegetarian and vegan preferences, for the afternoon tea experience.
We could not eat them all so we packed up a few to go. But then came a surprise, a plate full of truffles. We sampled a few and added the rest to our take-home box.
DINING TIPS
Two years ago Toronto welcomed a prestigious edition to its fine dining circuit. In no time at all Black+Blue Toronto, located on downtown King Street in a vast building that used to house the Toronto Stock Exchange, became a cornerstone of the city’s dining scene.
Black + Blue offers a luxurious and dynamic atmosphere that highlights the finest and rarest cuts of beef and a top-tier seafood program. As part of Glowbal Group, a Vancouver-based hospitality brand synonymous with bold flavours and unparalleled guest experiences, Black+Blue exemplifies the group’s commitment to excellence.
Morgan Bellis is the executive chef. Black+Blue opened in 2023 amid much fanfare. The two-storey, 9,000-sq.-ft. restaurant is located in the First Canadian Place and features a posh outdoor patio sporting hanging greenery and two private dining rooms.
Our server Susie put together a specially curated menu, complete with optional wine pairings selected to complement each course perfectly.
We started off with some drinks. The meal began with some appetizers: a burrata salad, some extraordinary beef carpaccio with small pieces of toast, bluefin tuna roll and the king salmon roll. We savored every morsel of these culinary masterpieces that Susie had suggested. The beef carpaccio came topped with horseradish crema, pickled shimeji mushrooms, crispy shallot, fried capers and shaved parmigiano Reggiano. For the main course, Susie truly guided us in the right direction. She arrived with our dinner on a mobile carving station. There was a perfectly grilled Waygu striploin, which she cut into five slices.
The Beef Wellington was a real treat and Black+Blue has truly mastered the recipe. This was an impressive beef tenderloin, wrapped in a crêpe puff pastry and including mushroom duxelles, truffle jus, seasonal vegetables and pommes purée. Susie cut three mouthwatering pieces for us, with some absolutely delicious sliced carrots. Also on the side were plates of Wagyu fried rice and lobster mashed potatoes.
For dessert, came the most decadent surprise of them all: the Black+Blue butter cake. This is a rich vanilla cake with a cream cheese base, topped with white Chantilly cream drizzled with salted caramel sauce and garnished with fresh berries.
When travelling in the United States, Ruth’s Chris Steak House has always been a favorite stop of ours. There are six Canadian locations, including three in Toronto and others in Niagara Falls, Calgary and Edmonton. Not only were we fortunate enough to dine at the downtown Toronto spot, situated within the Hilton Hotel, I got a true history lesson when I interviewed an incredible woman named Lana Duke, who was friends with founder Ruth Fertel. She owns three locales in Toronto and three in San Antonio, Texas.
We arrived at the Hilton Hotel at Richmond and University street where they serve USDA prime steaks, to the freshest seafood and poultry, imaginative side dishes, unforgettable desserts and an award winning wine list. Our server was Kimberly, who has worked at this location for 27 years and had high praise for Lana. As some warm bread arrived at the table, we started off with some drinks and allowed Kimberly to guide us through the menu. She was extremely thorough, providing some good recommendations. There were three of us in this night and given the large portions we were advised to share. We began with some appetizers, leading off with house favorite, the sizzling crab cakes. The two jumbo lump crab cakes, with lemon butter, melted in our mouths. We also enjoyed 12 fresh seasonal oysters.
At Ruth’s Chris, your steak is carefully selected from the finest USDA Prime beef available. It is aged to perfection and cut by hand at the restaurant. Then, your cut is broiled – to your exact order – at a searing 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit to lock in the corn-fed flavor and natural juices. It’s served hot and sizzling. In fact, you can actually hear your steak sizzling from across the room on a buttered plate at 500 degrees. We chose the porterhouse for two, a 40 ounce USDA prime cut, combining the rich flavor of a strip and the tenderness of a filet. It was more than enough for three of us to share. In fact, we had two pieces left that we packed up to enjoy the next day. As for sides, we went for the crab fried rice and the au gratin potatoes. The former had an absolutely delicious taste. This dish contained jasmine rice, crabmeat, ginger, vegetables and fish sauce,. The former consisted of Idaho potatoes and three cheese sauce. We did save room for dessert and let me tell you that the portions here are very generous. The warm apple pie was truly something special, coming with ice cream. We also opted for the key lime pie.
I have long been a fan of the Eggspectation restaurant chain. A few years ago I met Enzo Renda, who has driven this business globally with a presence in other parts of Canada, the United States, Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. There are actually more than 100 plus items on the Eggspectation menu. This place is a lot more than just breakfast.
The Eggspectation concept was created by Eggspectation Group, with a first restaurant in downtown Montreal in 1993. Since then Eggspectation restaurants have become synonymous with innovation, high-quality food, excellent service, and a unique and exciting dining experience. From the get go, the Eggspectation team wanted to take its favorite mealtime ingredients and creatively expand their culinary taste delights across not just breakfast and brunch but also to lunch and dinner—set in a welcoming and energetic bar and café ambiance. This new level of innovation has led to today’s satisfying and diverse Eggspectation menu ranging from freshly prepared artisanal brioche French toast, thin French crepes, Belgian waffles, fluffy buttermilk pancakes, pastas, burgers, seafood, steak and—of course—eggs benedict! Those Montreal beginnings have grown to fit today’s fresh, clean, and very tasty modern American cuisine.
Each franchise has a different feel to it. While in Toronto I noticed that there was an Eggspectation downtown, at the corner of Bay Street and Albert right near a main entrance to Eaton Centre. The manager and franchisee is none other than Bennett Renda. Yep, he is the son of Enzo and has been running this location for 11 years. My breakfast companion on this morning was an old friend whom I grew up with in Montreal who has lived in Toronto for three decades. This was his first Eggspectation experience and he was impressed. We started off by sharing some gooey goose bread, something not available in Quebec. This is freshly baked bread, coated in house-made salted maple caramel sauce and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. It was a real treat. My friend went for the Huevos Rancheros, two free-range eggs, prepared any style, piled on tortillas, layered with refried beans, ground chorizo, avocado, jalapeños, house-made pico de gallo, and cilantro-lime aioli. He told me this is always his “go to” item when he orders breakfast at a restaurant. I chose the All American: two free-range eggs, prepared any style, with applewood-smoked bacon, ham, and sausage. This was served with the trademark Eggspectation’s Lyonnaise-style potatoes.
Go to www.destinationtoronto.com
By Mike Cohen
