I was born in Toronto, lived in Etobicoke for a spell, and have lived in six different places located around the fringes of the Toronto city centre in the last nine years. I have done a fair share of traveling as well, and it hurts to say that Toronto doesn't compare to cities like Chicago, Manhattan, Miami, Glasgow, or Riga. I find that the average food at independent, or small chain Toronto restaurants, bakeries, and the like is a fierce competitor to any place I've been too, but these places are in neighbourhoods that are suffering structurally.

I am often haunted by a conversation I had with a convenience store owner at Broadview & Danforth, who was fighting with the landlord to at least fix the water pouring from the ceiling on to his shelves and the resulting mildew and other mold that neglecting the matter bred. Long before that point had I considered the man to be an integral part of the Danforth area because of how he struck up authentic conversations and swept the street outside of his shop vehemently.