F6
EZ
EE The Impulsive Traveler South Asian flavors spice up Toronto IFYOUGO
Want to take a spur-of-the-moment trip to Toronto’s Gerrard Street? Here’swhat you need to knowfor theweekend of Dec. 17-20:
GETTING THERE U.S. Airways, Delta and United offer one- stop flights fromWashington Dulles to Toronto, with fares starting at about $590 round-trip.
WHERE TO STAY Delta Chelsea Toronto 33 Gerrard St.W. 416-595-1975
www.deltahotels.com Part of a Canadian franchise, this mammoth property puts you closest to Little India. Rooms from about $119.
Intercontinental Toronto 220 Bloor St.W. 416-960-5200
toronto.intercontinental.com Luxury-chain outpost with rooms from $160.
PHOTOS BY FIRST LIGHT/ALAMY
The foods of India and nearby countries can be found in the restaurants and even on the sidewalks ofGerrard Street.
BY MICHAEL KAMINER Hindi-language blockbusters are
filming in the streets. A major museum is showcasing royal Indian treasures. The over-the-top musical “The Mer- chants of Bollywood” just capped a sellout run. And the Indian Film Acade- my Awards — better known as the Bollywood Oscars—willmake a splashy North American debut here in June. It may seem as though Toronto is
having an Indian moment. But in fact, this head-spinningly multicultural me- tropolis has long boasted one of the most vibrant South Asian immigrant communities in the world. Twelve per- cent of greater Toronto’s population is South Asian, a figure expected to double within 20 years, and Punjabi is the fourthmost-spoken language in Canada (after English, French and Chinese). And even though the centrifugal pull
of the suburbs has thinned the Indian presence in downtown enclaves such as east-end Gerrard Street, an exploration of Toronto’s South Asian offerings can spice up a Hogtown weekend even for a longtime visitor likeme. Though its glory days have passed,
Gerrard Street still bills itself as “the largest marketing place of South Asian goods and services in North America,” and the low-slung five-block stripmakes a good entry point for sampling the range of South Asian heritage here. Its officialWeb site—which dubs the
neighborhood “Gerrard India Bazaar”— claims that more than 100 stores and restaurants populate the shopworn street, but the number of “for rent” signs I saw in empty storefronts on a late fall weekendmademe wonder whether this was true. Indo-Canadian publicist Lina Dhingra assuredme that Gerrard Street is still “a vibrant part of town for South Asians.” But Binoy Thomas, editor of the influential Toronto-based South Asian newspaperWeekly Voice, believes that it has “more relevance as a symbol. The
white community and Indians from the U.S. like to stop there.” The reality felt somewhere in be-
tween; at the very least, the street is an apt symbol of Toronto’s culturalmasala. On the market’s first block, Pakistani flags flap beside the maple leaf atop Lahore TikkaHouse,whose tented patio draws throngs in clement months. Its neighbors on the block include Islamic Books and Souvenirs, where a hand- written sign touted half-price deals on Arabic Korans; “100% pure vegetarian” eatery Bombay Chowpatty, whose win- dows still bore colorful “Happy Diwali” signs; sari and salwar-kameez empori- um the Little Bangladesh; and bright, sleek 786 Halal Restaurant, which dish- es up such traditional Pakistani fare as chicken qeemamirch ($10) and the bean stew lobiamasala ($5). Half a block east, the fluorescent-lit
Indian Record Shop stocks just-off-the- plane Hindi music, movies and maga- zines that belie the dusty racks and faded posters. Current Indian periodi- cals such as the newsweekly Frontline, the Mumbai fashion bible Femina and Bollywood gossip glossies Stardust and Filmfare arrive hereweekly; the friendly proprietor assured me that movies such as the sports comedy “Dil Bole Hadip- pa!” and the historical costume drama “Jodhaa Akbar” were burning up the screens back home. Next-door competitor BollywoodMu-
sic Center boasts a slightly groovier interior and selection to match, includ- ing “Action Replayy,” a current Bolly- wood “Back to the Future” clone. An essential part of theGerrard Street
experience is culinary, but the volume of restaurants with pan-Indian menus made it tough to choose. For direction, I consulted Toronto friends and Gerrard Street shopkeepers. By almost unani- mous decree, I ended up at subterranean Udupi Palace, a low-ceilinged, white- tiled cavern incongruously punctuated by faux-Roman columns. The South Indian veg fare is straightforward, hon-
est and cheap; my $8.99 thali included mellow dal shorba (lentil soup), bracing spiced cabbage, yogurt, chapati and the sweet, warm rice dessert called kheer. The place is deservedly popular with Indian families who schlep in from the suburbs for languidweekend lunches, so prepare to wait if you’re here on a Saturday or Sunday. Still feeling a sweet tooth after lunch,
I wandered into Moti Mahal, whose ketchup-red laminated plastic interior and curved plastic tables look like those in any fast-food joint. But this is the real deal; a mango lassi ($2.99) arrived smooth and balanced,with just the right sweet-tart notes. You can also build your own thalis (veg, $7.50;meat, $8.50) from luscious-looking trays of chicken curry, butter chicken, lentils and channa on steamtables behind the counter. Sari shops, tchotchke emporiums and
jewelry stores dot the rest of the strip. A cheerfully jumbled window lured me into bazaarlike Sajawat, which proved the strip’s best bet for gifts and souve- nirs. Forgo blingy $95 bracelets for the rotating rack of $1 baubles on the display counter. Textiles from Jaipur, including riotously colored runners ($15), cotton bedspreads ($25-$35) and silk blankets ($150) also tempted but seemed unwieldy to
pack.Mellow burn- ing incense made for a drowsily appeal- ing browse before heading back into the
MoreTravel this week
FRIDAY Escapes takes a Ride around Manhattan, in Weekend.
NEXT SUNDAY The Impulsive Traveler explores the university museums of Boston, in Travel.
cold. A day later, at a glitzy press preview
for the Art Gallery of Ontario’s heavily promoted “Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts,” Gerrard Street felt very far away. Organized by London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, the glittery exhibit is making its North American debut here. While some of the objects feel a little less spectacular outside the regal context for which they were creat- ed — a gleaming ebony desk from the modernist palace of Maharaja Manik Bagh still looks like just a desk — a few blockbuster showpieces make the show memorable. Cars don’t thrill me, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the Star of India, aRolls-Royce PhantomII custom- built in 1934 for His Highness Thakore Sahib Dharmendrasinhji Lakhajiraj of Rajkot in Gujarat. There’s a nifty gift shop, too, with
next-generation Indian textiles and household items such as pop-art Ga- nesh-print pillows in acid colors for $95 by Indian design company Koko and paisley-printed cloth notecards, $17.95 for a pack of eight, from hip Indian accessories outfit Two’s Company. If I had my own Rolls-Royce, I’d have
driven to the satellite communities surrounding Toronto, where, Thomas told me, “all the action is.” There’s a spectacular hand-carved Hindumandir, or temple, connected to an Indo-Canadi- an museum half-an-hour’s drive north- west of downtown. The CanadianMuse- um of Hindu Civilization graces the multicultural northern enclave of Rich- mondHill, not easily accessible viamass transit. And some of Toronto’s most exquisite Indian dining, I’m told, is found in strip malls off highways in Brampton. Maybe I’ll follow the immigrants
themselves on another trip and settle in the suburbs.
travel@washpost.com
Kaminer is a freelance writer based in New York.
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WHERE TO EAT Udupi Palace 1460 Gerrard St. E. 416-469-1500
www.udupipalace.ca Ask for the veggie Tandoori specials, available weekends only. Entrees, $5.49- $9.29.
Lahore Tikka House 1365 Gerrard St. E. 416-406-1668
www.lahoretikkahouse.com One of the strip’s pricier options; Pakistani and North Indian cooking. Entrees, $11-$15.
786 Halal Restaurant 1330 Gerrard St. E. 416-406-0786 Homey Pakistani fare at this cheerful offspring of a celebrated Montreal eatery. Entrees $8 to $15.
WHERE TO SHOP Indian Record Shop 1428 Gerrard St. E. 416-463-6671
Sajawat 1475 Gerrard St. E. 416-519-6408
Islamic Books&Souvenirs 1395 Gerrard St. E. 416-778-8461
www.e-islamicbooks.com
The Little Bangladesh 1396 Gerrard St. E. 416-907-7458
WHAT TO DO Art Gallery of Ontario 317 Dundas StreetW. 416-979-6648
www.ago.net “Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts,” through April 3. $22; free to visitors 25 and under, except Dec. 26- Jan. 2.
INFORMATION
www.seetorontonow.com
— M.K.
All flight and lodging info valid as of press time Thursday.
KLMNO
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2010
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