A Truly Wonderful Day in the City of Toronto: Exploring the Royal Ontario Museum with Friends And A Slap-Up Dinner at Trattoria Milano in Eataly.

Monday, September 2, 2024

Toronto, Canada

A Truly Wonderful Day in the City of Toronto: Exploring the Royal Ontario Museum with Friends And A Slap-Up Dinner at Trattoria Milano in Eataly.

We had such a fabulous day in downtown Toronto on Labor Day—a national holiday in Canada.

But to begin at the beginning: We had a lovely breakfast at Sylvia’s in which we tasted the delicious bread she had bought, a couple of good cheeses and some spreads. Replete with a good meal, we awaited the arrival of Ryan, Sylvia’s son, who offered to drive us all the way to Toronto from Woodbridge as the holiday would mean very little traffic. Ryan drove us through some of the nicer parts of the outskirts of the city which allowed us to admire some really beautiful architecture in the upscale homes in this district. All too soon, we were outside the Royal Ontario Museum whose Modernist exterior was designed by famous architect, Daniel Libeskind, whose avant-garde lines and unconventional work I have seen and admired in Berlin and in Washington DC. We would spend the next few hours enjoying some of the finest art and archeological treasures that this unique building holds.

Exploring the Royal Ontario Museum:

We had informed our friend, Tony, that we’d be spending the day at the Museum. He decided then to join us there. All we had to do was await his arrival and we did that in the Main Lobby, just past the ticket office, where we were able, at length, to admire the stunning Byzantine mosaic ceiling which is, actually, one of the Highlights of this museum. In just a little while, our friend Tony joined us, bought his ticket (we’d bought ours earlier and I was given free entry with my Met ID card) and we were off. I have to emphasize that this is not really a museum of fine arts—it is mainly a museum that traces the history of various world civilizations through art and artifacts. To see the city’s collection of exquisite fine art, one needs to go to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) which we would do, a few days later.

Having discovered that there was a Highlights Tour of the Museum at 12.00 noon and since we had an hour at our disposal, we started off our own exploration of the museum in the Medieval European section. For the next one hour, we were completely bowled over by Medieval items ranging from stained glass panels and ivory carvings to carved coconut shell artistry in the form of drinking cups and beakers. There were also arms and armor and all manner of items in ceramic. But, for my money, the best part of this section, were the vignettes of interiors of domestic spaces from those of peasantry to noblemen which took us right into that era with a startling realism.

Just a little before 12 noon, we made our way down to the Main Lobby again to the meeting spot which was right in front of a gigantic seated sculpture of Lord Buddha as Alokateshwara. It was huge and yet beautifully polished and made such a fine focal point in that vast lobby. A little later, we were joined by a large number of other visitors and then by the tour guide herself who happened to be of Indian descent. Her name was Neera Chopra and she was wonderful. For the next one hour, she took us around the museum and showed us some really fascinating pieces. Some of the items that I remember are:

--a gigantic Tung dynasty ceramic statue of a seated man. (We have two of these in the Met in New York)

--really large raw semi-precious stones (they were more like boulders) with topaz and amethyst in them

--the largest gold coin in the world with the face of the late Queen Elizabeth II engraved on it.

--a Medieval Byzantine ciborium

--an Egyptian Mummy

--the skeleton of a dinosaur

were all quite interesting indeed and her commentary, at every juncture, was really impressive. She knew her material and was also skillful in answering questions. Only at the very end of the tour, I informed Neera that I am an Emeritus Docent at the Met Museum and she was so excited about it that she asked if we could take a picture together with each of us holding up our ID cards. She then gave me her number and told me to whatsapp the picture to her.

A Lovely Walk Along Snazzy Bloor Street:

By the time we left the museum, we were hungry and ready for an early dinner. Sylvia decided to treat us to a slap-up meal and we had the great pleasure, in looking for a place to eat, of walking along Bloor Street which has some of the finest designer showrooms for our browsing pleasure. It felt as if we were strolling down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan or on Bond Street in London. All the big names were there: Ferragamo, Hermes, Dior, Calvin Klein, Dolce and Gabbana, Karl Lagerfeld, Prada, Michael Kors, Steve Madden, you name it, it was represented there. I had the best time admiring the superb window décor which, I am well aware, is an art form in itself. These showrooms were located in lovely skyscrapers that hold the city’s commercial offices. In the distance, we could see the iconic CN Tower. As it was close to day’s end, many people were hurrying home after a hard day’s work.

Exploring Eataly and Enjoying an Italian Diner at ‘Trattoria Milano’:

After weighing a few options and leaving the choice of place to Sylvia, we eventually entered the ManuLife Building to explore Eataly—the lovely brain child of Italian-American chef Mario Bataly—to browse through their array of authentic Italian food shops, each offering a different delicacy directly from Italy. If it was pasta, you wanted, you could have it. Or pizza, or gelato, or any number of cold cuts or spec (as the Italians call it), or pastries and cakes, or cookies, or boxes of Italian chocolates or nuts. Of course, we were not in the market to buy any ingredients (as we already had a baggage weight problem on our hands), but we were keen on finding a good place to sit down and have a drink and a relaxing meal.

Eventually, we settled on a space called ‘Trattoria Milano’ which was definitely an upscale eatery—more like a fine dining place. After we’d placed our orders for drinks, we decided that we would order four different starters and then four different mains and share them all. This would give all of us a chance to taste a vast variety of the chef’s creations. Everyone loved the idea of doing it ‘Family Style’, and the next thing we knew, our tables were groaning with the most appetizing food.

I personally enjoyed my Negroni Bianca (a gin cocktail) while Llew and Sylvia shared a bottle of Cabernet and I then gave myself up to the pleasure of enjoying a kind of ‘tasting menu’ that went as such: Heirloom Tomato Salad with creamy yoghurt-herb dressing, ⁠Insalata Verde (Italian Green Salad), Veal Meatballs with Pesto & Mustard, Melon and Proscuitto for starters. Our shared Mains were ⁠Ravioli with Minced Veal and Brown Butter Sauce, Milanese Pork Tenderloin with Proscuitto Wrapping and Side Salad of Arugula and Peaches, Buccatini with Burrata, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil and Risotto with Scallops and Thyme. Needless to say, all the food was simply scrumptious and showed the mark of a master chef that had concocted these creations and then executed them with the finest attention to flavorful detail. We absolutely loved the meal. And yes, we did find room for dessert. We had Hazelnut Mousse with Praline Filling and Dark Chocolate Shell and a ⁠Chocolate & Hazelnut Mousse with Salted Pistachio Ice-cream and Fresh Raspberry Garnish. Yummmmieee!

Filled to bursting with our sensational meal, all we needed to do was thanks Sylvia profusely for her generosity in treating us to this meal, say goodbye to Tony and then find an Uber that would take us back to Woodbridge. This showed up in about 20 minutes and we were whisked off home.

We’d had an exceptional day—my kind of day! Filled with the delights of a world-class museum, the knowledgeability of a well-trained docent, the snazziness of a gorgeous street filled with high-end fashion merchandise that is pure eye-candy (regardless of whether or not one can afford to buy it) and then, the sheer gourmet pleasure of gastronomic wonders. I simply cannot imagine a better way to spend a day in a big city while on vacation.

Until tomorrow…cheerio.