Random thoughts

I would guess that Toronto, if it is known for anything gastronomically, would be diversity. The city itself is such a huge mishmash of cultures. It has everything. Probably true of food.

Now I can't say from firsthand experience because I am the least adventurous eater there is. I don't seek that stuff out. But for someone who is into it, I imagine you could flit from Ethiopian to Dim Sum to Italian to Peruvian - and everything in between - all in the same day, like few cities. I would guess there is some damn authentic stuff under all headings



Me, I just want a burger.
 
I think that's pretty true for most major cities, Muddy.
 
Toronto is a different animal.

http://www.toronto.ca/toronto_facts/diversity.htm

Toronto, with a population of 2.79 million people (5.5 million in the GTA - Greater Toronto Area) is heralded as one of the most multicultural cities in the world and is ranked as the safest large metropolitan area in North America by Places Rated Almanac. Over 140 languages and dialects are spoken here, and just over 30 per cent of Toronto residents speak a language other than English or French at home.

  • In 2006, the City of Toronto was home to 8 per cent of Canada's population, 30 per cent of all recent immigrants and 20 per cent of all immigrants.
  • Between 2001 and 2006, Canada received 1,109,980 international immigrants. The City of Toronto welcomed about one quarter of all immigrants (267,855) to Canada during this period of about 55,000 annually.
  • Half of Toronto's population (1,237,720) was born outside of Canada, up from 48 per cent in 1996.
  • In 2006, half of all immigrants to the City of Toronto have lived in Canada for less than 15 years.
  • In 2006, more than half of all immigrants living in the City were age 25 and over; 7 per cent were pre-school age 5 and under; 16 per cent were school age 6 to 14; and 22 per cent were youth 15 to 24.

  • In 2006 the City of Toronto had 45 per cent of the GTA's population in 2006, and was home to:
    • 52.4 per cent of all GTA immigrants;
    • 36 per cent of all immigrants living in Ontario;
    • 20 per cent of all immigrants living in Canada;
    • 42.4 per cent of all visible minorities in Ontario;
    • 22.9 per cent of all visible minorities in Canada.
  • 47 per cent of Toronto's population (1,162,635 people) reported themselves as being part of a visible minority, up from 42.8 per cent (1,051,125) in 2001.
  • The City of Toronto's visible minority population increased by 10.6 per cent since 2001, and by 31.8 per cent since 1996.

  • The top five visible minority groups in Toronto were:
    • South Asian at 298,372 or 12.0 per cent of our population;
    • Chinese at 283,075 or 11.4 per cent;
    • Black at 208,555 or 8.4 per cent;
    • Filipino at 102,555 or 4.1 per cent;
    • Latin American at 64,860 or 2.6 per cent.
 
  • Toronto's rich multi-cultural diversity is expressed by the more than 200 distinct ethnic origins residents identified in their response to the 2006 Census.
  • In 2006, twenty-eight percent of all ethnic origin responses in Toronto were European; 19 per cent identified themselves with the British Isles (including England, Scotland, and Ireland); 16 per cent as East or Southeast Asian; and 10 per cent as South Asian in origin.

Language

  • Toronto remains a mosaic of many languages. In 2006, forty-seven percent of the population had a mother tongue in a language other than English or French.
  • The top 5 mother tongue languages in 2006 were:
    • Chinese (420,000);
    • Italian (195,000);
    • Punjabi (138,000);
    • Tagalog/Pilipino (114,000);
    • Portuguese (113,000).
 
I've been to Toronto/Canada. The U.S. is just more segregated. The culture still exists though.
 
I agree wih plommer. Toronto is an improbable mix of everything. It literally has no identity of its own. People are forced to be accepting of each other because there is no central, major culture. "Canadian" is not a culture, not in Toronto anyway.

Fiveteamer doesn't realize that deep inside, he really hates his city.

I had a couple pints.
 
Yep. NYC is massively segregated though (like a lot of American cities).
 
I think they fucked with the colonels recepie but its still good. I dont know qho has better fried chicken. Certainly all the casino buffets ive had dont have fried chicken as good
 
It occurred to me today that I do not know where there is a single Kentucky Fried Chicken. I'm sure I must drive past them semi-regularly but I guess they just don't register.

Looks like carrying out that earlier random thought will be a multi-step process.
 
And a further related random thought: as I was typing my previous post, I didn't know whether to call KFC a restaurant or a store. As you can see, I opted for nothing.

But what is it? I guess it's a restaurant but it doesn't feel like a restaurant.
 
There used to be a KFC at Cawthra/Lakeshore.

It may still be there.
 
:clueless: its a fast food joint, like mcdonolds or Arbys
 
I get what Muddy is saying. KFC puts very little effort in the actual restaurant experience. It doesn't feel like they want you to hang out there.

McD's is a master at making you feel comfy. Plus they give you Smurfs figurines these days.
 
I've noticed Tim Hortons has installed USB connections in the wall at many locations - to recharge portable devices.

Both Tims and McDonalds have free wifi and many McDonalds have wall sockets to plug in your laptop.

I've spent hours in McDonalds sometimes.
 
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