“What’s not to love about fine jewellery pieces?”

Pamela Lauz said, when I asked her what appealed to her in the trade.

“They are miniature sculptures crafted of precious metals and beautiful gems that people wear and enjoy everyday. They are also treasures passed on to the next generation. ”

As one of Toronto’s notable jewellery designers, creating something covet-worthy is all in a day’s work for Lauz, but she may also leave you coveting her job—apparently, she wanted to be a jewellery designer all of her life.

“I truly enjoy all stages of jewellery creation, from collaborating with our clients to create a design that encapsulates their visual dreams, to crafting a miniature sculpture that will be worn comfortably and fit seamlessly into their lifestyle. I also take great pleasure and pride in personally sourcing that special gem that will add extra meaning to the creation.”

That’s two uses of the phrase ‘miniature sculpture’ so far. But instead of a solitary sculptor, sitting in her studio struggling alone to craft a masterpiece, much of Lauz’s work revolves around other people. She will take a client’s old treasure and rework it to their specifications, or create something utterly new for them from scratch.

“Each custom piece is the result of a collaboration that realizes a client’s creative dream.”

“The creation of our custom designs involve several revisions where details are thoughtfully considered until we arrive at a design that exceeds our client’s expectations,” explains Lauz.

So how exactly does one go about creating a ‘miniature sculpture’ in metal and precious stones?

“The creation of each jewellery design follows a different process. Some begin to take form as wax carvings while others are created by forging metal. Once a wax carving is cast in metal, it may require additional fabrication and assembly. Gemstones are then carefully secured in place.”

You can’t make great jewellery without knowing a thing or two about goldsmithing and gemology and she has studied both: at San Francisco’s Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts and at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad. She complemented this glittering education with a few years of apprenticeship work in various jewellery studios before hanging out her own (polished, elegant) shingle in 2008. Before that, she worked as an engineer in the software industry—a career which she says helped prepare her for the business side of her work.

“As a designer, I build on my knowledge and expertise of both goldsmithing and gemology to create the ideal design for our clients. I hold our clients’ aesthetic preferences and functional requirements in high regard while helping them select the most suitable metal and gemstones to incorporate into jewellery that will be enjoyed for years to come,” she explains.

Business aside, this is art we’re talking about, so it seems only reasonable to take a look at Lauz’s inspirations, the most obvious of which is architecture, something she says is “in many ways, the ultimate design manifestation.”

“To me, a well designed building is an amazingly complex sculpture whose form enhances its surrounding landscape, while facilitating the lives of those who inhabit it.

“I am inspired by the many aesthetic and functional feats accomplished through these grandest of creations,” she says.

“I love to travel and explore great buildings, both ancient and modern. I also enjoy attending lectures on architecture that teach me the history of a given building including the challenges overcome during its development.”

While I work in a much, much smaller scale, successful architecture drives me to create jewellery that is visually stunning and very comfortable, whose design and solid structure will stand the test of time.”

Looking at her various shining creations, it’s fairly safe to assume that Lauz doesn’t draw much of her inspiration from Gothic architecture. Her pieces are all very sleek and modern looking, and the two influential buildings she mentioned to me were Bilboa’s Guggenheim Museum and the Michael Lee Chin Crystal portion addition of the Royal Ontario Museum. According to Lauz, the curvy silver Spanish museum inspired her ‘Solstice’ cocktail ring, while the ROM eventually led to her stackable ‘Facets & Iris’ rings.

Of course, the client who commissions a custom piece cannot help but act as inspiration, but there are also other ways of being immortalized in metal and stone.

“I’m inspired by many people around me and both our signature and custom designs are created to complement and enhance the lives of our clients,”

she says.

“Our latest signature collection, Blossom, welcomes the arrival of my two baby nieces, born two weeks apart this past August. After adoring my four wonderful nephews, I finally get a chance to create an entire line especially for baby girls. It is my dream that these tiny and whimsical pieces become the first jewellery a little girl receives and cherishes for many years to come.”

So why not visit Pamela’s store and find something for yourself or your loved ones to cherish for the rest of their lives? You can find the store on 233 Carlaw Avenue and also make sure you visit Pamela’s website and indulge in even more shiny wearable art sculptures and follow her blog to find about new and upcoming collections.

Holding a decent open house may be one of the most important things any real estate agent will do. It’s a chance, obviously, to sell a house, but it’s also an opportunity to make connections and plant seeds that could bear fruit months or even years down the road. A good open house will help build your reputation as well as your client base. 25 to 55 per cent of sales are generated at these viewings, so make sure you do a good job. Here are a few things I try to keep in mind when putting together a viewing:

Think about the people who are coming to your open house. In many cases they’ll have been to a number of viewings already. You don’t want the home you’re selling to be just another in a sea of living rooms and lighting fixtures.

It’s good to make the open house an event so that people can come and take a look at the house, but it’s also a way to meet people. To either sell them the property that we’re sitting in or sell them another property.

An open house is a lot like hosting guests. I still employ the tried and true methods like putting out a plate of cookies or a pot of fine coffee, but what’s even more important than a decent snack spread is setting a good atmosphere.

Creating a space where people can talk, feel relaxed and comfortable asking questions is the key point.

And just like any good party, an open house needs invitations. There are always the obligatory signs posted around the neighbourhood, but emails and social media remain an invaluable tool. A tool that can help build your reputation, grow your business and just help foster a warm and friendly atmosphere.

I always do Facebook and Twitter and let people know I’m going to be at a house at a certain time. People who follow you may come by to say hello. And also I’ve found that oftentimes with an open house sellers will come to look for their agents, to look and see if the person sitting the open house represents them the way they want to be represented. So that can be a big plus.

You have to know the house

Find out when the counters were put in, find out how old the lighting fixtures are and when the basement was finished. Your knowledge about the home should spring forth like liquid from the water feature in the backyard.

You have to understand things

Sometimes I’ll come in and I’ll say to people ‘Hi, welcome—and just so you know, there’s a garage in the back and it has two cars and the basement is finished and it has an apartment in it. Enjoy your walk through and let me know if you have any questions at the end.’ That seems to work quite well.

If you’re creating an event where people feel safe and comfortable enough to ask questions you have to be able to answer them when they arise, but don’t overwhelm them with your knowledge either. Remember that buying a home is a huge step in people’s lives. Let them come to you.

There’s a lot of agents who will do an open house—they’ll open, but they won’t try and engage the people who come by, they won’t answer questions, or they don’t know the answer to questions and so they’re not successful. They just end up sitting there and not doing anything and wasting a perfect opportunity to make connections.

Depending on the neighbourhood and the popularity of the area, an open house can be a very busy few hours. Just because there’s a lot of foot traffic doesn’t mean you can be inattentive.

Some neighbourhoods’ open houses are more popular than others and they do get more traffic. But if you don’t have time to talk to anybody because there’s so many people going in and out then it’s going to be a difficult open house.

Oftentimes, the nicer the house, the more people come to see it. That can make it difficult to be as attentive as you’d like. If that’s the case it may be worthwhile to bring someone else in.

If there’s a crowd and because of the crowd you can’t talk to anybody, that’s going to be a tough one. In our team, sometimes we’ll double up. There’ll be two of us at an open house if we think it’s going to be busy.

When people do approach you, remember to listen to them. It can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of things, but being attentive can yield positive results for everyone involved.

Ask them a question and listen to the answer. A lot of times agents don’t do that. They ask the question and then they ask another question. They don’t seem to lead properly. This can be a frustrating prospect when it becomes obvious that people aren’t necessarily interested in buying.

There are people who just want to go to the open house. They just want to see what’s going on. They’re just open house viewers. Sometimes they are quite interested but then they have good questions, but sometimes they’re just wanting to look.

Still, that’s no excuse to turn them away. You never know what brings people to your viewing.

There are some people that will come just to do open houses, but even though they’re not super interested in that house they might tell their friends.

Listening and engaging with your viewers doesn’t just show that you have good manners, it also helps build trust and new relationships. In her essay “On The Fine Art of Listening,” Brenda Ueland says the people who “really listen to us are the ones we move toward, and want to sit in their radius as though it did us good.”

This is good advice for anyone throwing an open house and leads very nicely into our next tip…

Every once in a while an agent tells me that they did the open house and there were 20 people that came through, but only two were ready to buy and they only value the two. It’s important not to discount the other 18 people.

The other people you saw may not be ready to buy now but they may be ready to buy in two years, so the value is in just making the connections. It doesn’t matter how or when or what part of the process they’re in.

Sure, there are people who will never buy a home, who just like to come for the free cookies and pleasant atmosphere but it’s dangerous to assume they’ll never be in the market for a home.

Sometimes you just make the connection and they remember you. People call me and say ‘Oh yeah, I kept your name. I remember you from the open house. You had a lot of information. I want you to do this or that or the other thing.’ So you’re basically putting yourself out there.”

I guess it’s like going to a party and hosting it. Do you find out what people are doing, do you engage them in conversation, or do you just stand in the corner?

In many ways, throwing a good open house is about being polite. Create an event for people to be excited about, but make sure they’re comfortable, engaged and unafraid to ask questions. Be there for your guests if they have questions, make sure you really listen to what they have to say and don’t be turned off by anyone who’s just coming for a gander. Being rude or dismissive to them now could cost you a connection down the road.

TT00SK

I’ve been in the real estate business for 36 years. During that time I’ve had partners on different occasions, but it was only recently that I decided to put together my own team.

Over the years the business has changed and gotten much more complex. I found that as my business grew, it was very hard to work alone. In the past there were certain things I liked to do and certain things I did not like to do, so I thought to myself ‘why not become more of a specialist and build a team of people who were better at doing the things that I was not as good at?’

Each member brings something organically unique

The process was an organic one. The members of the team fell into place over the years, each bringing with them their own unique backgrounds and specialties. I think a lot of teams make a mistake by trying to find carbon copies of the team leader. What they should be looking for is someone who is completely different, who has different talents, and can focus on different areas.

Personally, I see myself as more of a marketer, as someone who is very good at listing properties and at negotiating. But there are other areas that I need help with. These days, in a city that has a hundred-some-odd projects a year being built it’s very hard to be an authority on both housing and condominiums. I was beginning to find that with some of the older buildings I was very knowledgable, but some of the newer projects had me at a loss. I needed people who understood the demographics a little better and people who understood the product.

Sometimes you end up with clients coming to you looking for something that you may not be able to help them with or you may not be the best person for the job, but someone on your team is. One of the joys of real estate is meeting so many different types of people and dealing with a lot of different personalities, but sometimes you realize that you’re not necessarily a good fit. You’re the wrong age group, or you have a different agenda. Having a diverse team can be a great benefit in situations like these. As the team leader, you have to be very good at fitting people to one another. Make sure everybody is happy and if they’re not happy, do everything you can to fix it.

One of the main reasons that I built my team is the multicultural nature of Toronto. We have a lot of international visitors. About 30 per cent of our business is non-Canadian-born and as realtors we need to be aware of their needs and customs. So, on our team we have quite a variety of perspectives. Sherille is originally from England and has a Sri Lankan background, Tania is Portuguese and speaks the language fluently, Kimberley is First nations, Tracy is Mandarin Chinese and I speak French. One of the things we pride ourselves on is the international focus of our team and of Sotheby’s.

For example, recently I listed a property in the Don Mills and Yonge area. The sellers were New Zealanders, but I found that 90 per cent of the prospective buyers were Mandarin-speaking Chinese, so I depended on Tracy a lot to help us explain things.

If one of us has to be away, the other fills in; if one of us has questions about technology, the other can answer it; if one of us has questions about a buyer, the other one can answer. Since forming the team business has improved, but also our way of doing business has improved. We meet weekly and go over all our files. We weigh pluses and minuses of different projects, we discuss buyers and sellers, and we take suggestions and generally throw ideas around. It’s a format that works really well for us. We’ve become very comfortable sharing suggestions with our teammates, and I believe it works to the benefit of the sellers and buyers. Instead of having one person out there working for them, they’ve got seven people on their side.

But as I said, it’s ultimately about the people you have on your team, and you have to be very, very careful about who you choose. There needs to be a comfortable relationship with your teammates and again, make sure to not choose people like yourself. Choose people who are different. Of course, that can be a challenge at times because you are dealing with different personalities, but you have to bend a little bit for each other, to allow for change. Part of our business is negotiating, and that includes with your coworkers.

How we stay organized

We are a very project-oriented team and that’s how we run our meetings. Staying organized is important. We use Evernote, an organizer tool that we’ve organized in a way so that when we have a team meeting we all have access to the program and we’re able to see what listings we’re all working on. There’s not one of our listings that not one of teammates has gone through. That’s what works for us, but find what works best for you when putting your team together.

We have a great time and I can’t say how much we enjoy each other. Like anybody, we still have our issues, but we just enjoy working with each other so much. Building a good team around you and your business can be one of the best and most productive things you will ever do.

Just north of Toronto and 30-45 minutes from Pearson International airport lie the rolling hills and stately mansions and estates of the Town of Caledon, Ontario. For many years those looking for a home away from the hustle and bustle of the big city have opted for property in Caledon. It is home to a large number of spacious, treed lots with streams and horse farms, as a well as friendly neighbours and plenty of fresh air.

Living in Caledon

Although now known as the Town of Caledon, the area was once divided into the townships of Albion, Caledon and Chinguacousy which were opened for settlement in 1820. The townships first began to develop around water-powered mill sites on the Credit and Humber rivers as well as at various cross roads. When the Toronto Grey & Bruce, Hamilton & Northwestern and Credit Valley railways arrived in the 1870s, more settlements were formed.

On January 1st, 1974 the townships of Albion, Caledon and the northern half of Chinguacousy amalgamated to form the Town of Caledon — the northern municipality of the present Region of Peel.

Sandy, who lived in Bolton, the most populated community in the town of Caledon, for over 15 years explains it is “a very basic commuter town with little urban planning, culture [and] restaurant choices. There is basic shopping and ongoing issues with trailer truck transport making its way through the middle of town.” If you’re used to some of the assets of a big city like public transportation and large malls, then living in Caledon may take some getting used to.

However, these negatives aside, there are a lot of wonderful things about living in Caledon. Sandy goes on to discuss how it is “a family oriented community and one cannot say enough about the friendships, and village that is formed here within which to raise a family. Bolton is a sports oriented community with over 3000 children registered in soccer alone, not to mention basketball, baseball, volleyball, hockey, etc.” Not only are there many activities for your kids to enjoy, but you too will be able to enjoy the natural beauty of the area.

At The Badlands by  Ian Muttoo

“The larger environs of the Town of Caledon and its hamlets are breathtakingly beautiful and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful place to live. […] Rolling hills, clean air, gorgeous vistas… literally you leave your work and commute stress behind with every kilometer you cover on the way home,”

says Sandy. Along with the beautiful views there is plenty of wildlife to enjoy: “coyote, red fox, blue heron, wild turkeys, rabbits, beaver, eagles, birds abound,” says Sandy. Many commute to and from downtown Toronto and for Sandy it’s “well worth the commute to work”.

Homes, Architecture and Real Estate

Sandy explains there is “beautiful estate subdivision living (1/2 to 10 acre lots), many with mature oak ridges moraine forests, ponds and streams.” So whether you’re looking for a cozy few bedrooms or a luxurious estate, there are plenty of options for you to consider in the Town of Caledon. Two great properties in Caledon highlight just some of the diversity of the housing that exists there:

Villa Florentine

The Gore Road, Caledon, ON

A formal, iconic, newly constructed custom-built estate that sits atop the sweeping hills of the Caledon countryside: 80 acres of land and your private lake below. This impressive 10,000 sq. ft. home features two luxurious coach houses, 6 garages and a fully outfitted equestrian facility. Exquisitely curated with the finest craftsmanship, both the main house and equestrian facility are built with concrete and steel-frame construction while design details like custom marble, crown mouldings and bamboo floors have been tuned to perfection.

Villa Fiorentine

The property has 4+1 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, a formal dining room, a gourmet kitchen, a library, a wine cellar, 3 fireplaces, an oversized terrace, guest and servant quarters, a 6 car garage, an outdoor infinity pool and pool house, a gazebo, a helicopter pad, access to a private wooded forest and trails, and for the savvy investor; the opportunity to create, build and sell 12 additional estate lots. The asking price is $19,995,000.

Treetops

18696 The Gore Road

A less formal landmark property built as a spa retreat for the family that has everything. It consists of three buildings. The main is a 15,000 square foot West Coast Inspired Hilltop home with views over its rolling property and the City of Toronto. There is a second intimate staff or guest home that was originally attached to horse paddocks, now used as an artist’s studio. The last is a charming historic two-bedroom square cut log cabin at the entry to the estate and close to the swimming pool and pond.

Originally conceived and built by the originator of the board game “Trivial Pursuit”, Treetops has been owned by fitness guru Tosca Reno Kennedy and her family for over 10 years. It is the perfect home for an active large family with a professional gym, private screening room, great room/kitchen for a professional chef, and private pond. There is parking for a fleet of cars and it is priced at $5,250,000.

Who is your neighbour IN CALEDON?

“Ours is a town of friendly, warm and helpful neighbours,” explains Sandy. “It’s quite typical to see gatherings in garages, and backyards, etc. Our children also enjoy close friendships – most remain friends from Kindergarten onwards. The volunteerism is also notably strong – with a large number of stay home moms, there is a strong community of volunteers in the schools and vibrant home and school associations. Many long term friendships formed here,” says Sandy.

Many buyers looking for a home are infatuated with an old vintage house. Though thrilled with the idea of owning a 70- to 80-year-old house, many are unaware of the danger lying beneath the old rustic charm.

If you spot an oil tank in your backyard, get ready for an expensive ride. In olden days, houses had underground oil storage tanks (USTs) heated not with natural gas but with furnace oil. Richard Silver, salesperson and vice president of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, cautions that many of these oil tanks lie unused and owners forget about them. With time these tanks start rusting or the welding tears apart which results in spill over of the leftover oil. This causes environmental contamination as the oil seeping into waterways adversely affects the soil and the property.

One of my clients recently bought a commercial property for residential use and found an oil tank in the backyard. Though we came to know about it before the purchase was made, the negotiations about acquiring the property had to be prolonged considerably, said Silver.

Silver holds, it is the responsibility of the owner to remove the buried oil tanks;

Sooner the better as USTs if not taken care of immediately can incur costs as high as $10,000 or even more. Even if the USTs are less than 10 years old it is in owners’ interest to remove them before the leaking starts. This will save them from possible major expenses due to violation of [the] Environmental Management Act, said Silver.

As per the law, owners of property with underground tanks are responsible for the costs of maintaining, upgrading, and removing them and for cleaning up contamination. It is also mandatory to use the services of the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) as that is the only one authorized and qualified to perform the removal task of buried underground oil tanks.

If a TSSA certified technician holding a Petroleum Equipment Mechanic 2 (PM-2) license finds that the tank is too dangerous to be continued, the distributor will immediately stop the supply of oil. It is also the owner’s responsibility that the TSSA is notified once the underground tank has been removed. The property owner must have an environmental assessment report completed by a professional engineer, a professional geoscientist, a professional agrologist, or a chartered chemist. If a leak of fuel oil is confirmed, the Spills Action Centre of the Ministry of the Environment must be notified. The owner should also keep in mind that many insurance companies refuse to provide or extend insurance if the tank has reached or passed the prescribed age. Once the tank is removed it leaves a large hole and filling it also increases the expenses.

Ontario has a strict regulations code about the handling and storage of fuel oil. If an underground fuel tank has not been used for two or more years and the owner plans not to use it any further, it must be removed irrespective of its age. As per the Ontario Fuel Oil Code (1 October 2001) all existing single-wall steel underground tank systems have to be withdrawn from service and removed if they are 25 years or more old or if they are not properly maintained. Underground tanks over 5,000 litres must be tested annually for leaks. There also has to be a comprehensive inspection at least once every 10 years. In Ontario, effective May 1, 2002, fuel distributors will not supply fuel oil to an underground tank that is not registered with the TSSA.

Before calling the expert, a home buyer can make a few simple checks to know if the property has or had any USTs and if there were any possible leaks.

• Ask for basic information such as the age of the tank, property and type of oil tank. This will give an idea of any risk about an oil leak.
• Take a walk around the property and look for an unusual bald patch of grass in the area. At times, during the spill the hot oil poisons the soil and even if there is no heating oil or odour left, the grass will not grow in that area.
• Also look for depression near the house or at the missing grass spots generally caused by oil tanks or by vent pipes protruding from the land.
• In order to know if there has been a spill or incorrect removal of the USTs, one should know about the existing or previously installed oil tanks and vents, their size, the abandoned heating oil lines, marks where equipment was mounted and footprints of old heating equipment.

A prospective home buyer should make sure their realtor asks the seller’s counterpart for documentation about any USTs at the property. They should educate the potential buyers about the dangers of USTs and stress on proper inspection of the property. A person buying an old property should also be aware that their insurance company can deny home insurance if the tank is not registered.

Buying a home is everyone’s dream. But to avoid unwanted surprises and costs, proper homework and following proper protocol ensures your dream does not give you nightmares.

Title photo by: Field Outdoor Spaces

Somewhere between breakfast and lunch there’s a whole culinary world waiting to be explored. The mid-morning-early-afternoon meal combo, known as brunch, is traditionally a simple buffet style event—classic, but a little boring. Thanks to the foodie masses and their demanding and inquisitive palates, brunch has morphed into a wild flavour adventure. Here are some of the more unique brunch pit stops in Toronto.

STARVING ARTIST

Address: 584 Lansdowne Ave, 1078 St. Clair Ave West

Website: starvingartistbar.com

The waffle—a buttery, crispy, fluffy, dream dish topped with fruits, whipped cream and syrup. Realistically, it’s dessert for breakfast but who cares; waffles are just that good. What could be more fitting for brunch than a waffle house? Meet Starving Artist (two locations: Lansdowne Ave. and St. Clair Ave West), an all-day brunch venue with menu items served on waffles, set amidst a gallery of local artwork (new artwork showcased every six weeks). “Seriously, the menu consists of everything on, between, or inside waffles,” writes the restaurant. “Think BLT with a waffle bun, eggs-benny on waffles, and our most popular creation: waffle bacon!”

We can’t be sure if it’s the waffles or the unique art setting that draws in customers, “Supporting local artists is a main priority at Starving Artist,” it declares on its website. Whichever it is, Starving Artist has been lauded by local media, including Taste Toronto, Toronto Sun and Toronto Star, for its unique take on brunch.

The Toronto Brunch Cruise

Address: Queen’s Quay Terminal

Website: mariposacruises.com

Most people are accustomed to the treat that is evening cruise dining, but late night diners shouldn’t get all the fun. Burning a beautiful morning inside a restaurant is okay, but as soon as I heard about the Toronto Brunch Cruise it had to go on my bucket list. Mariposa Cruises, which is a recipient of the Consumer Choice Award, offers a “two-hour brunch cruise through Toronto’s scenic Harbourfront” on Saturdays and Sundays, according to Mariposa’s website. The buffet menu is courtesy of Executive Chef Damien Wlodarczyk.

Equipped with a fully licensed bar, the brunch menu consists of fresh baked breads and Danishes, homemade jam preserves, fresh summer fruits, quirky salads, the Chef’s famous French toast, hickory smoked bacon, organic pork sausages and traditional home fries. Ingredients are usually sourced locally. “We use Ontario produce whenever possible and in season. The pork products are grown and produced in Ontario as well,” says Chef Wlodarczyk. The price is $58.80 for adults, including tax and gratuities—not exactly cheap for brunch, but it’s also a cruise.

Gallery Grill

Address: 7 Hart House Circle, U of T Campus

Website: harthouse.ca/gallery-grill

Voted one of the most unforgettable restaurants in Toronto by Where.ca, the Gallery Grill is a brunch destination. It serves up a Sunday brunch menu that includes stars like buttermilk drop biscuits with an orange-herb butter, and classic pork and eggs with smoked peameal bacon, hashbrowns, roasted tomato, fried egg and maple mustard. The whole menu, which can be found in its entirely at harthouse.ca/menus, is drool inducing.

Gallery Grill is like a modern literary throwback to the fantastical dining hall in Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. Chef Suzanne Baby is the creative force behind the “cosmopolitan cuisine”, which brunchers enjoy amongst the intimate setting of Hart House, with its vaulted ceilings, candelabras, fireplace, oak paneling and impressive artistic portraiture. Housed inside the University of Toronto’s historical neo-Gothic building, which was famously commissioned by Canadian icon Vincent Massey, the restaurant has garnered itself a “devoted following” of loyal 416ers.

Arriba Restaurant

Address: 1 Blue Jays Way, Renaissance Toronto Downtown Hotel

Website: arribarestauranttoronto.com

Did you know you can enjoy Sunday brunch amongst the Toronto Blue Jays? Perched high atop the Rogers Stadium, Arriba offers an unbeatable view of Sunday afternoon Jays’ games in a unique dining setting for baseball enthusiasts. While the food has been rated as pretty good, it really is the high and mighty view that you’ll be paying for.

The classic menu is concise, offering up a select few dishes including eggs benedict, French toast stuffed with cream cheese, berry compote or cinnamon stewed apples, and smoked salmon with cream cheese on multigrain bread. The restaurant, which has received accolades from Toronto Life, Ottawa Citizen and USA Today’s “10 Best”, is an interesting way to kill a Sunday in a memorable fashion. Bonus: they have a kids’ menu if you are toting little ones along and the view is sure to keep your captivated toddler in his or her seat.

Fresh From Scratch Down Home Cookin’ at Scratch Kitchen

Address: 3471 Yonge St.

Website: thescratchkitchen.ca

Situated on Yonge St., Scratch Kitchen is all about the breakfast; throughout the day it’s a (drunken?) brunch bonanza, complete with mimosas and Caesars. Rare for a breakfast joint, Scratch Kitchen stays open late with fresh-shucked oysters, craft brewskies and bar snacks appearing on tables after dark. The breakfast-focused establishment sells itself on licensed brunches, fresh farm-to-table food fare and a unique rustic feel.

It really does have a home-cookin’ vibe, with menu items like Fat Daddy Pancakes, Soft Scrambled Eggs with maple yogurt, and a BLT made with in-house cured bacon. The owner and chef are one in the same, Mike Tucker (with co-owner Ted Zacharopoulos), who has been whipping up delectable meals in Toronto for not quite a decade. You may have enjoyed his dishes previously at places like Cowbell, Le Sélect Bistro, Nota Bene and Brockton General. According to the website, their “goal is to utilize locally grown produce to produce fresh, tasty cuisine… from farm-fresh eggs to in-house baked bread,” because it’s always been Chef Tucker’s dream to plate meals made from scratch.

Wherever you go, whatever you eat. in Toronto, remember to do it in good company. More than anything, brunch is a social affair, meant to mix food and conversation while you wile away a morning and afternoon, whether it’s a Sunday or you’re playing hooky on a Wednesday.