If you like food with diverse flavours and a really low price tag then Dr. Laffa is the place for you!

I was first introduced to the magic of Dr. Laffa about 2 years ago by Vicky (aka @momwhoruns on Twitter) after she held a tweetup at their original location. The original location was run out of a loading dock and served up MASSIVE portions of what I was told was a fusion of Iraqi and Israeli cuisines. I ordered the sabich on laffa on my first visit and still remember the awesome taste locked within to this day.

A laffa is basically a flat bread similar to naan that is cooked in an oven called a taboon. The dough is slapped against the walls inside the taboon and when ready is used to make some delicious sandwiches. Continue Reading »

When it comes to taxi apps in this city, there are only 2 major competitors: Uber & Hailo. I have been aware of both apps since they launched, but Hailo has always been my app of choice and here is why.

When both apps first launched, I was immediately chased away by Uber’s pricing. While both companies charge the standard metered cab rates, Hailo allows you to tip based on service but Uber decided to force a 20% gratuity. This means you could have your worst cab experience ever, and still be forced to generously tip your driver.

While the pricing alone was reason enough not to try their app, I was often enticed by the free money Uber offered to attract people to use their service. Unfortunately taking one of these offers means you have to link your credit card to their service, something I am very selective about who I will do this with. Continue Reading »

A few weeks ago I learned that Casey’s Bar & Grill was doing some beer can cocktails for the summer. I had heard a lot lately about beer cocktails becoming one of the next big things, but still hadn’t seen any in Toronto yet.  I also hadn’t been to a Casey’s in years but always pass by their location on Front Street so figured this was the perfect opportunity to check them out.

Upon entering Casey’s last Thursday my girlfriend and I were shocked to see it so busy. The restaurant was standing room only, but while walking through the bar we managed to snag a table that just opened up. After sitting down for about 1 minute our waitress had already come by to drop off some menus and see if she could get us started on anything (HOLY FAST SERVICE FOR A BUSY PLACE!!). I ordered one of each of their beer cocktails so that I could write an accurate review for them all.

The 3 beer inspired cocktails are as follows (though only 2 of them actually have beer, the others have Sommersby Cider): Shock Top Margarita, Blueberry Cider Sangria and Strawberry Cider Mojito.

All 3 arrived at the same time: Continue Reading »

A few weeks ago I received an email asking me if I would like the opportunity to get up close and personal with an elephant at the Bowmanville Zoo. Thinking this is basically a once in a lifetime opportunity I quickly jumped at the chance. Later did I realize, this is an everyday thing at the Bowmanville Zoo.

Underestimating the drive to Bowmanville I left Toronto around 9:45am trying to make it for the 11am bath time of Limba, the zoo’s only elephant. After encountering some traffic on the way, I made it into the zoo and down to the river, where through the fence, I could see Limba lying down getting her bath. I was late, I immediately thought, and started to wonder if I had made this drive into the far outskirts of the GTA for nothing. After peering through for a few minutes trying to catch a glimpse, the rest of the group arrived and we were escorted beyond the public area to meet Limba in one of her favourite spots: the bath.

The zoo keeper gave us a brief history of Limba, mentioning she was the oldest elephant in Canada at 50 years of age. Limba is an Asian elephant which besides African elephants is the only other elephant species. Unlike the male Asian elephants, the females do not bear tusks. The Asian elephant’s population is in decline due to encroachment on their habitat and increased farming of palm oil. While female Asian elephants are typically kept with other elephants, we were told that Limba is afraid of other elephants and relies on human interaction since she was raised by humans. Continue Reading »

I didn’t always see the value in being frugal — despite the fact that I used to be a banker, I was never really taught about money management. I came from a background where my parents made all sorts of sacrifices to see me get ahead in life — even at cost to themselves and their financial stability. And being young, dumb and surrounded by private school kids of a different social caste than myself, I felt a compelling need to keep up with the Joneses at a very young age, something that would take over a decade to finally shake out of my system. It didn’t help that I grew up around hip-hop music in the “jiggy era”, where self-worth was measured by what you owned rather than who you were.

My wife had a very different upbringing from me. She was raised in a traditional Dutch household, where if you weren’t 15 minutes early you were late; you were expected to be at the dinner table before the food was; and even more importantly — you never paid full price.

I’ve learned a lot from my in-laws — they’ve mastered the art of garage saling, knowing the right ones to hit and how early to get there to get the best stuff. They’re master hagglers and know exactly how low they’ll be able to get someone to sell. They know how to time store sales and coupons to get maximum value. They know how to save time, money and effort — how to remove unnecessary complications from life without sacrificing the quality of life. Continue Reading »