Recipefiesta

Like most service jobs, working for the TTC can be thankless. There are perks including pay, benefits and pension, but it comes at the cost of being the first person furious riders lash out at. And of course, it requires having to sit in Toronto traffic all day. Though they make it look simple, operating large buses isn't as easy as it seems.

Here are just a few things to keep in mind next time you find yourself riding a TTC bus in Toronto.

1. They probably don't know where the side street you're looking for is

A lot of transit riders seem to believe that since bus drivers are constantly travelling through the city, they'll know where every street is. The truth is, if it's not a major street or part of a stop on the route, most of them won't. 

Many of the transit operators in the city actually commute in from outside of Toronto and as a result aren't as familiar with the finer details of the neighbourhood.

If you're searching for a particular road or shop, your fellow riders are far more likely to be able to help as chances are they're local to the area.

2. Working for the TTC requires A LOT of training and testing

Working as a transit operator can require about half a dozen tests and a practical driving test that all require scores of 80 per cent or better. Some tests even require a perfect score.

For prospective employees, failing any one of these tests can result in immediate dismissal. Even longtime transit operators are expected to recertify every few years. Failure to pass can lead to retraining and could even result in reprimand without pay.

Needless to say, it's a difficult job but every employee has proven they're capable of it.

3. They're human, your words hurt

For some reason, frustrated transit riders love to lash out at bus drivers as if everything is their fault. Not only are the delays, short turns, or traffic not their fault, but they're probably just as frustrated with them as you are.

Assaulting an employee because circumstances beyond their control inconvenienced you is never acceptable.

"I've been cussed at, chewed out, sworn at, issued a death threat, and intentionally spat on," one TTC employee explained. "I have yet to be punched, kicked or otherwise physically assaulted. Yet, I believe it's just a matter of time."

4. You have the power to make change

Transit operators are not suggestion boxes. If there is something you dislike about the way the TTC operates, telling them is unlikely to solve much at all.

That being said, riders have far more power to affect change than they think.

The TTC doesn't listen to its operators nearly as much as it listens to its customers. If you want to request a change to the schedule, route, or anything else, be sure to reach out to the TTC directly by calling, tweeting, or sending an email to make your voice heard.

5. They can't always stop and wait for you

As much as many transit operators would like to, even if they see you running for the bus, it isn't always possible to stop and wait for a passenger to catch up. Routes are expected to run on a tight schedule and stopping to wait for one person could mean hundreds of other people being furious the bus is late. 

There's also the matter of safety, as having a bus stop and idle forces the traffic around it to adapt. In situations when the bus has already started to pull away, suddenly stopping again could catch other drivers by surprise.

Everyone knows how frustrating it can be to see the bus you need pull away as you're only seconds away, but at least in some situations, the next one will is only a few minutes behind.

6. They like their riders but are also trying to focus

Transit operators aren't as cold as they appear to be while sitting behind a barrier. In reality, they're just trying to focus on doing a safe job driving passengers around the city.

Navigating a giant bus through Toronto traffic isn't as easy as some make it look. As a result, drivers need to stay focused at all times watching our for other vehicles, pedestrians, bikers, and anything that may be on the road.

If you do decide to engage a TTC operator in conversation, make sure to at least do it safely and stay behind the white line.

7. They don't always know the other driver they're waving to

The wave that many TTC riders notice when two buses pass each other isn't always the result of two pals crossing paths. In many cases, it's more of a case of camaraderie for another transit operator.

"Nothing is more heartbreaking than not getting a wave back," one TTC operator joked. "We might know each other. We get really excited if we do."

The 905 area code in Canada was born at the stroke of midnight on Friday March 25th, 1994. It was then that Bell Canada officially killed the 416 area code outside of Metro Toronto and the legend of the 905 was born.

By 1993, phone numbers in the 416 area code were almost entirely used up. With the advent of modems, cellular phones, faxes and pagers, technology had finally pushed the possible number combinations to their extreme limit.

Area codebreakers - Ma Bell tried to make it simple for everyone to understand. Courtesy of Retrontario.

Before then, you rarely saw area codes in local advertising – the 416 code had stretched across the Golden Horseshoe for almost 40 years.

Unless you were calling long-distance, phones numbers only had 7 digits (or so we thought.)

Lucky numbers 7 - no area codes in old local TV ads. Courtesy of Retrontario

Soon it became apparent that if nothing was done, 416 would completely run out of numbers by mid-1994.

It was decided that the 1.6 million phone customers in Metro Toronto (anyone with a postal code starting with M) would retain the 416 code, while surrounding suburban regions from Fort Erie to Lake Simcoe to Colborne would adapt the new 905 code.

The 905 area code had previously been used as a routing prefix for calls from the United States to Mexico in anticipation of Mexico joining the North American Numbering Plan. It was withdrawn in 1991 after Mexico adapted its own independent numbering plan.

In the months leading up to the seismic at-the-time change, Bell Canada ran a multi-million-dollar ad campaign in Ontario warning of the upcoming change that included billboards, radio spots, TV ads and a blitz of print advertising.

Bell's angels - Bell blitzed Ontario for almost a year to help people prepare for the arrival of the 905 area code. Courtesy of Retrontario.

By late 1993, anyone calling a number outside of Metro in the newly designated 905 code region was warned by a nameless (human) Bell voice that "in the future" they would need to dial 905 before the 7-digit number.

This low-energy recording became the butt of many local jokes and became increasing annoying as time went on.

It was a surprisingly difficult concept for people at the time to grasp. If you were making a local call in the 416 or 905 area codes, you just dialed the 7-digit number as before.

When placing a call from 416 to 905, or vice versa, things got complicated. Many people instinctively dialed 1 before the area code as they would when making a long-distance call.

Schools even provided students with lenticular rulers adorned with fish that explained the 905/416 change (presumably so they could explain it to their parents.)

After the changeover, "905ers" quickly gained popularity as an insult du jour from Toronto residents when describing (mostly) young people visiting the club district.

It has since been reclaimed as a badge of honour, while the legend of 416 has taken on global significance thanks to a certain local artist.

By 2005, a mere 12 years after its introduction, the 905 numbers became exhausted forcing yet another set of new pre-fixes, however in the cell phone age none of it matters nearly as much as it did in those innocent rotary phone days.

Toronto's most hard-to-get pizza right now is secretly being turned out in a pub by a one-man operation.

Mac's Pizza is named for sole owner and operator (and, he jokes, dishwasher) Josh McIlwaine (pronounced "Mac-IL-waine").

He's been serving a tight menu of Margherita, pepperoni, cheese, spicy bacon and white pies out of restobar Century Park Tavern, recently opened by the people behind popular chicken restaurant Love Chix.

Only about 30 pizzas are available at a time, and they typically sell out in about one or two hours.

"After I was seeing some success selling my pizzas from my house, I reached out to a number of business owners to see if they would be willing to share their space at all. I was primarily reaching out to cafes etc., places that would be closed on Saturday nights," McIlwaine told blogTO.

"I was pointed in the direction of the guys from Love Chix, and they were open to letting me work out of Century Park Tavern, as they opened right before the pandemic hit and had a pizza oven I could use.

"The guys at the tavern have been so great. Considering I run the whole operation on my own, they've been great with helping me expand and get the business up and running."

Century Park extended their generosity to another online business which shares the space with Mac's as well, cocktail kit service Salty Paloma.

Like many budding food entrepreneurs, McIlwaine started the Mac's as a way of turning the extra time on his hands into a new skill and business venture.

"I cooked for a few years in Montreal, a mix of everything, pub grub to fine dining. Pizza has always been my favourite food, but always strayed away from it as i saw how hard dough can be to work with, especially after seeing it made in house at some restaurants I worked at," says McIlwaine.

"With the pandemic and working from home, I took a crack at some dough and after some final tweaks, felt comfortable with the product and had some good praise from those who tried it.

"It was a great way to start off my business with some creative ideas with food, but really saw an opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do with the time I had on my hands."

Margherita and cheese pizzas are $22, will all other pies selling for $26.

He says he draws his influences from NY-style pizza, but thinks his is a bit crispier than that. 

While the menu is pretty stripped down, he's working on new ideas for different pizzas.

McIlwaine also makes his own creamy garlic dip from scratch.

"People have been super kind and supportive, and seem to really like my product as a whole. Its been great to be a part of the smaller pop-up community here locally and its been awesome doing some swaps with others like Sohmers and St Clarens Bagels, etc. Everything seems to be progressing quickly and in the right direction," says McIlwaine.

Online reservations for Saturday pickup at 33 Powerhouse St. go live at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays.

"I'm super excited to see what comes next and would love to establish myself as one of the best pizza spots in the city," says McIlwaine.

A three-storey apartment building in Toronto and the 29 rental units inside are slated for demolition to make way for a new condo project. 

There's a new application from registered property owners Rockbrook Developments Inc. (owned by Tribute Communities) for the property at 71 Talara Dr.

In a push to densify the area located by Bessarion subway station, a new 27-storey residential building is being proposed to replace the current low-rise which has sat there since 1961.

71 Talara Drive is slated for demolition to make way for a 27-storey condo. Photo by Rockbrook Developments via City of Toronto submission.

The 29 rental units that currently exist at 71 Talara, all of which are occupied right now, would make way for 256 new residential units, if approved by the city. 

On top of that, the build would include 29 rental units to replace the ones on site. 

The 29-unit building has sat on Talara since 1961. Photo by Rockbrook Developments via City of Toronto submission.

According to the site's Rental Housing Demolition application, the replacement rentals would be considered "affordable". Tenant relocation assistance, including a right to return to the replacement rental units, is also being offered, says Rockbrook Inc.  

blogTO was not able to contact any current residents of 71 Talara at the time of publishing.

Currently, there are 21 two-bedroom units, seven one-bedrooms, and one bachelor unit at 71 Talara. 

The new replacement would see eight three-bedroom units, 13 two-bedrooms, and seven one-bedrooms. All rentals would be relegated to the condo's third and fourth floors.

The tower will sit atop a five-storey podium. Turner Fleischer Architects Inc. via City of Toronto submission.

The condo proposal includes a five-storey podium wrapping around the east and west of the building and landscaped areas to replace the exisiting driveway on the west end of the site. 

Indoor and outdoor amentity spaces would be accessible via ground level, while the roof of the five-storey podium will also feature an outdoor area.

A five-level underground parking area would fit 207 cars. 

The 27-storey proposal would replace the current rental units and add 256 new condo units to the area. Photo Turner Fleischer Architects Inc. via City of Toronto submission.

According to the proposal, the development hopes to intensify and utilize both Bayview and Bessarion stations, the latter of which has been known to be one of the most underused stations on the TTC. 

The 45-acre Concord Park Place project, part of which sits directly across from the station, is expected to bring density to this part of Sheppard, though at this point a 2021 completion date seems unlikely.

To find one of Toronto's newest BBQ restaurants, you'll actually want to seek out the back entrance of one of our city's oldest bars.

Irish pub The Old Sod has been around since 1975, but since the whirlwind that was 2020 they've changed things up in ways they never could have expected.

They've innovated by trying to divert business from the LCBO to themselves, creating a distanced two-person outdoor "buddy bar" and by selling Christmas trees.

Now, they're doing a whole new menu concept as Bellows Barbecue.

"We needed to quickly think of our next creative pivot in order to stay alive, as we've had to do for a full year now. With no customers allowed inside and low takeout alcohol sales, we realized we had to increase food revenue and to do so we'd have to take a big risk to differentiate our takeout food menu from local competitors," Old Sod co-owners Tyler Owens and Kyla Prior told blogTO.

"We needed a menu that was not being offered in our area, that would sustain us through the remainder of the lockdown but would also work well with our live music vibe in The Old Sod when our amazing customers are allowed back. As Country music fans/travellers down south we think nothing goes better with live music and beer than smoked barbecue."

Serving up pulled pork, brisket, wings, ribs, fried chicken and sides like poutine, mac n' cheese and deep-fried pickles, Bellows is actually named for The Old Sod co-owners' dog.

"He has been The Old Sod's mascot since he was only weeks old. He has a lot of character and is a very tough little guy, recently beating three cancer surgeries," say Owens and Prior.

"We love him more than anything and he inspires us everyday to never give up, so it made perfect sense to make him the face of this risky but necessary new partner brand of The Old Sod."

A menu is available online, and you can call in to order delivery or to pick up from The Old Sod's back entrance.

"We are taking orders and deliveries our self because the third party platforms (Skip The Dishes, Uber Eats) take too much of our profit and charge the customer too much," say Owens and Prior.

"We think the best way to truly support local is to go old school and just call in your order and we deliver your order ourselves quickly to maintain food temperature/quality and avoid the many issues that can occur with third party delivery."

You don't want to mess around with food quality when ordering, say, their $19 "Big Dog Sangy," a sandwich piled with fried chicken, pulled pork and brisket. For $85, you can get their popular "Big Dog Platter": any two pounds of meat with four sides and four orders of cornbread.

"We opened on Super Bowl weekend and the response was great right away, we received a large number of orders for our Big Dog Platter, which feeds the whole family! Etobicoke residents, especially those here in The Kingsway area mentioned they were very happy to have the option of barbecue now in their area," say Owens and Prior.

"As always, we appreciate the amazing support we receive from our community, we are excited for everyone to try the takeout food while in lockdown, but even more excited to have everyone in for the full experience of live music, drinks, good times and great barbecue…one day hopefully sooner than later, we will cheers again."