What Toronto Life readers loved and loathed in our June issue

Everyone’s a Critic

Our annual roundup of the city’s best new restaurants always gets chins wagging, particularly with regard to the top ranked spot.

“I’ve enjoyed many of Jen Agg’s establishments over the years, but your number one ranking of General Public is a bit of premature enthusiasm. I visited the week your ranking came out, busy Saturday night, only bar seats available. No worries—we’ve always enjoyed that real estate at her restaurants. But we had a very disappointing food experience: black cod, heritage chicken, potato roulade all came out cool or cold. The couple beside us sent their tongue and tail pie back twice. The manager kept apologizing, and they comped our dessert, but the experience was far below expectations. I guess even number ones can have an off night.” —J. Hartman, Toronto

“Great list! Also General Public is great, but I’m not sure many people (particularly Jen Agg, from what I know of her) would want to be tagged as leading a neighbourhood gentrification charge.” —toradian05, Reddit

“To be perfectly honest, 2024 was not a great year for Toronto ­restaurant openings. This list is very underwhelming.” —Kogre_55, Reddit

Power of Attorneys

Readers were unequivocal in their response to our profile of criminal lawyer Megan Savard: they thought her choice of clients and her courtroom tactics were indefensible.

“Megan Savard is a prime example of being oblivious to the idea that perpetrators of crimes should face the consequences of their misdeeds. All our lawyers seem to be for the defence right now. People steal millions and get house arrest for two months. The Supreme Court is insisting criminals have more rights than victims. Bail has become a get-out-of-jail card for murderers, pedophiles and other scumbags. The police aren’t getting support from the judicial system.

“It is thinking like this that will result in the average citizen taking the law into their own hands. What do they teach at law school? It certainly doesn’t seem to be the difference between right and wrong.” —Janet McIntosh

“Your recent article describes lawyer Megan Savard’s aggressive defence tactics in glowing terms. But it fails to acknowledge the other side to the story: the lasting harm those very tactics cause to survivors like me.

“Ms. Savard defended Jacob Hoggard, the man convicted of sexually assaulting me. She did not simply ‘do her job.’ She tried to dismantle my character, my credibility and my humanity on the stand. It was just as traumatizing as the assault itself. By presenting only Ms. Savard’s narrative, your article helps her reframe those tactics as prison abolitionist work. But real abolition means harm reduction and collective care for everyone—not just the wealthy, powerful men she chooses to defend.

“Your piece reinforces a legal culture that celebrates aggressive tactics while ignoring the serious harm they cause. I hope you’ll consider the real-world impact of this framing. Survivors deserve better than this.” —J. B.

“Judging from my chair while reading various accounts, it seems Savard’s clients could be found not guilty, but no lawyer can make them innocent.” —@RebelRabb1t, X

Raised on Robbery

Readers found the story of Jeffery Shuman, the so-called Vaulter Bandit, and his jet-setting, bank-robbing escapades irresistible.

“A confidently told caper of a globe-trotting bank robber’s rise and fall, with just the right number of allusions to Heat peppered in? Click.” —The Sunday Long Read

Naked Truth

Andrea Werhun’s memoir about her journey from sex work to the silver screen elicited near unanimous applause.

“What an interesting dichotomy you gave us with an article about a sex worker preceded by a profile of Megan Savard. One is honest about taking money in exchange for sex while the other takes money—significantly more money!—to defend men accused of heinous sexual assaults. Ask yourself: Which one would you rather be around for more than five ­minutes before you felt disgusted by what they do for a living? My pick is not the one cozying up to human rubbish like Peter Nygård and those other shining examples of men abusing power and wealth.” —Alex Blake, Toronto

“I’ve always loved stories that speak of a life in a matter-of-fact manner. We all tend to add a theme song to our dramatic moments as we recount our history (mine is Hoobastank’s ‘The Reason’). But, in reality, so many of our turning points take place with ourselves as the only witness. Those moments are usually uncinematic. Andrea Werhun’s writing wonderfully puts us in the moment with her as she experienced it all.” —bana_narama57, Instagram

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