Introducing: Old School, an all-hours diner on Dundas West

36 thoughts on “Introducing: Old School, an all-hours diner on Dundas West”

1. West: 104
   East: 6

2. Darren Robinson: Fucking loser

3. Why don’t you list up to 98 noteworthy new East end restaurants to have opened that Toronto Life has snubbed. Hell, even 10 will do. Loser.

4. It’s really quite something.

5. why do you children get SO angry? it’s really quite something that a simple pair of numbers not only have you swearing but also resorting to childish namecalling. it really does say a lot about both of you. then again, neither of you have ever answered any of these simple questions. that says a lot about you as well. at this point, i think darren is continuing just to get a simple bombastic rise of you guys. and you guys are calling HIM the loser?

6. Pot calling the kettle

7. You ever notice they never comment on any articles on TL unless it’s whining about a simple stat that they could easily ignore? I wonder what pisses them off more-that he posts that stat that proves Toronto Life are lazy or that he doesn’t acknowledge their incessant whining. I like that he’s in their heads and they’re spinning out even more because of it. Keep it up Darren! It gives the true losers something to piss and moan about.

8. Hey, when are we going out?

9. “Judy”, until you can prove to me that you (and a few other Darren defenders conveniently using aliases) aren’t just Darren yourself, conversation over. If ‘Darren’ even is the pest’s real name.

   To everyone else: just look at this Darren piece of work’s profile and how willing he is to engage in snarky, combative exchanges on countless other posts… yet never to address criticism of his stats. However there is always conveniently a whole fleet of the same phantom accounts who DO chime in… every single time out. In a remarkably identical tone and sharply critical manner as to each other and to him in his other posts. And the only time they ever do seem to show up on Toronto Life forums is to defend their man. Seriously, NOWHERE else on here. Always to voraciously stand behind the stat of an absolute online stranger… again, every single time out. Interesting!

   So anyway, that’s that. You can draw your own conclusions.

10. Ah. So you are either Darren’s girlfriend or Darren yourself. Or, even worse, just a very sad individual with not one but at least TWO fake online personas. Thanks Facebook! Either way, there is something very funky going on here. And highly amusing to me, if not kind of pathetic. Anyway. Bye, loser.

11. Reggie, your comment says a lot about you, nothing about Darren.

12. Honestly, C.M., you seem to be obsessed with Darren, you only seem to ever post about Darren’s tally, you’re now spamming all the various TL threads with your “Judy” diatribe, and you don’t have anything constructive to add. Ironic that you then complain about behaviour that you yourself engage in.

    Seriously, Darren is doing something interesting. You’re not required to like it, but this manic harassing behaviour of yours is old.

13. You check other people’s past comments, yet are strangely shocked when I see all of your comments on a website I read regularly. And just check my profile to see that, unlike you, I comment on a lot of sites, and in a lot threads, that have nothing to do with Darren. But don’t let me stop you from jumping to incorrect conclusions.

    I find Darren’s efforts interesting and telling, and am happy to defend him. In fact, his tally first came out of a bunch of comments from a number of commentators towards the end of 2014 IIRC. I’ve commented substantively on the issue a number of times in the past. You don’t have anything constructive to add to the discussion, but nonetheless go from thread to thread harassing him and others. While I applaud you for having the balls to be giving yourself points (takes a certain chutzpah), I think you need to give some thought as to who the troll is here.

14. haha this again

15. im sorry – just started reading TL. what does the tally represent?

16. “C.M”… if that IS your real name… 1: I don’t need to prove anything to you and I’m sure the conversation won’t be over as you claim. You’ll continue to whine and complain, in a most irrational manner about 2 numbers. And others will continue to mock you for said irrational behavior. Your whole verbose, long-winded diatribe is nothing more than your deflecting from answering a simple question: Why does a simple stat upset you so much? You’ve done the ‘this conversation is over’ shtick before. 2: I have an account that I log into through facebook, which I’ve had for years now. Unlike yourself who just all of a sudden popped up with what is, let’s be honest-not a real name. I look forward to more of your rantings. There’s nothing more enjoyable than seeing grown men cry about such minor things. I wonder what other things you scream about in life. I’d ask, but we all know you can’t answer questions. It’s all just crying and complaining from you.

17. Toronto Life has a LONG history of only focusing on businesses that are within their very limited bubble. It’s a well established reputation of only spotlighting businesses in very limited circles. Previously they’ve claimed that’s just a perception. So someone decided to actually keep a running tally on it and proves it. And then crybabies got all upset about it. CM is the funniest because he starts jumping up and down, stamping his feet and resorting to namecalling. Then he starts removing his own posts.

18. so your complaint is that he’s willing to engage in snarky exchanges but you’re upset that he won’t do it with you? i notice you only show up to comment about darren. even when the stat doesn’t get posted you chime in ABOUT the stat, in essence, soliciting what you claim to have such a problem with. interesting, btw: interesting actually means crazy. you voraciously attack an online stranger because of a simple stat. why?

19. A lot of arm-chair psychiatrists on TL.
    Not sure what is funnier, those upset with the tally or the people who so vehemently support it.

20. Gotcha, good to know. Thanks.

21. funny that cm is deleting all of his comments.

22. Or sanctimonious folk like crizzle who show up to tell everyone how much better they are than everyone else.

23. He does that occasionally. I don’t think he’s very bright. And, ironically, the stuff he’s accusing other people of doing is precisely what he’s doing – trolling, fake accounts, etc.

24. “folk like crizzle who show up to tell everyone how much better they are than everyone else.” – Please show me where I did this.

25. Is this really a case of Toronto Life staying within their bubble? Or is it just that new restaurants tend to concentrate themselves on the west end of the city?

    No, really; I’m genuinely curious. Name, say, five interesting restaurants that have opened in the last few months that TL hasn’t covered. If you can, then you have a point. If you can’t, then maybe it’s just that restaurants are more clustered on the west end, — not some nefarious plot by the writers of this magazine to infuriate east-enders.

26. Nobody ever said it’s a nefarious plot, or that it’s done to infuriate people in the east. Nor has anyone said there’s any conspiracy. It’s that they not only tend to concentrate on the West, but more and more, they concentrate on a select few neighborhoods-focusing lots of attention on what will be short-lived businesses. I get it though, they’re all about hipster places. 5 interesting places that opened in the East: Descendant Pizza, Corrado’s Authentic Italian, Local 1794 off the top of my head. Not to mention the chef at Morgans on Danforth winning Chopped Canada which is kind of a big deal. But not a mention.

27. So I’ll make a comment about THE RESTAURANT? While everyone else acts like a bunch of 8 year olds…
    Hope it does well because this location may literally have a jinx. Nothings lasts here BUT i hope this does! :)

28. West! West! West! West!!!!!!

29. most likely they’ve researched their readership and are working to cater to existing readers rather than try to cultivate new readers in new neighborhoods.
    .
    As a westie it doesn’t bother me at all. :-)

30. If other areas of Toronto were enjoying the same rebirth as the west end, then it would be covered. Ossington (fastest, most shocking transformation from a street no one wanted to be on 12 or so years ago, stretching from Dundas to Queen), Dundas West (walked from Ossington to Lansdown this past Saturday during their Dundas West Fest, noted an abundance of new businesses and eateries), Queen West is enjoying a rebirth with the Drake and Gladstone hotels’ renovations that sparked a revival and new interest in that area, too. Kensington Market has changed for the better!
    The west end of Toronto is unmatched by all other areas of Toronto for generating this type of growth for restaurants, eateries, shops, galleries, clubs, and event spaces (new venues for live theatre). This area is not only bringing in new business, but new families and people interested in residing in these exciting neighbourhoods.

31. Clearly you either live in the west or hang out there constantly like other sheep TL seems to be cloning by selectively surveying the city whose name it takes. I won’t deny the growth in these areas, but your tacit Implication that nothing similar happens in the east end is a big crock. Maybe there aren’t as many hipster “neighbourhoods” out east, but there is a near constant stream of new restaurants and shops opening, and there always has been, but clearly TL is working overtime to create the illusion you’ve bought into. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that an alarming number of their “feature” articles are just written by the subjects themselves. You can bet that saves a few bucks, but why? Times are tough, I guess, but unless their intention is to starve and kill the print magazine to focus on the website, they need to prove to ALL their readers – even those who left over just this kind of thing — that a) development, rebirth and new businesses DO happen in the east, and b) the somewhat illusory hipster Utopias they’ve deliberately helped to foster and thrive (at the cost of ignoring everywhere else) are not the be all and end all in this city. Get on public transit once in a while, people, or get in your car, and see what’s really out there. If TL is your primary source for “happening” spots, you’ll be mighty surprised at what you’re missing. Now I’m all misty for the OLD Toronto Life, the one that proved with every single issue and supplement that hidden gems were ALL OVER the GTA.

32. Live there. 30 years. Love it.
    Watched the transformations take place and the areas become vibrant and family oriented. Watched as new businesses try their hand at tempting the tastes, while adding to the rich and diverse styles of cuisine the west end offers. There must be about 350 to 400 restaurants and eateries within a 20 minute walk. This abundance is newsworthy, and there isn’t another area that can match what’s happening here. This is a walkable, vibrant area that has become one of the most desirable neighbourhoods in the city giving residents and visitors the opportunities to do so much.

    Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m no sheep.
    I got a place here long before this all started.
    For the timing of the investment, I was a shepherd.

33. Sounds like in those 30 years of thinking you’re in the only newsworthy part of Toronto because Toronto Life decrees it, you’ve never ventured east of Yonge with any sincere intent, or you’d know what’s happening over there. Sure, it’s not as concentrated into douche-y gentrified zones full of hipsters and their brazen shallowness and SUV strollers (though it has enough of those already), but that’s what makes the east so much more interesting to explore and discover every new place that comes along. The joy of discovery hasn’t been taken away yet because every new resto doesn’t HAVE to locate within the increasingly and alarmingly tiny area Toronto Life deigns to cover.

    Regardless of ALL of this, for a magazine called TORONTO Life to have narrowed its coverage — especially online — to one small painfully trendy pocket of the city — in addition to increasingly paying feature subjects to write their OWN articles, meh — strongly suggests that the magazine is in the kind of difficult financial straits that their upcoming blowjob of Jian Ghomeshi won’t exacerbate. Apparently, it’s too expensive to hire food writers/reviewers — LIKE THEY USED TO — who live or play in the East end, or up in the north end all the way up to North York, all of which is still technically Toronto and is an embarrassment of riches (only without so many “celebrity chefs” suckering in the sheeple) for those in the know who can actually afford a car or and like to go further, faster — without being stuck in sardine cans of reeking humanity — than they ever can downtown (and I say this as someone with abodes in both areas, just to be clear). Hell, scratch that car comment, in the north and (somewhat) the east, I can WALK to an abundance of “rich and diverse” food experiences that Toronto Life has willfully chosen to ignore in their surreptitious downsizing.

    You can defend TL’s restrictive coverage all you want, but you can’t deny it.

34. What’s apparent is that your comment contains incorrect assumptions of what I do and the areas of Toronto that I frequent.

    What’s even more apparent is your dislike of this city and its people (you labelled as “sheeple” and those in “douche-y gentrified zones full of hipsters), as well as its public transit system (…being stuck in sardine cans of reeking humanity).

    With your attitude, how can you stand to live here?
    (That is, if you live in Toronto.)

35. Live here, love it here. ALL of it. Not just the downtown west end like Toronto Life. Even the reeking sardine cans when the mood hits me. But there’s so much more to do and see . . . and write about.

    Simple, really. It’s a big place, but Toronto Life rarely acknowledges that anymore. It caters to folks like you, fine and dandy, but it should really consider a name change to West End Life or something catchy like that, ’cause it sure ain’t about Toronto the way it USED to be.

36. Zzzzzzzzzz…..nothing worth your time here. Food is expensive and just ok, service is meh, decor is unispired. A decent patio, I suppose. IMO, there are more interesting places to spend money.

Comments are closed.