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Toronto Life Magazine May 2015
City News
Memoir: I went from ultra-Orthodox yeshiva boy to millionaire poker champion
The ancient rabbis had a saying about gamblers. “What crime do dice-players commit?” they asked in the Mishnah. “They do not...
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Shopping
The Find: eight face-saving essentials for the bushy-bearded and baby-faced
After years of less-is-more maintenance, the male preening routine now goes way beyond a bar of soap and a washcloth. Behind...
Real Estate News
The Sell: a savvy couple use social media to sell their Parkdale investment property
The sellers: Jeremy Stewart, a 36-year-old designer and real estate investor, and Tyler Clark Burke, a 41-year-old artist and...
Style
Zen Habitation: a salon don’s tranquil Rosedale retreat
After decades on the move, Ray Civello has finally settled down. The 57-year-old salon founder began his career bouncing between...
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City News
Dear Urban Diplomat: should we keep our kid away from his unvaccinated cousin?
Dear Urban Diplomat, My wife’s sister is a hard-core anti-vaxxer. We’re expecting in three weeks, and we don’t want her...
City News
Ten things Sarah Gadon can’t live without
She’s the new face of Giorgio Armani Beauty, and her upcoming thriller, The 9th Life of Louis Drax, hits screens later this...
Food & Drink
Spring Fling: six bargain bottles of lesser-known whites
Now’s the time to experiment with fragrant, refreshing, lesser-known whites As the weather starts to warm I turn to...
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Food & Drink
Major Flake: a purist’s list of the city’s 10 most decadent croissants
At Colette , heritage red fife, plus a sprinkle of sesame and fennel seeds, gives the whole wheat croissant a nutty...
Life
The Bay Street Tinder Diaries: Dating in the age of the Internet hookup
Valerie met “The Suit” on Tinder. She called him that because he was the quintessential 30-something Bay Street...
Culture
Comic Book Special: Toronto graphic novelists sketch themselves
Hundreds of graphic novelists will squeeze into the Reference Library on May 9 and 10 for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. We...
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Culture
Comic Book Special: inside Toronto’s best-connected comics workshop
In 2004, a group of illustrators founded RAID Studio in a tiny workshop above a GoodLife Fitness Club on College Street. Now...
City News
The New Dealers: who’s making a killing off medical marijuana
New legislation has rocked the medical marijuana world, taking the traditional grow op from suburban basements to mammoth...
Food & Drink
Piece of cake: a cross-section of the Kochi, Queen West pâtisserie Nadège’s newest creation
The newest mini-gâteau from Nadège's spring collection, the Kochi, is named after the Japanese city and prefecture—a nod to...
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Culture
Ten amazing shots from the Contact Photography Festival
The city-wide Contact Photography Festival returns in May with a smorgasbord of images from 1,500 artists. Here, the 10 most...
City News
Dear Urban Diplomat: how do we deal with a sneaky real estate agent?
Dear Urban Diplomat, We just sold our semi, and our agent pulled a sneaky move. We got two bids, one higher by about $40,000. Then...
City News
Q&A: Education Minister Liz Sandals on getting the new sex ed curriculum past a mob of angry parents
In September, under your new curriculum, students will learn about anal and oral sex starting in Grade 7. Why is that the...
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Culture
Boys Don’t Cry: Craig Davidson’s testosterone-jacked horror novels examine what it means to be a man
Craig Davidson’s fiction is a kind of literary man cave: in every book, he cracks open a space to examine the guyest of guy...
Shopping
The Find: ten flamboyant finishing touches for modern-day dandies
The new male primping regiment goes way beyond statement socks—it includes enough swank accessories to out-glam Beyoncé. All...
Food & Drink
Hot Seats: online reservation systems were supposed to make scoring a table easier. So much for that
For a guy who books a lot of restaurant reservations, I’ve had extra bad luck. I’ve been laughed at for asking for a table for...
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City News
The Charming Mr. Elder
On any given morning, you might find Michael Elder at one of his favourite hangouts, Caffe Doria or Starbucks in Rosedale. Look...
Life
The Skin I’m In: I’ve been interrogated by police more than 50 times—all because I’m black
The summer I was nine, my teenage cousin Sana came from England to visit my family in Oshawa. He was tall, handsome and...
City News
Editor’s Letter: the cost of police carding is just too high
Since the Toronto Police Service introduced the practice of carding about 10 years ago, they have collected data on over a million...
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Private School Guide
The Private and Independent School Directory Spring 2025
Big Stories
Deep Dives
Inside the rise and fall of the Vaulter Bandit, the 21st century’s most notorious bank robber
To fellow tourists he met around the world, Jeffery Shuman was a semi-retired developer with a bright smile, an even tan and a fat wallet. In truth, he was a legendary bank robber on the run from the Toronto police and the US Marshals
Deep Dives
Anchor Man: Fox News host John Roberts on Trump, the trade war and the American psyche
If Fox News seems an unlikely landing spot for a guy who got his start pumping out Platinum Blonde on MuchMusic, you probably haven’t heard his thoughts about joining the notorious network, the Canada–US relationship and what he misses most about Toronto
Deep Dives
Trump’s Loss, Toronto’s Gain: Meet the artists, professors, scientists and other luminaries ditching the US and moving north
They’re coming from Big Law, the Ivy League, arts institutes and beyond, brimming with smarts and energy and united by a common cause: avoiding the carnage of Donald Trump. True tales from the brain gain
Deep Dives
Dancing Queens: Patrons, staff and performers share their wildest memories of Crews and Tangos, Toronto’s most storied drag bar
Crews and Tangos has been enforcing the rules of the Village for more than 30 years: wear what you want, kiss who you want, but don’t forget to tip the drag queens. With a condo development looming, we asked around for tales from the iconic spot
Deep Dives
The Joy of Sex with Strangers: A Toronto hotwife’s adventures in ethical non-monogamy
Three months ago, I was a suburban mom in a monogamous relationship. Now I’m sleeping with people I meet online—with my husband’s blessing—and we’ve never been happier. Don’t judge us until you’ve read our story
Deep Dives
The Scandal, the Firing and the Fallout: Anatomy of a Bay Street fiasco at RBC
Nadine Ahn was a high-ranking executive at the bank. Ken Mason, her subordinate, was rapidly promoted. Then someone claimed to see them canoodling at the Royal York, tipped off HR and triggered an inquisition
Deep Dives
Edward the Conqueror: The unlikely ascent of Canada’s telecom king
Edward Rogers was dismissed as a meddling nepo baby—until he muscled out his siblings, acquired his competitors, cornered the telecom market and became the dominant force in Canadian sports
Deep Dives
Lady Parts: Inside Meredith MacNeill and Jennifer Whalen’s new show,
Small Achievable Goals
The
Baroness von Sketch Show
alumnae have elevated joking about women’s issues to an art. Their new show takes aim at menopause. How funny is that?
Deep Dives
Murder in the Blue Mountains: The story behind the killing of Ashley Schwalm
Ashley and James Schwalm had what seemed like a fairy tale life—two wonderful children, fulfilling careers and a gorgeous home close to the private ski club where they’d fallen in love. Then Ashley’s remains turned up in a burned-out car at the bottom of a ditch, and all signs pointed to her husband
Deep Dives
Dark Horse: Inside the fall of Eric Lamaze, Canada’s most famous equestrian
For years, Lamaze was the world’s top-ranked show jumper, living an enviable life filled with fancy cars, international travel and adoring fans—the kind of life a person might do anything to protect
Deep Dives
Dividing Line: How the Bloor Street bike lane turned the city into a battlefield
A few kilometres along Bloor has become Toronto’s most contested strip of concrete, igniting fights over congestion, safety and the future of downtown
Deep Dives
The Chosen One: At just 23, Scottie Barnes is the new face of the Raptors—and the team’s best chance of salvation
Barnes is shouldering the weight of an impatient, basketball-mad city, a hit-and-miss team, and his own colossal ambitions. Does he look worried?
Deep Dives
Almost
Famous: Inside the Beaches’ rise to rock stardom
A viral earworm about a breakup turned the Beaches into Toronto’s hottest export. Now, the panty-throwing, stage-diving, all-girl rock band is seducing fans around the world
Deep Dives
“I was nearly beaten to death by my partner. The case was dismissed because it took too long to get to trial”
How an overburdened justice system is failing survivors of intimate partner violence
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Food & Drink
“We felt disconnected from the outdoors before”: What St. Lawrence Market North vendors think of their new home
And what locally made and grown goods they’re selling
Food & Drink
Sort-of Secret: Amelia’s Market, a Geary Avenue grocer selling local goods and light lunches
Like lovely cheese plates paired with glasses of Ontario-made wine
Food & Drink
“There’s more attention now on shopping close to home”: How Broadfork Produce is connecting Toronto’s top chefs with Ontario farmers
And the west-end supplier is opening to the public soon
Food & Drink
The US tariffs are coming for your espresso martini
With Kahlúa no longer available at the LCBO, Toronto bartenders are getting creative