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artyboy123 said:

Home - EXPERIENCE THE OPENING OF BESO

Beso by Patria is where Spain comes out to play—bold, beautiful, and a little bit spicy. Tucked in the heart of Toronto’s King West neighbourhood, the sultry
besotoronto.com besotoronto.com

Opening to public on April 12

"Beso by Patria – The exciting evolution of the beloved Patria is set to reopen its doors on Saturday, April 12th, 2025. After a brief hiatus for a stunning redesign, Beso by Patria is ready to deliver a bold new space and a modern taste of Spain in its colourful diversity, vibrant food, and energetic culture.

Stepping into this Spanish-styled restaurant is an invitation to experience the beating heart of Spain in downtown Toronto. Designed by Toronto-based, award-winning design studio NIVEK REMAS, the interiors embrace bold colours, rich textures, and expressive illustrations that capture the passion and intensity of Spanish culture. Every detail—from the deep reds and rhythmic patterns woven throughout the space—creates a dynamic and inviting atmosphere, setting the stage for a lively and immersive dining experience."

Located on King West at the former location of Patria!
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isnt lapinou closed too? or
 
evandyk said:
I think this was posted above with another article by somebody talking about this great new Italian restaurant that is not even open yet, so they haven't tasted the food. How are these guys getting everybody to write about them without even being open? It sounds like a pretty run of the mill expensive Italian restaurant like we have dozens of in Toronto.
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Toronto seems like the kind of city where people would rather pay premium prices at average restaurants for basic meals than take the time to cook at home and learn simple knife skills.

Heck, if people make coffee at home or learn to make matcha at home. They can save money!

Whatever happened to basic home economics?

@Northern Light @AlbertC
 
artyboy123 said:
Toronto seems like the kind of city where people would rather pay premium prices at average restaurants for basic meals than take the time to cook at home and learn simple knife skills.

Heck, if people make coffee at home or learn to make matcha at home. They can save money!

Whatever happened to basic home economics?

@Northern Light @AlbertC
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Home Economics was an elementary school course (Grade 7/8) back in the day, it was removed from the curriculum ~20 years ago.

There are some cooking courses in High School, but they are elective, and tend to be career focused.

 
artyboy123 said:
Toronto seems like the kind of city where people would rather pay premium prices at average restaurants for basic meals than take the time to cook at home and learn simple knife skills.

Heck, if people make coffee at home or learn to make matcha at home. They can save money!

Whatever happened to basic home economics?

@Northern Light @AlbertC
Click to expand...

I'm of the view to let market conditions decide whether certain retail and businesses can survive. As consumers we have the ability to decide how to spend our money. I have no intrinsic issue with mediocre or redundant retail if they create jobs and fills our main streets. There's a market for everything, and often retail provides an experiential component that won't be the same if one is to replicate the same product at home.
 
Northern Light said:
Home Economics was an elementary school course (Grade 7/8) back in the day, it was removed from the curriculum ~20 years ago.

There are some cooking courses in High School, but they are elective, and tend to be career focused.

Click to expand...
I am old enough to remember taking the Home Economics course in the early 90's in Grade 8.

I recall it being rather outdated for its time, but also it was delivered too early. Attempting to teach 14 year-olds how to grocery shop and cook might have made sense in the 1950's when some kids dropped out of school to work starting at as early as 16 years-old, but it seemed a very quaint and backwards curriculum and several decades out of date by 1990. No one remembered what they learned there by the next year. It's something that really should be taught in the last year of high school when you are 17/18 and then it can be a little more math inclined.

In any case, I do notice there's an increase in young people who lack basic life skills and where stepping into a grocery store is only for the purpose of hitting up the prepared foods counter.
There's some for whom cooking pasta seems like a massive hurdle. I assume these are the same ones who pay $15 for Uber Eats to deliver them an Egg McMuffin in the morning.
 
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AlbertC said:
I'm of the view to let market conditions decide whether certain retail and businesses can survive. As consumers we have the ability to decide how to spend our money. I have no intrinsic issue with mediocre or redundant retail if they create jobs and fills our main streets. There's a market for everything, and often retail provides an experiential component that won't be the same if one is to replicate the same product at home.
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Im a capitalist haha but the idea of many can't handle the most basic task is quite thoughts provoking!

Luckily, I am able to feed myself!
 
Jonny5 said:
I am old enough to remember taking the Home Economics course in the early 90's in Grade 8.

I recall it being rather outdated for its time, but also it was delivered too early. Attempting to teach 14 year-olds how to grocery shop and cook might have made sense in the 1950's when some kids dropped out of school to work starting at as early as 16 years-old, but it seemed a very quaint and backwards curriculum and several decades out of date by 1990. No one remembered what they learned there by the next year. It's something that really should be taught in the last year of high school when you are 17/18 and then it can be a little more math inclined.

In any case, I do notice there's an increase in young people who lack basic life skills and where stepping into a grocery store is only for the purposes of hitting up the prepared foods counter.
There's some for whom cooking pasta seems like a massive hurdle. I assume these are the same ones who pay $15 for Uber Eats to deliver them an Egg McMuffin in the morning.
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It wasn't long ago that SkiptheDishes partnered up with "Buy Now Pay Later" company allowing those who order food delivery to finance their payment via installments with interest added on of course!
 
Obviously they should be teaching financial literacy as well as home economics.

I think it was door dash that partnered with Klarna. Not sure if it's in Canada or just the US right now.
 
Jonny5 said:
In any case, I do notice there's an increase in young people who lack basic life skills and where stepping into a grocery store is only for the purposes of hitting up the prepared foods counter.
There's some for whom cooking pasta seems like a massive hurdle. I assume these are the same ones who pay $15 for Uber Eats to deliver them an Egg McMuffin in the morning.
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Yes, i noticed that with my younger family members. They don't cook. Even though they are on tight budgets, they still blow way too much money on these food apps. They need to learn how to cook. It’s not hard and you don’t need to be Gordon Ramsay to make something good, and is a lot more healthy than restaurant food. Check out the sodium levels in some of those dishes! And they will save money, lots of money! You can make a pasta dish for a few dollars and have leftovers.

Uber eats/instacart/doordash..etc are eating up peoples budgets. When i was in my teens early 20s, we didn't have smart phones or apps. Either go out and get the food or make it yourself. Now you can pay everything on your phone without leaving your house. It's too easy to spend money.
 
Re-instating food-preparation focused 'Home Economics' into the elementary provincial curriculum would require retrofitting for food preparation areas in thousands of schools as well as supplementary professional development for tens of thousands of elementary educators depending on the extent of the additional curriculum. Food preparation skills have been gone from the provincial curriculum for more than 30 years, although individual boards and schools may have run food-prep related programs on their own. The Health and Physical Education curriculum includes learning about healthy eating in Grade 1-8. https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/elementary-health-and-physical-education Financial literacy is an explicit area of learning in Mathematics Grade 1-9 https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/elementary-mathematics , and it's found in other areas of the mandatory curriculum. Curriculum can and should evolve to prepare students for the future, but it's not the only place where food preparation skills can be learned (which I'm sure folks recognize...it just feels like the curriculum is seen as an easy one-and-done way to address issues).
BTW...first-time poster; long-time lurker and thanks so much to everyone for the thoughtful, informative posts and photos over the years. I am not in the sector (as you might guess from my post) and UT is a fascinating portal into conversations and expertise that help me understand what's going on in our city and beyond.
 
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RGB_11 said:
??? The Highly Likely Coffee website reads "Opening date will be revealed 18 April 2025." That date has come and gone.
No opening date found on their website yet: https://www.highlylikelycoffee.com/ (as of this posting, 10:47 PM 4/21/2025)
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Fwiw, their current listing on Google mentions an April 30th opening. Can't say for certain if that's accurate though.

They've definitely been "coming soon" for a long time. I reckon passing by there around 6 months or so ago and already seeing the same window film.


hghl.jpg
 
stdavidsward said:
Re-instating food-preparation focused 'Home Economics' into the elementary provincial curriculum would require retrofitting for food preparation areas in thousands of schools as well as supplementary professional development for tens of thousands of elementary educators depending on the extent of the additional curriculum. Food preparation skills have been gone from the provincial curriculum for more than 30 years, although individual boards and schools may have run food-prep related programs on their own. The Health and Physical Education curriculum includes learning about healthy eating in Grade 1-8. https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/elementary-health-and-physical-education Financial literacy is an explicit area of learning in Mathematics Grade 1-9 https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/elementary-mathematics , and it's found in other areas of the mandatory curriculum. Curriculum can and should evolve to prepare students for the future, but it's not the only place where food preparation skills can be learned (which I'm sure folks recognize...it just feels like the curriculum is seen as an easy one-and-done way to address issues).
BTW...first-time poster; long-time lurker and thanks so much to everyone for the thoughtful, informative posts and photos over the years. I am not in the sector (as you might guess from my post) and UT is a fascinating portal into conversations and expertise that help me understand what's going on in our city and beyond.
Click to expand...
I was in elementary and high school from 1969 to 1981 in Québec, and we didn't have any home economics at the time. Apparently, at some point, it was offered to girls, but I went to an all-boys high school. After I left, it became mandatory in the second year of high school, then it was optional in the fourth or fifth year, before being eliminated in 1997.

I got curious about cooking thanks to my great-aunt who was living with us and was always there when I came home from school. And now I cook just about every day; most restaurants are toxic for me now anyway due to gluten intolerance.
 
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