Quote:
Originally Posted by rousseau
Thing is, in Toronto it's common knowledge that the best/most authentic ethnic food is out in the ethno-burbs, which is why it's so odd to hear someone from Mississauga complaining that there's nothing much beyond fast food there. Mississauga may not necessarily be in the upper echelon with places like Markham or Brampton, but it's still exponentially better than anywhere else in Canada for the range and quality of its food options (save for the obvious exception of Vancouver for Chinese).
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I get all of that, but I think perceptions on the part of many people have not evolved with the reality. Even in Toronto, with all of the 416 vs. 905 banter for example.
On a broader level, one thing I have noticed in all cities is that edgier, more authentic stuff is being pushed further out of city cores as rents and other constraints become too high a price to pay for certain niche businesses. In some cases they go to less tony parts of the city (often post-industrial), but in others they go straight out to the burbs. This is true of ethnic businesses but also some non-ethnic establishments as well.
For example, a place called Fat Tuesday's was a fixture in the heart of Ottawa's Byward Market for years. It recently moved out to a strip mall in suburban Kanata and was replaced with a huge Starbucks (with a liquor permit I believe).
This is not true just of Canadian cities BTW. We are seeing this world wide.
Hip downtown areas have often become so pricey that often only the big global conglomerates can afford to be there, and the locally unique is "priced out" and has to find a cheaper location elsewhere.
I wonder if in the future all of the really cool and famous streets in the world's great cities won't all be fairly similar in terms of retail and food offerings?