The AMC

Updated for 2010

The AMC 24 at the corner of Yonge and Dundas opened in April 2008 and made its premiere as a TIFF venue in September of that year. According to the original TIFF press release, "The AMC Yonge & Dundas will provide almost one third of TIFF’s 34 screens, and offers state-of-the-art digital facilities." The theater is very conveniently located; the Dundas subway station drops you off in the basement of the building.

During its first two years, I've been pretty pleased with the AMC (although, when given the choice, I still prefer the Scotiabank/Paramount). The theaters vary considerably in size, from relatively small to massive auditoriums, but all have stadium seating, good sound and projection, and excellent sight lines (as in all stadium theaters, sitting in the front rows isn't much fun). I've never taken the time to note which particular theaters are large or small, so I'm afraid I don't have any advice in that regard for scheduling.

My favorite thing about the AMC is the food court that's located one floor beneath it. It's especially convenient on four- or five-film days, when free time is at a premium. I can't find a full list of restaurants online but as of last year it had a decent mix of fast-food staples (Subway) and international food stands.

My main complaint about the AMC? Is it just me or does it always feel just a little too warm and humid in there?

Subway Stop: Dundas
Rush & Ticket-Holder Lines: Both lines usually form outside on the sidewalks. Ticket-holder lines are then moved up the escalators and into the AMC lobby as the screening time approaches.

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Good Eats

Last year at TIFF, Girish introduced me to his friend Andrew, a kind, soft-spoken Torontoan who's something of a fixture at the Cinematheque. When I become depressed by the sad state of film culture in the American South, I live vicariously through Andrew, who, over the last decade, has sat through complete retrospectives of Ozu, Imamura, Rivette, and who knows how many other great directors as their films have worked their way through Jackman Hall. After launching this site, I bothered Andrew for a local's perspective on favorite places to eat, and he kindly passed along the following:

Here are the ones that I've frequented over the years and a few more that I've recently discovered.

*Cheap (under 10 bucks); **Moderate (10 to 20 bucks)

Northwest
Minutes from Cumberland 4, ROM and Isabel Bader.

*China Garden Restaurant
200 Bloor Street West (located on the north side across from the ROM, up a flight of stairs). Lunch special is $4.95 which includes a pop. Dinner for one is $7.99. Fast service. In and out in under 40 minutes. Order what you want and the way you want it. 11-10 on weekdays; 11:30-10 on weekends. Next door on the same level is Booster Juice for fruit juices and smoothies.
Subway Stop: Museum

Northeast
Minutes from Varsity

**Eggstasy Diner & Grill
1255 Bay St. (between Cumberland St. & Yorkville Ave. on the east side) Newly opened. Thirteen different omelets, wraps, fajitas, twelve different sandwiches, freshly made burgers, grilled chicken, grilled steaks and home-cut fries. Average price of a meal with a tip: $11 to $12 bucks.
Subway Stop: Bay

*Flo's Diner
70 Yorkville Ave (on the north side near Bay & Yorkville). Located on the second floor you go up a spiral staircase from street level. They have 50's style booths inside or sit on the patio under large umbrellas. All day breakfast, burgers, salads & deserts. Two eggs with bacon, ham or sausage with home fries, bagel or toast: $6.95. Flo's feature specials range from mixed berry pancakes $8.50 to $12.95 for Spaghetti bolognese. Known for their ice cream sodas, shakes & floats. Open 7:30 am - 10:00 pm weekdays, 8:00 am - 10:00 pm Saturdays and 9:00 am - 8:00 pm Sundays. Takeout menu available.
Subway Stop: Bay

*Crepes A GoGo
18 Yorkville Avenue (at Yorkville & Yonge, across from the Toronto Reference Library) Newly opened at this location Crepes A GoGo is run by Veronique Perez, a Parisian born filmmaker. Forget that you're in Anglo Toronto. All of her staff speak French and Perez encourages her customers to practise their rusty Francais. During TIFF Veronique tells me they will have film projections from her side of the street onto a wall on the opposite side. Worth checking out! At the front she has a large outdoor area for seating. But lets not forget the food. Her crepes are the best quality for price that you can get anywhere in the city. They are stuffed with a wide range of fillings starting at $4.25. Open from 11:00 Monday to Friday and from 10:00 Saturday & Sunday. Not sure about closing times during the festival.
Subway Stop: Yonge & Bloor

*Zyng Asian Grill
730 Yonge Street (at Charles next to Second Cup) Create your own meal for $7.49 plus tax: 1 sauce + 1 protein (Beef, Shrimp, Grilled Chicken Breast, Tofu or Zoya) + 1 choice of noodle or rice + choice of vegetables includes a non-alcoholic beverage.
Subway Stop: Yonge & Bloor

*Oja Noodle House
689 Yonge Street (across the street from Zyng Asian Grill). Covers Korean, Japanese, Chinese & Thai cuisine. Large portions and fast service. Prices & quality make this one of the best kept secrets in Toronto. Open 11:30 - 11 everyday.
Subway Stop: Yonge & Bloor

Southeast
Minutes from Ryerson Theatre

There are many cheap eats in the vicinity of the theatre on both Church St. and especially on Yonge St. but personally I would not risk them. However, there is a viable option. Prior to, that is, getting off at College St. Subway station, or immediately after a screening at Ryerson you can stroll over to College Park (Between Gerrard & College Streets on the West side) location of the Festival Box Office on the lower level next to the food court you will find Dominion Food Store. At the "Fresh 2 Go" counter they have sandwiches for $3.49, Wraps $3.99, salads starting at $3.69. Stone baked pizza is $2.49 a slice. Combos are as such: Soup, Sandwich & Beverage $5.99, Wrap, chips & beverage $5.49 & Baguette, chips & Beverage $5.29. Good value and truly fresh to go. You can eat in the food court or take it with you as you bolt for your next film.
Subway Stop: College

Further South
Minutes from Paramount/Scotiabank Centre, Elgin/Visa Screening Room

*Queen St. Patrick Market
238 Queen St. W. (east of John St. on the North Side) A number of vendors share these narrow confines. High round tables located up the centre isle to eat on while standing. LouLou's Shawarma & Falafel (right to the back) and the Gourmet Pizza are the best of the lot while Sandwich Box (at the front), Burrito Mexican Grill, and Greek Food are also good. LouLou's offers 2 falafel sandwiches for $6.99 while Gourmet Pizza offers two slices from $3.25 to $3.99. Good place to pop in when short of time between screenings. Most vendors are open quite late as they get a lot of traffic off of Queen St. at night.
Subway Stop: Osgoode

**Little India Restaurant
255 Queen St. W. (at Duncan & Queen). Recommended by Girish. Daily Lunch Buffet is from 11:30 -3:00 for $8.95. India Palace Restaurant next door offers the same deal.
Subway Stop: Osgoode

*Village by the Grange
575 Dundas St. W. (West entrance across from AGO & Jackman Hall on McCaul Street) This has always been Cinematheque Ontario members' refuelling station. Some very good choices here. My favourite is Helena's Magic Kitchen run by a Korean couple. Boy can they cook! Polish food never tasted so good and this is coming from a Pole. Helena's open early for lunch and close around 7:00 pm. My favorite on the menu is sweet potato pie with two side salads for $5.99. Another sure bet is Island Foods (West Indian Foods). The best rotis I've tasted any where in T.O. Open Mon-Fri 11-9. Closed on Weekends. Rotis range in price form $4 for potato to $6.25 for Shrimp. My favorite is the spinach for $4.25. I can also recommend Mary's Greek Souviaki Plate, Sakura 'Japanese', Pita Village 'Turkish' & Red Red Noodles 'Vietnamese'.
Subway Stop: St. Patrick

Now if you're with friends, have a few hours respite from the Festival and are looking for excellent food with a good atmosphere you owe it to yourself to check out Baldwin Street. Located two blocks north of the AGO, West off of McCaul:

**St. John's Italian Cafe is the most popular while Margaritas 'Mexican', Cafe la Gabbe & Bocca's are also well known. All stay open late.

The Elgin

The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres, according to Wikipedia, are the last surviving stacked Edwardian theatres in the world. Like so many North American theatres of the era (it was built in 1913), The Elgin went from Vaudeville house to vacant hole to porno/B-movie palace before being restored by a heritage foundation in the late-1980s. Since reopening, The Elgin has staged largescale theatrical productions and served as a host theatre for TIFF.

My take on The Elgin is that every festival-goer should see at least one film there. It's a beautiful room with all of the ornate details typical of early 20th-century theatres. Upon entering, you might feel as though you've stepped into an Edward Hopper painting. More than once I've heard The Elgin described as "cavernous. It's a deep room with a low-hanging balcony, so your experience of a film will be determined greatly by the location of your seat -- much moreso than in other TIFF venues. My advice: get in line early and make a dash for the first 10 or 15 rows. The Elgin is located at 189 Yonge, just north of the intersection with Queen.

Subway Stop: Queen
Rush & Ticket-Holder Lines: Form outside of the theatre on Yonge

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The Varsity

The Cineplex Odeon Varsity Theater is located in the Manulife Centre at 55 Bloor Street West (one block west of the intersection of Bloor and Yonge). The TIFFG Box Office is on the north side of the building at street level; The Varsity is on the opposite end and one level up. The Manulife Centre is also home to a large Chapters bookstore and several small restaurants and coffee shops, so it's a decent place to kill time between films.

The Varsity is unique among TIFF venues in that the quality of viewing experience varies greatly from theater to theater. Varsity 1-6 are among my favorite screens at the festival. Each features stadium seating and fantastic projection and sound, but the rooms are a bit smaller and more intimate than those at The Paramount. Varsity 7 is a very small room with one level of seating. (If you ever went to a multiplex in a mall in the early-'80s, you'll remember theaters like Varsity 7 .) Due to its size, Varsity 8 often hosts high-demand films. It's a massive room with deep seats, limited leg room, and horrible sight lines. Subtitled films often send the audience's heads a-bobbin'.

Note: Ticket-holder lines begin near the theater lobby, but because of limited space there, they often continue down the back stairs and outside of the building onto Balmuto Street (on the east side of the building). Rush lines almost always begin outside, on the south end of Balmuto.

Subway Stop: Bloor-Yonge
Rush & Ticket-Holder Lines: Theater lobby and on east side of building (Balmuto Street)

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The Ryerson

With more than 1,200 seats, The Ryerson is typically used for non-gala showings of higher profile films. For example, in past years I've seen films by Cronenberg, Egoyan, Frears, Ozon, and the Dardennes there. It also hosts the Midnight Madness program. The theater is located on the campus of Ryerson University at 43 Gerrard, two blocks east of Yonge.

The good news for festival-goers is that, with The Ryerson as a venue, there's little chance of ever being left without a "hot" ticket. They cram a lot of bodies into that room. And for a theater that only occasionally functions as a cinema, the presentations are quite good, with a big screen, relatively sharp projection, and better-than-average sound. It's not, however, a place I would choose to spend an entire day, and, in fact, over the last few years I've managed to avoid making a single trip to The Ryerson. The seats are uncomfortable (which becomes more and more of a concern as the week progresses), and the sight lines can be quite bad.

Subway Stops: More or less equidistant from College and Dundas
Rush & Ticket-Holder Lines: Form along Gerrard Street

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College Park (Updated for 2008)

Note: College Park is no longer home to a festival box office. It has been replaced by the new office at Toronto Life Square at 10 Dundas Street East, which is where advanced ticket orders can be picked up.

There's decent grocery store on the lower level of College Park, which is a nice convenience given its close proximity to so many downtown hotels (one block from the Days Inn and Delta Chelsea).

Subway Stop: College