Is Toronto more similar to Los Angeles than to Northeastern and Midwestern US cities?

[Docere]

Queens is the Toronto of the USA.

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Wigs

It's hard to compare since there are still existent Mexican restaurants in LA like on Olvera street that date back to the 1920s/1930s and LA was Mexican from the roots, whereas South Asian migration to Toronto is more of a post War development and post 1970s one at that.

What are the analogous examples for Toronto or the oldest "ethnic" restaurants still operating?

I think there are some Chinese restaurants from the 1950s or something (or maybe they all closed down now) but I'm not sure if there are ones older.

Maybe some fish and chip places if that "counts"?

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

Is the film industry or movie focus another sort-of similarity, if you stretch it a little? Toronto has some clout with TIFF, being part of Canadian mass media, even if it doesn't compare to LA itself.

LA is the film capital of the USA, but Toronto is only the second largest film industry in Canada, so maybe not a great comparison.

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Wigs

It's hard to compare since there are still existent Mexican restaurants in LA like on Olvera street that date back to the 1920s/1930s and LA was Mexican from the roots, whereas South Asian migration to Toronto is more of a post War development and post 1970s one at that.

To be fair, a lot of iconic things for Canada food-wise are kind of recent in that way. Like poutine being from the 1950s, Hawaiian pizza from the '60s, Halifax donair from the 70s.

I don't know about how long the roti described here has been a thing in Toronto, but if Jamaican patties were in the city by roughly this time (I mean, there was the 1985 patty wars thing with the naming dispute, implying it was mainstream enough to get attention), that's already not that much shorter in comparison.

[Docere]

Ontario is so dominant in Canada that it is simultaneously both the economic/cultural capital and the most "average" province. That's what happens with 40% of the population.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by niwell

Also neither city really has a signature food, and if they did it's arguably more of a modern creation (peameal bacon sandwiches notwithstanding I guess)...

niwell, never denigrate the St. Lawrence Market peameal bacon sandwiches.
The pinnacle of bland Anglo Saxon era Toronto cuisine. A soft roll with a slightly crunchy top, 3 slices of Canadian peameal bacon and some mustard, exotic honey mustard.


Honestly, I do enjoy them. Nostalgia factor alone gives it points. I do prefer the Paddington's Pump version tho
http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/vend...ndor_detail/56

Docere,
Do I get points for mocking Old Toronto staples?

[niwell]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

To be fair, a lot of iconic things for Canada food-wise are kind of recent in that way. Like poutine being from the 1950s, Hawaiian pizza from the '60s, Halifax donair from the 70s.

I don't know about how long the roti described here has been a thing in Toronto, but if Jamaican patties were in the city by roughly this time (I mean, there was the 1985 patty wars thing with the naming dispute, implying it was mainstream enough to get attention), that's already not that much shorter in comparison.

I mean, early 1980s in Toronto terms is practically ancient. Traditional Mexican food notwithstanding I feel like cuisine in LA is similarly of a modern era.

The Jamaican patty definitely predates roti I described which took cues from that cuisine. Caribbean influence has been a major factor in Toronto - just look how teens in Scarborough (of every race) talk nowadays. In that sense shares a lot of similarities with London

[Docere]

I don't think Canada really has an equivalent of the BosNYWash corridor "elite" culture (at least not nearly to the same degree).

It's true that NYC and the BosNYWash Corridor are where the "power brokers" are, while Chicago is removed from that and has more of a practical mentality. One could argue that Toronto is more like like the former as it's where the "power brokers" are (a role partially shared with Montreal and Ottawa) making it more similar to the former than the latter. Given the scale of difference between the two countries, Toronto is really more Chicago-like in mentality, even if Chicago is "merely" #2 in the country or #1 in the Midwest region. The scale is effectively more Chicago.

The status consciousness of BosNYWash doesn't really exist in Toronto, i.e. where you went to university etc. (Ivy League degrees are ubiquitous in these high level circles), or at least no more than it does in Chicago. In other words, the Yonge Corridor is more Lincoln Park or Winnetka than Upper East Side or Westchester, and Bay Street is more LaSalle Street than Wall Street.

[Luisito]

Originally Posted by Wigs

[B]It's hard to compare since there are still existent Mexican restaurants in LA like on Olvera street that date back to the 1920s/1930s and LA was Mexican from the roots[/B], whereas South Asian migration to Toronto is more of a post War development and post 1970s one at that.

Exactly. That's been my point all along with these comparison threads. Placita Olvera itself actually goes back much further than the 1920s.

[Build.It]

Toronto and SF are pretty comparable in terms of their development style.

However SW Ontario reminds me more of PA.

[Docere]

If postwar economic policies helped Southern California boom (i.e. high wages in Cold War-related industries etc.), if anything Southern Ontario benefitted the most from postwar economic policies in Canada (i.e. the Auto Pact).