"Sniff of the Danforth"

Before I get to today's events and the premise of my blog, a little background info for those of you unfamiliar with the Greater Toronto Area ... We have this annual event called "Taste of the Danforth", held on Danforth Avenue (obviously), held over a weekend in the summer and it's where people have "booths" set up in front of the local businesses/shops/stores serving food (99% Greek Food as there is a high concentration of Greeks on the Danforth) ... There are also a lot of things going on around, like live musical performances, games, thus it's a family thing ... On a personal note (and it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone from here), "Taste of the Danforth" has really become over-commercialized in the past 5-8 years ... I remember going in 2000 or 2001 and gyros cost around $2, $2.50 at most, I went in '05 or '06 and (if memory serves) they were priced anywhere from $4.50 - $6 ... Some of my Greek friends that I used to work with, tell me they don't even bother going anymore, because they say, why buy food that they can prepare at home, if they do end up going, it's for social purposes ... Maybe I'll go again this year, if I have nothing better to do that weekend ...

Today I was on the Danforth conducting a study, with very tight time contraints ... Walking by you can just smell all the food coming from the restaurants ... I was thinking, "man, I wish I could stay and eat" ... Ahhh well, another time ... For those of you wondering, I was conducting a study on the cultural demographic and the types of businesses in the area ... My area covered about one block ... As for the cultural demographic, my task was to stand/sit in one area and count the number of pedestrians that walked by over a 15-minute period, based on their cultural demographic ... Results? ... Caucasian: 127, Visible Minority: 15 ... I'm not surprised at all, considering it is a caucasian (more specifically Greek) community, but on the other hand I never expected the results to be that staggering ... As for the business types, only 12 out of 71 businesses were retail chains (aka Franchises), meaning it's a strip of independent businesses ... Like a said in a blog entry a while back, I think most studies are pointless as relates to me ... As for the results of my study, they made me stop for a second and say "wow", but ultimately my lasting impression from today was the smell of the food ... hence, the title of this entry ... man, I'm hungry ...

One,

- J -