Best Sushi in Toronto - Shinobu

I had the most amazing Sushi experience in Toronto this winter.  Now, those of you that are familiar with Toronto know that you can play twister with all the sushi restaurants in that city.  The trend is for lower quality all you can eat sushi restaurants with limited fish options.  These production line sushi houses are fast, decent and cheap.

Coming from the Midwest I was used to expensive sushi as a once and a while treat when I can justify the expense.  We certainly have no all you can eat sushi restaurants, and every bit of fish has to be flown in fresh on a frequent basis, as we are completely land locked.  

So when I go to Toronto, I predictably pig out on the plenty and fill up on salmon and California rolls.  Yet I know there is better sushi out there waiting for me.

I have a friend Paul, who is a foodie.  He knows good food and does not bother with anything that is not up to his fabulous standards. I am not saying he eats only in 4 star restaurants, no he actually will eat wherever the best food is to be found. I trust him with all my food choices. When we eat together I generally get him to order and sit back and wait for the joy to begin.  

So when he says "NO more crap sushi!" I obey the command.  I know he will take me for the great sushi. It  will be fantastic but will not be easy on the pocket book.

So he took me to Shinobu. http://www.shinobu.ca/ OMG.  It was so so so good.  We had the chef's choice and let him select the best of what he had available for the evening meal.  The meal consisted of so many courses that I actually thought the meal was over before the sushi even arrived.

We had Mt Fuji Salad,  a pressed mackerel shinesba, seared salmon tartar, deep friend oysters, spicy shrimp tempura,  the chef's choice of sushi, and amazing deserts.  It was fantastic. Every single dish was made to perfection with delicate spices and attention to texture.   By the end of that meal I was so full, happy and frankly resolute that this was the way sushi should be eaten.  

I can tell you that the next time I go back, I will be making reservations at Shinobu and enjoying another chef's choice of meal.  I hope you give them a try.  

A dogs life.

I have been working from home, as I am now an entrepreneur.  One of the things I have noticed, is that my dog has just about the best life out there.  I picture him like Caesar, laying in the sun with someone fanning him and dropping grapes into his mouth.  OK, so he does not actually have it quite that good but it is really really close.

He spends his days laying in the window with his belly pressed up against the warm window. Every once and a while he gets up, barks at a dog, cat or bird. He is so chill that he notices the mail being dropped off but finds no interest in it... unless someone comes to the door with a package. All day long he hangs, with the periodic visit to the yard to sit in the sun, chew a bone or bark with the neighborhood dogs.

In the evening he bunks and sleeps snuggled up with two young boys. He usually precedes his charges into the communal fort like bed, and then grumbles at anyone who disturbs him.  He goes on most drives in the car to see the boys off to school and even comes with on errand and family trips.  He gets walks and treats and loving.  

On the other side of the spectrum, of a dogs life, there is the unjust and even cruel side. There is the dogs that are tied to the fence, or beaten into savageness, or are used as breeding stock in cages all their lives. They do not get the life of my dog.  They get a very different life.  

I am someone who believes in Karma and Reincarnation. The general theory, for me, is that you live a life and for the good you put out you get good and for the bad you put out you get bad. You can help re-balance it by doing more good.  You need to learn from both good and bad to progress as a person.  I feel you face the challenges you need to face and learn from them until you have figured out another life lesson.  This may never seem to be in balance and may take many life times to play out. 

Now lets add in the concept of group souls.  This theory, for me, conjectures that there are souls that you cycle with. One life they may be your spouse, while the next they may be your parent, or even nemesis.  Some lives you may not connect or maybe only have the briefest acquaintance. The connections, however when they do happen, are intense and pivotal in life.   

So to put all these together there has to be some overlays and some lags to keep everything and everyone kind of floating in and out of each other's lifetimes while they learn, trip, fall, get up, progress, and basically life lives. So here is my hypothesis.  Maybe the dog's life is the in between.

Maybe this is karma coming together and giving us a reward for time well spent or a knock on the head to teach us a lesson.  Maybe my dog's life is the wonderful reward for being a good person and taking care of the world's weak and challenged.  Maybe that poor dog that is abused is the moment of reconciliation for the bully that lived a life of greed and domination.  

Maybe these short animal lives are our in-between lives that we need to keep all the group souls cycling together.  Maybe it is our time to ponder and reflect.  Maybe my Dog is busy all day.  Maybe he is thinking of his last life and how to go beyond on the next.  

So be good to your pets my friends.  They may be getting just the loving and respect they deserve.