Safe return

Lisa and I (and my sizable crew of student tourists) have returned from Toronto. Yay!

We did some quality drinking while there and I have notes to transcribe.

Canadian liquor laws are absolutely asinine--or at any rate the ones in Ontario certainly are. You can basically only buy beer at two places. LCBO stores (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) sell wine, beer, and hard stuff; a chain of places called "The Beer Store" sells beer. The former is not allowed to stay open past nine or ten and their beer selection varies from deplorable to mediocre; the latter also has limited hours and is this weird thing where you can't browse around--you have to go to a little window and order stuff from a kind of wall menu thing. The selection there was not much better. What a disaster. . . The importation and distribution practices are bizarre and punititive and, according to the owner of my favorite Toronto beer bar, often make obtaining good craft brews both harrowingly difficult and pointlessly expensive.

However, you can go to Volo Birreria on Yonge St. and drink some amazing beers, served at practically perfect temperatures, and offered for pretty fair prices. I'll dig out my notes and post my findings when I get to it. In the meantime, our Ontarian brothers and sisters should contemplate a revolt of some kind. I'm happy to help plan.