Toronto Archives

This past Tuesday I was invited to attend a special Blogging event at the soon to be opened “Bean and Baker Malt Shop“, to get a sneak peek of all the goodies the public is going get to enjoy on June 2nd!

(Edit: Bean and Baker is NOW OPEN)

I attended with a fellow friend and blogger Irene from Petite Plus Meow.

Vintage malt shop toronto — Out front of Bean and Baker

Petite Plus Meow at Bean and Baker Malt Shop — How adorable is Irene??

Leading up to this event, I did a little fun post on Vintage Malt Shop Images, which you can find HERE.

Now lets talk about my Bean and Baker Malt Shop Experience…..

Official Press Release:

Husband and wife team, Liezel and Brennan Anderson, are proud to announce the opening of Bean and Baker Malt Shop Toronto’s revival of the soda fountain malt shop in Bickford Park. Bean and Baker Malt Shop, located at 326 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON., offers classic sodas, ice cream, coffee, and handcrafted desserts and pastries. They provide premium food and drinks with topnotch quality ingredients while showcasing the retro era malt shop experience.

The 16 seat establishment is clean and decorated in a retro 1950’s style. The menu will feature premium coffee, savoury pies, quiche, pies, cakes, cookies, ice cream, floats and milkshakes. Specializing in handmade sodas made by authentic Soda Jerks, with flavours ranging from Root ‘n Cola, Gramp’s Ginger, Real Orange, and Hibiscus. It features an open concept kitchen and Soda Jerks behind the counter complete with a bowtie and a smile. Customers can sit inside or grab and go. Hours of operation are Tuesday-Saturday:10 am 8 pm, Sunday: 11 am 6 pm, Monday: Closed.

Owner, Liezel Anderson describes her vision for the malt shop, “Our goal is to provide Toronto with an experience that stands out and is unique to every customer. We want to bring the malt shop experience back! We want to give people a unique escape from everyday life. People have the right to know what they’re eating and drinking so we use premium quality ingredients. We aspire to be a neighbourhood hub where many generations of families can enjoy good food and each other’s company.”

Bean and Baker Malt Shop Owners — Liz with the owners: Liezel & Brennan and fellow blogger Irene from Petite Plus Meow

When we arrived we were greeted by Brennan and his fantastic Soda Jerks offering water for us to drink. Why water? Well as we drank the fresh drink we were told that all their products start with the freshest and most filtered water around. Nothing but the best for their customers, starting with us (I like this place already).

As we drank the water we got to take a walk around and see what they have done decor wise. Check it out!

Inside of Bean and Baker Malt Shop — One of the counters inside the shop

Decor of Bean and Baker Malt Shop — Some of the Inside Decor

Bean and Baker Malt Shop toronto — Back of the Shop

Okay time to eat and boy did we get treated with so many wonderful goodies.

First up..Handmade Sodas made by those authentic Soda Jerks.

Handmade Sodas from Bean and Malt — The Friendly Soda Jerk Making my Vanilla Cream Soda (with real Vanilla Beans). YUM!

Then we got to enjoy some of their savouries options:

Wisey’s Mini
Mini Beef and Cheese Pie
Veggie Quiche

Savory foods at Bean and Baker Malt Shop — All so yummy I could not decide what was my fav

And now it was SWEET TIME!! The yummy collection of pure homemade desserts we sampled was:

Warm Cherry Pie Pocket
Dark Chocolate Eclair
Old School PB ad J Pie (MY FAV!)

Sweet Treats at Bean and Baker Malt Shop — Once again, really good.

Now you cannot possible go to a Malt Shop and not have a Malt Milkshake. Our shakes for today were “Burnt Marshmallow (using Ed’s ice cream). I’m not sure if my Soda Jerk read my mind but the only Ice Cream I eat at Ed’s is the Burnt Marshmallow. Just ask my husband, there are 20 other flavours and I don’t even care or even look. SHOW ME THE MARSHMALLOW!! So when I was presented this shake I already KNEW that I was going to love it..and I did.

Burnt Marshmallow malt shake from Bean and Baker Malt Shop — Mini version for today. Yours will come in the traditional way if you eat in.

Time to move aside all that I have eaten so far to make room for the next goodie..Ice Cream Sundaes made anyway we liked and with any kind of Ed’s Ice Cream.

Ice Cream Sundaes from Bean and Baker Malt Shop — Flavour..Burnt Marshmallow..of course.

By now your probably thinking..this must be the end right? WRONG? We were then treated to the making of their Ice Cream Sodas (Hibiscus flavored for the example).

I actually did not try it because I had no more room but from the image you can see below and from all that I mentioned above I know it is going to be amazing when I do try it.

Making of an Ice Cream Sundae Bean and Baker Malt Shop — Best part of an Ice Cream Soda..when it fizzes up!

Last treat before we slowly moved to the door (and decided to walk home lol) was watching the talented artist Lisa Farrows paint this milkshake container by hand for the shop. Her images can also be seen on the skateboards I posted earlier in the decor portion. It was really cool and the finished product was amazing!

Lisa Farrows Art at Bean and Baker Malt — Lisa Farrows Art

Now it’s really time to go. Thank you to everyone at Bean and Baker for making this event so much fun! And to the readers of this blog post…go and visit their shop (326 Harbord St.)! You will not be disappointed (I was not).

You can find them online here:

See you soon at the Malt Shop!

P.S. How are you loving my new camera? Takes great photos right?!

Liz 🙂

“Yes, we’re gonna have a subway in Toronto; we’ve got to get the working man home pronto…”

“Canada’s First Subway” was completed in Toronto in 1954, after 4 long years of construction. The cost for that groundbreaking transit system was around $60 million (source).

1954 Opening of the toronto subway — Source: Toronto Archives

It was an immediate hit with the people; 250,000 rode it on the first day. Its opening established it as an icon for the booming economy that lay ahead for post-war Toronto (source).

TTC 1950s Canada's First Subway — Source: Toronto Savvy

Now if you have been following my blog for some time you know that I have a thing for fun history and sometimes history that is a bit kitschy and there is nothing more kitschy then a song written about the making of the Toronto Subway.

**Originally recorded in 1950, the Toronto Subway Song was written by Mel Hamill. Betty Carr and Charles Baldour performed the vocals, backed by the Ozzie Williams Band (Source).

**When the Toronto Subway Song‘s singers mention “bearing the noise” and the inconvenience caused by construction, they weren’t exaggerating. As crews were excavating one downtown section, for instance, they ran into solid rock that stretched from Front Street to Queen Street. This meant that for much of the excavation period, workers had to use dynamite twice each day — at noon and at 4:30 p.m. — which caused quite a noise disturbance for the city (Source).

Can’t hear the song? Here are the words:

Now have you heard what’s going on in Toronto?
They’re digging deeper, deeper, deeper every day.
Though proprietors are raving while they’re tearing up the paving,
The racket is nerve-wracking, so they say.
And though the noise may be distressing, so construction is progressing,
And we can’t afford a further delay
So with the help of you and me and the blessed T.T.C.
We’ll soon have a real subway.

CHORUS:
Yes, we’re gonna have a subway in Toronto.
We gotta get the working man home pronto.
So bear the noise with a smile and in a little while
We’ll be riding in a new subway.

Now it’s generally conceded that a subway here is needed
For the people have to get to work each day.
We have men in Deseronto, girls who live in North Toronto
And to all of them we have just this to say:
Modern history’s in the making with this hallowed undertaking
And Rome wasn’t built in a day.
You may find it’s aggravating, but be sure it’s worth the waiting
For we’ll soon have a real subway.

Now with modern engineering dear old Yonge Street’s disappearing
By the truckload they are hauling it away (INTERJECTION: Stay away!)
Excavation so extensive will doubtless be expensive
But who cares about expenses anyway? (INTERJECTION: anyway)
Though we may have open Sundays there are plenty of blue Mondays
When the pile drivers start every day
The workmen do the swearing while the public do the staring
And we’ll soon have a real subway. (INTERJECTION: Yes, sir!)

Repeat CHORUS, then:
Don’t take the streetcar,
Riding in a new subway!

To end this post I will leave you with a poem which was written about the bystanders who watched this historic subway being built.

Do you have a Kitschy song about your city?

FURTHER READING:

Vintage Toronto Blog Posts Archive

Liz 🙂

Category: Toronto

Toronto Has A Vintage Soda Shop-Welcome “Bean and Baker Malt Shop”!

The “Kitschy” 1950s Toronto Subway Song