Toronto
One minor nitpick about the Revery brand (Curio Collection) from Hilton is they are a bit skimpy on breakfast, so headed across the street (well, a block or two) to Avenue Open Kitchen for breakfast. They're a proper greasy spoon with a solid Montreal Smoked Meat, which is kind of like pastrami, but seasoned a bit differently. Sam preferred it to pastrami, while for me it was more of just being something different to try. They also had a legit poutine, which, combined with the sanwich, was probably a bit much... but with only one full day here, didn't have time to waste. *grins*
Graffiti Alley was also barely a block or two away, and combined with the snow that began falling as we checked it out, made for a perfect introduction to winter in Canada. Some excellent artwork there, made all the more dramatic by giant fluffy snowflakes.
Part two of the day's exploration was north to the Kensington Market neighborhood, where we witnessed some impressive preservation/restoration going on, as well as Toronto's love of streetcars, as well as signs we were in/near Chinatown. More graffiti-as-art was also in evidence, and as Sam plotted a giant loop around the area, we ended up passing by House of Gourmet a second time (I suspect this was deliberate...) so Sam could get his roast duck and hot Coca-Cola with lemon for a mid-day snack. The roast duck was actually kind of disappointing, not plumb enough nor fatty enough, but the gai lan was very good, and the hot Coca-Cola with lemon made for a very old school Cantonese restaurant experience.
With clear skies in the afternoon, walked down to CN Tower to take in the view. Paying for the upper observation deck may have been overkill, but being a first-time tourist with an overkill camera, it seemed like a good idea-- and honestly, it was worth it. Some spectacular views of the urban sprawl that is Toronto, with not quite 3 million people in the city itself, and around 6.5 million people in the whole metro area (!). The train network and Lake Ontario were also easily appreciated from the observation deck of CN Tower, although our timing was just a bit off for sunset. The upper observation deck is much smaller than the main observation deck, but had a unique character of its own, as did the lower observation deck-- especially the semi-exposed area of the lower observation deck (brrrrrr...).
Final stop of the day was BarQue in one of the more western areas of Toronto. Sam has an unusually strong focus on western-style BBQ that I have yet to figure out, but I have to say that BarQue was quite good. The pork ribs were solid if forgettable, while the brisket, with a slightly sweet yet still flavorful sauce, was unique for western-style BBQ; it was actually cooked sufficiently rare that it still had good fatty texture, as opposed to most American places that cook the life out of their brisket to the point that it's soft, cuttable with a fork, and basically tasteless-falling-apart-crap that if you're lucky, reeks of smoke and not much else. Have to say that was one of the best western-style BBQ briskets I've had in a long time.