TorontoFilter, the Second Part

September 5, 2009 1:18 PM

Followup TorontoFilter: I'm here now, and you helped out our move immensely. Things are going great! New questions abound, however.

Our move went well, and we now have mostly everything taken care of - you guys were really such a great help in the previous post and I don't think it would have gone as well without you. Claps!

We're here now. I'm enjoying a delicious iced americano at Luna on Dovercourt, and a few more things have cropped up in the week we've been moving in. Can you help us one more time? I can now take you for drinks to repay you! If you would like.

1. Internet! It's crazy. I need unlimited downloads as I do a lot of music work with someone who's still far, far away and we're always passing back and forth Ableton project packs, and I do web work with some RAW files, etc... I'd have a panic attack if I had to stay under a limit. That said, we don't have a home telephone line, and "Dry Loop" DSL (like through Teksavvy) adds another $10 or so a month, and we need to buy a modem... what should we do? Unlimited downloading is more important than speed, to a point.

2. Say the farmer's markets are all closed. I live near, more-or-less, a Price Chopper, a No Frills, a Metro and a Sobey's. Which has the best produce?

3. Are there any Albanian restaurants in Toronto?

4. Any good off-the-radar sources for used/salvage mid-century and 70's modern furniture?

5. When's this meetup I keep hearing so much about? Maybe I should just go ahead and make it happen myself!

Thanks again!

posted by setanor to grab bag (11 comments total)

I find the Toronto Kijiji is good for buying mid-modern furniture. Queen near Roncesvalles has a few good shops also. Where on Dovercourt are you? The Fiesta Farms store on Christie St. has a big selection of produce with lots of organic and a fair bit of local stuff. It has lots of Euro-brand products too. The No Frills at Dufferin Mall often has good produce too (though not tons of variety).
posted by bonobothegreat at 1:47 PM on September 5

Teksavvy is worth the money - even with the extra dry-loop fee and even if you are getting a cell/cable/internet bundle with Bell or Rogers. I'm currently on Dry-Loop DSL (albeit in Ottawa) and their service is impeccable. Speeds are great (and techs always quickly resolve the rare speed problem that sometimes pops up) - although be aware that Teksavvy uses Bell lines and Bell occasionally throttles torrent traffic.

I am extremely happy to give Teksavvy my money due to their fantastic customer service alone (which is opposite for Rogers which I hate BECAUSE of their customer service. I hear Bell is worse).

There are other places that sell their recommended modems for cheaper prices. I got the Speedtouch 516 from Caneris for $45 and I think you can do a pickup in the GTA if you dont want to shell out $10 for shipping. My setup is has the modem connected to a wireless router and it works perfect.
posted by kitkatcathy at 2:02 PM on September 5

1) I have Rogers, always great custserv. ymmv.
2) Toss up between Metro and Sobeys. Price Chopper and No Frills are worse and much worse, respectively. (However, what you should do is go down Roncesvalles to Garden. Across the street are two fruit markets. Don't go to the one on the corner, go to the one just south of it. The family that owns it is awesome, it's open every day, and their produce is excellent. They are conveniently just up the street from The Film Buff, the best video store in Toronto, with incredible ice cream. Also located nearby are spectacular Polish delis.)
3) No idea. Ask at Chowhound maybe?
4) Kijiji, and try going all the way down to Queen and Roncesvalles, walk west on Queen. A bunch of stores there.
5) End of Septemberish I think?
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 2:11 PM on September 5

1. Rogers, although, even their extreme is not unlimited downloads. I think it is 100gb a month, so you might be alright.
2. It's a bit far, but there is are a few places in Bloor West Village (just west of Runnymede) which have excellent ON produce at reasonable prices. I'm vegan so I can't vouch for it, but there is a butcher in that area as well.
3. No idea.
4. You could try Cornerstone in the Junction. They have quite a variety of furniture (restored and new).
5. No idea.
posted by purephase at 3:09 PM on September 5

1) I have Rogers, always great custserv. ymmv.

Wel, my mileage varies a lot. Rogers is reliably terrible in my experience, but Bell is somehow even worse. Teksavvy would be worth foregoing a couple iced americanos a month for.
posted by Sys Rq at 3:35 PM on September 5

1) Go with Teksavvy. I've never yet managed to hit one of their limits. Also, when you call them, you'll get a level of tech support better than anyone else (and sometimes, actually get the company owner on the end of the line). Great people, excellent service, and all their technical support is up to the minute on the TekSavvy forum at dslreports.com. Seriously, this is a company that tells. you. about. outages. ahead. of. time. Bell don't even tell their level 1 techs about outages, so you have to fart about with them for an hour or more before you learn.
2) Between Metro & Sobey.
3) My list may be a little out of date, but Via Egnatia Restaurant (395 Keele) is one, and Cheese Boutique is an Albanian deli. S'ka përse!
4) All the salvage places on west queen west have been gentrified away. Maybe Queen E?
5) No official announcement yet ... but it better not clash with my big conference.
posted by scruss at 4:05 PM on September 5

1. Rogers. I move lots of data, easily 5+ gig per day both up and downstream, and have no problems with them and the reliability has been *PERFECT* in the three locations I've lived in the past five years. They don't mind heavy bittorrent use either.

2. The NoFrills I'm guessing you may mean (the one at Lansdowne and Dundas) has a great selection of ethnic items that you won't find elsewhere because of the neighborhood, but the produce quality leaves a little to be desired. If it's not a big deal to shop daily, it's acceptable, but if you want to shop less frequently, go with one of the higher quality ones. Prices are super though and may be enough better to sway you. That said, there are lots of weekly farmer's market near you.

Another option for produce is a good food box and similar services that basically deliver a weekly box of organic produce, much of it from local farms.

4. Near the dumpsters of apartment buildings? There was always stuff getting thrown out when I lived in an apartment building, much of it usable, and some of it interesting.
posted by glider at 7:12 PM on September 5

NoFrills is the best for cheap basics, but yeah, the produce is kind of gross. I don't shop near you so I have no produce recommendations, but I dropped in to say that I highly recommend getting a PC Mastercard to shop at NoFrills (or Loblaws). It doesn't take long at all for the points to add up. I pay all my bills and put all expensive purchases on that card (I try not to carry a balance as their interest rate isn't the best) and I end up getting $20/off my groceries every couple months. Plus, when you sign up, you get some coupons in the mail that will work out to about $30 in free groceries right off the bat. Just make sure to use them before they expire, I wasted most of mine by mistake! (I have no affiliation to PC Mastercard, I just like getting free food.)
posted by pseudostrabismus at 7:58 PM on September 5

Teksavvy is the best DSL provider around, but.. Their cheap service ($30/month) is not unlimited, it has a 200GB cap. They do provide an unlimited option, but I wouldn't go with it. If you truly need unlimited (beyond 200GB, which is a lot) consider Velcom. Also, if price is a big consideration, you might consider Acanac. They have a great price for your introductory year, but they aren't the best provider. Definitely let us know if you are going with Acanac, because there are some tricks you need to know about.

Two caveats about DSL service in our area. Bell throttles torrents, even for independant ISPs. Teksavvy, Velcom, and Acanac all have workarounds. Also, be warned, Bell has instigated new rate changes for independent ISPs, and anything over 60GB download might become expensive in the near future. This won't happen for about three months at the earliest, but it probably will happen.. Take a look on DSL Reports Canadian Broadband forum for threads talking about Usage Based Billing (UBB) to get more details.

Rogers is way over priced, and in many areas people find that speeds grind to a crawl during peak hours. Peak speeds at Rogers are very fast though, and upload over cable is way, way faster than upload on DSL.

Note that I'm a Teksavvy reseller, and I have tons of cheap modems for sale. Somebody here on Mefi might be able to pass a modem to you for free (it has happened before), but if you can't get one that way, drop me a line.

As for used stuff and salvage.. The standard second hand stores are by far the best (Goodwill, Salvation Army, Value Village). I've made a Google Maps mashup of second hand stores in Toronto.

Best combination of price/availability/freshness in produce is definitely Chinatown. Gerrard and Broadview Chinatown, actually, if price is a huge consideration. Spadina isn't much more expensive though, and generally a lot cheaper than anywhere else. where abouts are you in the city actually? Dovercourt? That would help with recommendations)
posted by Chuckles at 8:42 PM on September 5

The No Frills at Dufferin Mall often has good produce too (though not tons of variety).

That mall is pretty crazy! Wasn't really expecting it after waking across the street from Dufferin Grove.

There are other places that sell their recommended modems for cheaper prices. I got the Speedtouch 516 from Caneris for $45 and I think you can do a pickup in the GTA if you dont want to shell out $10 for shipping.

Thanks! I saw this doing some searching and had wondered how legit it was - seems like the guy posts on DSL Reports a lot, too, so I might do that.

3) My list may be a little out of date, but Via Egnatia Restaurant (395 Keele) is one, and Cheese Boutique is an Albanian deli. S'ka përse!

I'm definitely going to have to make the trek out to Keele to see if it's there.

Chuckles, I think I will go with Teksavvy, though the UBB thing does scare me a bit. Not much I can do, right? I'm definitely interested in picking up a modem for cheap - I was going to go with the $45 Speedtouch from Caneris, as mentioned above, but if you have any other suggestions, that would be great. Particularly if history can repeat itsemf and someone here has one they are willing to part with.

For the record, I'm right near Dovercourt and Dundas.
posted by setanor at 10:17 AM on September 6

Rogers is HORRIBLE.

Teksavvy's the shizzle.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 1:57 PM on September 7