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I wouldn't be surprised if there's more African American expats than Africans in Toronto to be quite honest..
Anyone who knows Toronto knows that is not the case at all.
There are relatively few African-American "expats" anywhere in Canada.
In Toronto in particular the black community's origins are very predominantly Afro-Caribbean from places like Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, etc. They have been joined by a more recent influx of people from sub-Saharan Africa, from countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, etc.
Anyone who knows Toronto knows that is not the case at all.
There are relatively few African-American "expats" anywhere in Canada.
In Toronto in particular the black community's origins are very predominantly Afro-Caribbean from places like Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, etc. They have been joined by a more recent influx of people from sub-Saharan Africa, from countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, etc.
and of course you have those that have long time Canadian roots from SW Ontario, the Maritimes, etc. that have migrated to the city, but this is it. Some may be a mix as well(i.e.-Ferguson Jenkins and Andrew Wiggins, both with a parent each with US roots and Barbados).
There are many measures of a great food city. One not in the OP is the variety and quality of what you can walk to...what's immediately accessible if you're a tourist for example, or just living in an urban district. Toronto is on another level in that regard.
There are many measures of a great food city. One not in the OP is the variety and quality of what you can walk to...what's immediately accessible if you're a tourist for example, or just living in an urban district. Toronto is on another level in that regard.
Interestingly enough though, the top Chinese food scene in Toronto migrated a couple of decades ago to the northern suburb of Markham where the finest establishments tend to be located in strip malls and the like. That area wouldn't be out of place in... Houston.
I feel that Anglo Canada itself needs a more defined culture before Toronto tries to develop their own innovative food style. What really distinguishes the USA from English-speaking Canada? Besides from small differences (IE metric, word spellings, etc.), what real cultural differences are there?
Anglo-Canadian cuisine in general is almost a copy of Northern US cuisine. Canada does have different migration patterns by virtue of being a British Commonwealth country (favoring other ex-colonials rather than the US's policy of...well, you tell me), but even then after one generation it just turns into general North American culture.
I think I appreciate Houston more because it at least tries to stick out and make their own cuisine. Sure, it may be a "corruption" of another cuisine, but at least its more theirs than anything else. Toronto's diversity, while amazing, hasn't done anything original just yet.
I feel that Anglo Canada itself needs a more defined culture before Toronto tries to develop their own innovative food style. What really distinguishes the USA from English-speaking Canada? Besides from small differences (IE metric, word spellings, etc.), what real cultural differences are there?
Anglo-Canadian cuisine in general is almost a copy of Northern US cuisine. Canada does have different migration patterns by virtue of being a British Commonwealth country (favoring other ex-colonials rather than the US's policy of...well, you tell me), but even then after one generation it just turns into general North American culture.
I think I appreciate Houston more because it at least tries to stick out and make their own cuisine. Sure, it may be a "corruption" of another cuisine, but at least its more theirs than anything else. Toronto's diversity, while amazing, hasn't done anything original just yet.
Hey, you're not allowed to say that!
Seriously though, I do think there is a real possibility that things will remain as they are, with Toronto/Anglo-Canada feeding off the foreign-based cultures of newcomers on the one hand, and then gradually they will assimilate by dovetailing (primarily) with the common culture you are talking about which is largely U.S.-driven, and are replaced with more newcomers, who in turn will eventually assimilate too, and so on and so on...
People seem quite happy with that scenario so not sure why it would change.
Toronto has been a large, high-immigration city for quite some time, and the city that was filled with Italians, Greeks, Portuguese, (ex-)Yugoslavians, Poles, Jamaicans, Ashkenazis, etc. in the 1960s and 1970s did not yield what you are talking about back then, so I don't see why this particular iteration of "Toronto", or any other one in the future, would be significantly different.
There are many measures of a great food city. One not in the OP is the variety and quality of what you can walk to...what's immediately accessible if you're a tourist for example, or just living in an urban district. Toronto is on another level in that regard.
Dont buy it. Whether served from a strip mall or in an urban environment, the food is going to taste the same if made by the same people. That has nothing to do with quality of food.
Anyone who knows Toronto knows that is not the case at all.
There are relatively few African-American "expats" anywhere in Canada.
In Toronto in particular the black community's origins are very predominantly Afro-Caribbean from places like Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, etc. They have been joined by a more recent influx of people from sub-Saharan Africa, from countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, etc.
That's probably fair regarding the African Americans vs. Africans bit. I still would find it hard to believe that the Toronto CMA (~500K black people of all ancestries) would have more Africans than the Houston MSA (~1.2 million black people of all ancestries), especially considering the heavy Caribbean presence. Maybe its true, but its hard to find hard statistics either way.
Dont buy it. Whether served from a strip mall or in an urban environment, the food is going to taste the same if made by the same people. That has nothing to do with quality of food.
I'm not sure if you meant to quote me. My post was about ease of access:
"There are many measures of a great food city. One not in the OP is the variety and quality of what you can walk to...what's immediately accessible if you're a tourist for example, or just living in an urban district. Toronto is on another level in that regard."
In order to have great food one needs fresh ingredients. Houston can provide that while Toronto can't. A lot of spices, fruits, vegetables and produce that the Vietnamese, Indian, Pakistani, Mexican, Cambodian, Peruvian cuisines require can be grown in Houston.
Many of these communities have small gardens where they can grow different types of ingredients such chilies, spinach, figs, oregano, basil, papaya, and much much more and then apply them their fresh delicious food. There is not a need to get frozen everything, or dried leafs and stuff when all of that can be gotten fresh in Houston.
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