Toronto-based filmmaker Clement Virgo is one of Canada’s most intriguing directors; some say he's Canada’s own black cinema king, akin to Spike Lee. His breakout feature film Rude, a radical and ballsy depiction of life in Regent Park, is largely considered to be the first standout piece of Canadian black cinema. It won the Best Canadian Feature Film award at TIFF in 1995 and Virgo has gone on to make other notable films including Love Come Down, the sexually revealing Lie With Me, and Poor Boy’s Game starring Danny Glover. Virgo is also one of the country’s most successful television directors with episodes of shows like The Wire, The Listener, ReGenesis, Soul Food, and The L Word under his belt. more ›

Last spring, we had the privilege of meeting the amazing chef instructors and students of the YMCA's Basic Culinary Skills Training Program, which we nicknamed "The Original Fifteen" (they've been at it since Jamie Oliver was in grade school!). Led by experienced chefs, the program has been successfully teaching Torontonians on social assistance how to become confident, professional cooks for the past twenty-five years. So, when we heard they were moving from the basement of the YMCA on Charles Street to a brand new facility at Metro Hall, we had to be there. more ›

Each week, Torontoist examines the upcoming TV listings and makes note of programs that are entertaining, informative, and of quality. Or, alternately, none of those. The result: Televisualist. more ›

There's a scale model of downtown Toronto off to the side of the busy first-floor rotunda at City Hall, right in the path of visitors. It's massive and meticulously detailed. It's a nice tribute to the city. And, we were reminded when an anonymous tip landed in our inbox, it's rarely cleaned. more ›

—CBC's Matt Galloway, who this morning was announced as Andy Barrie's successor on Metro Morning. more ›

Welcome to another week, Toronto. more ›

THEATRE: It's all about love this week—love and the funny/depressing/sexy/kinky stuff that goes with it. Canstage's latest production includes at least one of those things. Intimate Apparel follows Esther, an African-American seamstress whose financial independence depends upon the elegant corsets and other undergarments she sews for socialites and prostitutes. Amid the ragtime music of Scott Joplin, Esther dreams of opening her own boutique, moves to New York City, and falls for a man halfway around the world. Intimate Apparel was written by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Lynn Nottage, and has won several awards, including the 2004 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play, and the Canadian production won the 2008 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Costume Design. Bluma Appel Theatre (27 Front Street East), 8 p.m., $20–64. more ›

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"I understood viral before, but now I really understand viral," Kevin Gallagher told us yesterday while sitting at the bar at Mildred's Temple Kitchen, the highly respected restaurant he co-owns with his wife, executive chef Donna Dooher. Before this past Wednesday, Mildred's was locally famous for its impeccable food, comfortable atmosphere, and skilled service, but with one article by Toronto Star critic Amy Pataki, it became known worldwide (discussed on Huffington Post, the Village Voice, even the Jay Leno Show) as the restaurant that encourages you to have sex in its bathrooms. more ›

Of the possible futures for those in the current race to succeed David Miller as mayor of Toronto, there is one distinction that the victor will not likely achieve unless death or scandal strike immediately: the shortest term in office. Those vying for that title have generally been caretakers brought in to fill out a term, as happened when Fred Beavis filled in for Mayor David Crombie in 1978 when the latter ran for federal office. The winner of the short-term sweepstakes is David Breakenridge Read, who owed his fifty-day tour of duty to a police scandal. Make any jokes you want, but, as a study of the city’s early high officials noted, it would “be an injustice to Read to belittle his talents, abilities, and accomplishments because of his being somewhat a cipher as Mayor.” more ›

—Leafs General Manager and President Brian Burke, quoted in a November ESPN.com profile about his son Brendan, who had come out as gay. Brendan Burke died on Friday, in a car accident in Indiana. more ›

WINTERCITY: The seventh annual WinterCity festival continues this weekend with a variety of events. Kensington Market's Bread and Circus will host the Toronto Tabla Ensemble, LAL, and members of the Chhandam Dance Company for a South Asian–themed concert, "Temples 2 Terabytes." Meanwhile, at Nathan Phillips Square, twelve scenes from the book of Genesis will be recounted through music and dance against a backdrop of projected images of water and fire in "Cosmogonia," performed by Compagnie Les Passagers. Another highlight of the weekend, also taking place at Nathan Phillips Square, features a fire installation and choreographed performances as part of "Angel of the Apocalypse." Various locations, times, and prices. more ›