Toronto: Rogers Centre
Party time. Excellent.
Canadian Border Guard: What’s the purpose of your visit?
Me: Going to a Blue Jays game tonight.
CBG: Do you have a ticket already?
Me: Yes. It’s on my phone.
CBG: May I see it?
Me: Sure! Let me just turn on data roaming real quick.
CBG: Where do you live?
Me: Columbus, Ohio
CBG: Do you have a firearm in the car?
Me: No.
CBG: Did you leave it at home?
Me: I don’t own a gun.
CBG: You live in Ohio and you don’t own a gun?
Me: Yeah, I’m that weirdo.
CBG: Welcome to Canada. Go Jays.
I haven’t been to Canada in close to 20 years, long enough that I very recently had to renew my passport and got maybe the most unflattering mug shot ever. Like Nick Nolte bad. Last time I visited, with my girlfriend at the time, we parked her early-90s Honda Accord in a hotel lot in downtown Toronto, spent the day exploring the city, then the next morning discovered that the car had been broken into. Stolen: one car stereo, a 128 CD wallet hidden in the trunk (all mine), one pair of sunglasses (hers) and a bottle of water.1 Our American coins were left in the center console.2 The seven hour drive back to Ohio was uncomfortably silent.
Despite a reputation for safety, Toronto is a megalopolis — the fourth most populous metro area in North America, in fact, and the fastest growing — and with that many people, there will inevitably be crime. Guessing that we were targeted for being American, I resolved to give Canada another chance, eventually, and be a little more careful next time.
After crossing the border, I traveled the QEW3 through the Golden Horseshoe on my way to my hotel in Vaughan, about 12 miles — er, 19 kilometers — northwest of downtown Toronto. The traffic from Hamilton to Vaughan on virtually every highway was dense and slow-moving, clogged with cars and trucks making their way to and from the city center and its large suburbs. Roughly 25% of Canada’s total population lives within a 75 mile — er, 120 kilometer — radius of Toronto and Canadians’ reliance on cars is roughly on par with Americans’, even in densely inhabited areas.
I picked the hotel in Vaughan because it was very close to a TTC subway stop, albeit one toward the end of the 1 Line, about a 40 minute ride to Union Station and the Rogers Centre. This is kinda my signature move when visiting a ballpark in a city with robust public transit: I’d much rather park for free or cheap and walk or take a train, bus or shuttle to the game than shell out $20-50 on parking close to the stadium.4
After managing an early check-in at the hotel, I withdrew some Canadian dollars5 from an ATM and made my way to the transit station. Since I was trying to limit my roaming data usage, I used the train ride for quiet contemplation, hoping to make my first six days of sabbatical feel real and set a tone for the following nine weeks of off time.
About five minutes passed before I turned cell data on to find a place to eat lunch.
The Moon bible had suggested a place called WVRST that just happened to have a location at Union Station. The original restaurant is located in King West, a trendy neighborhood about a half hour walk from the train station. It was a hot, muggy day in Toronto — the local radio said it was 29° with a heat index of 37°6 — so I decided to stay inside for as long as possible. I pulled up a barstool, ordered a local Kölsch made by Slake Brewing and studied the menu.
As you can imagine, WVRST specializes in sausages and had more than 20 varieties available. For me, this is an impossible situation. At C$14-187 each, I could easily break the bank indulging my curiosity in the tube meats of the world. Luckily, I was there during happy hour and they had a sausage sampler, which I assume was meant to be shared, featuring five half sausages for C$22.8
The sampler that day included South African boerewors, German Oktoberfest bratwurst, Slovenian kranjska and Canadian bison and wild boar sausages. The five half links were served with onions and peppers, a slice of country bread and a side of currywurst sauce.
Was it good? Let’s put it this way: I think I might have to move to Canada.
I wanted to walk off my lunch, so I sauntered down to the St. Lawrence Market, which has been serving the citizens of Toronto for more than 220 years. Fresh meat, fish and produce stands are complemented by vendors of packaged goods, handmade crafts, gift shops and, of course, prepared foods. The most famous dish at the Market is the peameal bacon9 sandwich originated at Carousel Bakery. I wished that I had an appetite as I made my way around, everything looked and smelled so great.
Of course, it probably goes without saying, but the hot one kilometer walk in 90% humidity to the market and the subsequent two kilometer walk to Rogers Centre left my shirt and overshirt completely drenched in sweat. I considered popping into one of the bars adjacent to the ballpark to cool off until I saw the throngs of people lined up at the gates a full two-and-a-half hours prior to first pitch.
It’s starting to sound like a broken record, but I chose a bobblehead giveaway day for my Toronto visit. This one was modeled on Kevin Gausman, the Blue Jays pitcher who superstitiously chews gum as he pitches, then tosses the used wad out onto the field after each inning he completes. Gausman has been a fan favorite since signing with Toronto three years ago, rewarding the Jays faithful with two seasons of a dozen wins and more than 200 strikeouts.10
There were enough bobbleheads for the first 15,000 fans through the gates, and I’d guess that close to a third of that number had gathered in lines around the stadium by the time gates opened. I had done a lap around the outside of Rogers Centre and settled on an out of the way gate forgotten about by the masses. After about a 20 minute wait, staff started letting fans into the park. With my bobblehead safely in hand, I set about exploring.
Rogers Centre has been under major renovations since the end of the 2022 season, in hopes of turning this 35 year old multipurpose stadium into a more modern, baseball-focused park. Over two phases of renovations, all of the lower level seats have been reoriented to face home plate, foul territory has been reduced and the outfield walls have been adjusted to create an asymmetrical field.
Most notably, however, is the reimaging of the outfield concourses on the 100, 200 and 500 levels to create the Outfield District: branded social areas for hanging out before and during the game. The “neighborhoods” each have their own vibe, some with live music, some with DJs curating a soundtrack, some with family-friendly activities, and some with unique food and drink options unavailable in other areas of the park. These party areas are a nod to Toronto’s legendary and diverse nightlife, which also inspired the team’s “Night Mode” City Connect uniforms.
As a person who enjoys watching the game as much from a railing as from my purchased seat, I was enamored with the Outfield District and the energy it lent to the ballpark prior to first pitch and throughout the game. In retrospect, I should have bought a C$20 Outfield District standing room ticket rather than paying a little more for a seat.
I stumbled upon the Dugout Deals vendors on the third base side of the 200 and 500 levels early on, where 12 oz. cans of Bud and Bud Light were selling for C$5 each. Beer choices at Rogers Centre consist entirely of Anheuser-Busch/InBev products: as many laps around the concourses that I made, I could not find a single offering of non-ABI beer. Really disappointing. Even iconic Canadian brands like Labatt — also owned by AB/InBev — are shoved from the taps in favor of Bud and Bud Light.
My seat in section 533 was about a third of the way up the upper deck stands. Surprisingly, the view from this high up didn’t feel terribly far from the action, though seats further up or closer to the foul poles did seem quite detached from the game. If you do come to Rogers Centre for a game, I highly suggest seats on the third base side if the roof is open, as the view of the CN Tower — once the world’s tallest free-standing structure — looming over the field is impressive to behold.
Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi sparred effectively with his counterpart, Ronel Blanco of the visiting Houston Astros, both allowing two runs before leaving the game in the sixth inning. Once Toronto was forced to rely on their depleted bullpen, the Astros’ powerful bats erupted, led by designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and catcher Yainer Diaz with three RBIs each. The Blue Jays were unable to even put a single runner on base over the final three frames, falling by a score of 9-2.11
I picked up my pin on the way out and made my way back to Union Station for the train ride home. As much as I wanted to stay out and make the most of Toronto nightlife, knowing that I was already not going to be back to my hotel before midnight and that I had a seven hour drive ahead of me the next day slammed the brakes on any illusions of extending the evening.
American Border Guard: What were you doing in Canada?
Me: Went to a Blue Jays game last night.
ABG: Blue Jays. OK. Have anything to declare?
Me: Wanna see the bobblehead they gave away at the game?
ABG: Move along.
NEXT GAMES:
Kansas City Royals at St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, July 9, 6:45 p.m., Busch Stadium
Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, July 11, 1:10 p.m., American Family Field
Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago White Sox, Friday, July 12, 7:10 p.m., Guaranteed Rate Field
Crime makes you thirsty.
I guess Canadian drug dealers don’t fuck around with exchange rates.
Queen Elizabeth Way, the freeway connecting Toronto and Buffalo, New York, named for the mother of the Queen Elizabeth you’re thinking of.
So far, I’ve only paid for parking near a ballpark twice: once in Detroit so my mom didn’t have to walk too far and once in Pittsburgh in a lot that wasn’t particularly close but was a relative bargain. The next game I attend that I’ll have to park in a stadium lot will be in Milwaukee — assuming we don’t take a complimentary bar shuttle — but I’m kinda stoked to tailgate there.
That’s pronounced “DOH-lers,” or, the way I normally say that word.
84° Fahrenheit, heat index 99°. Can we just switch to the metric system already?
$11-14 American.
Yes, that’s Canadian bacon, rolled in corn meal.
He’s on pace to do it again this season, though with a significant drop in overall effectiveness at age 33.
Home teams are 5-7 on my trip and have lost the last four games I’ve watched. Am I bad luck?
"The Carniolan sausage contains at least 75 to 80% pork (aside from bacon) and at most 20% bacon. "
What a heavily regulated sausage!
Ye gods, that sampler from WVRST looks amazing. Which was your favorite?
I was supremely bummed when the Giants let Gausman go. He's such a solid pitcher, even at 33.