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| - A true Toronto institution, every visitor to Hogtown needs to make at least one dizzying visit to Honest Ed's. With a labyrinthine quality that makes it seem as if rooms change places behind you, this clever wholesale mart seeks to first disorient its prey and then stun you will all the fabulous "deals".
Not everything in Honest Ed's is complete junk, although to be real, it is a lot of very cheaply imported/made products, some of which you can get in Chinatown for even cheaper. Despite this, there are a few things you can count on Ed's for, especially if you need a cheap source of everyday household items, like, say, salt and pepper shakers or steak knives. Some of the clothing is repurchased from remnants of department store lots, and as such you can occasionally find a brand name or two lurking amongst the sweatshop wear on the third floor clothing sections.
I can't say that I would ever buy edibles from Honest Eds, and I find that the drugstore-type items like shampoo aren't any less than retail. So temper yourself when you walk in and try to keep your head straight - especially because nothing's more depressing than lugging something through three floors and basement, east and west buildings, only to realize nothing else strikes your fancy. It can be exhausting in there.
Don't forget to check out the blown up prints of celebrity autographs made out to Ed. Exiting out of the west building side is a little bit like going through a time portal into a sea of faces who were last seen on the Ed Sullivan show.
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