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| - The Toronto Lover system:
5 stars = Must visit!
4 stars = Really good. I take my friends here.
3 stars = Somewhat worth it... if you have nowhere better to go.
2 stars = Below average. Attend only when necessary.
1 star = Do not visit!
I have a feeling that, deep down, the Village by the Grange wants to be the St. Lawrence Market. In the same way that every little Timbit hockey player wants to be Sidney Crosby, this collection of food outlets believes that if it closes its eyes, breathes deep, and puts in its best effort, it will someday wear the shoes of its hero.
It's a food court. You can give it a name that makes it sound like a best-selling novel (Oprah recommends: "Village by the Grange",) you can place it next to the AGO, and you can fill it with trendy vegan wraps and frozen yogurt, but it's still a food court.
Forgive me for dwelling on semantics, but the name has always bothered me. First, I believe the word "village" is supposed to conjure up feelings about Soho and Fine Art that will make the local OCAD students and AGO members feel even more artsy when they grab a pork sandwich here. Next, a grange is historically an area that surrounds a farmhouse, but it's also synonymous with a village, so it's sort of like "village by the village." I get that The Grange refers to the nearby historic manor, but I'd be surprised if 1% of people surveyed in this food court even knew what The Grange was.
And don't discount that the McDonald's usually has the longest lineup. Just saying.
Ok, now that I've trashed it, let me also point out: there are a lot of options, and many are cheap, so groups will be satisfied here... if they can find seating.
2 stars
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