AGO First Thursdays

The art and cultural landscape in Toronto has slowly been changing for the past 15 years - museums, art galleries and concert halls are all transforming into a cool and hip place for youngsters to handout. 

My friend and I had the pleasure of checking out AGO First Thursday this week.  The one thing I was particularly impressed by was the quality of food that they offer.  They have these food stations set up right by the entrance, and considering the event started around 7pm, everyone who came at the opening hour was hungry and appreciated the munchies!

We ordered the porchetta sandwiches with chili-garlic fried rapini, which was delicious and a real steal at $5!  The only suggestion I would offer is to toast the porchette.  It's such a shame to have a cold bun served with a gourmet sandwich.

My friend really wanted to try the "cronut" - a cross between a croissant and a donut, and it was also surprisingly tasty!  I've never heard of a cronut before, but apparently they are the new craze. 

We ordered a caramel one and a chocolate one, and they were both delicious!  Light and fluffy like a croissant, but sweet and satisfying like a donut.  

After washing down our meal with beer and wine, we got to toured around the gallery a bit.  I wasn't particularly impressed by the live exhibits, and as the gallery closed off 3 out of the 5 floors, there was not much to see...

Would I go to another AGO First Thursday?  Probably not.  Art is enjoyed best when the surroundings are quiet and peaceful, and I found it hard to appreciate paintings when there is so much movement and distractions around.  Still, I applaud AGO and ROM for their efforts in trying to bring innovation to these cultural hotspots, and doing something new and different.