In this week's Time Out Tel Aviv there's a three page article about Toronto by one of Israel's celebrity TV chefs (and restaurant critic for Time Out Tel Aviv), Gil Hovav.

Toronto really showed up on the Israeli radar screen about a year ago, when the mass-circulation daily Yedioth Ahronoth published an article announcing that Canada's largest city had become the destination of choice for emigrating Israelis. According to the article, there are now about 60,000 Israeli immigrants living in metropolitan Toronto. Based on "man on the street" interviews, it seems that most of them would have preferred to emigrate to the USA, but post-9/11 visa restrictions have made that increasingly difficult, whereas Canada is a country that has a much more open immigration policy. An oft-repeated reason for being less enthusiastic about Canada was - big surprise - the winters. Apparently, six months of freezing temps are a major bummer. Indeed. Especially for people who are used to near-constant sunshine, 6 months of hot weather per year, and just 2 months of winter weather, when the damp and chill are sort of reminiscent of London in October.

I know Toronto pretty well, having lived there for three years in the late 1980s, and my mother and sister Adina live there now. It's not the most exciting place in the world, but if you're looking for a clean, safe and pleasant place to raise children, and you're not adversely affected by long, freezing winters (followed by brief, scorching summers), then Toronto could be for you.

Peter Ustinov once described the city as "New York run by the Swiss." Torontonians took Ustinov's pronouncement as a huge compliment - forgetting that Switzerland is generally considered one of the most boring countries in the world.

But I digress.

Here's a bit of what Hovav has to say about Toronto (in my inelegant translation from the Hebrew):

"Canadians are a more successful version of Americans - more witty, with the ability to laugh at themselves, and modest. And if you approach Toronto from the right angle, the city is a version of Manhattan that is a thousand times more human and pleasant."

Hovav goes on to tell his readers that Mercer Street is the hottest place to hang out in Toronto these days. He loves the boutique hotel Le Germain, with its charming lobby and bathrooms that look like an aquarium, and staff that's "dressed a lot better than you are"; he adores Rain, the Mercer Street restaurant located in a building that was formerly a women's prison - a fact "which provides a thrill for the guys who go to eat there." OK, he admits, the communal table concept is a bit tired already, but this is a *leather* table. And the open kitchen "offers an exciting performance". Gil liked the gyozo stuffed with oxtail, the pork-filled omelette [trendy secular Israelis are big on pork] and the duck cooked three different ways.

Other TO eateries recommended by Hovav: Barbarian's Steak House (Beit ha-Steyk ha-Barbari), Carousel Bakery & Sandwich Bar, Jamie Kennedie Wine Bar and Susur.

Queen Street West [a trendy street roughly equivalent to Tel Aviv's Sheinkin Street], Hovav writes, is "where you can find all the stores that sell ugly clothes to young people with ugly hairstyles, plus a few good, inexpensive restaurants, a designer chocolate shop, a fabulous shop for kitchen utensils, and most importantly (surprise!) a cute little patisserie (called Clafouti), that sells the best croissants in the city."

In other words, Gil doesn't "get" Toronto at all! His is a sort of north Tel Aviv yuppie's guide to the city, not a sophisticated insider's view. Just for starters, and as long as we're talking about food, I cannot believe that he totally ignores Chinatown, and all the great places to eat there. ('though perhaps not the eatery described here by Adina's friend Joey). And how come there's not a word about little India on Gerrard Street? Last time I visited TO, my Mom and I ate the best tali I'd had since the last time I visited Natraj restaurant, in Udaipur. (Actually, I think we ate there three times - in 10 days). Then there's Kensington Market, where there's a huge variety of shops selling foods from all over the world, plus boutiques, clubs, cafes...

I wouldn't describe Toronto as an "edgy" city, but it has its moments - and, amusingly, the celebrity food critic and world traveler managed to miss them all.