I went up to Toronto this weekend to play a gig for YYZ Records‘ Rollin’ & Scratchin’ monthly party. It was a great night, the people were lovely, we partied hard, etc, etc. Toronto is a great place. However, clubs and bars are required to stop serving alcohol at 2AM. I’m accustomed to the Miami way of life, in which the last call is often 6AM. Needless to say, when 2AM rolls around, and you’re still going strong, what is one to do? One is to partake in cold tea.

Toronto has a rather large Chinatown, and its restaurants are open late.  After Friday night’s gig, my illustrious manager (Paddy Scace) and I walked from restaurant to restaurant along one of Toronto’s main Chinatown drags, in search of cold tea.  We would walk into a restaurant, get seated, then when the waiter asked what we’d like to order, we would ask for cold tea.  Five or six waiters declined our advances, and one even got visibly angry and made a bit of a scene.  Eventually, through Paddy’s foolhardy persistence we arrived at an establishment shady enough to provide us with the illicit requested goods.

Paddy Scace, manager extraordinaire, enjoying cold tea.

Cold tea is beer.  Served in a traditional Asian restaurant teapot.  Dubious legality, delicious thirst-quenchary.

(Note to self: take more and better photos when out gigging.)