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here's an article in the National post - not sure if I posted this b4 but i never saw
...it within the thread..
anwayys | quote: | Where to go after-hours
National Post
Saturday, January 10, 2004
Page: TO08
Section: Toronto
Byline: Don Ellis
Source: National Post
BOA-REDUX
270 Spadina Ave.
416-977-1111
$$$
$30 before 2 a.m.
Open from Saturday midnight to Sunday noon
- - -
Ah, the smell of sweat-drenched youth. The room is suffused with it on this Saturday night at Boa-Redux, as day traders mingle with art students and androgynous dreadlocked partiers. Both floors of the club are packed, and the whole place is shaking with kids cutting loose with no respect for sleep.
It's not a typical nightclub, as you might have guessed -- Boa-Redux is a non-licenced after-hours temple of dance aimed at Toronto's after-party scene, when other clubs have closed down for the night. It's been a dream of owners Tom Vencelides and Rony Hitti for many years, and they've finally managed to follow through on it. Amazingly enough, the club, like its cocky young owners, really does take wing, unlike, most notably, Chinatown's other heavy after-hours club, Film Lounge.
The first few Saturday nights (the only night it's open) have been a little bumpy -- throwing a 26-hour New Year's Eve fest with a party licence evidently confused clubgoers into thinking Boa was a licenced establishment. But while never sublime, the club is still mighty good fun.
The virtues of Boa-Redux are considerable. The most immediately obvious is its gorgeous physical appearance. Carving a two-level dance club from an old Chinatown porn theatre is impressive enough, but it's the clever use of the space that captivates. The second-storey dance area, with its (literally) trippy layout, still has the multi-levelled floor (where theatre seats would have been), creating tiered spaces and a raised pulpit-like DJ booth that's ingenious.
So, too, is the sound, not just in terms of the acoustics but the choice of sound system as well. Vencelides and Hitti have outfitted the club with an Alpha Concept sound system, regarded by many as the highest standard in professional club sound reinforcement. The components, manufactured by German-based Dynacord, blast a dynamic range of more than 115 decibels, which makes it one of the most powerful digital controllers available.
But a good sound system is hardly enough to make for a good time. What makes this club a winner is its faithful adherence to progressive tribal house roots. A lineup of well-picked DJs is a plus, too: Matt C, Miss Honey Dijon, Nick Holder and Sean Miller are on the roster.
What do 1,800 thirsty clubbers (maximum capacity) coming straight from other nightclubs drink along to the back-breaking beats? The beverages of choice are Happy Planet juice, Red Bull and the almighty water ($$$$!).
Boa-Redux -- the name is a reference to the '80s Yorkville bar -- may not be enthralling enough for you to stake out an entire night here, but it evokes enough of the wonder and awe of a hell-raising rave to make it a worthy option.
ABUNDANT C
Club kids have taken a liking to Happy Planet's lovely organic juices, but are poisoning it a notch. After all, man cannot live on antioxidants alone. Keep your ears to the street and you'll uncover two versions of this drink.
Straight version
2 parts orange juice
1 part Polar Ice vodka
1 part Happy Planet "Abundant C" juice (found in after-hours clubs and Starbucks)
In a shaker half-filled with cracked ice, combine the HP juice, orange juice and vodka. Shake well. Strain into martini glass. Garnish with orange twist.
Street version
1 part HP juice in container
1 part Polar Ice vodka
Open a container of HP, drink half of the juice in the container, fill the vacated space with vodka. Replace lid, shake and drink. Keep topping with more vodka.
CLUB LIFE
THE BEVERLY TAVERN (240 Queen St. W.) closed on Dec. 27. There's been much talk about will take over the space, but the owners are still looking for the right tenant. "We want what's right for the block," restaurateur Thai Hua says. "Whether it be a Spring Rolls, the Keg or something altogether different. But nothing's decided yet."
CRISPY ROLLS (263 Queen St. W.) is open. This little Japanese restaurant is across the street from the old Beverly. Taking over what was previously the Big Bowl restaurant, the narrow spot brings more sushi and tempura to Queen Street.
DIFERENT BY EDO (257 Adelaide St. W.) is no longer. Barry Chaim's sanitized chamber of a restaurant was no match for the throbbing nightclubs on the block. Chaim's two other Edos (431 Spadina Rd. and 484 Eglinton Ave. W.) remain open.
Illustration:
• Black & White Photo: Glenn Lowson, National Post / Boa-Redux retains many elements of its former life as a cinema.
Idnumber: 200401100007
Edition: Toronto
Story Type: Business; Recipe
Note: Visit www.martiniboys.com for more timely suggestions about what to do in Toronto. [email protected]
Length: 744 words
Keywords: BEVERAGES
Illustration Type: P |
___________________
DALLAS STAR ™ °¤§£¤y°
Treat people as if they are what they ought to be and you may help them to become what they are capable of being.
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