Following a series of life-changing events that included winning the final season of Canadian Idol in 2008 and courageously coming out to a strict reformed Christian household, Toronto-based singer and talented pianist Theo Tams went on to release albums in 2009, 2014, and 2018, with some holiday singles sprinkled in between.
Discarding any presupposed notion of how others might wish to define him, Tams’ new outlook on music finds him unapologetically embracing his own identity through R&B-laced pop that accentuates his ongoing evolution.
The title-track of Tams’ latest project, Therapy, drowns the senses and showcase the intimate vulnerability and lyrical prowess of the talented Toronto-based musician.
We recently had a chance to sit down with Tams, who filled us in on some of his favourite places to eat and drink in his home base of Toronto.
Breakfast
My go-to breakfast spot is this place in my neighbourhood called Stratengers. It's been around for decades and is 100 per cent a greasy spoon-type place but the food is great diner style food. The eggs Benedict with extra hollandaise is my favourite!
Lunch
I'm lucky enough to live in a neighborhood that has a lot of options--there are craft breweries, cafes and coffee shops popping up everywhere. My current go-to is this small deli called Eadrey Foods. They have fresh salads and sandwiches, samosas, and lentil patties. It's really nice because if you want healthy it's here, but if you want comfort food, they have that too. Just a really wonderful place for homemade, no nonsense cooking.
Dinner
This is a tough call, but definitely a toss up between East Side Social and Goods and Provisions. East Side is a take on Nova Scotian coastal fair with really amazing seafood dishes--the octopus is out of this world! They also have a traditional East Coast donair, which reminds me so much of touring through the maritimes.
Goods and Provisions is a really vibey cocktail/small plates type of place in the East End of Toronto and the cocktails are fantastic (Beck Taxi for the win) and small plates with a bit of an Asian flare, to this day the best tuna ceviche I have ever had.
Drinks
I definitely lean more towards a cold beer than a cocktail and my current favourite place is a brewery called Black Lab. It's really great because they allow you to bring your dogs, and they have a really awesome beer garden from spring until fall. Now with lockdown they are relying on bottle shop sales, etc., but they deliver throughout the city as well. The blackberry sage kennel sour is the perfect combination of sweet and savoury and is perfect for this lockdown fall season!
