Italian eatery Ganzi playing music on its patio in spite of by-law

PopGoesTheNews.com A new Italian restaurant in Toronto has angered nearby residents by blasting bass-heavy lounge music onto its outdoor patio.

Osteria dei Ganzi, located in a heritage mansion on Jarvis Street just north of Wellesley Street East, has at least two speakers on its exterior wall facing the north side of a 28-story apartment building across the street.

Tenants complain that the sound from the speakers has made it impossible for them to keep their windows open or to enjoy their balconies.

City of Toronto by-law 313-36 specifically prohibits "outdoor music or amplified sound."

Ganzi temporarily ceased playing music on the patio after it was reportedly given notice in early June that it was violating the bylaw. On the evening of June 14, however, it turned the outdoor music back on.

Responding to resident complaints, City of Toronto councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam has asked the supervisor of Licensing Enforcement at Municipal Licensing and Standards to investigate Ganzi.

On its website, Ganzi continues to promote "lively music" on its patio.

The restaurant is the latest in a string of failed businesses to occupy the space. It was previously Honey's Beestro, Angelina's and a Russian-themed nightclub. The registered owner of the property apparently lives on the mansion's upper level.

Residents who hear music on the outdoor patio at Ganzi are being urged to report it to the City of Toronto by dialing 3-1-1.

Filipino eatery shut down by Toronto Public Health

PopGoesTheNews.com A Filipino restaurant in Toronto that opened only eight months ago was ordered shut down on May 15 by public health officials.

An inspector hit FV Foods on Wilson at Bathurst with 12 infractions, including a “significant” failure to maintain adequate pest control and “crucial” failures to maintain hazardous foods at 60 degrees C or hotter and to thoroughly re-heat hazardous foods.

But the restaurant was issued a summons and ordered closed for a “crucial” failure to prevent “gross unsanitary conditions.”

The list of infractions also includes failures to protect food from contamination.

The closure order comes after the restaurant failed two previous random inspections.

On Jan. 16, FV Foods received a Conditional Pass due to 11 infractions, including “crucial” failures to ensure food “is not contaminated/adulterated” and to maintain hazardous foods at 60 degrees C or hotter.

Its first inspection, on Oct. 16, 2012, found nine infractions and resulted in a Conditional Pass. Toronto Public Health cited an employee for failing to wash hands and a “crucial” failure to maintain foods at the proper temperature.

The FV Foods at Wilson and Bathurst – one of six locations across the city – opened on Sept. 8, 2012 with a blessing by Rev. Fr. Albert Macalipay. It can re-open for business if it passes a follow-up inspection by Toronto Public Health.

On its website, the restaurant promises “a complete dining experience that includes outstanding service, wonderful food items, and a nice and cozy ambiance.”

Spoilers! Cameras roll on 'Amazing Race Canada'

Host Jon Montgomery

PopGoesTheNews Production of The Amazing Race Canada is well underway, as teams make their way across Canada in hopes of winning $250,000, Air Canada flights for a year and a pair of Chevrolet Corvette Stingrays.

Host Jon Montgomery -- who won a gold medal in the men's skeleton event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver -- kicked off the race early on May 3 from the park on River Road at the foot of Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls, Ont.

The three-week race will wrap up May 24 in Toronto, where the final teams are scheduled to rappel the west tower of City Hall as one of their challenges.

The Canadian version of the reality series, which was first reported here, will stay within the country's borders.

Nine teams of two people are taking part in the inaugural Amazing Race Canada, including a competitor with two artificial legs.

In Niagara Falls, camera crews on the ground and a hovering helicopter followed the teams as they ran to get their first clue and their bags before getting into waiting cars.

Competitors drove themselves to Toronto Pearson airport to catch flights to Vancouver.

There, teams hit Canada Place, Chinatown (where they had to do a lion dance in the Chinese Garden), Gastown and the Richmond Olympic Oval before getting flights to Kelowna.

On May 8, teams were in Calgary, where stops included Fifth Avenue Place and Ranchman's Cookhouse & Dancehall for some line-dancing and bull-riding.

The week ended with seven teams in Yellowknife, where they were spotted at Pilot's Monument and in Old Town.

Last Monday, teams were in Regina, where they were challenged to Ukrainian dancing in front of City Hall and football drills at Mosaic Stadium -- home to the Saskatchewan Rough Riders.

At the RCMP Academy, competitors were escorted by Mounties in golf carts to their challenges.

Teams then flew to Quebec City – with a stopover at Toronto Pearson – and took on challenges involving ice carving in Old Quebec and lacrosse on the Plains of Abraham.

Teams hit the nation’s capital on Friday and cameras were rolling when the minor earthquake hit.

The Amazing Race Canada will debut July 15 on CTV.