We missed Taste of the Danforth, except for the first night, when we got to enjoy the all-night whooping afterparty in Withrow Park. (1) Needed. 2) More. 3) Cops.) We went camping after that, not at all coincidentally.

But Val Dodge went, and wrote a satisfying rant for Torontoist:

So the question remains, why do people come to the Taste of the Danforth? It’s absolutely the worst way to experience the neighbourhood because much of what is imported for the event is so generic that it could be called the Taste Of Some Random Place Where We Happen To Be Holding The Corporate Branding Festival This Week. The restaurants are too crowded for all but a lucky few to get tables, the stores are too packed to enjoy shopping, and it’s impossible to walk anywhere along the street without merely flowing with the crowd. It can’t be for the live shows, which you can get any Friday or Saturday night at more than a dozen venues along the strip, running the gamut from bouzouki and blues to flamenco and belly dancing, with a dash of comedy for your enjoyment. It can’t be for the bargains, which are harder to find this weekend than any other. And it can’t be for the atmosphere, which is best described as, “walking down the street with 100,000 of your most disappointed friends.”

The comments are worth a look: #13 claims the local restaurants lose money on the thing.