48 Hours to Impress Your University Child in Toronto

Your university child just may well be getting tired of late-night pizza, bagels on the fly, and noisy communal living where they can’t find a clean counter surface or a quiet place to study. That’s where you can swoop in. Here is the second in a series of “48 hours to Wow Your University Child” — as in, ‘Think Mom (or Dad or other parental figure) isn’t cool? Think again!’ Vacay.ca Contributing Writer Diana Ballon spotlights Toronto’s energetic vibe that keeps you young and your kids revved up.

When you’re pampering your kids and giving them quality one-on-one time, equity is key. It’s all part of being cool, and allowing your kids to also keep their cool. When touring Toronto, I decided to divide my two days into halves, one spent with my university daughter, and one with my pre-university son.

FRIDAY

Noon, Get spinning: Want to keep pace with your young lad? Head to Ride Cycle Club, a private spin studio near Ossington Street where you can ride side by side with your boy in a 45-minute high-intensity class, with “music” blaring and some serious sweat sprouting from each of your bodies. With my son Felix, age 17, and me, age 58, I am confident that we made up the youngest and eldest participants in the studio, with most others closer to Felix’s age. But I managed to keep pace, and to appreciate the ear plugs they hand out for free.

3 p.m., Noodle around: Making pasta from scratch can be time consuming, but the product is so much better than it is with dry pasta, and the creating part is lots of fun. Through the Ritz-Carlton Toronto’s master class in pasta making, sous chef Luis Sanchez led us in a class on making mezza luna or half moon-shaped pasta, ravioli, and agnolotti as well as a pesto and pomodoro sauce — all in a couple of hours!

Sanchez demonstrated, and we got to roll up our sleeves and practise making the different shapes —and then eating what we made. As Sanchez pointed out, making fresh pasta is a social enterprise. (That comment inspired me to organize a pasta-making party: I will supply the pasta, you bring a sauce. Or we make fresh pasta together.)

The pasta-making tutorial is one of several master classes and activities that are part of the “Enhance Your Experience” at the Ritz offerings.

5 p.m., Settle in: Your deluxe guest room with a view of the lake, and then head to the pool and Jacuzzi hot tub on the 5th floor for a quick swim and a soak before dinner.

7 p.m., Dine in luxury: The hotel’s EPOCH Bar and Kitchen Terrace. Recently renovated, EPOCH blends traditional British gastrobar with modern seasonally driven dishes and an innovative cocktail menu. At EPOCH, the cocktail menu is listed in four acts, a nod to the Entertainment District where the hotel is located. Drink choices range from sweet and approachable, to a twist on the classic cocktail (with names like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), drinks with tea infusions, and even a “Magic Hour” G & T that actually turns purple from the blending of blue butterfly pea with Mermaid gin and tonic water. Mocktails are also on offer.

For dinner, we shared the delicious crispy Brussels sprouts and a seafood platter with oysters and then I had the Gindara black cod as my main, and my son had the flat iron steak — all cooked to perfection. Choose a Sunday evening instead, and you can savour the restaurant’s “Sunday supper,” which “pays homage to the mid-century American chophouse” with prime rib, Brussels sprouts, Yorkshire pudding, and apple tarte tatin for dessert ($75 each). Either way — you can’t go wrong. Chef Jeff Crump is one of the pioneers of the slow-food movement and helped spark the farm-to-table movement in Canada.

9:30 p.m., Cozy down for the evening: Accommodations at the Ritz are elegant and spacious — many with views of the Toronto skyline, CN Tower, and Lake Ontario.

SATURDAY

9 a.m., Work out in the fitness room: You can book a private trainer, or simply use the state-of-the-art equipment to create your own workout. Then head for breakfast at TOCA, the signature Italian restaurant at the Ritz, and reputedly the only hotel in Canada with its own cheese cave. (You can admire the cave from outside, or ask for a quick insider tour of its sumptuous collection of cheeses from around the globe.)

Then enjoy breakfast. Their avocado toast includes smoked salmon and two poached eggs – a serious upgrade from the breakfasts I make at home. And my son’s buttermilk pancakes with mixed berries and crème fraiche looked pretty sublime.

11 a.m., Hit the spa: The hotel’s Spa myBlend is a fine one to experience — even without a treatment. We could easily while away a couple of hours, either separately — there’s a sauna, steam room, and aroma-infused vitality pool within the men’s and women’s locker rooms — or together in the co-ed lounge for a cup of tea.

After that relaxing session of bliss, the switch-over happened. That was when I said good-bye to Felix, and hello to my daughter, Antonia.

3 p.m., The royal treatment: At the King Street location of Majesty’s Pleasure, an award-winning spa where grand lobby bar meets deluxe mani and pedi services, you can get your nails polished while enjoying a cocktail or a glass of bubbly. We marked the official “first ‘legal’ drink on the town with your 19-year-old daughter” moment by each ordering the champagne poppy cocktail that was a mix of elderflower liqueur and Prosecco and garnished with Champagne gummie bears. I felt like I was out celebrating with a girlfriend, except it was mama who would be picking up the bill.

5:55 p.m., Cheers to family bonding: And while I do take the low-risk drinking guidelines seriously, a final wow moment to our day was to end it with a happy-hour glass of wine at Melrose on Adelaide. It’s a 12-minute walk from Majesty’s Pleasure: add two minutes if you have stilettos. We arrived just before 6 p.m., when happy hour ends. But we still got our $7 glasses of wine. I was pleased with the discount. Antonia was impressed with her girlfriend-mom outing. Chalk one more up to Mom on the cool quotient.