When I was young we didn't eat out a lot. And we liked steak. So ponderosa was a treat. I fuckng loved that shit. I would try and pile the whole damn salad bar on my plate every time. And the jello, was the perfect dessert. Then they all but disappeared. Like you, we stumbled across one when I was an older teen. The four of us went in for a nostalgic family dinner... It was fucking terrible.
Losing Dangerous Dan's is a tragedy. But, to be honest there's all sorts of great new places popping up all the time in Toronto. You can get a great burger just about any neighborhood.
Where you living now?
West Indies, Leewards. We have a place in New Hampshire, so when we feel like a little different culture we rock up to Montreal, which I adore now. Mostly we just eat stuff from farms around us, make our yogurt and cheese and bread and stuff. In both places. We mostly eat Nepali food w/ some Indian, West Indian, and Italian thrown in. My kids were exposed from birth so they eat everything, like fish eyes and chicken bone marrow and yeah.
Way back in the Ponderosa days, that was my moms classic Canadian barely middle class upbringing. I have an aunt that will still only eat stuff from back in the day, so Kally's, or Swiss Chalet, or pizza, or kraft dinner, or Mother Tuckers, chicken nuggets, meatloaf, grilled cheese's, Campbell's soup. She's old east Scarborogh to the bone.
I find Toronto to be overpriced, and not worth the travel time around the city. Plus, it's culture is tepid as hell compared to the 80's and 90's. Film/Octopus/Random Lounge Friday, Industry Saturday, Comfort Zone Sunday. My relationship w/ the city has long peaked. If I moved back it'd probably west of Ontario. Sask or Manitoba. Possibly a big fat parcel right next to Brock. Maybe Alberta, but that's getting a little much - Snow Texans. Fahk BC, and the other shit's too cold, and the east is rife w/ hosers. I'd still like to do a Deli crawl in Toronto. My step-Dad's a jew, so it's impossible to get him to do one w/ me because he's a diehard centre street guy, and everything else is dry fakakta for my idot aunt, or what the fuck is this clown calling smoked meat? Except for baby beef form Pancer's, which is gone now, I think.
Anywhere you ate in T.O. that had a big to do about it but sucked when you went? Kaplansky's, Amazing Ted's, Swa Tao,The Works, Mr. Pongs