There is a little bar on the southeast corner of Dufferin and Lawrence (Toronto) called The Caribbean Pearl. The guys refer to it as ?Acala? because that is the owner?s name. It?s a hole in the wall really and more like a little social club. The clientele is almost 100% Dominican and mostly men so it?s not somewhere you would want to go together but he will surely meet lots of Dominicans and they play dominos in the back. There are a handful of women there sometimes but I?ve gone before and was bored out of my mind. The Dominican women that go there generally don?t speak to the Canadian women, which is fine with me because they are not my type anyway. Just trying to warn you that you might feel uncomfortable and really bored if you do decide to go!
There is also a plaza called Plaza Latina that is on Milvan Drive. Milvan runs north off Finch Avenue between Jane Street and Weston Road and the plaza is literally about a block in off Finch on your right-hand side. There is a Dominican barber shop inside and some other Dominican vendors and food and he will also meet lots of Dominicans there. Again, not much for you there but there are a few shops that sell music and videos in Spanish and a little grocery store. The food court at the back is a good place to go on the weekend for lunch.
Latin Fever can be a hit and miss (as mentioned) but usually it?s good on Saturdays. It is on the north-east corner of Hwy. 7 and Keele Street in Concord. Easy to get to from Hwy. 400. There is also a club in Mississauga called Fregata and it is located at 1900 Dundas Street East. I think the good night there for meeting other Dominicans is Thursday. I have not been to Rumba Nightclub yet (at Jane and Wilson) but I know when it used to be Magnate, my husband and I stopped going there because there were fights often and we did not feel safe. There was also a shooting once so just have your wits about you if you decide to go.
For Dominican food, go to the Dominican Restaurant (as mentioned) on Weston Road, just west of it?s intersection with Jane Street. You can also order Aunt Clara?s Dominican Cookbook (which you can order on DR1 somewhere I think), which I did, and cook for your hubby at home. If you enjoying cooking, the recipes are easy to follow and after a few tries you?ll be getting rave reviews. I have never had a problem finding any of the ingredients in Toronto. No Frills grocery stores and Chinese grocery stores seem to have the best variety of what Dominicans eat in terms of vegetables and seasonings. There are some other specialty Latino stores in and around Toronto and we?ve also found stuff at the Kensington market downtown.
The baseball league is now playing at a park near the intersection of Major Mackenzie and Islington, which is in Vaughan I think? I don?t know when they play but I think it?s on Sunday afternoon but someone else might be able to help you with the time and day.
Once you meet a few Dominicans, you?ll be meeting them left, right and centre because they just seem to find each other and once they know who your husband is, they?ll be calling all the time.
Not that you mentioned this but as for worrying about your husband meeting the ?wrong type? of Dominicans, I would not worry. In my opinion and with my experience with my husband, they are either like that or they are not. Meeting a few guys from back home to pass the time is not going to turn them into a ?cheating, go out every night? kind of guy unless they are already like that. It?s better to not try and control them and tell them not to be going here or there because I have seen it cause problems in so many relationships and like I said, you should already know if your guy is like that. That?s not to say that if he?s doing something to annoy you that you should not mention it but I just see a lot of guys that have stopped carrying a cell phone, etc. because their wives call like every 30 minutes to see where they are and what they are doing. I hope you don?t mind this bit of unsolicited advice but Dominicans are stubborn and macho and they don?t like being told what to do.
That?s all I can think of for now. Good luck and if I think of anything else, I'll add it.
