Cultural Mix Helps Hillcrest Fortunes

Born in Baghdad, Razzak has invested more than most in Hillcrest Village. He's owned businesses here since 1989. Today, he straddles the street with Atlas One, an Egyptian-Moroccan restaurant, and Pi Zan Caffe, which specializes in Italian food. "The area has taken a big change," he crows. "It's becoming more multicultural." Not unlike the rest of the city — but few neighbourhoods have so much jumbled so closely together, from sushi bars to Vietnamese restaurants to a pair of French bakeries. Factor in a burgeoning Hispanic population and Toronto shows its truest colours in Hillcrest Village. To illustrate, Razzak steps across the street a few minutes later for a cup of organic, fair-trade coffee from Ellington's Café, where a handful of visitors lounge on the front patio as an outdoor sound system proclaims the owner's reggae roots. Roots are rising to the forefront this weekend, as Hillcrest hosts its first Salsa on St. Clair street festival, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. today, and tomorrow from noon to 11 p.m. While the event celebrates the neighbourhood's Latin culture with live entertainment, exhibitions and food, it also draws attention to the multicultural medley that has appeared here in recent years. After years as a handmaiden to the city's more celebrated sites — like Forest Hill to the east and Corso Italia to the west — Hillcrest Village is coming of age. Full article: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1121377813136&call_page=TS_GTA&call_pageid=968350130169&call_pagepath=GTA/News&pubid=968163964505&StarSource=email&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes

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