But, yeah, can i give my own definition?

Lethal Generosity: Acts of kindness that pushes people (unconsciously or consciously) to being ver dependent on charity.

That said, my comment to Mark is that Viva Loca, if it is the same Viva Loca that I’m thinking of, does both in house and name brand foods…like the Bagel Shop. I agree though, that if their kitchen wasn’t ready they shouldn’t have participated (and thus, we passed them by).

Yes, there was a lot invested in the event by the individual restaurants. And I know the BIA is doing their best to tally up all the outputs and inputs they can measure. But to be honest, there isn’t a really clear picture of the “return on investment”.

And I’d argue that “return” in a bean-counting sense isn’t really the point. The revolutionary thing about lethal generosity is that it gives first and if that giving is done wisely, and is valued by the community, the giver will receive benefits later – both beans and bein’s (the stuff that makes human bein’s happy). Sounds mystical and fuzzy, but I think it just makes sense.

Good news and bad news. Bad news: much sparser attendance than in the West, but also many fewer participating establishments and bigger distances between them.

Good news: it was much better than last year and the merchants I talked to seemed happy. Vina Del Mar ran out of food, and was whipping up special orders when I got there. Khatoon got a large inflatable “wavy man” from the BIA, and eventually turned it off because they were getting overwhelmed. Helen at Melrose was also doing fairly well, and the band outside the Elmdale drew a modest crowd.

But it’s a critical mass / participation issue. It would be great to fill in the gaps with some of the food places that would be bigger “draws”: Hinos, Indian Express, Cyclogic, Spring Roll House, etc. But it’s also voluntary. Any thoughts?

I guess it’s just one more example of the power of delivering a superior customer experience.

In looking at the pictures, it looks like the businesses (restaurants) sure invested significant effort & capital. It would be interesting to hear what type of ROI they achieved.

cheers, Andrew

Two things: 1) I heard from the volunteer at Absinthe that she was told they were running out when she started passing the info to the line, but then they managed to get more burgs out. She felt awful about it. 2)Interesting feedback on Viva Loca. They originally weren’t on the roster since they’re not opening till this weekend coming, so I’ll bet they didn’t have their kitchen set up.

But I guess Lethal Generosity is a two-edged sword when you get “out-given”.

Parma Ravioli was the big hit for us. I can’t remember what they were serving, but it was extremely tasty. Pasta, of course.

Our second favourite was Thyme & Again (a semi-regular haunt) which served two type of homemade marshmallows — coconut and pineapple — and some delicious meatballs.

Siam Bistro was a close third with finger potatoes in a delicious sauce that had coriander in it. I love coriander.

Honourable mention goes to Nectar, which we had never been to before. They served delicious scones and Moroccan Mint Tea. We tried to get a table in Nectar after the event only to discover the place was full. Good on them!

Sadly, by the time we got to Absynthe, we were told by some lady in line that she was the cutoff for available food. As it turns out, they were still serving and hosting a long line (well past where that woman would have been) at least 30 minutes later. Their burgers sure looked amazing!

To me, the biggest disappointment was some place called Viva Loca which had set itself up in front of the GCTC. I figure they’re the restaurant in the theatre. They lose huge points on the Lethal Generosity front. They handed out store bought crackers and pieces of bread and had some jarred dips to put on them. They handed out a Viva Loca coupon printed on photocopied Canadian $1 bills.