Toronto Uncovered

Archive for the ‘Neighbourhoods’ Category

I don’t make it out to the Distillery District as much as I’d like to. I know there are tons of cool shops, restaurants and galleries to explore, but being a  West end girl I usually only travel to the East side for a reason. A couple months I went to support the relaunch of Hoi Bo, a clothing boutique my friend works at. The show was great, and the clothes totally gorgeous. I even made away with a super cool hand painted gold t-shirt. But the best part of the night was the discovery, trial, and error of this “ride”.  If you have ever wondered what it would be like to ride a real life conveyor belt, wonder no longer! Unfortunately for the rider (my fearless boyfriend), the security guard wasn’t nearly as inspired or impressed as the rest of us. Luckily we got a video of it – pretty hilarious.

I recently relocated (again) to a place all my own on Euclid Avenue. It’s not my first time calling Euclid home. I lived on this street with 3 other girls (and one bathroom) during my second year of university.  For that reason, it will always hold a special place in my heart. I moved in about 1 month ago and have been enjoying reliving all of my old neighbourhood favourites.

First of all, ‘YAY’ for living close to markets again! The Manning and Palmerston markets are incredible.   One of the first things I did when I moved back was hit up the Manning market (at the corner of Manning and Bloor). I remembered shopping here as a student because the produce is cheap cheap cheap and good good good. You’re not forced to pay an arm and a leg for tiny avocados or bruised apples. I usually leave with 1 or 2 bags full of fresh fruits and vegetables for under $20.00. Amazing! The Palmerston market (Palmerston and Bloor) is equally as good and, unlike the Manning market, also accepts debit

Honest Eds: I have to admit, Honest Eds has always freaked me out a bit. Mostly because once you go in, it is SO hard to find your way out.  I have made it my mission to one day master full navigation  of Honest Eds without getting lost or turned around.  It’s no easy feat. You can find everything your heart desires inside its 4, not wait, 8, nope, 12 walls? Food? Check. Electronics? Check. Crock Pots (which I recently purchased)? Check. Hardware? Check. Cleaning supplies? Check. Dishes? Check. You get the point – they have everything. If you’re brave enough to wander through the turn-style entry ways, its usually worth your while.

P.A.T Central.: The P.A.T. is an Asian grocery store on the South West corner of Manning and Bloor. They have pretty much everything a Metro or Sobey’s would have for a fraction of the price. Don’t be deterred by its proximity to The Metro (Adult Only) Theatre. The P.A.T. is an awesome place to grab staple groceries. I always end up picking up a few items that Ive never tried -  ready-made dim sum, dumplings or beef buns regularly find their way into my cart.

Pho Rex: It’s practically winter. It’s getting cold. It’s absolutely time for some nice warm Pho. Pho Rex is amazing. It is right at the top of Euclid and Bloor (North Side). The weight staff is super friendly, so much so that I actually thought I might have known our server the first time I ate there and the food is delicious. I am hooked on their rare beef Pho but have also tried their spicy calamari appetizers and beef papaya salad. The beef is always high quality, more so than other Pho places. Best of all, you can walk away full, warm and fuzzy inside for under 10 bucks. You can actually walk away pretty satisfied for under 5 if you’re only going in for Pho. The small is only $3.95.

Victory Cafe: The VC is great for any time of day or occasion of heart. Brunch, lunch, drinks or late night snacks. The service could use some work, but it’s close, inexpensive and almost always busy.

Walnut Cakes: There is a Korean walnut cake store a few doors East of the Manning market. If you’ve never tried a walnut cake you’re missing out. They are a delicious Korean desert shaped like walnuts stuffed with bean paste. It sounds weird, but they’re really really good. Plus, they’re only a few bucks for a bag full. If you don’t like them, let me know. Ill gladly take them off your hands.

Snakes and Lattes: I cant wait to spend every cold, blistering Sunday afternoon sipping on lattes and playing board games with friends. Snakes and Lattes opened recently and is PACKED every time I walk by. It is such a great idea and has an insane amount of board games. Id love to know how long it took them to amass the hundreds of games on their shelves.

Do you live close to Bloor and Bathurst? Where is your favourite spot? Any tips for someone who recently moved back to the Annex?

Feeling proud? Well, maybe that’s because it’s Pride Week here in Toronto! That’s right folks, from June 25^th to July 4^th Toronto pays homage to the rainbow flag. Lots of fun stuff is lined up for this weekend including a street fair with vendors and artisans along Church Street on Saturday and Sunday and of course, don’t forget the 30^th Annual Pride Parade starting at Bloor and Church on Sunday at 2pm. Check out the Toronto Pride website for more details and a handy map of the stages set up as well as the parade’s route.

These festivities can get a little wild so if that’s not your thing organizers have set up a drug and alcohol Free Zone at Paul Kane Parkette (off of Wellesley Street East between Yonge Street and Church Street) for those of you looking to express your pride inconspicuously. The Free Zone will feature a DJ and a stage with live performances, holistic services, green lawn and confidential recovery meetings. A family zone has also been set up as part of Family Pride on the grounds of the Church Street Junior Public School (southeast corner of Church Street and Alexander Street) offering inclusive, family-friendly activities and events.

Have a fun and safe weekend everybody!

Long time no contribution. I must admit, I’ve been slacking off a little but here’s why – it’s summer! Patio season is here folks so slather on the SPF and get your mmm on outside like I did the other day.  Java House, located at 537 Queen Street West on the southwest corner of Queen and Augusta, is without a doubt a hipster hot-spot. Personally, I’m not all that hip but I still appreciate quality food that doesn’t break the bank.

Their eclectic menu features lighter pub fare and a variety of Thai entrees in the $5, that’s right $5 price range, not to mention daily specials, all day breakfast, and a good selection of coffee, teas and cheap pitchers.

Upon first impression, Java House looks like a dive bar and a coffee shop had a one night stand, but that’s precisely the restaurant’s charm. Though be warned, the bathrooms are of the, to quote my friend Angela “flush with your foot” variety.

On busy days, inside can be a little cramped with a line-up for the large patio. Luckily for my friend and I we arrived at Java House before yesterday’s dinner rush. We were promptly seated outside at a wobbly table but brushed it off as that small price we were willing to pay for sunshine.

Service at Java House is whimsical. If you go in expecting to be treated like royalty chances are your expectations will not be met. I’ve returned to Java House many times and I’ve had adequate service and terrible service but never the type of service to sing praises about, but then again I’m not picky. What keeps me coming back to Java House is the great prices, yummy food and, as I fancy myself a people watcher, the quirky clientele. Still, I don’t want to speak ill of the servers at Java House. It’s not that the servers are rude to their customers, rather in most cases they are in general a bit green and sometimes forgetful. Our server yesterday spilled our water (though the wobbly table was partly to blame) and of another server my friend requested an ashtray, which never came. Neither of those things particularly irked either of us,  as said before we weren’t all that concerned about the quality of the service. We were just hungry.

We both ordered the stir-fry and vegetables. Angela had the tofu option while I went with the chicken. Portion size was large enough that Angela didn’t finish her rice where as I stopped short of licking the plate when I was finished. We also shared a pitcher of Amsterdam Blonde between us. In the end, the sum total for everything was around $28 and we left Java House happy enough with our experience yesterday that I’m sure we’ll both continue to gravitate there this summer and many summers thereafter.

In recent years, the faux-vintage indie scene appears to have taken our city by storm.  I cite the replacement of many funky Queen Street shops, specifically between Spadina and University, with chain stores like H&M and Urban Outfitters as my evidence. Don’t get me wrong, I like both those stores but I miss the authentic vintage ambiance of “Old Queen”. Yard sales and flea markets are rare in urban cities, which is a shame because in a world where we’ve become so tech and trend obsessed sometimes a little nostalgic taste of the past can be good for the soul.

Fortunately, St. Lawrence Market is our metropolis’s retro oasis and its located right downtown at Front and Jarvis. It’s all too easy to get swept up in the hustle and bustle of contemporary city life and take for granted many of life’s simple pleasures. Get back down to earth by visiting St. Lawrence as soon as you can and might I specifically suggest you do so on the weekend. After an eventful Friday and Saturday a friend and I spent our lazy Sunday browsing the St. Lawrence indoor and outdoor flea market (Sunday Antique Market).  We came upon many marvels such as antique furniture, funky glassware, rare vinyl, retro albeit fully functional turntables, vintage clothes, watches and jewelry and so much more.


Personally, I was delighted upon the discovery of a box of plush toys that took me right back to my childhood. Finding Care Bears was amazing but I was blown away to stumble upon a My Pet Monster with the cuffs intact. Another great benefit about the flea market is that the vendors are informative without being pushy. They’re also incredibly friendly and funny people to talk to so it’s a great place to go especially if you’re a social butterfly and/or new to the city.

Keep an eye out for celebrity sightings such as Colonel Sanders and Aunt Jemima. Alright, so actually they were just a couple of quirky figurines that we noticed were for sale and as tacky as they were it was still delightfully amusing to discover them amongst the sea of memorabilia.

The flea market will appeal to those of you looking for a bargain or a treasure hunt and, with some vendors selling old stamps and coins, it’s also a collector’s paradise.

As per my previous post, I am now a certified West-ender. I moved to the trendy King West neighbourhood and so far couldn’t be happier. I found out that I was moving on March 5th, and successfully moved into my new digs April 1st. To say that those three weeks weren’t going to be hectic would be like saying the leafs had a chance at making the playoffs – completely naive. Like any situation where you are basically forced to plan and organize a number of different things and people on the fly, I learned a lot about moving in Toronto.

1. Finding a new place: We found our place on good, old, reliable Craig’s List. We also checked popular sites like View It and Toronto Rentals . Online is the obvious place to start your search, but don’t cast aside more traditional listings like the the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail and other Toronto newspapers. I found the listing for my second choice apartment in the Globe and Mail’s print edition, and ended up beating all the View It and Craig’s List hunters.

2. Boxes: As the organizing begins you’ll obviously need boxes and storage containers, not to mention mattress bags, garbage bags and tape. Being in a rush, I didn’t have much time to go to places like Canadian Tire and No Frills looking for good packing boxes. I ended up ordering everything I needed from Boxes On The Move. All of my packing materials were delivered the next day and their customer service was excellent. It was a bit pricey, about $75.00 dollars after delivery, but well worth it when you consider the time and stress saved.

3. Movers: I think I basically got scammed by my moving company (Mo Movers). They ‘conveniently’ neglected to tell me about a bunch of additional ‘labour’ charges on top of the hourly rate; and presented me with the bill for payment just after arriving at my new home, but before they actually unloaded any of my stuff. Rock and hard place, meet Heather. The movers ended up costing 400.00, which was twice as much as expected.

4. Junk Removal: I hope that you don’t need to use this next tip, however, we were not so lucky. Upon arrival at our new home we found that the previous tenants had left a number of gifties behind when they moved out. These ranged from a food, pictures, a bike, a rusted out BBQ and a tire. All in all the junk we cleared out our first weekend ensconced our front patio. We had no choice but to call junk collectors to take it away. Monday morning at 8:45 I called Rid Of It and by 10:00 that same morning my junk had been removed (including all of the dead leaves) for a total cost was about $150.00 (which will be charged back to my landlord).  Service was quick and really friendly – definitely recommended!

I am glad to be settled in for at least a year, but moving season is still ramping up – do you have any tips or advice for Torontonians still planning their move?

Hello boys and girls, hope you’re all safe and sound! I will be sharing some thoughts about Toronto’s fashion and style on a regular basis. I’ll do my best to introduce you to the newest trends, stores, designers and sales.

North York is the heart of the Canadian retail/fashion industry, with many international brands represented by different distributors. This is a great opportunity to come and check out the area and the various fashion showrooms to stock up on what you’ll need for the coming seasons.  I would suggest making use of this Seasonal Wardrobe Checklist to catalog your current wardrobe and help you identify items from your closet that you might be missing. This is just a bare-bones boy version, but you can definitely add to it. Girls – you’ll have to make some changes and work a little harder, but I know you’re used to it.

Some showrooms to make sure you cross off your list include the following:

Triluxe: Men’s suits, shirts, golf ware, denim and more. Tons of great stuff for ladies as well. Brands include JLindeberg, Sand, Pringle of Scotland and more!

C2 Apparel: Cheap Monday, Ksubi/Ksubi Eyewear, Roques Gallery and more!

Agency One : Buddhist Punk, Relgion, House of Gods, Ringspun and lots more.

Triangle Impact : Nolita, Ra-re, Parajupers, Belstaff, Marlboro Classic and more!

All of these showrooms are having sample sales within the next month or so – amazing discounts on high end labels.

I recently decided to sell my East side, Jarvis and Adelaide condo and move West.  I’m definitely excited to re-immerse myself in everything the West side has to offer: more restaurants, more shopping, more culture, more parks and bike lanes, but I will definitely miss certain East-end-only features that  I have come to take for granted.  Below is a farewell tribute to the East end and everything it has to offer.

1. St Lawrence Market: I’ve been coming to the St. Lawrence market on Saturdays ever since I was old enough to walk on my own. My grandparents used to take me every weekend, introducing me to all the shop vendors and teaching me the art of  negotiation.  Toronto’s most famed market has a huge array of meat, cheese, baked goods and the freshest produce around.  If food isn’t your thing (if you people even exist), the St. Lawrence has a huge antiques market on Sundays. I blogged all about this recently, as I love to peruse new and used treasures. St. Lawrence, I will miss you!

2. Peace and quiet: The East end, while being close enough to walk to pretty much anything, is actually pretty quiet. I am rarely woken up at night by late partiers, streetcars, or sirens. The streets are rarely crowded no matter what time or temperature, making walks or bike rides enjoyably peaceful.

3. More for less: Whether you are renting or buying, the East end usually has larger apartments, houses and condos for much less.

4. Parking: There is actually parking readily available on most streets and for most grocery stores. This is something much harder to find in the West.

5. Hot House Sunday Brunch: There are few, if any, brunch spots in Toronto that out-do the Hot House Sunday brunch-capade. Their buffet is reminiscent of the scene in Hook where Pan and the lost boys use their imagination to create a grand feast. There is quite literally every type of food you can possibly imagine. SO GOOD!

6. Proximity to the Beach: I love the beach, and love to play volleyball there every weekend. I’m going to miss having it a 10 minute drive from my house – but wont hesitate to jump on my bike for an extra 20 minutes to get there.

East side, I bid you farewell.. West end here I come!