Culture on a Budget

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10 places recommended by Ashleigh

Expert Deal Seekers

Created on Mar 11 2009

The best things in life aren't free, but they don't have to break the bank either. There are lots of opportunities for little luxuries in Toronto if you know where to look.

10 Spot

749 Queen St. W, Toronto, ON, M4M1H3

Rated this place:

posted May 10 2007

Manicure/pedicure: While it's nice to get a free coffee at most nail spots, a free martini is always better.

Art of Time Ensemble

231 Queens Quay West, Toronto, ON, M5J2G8

Rated this place:

posted May 24 2007

Music series: The shows feature creative collaborations between pop and classical artists. A highlight this year involved a performance of a Classical Schubert piece followed by original songs by Sarah Slean, Martin Tielli, John Southworth, Danny Michel, and Andy Maize that were inspired by the Schubert piece.

Canadian Opera Co

227 Front St E, Toronto, ON, M5A1E8

Rated this place:

posted Jan 4 2008

Deal on tickets: Twice a year they run a special seat sale for those under 30. Expensive opera tickets for $20 each. They put you right at the back, but there isn't a bad seat in the new opera house. The date for spring ticket sales is January 21st - and while the deal is for under 30's - your guest can be over 30. This season they're doing The Barber of Seville, which is a great opera to see if you've never been.

Wychwood Branch Public Library

1431 Bathurst St., Toronto, ON, M5R3J2

Rated this place:

posted Jan 4 2008

Public library branch: I'm a huge bibliophile and, as much as I love to buy books, I can't always afford as many as I'd like to read. This branch is not only close to my house, but a heritage site with beautiful architecture

Art Gallery of Ontario

317 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON, M5T1G4

Rated this place:

posted Dec 7 2008

Cheap date: Wednesday nights after 6 pm is free! The renovation is stunning - which is nice after the disappointing ROM opening.

QueenSpecific

787 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M4M1H6

Rated this place:

posted Mar 4 2009

Unexpected Art Gallery: After reading in the Globe & Mail about an art exhibit going on in Queen West, I made an effort to locate the little window gallery they discussed.

Attached to - and sponsored by - Dufflet Pastries, I must have walked past their window displays a million times without noticing it. But now, after enjoying a little cultural break to my shopping trip, I'll never walk past it again without checking it out.

Moroco Chocolat

99 Yorkville Ave., Toronto, ON, M5R 3K3

Rated this place:

posted Mar 4 2009

Delicate Desserts: I am completely macaron obsessed. In Paris I lived blocks away from the best macarons on the planet and I couldn't seem to walk past without trying a different flavour.

Here in Toronto, few places even know what one is, nevermind perfect it. And everytime I've finally found a place in Toronto that carries them, they only do one flavour and you have to order them in advance. Moroco carries several flavours that are made fresh daily - and keep me satisfied until my next trip to Pierre Herme.

The Drake Hotel

1150 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M6J 1J3

Rated this place:

posted Jun 19 2008

Queen West Cool: The decor of this updated hotel is amazing. I love the damask/rorschach inkblot pattern on the walls of the lounge.

The patio is amazing year round. They've winterproofed it, but it's definitely more spectacular in the summer. There is lots of comfy seating in their skylounge and the bar is big enough that you don't have to fight your way to the front to get served.

The spicy tuna sushi is one of the best maki rolls I've had in my life. The quality of the fish was amazing! Few people know that on Mondays (and weekdays between 5-7) they offer some steep discounts on food and drink

Hank’s Café

9-1/2 Church Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5E1M2

Rated this place:

posted Mar 10 2009

I want to go to there: As a devotee of Manic Coffee, I was disappointed to hear that Jamie Kennedy had scooped up their award winning barista, Sam. That was before I got a new job steps away from his new cafe, Hank's.

Hank's is a fantastic little cafe dedicated to serving simple - but delicious - breakfast and lunch items. Nothing on the menu is over $7.50, but still manages to follow Kennedy's principles of using locally sourced, fresh, quality ingredients.

There isn't a wide variety of meals, but every item is perfected. And, of course, they have amazing intelligentsia coffee.

The Monkey's Paw

1229 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON, M6J1V9

Rated this place:

posted Oct 16 2007

Wonderfully Creepy: Stephen Fowler has amazing taste and a great shop. He takes the time to write his own little blurbs in many of the books. Ask about the mailing list - if you tell him what subjects you're interested in, he'll e-mail you when he gets in something he thinks you'd like.

After my first visit, it already became my favorite bookstore. There is no book (or "curiosity") in the store that I wouldn't want for myself. Amazingly eccentric collection. Excellent browsing venue.

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