Our Faves

Northbound Leather Ltd

586 Yonge St, Toronto, ON, M4Y1Z3

Rated this place:

posted Feb 5 2009

Leather it up ...: Fetishists everywhere can find comfort that their bondage clothing can also be worn with their everyday wear. Northbound Leather mostly caters to the leather-loving and S&M crowd but it also offers fashion-forward fashionistas with custom-made fine leather goods from jackets, shirts, pants and skirts, as well as for the more "adventurous" with corsets, underwear and lingerie. One also doesn't have to shop online if privacy and discreetness is what you're after - use the St. Nicholas St. entrance during normal business hours. Definitely not recommended for vegans.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Shirts
• Toys
• Jackets
• skirts
• leather
• videos
• bondage

Fire On The East Side

6 Gloucester Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y1L5

Rated this place:

posted Feb 6 2009

Fire on the East Side: Known for its Sunday Brunch, Fire on the East Side serves tantalizing omelettes, fresh salads and complimentary freshly baked banana bread, enough to whet those waiting appetites and to clear weekend hangovers. Its menu flares for southern-style cooking comprised for diverse palettes. One dish I always order when dining in is the Louisiana crab cakes smoked in a jalapeno aioli. Throughout the week, the restaurant is followed by flocks of first-time dates, family gatherings and power lunches from nearby business executives and professionals.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• wine
• salads
• cajun

Buddies In Bad Times Theatre

12 Alexander St, Toronto, ON, M4Y1B4

Rated this place:

posted Feb 17 2009

Buddiesss: An eclectic theatre by day and a pop-twink affair during the weekends, this bastion of gay culture called Buddies – in short – services both a more mature clientele with plays and festivals such as Rhubarb! and Cheap Queers (featuring established and up-and-coming queer and trans playwrights and actors), as well as the younger generation with Saturday nights dedicated with a pop-dance party atmosphere.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Nightclub

Xtra Gallery

491 Church St., Toronto, Ontario, M4Y2C6

Rated this place:

posted Feb 17 2009

Xtra Gallery: Situated in the reception area of Canada’s queer and trans newspaper, Xtra!, its gallery is community-run and exhibits established and up-and-coming queer and trans artists. Experimental and obscure pieces usually dominate the walls, and thematic subject matter and group works are also shown here.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• art
• exhibitions

Straight

553 Church St., Toronto, Ontario, M4Y2E2

Rated this place:

posted Feb 17 2009

Straight: Owned by the same business partners as 7 West, Straight is one of the classier martini lounges in the Village. This three-floor bar-lounge is attended by the queer and trans community’s young, pretty and polished, and the bartenders suitably reflect its clientele. DJ staples like Deko-ze bring a very loyal house-electro crowd year-round.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Lounge
• Drinks
• martinis
• Music
• Club

Blockorama 11

George Hislop Park, between Charles St. E. and Isabella St., east of Yonge, Toronto, ON

Rated this place:

posted Jun 18 2009

Blackness Yes: The small George Hislop Park where Blockorama resides in during Pride cannot even accommodate the few hundred people that mill for extravagant "realness" as voguers (not the Madonna-types) would say with delight. This year is no different from previous years except of course with a more stellar line up of afrobeats and old school love from DJs Carma and Memphis Sugar to the more drag diva divine-ness of Michelle Ross and Mandy Sapphire that only Miss Whitney Houston can only dream of.

Fruit Loopz Pride Youth Stage

12 Alexander St., Toronto, ON, M4Y 1B4

Rated this place:

posted Jun 18 2009

Fruit Loopz: With over 30 acts of different backgrounds and discipline, this by youth for youth event is a playground for grassroots and groundbreaking youth performers aiming to take center stage in the few years to come at the Alexander Parkette on the campgrounds of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. It's youth-oriented, alcohol-free, no cover, wheelchair-accessible, and it even has ASL interpreters, what more can you ask for?

AIDS Candle Light Vigil

519 Church St., Toronto, ON, M4Y 2C9

Rated this place:

posted Jun 18 2009

Remembering the brave: Pay homage to one of the more touching events at Pride: the AIDS Candle Light Vigil celebrates in 25th anniversary to remember and celebrate the lives of strong and brave people who have help shape the HIV/AIDS movement. Light a candle and participate in the vigil as Juno Award winner Billy Newton Davis and activist Shari Margolese co-host the event.