Doctors Tse Linda & Archie Chung

Rated this place:

318 Broadview Ave, Toronto, Ontario, M4M2G9

Great local optometrist: I found Archie Chung via his office in the Eaton Centre, right next to LensCrafters. I now go to the location on Broadview in Chinatown East. Dr Chung introduced me to monthly overnight contacts -- ie, contacts you only have to take out of your eyes once a month to replace. I've never looked back.

Tequila Bookworm

Rated this place:

512 Queen W, Toronto, ON, M5V2B3

Cozy coffee with a laissez-faire vibe: There are about a million places on Queen W that offer coffee and wifi, but Tequila Bookworm is especially cozy, totally relaxed, and I hear they have good soup. (See: other favers.) Bonus: If you're there from 4-6, you get to watch the clientelle flip -- out go the bookish coffee drinkers, and in come the after-work hipster beer drinkers.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• wifi spot

Yung Sing Pastry Shop

Rated this place:

22 Baldwin St, Toronto, ON, M5T1L2

I'm coocoo for coconut buns!: I was introduced to coconut buns here for the first time when I was like, 7. It was a revelation. A strange location for this shop, but they've survived for years baking out the cheapest little treats you can imagine. There's a bench out front, perfect for enjoying your pork buns in the summer, but the real charm comes from the half-sunken basement kitchen, which makes it look like the people who work down there must be tiny.

St. Lawrence Market

Rated this place:

92 Front St E, Toronto, ON, M5E1C4

Ye Olde Torontoe Market: Because (fresh) sliced bread is the biggest thing since Gmail. And because Toronto's equivalent to Montreal smoked meat, back bacon on a bun, doesn't get enough respect. (Also worthy of getting crumbs in your keyboard: Eggplant parmesiana, free samples at Alex Farm's cheese.) Yum.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• wifi spot

Owl of Minerva

Rated this place:

5324 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M2N6M2

Who knew bones were so yummy?: I've only ever had the pork bone soup here, so I can't comment on anything else, except to say that it's hard to get a seat here; make sure you come early. But onto the soup: pork slips off the bone into the (quite) spicy stew in a splash of uber-deliciousness. Don't be afraid to pick up the bones with your fingers and suck all the goodness out of them. Too good for words.

inoodle

Rated this place:

623 Bloor St W, Toronto, Ontario, M6G 1K8

Ramen in Koreatown!: It's almost impossible to find ramen in the city. Good ramen is deeply satiating, meant to be slurped down greedily after a night of drinking. iNoodle does a great job with all the varieties, especially the tonkatsu ramen (which is made with a pork broth); the miso broth is also good. Broth and noodles are both prepared daily.

Toronto Reference Library

Rated this place:

789 Yonge St, Toronto, ON, M4W2G8

Bookish goodness: It's easy to forget, once you leave school, that the reference library exists. But for researching, it can't be beat. The incredibly helpful staff will help you track down past issues of magazines, movies, music, newspaper articles, archive photos, and, of course, books. It's almost better than the internet! Actually, it is better than the internet, they have dozens and dozens of terminals connected to the internet. As an aside: A shout out here to the Toronto Public Library system, which is truly awesome, and allows you to order online almost any book you can think of, and they'll deliver it to your local branch. Seriously, service like that can't be beat.

Lick's Homeburgers & Ice Cream

Rated this place:

3315 Fairview, Burlington, ON, L7N3N9

Best burger in Toronto: There's nothing quite so delicious (and uncomfortably filling) as a Lick's burger and a side of poutine. The secret to the burger is in their soft buns, shredded cheese and special mayo sauce -- not to mention that for reasons that no one truly understands, their veggie burger tastes almost exactly like their beef burger. The poutine is small for the price, and comes with shredded cheddar not curds, but is still surprisingly tasty. Sweet, delicious heart attack.

Cafe 260

Rated this place:

260 Richmond St. E., Toronto, ON, M5V1W5

Cosy little cafe away from the bustle: There isn't much on this stretch of Richmond, but Cafe 260, just west of Sherbourne, is a favourite of George Brown students and people who work in the area. Great sandwiches in a pleasant little space, perfect for whiling away a couple hours on wifi or for an impromptu meeting. The coffee is delish, and the staff is super nice. Bonus: Coffee here is cheaper than at Starbucks.

Hart House

Rated this place:

7 Hart House Circle (University of Toronto), Toronto, ON, M5S3H3

The magical shifting staircases of Hartwarts: Seriously, I went to U of T for four years and hung out in Hart House every day, and I still never found the gym or the shooting ranges. I swear the building switches layouts every time you go. But there's tons to do here -- theatre, band practice, reading, lectures, etc -- and it's old and romantic. Plus, in the summer, there's a patio in the front, great for people watching. Makes me want to go back to graduate school.

Sun Valley Fine Foods

Rated this place:

583 Danforth Avenue, toronto, Ontario

Upscale supermarket in the heart of Greektown: Years ago, Sun Valley used to be a discount fruit market. They renovated and reopened with an emphasis on upmarket European goods: lots of olive oils, vinegars, pre-prepared meats, etc. The short, narrow aisles give it a cute little boutique feel, even though it's a full-sized supermarket; although it can be frustrating to find things at times. For everyday needs, you're probably better off just down the street at IGA.

Stuart + Saladino Catering

Rated this place:

411 Richmond St E, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 3S5

Secret lunch gourmet: I'm guessing that unless you live/work in the area, you'll probably never visit this -- which is why it's the best kept secret in the city. Incredibly delicious full lunches by a catering company for $6.25; every day they have a different variety of truly fantastic and inventive options, usually a main (lemon roasted or jerk chicken, beef and vegetable kebabs, etc), salad (tomato, pasta, spinach, etc) and a side (scalloped potatoes, braised carrots, etc) piled high on your plate. The trick is, you have to find it. Go in the Richmond entrance, walk through the hall until you find the staircase on your right, down to the basement. Turn right again (south) and you'll see a darkened room on your right. There's no sign but that's it: You can tell by the counter displaying the food and the chef behind it. (No joke.) This is probably my favourite find in the city, although I'm pretty sure they're open for lunch only.

Danforth Neighbourhood Dental Centre

Rated this place:

643 Danforth Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M4K 1R2

A strangely soothing dentist office: The world is changing. I never thought I'd see branded dentistry, but there those soothing little brown, orange and blue circles are, all over the website, storefront and walls. Everyone here is exceptionally nice (Me: "I haven't been to the dentist in four years!" Previous dentist: "I'm going to tear your gums to pieces." DNDC dentist: "No problem! It's hard to find the time. I'll be gentle as a bunny's fur!") I laughed out loud when they showed me the happy movie with the silky-voiced announcer who explained that gingivitis is a disease that needed to be treated or huge craters would form between your teeth and they'd all fall out. Seriously, at once terrifying and great fun.

Lower Bay Station -- CLOSED

Rated this place:

1234 Bay St., Toronto, Ontario

Toronto's abandoned TTC station: Okay, so this is kind of a cheat, because you can't actually visit it, except maybe during Doors Open Toronto. But directly below Bay Station is another platform (similar to the multiple platforms at Yonge and St. George stations) which has been mostly abandoned. It's used mostly now for training and to shoot films. It used to be a big Urban Exploration destination, but the TTC installed cameras not too long ago, so trailblazing down the subway tunnels is not recommended.

Detroit Eatery

Rated this place:

389 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON, M4K1P1

Great cheap n' dirty brekkie: The Detroit Eatery is the type of place that still feels like the type of place everyone smokes in, years after the no-smoking law went into effect. There's always a soccer or hockey game on the tube, and the bacon and eggs are cheap and greasy. Hits the spot. Perfect place to settle in with a book.

Pearl Court Restaurant

Rated this place:

633 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON, M4M1Y2

Late-night greasy Chinese: Pearl Court used to be consistently reviewed as one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Its reputation may have dipped a bit, but it's still a great place to stop in for a late-night snack. The spring rolls are especially greasy and scrumptious, but everything on the menu is pretty much worth checking out for your fast Chinese food fix in East Chinatown.

Bay Street Video

Rated this place:

1172 Bay St, Toronto, ON, M5S2B4

Toronto's largest DVD collection...: ...can be intimidating, I suppose. You can lose hours in here just figuring out what you want to rent. But seriously, if it's released, they have it. The staff are all awesome, religious movie buffs who will engage you in Tarantinonian dialogue over the best genre films ever, best films by a director with a Z in their name, etc. Plus, their little writeups are full of F-U-N.

Apple Store

Rated this place:

3401 Dufferin St. (Yorkdale Mall), Toronto, ON, M6A 3A1

The Apple store... is a discount bin?: Sure, you're never going to find a MacBook at the Apple Store for cheaper than you'd find it anywhere else. But for little whiznuts, you can't do better: I was looking for a mini DVI to VGA adapter (essentially, something that would let me plug my MacBook into an old monitor), and had stopped in at Best Buy because it was on my way home. $40. For a cable. Dropped in at the Apple Store and it was half the price. I'm sure this doesn't hold true for everything the store sells (there must be a better deal out there than $20 for a tiny bottle of screen-cleaning fluid), but always check the prices here before you buy somewhere else.

Future Shop at Eglinton and Laird

Rated this place:

845 Eglinton Ave East, East York, ON, M4G 4G9

Great place to demo electronics: I used to hate Future Shop, and part of me still does for their pushy staff, the hard sell on the extended warranty, and 'experts' who seem to know just enough about technology to tell you what you want to hear. Then I made an interesting discovery. Futureshop has a 30-day return policy on their consumer electronics. They will gladly exchange or return pretty much anything, in my experience, even if the package has been opened -- as long as you keep the original packaging, parts and receipt. It's not often that you'll need to take advantage of this but when I started running I was looking for the perfect in-the-ear running headphones, and I had to go through three pairs before I found one that fit. (Kind of gross for the next person, I know, but it saved me a ton of heartache.)

Hassle Free Clinic

Rated this place:

66 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON, M5B 1G3

No nonsense, no taboos: There's nothing worse than asking your doctor a question about your sex life, and having to deal with their shame or taboos. The Hassle Free Clinic, with its straight-ahead attitude and delivery -- is a godsend for those looking for testing or education. Fully covered by OHIP; and if you're not insured under provincial health program, I think I remember reading that they'll still treat you. Ask them for details.

Long & McQuade

Rated this place:

925 Bloor St. W., Toronto, ON, M6H1L5

For music lovers of every shape and size: Long & McQuade's has everything for the amateur or professional musician, including a huge rental section for equipment and instruments, but what I love most about Long & McQuade is that unlike Steve's, it caters to every type of musician. Whether you play guitar, keyboards, brass or strings, you'll find it here. (Need a new mouthpiece for your sax? Try before you buy in the practice rooms upstairs.) They also host semi-regular workshops in all genres.

Pho 88 Vietnamese Restaurant

Rated this place:

270 Spadina Av, Toronto, ON, M5T2E5

Broth to die for: There's nothing quite so delicately and simply refreshing as a big bowl of Pho with a Vietnamese iced coffee, served right: dripped over the ice cubes into the glass and mixed together with condensed milk. The Gerrard street location is the only one I've been to, but it's perfect: simple and to-the-point, with low prices and big bowls.

Grateful Head Collective Salon

Rated this place:

1006 Dundas St. W., Toronto, ON, M6J1W6

Elegant and professional: A hair salon with a hip punk vibe -- the staff wear white tees and tons of tats. I come here for the professional cut and offbeat banter. Plus, it's got the best name ever.

Shoppers Drug Mart

Rated this place:

388 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5V1K2

A medicinal amusement park: Those of us who've grown up in Canada may take Shoppers for granted, but think back to what drug stores used to be like (or just visit the one located next to your doctor's office) and you'll realize how miraculous and warm the chain is. Or bring someone up from the States to visit. My girlfriend, who grew up in Seattle and L.A., thought she had died and gone to heaven. Unlike similar chains (CVS, Walgreens) in the States, Shoppers doesn't feel like a slightly trashy discount store, yet still has great prices. (The one near me used to have weekly specials on frozen pizzas, and they were cheaper than any of the nearby supermarkets.)

Design Exchange

Rated this place:

234 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5K 1B2

Community and conference building: The Design Exchage has the noble goal of promoting Canadian design, nationally and internationally. Great conferences with some of the top talent from around the world, a permanent collection celebrating Canadian industrial design, rotating exhibits, and an "innovator in residence" make this worth checking out.