Ontario College Of Art & Design (OCAD)

Rated this place:

100 Mccaul St, Toronto, ON, M5T1W1

Building: It's so damn brash and bizarre!!! (Yes, it's that weird and fun it merits three exclamation marks - this is Toronto after all - a city not known for architecture.) Seems like an ideal setting for a remake of Towering Inferno, however.

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

Toronto Sculpture Garden

Rated this place:

115 King St. E., Toronto, ON, M5C1G6

Place to eat lunch outdoors: This parkette's trees and grass provide the setting for outdoor (& free) sculpture installations which are generally cool. A waterfall provides a nice soundscape. Eat and contemplate art. Aggressive squirrels are the only downside.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• place to eat lunch outdoors

Gryfe's Bagel Bakery

Rated this place:

3421 Bathurst St, North York, ON, M6A2C1

Bagel: Toronto's bagels have a tendency to be more of a bun than a bagel. I'm no lover of Montreal, but there they get bagels. This is the closest in TO to Montreal, and proper style, bagels. Texture is dense but not a teeth puller and right amount of saltiness! Dee-lish!

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

Quesada Mexican Grill

Rated this place:

234 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON, M5V3W1

Burritos: BIg and fast is definitely a plus. But they are made to order and the ingredients are tasty (eg. choice of salsa and beans).

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

Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre

Rated this place:

189 Yonge St., Toronto, ON, M5B1M4

Performing arts theatre: The lobby is suitably grand (same as its downstairs sister the Elgin) but it's the theatre itself that is so cool. A garden motif, hence the name, is beautifully carried out by hanging leafs and pastoral murals. Also, has a neat collection of vaudeville backdrops on display. Close to the subway is a plus.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Performing Arts Theatre

Village of Yorkville Park

Rated this place:

Cumberland and Bellair, Toronto, ON

Local waste of taxpayers' money: This park is infamous for the huge chunk of Canadian Shield (dubbed "The Rock") that was cut and transported to Yorkville at great cost. Though others disagree, I think the cost was worth it. The park reflects the various topographies of Ontario, with distinct areas for marsh, forest, waterfall and, naturally, the Shield had to be present. Great park for sitting (on The Rock, of course) with a coffee and people watching the trendy Yorkville crowd in their all-black uniforms.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• local waste of taxpayers' money

Mustachio Inc

Rated this place:

91 Front St W, Toronto, ON, M5J1E5

Eggplant sandwich: Tomato sauce, fried onions & peppers and breaded eggplant on focacica. Tastes great (though only get it from noon to 1pm, afterwards they let it get cold). It's inexpensive and so huge you have to dislocate your jaw to get it down.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• eggplant sandwich

Village By The Grange

Rated this place:

122 St. Patrick St., Toronto, ON, M5T2X8

Food court: I don't like to spend a lot on lunches hence my affinity for food courts. I also don't like to eat the same fast-food crap every day. The food court of Village By The Grange offers a great selection of multi-ethnic and non-chain foods at reasonable prices. Perfect location for visitors to the AGO or OCAD. It is a bit run down and I did once help stop a fire there when a cheap electrical sign burst into flames and I was the only one who noticed. Don't let that deter you though.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• food court

LCBO

Rated this place:

446 Summerhill Av, Toronto, ON, M4W2E4

Lcbo: Great selection, awesome building. LCBO did the City a favour in saving and restoring this. (Decades of pigeon crap in the clock tower had to be sandblasted out.)

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

Naturally Yours

Rated this place:

1 First Canadian Place, Toronto

Vegetarian lunch: This natural food store and takeout counter offers a handful of different hot lunches and salads every day. Each workday there's different choices (but the same items from week to week). Everything here is tasty, tasty, and generally healthy. This place does things to TVP that I never thought possible!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• vegetarian lunch

Dupont Subway Station

Rated this place:

278 Dupont Street, Toronto, ON, M5R1W1

Subway station: Step back into the 70s here with funky orange tiles, rounded corners and huge, serpentine flower mosaics. The attached entrance parkettes with the flowing orange tile benches are the closest Toronto has to Gaudi. Plus this has a personal connection as this is where I first met my wife.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• subway station

HTO

Rated this place:

339 Queen's Quay West, Toronto, ON, M5V1A2

New park: Toronto's downtown waterfront desperately needs more parks. This park, while fairly small, is well located and well, rather cute. I love the sand beach with the permanent sun umbrellas. The grassy knolls with the trees are a nice backdrop and block out the hustle and bustle of the city behind.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• new park

L Tower

Rated this place:

1 Front Street, Toronto, ON, M5J 2X7

Condo development: The L Tower is part of ambitious plans to revitalize the Hummingbird Centre. The project includes a new Arts & Heritage Awareness Centre (AHA) on the first few floors followed by condos. While I love anything encouraging the Arts, the real interest in this is the building by Daniel Libeskind. The building looks like a giant hooker boot stomping on Yonge Street. How can I not love a giant hooker boot on our main drag?!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• condo development

Toronto Dominion Gallery of Inuit Art

Rated this place:

79 Wellington St. W., Toronto, ON, M5K 1A1

Inuit art collection: This free gallery is great as: 1) it's free! 2) it's downtown so ideal for an easy visit 3) has one of the best collections of Inuit art I have ever seen (I think it is better than the AGO's). Combine a visit to this gallery with viewing (and sitting on, of course) of TD Centre's famous cow sculptures.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Inuit Art Collection

Bier Markt

Rated this place:

58 The Esplanade, Toronto, ON, M5E 1A6

Fish and chips: Greasy is the goal with fish and chips, but it's a delicate balance. With most places, the grease overwhelms, here the fish and frites are crisp, salty and fresh! Yumlicious.

Harvey's Restaurants

Rated this place:

15 Westney Rd N, Ajax, ON

Veggie burger: Okay, it's not an inspired choice, but I truly have not found a better veggie burger. First of all no crappy chunks of carrot, peas & legumes, grilled to perfection and then choice of toppings.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Veggie burger

Mastermind Educational Toys

Rated this place:

14872 Yonge, Aurora, ON, L4G1N2

Toy store: Impressive selection of toys that you won't find elsewhere - all with an educational value. Free gift wrapping and fairly close to Lawrence subway station.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Toy store

Biryani House

Rated this place:

25 Wellesley St East, Toronto, ON, M4Y 2S9

Indian food: Just great Indian food and perfectly seasoned.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Indian Food

Toronto Islands

Rated this place:

Toronto, ON

Park: The ferry ride (let's hope there's never a bridge) transport you distinctly away from the city (and has a great view of it). The amusement park, farm and splash area are great for kids. The lighthouse is beautiful and one of the oldest Toronto structures (also site of a grisly ghost stories). Find a secluded spot on the beech away from the City with trees behind you and the vastness of Lake Ontario in front of you - makes you feel like you are in a completely different, tranquil place.

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