Whole Foods Market

Rated this place:

87 Avenue Rd., Toronto, ON, M5R3R9

Pesto: Have you had Arugula pesto? Heck.

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

Pages Books & Magazines

Rated this place:

256 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M5V1Z8

Indie bookstore: How can you walk past Pages and not go inside? I want everything. I'll have to settle for some things. On frequent occasions.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• indie bookstore

Castros Lounge

Rated this place:

2116 Queen St E #E, Toronto, ON, M4E1E2

Beer selection: Much beers from exotic locales. I prefer it to the bier markt for ambiance. They once had one (Xingu) that came in a tall black bottle. It was from Brazil, and had its way with my friend.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• beer selection

Don Valley Park

Rated this place:

Toronto, M4G3A1

Jogging: If you head from the Riverdale park footbridge, down the steps to the Don, and head north towards Pottery Road, it's amazing how you lose the city (and, the DVP). I saw a muskrat swimming.

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

SOMA Chocolatemaker

Rated this place:

55 Mill St. (Building #47), Toronto, Ontario, M5A3C4

Chocolate shop: There are moments in life when everything just stops. That's what happens when I sip Soma's Aztec hot chocolate. It's makes things stop. And stopping is good from time to time, methinks.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• chocolate shop

The Monkey's Paw

Rated this place:

1229 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON, M6J1V9

Indie bookstore: I have a full set of the weirdest 19th century Scottish lithographs from this place. They feature giants, and demons, and weeping lassies. It is a cabinet of curiosities. And worth exploring.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• indie bookstore

Jet Fuel Coffee Shop Inc

Rated this place:

519 Parliament St, Toronto, ON, M4X1P3

Coffee shop: Tom Waits over the loud speaker, bike courier mecca, killer lattes at $3 a pop, local art on the walls. This is just the best little coffee shop I know. And rumour has it that on each anniversary, they buy as many kegs as they are years old. One year I'll swing an invite.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• coffee shop

Sneaky Dee's

Rated this place:

431 College St, Toronto, ON, M5T1T1

Post-drinking breaky: The burro favorito will set you straight the morning after. Or it may send you elsewhere. But it's mad yummy - and more burrito for your dollar!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Post-Drinking Breaky

Soundscapes

Rated this place:

572 College St, Toronto, ON, M6G1B3

Indie music store: This one time I walked in at 11 (I think) a little tipsy (I know) and had a jolly discussion with the man at the register about the Say Hi To Your Mom disk I was buying. I bought more. Methinks that music purchasing whilst under the influence is a jaunty night out.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Indie Music Store

Cumbrae's

Rated this place:

481 Church Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y2C6

Butcher shop: This is how meat should be. Local, organic, thick and unapologetic. I recommend their veal chops, marinated for 5 hours in sage and garlic (more rare than medium).

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Butcher shop

Embassy

Rated this place:

223 Augusta Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T2L4

Bars: They have craft beers on tap (blanche de chambly, yes), and oddly smushy couch/chairs. Also, wonderful people watching and uncommonly great music. Adverbs!

Riverdale Farm

Rated this place:

201 Winchester St., Toronto, ON, M4 X1B8

Urban space: It's hardly an urban space at all. Years ago, it was the Toronto Zoo. That large stone structure in the cow pen was the monkey house. Now it's a farm - and you can purchase farm fresh eggs from the chickens you chase along the paths.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• urban space

The Roxton

Rated this place:

379 Harbord St., Toronto, ON, M6G 1H8

Lounge: They have 50 on tap, and the ambiance is cozy. This is a picture of Al Green. Not the Roxton. But they played his stuff one night while I ate their ribs, and the combination was delightful, so it's picture association.

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

Trevor Kitchen & Bar

Rated this place:

38 Wellington Street East, Toronto, ON, M5E 1C7

Fusion tapas: Mini kobe hamburgers and tempura shrimp in the same meal makes for a happy me.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• fusion tapas

Jerusalem Restaurant

Rated this place:

955 Eglinton Ave W, York, ON, M6C2C4

Restaurant middle eastern: Best fried eggplant, hummous and falafel in the city. Case closed.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• restaurant middle eastern

George Brown College of Applied Arts & Technology

Rated this place:

200 King Street East, Toronto, ON, M5T2T9

Adult education classes: Who knew there was still so much to learn about? I took their drawing classes. Eventually I will take everything else - including leg waxing and christmas yule log baking courses (yes, they are both actual courses)

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Adult Education Classes

Toronto Necropolis

Rated this place:

200 Winchester St, Toronto, ON, M4X1B7

Cemetary: Call me morbid, but I love the silent, gothic charm of this place. It was established in 1850 - and is the final resting place of Toronto notables like William Lyon Mackenzie and George Brown - not to mention a few great ghost stories.

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

St. Lawrence Market

Rated this place:

92 Front St E, Toronto, ON, M5E1C4

Farmer's market, Sandwich: There's a huge mural that says simply 'Sandwiches!' in the basement. Why the exclamation point? Because these are sandwiches of monolithic proportions. Veal, eggplant, cheese. More of each than you can reasonably hope for. It's messy, it's amazing. You simply can't have a better veal sandwich.

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

Yellow Griffin Pub

Rated this place:

2202 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON, M6S1N4

Hamburger: They have 35 of them, some with peanut butter. It's on the opposite side of the city, but I'm happy to do the pilgrimmage.

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

Centre Street Deli

Rated this place:

1136 Centre St, Thornhill, ON, L4J3M8

Deli: Like, the definitive greek salad and some of the best honest-to-Bubi deli fare around. You just have to get there first ;)

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

Fiorio Hair Design

Rated this place:

24 St Clair W, Toronto, ON, M4V1L4

Haircut: They're nice, they give you tea, they haven't made me look like a) a chess piece or b) a mulleteer yet. Which is more than I can say for so many other places.

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

Terroni

Rated this place:

720 Queen St. W., Toronto, ON, M6J1E8

Lunch: Their pizzas are authentic - but I'm always partial to the funghi assolutti - a parmesean crusted mushroom salad served over arugula. The Queen location has a lovely patio, for summer dreamings about Italian coastlines.

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

Cabaret Vintage Clothing

Rated this place:

672 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M6J1E5

Vintage clothing store: If not just for the clothing (which is amazing), then certainly for the dapper, soft-spoken and thoroughly mesmerizing gentleman that works there. I could have added a photo of his stunning shop. Instead, I opt for a photo of him and Andre 3000.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Vintage Clothing Store

Chapter 11

Rated this place:

557 Parliament St, Toronto, ON

Local pub: Nice patio for summer, roaring fire and boardgames for winter. This is rapidly becoming my favourite local. Oh - and brie poutine :)

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Local Pub

Type Books

Rated this place:

883 Queen St. West, Toronto, ON, M6J 1G5

Indie bookstore: It's kind of a wonderland. I'm hooked on the independent bookstores of the city, and this one makes me unbendy.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• indie bookstore