Zig Zag Collectables

Rated this place:

1142 Queen St E, Toronto, ON, M4M1L1

Midcentury modern teak: If you love that mid-century modern teak look then Zig Zag is definitely a treat. With a wide variety of refurbished teak furnishings you would think it would come at a hefty price, but it is quite reasonable here. Amidst so many other vintage shops, you'd imagine they'd all be charging the same. Not so! Check up on them reguarly for any "new" vintage furniture.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• midcentury modern teak

Pain Perdu

Rated this place:

736 St Clair W, Toronto, ON, M6C1B3

Baguette: I could feast on the baguette for days on end at my favourite french bistro but since I can't get them for snacking on at home, Pain Perdu does a fantastic version. Great crunchy crust with a nice airy and chewy inside that has a touch of sweet and salty with a little butter in the mix. I nearly eat half of it on the way home.

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

Kumai Sushi Restaurant

Rated this place:

35 Brunel Rd, Mississauga, ON, L4Z3E8

Gta sushi: Sometimes the best things are the ones you hear of by word of mouth. It's not listed on the menu but the omakase at Kumai is a delight. Only a 2 course meal at most, the sushi-only omakase offers fresh fish and great bang for buck. Blue fin tuna is the special of the day at $15.50 for two pieces, landing in our surprise mix it made up most of the $36 cost. Throw in some beautiful salmon roe, delicious portugese sardine, lucious kanpachi, giant clam, fresh uni and other premium items, amazing.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• gta sushi

Julie's Cuban Restaurant

Rated this place:

202 Dovercourt Rd, Toronto, ON, M6J 3C8

Date restaurant, Guacamole: With a relatively inexpensive menu but only half of the Cuban items are worthy of a memory, the setting is surely what will convince you that this is a perfect date restaurant. Just off of the trendy and bustling West Queen West area, Julie's is tucked into a quiet neighbourhood and sparkles out at passersby with strands of lights on the patio. Cozy, eclectic and festive, the service staff are accomodating without any pretension. Love everything plantain or in ball form. Seafood is not quite par

I can't explain why or how but it was the best guacamole I've ever had. The richness, saltiness, freshness of the non-liquidy mix was gobbled up so quickly by our table. It's amazing and sometimes all I want to eat from Julie's.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• guacamole
• date restaurant

Manic Coffee

Rated this place:

426 College St, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1T3

Coffee: They do a fine set of espresso drinks with pretty latte art but the Clover is where it's at. Certainly the best cup of coffee in the city, it's far from watery and has a rich depth of flavours that reveal itself slowly in varying tones as you sip to the bottom. No need for sugar here, the staff are sweet enough to keep you coming back.

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

The Devil's Workshop

Rated this place:

955 Queen St West, Unit 112, Toronto, ON, M6J 3X5

Silversmith: Beautiful and unique custom jewelry can be difficult to come by, but The Devil's Workshop offers lovely pieces in a variety of styles with a great range of prices that ensures you can walk away with something you love. Also offering classes with a lot of personal attention by owner/silversmith Sarah Wan, you can even learn how to make your own designs. The Wedding Band Workshop is one of the most amazing opportunities to share an experience with a loved one. Top notch.

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

Tacos El Asador

Rated this place:

690 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON, M6G1L2

Crispy taco: It may be El Salvadorian, but they do some great Mexican favourites. Love the crispy tacos especially with chorizo. Frying up the corn tortilla makes it so much more amazing than the soft versions and it's stuffed perfectly with all the right things. It can seem a bit expensive at $2.50 for a couple bites, but totally worth it.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Crispy Taco

Batifole

Rated this place:

744 Gerrard St. E., Toronto, ON, M4M 1Y3

French bistro: Tightly placed tables and seats looking onto all others doesn't make it a romantic bistro but the food is down to earth and delicious. Tripe stews, escargots in a fantastically beautifully rich sauce are amazing for the winters. Some classics aren't the best renditions but give me a blue steak with some smooth marrow smoothed overtop and I'm a happy girl. Oh, don't forget their meaty frites to have in their quirky charming locale.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• french bistro

Forestview Chinese Restaurant Ltd

Rated this place:

466-468 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON, M5T1G9

Dim sum downtown: Maybe it's just the nostalgia of the hub bub and carts but this place is exactly what dimsum should be. Weekday happy hours are hard to hit but I'll make the effort to get lovely crisp shrimp in thin wrappers for $2 a dish. They serve all my favourite things (tofu wrapped pork and mushroom, octopus tentacles, beef balls, shrimp and veg fried dumplings, and awesome rice pots) with great atmosphere.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• dim sum downtown

McAdam Place

Rated this place:

5659 McAdam Road, Mississauga, ON, L4Z1N9

Serbian restaurant: It might be tucked into a winding set of streets with one-storey warehouse stores, but the Serbian food is wonderful. Stewed white beans in a flavourful tomato sauce are reminiscent of some of the best cassoulets. Plates with varying meats that easily feed 6 are only $25 a piece. Pickled peppers are amazing with the spongy bread and cheese spread that's a cross between sour cream and butter. You'll also feel like you're constantly surrounded by celebrating family.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Serbian Restaurant

Mother's Dumplings

Rated this place:

79 Huron Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 2A8

Da lu noodles: Down a flight of stairs into an eclectic little shop, it's decorated like my grandmothers friends home and smells like heaven. A heaping pile of tender noodles entwined with strands of cabbage, wood ear mushrooms and tender morsels of ground pork easily feed two people. It defines comfort in every way.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• da lu noodles

Patisserie Saint Honore

Rated this place:

2945 Bloor St West, Toronto, ON, M8X 1B3

Frozen croissant: He might be a madman but the owner and baker at Saint Honore is also a genius. Who knew that frozen croissants could be ethereally buttery and flakey, so far from the usual Pilsbury. With no phone number and a two day order period, it's absolutely worth the extra effort to have some of these babies in your freezer. Be aware of his upselling and curt humour.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• frozen croissant

R-shop

Rated this place:

433 King St. W, Toronto, ON, M5V 1K4

Furniture store and cafe: The people are always so nice. You may pass by it and notice the window side counter, but you'd be surprised that some reasonably priced furniture actually lurks behind the modern comfort Japanese food. The cafe is only open during the week but will be extending its hours to Saturdays soon. Love the deal on my couch and love the chicken katsu don. A match made in comfort heaven.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• furniture store and cafe

Torito

Rated this place:

276 Augusta Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M5T2L9

Tapas: Sometimes the service can be missing in action but the consistently fantastic food makes up for it. Always have to get the Andalusian chickpeas with spinach, smoked trout salad with an awesome avocado spread, steak with fried egg and chocolate flan. Ceviche should rock here but I'd take a pass for the many other tastier items. The setting is also top notch for casual dinner and drinks for this grazing style meal, just festive enough without being garish.

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

Terroni

Rated this place:

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

Thin crust pizza: Thin crust isn't thin crust unless it's cracker thin! Terroni makes it uber tight but that's what makes it so good. Flavourful in not only it's array of toppings, the dough is fantastic! Addicted to the pastas as well.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• thin crust pizza

Caribbean Queen Of Patties

Rated this place:

1279 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M6H 1N7

Jamaican beef patty: The blunt nature and fiesty attitude of the queen of patties makes picking up a few treats quite an experience, especially when she's run out of her fantastic spicy pouches. A great crispy pastry encases a fantastic blend of savoury spices mixed into moist ground beef. Lovely straight out of the ovens in her massive kitchen or heated up the next day in a toaster, it is definitely the best in the city. Rotis are a bit unique, but absolutely love the chickpea mix that certainly isn't just filler.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• jamaican beef patty

Leslieville

Rated this place:

Toronto, ON

Vintage furniture neighbourhood: Tonnes of furniture shops line Queen Street East and they vary from custom spalted maple tables to modern danish teak daybeds from the 50's. Maybe you can find this all on Queen West, but it'll be a couple hundred cheaper down on this end of the street.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• vintage furniture neighbourhood

Patisserie La Cigogne

Rated this place:

1626 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4G 3B7

Butter croissant: Everything else in the city just doesn't compare, and that's 17 bakeries later. Crisp, flakey exterior with a soft buttery inside that's all sweet, salt and richness. Fantastic Alsatian baker and nearly impossible to not eat their croque madame when dropping in.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Butter Croissant

Pho Phuong Fine Vietnamese Cuisine

Rated this place:

1603 Dundas St. West, Toronto, ON, M6K1T9

Bahn xeo, Vietnamese restaurant: Bahn xeo or the crispy pancake is so full of coconut and rich flavour that it's amazing. Compared to the soggy eggy versions around town that are more like omlettes, this stuffed pancake is wonderfully crispy and comes with some very fragrant herbs to give it that nice little kick.

Ignore the cheaply done but stylish settings of this restaurant and take a look at their fantastic menu of dishes that you may never see outside of a Vietnamese home. Hitting on all the right sour, sweet, savoury and spicy notes in each of their sauces, it's amazing. Particular favourites include the crispy fried pancake, rice cake three ways, house broken rice and their fantastic duck noodle soup with bamboo shoots - just don't be afraid of the pig's blood cubes. Much better than Rua Vang!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• bahn xeo
• Vietnamese restaurant

Roti Lady

Rated this place:

269 Dunn Ave., Toronto, ON, M6K 2S1

Goat roti: The tender stewed goat falls of the bone in her goat roti to expose the perfectly pink exterior. Gamey flavour is complimented by the sweet spicy curry in a none too subtle way. Stuffed with meat, it is without too many bones or soft potatoes and wrapped in a lovely chewy roti wrapper filled with just enough dahl in the layers. Could do with a touch more cooking for the roti itself, sometimes a bit raw.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• goat roti