Catch23 Improv

Rated this place:

945 Bloor St. West (Comedy Bar), Toronto, ON, M6H 1L5

Improv show: From 9 - 11:30pm at Clinton's Tavern on Mondays, some elite names from Toronto's alternative comedy scene come together, along with the bodies represented by those names, and perform the kind of improv that make the viewer understand what Descartes meant when he said, "Holy bananas, that's funny!" UPDATE: Now located at Comedy Bar at Concord and Bloor. So speaks Descartes.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Improv Show

Bike Pirates

Rated this place:

1292 bloor st., Toronto, BC

Bicycle repair & parts shop: Modern society makes it very tough to be a pirate. They've got the oceans and Internets on a lockdown, so pirates have to hide, or live in Switzerland. Well, Switzerland's nice, I'm sure, but here's a little place that openly swashbuckles, by which I mean, provides you a place to fix your bike and pay by donation. I've used their services once and learned a lot about how my bike works.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• bicycle repair & parts shop

Active Surplus Electronics

Rated this place:

347 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M5V2A4

Electronic surplus stores: What's this talk about a shouting guy outside? I've never seen that, but I love this place. I get all kinds of ideas for stuff to build from walking through the aisles. This is where I'm going immediately following the apocalypse. Dibs.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• electronic surplus stores

Terroni

Rated this place:

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

Pesto: Ah, Pesto, my old friend, we meet again. When last we met under such delicious circumstances it was in Rome, and you had the home-field advantage, but now we're on *my* turf! Let's face it, Pesto, we're both winners.

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

Bloor-Borden Farmer's Market

Rated this place:

365 Lippincott Street, Toronto, ON, M5S2P6

Farmer's market: I pass it on my way home from work, which is great, because I really like things that are convenient. I'd never been able to make other farmer's markets a regular part of my routine, but I've found this one very easy to navigate, and quite friendly. Tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and basil - sweet, sweet basil - are my regular buys here. Pretty boring of me, huh? Well, guess what, you're probably boring in some way too, so leave me alone already.

The Big Chill

Rated this place:

367 Manning Avenue, Toronto, ON, M6G 1A1

Ice cream: It's basically next door to my house, they have a few varieties of non-dairy ice-cr... stuff, and just the smell of their fresh-baked waffle cones is divine. Most other ice-cream shops haven't even learned how to be close to my house yet, let alone the other two things. UPDATE: No longer next to my house!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Ice cream

Nataraj

Rated this place:

394 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON, M5S1X4

Indian restaurant: , oh, the flavours they create in their secret flavour-lab rival the best in the business. The naan is fantastic, the aloo gobi, the mattar paneer... Someday I will fuse with their cashew sauce and become pure light.

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

Nazareth Restaurant

Rated this place:

969 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON, M6H1L7

Ethiopian restaurant: It's cheap, and I love eating my food with that flat and round bread thing... that sponge-bread... and it's flat, you know, like a flat sponge, but it's bread. You know? Just try it.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Ethiopian restaurant

Bangkok Paradise Restaurant

Rated this place:

506 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M5V2B3

Pad thai: They make a version of it that doesn't have fish sauce in it (while most places claim to have "vegetarian" phad thais and secretly slip the stuff in without even telling you - I mean, they tell you if you ask, but you might not know to ask.) Oh, it's also delicious in its Tastiness Aptitude Rating (TAR). My TAR reader printed out a measure of 8.2, but I forgot to calibrate it first.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• pad thai

Bo De Duyen Inc -- CLOSED

Rated this place:

254 Spadina Ave #200, Toronto, ON, M5T2C2

Mock meat, Vegetarian gourmet to go: I have to continually double check with the waiter that everything they serve is vegetarian - everything about it is that real, right down to the texture. Man, I gotta go back there....

I like takeout to have variety, and Bo Do Duyen has the most of that. Whatever your favourite traditional (ie. carnivorous) Chinese-food dish is, you can most likely get a vegetarian version here.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• mock meat
• vegetarian gourmet to go

BMV Books

Rated this place:

10 Edward St, Toronto, ON, M5G 1C9

Big bookstore: Their bargain basement is filled with dollar books, and their regular prices are severely reduced from cover price in most cases. I spend most of my time in their wonderful Science section, contemplating the atom and other small things.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Big Bookstore

Future Bakery & Cafe

Rated this place:

483 Bloor St. W, Toronto, ON, M5S1Y2

Dessert place: Well, dairy's not a big part of my diet, so when I go for it, I make sure it's good - Future's good. Their wide variety of cakes actually come from the future, in a time where flavours no longer quarrel, but instead work together in sweet harmony on the tongue.

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

4 Life Natural Foods

Rated this place:

257 Augusta, Toronto, ON, M5T2M1

Organic produce store: They've got a very friendly attitude, and the owner once saved some friends of mine from a hooligan late at night. If there's one thing this place does not stand for, it's hooliganry. It's pricier (since it's organic I guess), but I like to supplement my grocery supply here.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• organic produce store

Pam's Caribbean Kitchen

Rated this place:

969-C Bloor West, Toronto, ON, M6H 1L7

West indian-style roti: You never forget your first roti, they say, and they're right. This roti-made-with-love is a nice Caribbean-style curry, which is surprisingly distinct from the North Indian-style you get at Gandhi's. Plus Pam's a real character, like the kind of fiesty woman character you see in sitcoms, who gives advise to the young and confused character. Go see her if you're ever young and confused, I bet she'd do great.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• West Indian-style roti

George Brown College of Applied Arts & Technology

Rated this place:

200 King Street East, Toronto, ON, M5T2T9

Vegetarian cooking class: I'm currently enrolled in the Vegetarian Indian class, and I think I'm well on my way to reverse-engineering the Gandhi's Roti (See roti fave for details). Complete five out of six of their vegetarian courses, and you get a vegetarian chef certificate. Complete the sixth to unlock a bonus stage and new weapons.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• vegetarian cooking class

Gandhi Roti

Rated this place:

554 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M5V2B5

Roti restaurant: You can easily make two meals out of their giant rotis. I stick with the mixed veg, but I hear their specialty is the butter chicken. Only place I've been to where the "hot" was too much - I go for "medium."

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Roti restaurant

Sarah's Falafel & Shawarma

Rated this place:

487 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON, M5S1Y2

Falafel: It really is the only high-quality falafel I've had since Syriandipity on Queen closed under mysterious circumstances. I find most falafels slightly offputting by the time I'm done, perhaps owed to the fact that they're deep-fried, but Sarah's's don't affect me in this way, so I consider them an ally falafel.

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

i deal coffee

Rated this place:

1560 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON, M4L 1E9

Soy latte: I'm no coffee guy, but I enjoy a soy latte if it's been sweetened enough. And whenever I go to Ideal and hang out for a bit in the morning hours, friends will pass and chat and good times are had. Name something better that isn't a dinosaur. You can't.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Soy Latte

Pizzaiolo Gourmet Pizza

Rated this place:

10 Locations in Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5V 1K4

Vegan pizza: They tend to have a few cheeseless options available at all times. Perhaps not yet as flavourful as their lactosey brothers, but the technology is still young.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Vegan Pizza

Burro Burrito

Rated this place:

615 College Street, Toronto, ON, M6G1B2

Veggie burrito: While Big Fat Burrito wins originality points for their yam burrito, Burro Burrito (previously "Bar Burrito") offers a slightly more extensive menu with quesadillas. They also get close-to-my-house points, so when you add it up, Burro wins. It's just maths.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• veggie burrito

Impatient Theatre Co.

Rated this place:

1722 Queen St. W, Toronto, ON, M6R 1B3

Alternative comedy company: They offer performance classes for people of all levels and backgrounds, and they put on so many shows fueled by the love of improv - actual good improv. Improvisation, as we all know, is excellent exercise for the prefrontal lobe, which is something just about everyone has!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Alternative Comedy Company

Left Feet

Rated this place:

88 Nassau St, Toronto, ON, M5T1M5

Vegetarian shoe store: Well, I don't really know any other specialty vegetarian shoe stores in the city, but the owner, Mr. Fish of the fabulous Fish Bros., is a swell guy. I get all my sneakers here. Sweatshop-free too.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• vegetarian shoe store

Ontario Vipassana Centre

Rated this place:

6486 Simcoe County Road 56, Egbert, ON, L0L 1N0

Meditation retreat: If you're willing to commit to 10 days of silence, and a strict code of coduct, the benefits are innumerable. They set themselves apart from the profit motive by being funded purely by donations made in positive volition.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• meditation retreat

Trinity Bellwoods Park

Rated this place:

1053 Dundas St. W., Toronto, ON, M5H2N2

Tree climbing trees: There's this one tree - I'll add a picture soon - that begs you to climb it, and constantly harkens you higher. Still gotta check out High Park though.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Tree Climbing Trees

Urban Herbivore

Rated this place:

64 Oxford Street, Toronto, ON, M5T1P1

Vegetarian sandwich: The flavours react with the tongue to create all kinds of positive sensations! Very fresh food.

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