Vena's Restaurant

Rated this place:

1263 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M6H 1N7

Roti: I don't like potato in my roti, especially if I already have squash in there. It's completely redundant. Squash, chickpeas and spinach - what else does one need in a roti? Oh, and Vena's delicious hot sauce. It's the bomb!

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

Vintage Depot

Rated this place:

70 Kensington Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5T 2K1

Vintage clothing store: If your brother is insane about sports memorabilia, this is the vintage store for you.

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

Mistura Restaurant

Rated this place:

265 Davenport Rd, Toronto, ON, M5R1J9

Pasta: The wild boar agnelotti with brown butter and cherry sauce is absolutely delicious!

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

Le Gourmand

Rated this place:

438 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON, M5V 3S6

Lunch: I look food that does not taste like crap. I also like variety. Meatloaf one day. Cobb salad the next. Deliciously pulpy tomato soup. Tomato, avocado and cheddar sandwich. I like!

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

White House Meats

Rated this place:

1523 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4G3B5

Roast beef: White House just started making rare roast beef in house, and let me tell you, what a difference a little blood makes!!!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Roast Beef

Thin Blue Line Cheese

Rated this place:

93B Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto, ON, M6R2K6

Cheese shop: Sure, they have cheese, but did you know they also have bread? It's good!

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

The House On Parliament

Rated this place:

456 Parliament St, Toronto, ON, M5A3A2

Pub: The daily specials are always a bargain and certainly not what you would expect from a pub(lamb shank with garlic mash and seasonal veg that are actually seasonal and not frozen, for example). The staff is friendly, the bread pudding is delicious (banana chocolate, anyone?) and the wine list is incredibly reasonably price. Great place for a Thanksgiving dinner, by the way, for $15!!!

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

Scheffler's Delicatessen

Rated this place:

93 Front St E, Toronto, ON, M5E1C3

Prosciutto: These guys always have samples on Saturdays, and they must lure in a lot of customers that way since their prosciutto is the bomb! No stringy, stuck in your teeth nastiness here, just melt-in-your-mouth goodness...

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

2Q Video

Rated this place:

938 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto, ON, M6C1C8

Video store: They have the whole Criterion collection. And it's right next to Mexitaco!

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

All The Best Fine Foods

Rated this place:

1101 Yonge St., Toronto, ON, M4W2L7

Cupcakes, Olive: There are only two flavours, chocolate or vanilla, but the frosting really is top-notch butter cream. And you can get celestin baguettes while you're there!

The lemon and rosemary olives are the best olives I've had in Toronto. Olives and lemon are such a wonderful combination, it's a wonder more delis don't offer it.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Cupcakes
• Olive

Nando's

Rated this place:

939 Eglinton E, Toronto, ON, M4G 4E8

Chicken pita: The hot sauce is so addictive, the only thing that will stop the sweet burn is another bite. In the summertime, I also enjoy the corn on the cob, grilled, then slathered with hot sauce. Nandos, welcome to Canada - I've missed you!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Chicken Pita

Bloor Court Market

Rated this place:

936 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M6H1L4

Bagels: Did you know that the Bloor Court Market has Bagel House delivering fresh, Montreal-style bagels every day? Well, now you do. There is no need to suffer the indignity of sub-par bagels any longer, Bloorcourt dwellers!

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

Freshwood Grill

Rated this place:

293 Roncesvalles Ave., Toronto, ON, M6R 2M3

Local restaurant: This place is nice for dinner. This place is nice for brunch. It's nice all around.

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

The Queen of Tarts

Rated this place:

283 Roncesvalles Ave., Toronto, ON, M6R 2M3

Ginger cookie: If you like soft and chewy ginger cookies, this is the place for you. If you prefer hard and snappy gingerbread, then this place is also for you - they have the most excellent selection of gingerbread people. The Queen of Tarts allowed me to live out my homicidal dreams in a healthy and legally way: I bit Oprah's head off.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Ginger Cookie

King Falafel

Rated this place:

875 Eglinton Ave W #17, York, ON, M6C3Z9

Falafel: It's pretty much the best falafel.

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

Mediterranean Food Store

Rated this place:

1062 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON, M6H1M3

Convenience store: They have great pasta and canned tomatoes from Italy. There's fresh St. John's Bakery bread on Tuesdays. There are sometimes baked goods (one of the daugthers is a caterer). The price of the fruits and vegetables are more than fair, and the variety often surprises me.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Convenience Store

Mountain Road Wine Co

Rated this place:

4016 Mountain Rd, Beamsville, ON, L0R1B7

Wine: Okay, so it's slightly outside of Toronto, but it's only 45 minutes by car. This winery has the best chardonnay in Ontario, and at $15.95, it doesn't really get any cheaper than that. The tasting room atmosphere is jovial and down-home (Pamela is the best!), and the tastings are free. Make sure to check out the Baco and Mountain Road Red - you'll be surprised how good these are!

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

Niagara Street Cafe

Rated this place:

169 Niagara St, Toronto, ON, M5V1C9

Ceasar salad: NSC doesn't have this salad any more, but I'm hoping this entry might sway them to put it back on the menu. Imagine it: a gem romaine whose leaves are stuffed with anchovies and parmesan cheese, grilled, then topped with a garlicky dressing and a poached egg. It's pure ceasar heaven!!!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Ceasar Salad

Down Under Linen & Bedding Centre

Rated this place:

5221 Hwy 7, Markham, ON, L3R1N3

Linen store: This store got my boyfriend to start caring about sheets. He recently sniffed at a 500 thread count pair purchased at winners. Bottom line: 800 Thread Count for under $100 for a King bed - what else is there to say?

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Linen Store

Loblaws Supermarkets Limited

Rated this place:

2877 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON

Dolcelatte gorgonzola: I have a life-long quest to locate runny gorgonzola cheese like the one I tasted at the Borough Market. The gorgonzola at the Christie/Dupont Loblaws is the closest thing I've come to it. If you like your dolcelatte runny, creamy and mild, then run to this store!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Dolcelatte Gorgonzola

Atelier Thuet

Rated this place:

171 East Liberty Street, Toronto, ON

Ham: You know how ham is often gelatinous now? Not here. Thuet's country ham will make supermarket deli hams weep at their own insignificance. Pile some slices onto a delicious fresh baguette, and throw on some raw milk brie from their cheese counter (it tastes like real brie, not plasticine!), and you've got yourself one heck of a sandwich. If you're still hungry, stuff a danish in your mouth. Trust me.

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

Di Liso's Fine Meats

Rated this place:

93 Front St. E (upper level 15), Toronto, ON, M5E 1C3

Butcher: The owner is the friendliest guy. The meat has an excellent price to quality ratio (the best in the market, in my opinion). They'll vacpac at no extra charge. They have the best bacon ever!

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

Foxy Boutique

Rated this place:

251 Gerrard East, Toronto, ON, M5A 2G1

Vintage clothing store: Every time I go in, I buy something. To boot, it tends to be shoes, and as a lady with size 10 feet, let me tell you, that's no easy feat!!! (I apologize for the numerous bad puns up there) Seriously folks, this store is wicked awesome.

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

Rosie Robin A Touch of Convenience

Rated this place:

616 Gladstone Ave, Toronto, ON, M6H 3J2

Poached eggs: Eating breakfast in the back of a convenience store was never my thing until I went to Rosie's and had the Deluxe. Imagine it: two toasts, each covered with sauted spinach, bacon, slices of tomatoes, a perfectly poached egg and a slice of melting brie. Adequate homefries that are never undercooked and an apple shaped like a swan fill the rest of the plate. One thing - don't go there dying of hunger as it can take a while. On the upside, they have an excellent selection of out-dated tabloid

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• poached eggs

Soup Market

Rated this place:

222 Bay Street, Concourse Level, Toronto, ON, M5K 1K7

Soup: Jamaican Crab Bisque is probably the best soup I've ever had on a cold winter's day.

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