West Elm

Rated this place:

109 Atlantic, Toronto, ON, M6K 1E2

when you're sick of IKEA: Head to West Elm for stylish and affordable home furnishings. I found their selection and quality to be really great, and the prices are reasonable. They have quite a variety of styles and seem to have rotating seasonal themes - right now it's 'Morocco'. Staff are friendly and helpful, and not pushy in the least.

Wanda's Pie In The Sky

Rated this place:

287 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5T 2M2

Pie: Delicious pies in various flavours and sizes...awesome apple crumble, strawberry rhubarb and many others.

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

Craft Burger

Rated this place:

573 King St. West, Toronto, ON, M5V1M1

Burger place: Ever since HAL Burger closed a few months back, I've been on a quest for a replacement go-to burger joint in the downtown core. Craft Burger is the one. Good quality, homemade beef burgers (including an organic option) with fresh toppings, including a few out of the ordinary (avocado, blue cheese). I also tried the onion rings which were very good. They also serve Boylan's sodas - I love their root beer!

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

Etienne Brule Park

Rated this place:

Old Mill Rd., Toronto, ON

Bike trail: It's a beatiful path riding along the Humber River with its litte waterfalls. It's not far from the popular waterfront trail and it's WAY less busy.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Bike Trail

Jungle Fruit

Rated this place:

55 Kensington Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T2J8

Produce: Fresh fruit & veg, very spacious (rare in Kensington Market) you can have a fresh-squeezed smoothie while you shop and they have a loyalty card that eventually gets you $10 off

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

Lee

Rated this place:

603 King St. W., Toronto, ON, M5V1E1

Fancy dinner: It's a fun place for a special occasion because the food is amazing and it has a great casual atmosphere. Also, you get to share all the dishes so that makes it fun, too. Everything was delicious and there was a great variety of vegetable and meat/fish dishes. The Singaporean slaw is made with 18 (!) different vegetables and tastes awesome. It's nice to be able to get a little bit of the Susur Lee experience without totally breaking the bank.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• fancy dinner

Addis Ababa Restaurant

Rated this place:

1184 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M6J1J5

Ethiopian restaurants: A fun night out with friends - it's good to get a big vegetarian combo platter so everyone can share. it's true - there's no cutlery and you eat the food by scooping it up with pieces of thin, spongy bread. they have different salads and curried lentil dishes and it's all delish.

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

Zig Zag Collectables

Rated this place:

1142 Queen St E, Toronto, ON, M4M1L1

Furniture store: Mid-century modern furniture in excellent condition

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

BMV Books

Rated this place:

10 Edward St, Toronto, ON, M5G 1C9

Bookstore: Finally checked this place out and while you may have to do a bit of searching to find the good stuff, you will be happy when you look at the price! I got a beautiful recent hardback cookbook by a celebrity chef for $19.99, the regular price was like $50. Score!

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

Bata Shoe Museum

Rated this place:

327 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S 1W7

Cheap entertainment: Now free on Thursday evenings from 5-8 pm. Wacky as it sounds - shoes can actually tell you a lot about a culture, and the Bata Shoe Museum is one of the more memorable museums I've been to. It's pretty big, and they have shoes from throughout the ages, many of which are incredibly intricately designed.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• Cheap Entertainment

Magic Pony

Rated this place:

694 Queen W, Toronto, ON, M4M1G9

Toy store: It's a really fun shop/gallery with toys, trinkets & art.

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

Ministry of the Interior (M.O.T.I. Inc.)

Rated this place:

80 Ossington Ave., Toronto, ON, M6J 2Y7

Interior design store: Great new modern design shop with high-concept furniture and accessories. Love the iPod speaker system shaped like a phonograph. They also carry a wide selection of wallpapers - and not your grandma's wallpaper, either. A bit pricey, but not outrageous for this type of stuff. Great service, the owners are very personable and knowledgable about their product.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• interior design store

Nathalie-Roze & Co.

Rated this place:

1015 Queen St. E., Toronto, ON, M4M 1K3

Indie design store: Super cute clothing, jewellery and gifts.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• indie design store

Sweet Tooth Pastry Shop

Rated this place:

508 Danforth Ave., Toronto, ON, M4K 1P6

Desserts: Amazing selection of sweet treats including cakes, pies and cookies. Beautifully decorated and deliciously sweet.

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

Hollywood Gelato

Rated this place:

1640 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON, M4G3B7

Gelato: I'm not often in this part of town, but when I am, I like to drop in to Hollywood Gelato - they let you choose 3 different flavours for a 'small' gelato...they have a lot of chocolate bar themed gelatos (Mr. Big, etc), but I stick to the lemon/vanilla/berry combo.

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

Paramount Canada's Wonderland

Rated this place:

9740 Jane Street, Maple, ON, L6A1S6

Summer daytrip, Wave pool: I could ride roller coasters all day.

I love wave pools and this is a nice big one!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• summer daytrip
• wave pool

Fast Fresh Foods

Rated this place:

199 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5L 1G4

Sandwiches: They let you build your own sandwich with amazing ingredients (no cold cuts here - my fave is fresh roasted turkey breast with caramelized onions, goat cheese, and curried apple spread), a nice selection of gourmet breads (Ace Bakery), and they toast everything in a panini machine. Comes with a side salad for the perfect lunch!

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

Kitchen Stuff Plus

Rated this place:

2887 Yonge St, Toronto, ON, M4P2C6

Kitchen gadgets: They have A LOT of kitchen gadgets, including things that I didn't know I needed :) Really great selection of kitchen utensils, cookware, glasses, bath mats, and little accessories like photo frames. Very reasonable prices!

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• kitchen gadgets

Urban Barn

Rated this place:

610 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M6J1E3

Furniture store: They have some nice stuff, reasonably priced. A variety of styles...eclectic. I bought a sofa there and the service was great - custom upholstery, free delivery, helpful sales staff.

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

Johny Banana

Rated this place:

181 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 2R7

Guacamole, Mojito: This was the best guacamole I've ever had in my life...it was just amazingly fresh tasting and delicious. The rest of the food here was great, too, and the atmosphere was fun and modern and like no other mexican place I've been to. Highly recommend it.

There really is nothing better on a hot summer day than a drink filled with fresh limes and mint leaves. Really.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• guacamole
• mojito

Kensington Market Organic Ice Cream

Rated this place:

650-1/2 Queen West, Toronto, ON, M4M1G5

Ice cream: Delicious organic ice cream that comes in a bunch of different, interesting flavours like mint strawberry and lavendar blueberry along with the traditional vanilla and chocolate, etc.

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

Leslie Street Spit

Rated this place:

Leslie St & Lake Shore blvd E, Toronto, M4M1B4

View of toronto: It's a nice bike ride out there, then you turn around and look back at the islands and the skyline in the distance, and feel like you're a million miles from downtown in the middle of Lake Ontario.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• view of Toronto

Solferino Cafe

Rated this place:

38 Wellington Street East, Toronto, ON, M5E1C8

Gelato: The lemon gelato here is just perfect - not too sour, a little bit creamy

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

The Cupcake Shoppe

Rated this place:

2417 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, M4P2H4

Cupcakes: They're beautiful, fresh and deliciously sweet. I love buying a half dozen colourful cupcakes with flavored icings like banana and mango (although chocolate is still my favourite).

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

Umbra Concept Store

Rated this place:

165 John Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1X3

Home accessories: If you're an Umbra fan, the bright pink facade of the new store will put a smile on your face and a spring in your step! Two floors of stylish, modern home accessories from picture frames and candle holders to bedding and coffee tables.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• home accessories