Toronto things

At the south-east corner of University and College.

Independent record store Kops 2 has opened at 592 Bloor Street West, just west of Bathurst.

McDonalds is open for business at the south-east corner of Bloor Street West and Ossington Avenue. The address of the restaurant is: 885 Bloor W, Toronto, ON M6G 1M4 This address was occupied by Tommy Chang's Black Belt World Taekwondo academy, which not occupies part of the second floor of the building. The McDonalds is a 24 hour establishment and includes a McCafe. The next closest McDonalds is in Dufferin Mall, and also at the corner of Dupont and Dufferin, right by the Galleria shopping complex. This McDonalds opened in Fall 2013, as did the largest McDonalds in the province of Ontario in downtown Toronto. 

  On Dovercourt just north of Bloor Street West.

This is a beautiful new food court on the first floor on the south side of the Eaton Centre. Richtree Natural Market Restaurants (Richtree) opened the doors of their new flagship market restaurant concept in Toronto Eaton Centre (TEC). This state-of-the-art marketplace features a collection of 11 unique eateries, all serving up natural and organic food from local sources - a significant departure from the ordinary and often unhealthy options afforded in other quick service restaurants. "Richtree Natural Market Restaurant is 'Where Good Comes Together ,' said Robin Michel , CEO. "To us, that means bringing together delicious fresh food, made with only natural or organic ingredients sourced from local purveyors, then leveraging the latest technology to create a completely new restaurant experience that has something for everyone. Our vision for Richtree Natural Market Restaurants is to make it easier for consumers to find good food, that's good for you, and good fo...

  Rexall has a new location at the south-west corner of College and Spadina. It's a 24 hour store which is two stories. The second floor has more pharmaceutical type of products.                

  La Bella Managua Restaurant at 872 Bloor St West, just steps east of Ossington Avenue, brings traditional Nicaraguan dishes to Toronto. The restaurant has gained good word of mouth and has a strong turnout every night. The restaurant has great beef, chicken, and fish dishes. But if you're a vegetarian, a good dish to try is the Yuca Mixta. The yuca cassava like-taters taste like potatoes, and the fried cheese is delicious, which works well with the avocado salad with salsa and sour cream.      

New, small, but good fruit market at 1001 Bloor Street West at Westmoreland Avenue, just a block West of Dovercourt.      

  Festival of Fort York takes place September 21st and 22nd.   Fort York is an area of Toronto the government is pouring millions into to develop. Right now there's nothing too much going on, but there are several condos being developed with The Yards, Garrison, and WaterPark City. Living in this area does give great access to the Waterfront or Harbourfront, Water Trails, just a short walk to Billy Bishop Airport, close proximity to King Street West, as well as easy access to the Bathurst TTC Streetcar.    

Wahlburgers, the restaurant burger chain of Mark Wahlberg, Donnie Wahlberg, and Paul Wahlberg is coming to Toronto in early 2014. The brothers were promoting the chain around the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2013. The burger joint will be located at the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel at 318 Wellington St West in downtown Toronto.

NOW CLOSED**       Vicki'z Vegetarian Eatery has one of the healthiest meals you can find in Toronto: the Mighty Kale salad, which consists of kale, sprouts, goji berries, red peppers, zucchini, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, and avocado.   This Mediterranean inspired vegetarian eatery is located at 421 College Street, just a few doors east of Bathurst. There are delicious wraps, burgers, falafels, salads, sandwiches, smoothies, and drinks.   Some other popular items on their menu aside from the Mighty Kale salad are:   Vicki'z Mediterranean salad (quinoa, cabbage, black olives, cukes, tomatoes, and mini falafels on greens)   Grilled Vegetable and Tofu (grilled tof steak, sprouts, zucchini, avocado, red bell peppers, arugula, and garlic mayo)   Kale Mary (bulgur, shredded kale, sprouts, cabbage, zucchini, sweet potatoes, goji berries, roasted pumped seeds with tofu or mini falafels)   Kale, Avocado, Ban...

There's a dozen television sets which have been added to the Toronto Reference Library's first floor, with some seating to view various news and interesting events and programs from across the world. A nice touch to the library near Yonge and Bloor at 789 Yonge Street.

Trambusto Pizza and Pasta are opening several locations in Toronto, including one at Dovercourt and College, which was occupied by Hadleys. Trambusto is also hiring at all these locations. Trambusto Pizza and Pasta serves pastas such as Bucatini, Tagliantelle, Rigatoni, Recce, and Cavatelli. On the pizza end of things, they have the classic Margherita, as well as Pollo Tuscano, Affumicato, Smoked Proscuitto, Salsiccia, Patate, and Verded. Trambusto also had Italian salads including the Misticanza, Arugula, Roasted Radicchio, Panzanella, and Romaine.

Going from west and moving towards the east: The Brockton Haunt The newest of the four. Small but very attractive looking in the inside and great coffee. Some nice art adorns the walls of the café west of Dufferin. 1150 College St The Common Known for great medium and dark roast. Excellent lattes. 1071 College St Lit Espresso Bar This place is a classy and comfy espresso bar just east of Ossington. 810 College St Manic Coffee Great coffee and treats, and they even offer gelato too. 426 College St

The cheapest place to get coffee in Toronto is Sadie's Diner, which offers fair-trade coffee on Wednesdays before noon for only 25 cents. Sounds like a story from someone recalling the glorious past, "Back in my day we used to be able to get coffee for a quarter". But it's in the present moment as well at Sadie's Diner at 504 Adelaide St West, which is in between Bathurst and Spadina.

    The Brockton Haunt Espresso bar, at 1150 College Street West, opened it's doors to the public this summer and has made a strong impact in providing high level coffee to the community. The establishment, just a few steps west of Dufferin on the north side of College Street, is a vibrant espresso bar which is quite bright and sleek with its white walls. It's new so very clean; there are stools by the large window at the front of the shop so one can look outside as they sip their espresso. The view outside of traffic along College Street isn't the best but the area is up and coming, and this classy espresso bar is one of the indications that the district is on the rise. Aside from the stools inside, there are four placed outside along the store for visitors who want sit out front on the sidewalk.   The dark hardwood flooring works well with the white brick walls and both the dark brown and clean white patter...

  7-Eleven is no long a joint just for slurpees, drinks, and other confectionary items customized for convenient stores. The store now serves pizza and wings as advertised in the images above taken from the 7-Eleven at the corner of Spadina and Bloor Street West in Toronto.