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Little India
One of the more out-of-the-way neighbourhoods in Toronto is Little India. This is on Gerrard Street East, between Greenwood and Coxwell. Here is a concentration of various south Asian peoples, especially Pakistanis.
A lively neighbourhood even in the later evening hours, Little India hosts all of the amenities for the community – sari and silk shops, paan stores, sidewalk vendors serving sugar cane juice, India grocers, and restaurants covering the entire region.
You can find Pakistani barbeque, Kashmiri chai, and south Indian-style vegetarian fare. Some of the culinary delights are the aforementioned chai (authentic – sweet, hot, spicy and milky…a world away from grocery store chai); kulfi (Pakistani-style ice cream on a stick); dosai (crepes in which spiced potatoes are rolled; barbequed corn-on-the-cob; sambhar (outstanding lentil soup); paan (spice mixture rolled in a leaf that you tuck into your cheek and chew slowly – said to aid digestion) and barfi (fudge-like confection made with condensed milk).
Aside from barfi, some of the things you may wish to consider taking back are chai masala (spice mix for making chai); paneer (slightly tart firm cheese made by acidulating milk and then solidifying it – I chop it and fry it in a few drops of olive oil with green onions, garlic and chipotle peppers for breakfast); and Indian-style bagged snacks. The latter are the local equivalent of potato chips. They come in many varieties and are often made of chick pea flour, but spiced with Indian spices. They are baked, so much healthier than chips, and because they use great spices instead of salt and artificial flavours they taste much better, too. The best is the Punjabi Mix from Mirch Masala – and of this the big cumin sticks are king.
Of course, Hindu idols and Buddhas can be found. The more musically-inclined can find a whole host of Indian instruments – harmoniums, sitars, and lots of tablas. Leave a Comment Address: Gerrard St E, between Greenwood and CoxwellDirections: From College & Yonge (College Stn), take the Gerrard streetcar eastbound. Many of these turn north at Parliament, so make sure to get off if that happens and await one that is going straight down Gerrard.
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Greek Town is filled with traditional Greek restaurants and shops. You will also find some Middle Eastern/African influences. I was there in August for the annual festival and it was extremely crowded. When I went back a few weeks later, things were much saner, and I discovered many unique shops. Leave a Comment Address: On DanforthDirections: Take the subway to Pape then walk South to Danforth.
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I used to live in the Annex and it’s a pretty cool place. The key area is Bloor Street West, from Spadina to Bathurst. While the drinking and eating places of this stretch are overrated, there are plenty of them. Greg’s Ice Cream, the best in town, is moving from their venerable Bloor & Avenue location to Bloor & Spadina, which gives you at least one worthy option.
There are some good, funky shops here – Piya’s Boutique (incense, clothes and miscellaneous idols), Book City, and the used cd shops. The Hungarian deli is a gustatory highlight, serving up a wide range of salamis and sausages, in addition to imported Hungarian goods, including tasty hazelnut-flavoured chocolate bars.
Internet cafés are plentiful on this stretch, and it finishes with the ridiculously tacky department store Honest Ed’s and a nice shopping stretch called Mirvish Village, which runs south of Bloor down Markham. Honest Ed’s has to be seen to be believed. Even if you normally despise cheesiness, you’ve got to respect it there because it goes right to the core of what they’re all about.
At the south end of the Annex is Harbord Street, which offers a quieter stretch of businesses, including the famous Harbord Fish & Chips, which is to my mind the second-best of its type in the city. There’s only a couple of seats inside, so bear that in mind if you’re headed that way in the wintertime. Getting stuck eating standing up, or outside in a snowstorm, isn’t too much fun.
North of Bloor along Bathurst is a grungy-looking stretch. Maybe four minutes from Bloor, is Alchemy Bakery, which is worth going slightly out of your way for. They make outstanding breads and cookies, bring in some very pretty, mainly tasty desserts and also have interesting beverages, like the local organic Rainmaker line, all of which are amongst the most complex and flavourful of all non-alcoholic beverages I’ve ever encountered. Leave a Comment Address: Between Harbord & Dupont, Avenue & BathurstDirections: Via St. George, Spadina, Dupont or Bathurst stations.
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If you're in Toronto, don't miss visiting Yorkville. It is the trendy area (about 2 blocks) where you will find delightful cafe's and amazing restaurants. It is also the place you are most likely to find famous people loitering about. It is located about a block northwest of the intersection of Bay and Bloor streets. The Four Seasons and the Hyatt are two hotels which border this area. Leave a Comment
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My fondest memories of the stretch of Bloor St West that runs westward from Bathurst to Christie are the parades during the 2002 World Cup. Every time South Korea won, the place went bonkers. The best was the impromptu parade at 4:30 in the morning after the won their quarterfinal match against Spain. The street was filled with raucous Koreans and bleary-eyed spectators such as myself. The cops were totally unprepared, and didn’t even have people out to man the intersections as thousands of people streamed down the street. Toronto is the best place on earth to watch the World Cup, save for the host country itself, because every country has a neighbourhood here, and no matter who wins a given match, somewhere in the city there will be a party.
Outside of such events, Koreatown boasts a steady flow of Korean internet cafés, groceries and restraurants. Walnut cakes are available – they look like walnuts, cost $1 and are filled with sweets and savouries. You can get apple pancakes at some places, too, and these are quite nice for dessert.
Latin Americans are slowly working their way into the area and have numerous grocery stores as well, and also the outstanding taquiera Tacos el Asador, which is one block east of Christie. This is one of the best restaurants in Toronto, with a very friendly vibe, and phenomenal burritos. The horchata is great, and the care they take extends to often importing Latin beers not normally available in Toronto.
At Christie, you’ll find Christie Pits Park, the biggest in the area. I’ve taken burritos here and watched the United Nations of locals play soccer on the pitch below. Leave a Comment Address: Bloor St W, between Bathurst & ChristieDirections: Via Bathurst or Christie stations.
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Out of the way, to say the least, is the once-Polish neighbourhood down Roncesvalles. This runs south from Dundas West to the corner where King and Queen meet. Oddly, the shopping is all on the east side of the street. The west side does however have some businesses north of Dundas, which is a transition stretch between Roncesvalles and Bloor and notable for the Mauritian restaurant Blue Bay Café (octopus curry!).
As stated, the area was once quite Polish, and still a few delis remain, along with the Chopin restaurant. Arguably, there isn’t that much here that you can’t find elsewhere. It’s mainly just neighbourhood shops, cafés and restaurants. This is true, but being rather out of the way, it’s totally devoid of tourists or even people from other neighbourhoods. A true chance to see Torontonians in their indigenous habitat! Leave a Comment Address: Roncesvalles Ave.Directions: Runs south from Dundas West station (Bloor & Dundas W), to King & Queen
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The annual KiteFest in Milliken Park is fantastic. Teams from all over the world (in 2005 Belgium and Spain will star) come to Toronto to display their magnificant kites. I usually bring my own (less magnificant) kites to fly beside the professional teams.
The food there is great, with lots of variety, but the parking is TERRIBLE. You cannot take your car there, there's just too many people. That's why I just go on the McCowan bus north from the RT station.
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Keeping with the theme of ethnic neighbourhoods, Little Portugal is perhaps the complete opposite of Little Italy. While the economic boom of the 1960s and 1970s dried up the flow of Italian immigrants to Toronto and converted Little Italy from italiano to italiese, the relative backwardness of the Portuguese economy plus the influx of Brazilians, Angolans, Moçambicans and other lusofones has kept Little Portugal alive and authentic. The areas is very much a sporadic development encroaching on Little Italy that features numerous bars, restaurants and lounges that, although catering to Portuguese and lusofones are still open for all to enjoy. There is even Luis de Camões Square at College and Crawford. The thriving and growing community is by no means contained in one narrow street but extends from Dundas all the way up to Bloor. The bulk of the Portuguese community (but not lusofone) is from the Açores or Madeira, so don't be surprised if you see these flags more often than the marroon and green national flag. Leave a Comment Address: College west of GraceDirections: Ossington Station plus bus 63 south
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Quebec Avenue is a good example of an inner-suburban area of western Toronto.
These houses, despite being close together are all detached and they only allow parking on one side of the street, so delivery vehicles don't block the road to fire-engines, ambulances, etc.. ...WAKE UP BRITAIN: tough enforcement of parking laws does not harm the Canadian motor industry!
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Those of us who live north of the city of Toronto have a little joke that the downtown core has its little countries - Little Italy, Chinatown, Little Korea, etc. and that we in the suburbs have Big Italy, China supercity and Korean sprawl. Little Italy is a quaint piece of Toronto history, but you'd be hardpressed to find more Italians there during the day than you have fingers. The Italian community has long since moved north, either to the Dufferin and Lawrence area (where you'll find Villa Colombo and Librital) or to Big Italy, Woodbridge and Maple, where Italian design and big-box store convenience wed and gave birth to massive children. Today, Little Italy features some good restaurants and cafés (Riviera, Sicilian Ice Cream Company, Veni Vidi Vici, Bar Italia) but the Italian flavour is rapidly being squeezed out by the Hispanic community to the east and Little Portugal to the west, while the actual area of Little Italy has no shortage of sushi places. The strip comes alive at night with some trendy bars and lounges, but for the most part the Italianness of the neighbourhood is pure nostalgia, complete with numerous monuments to Johnny Lombardi, the founder of CHIN radio and multicultural broadcasting. Leave a Comment Address: College between Bathurst and CrawfordDirections: Queen's Park station + street car west
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