Dreamy Cafe

So last night I had a dream that I discovered this awesome independent cafe somewhere around Queen West or Kensington area... and I was like, "this is so cliche that I am searching for some indie coffee shop, but oh well, I am enjoying myself, so it doesn't matter and plus this place is awesome. I should blog about this."

End of dream. Soooo I just thought I would blog about that...

Gallery Sushi

[Just a quick note before the real blog begins: In order to keep this fine blog running, we have decided to blog about our own individual experiences as well as when we go places together.]

Gallery Sushi is located at St. Patrick and Dundas, just one block west of Dundas and Uni. It's right by the AGO and OCAD as well. It's an over all nice place, with asain artworks on the wall and lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

Ok. Theeee best part about this restaurant is that it sells sushi ...TWO ROLLS of sushi for $5.50. They are a little smaller than what I have had at some sushi places, but not by far. The only other anal thing about it, is that you have to order it to go if you want to get that deal. So don't make the mistake that I did yesterday when I sat down first then tried to order them... cause the lady wouldn't let me. It's pretty good though when you want to pick up some lunch during one of my breaks in class. But, if you go and you choose sit, it is a peaceful place and it's nice to stay for a while and have a long chat with a friend... or drift off into space... whatever.

When you sit down the waitress comes and pours you a mug of green tea. The first time I went I took a sip and cringed cause it tasted muddier than usual. But yesterday when I went, it was really good, and I'm not really even a major green tea fan at all. I had like 2 refills. The lady just wouldn't stop refilling. Every time she saw it was empty, she came.

So anyways. The picture was taken yesterday, that's my friend Tamara in the picture. She ordered some fancy sushi meal, while I got the good ol' California Rolls. yum.

Coffee Culture

We went to Coffee Culture last night. We had a special guest: Elizabeth, my sister, who desparately needed a break from studying for her FINAL nursing exam. We went to the one in Brampton, at Main St and Queen St. It was pretty busy because it was a gorgeous night, and everyone loves to go somewhere nice on a beautiful summer(almost) night.

After we stopped playing with the travel mugs and trying to open them, we ordered. Jared and Elizabeth had tea, I had a Vanilla Caffe Latte. Mine was really good. It's like a french vanilla, but more coffee taste, lots more good foam that tasted like caramel and more quality and it doesn't taste like candy, its way better. So actually it's alot different than a French Vanilla. It's better than tea, because after tasting it, Jared regretted his order and wished he got one too.

I had actually gone there earlier on in the day, and I got the best tasting Ham and Swiss sandwich. Unfortunately it was on the small side, but it was grilled, tasted like honey mustard and left me craving for more. Probably because of it's size. haha. But it was seriously delicious.

There is artwork from local artists hanging on the walls. A really nice variety. It always steals me away for a few minutes.

The coffee shop has a chilling, relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. Especially at night, you can really tell that everyone is there to wind down after their day. There is a good mood in the place.

There were a bunch of men in the corner watching the hockey game on the TV. Noisy but nice. You can sit inside or out on the patio. The peeps behind the counter are usually funny too. "Yeah, take your time... Just throw a penny at me when you're ready..."

It's a franchise, so hopefully you can find one close to you!

Just to clear things up.

My dad actually thought of the name...

j.

OK.

Just to fill all y'all in...

We DID change the name of the blg. I know you were wondering. Blgging about just coffee wasn't enough so now its basically gonna be cool stores in T.O., also known as Third Spaces. Jared thought of it. Basically home=first space, work/school=second and then cafes and stores, etc are the third. I never knew. Jared did. Now I do too. And so do you. so there you go!

THIRD SPACES!!!

Futures

My favourite place to go get coffee in the whole of downtown Toronto (thus far) is Futures. Futures is situated about a 4 minute walk east of Bathurst and Bloor. Picture a room completely packed full of all types of people drinking their coffee late at night, and talking at the top of their lungs. In the summers, they will open up all the huge garage door windows that border the coffee shop, letting the fresh night air in. It's a place that allows you to completely wind down, relax, and to top it off and the coffee is usually amazing.

On our most recent visit, Kamela and I were less than satisfied. The coffee was mediocre, which surprised me. It was also the middle of the day. I prefer to grace futures in the evening, as the night ushers in a wonderful wave of serenity. We sat outside, and beyond that, there really isn't much to say.

If you get the chance, check out Futures in the evening, when its already dark. If its during the day, don't waste your time and money. Skip it.

We'll probably be back there soon, and another (hopefully more uplifting) post will follow.

Sonic Boom

Sonic boom is located just slightly east of Bathurst and Bloor, and is probably the best music store I've ever been to. It's so HUGE that it is basically a warehouse full of cds. I've found that most music stores let me down when I walk in. I browse to look for cds and find maybe 1 I'm interested in. The minute I began browsing sonic boom's selection I found multiple CDs I wanted. It brings me such joy to enter a store that has some serious selection. I ended up buying 2 cds: Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F# A# ∞ and Röyksopp - Melody A.M., both used at about $10 a piece. I think I shall be purchasing all my music there in the future.