Littlefish bakery and cafe is a cute new addition to the Junction. They serve a tasty breakfast ’till at least 4pm, every day except Mondays. The space is cozy and bright. What could be better on a cold winter morning or a chilly afternoon?

La Merceria is a delightful cafe and housewares shop. Its elegance and coziness is like no other. I had a fantastic lunch on my visit the other day: black bean soup, a veggie and cheese pastry, and an americano to finish it off.

They carry only the most beautiful housewares for an international household – great for gifts.

La Merceria is on Adelaide east of Bathurst.

Technorati Tags: brunch, Cafe, coffee, delicious, espresso, latte, sandwiches, Toronto

Saving Gigi is an eclectic little cafe on the corner of Bloor and Roxton. As you may have guessed the cafe is half owned by the owner of ‘Saving Grace’. This is precisely why the baked goods are so tasty: they are baked each morning at Saving Grace. It is a great place to go for a grilled sandwich, a coffee and some reading. They also have wifi. Elementary, my dear Gigi!

Technorati Tags: sandwiches, restaurant, Toronto, wifi

Well, things have slowed down on the Mukodu Blog a little lately with the addition of a beautiful baby girl to our family. We are slowly getting back up to speed. Bare with me if you will…

I stumbled across Scratch Espresso Bar a while ago and finally had a chance to check it out. It’s located in an unexpected place, on Bathurst south of St. Clair. You may have noticed it because of Elicser’s graffiti mural outside, a holdover from the space’s previous incarnation as an art gallery.

Scratch has a lovely mellow vibe. It still maintains an art gallery theme, with local art displayed on the brick wall. It’s a great environment for reading the paper or getting a little work done (free wifi)… if you still happen to have a job, that is. And if you’re out of work in these tough economic times, Scratch is still a great place to indulge in the luxury of a delectable latte or hot chocolate. They use the same fantastic Intelligentsia beans that Crema and Manic offer.

Technorati Tags: Artists, Cafe, coffee, latte, wifi, Toronto

Check out this recent addition to Roncesvalles. Balluchon is a quaint little pret a manger, torrefaction de cafe, and fromagerie. This corner shop is located in the midst of the residential neighbourhood at Wright Ave and Sorauren, just steps from Sorauren Park. Coffee aside, the croissants are delicious, the bread pudding is yummy, and they offer some nice cheeses and salads too. Hooray for another solid addition to the area!

Table 17 is a lovely little neighbourhood bistro on Queen St E, east of Broadview. It has a cozy and charming ambiance, with a delightfully long wine list and lots of choices by the glass. The menu offers a blend of tasty Italian, French and Spanish fare. As the winter approaches, or maybe it’s just the little snow flakes that I’ve spotted this week, I dream about candle-lit dinners in cozy places like this.

Technorati Tags: Leslieville, restaurant, queen st east, Toronto, wine

A cute new place opened up last week on the Dundas West strip, just east of Trinity Bellwoods Park.

The Black Hoof is a charcuterie, serving up cheeses, meats, and tasty snacks to accompany your beverage of choice. The Charcutier is Grant van Gameren who has worked as a sous-chef at Lucien, saucier at Amuse-Bouche, and cook at Canoe.

Their hours will be from 6pm -2am on Thursday though Mondays. If you enjoy wine with bread, cheese, olives and cured meats, then this is the place for you.
I like the fact they are open on lousy Mondays.

Technorati Tags: Artisan, bar, cheese, Dundas Street , beer on tap, Toronto, Trinity Bellwoods, wine

This lovely coffee spot, that plays on the name of a famous poet (Ezra Pound), is located in the north end of the Annex. I have to say this is a new favourite in the area. Ezra’s Pound is on Dupont just east of Spadina. They roast their own beans, which are organic and pesticide free. They serve up fantastic hot chocolate, espresso drinks, nice croissants and pain au chocolat … plus sandwiches if you are there early enough. All cups are biodegradable to reduce guilt when taking a drink to go. I highly recommend a drop-in if you are in the area.

Technorati Tags: Annex, Cafe, environmental, homemade, latte, croissant, sandwich, Toronto

Lit Espresso Bar just opened up on Roncesvalles a couple of weeks ago. They use the same killer beans that Manic and Crema use. They also provide WiFi, like Crema – what a luxury. Plus… the decor is rather fabulous, dare I say, with lots of reclaimed wood, a reclaimed clock from a German train station and reclaimed chairs from the old Eaton’s Cafe (where I used to eat grilled cheese sandwiches with my Grandma). And to top it off, the panini and baked goods they serve are tasty too.

It’s nice to have a top-tier coffee shop open up on Roncesvalles that provides a place to sit and read the paper or use their free wifi. There are not a lot of sockets, but I’m OK with that. It will limit people camping out for more than 3 hours at a time. Yahoo!

Technorati Tags: Cafe, coffee, espresso, family business, latte, Roncesvalles, sandwich, Toronto

Ossington gained a pizza joint a few weeks ago, Pizzeria Libretto. Seems like everyone already knows, since the line-up is insane.
I did get manage to get my hands on some pizza though. It was quite yummy. So it should be, with the chef from Silver Spoon behind the wheel of a fancy-pants oven imported from Italy, and recipes in keeping with Italian pizza traditions.
Pizzeria Libretto seems to have picked up where Terroni left off… good pizza, nice decor and lines when you don’t expect them…