This
week’s image: Good grief, cheap gas. It’s a Christmas gift! What’s next - the LCBO – or is
that utterly unthinkable?
CABBAGETOWN
NEIGHBOURHOOD REVIEW
LOCAL NEWS
Rooster
The
staff at Riverdale Farm has announced that Rooster died on Friday December 12
from a serious illness. He was born at
the Farm 22 years ago and became a big hit with visitors, especially children,
throughout his life. He’ll be missed.
The Rupert
Photo: Justin Skinner, City Centre Mirror
The
Rupert Hotel was a rundown, dangerous and overcrowded rooming house at the
corner of Queen and Parliament Streets.
25 years ago, it caught fire and ten people perished. It’s become a symbol for those who work to
upgrade the protection of rooming house tenants through licencing and proper
standards. Justin Skinner has written an
article in the City Centre Mirror about the 25th anniversary memorial service
held at the scene of the fire. Click
here for more.
Caroline's snowy, wavy picture
Photo: Caroline Gill
Caroline
Gill snapped this picture on her walk home on December 11. She really likes its rolling texture and
sparkling fairy lights. Many
thanks. If you have a picture that
reflects our life in our neighbourhood – indoors, outdoors, at a pub, shopping,
whatever – send it along to cabbagetownreview@gmail.com
Special events at the
Toronto Christmas Market
This
weekend marks the wrap-up for the Christmas Market in the Distillery District. Special events include the Mill Street caroling
contest (see below) and a list of special entertainers. Included on Saturday’s schedule at 11 am and
12:30 pm, the Beaches Children’s Choruses will sing Christmas favourites and at
noon, the Salvation Army Big Band performs.
The Melissakia Greek Dance group
is on at 1:30 and 3 pm and there’ll be Romanian folklore music and dance at 6:45
and 7:30 pm. JAMsession performs at 3:30
and 5:15 pm. On Sunday, the Lemon Bucket
Orkestra is onstage at 11 am and 12:30 pm.
JAMsession is back at 3:30 pm and 6 pm.
The Toronto Beach Chorale is on at 4:30 pm. To close the Market for the year, Measha
Brueggergosman will sing at 6:30 pm.
Check out the entire schedule here.
Mill Street Caroling
Challenge
Photo: Toronto Star
Save
the date - Toronto Christmas Market at the Distillery, Sunday December 21, 5
pm. This is Mill Street’s annual caroling extravaganza that attempts to set the
world record for the largest number of people in one place singing carols. Mill Street Brewery donates $1 to the Daily
Bread Food Bank for every caroler and distributes song sheets and LED candles.
Allan Gardens
Christmas show
The
2014 Christmas show is now underway at the Conservatory in Allan Gardens (Sherbourne
& Carlton).
It runs until January
11.
On the next two weekends, the hours
are extended to 7 pm and the Conservatory is candlelit. The show is the
highlight of the Conservatory’s year with thousands of blooming plants
featured.
10 am to 5 pm daily.
Free admission.
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Feral cat projects
Photo: CBC
An
alliance between donors and the City of Toronto has produced a feral cat
capture-and-neuter program in the city’s west end. It builds on the success of a similar project
in Regent Park where 644 cats were successfully neutered. This program opens the door to a much more
pressing question – how about doing this with the city’s raccoons?
Street lamps
All
along Parliament, Carlton and Gerrard Streets, the BIA owns Victorian-style
lamps that are clamped onto hydro poles. (Here`s a summer picture just to make
you nostalgic.) They create a unique
feel for the shopping district that goes well with the heritage character of
our neighbourhood. Unfortunately, a lot
of them aren’t working – they need to be maintained regularly. In the past, Weenen Electric did a good job
keeping everything in order. Perhaps
they can be hired to do the maintenance work again.
Christmas lights
There’s
no doubt that a decorative spirit has taken hold this season. Congrats to everyone – including this home at
the end of Wellesley Street – for making our street scenes more fun in the
middle of a drab winter. Don’t take them
down too soon!
RESTAURANTS
Christmas Day at
Cranberries
Cranberries
(601 Parliament) is a definite Christmas favourite and the restaurant fills
right up. There’ll be two seatings – at
5 and 7:30 pm. It’s a three course
dinner at $28 per person. There are two
choices for openers – butternut squash soup with apple and bacon or organic
green salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
Roast turkey comes with mashed potato, seasonal veggies, gravy,
cranberry sauce, homemade stuffing and a dinner roll. For dessert, there’s warm apple pie and ice
cream. To reserve a spot, call (416)
925-6330.
Christmas &
Boxing Day
At
Under The Table (568 Parliament), Kim and Betty are planning a three-course
meal for both Christmas and Boxing Day, from 3 to 9 pm. For starters, there’s vegetable soup or
spinach salad. The main course is roast
turkey with garlic mashed potato, gravy, cranberry sauce, homemade stuffing,
baked macaroni and corn. Dessert choices
include apple or pumpkin pie or rum cake.
Each dinner comes with a glass of red or white wine or a rum and eggnog.
$30 per person or $50 per couple, tax included.
The Irv’s party
On
Thursday December 18 from 7 to 11 pm, The Irv (195 Carlton) is having a guest
appreciation party. There’ll be prizes,
giveaways, munchies and beer samplings.
Live music.
Ronnie B`s party
It`s
customer appreciation night on Thursday December 18 at Ronnie B`s Southern
Kitchen (243 Carlton). There`ll be live
music with Mike Daily at 8:30 pm, drinks and free nibblies. 8 pm to closing.
Time to sing your
favourite carols
Jeff
Barnes and Noah Zacharin are back again at The Local GEST (424 Parliament). Their Christmas caroling is a major holiday
milestone in Cabbagetown. Everyone who
is anyone is there. Some can even
sing! It’s a happy frolic – Saturday December
20. 3:30 to 7:30 pm.
Stout’s pajama party
Every
year on Christmas Eve, Erin suggests that you drop in to Stout Irish Pub (221 Carlton)
when you’re overloaded with family and just want to escape. Wear your pajamas (because it’s a pj party). The party continues until closing time.
Murgatroid
Caleb’s
been busy. His catering plans got a
boost from Jazz FM – he provided the food for a party of 60 people at the
station and received very good exposure as a result. He’s also started a takeout plan – frozen meals
from his menu that you can use to ease the stress of heavy holiday
schedules. Click here for the frozen takeout
menus. 568 Parliament
Whiskey Jack’s
Christmas show
Duncan
Fremlin and his friends will appear at the Cadillac Lounge (1296 Queen W) from
4 to 7 pm on Sunday December 21.
There’ll be seasonal songs and stories along with vocalist Jen Cook and
Canada’s favourite funny man Sean Cullen.
Café Olya
Toronto
Life has listed Café Olya (540 Parliament) in both its 2014 Neighbourhoods and 2015
Eating & Drinking guides. It’s one
of 200 in the citywide “Amazing Food Shops” list. Local connaisseurs have known this all along. Congrats Olyana and Mike.
Dominion on Queen
Sean
reports that there’s no real deadline yet for re-opening the front room after
its renovations. As soon as he knows, we’ll
know. As you can see from the photo, the
repairs have uncovered some treasures. 500
Queen E at Sumach
Paintbox Bistro
The
Paintbox (555 Dundas E) will close from Sunday December 21 to Monday January 12
for renovations.
CHRISTMAS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS
Café Olya
Olyana
and Mike (540 Parliament) are taking a well-deserved break over the New
Year. They’ll be away from December 24
to Friday January 2.
Daniel et Daniel
The
two Daniels traditionally shut the food shop (248 Carlton) in the week after
Christmas. This year, they’ll close from
Christmas Day to Monday January 5.
Merryberry
Cyril
plans to close Merryberry (559 Parliament) on December 24, 25 and 26 and again
on December 31 and January 1.
Murgatroid
Caleb
will close Murgatroid (538 Parliament) from Tuesday, December 23 to Friday
December 26 and reopen for brunch on the weekend, December 27 and 28. He’s closing again from Tuesday December 30
to Friday January 2, reopening on Saturday January 3.
Gilead Cafe
Jamie
Kennedy’s café (4 Gilead Place) will close on December 24, 25 and 26 and on
January 1.
Other restaurants
Most
restaurants and pubs will shut at an early hour on Christmas Eve and for
Christmas Day. If you’re planning an
evening on the town, call ahead to make sure that your favourite place is
open.
BUSINESS NEWS
It’s turkey time
St
Jamestown Steak & Chops (516 Parliament) has lots of turkey in the fridge. Place your order now and be ready for
Christmas Day. Mark also has good ham,
beef, lamb, salmon and other delights for your holiday tables.
Eclectisaurus
Leslie
has a 1950s Bitossi Italy mid-century modern art pottery lamp on sale. Its ovoid base is geometric, patterned in
bright yellow and orange high gloss glaze fields that are divided and
contrasted by a matte deep brown/black.
The base and neck are teak. More
details here. 249 Gerrard E.
The fire is so
delightful
This
forest tealight holder at Kendall & Co (227 Carlton) is made from laser cut
metal. It casts a cozy glow and magical
shadows behind a silhouette of evergreens.
An instant scenic wonderland as a centre piece on the dining table,
fireplace mantle, or hallway console.
Kendall has lots of last-minute gift ideas – check them out here. Monday to Friday 10 am to 6 pm, Saturday 11 am to 5 pm and Sunday noon to 4
pm.
CABBAGETOWN GIFTS
The CPA’s book is
here
Adversity,
Resilience, Prosperity - the Cabbagetown Preservation Association has published
a book based on its Cabbagetown People’s project. It describes our history through the 70 years
since the 1940s, showing how our lives have changed and prospered. It’s full of
historic and contemporary photos. You can
get a copy at Kendal & Co (227 Carlton) and at Spruce (455 Parliament). $20
Tee shirts and
onesies
Warm
up your kids this winter with these special tees and onesies produced by the
Cabbagetown Residents Association. You
can get them at Spruce (455 Parliament) or order them online here.
Tyler’s chalkboards
Tyler
is a Cabbagetowner who’s making chalkboards with special local designs. Each one is framed and has an attractive
cabbage silhouette and it’s emblazoned with the street name of your
choice. Each one also comes with a small
pouch to hold your chalk – done in a forsythia design. Portions of the sales go to the Cabbagetown
Residents Association. He has an Etsy
account where you can place your order.
Gift certificate for
a massage
Give
the gift of a wonderfully relaxing, professional massage from Claudia Salzmann
& Associates (78 Amelia at Sackville).
For 25 years, Claudia’s certificates have been the perfect gift for your
hard-to-please family members. Visit www.salzmann.com
for more info or call (416) 923-0494 to place your order.
Victoria Hadden’s
calendars and cards
Victoria’s
lovely holiday cards and calendars are now available exclusively at Kendall
& Co (227 Carlton).
Toques at Spruce
Spruce
(455 Parliament) has received new supplies of its City of Neighbourhoods
toques. There’s a toque for everyone in
Cabbagetown, Corktown and Riverside.
These are nifty gift items because the selection covers neighbourhoods
in the whole city. The Regent Park toque
is special - Spruce has an exclusive.
$38. For more details, click
here.
Cabbagetown Tea
Towels
Get
your own lovely Cabbagetown Tea Towel, designed by Steve Yeates for the
Cabbagetown Preservation Association at Kendall and Co (227 Carlton). Four
designs are available featuring Bay & Gable, Arts & Crafts, Queen Anne
and Workers’ Cottages – architectural styles found through the neighbourhood.
CLUBS &
PUBS – DAILY LISTINGS
THURSDAY DECEMBER
18 TO SUNDAY DECEMBER 28
Contact info
Alice’s
Place, 554 Parliament St, (647) 931-9088, https://www.facebook.com/alicesplacetoronto
Cranberries,
601 Parliament St, (416) 925-6330
Dominion
on Queen, 500 Queen St E, (416) 368-6893, www.dominiononqueen.com
El
Catrin, 18 Tank House Lane, Distillery, (416) 203-2121, www.elcatrin.ca/home
The
Flying Beaver, 488 Parliament St, (647) 347-6567, www.pubaret.com
Gilead
Café & Wine Bar, 4 Gilead Place, (647) 288-0680,
http://www.jamiekennedy.ca/
House
on Parliament, 454 Parliament St, (416) 925-4074,
www.facebook.com/pages/House-on-Parliament
The
Irv, 195 Carlton Street, (647) 350-4787, http://www.theirvpub.ca/
The
Local GEST, 424 Parliament St, (416) 961-9425, http://www.thelocalgest.com/
Merryberry,
559 Parliament, www.merryberry.ca
Mill
Street Beer Hall, 21 Tank House Ln, Distillery, (416) 681-0338, http://toronto.millstreetbrewpub.ca/
Murgatroid,
568 Parliament, (416) 323-9381, https://www.facebook.com/MurgatroidTO
Paintbox
Bistro, 555 Dundas St E, (647) 748-0555, www.paintboxbistro.ca
Ronnie
B’s Southern Kitchen & Taps, 243 Carlton, (416) 935-1515,
www.ronnieb243.com
Stirling
Room, 16 Trinity, Distillery District, www.stirlingroom.com
Stout
Irish Pub, 221 Carlton St, (647) 344-7676, www.stoutirishpub.ca
Tappo
Wine Bar & Restaurant, 2 Trinity Street, Distillery, (647) 430-1111,
www.tappo.ca
Under
the Table, 568 Parliament St, (647) 351-1533, https://www.facebook.com/underthetabletoronto
If there's a cover charge or tickets are sold, the prices are
listed. Otherwise, the event is free.
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 18
Dominion
on Queen
7:30
pm, Wee Folk Club - Christmas sing-a-long for charity, $10
Flying
Beaver
7:30
pm, Belle’s bawdy trivia night, no cover
The
Irv
7
pm, Holiday party & guest appreciation, no cover
The
Local GEST
8:30
pm, Open Mic with Porter
Murgatroid
7
pm, acoustic Open Mic
Under
The Table
9
pm, Karaoke
FRIDAY
DECEMBER 19
Flying
Beaver
7
pm, Richard Ryder, $15/advance & $20/door
9
pm, Meryle Trouble’s “Not an f-ing Xmas show”, $15/advance & $20/door
Mill
Street Beer Hall
8
pm, Vinyl Nights with DJ Humble Mike of the Record Collective
Stirling
Room
Theatrical
Friday with resident DJ Rod Bravo, reserve on the guest list. $20
Under
The Table
9
pm, Karaoke
SATURDAY
DECEMBER 20
Flying
Beaver
7
pm, Ellen Reid returns, $20/advance & $25/door
Local
GEST
3:30
pm, Christmas caroling with Jeff Barnes & Noah Zacharin
Mill
Street Beer Hall
8
pm, Vinyl Nights with DJ Humble Mike of the Record Collective
Ronnie
B’s
8
pm, Snooky Tynes
Stirling
Room
Stirling
Saturday. Reserve on the guest
list. $20
SUNDAY
DECEMBER 21
Alice’s
Place
4
pm, Karaoke with Vee
Flying
Beaver
7:30
pm, The return of the Rita Carrey Duo, “Carrey on”, $20/advance & $25/door
Local
GEST
4:30
pm, Sunday jazz featuring Steve Koven (piano), Anthony Michelli (drums) & Rob
Clutton (bass)
Mill
Street Beer Hall
1
pm, Jazz brunch with Tyler Yarema
MONDAY
DECEMBER 22
Stout
Irish Pub
7:30
pm, Headscratchers trivia
TUESDAY
DECEMBER 23
Ronnie
B’s Southern Kitchen & Taps
7
pm, Cards against humanity
Stout
Irish Pub
7:30
pm, Headscratchers trivia
WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 24
Alice’s
Place
9
pm, Karaoke
Dominion
on Queen
7:30
pm, Corktown Ukelele Jam annual holiday celebration, $6
Stout
Irish Pub
Christmas
Eve Pajama Party
THURSDAY DECEMBER
25
Cranberries
5
& 7:30 pm, Christmas dinner – two seatings, reservations at (416) 925-6330
Under
the Table
3
to 10 pm, Christmas dinner
FRIDAY DECEMBER
26
Mill
Street Beer Hall
8
pm, Vinyl nights with DJ Humble Mike of the Record Collective
Stirling
Room
Theatrical
Friday with resident DJ Rod Bravo, reserve on the guest list. $20
SATURDAY DECEMBER
27
Mill
Street Beer Hall
8
pm, Vinyl Nights with DJ Humble Mike of the Record Collective
Ronnie
B’s
8
pm, Shawn Stanley
Stirling
Room
Stirling Saturday with resident DJ Rod Bravo, reserve on the guest list.
SUNDAY DECEMBER
28
Alice’s
Place
9
pm, Karaoke with Vee
Flying
Beaver
11
am to 3 pm, Psychic brunch
Local
GEST
4:30
pm, Sunday jazz
Mill
Street Beer Hall
1
pm, Jazz brunch with Tyler Yarema
