April 30

This week’s image: The guy in the red coat is directing the people in the lineup at the LCBO.

CABBAGETOWN
NEIGHBOURHOOD 
REVIEW



FEATURED LOCAL ARTISTS

Every week, a new image in the right hand column highlights the work of a local artist.  
Throughout April, Bev Jenkins has been featured.  
She focuses on nature and its strengths of light, vivid colour and texture.  Her thickly applied oils are sculpted in a neo-impressionist style.  
Bev regularly exhibits her work at Toronto-area art shows.  You can look at more of her work on her website - click on her image. 

A PERSONAL VIEW

The Mayor and City staff have finally agreed that wider sidewalks make all of us safer.  So the City has started its CurbTO program.  

The sidewalk at Spruce and Parliament at the No Frills store is our local example of this widening.  Store customers now line up on the road and others walk past them safely on the regular sidewalk.
It’s a good start.   And I don’t want to annoy the Mayor by asking for more - he has lots of other issues on his plate.  I do hope, however, that the widening will continue.  

Photo:  Eric Morse
The sidewalk in front of the Home Hardware is a real bottleneck.  Two popular stores create lineups, plus people wait for a green light at the crossing at Carlton while others wait at the bus stop.  Poles, a hydrant, a bike rack and a small pillar block the route.

Then there’s the biggest lineup of all of them - south along Parliament and around the corner onto Aberdeen for the LCBO.  There's no space for other pedestrians on the sidewalk so they walk on the street.
Thanks to Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam who articulated this idea regularly and kept up the pressure at City Hall.  It’s a sensible, flexible plan and we’re all safer for it. 

COVID-19 NEWS

COVID-19 contact info
Toronto has a useful website with the latest information, resources and facts.  
Contact Public Health at the City of Toronto by telephone (416-338-7600) and email
Telehealth Ontario (1-866-797-0000).

Who’s open and who’s closed
Check out the Shopping Guide.  It’s a list of retailers and restaurants in Cabbagetown, Corktown and Regent Park who’re still open.  It's updated to Thursday April 30.  If you know about a change, email here and your info will be added right away.  Click here to see the Guide.  

How to wash your hands
Mark at St James Town Steak & Chops (516 Parliament) has posted on Facebook about handwashing.  It’s a great video - don’t miss it. 

Cleo’s delivery service
Cleo Pettigrew Brown has organized a delivery service for seniors and disabled people who are stuck in their homes during the COVID-19 shutdown.  She’ll pickup groceries and pharmacy items and deliver them at no charge.  She’s using a heavy-duty touring bike capable of carrying between 40 and 50 pounds.  She’ll leave the delivery on the doorstep and collect payment from the mailbox.  For details, email her.

LOCAL NEWS

Thanks to the organizers
This year’s Forsythia Festival has, of course, been cancelled.  It was scheduled for this weekend.  This is its 49th anniversary and in recent years, it’s been a remarkable success.  
The parade and events in Wellesley Park have included lots of stuff for kids and adults.  Games, live music and entertainment, gossip, a barbeque by St Jamestown Steak & Chops, a beer tent by Stout Irish Pub and raffles with prizes from generous Parliament Street businesses. All of this takes a lot of work.
Our thanks go to the organizing committee, the volunteers and the Cabbagetown Residents Association.
You’ll be back - next year is your 50th birthday.

Virtual Forsythia Festival
Photo:  Marion Harris
Spiffy up your house with lots of yellow decorations.  It’s the official colour of the Forsythia Festival. When you’re happy with the result, snap a pic and send it to the Festival organizers. They’re giving out $100 gift certificates for ten homes and you’ll be eligible to win one of them.  Send your photo to Instagram and tag it #thinkspring2020.  Or post it on the Cabbagetown Residents Association Facebook page.  The deadline is Sunday May 3.  

Keep your body tuned-up
Parliament Street Fitness (488 Parliament) has a YouTube channel. It’s posting videos by its staff that will maintain your fitness programs - yoga, pilates and HIIT.  The instructors are doing their workouts from their homes.   Check them out on the PSF Facebook page and start your own at-home stretches and poses. 
  
Good news about the sign
Last week, Gilles Huot from the Cabbagetown Preservation Association told us that a blue oval heritage sign was taken from an Amelia Street home near Rawlings Avenue.  It was found hanging from a fence in a park in Scarborough and is on its way back home. 

Homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis
Evidence of poverty in our community is more obvious now as crowds and traffic thin out.  People are sitting and sleeping on our sidewalks.  Food banks are everywhere and they’re running short of supplies.  The lineups at Corktown’s Good Shepherd for meals and shelter stretch around the block onto Queen Street. 
The pop-up tents at Power and Richmond are only one example of people seeking a place to live.  Many of them reject the City’s shelter system.  Others can’t be housed there - there simply isn't enough room.  More tents have appeared nearby on the boulevard along Adelaide and more of them have reappeared in the ravines along Bayview.

City of Toronto actions on encampments
Councillor Wong-Tam has written that the City of Toronto is providing interim housing located in two vacant apartment buildings in Midtown Toronto for people sleeping outdoors.
125 furnished units will be available for up to six months.  Each unit has a kitchen, access to laundry, free wi-fi and cable TV.  They are accessible and pet friendly.  
These pop-up encampments will be canvassed by Streets to Home staff to tell residents about these homes.  Then they’ll be dismantled.

Some things never change
Photo:  Lawrence Bernstein
Viruses may come and go but raccoons are always here.  Lawrence snapped this old guy in the tree next to his second-floor deck.  According to Lawrence,  the picture makes him look cuter than he really is!

Cabbagetown Regent Park Museum Historical Tidbit
Image:  Regent Park marble, Cabbagetown Regent Park Museum
Board games, video games, zoom parties, and old-fashioned marbles … all are in high demand during the long days of COVID-19 self-isolation. For millennia, games of marbles have entertained people around the world. Right here in Toronto, kids, perhaps especially in poor areas like Cabbagetown, have knuckled down since at least the turn of the nineteenth century. Good evidence is provided by the Museum’s big blue hand-blown glass marble that was discovered by demolition workers near Oak Street during the revitalization of Regent Park. The blue beaut dates from the mid- to late 1800s and definitely predates the Regent Park era (1949-). When Victorian row- and semi-detached houses lined the streets of old Cabbagetown, youths scampered outside to challenge one another to a game and let their shooters rip.
For more Cabbagetown history, photos and videos visit the CRPM Facebook page

KIDS STUFF

Videos from Friends of Allan Gardens
The Friends will post a weekly video for family viewing - Growing Up Green at Home.  
From elephants to spiders, discover some of the fun plants with animal names at Allan Gardens. In this video, you'll also learn how to propagate a spider plant.  Ready, set, let's go on a plant safari.  Click here to watch it and to get more info on future videos in this series.  

Online music lessons
The Cabbagetown Community Arts Centre (426 Parliament) is offering online lessons in guitar, piano, violin and vocals.  They’re using Zoom, FaceTime or Whatsapp.  These are half-hour sessions specifically tailored to your child’s needs.  Subsidized rates are available.  For more info, email Sarah Patrick at thecccac@yahoo.com or call 416-925-7222.

Toronto library
The Toronto Public Library offers free movies, books, TV shows and more online.  The Cabbagetown Residents Association has prepared a summary of the Library’s services.  It’s a great list - find out how to keep your family occupied through these long days.  

The Children’s Book Bank
The Book Bank (350 Berkeley) is continuing its work online.  Its Facebook page is full of activities that your kids will enjoy. Click here to look it over.   

Buds & Blossoms virtual tutoring
Judy at Buds & Blossoms (517 Parliament) is offering virtual homework assistance.  She’s gone online to provide her services. 
During her virtual one-on-one time, she’ll walk your kids through the homework requirement provided by the school, teach them the necessary skills to complete their work while having fun doing it. For more information, email her.

COMING EVENTS

Alan Gensho Florence yoga classes
Alan is using Zoom to teach his yoga classes every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 10 to 11:15 am.  The ‘doors’ open at 10 minutes before the class. 
Lotus Hips Yoga.  This yoga class is 1:15 long, emphasis on core work, twisting, joint strength and flexibility.
Thursday, April 30 at 10 am, Sunday May 3 at 10 am and Thursday May 5 at 10 am.
If you have a yoga block or a small pillow bring it to class. A non-slippery yoga mat can be useful. Part of the class is standing and the rest is sitting on the ground.
Join these Zoom events with this link.
Meeting ID: 416 680 3936
Password: SpringYoga

Corktown May meeting
The Corktown Residents & Business Association is holding its first ever live-streaming event.  The Association’s May meeting will include a talk by Mary Margaret McMahon about Sidewalk Labs, a report from Chris Glover (MPP Spadina Fort York) and a small business report.   Tuesday May 5, 7 to 8 pm, download Zoom and RSVP here.

BUSINESS NEWS

They’re back …

Absolute Bakery (589 Parliament).  After a three-week absence, Absolute is again offering all of its yummy goodies every day.  (416) 929-2700.

Daniel et Daniel Food Shop  (248 Carlton)It’s coming back on May 6 along with an Online Food Shop where you can place orders for either pickup or delivery.  Watch here for details.  

Park Snacks (Sumach and Winchester).  The Snack shop is opening on Friday May 1.  It will offer takeout only - sorry, no seating on the patio.  

Parliament Street Furniture (465 Parliament)The showroom is closed but the website is still available.  Check it out at (416) 964-0884 and online.

Roselle (362 Queen E)Corktown’s beautiful bakery has started a series of biweekly pop-up shops.  The next one happens on May 9, just in time for Mother’s Day.  Info online here.

Stay Home. Stay Beautiful
Shop online now at Kendall & Co (514 Parliament). Buy some creative items to entertain the family, Mother’s Day gifts, a little self care to lift your spirits and gift cards for the heroes in our lives. You’ll also find special deals on select rugs at up to 25% off and select floor model furniture at up to 60% off.  
Choose “Pick Up” at check-out for free curbside delivery within Cabbagetown on most items. You can also email Kendall & Kevin to assist with your decorating and furnishings. 
Take advantage of this time to put a little focus on your home where it is keeping you and your loved ones safe and sound. 
Kendall & Co has called Cabbagetown its home for over 20 years.  It has given to our community in so many ways. Its shop window continues to shine brightly and colourfully as a symbolic gesture that there will always be beauty in our world. Let’s return the love now by shopping local with Kendall & Co.   shop@kendallandco.ca 

Gone for now
The Parliament Street Beer Store (534 Parliament) has closed temporarily.  You can still shop at the Distillery Store (41 MIll Street), at Queen and River (28 River) and on Gerrard Street (227 Gerrard).  Daily from 11 am to 5 pm.

Get a different high
Two cannabis stores are announcing their openings in Cabbagetown.  The Green Closet (439 Parliament) and spiritleaf (238 Carlton).  The Green Closet is advertising that orders are now being accepted online - however the website doesn’t seem to be active yet.  No word from spiritleaf about its schedule.  A third pot shop is coming to the former Starbucks location at Parliament and Aberdeen.

Blooming Flower Bar
“Mother’s Day is around the corner and our coolers are full of some of the most gorgeous blooms ever! 
I mean really, we always have gorgeous blooms but it’s been tough lately getting anything at all.  Now every grower everywhere seems to be going over the top to make up for lost time and make sure all the floral “greatest hits” are available to everyone.  We’re not holding back on buying because we’re just so excited to see some of our favourite flowers again. 
If you’re thinking about ordering for Mother’s Day, don’t think.  Just call (647) 350-8076 and book early.  We want to make sure you get what you want and we want to make Mom happy again.
Visit our website or Instagram @bloomingflowerbar."     

Spruce and Labour of Love - delivery services
These two stores have been highlighted in blogTO.  Spruce (455 Parliament) is doing free front porch and lobby drop-offs.  Labour of Love (223 Carlton) will ship your purchase anywhere in Canada free of charge.  Both stores are online. Click on their names above to see their beautiful gifts.     

RESTAURANT NEWS

Your reviews are effective
Photo:  Gail Oliver
Last week, Cabbagetowners Sean and Erin reviewed their dinner from Haldi (568 Parliament).  Later on the weekend, I ordered a dinner as well and I was asked to be patient.  Six or eight orders were in the kitchen ahead of me.  
So - send me your thoughts about a local pub or restaurant.  No need for lengthy commentary.  Just say what you liked. Your neighbours and friends are listening.  cabbagetownreview@gmail.com 

Mill Street grocery store
The Mill Street Brewery is now offering groceries as well as dinners, beer and wine online.  Order info and pre-payment available through the website.  Pickup available at the Bottle Shop (Tank House Lane).  Call (416) 681-0338 ext 4.  

PearTree takeout specials
This week, PearTree’s (507 Parliament) full menu is available for pickup and delivery.  Call  (416) 962-8190.  Pickup orders available from 12:30 to 10 pm - 15% discount.  Delivery orders through Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes, DoorDash and Foodora.  For menu details, go to the website.     

Stout Irish Pub
Stout (221 Carlton) is open for pick-up orders for food and beer.  Making its grand return - caesar salad as a side or as an entree. 
New to the menu, a Double Bacon Cheeseburger, Honey Garlic Pulled-Pork Sandwich, a Spicy Chicken Pita, Steak & Mushroom Poutine! Check out these food and drink pick-up options online and call at  (647) 344-7676. 

Dominion Pub & Kitchen 
The Dominion (500 Queen E) is now open for deliveries with UberEats. 4 to 8 pm, Wednesdays to Mondays, closed Tuesdays. Check out the online menu here. (416) 366-5555.   

Cranberries
Siva at Cranberries (601 Parliament) has added Family Meals for four to his weekend offerings.  On Saturday, it’s roast chicken and on Sunday, it’s beef stew.  $25 each day.  The daily special comes with soup and is priced affordably at $10 and $15.  Pickup daily from noon to 9 pm.  Call (416) 925-6330 and check out Cranberries’ website for details.   

HOP’s got the beef
The House on Parliament (454 Parliament) recommends that you pre-order your Saturday prime rib dinner because they sell out!  Check out the HOP’s Facebook page for daily menus - open Tuesday to Saturday from 5 pm. (416) 925-4074.   

Cyril’s soups and juices
Cyril’s soup for Saturday is beetroot, coconut milk and ginger (with some carrots, parsnips and lemon).  3-cup size for $9 and 4-cup size for $12.  His juice is beet, apple, ginger cold-pressed juice: $9 for a 2-cup container. 
He makes two soups every week - on Tuesday and Saturday. He informs people about his menus in advance by email. He usually prepares a regular version and vegan one. Email him at abeautifulbowl@gmail.com to get all the details about each day’s menus as well. 

APRIL & MAY THEATRE & DANCE PRODUCTIONS
Listed by starting dates.

Our theatres are now closed following directives from the City’s Public Health staff - Aki Studio, Alumni Theatre, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, Canadian Stage, Citadel, School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Soulpepper, Toronto Dance Theatre. 

CLUBS & PUBS – DAILY LISTINGS

THURSDAY APRIL 30 TO SUNDAY MAY 10

Our restaurants and pubs are now offering only takeout and delivery services.  Entertainment and special events have been cancelled until the COVID-19 shutdowns are over.

CONTACT INFO

ALICE'S PLACE
554 Parliament St, (647) 931-9088, 
ARVO
17 Gristmill Lane, Distillery,  (647) 352-2766
CRANBERRIES
601 Parliament St, (416) 925-6330, 
DOMINION PUB & KITCHEN
500 Queen St E, (416) 366-5555, 
EL CATRIN
18 Tank House Lane, Distillery, (416) 203-2121, 
HENRIETTA LANE 
394 King E
HOUSE ON PARLIAMENT
454 Parliament St, (416) 925-4074, 
IMPACT KITCHEN
573 King St E, (416) 306-1986, 
THE IRV
95 Carlton Street, (647) 350-4787, 
JOHNNY G’s
478 Parliament St, (416) 928-1358
MILL STREET BEER HALL
21 Tank House Ln, Distillery, (416) 681-0338, 
MILL STREET BREW PUB
21 Tank House Ln, Distillery, 
NEW TOWN
413 Parliament Street
ODIN
514 King E, (647) 350-6346,
PAINTBOX BISTRO
555 Dundas St E, (647) 748-0555
QUINCY AFROKITCHEN & BAR
326 Parliament, (647) 989-9127, 
SOCIAL SMITHS
574&1/2 Parliament
SOULPEPPER
Young Centre, 50 Tank House Lane, Distillery, (416) 866-8666,
STOUT IRISH PUB
221 Carlton St, (647) 344-7676,
THE TILTED DOG
(Formerly The Local GEST)
424 Parliament. (416) 961-9425