[DC83]

Burgers are hot right now, and Acme offers a far superior product to Hero. I'm not sure if Acme will kill Hero (I think Hero's owners have deeper pockets and might be better able to withstand a burger war), but Acme will probably do well there. It is a little disappointing tho, I was hoping for either a Cobs Bakery type thing, or maybe a Menchies.

I miss The Body Shop where Hero is. I also liked that smoothie stand they had going for a while.
I've walked into Hero once or twice, unimpressed, then left.

That spot should host something a lil more prominent, imo. Another Pub/Sitdown resto, maybe?
Old Zelda's however was prime for a club! Church-Wells needs more clubs.. Mtl's village is overflowing with em.

Totally off subject, but I was in Mtl this summer and they had closed off the village (St Cathrine Est) to traffic, filled the street with sand, built extended patios for the bars/restos which gave it an awesome beach theme. It was closed forever! Now that's something TO should do! (not with Ford around, I guess.. could you imagine his reaction to closing a street to traffic for a Gay Beach?? Ha!)

 

[Dan416]

A gay beach on Ste-Catherine?! Amazing! I wish I'd been

 

[JasonParis]

I go to Pride to see the big name acts (Kelly Roland, Cindy Lauper, Martha Wash) not for local no-names, so I guess this means my fun at Pride is over. I'll still go to the Parade but head home afterwards. Sorry but most of the unknown lacal acts just don't do much for me. Watch how few people turn out for those entertainment events now. They will slowly but surely kill off Pride. (a nice, slow death)
Thanks QuAIA!

BTW, I'm too a little concerned about Pride's new maifesto. There's some great stuff in there no doubt, but in general, it sounds like the internationalism and the marquee nature of the event will be less so. Regardless, Pride is going to be much smaller this year due to the organization's debts (which will likely climb if QAIA are continued to be allowed to march).

In other Village News (National Post)...

Queer And Far

 

[DC83]

BTW, I'm too a little concerned about Pride's new maifesto. There's some great stuff in there no doubt, but in general, it sounds like the internationalism and the marquee nature of the event will be less so. Regardless, Pride is going to be much smaller this year due to the organization's debts (which will likely climb if QAIA are continued to be allowed to march).

In other Village News (National Post)...

Queer And Far

Great read, thanks for posting that article!
70% of Toronto's Gay Population live outside of the Village, eh?
Better than New York City's Little Italy in which 0% of residents are Italian (Yes, Zero!)

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

I came across a pad of these in Hero Burger last night so I ripped one off to post here. For those who don't live in the city this sheet gives a good idea of the variety of businesses in the neighbourhood so I scanned both sides of the page.

What other neighbourhood can boast a cannabis club just around the corner from the chocolatier?!

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

 

[Riverman]

I came across a pad of these in Hero Burger last night so I ripped one off to post here. For those who don't live in the city this sheet gives a good idea of the variety of businesses in the neighbourhood so I scanned both sides of the page.

Thank you for this! I'll be staying in the area May long weekend and I must ask, are most of the bars straight friendly?

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Thank you for this! I'll be staying in the area May long weekend and I must ask, are most of the bars straight friendly?

The men's bars certainly are, I don't know about the women's bars but I presume so. Some places have best chest/best buns type contests on some nights and some have adult videos playing on TV panels, just so you know. You may want to avoid The Black Eagle as it's a leather/denim club so it's a little more hardcore. You may possibly get hit on, but have no worries people aren't aggressive... until "last call" that is
Zipperz, Statlers and Pegasus are really friendly, I'm sure you'll feel very comfortable in those places. Woody's can be too but it's a generally a younger crowd with a bit of attitude thrown in.

 

[whatever]

The bars are straight friendly, in the sense that no one will give you any attitude or anything like that, but as a straight man living in the village I gave up on all of the bars ages ago. I found them really pretentious, clubby, and uppity. That probably has more to do with me and my taste in bars tho (I prefer dark, grungy, and laid back). Hate the music, too, but again that's just my taste. The Blake House on Jarvis is tolerable, Mick E Fynn's can be ok depending on the night (forget it when school is in because it's flooded with Ryerson kids), I like the food at the Hair of the Dog but would never spend a night of drinking in there, and beyond that I prefer to walk over to Cabbagetown or pub crawl along College.

 

[DC83]

Thank you for this! I'll be staying in the area May long weekend and I must ask, are most of the bars straight friendly?

I'm going to agree with Whatever; Cabbagetown is your best bet! Some great pubs and restos there, without the worry of being hit on and/or watching gay porn while sipping your brew.
Bars/Restos on Yonge in this area, imo anyway, are kinda skeezy (Zelda's included). So take a 10min walk east over to Parliament Street and you'll be fine!

Re: Girl Bars, aka Slacks, I wouldn't suggest going. I cant even get in without a girl, and I'm a young/attractive gay dude LOL Maybe I need to get a Bieber-do?

btw, there are actually TWO 'cannibis' shops in the Village. There's the Vapour Lounge at Yonge & Charles ontop of THC, and the Village Vapour Lounge on Wellesley just west of Church ontop of the old KFC.

 

[Riverman]

Thanks a lot gents! We did walk down Parliment the last time we stayed on Homewood and found it very nice. The House on Parliment seemed to be quite a fun place.

btw, there are actually TWO 'cannibis' shops in the Village. There's the Vapour Lounge at Yonge & Charles ontop of THC, and the Village Vapour Lounge on Wellesley just west of Church ontop of the old KFC.

Really? Weed bars? As in smoking weed in the a bar? Or do you just mean basic head shops?

LOL Maybe I need to get a Bieber-do?

Thanks for the Monday morning chuckle!

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

btw, there are actually TWO 'cannibis' shops in the Village. There's the Vapour Lounge at Yonge & Charles ontop of THC, and the Village Vapour Lounge on Wellesley just west of Church ontop of the old KFC.

Make that three. I just happened to notice when I was walking the dog that there's also "Rainbow Medicinal" upstairs at 556 Church, just north of Wellesley on the west side of the street.

I've been seeing activity in the past week inside of both the former Yefseis restaurant and next door at Crepe it Up so something is happening to these spaces which is good.

The former space across the street where Pizza Nova used to be still sits empty, that's been nearly a year now I think. They moved their digs north a couple of stores to a larger space where the laundromat used to be.

 

[whatever]

Actually, make that 5. There's also the Toronto Compassion Centre on Maitland where Flatirons used to be, and another head shop whose name I can't recall down around Church/McGill. Maybe it's the larger concentration of HIV/AIDS sufferers in the neighbourhood?

 

[UrbanVigor]

Re: Girl Bars, aka Slacks, I wouldn't suggest going. I cant even get in without a girl, and I'm a young/attractive gay dude LOL Maybe I need to get a Bieber-do?

I remember a few years ago when Slacks was Slack Alice that it was one of the most mixed bars in the city... definitely leaned towards bi/lesbian, but a strong mix of gay and straight dudes (and a few couples looking for a third) and of all ages. It was one of the most friendly bars in the city (and I miss the days of dancing on top of the bar).

A few years ago when it became just Slack, I checked it out briefly before heading to another bar and it was all young girls. Of course, that was just one night and a brief moment in time so I don't know how it generally is these days.

 

[cdr108]

Actually, make that 5. There's also the Toronto Compassion Centre on Maitland where Flatirons used to be, and another head shop whose name I can't recall down around Church/McGill. Maybe it's the larger concentration of HIV/AIDS sufferers in the neighbourhood?

or perhaps it has to do with the attitude of the neighbourhood towards cannibis vs. somewhere more conservative

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

A few years ago when it became just Slack, I checked it out briefly before heading to another bar and it was all young girls. Of course, that was just one night and a brief moment in time so I don't know how it generally is these days.

I get takeaway from A La Turque next to Slack's every few weeks later at night on the weekend. I tie my dog up outside to a bike post and when I come out she's always surrounded by women playing with her, I never see a guy. I never see guys smoking out front when I walk by at night either, only women, so I'm pretty sure it's pretty much a women's bar now.