and the floodgates finally open
So I went out of town for eight days and as I was walking home from the subway last night, I thought, hmm, I wonder what opened or closed while I was out of town? Because even though eight days is not very long, I always find something has changed when I leave my city for a little while. And yes, something had. There was a brand new pawnshop in my neighbourhood, next to the one that opened a few months ago. But the really good news was there is also a new cafe! (Sadly not in my neighbourhood, but the need for pawnshops here clearly demands a lot of real estate.)
Dark Horse coffee, which my friend Amber had been mumbling to me about the opening of for a few months, finally arrived at Queen and Broadview. It is awesome. I am happy. All year I have been wondering why someone had not opened a high-end espresso place in Toronto in a sunny room with a huge wooden communal table to read the newspaper at. Ed and Deanna did this (the table looks like they built it out of railroad trestle actually, which is awesome!) Okay so the wireless internet isn't working yet. And they have pendant lamps, which give me butt shivery memories of Starbucks decor. But EVERYTHING ELSE IS GREAT, especially the coffee, and perhaps you can tell that I'm on my third as I write this? Go see them, if you haven't already. I was in here fifteen minutes and already ran into a friend, so this is a good sign indeed.
And let's not forget The Common which actually opened up near me and west of Yonge Street last month, and is lovely and cozy and also run by an Ed and is making me very happy on cold days that are not Wednesday when he is closed. Hooray coffee culture finally coming to Toronto! Life ist gut!
But the real reason for this posting is that Oliver asked me if I was going to blog about all the coffee I drank in New York and Massachusetts. Which I should and I will, but only after I save my car from the parking authorities and rent a movie to show at tonight's Pontiac Quarterly.