The weekly wrap for November 28, 2010

Best Cappuccino in Toronto comes to Bloor. Barbora Simek interviews celebrity barista Sam James about the opening of his second location, Sam James Coffee Pocket, at 688 A Bloor Street West. [blogTO]

Do lattes really make you vote Liberal? Eric Grenier debunks  a correlation between Starbucks and Canadian political affiliations. [Globe and Mail]

Is the Mink Mile even better than ever? Christopher Hume extolls the revitalization of Bloor between Church Street and Avenue Road. [thestar.com]

“The first float was called ‘Rob Ford’ and it passed without any fanfare.” Toronto Mike’s hilariously misanthropic take on Toronto’s 2010 Santa Claus Parade. [Torontomike]

Ford throws Vaughan a bone with AGO appointment. Royson James and David Rider report on the mayor-elect’s attempt to soothe the culture crowd.  [thestar.com]

Gentrification reaches Dupont at Howland. Bert Archer discusses the $250,000 renovation of the former diner at 268 Howland into the upscale Fanny Chadwick’s.  [YongeStreet]

Seven minutes and $10.56 to get from Lula Lounge to Lee’s Palace at 11:00PM. Time, distance and fare estimates for taxi rides in Toronto, and around the world.  [World Taxi Meter]

Cyclists rejoice; bike routes coming to Google Maps. Joe T. celebrates the omniscient information behemoth’s  intention to include bike trails and bike-friendly routes on Map searches for eight Canadian cities. [Biking Toronto]

Lee's Palace | 529 Bloor Street West

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Every Friday, the Weekly Wrap collects articles from around the web about or of interest to residents of the West Annex.

Quotable

“The Annex Residents’  Association . . . seems to exist primarily to give people an outlet to oppose home renovations they don’t think are Annexy enough. . .

Throughout its history, it has opposed much that ultimately made Jane Jacobs and much of the rest of the city such fans of the neighbourhood . . .

They’ve done benevolent things as well — they conduct walks and plant flowers in local gardens — but they are, like most such organizations, an essentially conservative force.

Associations like this abound across the city and . . . their members often behave in ways that are self-serving and small minded.”

– Archer, Bert. “Teaching the City of No to say yes.” Local Motion:  The Art of Civic Engagement in Toronto. Ed. Meslin, Palassio & Wilcox. Toronto: Coach House Books, 2010. 14-29.

 

Images

 

Barton Avenue at Albany

 

 

The weekly wrap for November 19, 2010

Tranzac Club | 292 Brunswick Avenue

“To me it’s hallowed ground” Polaris Prize winners Damian Abraham, Owen Pallet and others reminisce with Chris Bilton about the Tranzac Club on the eve of the beleaguered venue’s crucial fundraiser, in Eye Weekly.com.

Step aside sushi, it’s fro-yo’s turn to rule the Bloor/Annex retail strip. Steve Kupferman reports on the proliferation of frozen yogurt purveyors on Bloor between Howland Avenue and St. George Street, in Torontoist.

Jane Jacobs warned us urban renewal was tricky. Ann Mehler Paperny asks if Regent Park’s revitalization is crumbling in the Globe and Mail.

“Sharrows on Harbord do little more than remind me of where better bicycle infrastructure is needed” Duncan argues that the new bike sharrows on Harbord between Spadina and Bathurst miss the point in Duncan’s City Ride.

“Churchill had tea on the porch and went for a stroll through the grounds of St. Alban’s” David Wright recounts his mother’s memories of Winston Churchill’s wartime visit to 123 Howland in RSGC Archives.

“For the fourth time in two years, the popular Annex hangout failed its health inspection” David Topping investigates the demise of the Green Room in Torontoist.

And just when you thought it was safe to read again, Brian Fawcett offers up his two cents on why Toronto elected Rob Ford, and what it means in Dooney’s Cafe.

123 Howland, where Churchill had tea