The list is interesting, reflecting not only what’s been popular, but also highlighting places and events we have covered first, been the only ones to cover, or which do not have their own web presence.

1) The Port – updated local spot keeps traditional Beef Shishkabob The first on the list is actually a post written in 2010 about The Port on Dundas. They did an overhaul at the end of last year but decided to keep the one menu item the new managers thought would sell, a delicious beef shishkabob which comes to the table on a sword.

2) Fishbar Opens their Doors – In second place was our post about the long awaited Fishbar, which opened in May and has been going strong ever since. We especially like their Oyster matinee on weekend afternoons.

3) Havana Cultura Starts Today! – This post, written in 2010 for the first edition of the festival, is still more popular than the post we wrote about this year’s festival in July. We’re looking forward to many more years of this Cuban cultural festival remaining in the neighbourhood.

4) Beau Lieu Bistro is Now Open – We wrote this post in September 2010 and it’s still popular. It’s probably because this quiet French bistro hasn’t had much publicity in other media and audiences online are looking to know more.

5) The evolution of Dundas off Ossington – Another post from October 2010 remained popular through 2011. As the moratorium came to a close in 2010, we noticed the quick transition of Dundas to a more food-centric strip. At that time, many new places were opening, including Churchill, Enoteca Sociale, Brockton General,  The Red Light, The Port, Camp 4, and more, all taking the local food and drink culture which had started on Ossington to a new place around the corner on Dundas.

6) Opening Soon: Amaya Express – There’s no doubt it takes a long time to get a restaurant open. We wrote about this Indian restaurant chain soon-to-be opening in March. Here it is December and we’re still waiting.

7) Cosmopolis shoot brings stars to Ossington and Dundas – It seems vampires are popular. When we wrote in May about how Robert Pattinson was filming in the neighbourhood, his fans immediately retweeted and shared our post. The day we posted this was one of the busiest days this year for traffic on the site.

Psst – There’s an Ossington Village Alleyway Party – In early August, local musician and bartender at Communist’s Daughter and organizer Michael Louis Johnson organized a party in the alleyway between Argyle and Foxley. This post was shared widely, letting people know of this no-so-secret event.

9) Yours Truly Now Open – Despite only being on the site for about 14 days, this post, written on December 16th about the new restaurant Yours Truly, is still in our top 10. We ended up stopping by later in the week and the food was outstanding. We’ll be back there a lot.

10) Queen West Music Fest Marks Year 3 in Trinity Bellwoods Park – Finishing off our list of the top 10 posts of the year was our story on the 3rd year of the Queen West Music Festival. This local charity and music event included some great musicians including Stephen Prickett, Miss Emily, Mike Evin, Lazybones and Adam’s Rib.

Looking forward to another exciting year ahead!

We like their new sign and storefront on the street, although we haven’t yet found their website or other social media to keep us in the loop on what’s coming up. Let us know if you come across them.

Academy of Lions, a local fitness club, is relocating from their spot on Dundas West which is going to become condo residences built by stylish local builder RAW Design.

The evening will start at 6pm with a 5 course dinner which includes wine pairings. If you haven’t tried their food, this is the best way to learn about the great small dishes offered at Salt, a progressive version of Portuguese and Iberian tapas.  At 8pm the room will open up for The Boxcar Boys, a Flapper Dance Troupe, cocktails, silent auctions, live auctions, a 50/50 draw and a lot of fun.

The dinner is priced at $100, and tickets are in limited supply (and available here). At time of writing there were only 13 seats left so make sure you sign up soon. If you just want to come for the drinks and party after 8pm it’s only $20 – which all goes to a great cause.

The night is in support of Nazareth House, a support house for women at risk and their infants. Located at Bathurst and Bloor, for over 25 years Nazareth House has been providing support and a safe place to over 1000 women and over 160 children. If you can’t make it to the dinner, and just want to support a great cause, click here and give directly to them.

Thursday night’s event is for a good cause, and also includes the opportunity to:

• Play Blackjack, Roulette, Crown and Anchor with professional casino dealers,
• Celebrity bar tending, including 2010 Miss Universe, Elena Semikina
• Great give-aways and prizes including signed baseball bats by Jose Bautista, Brett Lawrie, Adam Lind and J.P. Arencibia
• Question & Answer session with Gregg Zaun
• Jays season wrap up and MLB Playoff Preview

Opera Bob’s is no stranger to charity events. They regularly provide a venue for many local charities to raise funds for all sorts of great causes. Head over on Thursday to Opera Bob’s and enjoy the tail end of the baseball season while helping others!

We look forward to the next business to take over the location.Will someone bring sushi into the neighbourhood?

Other neighbourhood rumours: The now closed dentist’s office next to Churchill on Dundas is rumoured to be a new restaurant led by one of Mark McEwan’s sous-chefs from Bymark. Also on Dundas, the old location of The Tampered Press, The Communal Mule, north of Trinity Bellwoods Park, is going to be filled with a pet supply store moving into it’s location.

Note: Correction – it wasn’t Tampered Press that closed, but The Communal Mule. Tampered Press is alive, well and still serving great coffee! (apologies to anyone who listened to my mistake)

Check out some of the pictures:

On Friday night, when we visited, the patio was in full swing with customers enjoying some of the local goodness Teo puts together. The patio, which only seats around 25 people, is fully equipped with it’s own barbeque and a composter which, tucked away to the side, is how they recycle much of their organic kitchen waste.

Neighbours and locals are invited to bring out their barbeques, some food and drink, street hockey sticks, and anything else to make the party fun.