the back patio at Union Restaurant.

Teo was out serving the best hamburgers and sausages I think I have tasted in a while, with some great condiments. Mike Layton, our Ward 19 counselor,  stopped by and chatted with Teo, explaining that these are the kind of local places that we need in the neighbourhood.

Right now, but current bylaws, Union cannot open their patio to the public, so they will need to go to the Committee of Adjustment. During these hearings, letters of support from locals can be helpful.

Teo’s goal for Union is to be a refuge for both farmers and patrons, and he has wanted a patio since he began his journey to ownership. The idea for the patio is that it would serve a maximum of 24 people, and also house his composting area as well as a charcoal barbeque. Produce from local farmers will also be showcased along the wall. It will close at 11pm, so as not to disturb local neighbours.

He is asking for letters of support so if you can email him at chefteo@gmail.com a letter noting your support, he can then use that at the committee meeting.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the arresting Barbie display in the windows of 100 Ossington, and it’s made you curious. If so, read this article which profiles the creator of that collection.

Telegramme Prints had a nice write-up in the Globe and Mail this past weekend, with an article about the popularity of Toronto-themed poster art, which also featured Dave Murray’s poster which we recommended in December.

The Star went on a bar crawl, starting at Dundas and Ossington, and hit several of our local watering holes, including Camp Four, Churchill and The Garrison.

Finally, Via Rail’s “Destination” magazine covers Ossington as the “in street,” with mentions of our hot shops, like Ministry of the Interior, and restaurants and bars, including Foxley, Beau Lieu Bistro and Reposado to name just a few!

Stop by 248 Ossington Avenue (NW corner at Dundas) on Tuesday, November 23rd between 10a-7:30p, and Weds, Nov 24 and Thursday Nov 25th b/t 10:30am-4:30PM. They were setting up the main floor tonight with lots of tables which will soon be covered with hand-made crafts, baked goods, work from local artisans, a “white elephant” table, and more.

No admission fee and this is open to the public. Happy shopping!

Not surprisingly, the Ossington Village nabe scores best in the dining and drinking categories, despite our council’s efforts!

Pizzeria Libretto was voted the #1 pizza in Toronto, and the runner-up for specialty pizza, and restaurant for a date. We know the lines are long, but can only recommend going for lunch, or arriving early for dinner, giving them your phone number, and hitting one of the many nearby bars for a pre-dinner drink. That’s what we do.

Naturally, Ossington also topped the list for best bar, and runner-up for best bar or pub. Take that, city council! The best bar as voted by Now’s readers is The Dakota Tavern, and the runner-up is Sweaty Betty’s, both sort of bookending the Ossington strip, and each by now a local institution. Plus, in the category of best bartender, Michael Louis Johnson of Communist’s Daughter was runner-up. We don’t know what the other guy does that’s so special, but Michael serves food and drinks at the same time that he plays with a jazz group. Check it out for yourself!

One of our two pho joints was featured as the runner-up for Best Vietnamese - Rua Vang Golden Turtle on 125 Ossington. Not surprising, considering how popular (and cheap!) it is. The Lakeview won as best diner/greasy spoon. Gotta appreciate that it’s open 24 hours, and has nightly drink specials that really are special.

We think all the spots on Ossington are worth visiting, but it is nice when great establishments and people that we love get recognized. Post your faves that deserve recognition in the comments.

What was once a mixture of Portuguese sports bars, hair salons and video stores is now a booming strip of fine dining restaurants, hipster bars, and a new gym. Let’s explore Dundas just east and west of Ossington.

While some of the better known spaces have been around for years, such as The Communist’s Daughter and The Lakeview, many of the go-to places opened less than 2 years ago: The Red Light, Show and Tell Gallery and Opera Bob’s come to mind. Continuing that trend, The Garrison took over a huge sports bar and turned it into one of the better live music venues in the city, with on-the-verge acts playing most every night. Enoteca Sociale is an expansion of Ossington’s Pizzeria Libretto family, and the rustic Italian wine bar is packing them in after approximately 6 months in business. Loop Gallery opened a year ago just west of Dovercourt, adding to Dundas West’s cachet in the arts’ community.

One of the more recent newcomers is Brockton General, which is getting rave reviews for it’s small menu of daily specials on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.  Academy of Lions, a cross-fit gym, just opened in a former auto service station on Dundas a block east of Dovercourt. Churchill, a lounge-bar, opened last month at Dundas and Lakeview, and Bunda Lounge is opening soon just east of Ossington.

Since Dundas doesn’t have a moratorium, it is much easier to open a restaurant or bar there than on Ossington. We’re not going to get into the fact that maybe they should be revising some bylaws so there are different licenses for bars as opposed to restaurants, and that we don’t need to force bars to serve food because we are all adults and smart enough to know when we need to eat. Ok, maybe I did go into that. Seriously, it’s 2010, can our government treat us like grownups? Anyway, the point is, we assume the tough restrictions on Ossington have caused some of the spill-over onto Dundas, and we see so many “for lease” and “for sale” signs that this will probably continue for some time. We’ll be here to cover it.

But his experience is much broader than that. Ted is also an architect, and with that brings a much broader understanding of city issues. Being an architect gives a candidate a solid understanding of city aesthetics and heritage as well as, importantly, regulations.

Ted grew up in Brampton, after being born in Scotland, and moved downtown to study history and architecture at the University of Toronto.

Frustrated with the direction of the neighbourhood, and always having an itch to run, Ted joined the race later than most of the other candidates, but he has made up for his late start with his quirky approach, as well as his large network of supporters in the neighbourhood from his restaurant background.

One of the main planks in his platform in running for council is to encourage the small businesses in the neighbourhood to grow, as well as to connect with local residents, and be the caretakers of the neighbourhood. As a small businessman himself he was subject to many of the regulations he is looking to change – including expensive fees on sandwich boards. Read more of his platform here.

Ted’s got a very open and direct style which may ruffle some feathers, but Ward 19 needs some change, and Ted’s in it to push for change.

Come to the Ossington Village debate at the Garrison Tuesday night and see Ted in action, as well as all the other local candidates. It should be a good night.

I met Sean a week or so ago to talk about issues in Ward 19, and why he decided to run for office in this area. If you are a sports fan you’ve probably heard his name as he was a broadcaster for Rogers Sportsnet for 15 years and host of a program called Connected.

While in that career Sean got connected to a bunch of charities including Right to Play, as well as the St. Joseph’s Health Centre, which is the benefactor of the fundraising from Queen Street Music Festival, so giving back to the community is part of Sean’s life in Toronto.

After recently leaving leaving Rogers Sportsnet, Sean told me he was looking for something new to do which would make an impact on his neighbourhood, where he’s lived since moving from Vancouver about 8 years ago. Sean lives on Queen St and has seen the great change that has happened to the area and wanted to keep that change moving in the right direction as well as impact larger issues such as improving the TTC and cleaning up parks in the city.

His background also contains a number of entrepreneurial ventures when he was younger, which seemed to be much of the basis for his platform – which is focused less on environmental and transit issues, and more on ensuring accountability in spending and reducing taxes for homeowners. His discussion on issues revolved a lot on making sure money is spent correctly in the city so that local homeowners can have their taxes reduced. His approach to most issues is very practical and business oriented, and the lack of his connection to the more political approach to issues may prove a great advantage in getting things done, but also will be a challenge.

Like the other candidates in the race, Sean is obviously well connected. The Queen West Music festival, which he organized, had a number of high profile sponsors including Rogers, TD and Molson, and it takes some influence to get them involved in a local music show. It shows a determination to make things happen and change the community, which the music festival does.

The Ward 19 race involves a lot of young candidates, and some names we know. Sean is a welcome addition and is going to provide more visibility to the issues of the neighbourhood. Let us know what you think of how the Ward’s election is shaping up.

I finally got to meet with Mike Layton, both over a coffee at I Deal and drink at Reposado. We talked about many of the issues of the neighbourhood, which, from his canvassing, he is learning quickly.

He’s a resident of the area, and obviously, through his father, he’s well connected. His clear passion is the environment, and he knows a lot about the politics of it, which is obviously a good skill and passion to have in this city. He currently works for an environmental organization doing research and communications work on issues related to renewable energy.

One of the great characteristics I thought he brought to the table was the ability to listen. He is very personable and friendly, and will lend an ear to all the local residents. People talk about the characteristic of “a politician you’d want to have a drink with” – and Mike fits right in that category.

His endorsement by Joe Pantalone, who we’re not a fan of on this blog, may help him, and may hinder him. In our conversations he was careful not to criticize his potential predecessor but stressed the importance of good communication within the community, something that didn’t happen with the restaurant moratorium.

We are happy that there will be a new and eager councilor for our ward, whoever is chosen. We encourage you to stay informed about who is running, we have been interviewing the candidates, and plan to do more in the next few weeks.

If you’re a regular to the neighbourhood or live nearby and want to keep up to date, keep checking in on this page to find out what’s going on.

If you run a bar, restaurant, theatre or gallery in the neighbourhood and you want to add upcoming events, please let us know and we’ll hook you up.

This morning “Crafted” opened in the location where Get Real used to be at 135 Ossington.  It is the newest location for the entrepreneurs behind Te Aro Roasted in Leslieville.

We stopped by this afternoon and tried a few of their blends – an iced tea which had a delicious peachy flavour and a cold filtered iced coffee. The people behind Crafted enjoy experimenting with different ways of brewing coffee and have a very funky machine which looks a bit like something I might have played with in a university chemistry class for making the cold filtered coffee. (I’m hoping there won’t be too much caffeine in it or else I’m going to be up all night)

Although they are still shopping for some furniture the interior is already comfortable with warm unfinished wood paneling and a nice table where people can congregate and work – and they even have free WiFi. There’s also a back patio area with a herb garden as a place to enjoy a coffee outdoors.

If you want to buy some of their specialty roasted coffee to take home, you can pack it up and take it with you.

They promised to be teaching some classes and having specialty coffee tastings and they’d tell us about. So keep an eye on the blog for upcoming events at Crafted.

In the meantime, stop by and welcome our newest business to the neighbourhood.