With the plethora of restaurants in our neighborhood, you can buy a gift card to suit anyone’s tastes. All you have to do is stop by one of these establishments one night this week and buy a gift certificate, put it in a card, and you’re done. Maybe if you’re lucky, the recipient will take you for a meal! Bon appetit!

The gift: Restaurant gift certificate

Where to get it: Fishbar for seafood lovers, Boehmer for the traditional, Union for the meat eater, Delux for Cuban, Foxley for Asian tapas, Salt for Portuguese tapas, Pizza Libretto and Enoteca Sociale for Italian. If you want to introduce them to somewhere they haven’t tried, Yours Truly just opened, and don’t forget Beau Lieu Bistro for the Francophile.  The list goes on and on.

Price range: Up to you

Who would like it: People who like to eat out. The range of choices in our neighborhood make it easy to please the people on your list.

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.

Bunda Lounge, for one, is hosting a special night on Saturday, February 12, with DJs, bottle service and appetizers.

On the dining side, Delux Restaurant is hosting a prix fixe menu on Monday, February 14. Salt Restaurant is also offering a prix fixe menu – you can check it out online. We also called Beau Lieu Bistro, and this lovely French boite is also doing a set menu, so call now for reservations!

Paramour is also doing a special Monday opening for Valentine’s Day and will offer their regular menu and some specials, including a special cocktail menu. They are offering an early and a late seating.

Union Restaurant tweeted that they will be open for Valentine’s Day and we are waiting to see what the menu will be.

Bohmer is still working on their set menu, but rest assured, will be open. Reposado is planning some special Valentine’s “oysters, Cava and crooning,” according to their website.

If you don’t want a fancy dinner but want to throw down and have some fun with your S.O. or some friends, there are some good choices for you too! Head on over to The Painted Lady for Big Rude Jake hosting the weekly Open Mic Night. The Rattlesnake Choir will be playing at The Dakota.

And, if your Valentine’s night doesn’t turn out like you plan, check out the fun and original night planned at XPace Cultural Centre on Feb 18! Called “Heartbeats,” it’s a new, live interactive dating show. They are even looking for contestants!

This year brought a lot of new businesses and faces to Ossington, all of which we welcomed, and many of which we covered. We look forward to frequenting many new shops, galleries, restaurants and more to the strip in the year ahead.

Let’s start with February 2010 – Angell Gallery moved from Queen Street West onto Dundas. Angell took over the space of Lennox Contemporary in February 2010, and has hosted a plethora of exhibits ever since.

There was a bustle of activity and then Bohmer launched in March 2010. The beautiful space and delicious food has led more people to Toronto’s new “Restaurant Row.”  March also saw the opening of “Oz Boutique,” an art and design hub which has housed Evan Biddell’s clothing line, but focuses on photographer Joe Fuda’s work and curated exhibits.

We started April with City Store Grocery opening on Dundas, and Crepes and More on Ossington. 8 months later, both are still open and catering to the daytime crowd in our area. That month’s other opening was the weekend-only bar, OurHouse.

May brought pop-ups to Ossington with the short-lived but fun launch of 1st Run Art Gallery, which featured the work of it’s creators. In June, LAB Consignment opened with a splash, sharing space with Silver Falls Vintage on Ossington near Queen. In other just as popular fashion news, TOPSHOP came to Toronto by way of London, and opened within Jonathan + Olivia’s space.

The lazy days of summer were anything but for entrepreneurs on Ossington when several businesses opened their doors, starting with Crafted by Te Aro, a coffee shop from Leslieville branching out. Another import from within Toronto was Goed Eten, which started serving coffee, waffles, poutine and more this July.

For a very short time this summer, Salt opened, then closed. Now it is finally open again for good, serving Portuguese wines and tapas.

This fall we supported the opening of Beau Lieu Bistro at 59 Ossington and also Telegramme Prints and Framing at 194 Ossington. O’born Contemporary is also a new gallery to the strip.

We don’t want to forget all the new openings on Dundas (part of that “Ossington triangle” mentioned earlier) that we covered a couple of months ago about Dundas’ evolution: Bunda Lounge, Churchill, Brockton General, Academy of Lions, Port, and Enoteca Sociale.

Finally, let’s look forward to the continuing growth with new places set to open soon: Pasta and More, Fish Bar, Lakeview Convenience and The Saint are the ones we know about, but we’re sure there’ll be more. Here’s to a happy and healthy Ossington Village in 2011.

We’ve taken some pictures of the cool and creative light fixtures on the street. There are 10 of them, and some are more obscure than others. How bright are you and how well do you know the luminescence of the local spots? Can you name all of them?

Feel free to post answers in the comments. We don’t have any prizes for the winners (unless someone on the street wants to offer one up), but you will have the satisfaction of being someone who knows the bright spots in the neighbourhood.

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Fishbar is a partnership between William and Jose. Jose has been a long-time Ossington merchant, having moved his vintage clothing store, Vintage One, from Kensington about 10 years ago. He operated Todo for the last few years, which struggled to find the right formula for the street. This new venture has already generated a lot of excitement and looks like a formula that’s going to work.

We had a tour of the construction site and things are definitely changing quickly. The fixtures from Todo are gone and the space looks like it’s going to turn into something nice. There’s even a room downstairs which can be used for private parties.

According to the above recent tweet from SaltWineBar, they are hoping to be open for December 15th. We’re looking forward to it!

What’s your business?

Imperial Tattoo

How is your business unique?

I guess the nature of tattooing as a business is founded on the idea that people want to make themselves more unique. We’re the only tattoo shop in a sea of bars, galleries, and restaurants.

How long have you been in business here?

We opened in January of 2008, so we’re two years deep now.

What drew you to be here on Ossington?

A bit of luck and intention. We knew that Ossington was an ‘up and coming’ neighbourhood and it just happened that we were looking at just the right time. Rent was affordable, and we found a great space for a great price that we couldn’t overlook. I have lived in and around the neighbourhood for the past 15 years, it felt like home.

What changes have you seen on Ossington since your business has been here?

Lots of upperscale restaurants and bars have popped up. The night life dynamic here has become somewhat surreal. The CAMH building has been demolished, and so has the Generator Club that stood empty for years. We anticipate many more changes over the next few years. I’d like to see some more variety to develop day traffic and community, however.

How do you see your business and Ossington five years from now?

Honestly, I can’t and won’t make a prediction. The amount of changes we’ve seen in the two years make 5 years seem like a decade. I can only hope for good things.

What is your favorite spot on Ossington, other than your own? and why?

Sweaty Bettys. We’re right next door and we’ve become somewhat symbiotic.

If there’s anything else you want to add, feel free. We’ll add it.

Please stop with all the condos already…

Tonight we saw a sign on what was ToDo bar. It seems to be updating into a new restaurant called Fishbar. The sign mentions a lot of tempting seafood such as oysters, lobster and soft-shell crab.

We always look forward to new places, and also have a love for seafood. So we are looking forward to a revitalized ToDo lounge and to eating some ocean delicacies.

We’ll keep an eye out, and if you hear anything more about the menu or an opening date, please let us know!

UPDATE: We have learned this morning that it is the same owners of ToDo who are updating their current location. It is something they have been talking about for a while and it was time to do a rebranding and remodeling of the current location.

With the pending change of command at city hall, Mr. Pantalone must have had a change of heart. On the front of Salt Wine bar there is a sign for the re-opening of Salt Wine Bar. After deciding to open despite the Ossington moratorium, Salt was shut down at the end of September. But as of next Tuesday it looks like it’s open for business again. Head over there for some of their excellent Portuguese inspired tapas.

And the local convenience store, Central Convenience, – known to us as the “hipster convenience store” – which was owned by the folks at Lakeview, now has a big sign on the front door that it is re-opening soon as Lakeview Storehouse. Look forward to having this convenient place open again soon to stock up on supplies. It’s also a useful place for all the local restaurants who often need to stock up on emergency supplies when they run out during service.

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.