Soon to close Jaiden's Petals Cindiloowho

In sad news (for us), Dani just blogged that she will be closing her flower shop/furniture store, Jaiden’s Petals Cindiloowho, at the end of June. She has been a supporter of new businesses, a purveyor of top-notch goods and services, and a wonderful neighbor, and we will miss her and her store. She is going to expand her career with Jazz FM 91, so it’s good news for Dani. Stop by before she closes to wish her well and get some of her beautiful arrangements while you can!

Dani does note that someone already has dibs on her space, in fact, two someone’s, Teo and Chasen from Union. So, in the “when one door opens, another closes” philosophy, just as Dani is moving on to an exciting new venture, so too is 130 Ossington. We wish Dani and Teo and Chasen the best of luck.

Also closing, actually already closed, is The Port at 1179 Dundas Street West. We wrote about the pinball machines and pool tables, and mostly about the beef on a sword,but it didn’t last. We are not sure what will rise in it’s stead, so if you do, please let us know.

The Port, now closed

In the first category, Union is a stalwart in the brunch department, and if the weather is nice this weekend, you may even score a seat on the back patio.

The Cuban brunch at Delux is a reliable choice, and if you go that way, definitely share some donuts and/or fritters!

It doesn’t offer brunch, but Pizzeria Libretto serves lunch starting at 11:30, and may be a good choice if you are bringing kids along. Another child-friendly choice, especially for music lovers, is the bluegrass brunch at Dakota Tavern. It’s not fancy, but it sure is fun!

If you want a casual brunch, take mom to The Lakeview.

Don’t forget the casual ambience and scrumptious food on offer at Goed Eten. Now you can enjoy bloody caesars with your waffles!

The Grove just tweeted they are opening for Sunday brunch for the first time this Mother’s Day, so you can be one of the first to taste their spin on traditional English fare. Another new brunch option is The Saint, where mom can relax in one of their booths.

Let us know what you decide! and, of course, Happy Mother’s Day!

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.

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.

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.

We also know that Union wants to open their patio and is still waiting for the city’s approval. Would be nice to share that prime rib for two al fresco, non?

In the meantime, we have news about another patio on Ossington that is going to expand.

Those who follow us on Twitter likely already know the news that BQM is planning to renovate their front patio and add a back patio on Rolyat Street. This southern facing patio gets a lot of sun and is busy for lunch, dinner and drinks, so customers will likely approve the expansion.

Don’t forget, we began a patio guide earlier this spring, put it on hold after weeks of rain, but we’ll be back with more very soon!

Some of the businesses on Ossington are well connected to social media including our Dani Elwell of Jaiden’s Petals, who blogs from her site and is very active on Twitter. Opera Bobs keeps people up to date on Facebook. And don’t forget to be tempted by the tweets from Pizzaria Libretto, Union Restaurant and Bohmer who let everyone know their specials in the twitter stream. Want Tattoo advice? There’s even Imperial Tattoo on Twitter. There’s lots more examples on our street and you can check out our Ossington Places twitter stream here. But there are places on Ossington that don’t even have a website including the Crooked Stars and Sweaty Bettys. Are they losing out?

Luckily, without leaving our home of Ossington we can find out, or at least have a good discussion about, the efficacy of the medium. HomeStars (disclosure – my employer – and no, it wasn’t by coincidence it is hosted here – Thanks Shaun!), a social media site designed for contractors and homeowners looking for those contractors, is hosting an event for Social Media Week called Is Social Media Your Prize Winning Pig – Think Again where we’ll debate the effectiveness of social media. It should be entertaining, and could even get hostile.   The event will be tomorrow, Tuesday, night from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Garrison, on Dundas just west of Ossington. If there are tickets still available you can register on the Social Media Week site here. Or you can just come by and see whether you can slip in and get on a side of this debate. Because the week may be full of people who are ‘social media strategists’ it’ll be good to have some social media cynics. Are you one? Want to share your opinion? Come out and have some fun, get in on the debate, and join in this global conference on the future of social media.

Take a look through the entire schedule of Social Media Week and try and check out some of the other events. The week will end at a great event close by at the Gladstone Hotel where there will be an evening of Powerpoint Karaoke, which if you’ve never seen, definitely has to be experienced.

Many places will be closed including Julie’s Cuban, Beau Lieu Bistro and Pizzeria Libretto. You still have a lot of options, though, including:

Dance party at The Garrison! Featuring DJ Shit La Merde, revellers will dance to music from 1890 to 2011, in that order. Tickets are available in advance for $15, $20 at the door.  The Ossington offers another lively party with Some New Bullshit with Azuree & Carl, Champagne, bourbon and “sleazy tunes for the sinner”, $11 cover. The Painted Lady is a great option, with no cover and burlesque dancers and DJ NV spinning all night. The Port on Dundas West has a whole list of DJs (Poppy Seed, Luxury Bob, Miracle Whip and DJ Hot Pants) to get you moving, with $10 for advance tickets.

Live music is available at The Dakota Tavern, where Sunday night regulars The Beauties are headlining a New Year’s Eve Party, with special guests. Tickets available at the bar until they’re sold out.

We always have great dining options on Ossington, and this New Year’s is a prime example. Union is offering  their regular menu plus Grower Champagne, foie gras along with a few surprises, call for reservations!  Salt is celebrating their first New Year’s in style, with a special 5 course menu including 1 glass of Spanish Cava. Reservations are required, there are two seatings, 6:30 and 9:30PM, and cost is $70 per person.

Celebrate New Year’s 50s and 60s style at the very mod Watusi, where the dinner seating starts at 8PM and includes a sparkling wine toast at midnight and music from DJ Mark Foreman from 10:30P-3A. Bohmer will be open regular hours with a regular menu for New Year’s Eve, as will Foxley. Call now to reserve!

If you’ve got the coin and the appetite, head over to Dundas where Enoteca Sociale is offering a 6-course festive Italian dinner in honor of La Festa di San Silvestro, and begins at 7PM. Reservations required and details here.

In the meantime a number of other Ossington businesses have joined the twittersphere and the community, Ossington Village blog included.

The community has grown.

Back in the early days, it was PizzaLibretto who was on Twitter. And they still tempt us with their daily specials, as well as their community interactions.

Delux lets us know the changes in their menu and new offerings:

Lab Consignment, out of Silver Falls Vintage, lets us know the celebs that are haunting their locale.

The ever-delightful Cindiloowho helps promote other businesses in the area, in this case @chefRoccoTO, of Pizza Libretto is opening Enoteca Sociale next week.

Our favourite tequila joint on Ossington helps out their neighbour at 134 by tweeting their next exhibits.

We do have to give some honorable mentions to neighbourhood locals and entertaining tweeters @whetmyappitite and @modernmod who keep us entertained and informed.

And let us know if there are other twitterers on Ossington, and of course, keep an eye on @OssingtonVil to keep up to date with us.

Good thumbs up!