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Addis Ababa
Coffee Ethiopian style: green coffee beans roasted over a flame in an iron pot, ground and 'steeped' in boiling water in a tall clay pot, then poured into ceramic cups on a tray with smoldering frankincense. Amazing!
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Allen's
Saloon-style Allen's has daunting beer, wine and whiskey lists, with over 200 single malt scotches and 100% Canadian vino. The vibe strays into Celtic territory a little too much, but at least it's authentic - Irish staff, Irish musicians and Irish cooks who make the best sweet potato fries you'll ever have in your life.
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Alliance Atlantis Cumberland 4
This pint-sized multiplex screens a mix of independent films and hand-picked, left-of-centre Hollywood releases. Moviegoers can swing by the lobby cappuccino bar for some above-par baked goods before the show. They have a similar, slightly more mainstream branch at The Beaches in Queen St E with parallel hours and prices.
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B Espresso Bar
The coffee creed at funky B is 'Steamy, rich, smooth, strong, fine, bold, delicious.' Hot damn, has coffee ever sounded so sexy? Almost as sexy as the Italian staff with mean caffeine coursing through their veins.
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Bad Dog Theatre
Ace improvisers Marcel St Pierre and Kerry Griffin lead the charge into Saturday night 'Improv Unleashed' gag-fests. There's a free drop-in improve workshop at on Saturday before the show, and an open stage on Wednesdays.
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Big Bop
There's always a bellicose crowd of goths, bad-ass metal fiends and hardcore hard-heads pacing around outside this venue. Upstairs Holy Joe's is a groovy little room made for acoustic shows, while serious indie bands plug-in at the 2nd-floor Reverb. The ground-floor Kathedral stage also has low-cover acts, and a dance floor.
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Black Eagle
A charred-out, lawless tomb, Black Eagle lures leather-men, uniform fetishists and denim boys. Hardcore gay porn plays on big screens; the art on the walls is well hung in all senses of the expression. Check your clothes at the door for seriously gritty theme nights (not for the mild-mannered).
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Bloor Cinema
Counted among the city's fave repertory cinemas, this Art Deco theatre with a two-tiered balcony screens a wonderfully varied schedule of new releases, art-house flicks, shorts, documentaries and vintage films.
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Bovine Sex Club
Don't worry, this isn't some kind of twisted fetish establishment. BSC is a maverick punk, metal and retro rock room that's been here since the 1991, one of the first venues to latch onto the Queen West arts explosion. A rusty tangle of scrap metal spews down over the front wall to the doorway.
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Brass Taps
This atmospheric, split-level pub is the kind of place you can read a book over a slow pint during the day, then whoop-it-up at night with a crankin' jukebox, pool tables and an eclectic crowd of after-workers, students and locals. They have Creemore Springs on tap, and the food is top-notch - try the 'Brass Taps Deluxe' pizza.
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Brunswick House
Between student karaoke nights and horse racing, the comedy schedule at the boozy, big-screen Brunswick House includes a version of Saturday Night Live by local troupe The Sketchersons (www.thesketchersons.com). On Wednesdays it's Late Night Giggin' - stand-up, live music and debauchery.
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Buddies In Bad Times Theatre
Buddies in Bad Times is an innovative venue for Canadian lesbigay and alternative theatre that's been wowing crowds since 1979. Original plays here often weave together Canadian themes, contemporary dance and jazz. It's tiny - only 300 seats for the main stage, and there are even fewer in Talullah's Cabaret, a clubby performance space for comedians, writers and singers. So book early!
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C'est What?
With the beer market rigidly controlled by monopolies, microbreweries are the go. C'est What has 30 whiskys and over two dozen Canadian microbrews, including Coffee Porter and Hemp Ale (no, it won't get you high), which are made by an in-house brewmaster. You can drink your way across the nation as you listen to eclectic music, live nightly.
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Cameron House
Singer-songwriters, soul, jazz, classic country and other alt-music performers grace the stage at the Cameron House, a veteran Queen West venue. Artists, musicians, dreamers and slackers crowd-out both front and back rooms. Sunday evening's Mad Bastard Cabaret ('accordion singing about love, lust and Spain') is unmissable.
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Canadian Opera Company
Warbling their pipes for over half a century, Canada's national opera company can claim to have invented Surtitles, which projects text translations visible to the audience over a proscenium arch. Advance single tickets sell out quickly; check the website about a month before opening night for details. Free concerts happen at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre year-round, usually Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon.
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Canon Theatre
Another member of the Ed Mirvish theatrical cartel is this 1920s-era Pantages vaudeville hall. A stone's throw from Dundas Square, the Canon is a hot ticket for big musical extravaganzas like Wicked and We Will Rock You .
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CanStage
Contemporary CanStage produces top-rated Canadian and international plays by the likes of David Mamet and Tony Kushner. Plays are staged at its own 260-seat theatre and the St Lawrence Centre for the Arts.
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Castro's Lounge
An unexpected attitude-free zone in The Beaches, this renegade bar has 120-plus Canadian microbrews and import beers, vintage movie posters and hardwood tables, around which cluster local literati, conspiracy theorists, political activists and slacker hangers-on. Keep an ear to the ground for beer tastings, spoken word events and live music.
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Ciao Edie
Edie may have said goodbye, but this subterranean hotspot keeps on truckin' with '60s mod colors, light-hearted lamps, whimsical decor and retro tunes spinning in the background. Cocktails are deadly; it's gay-friendly too.
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Cineforum
Irascible Torontonian character Reg Hartt has ads wrapped around telephone poles advertising his Cineforum - the front room of his skuzzy Victorian rowhouse where he showcases classic and avant-garde films. Animation retrospectives are his specialty, as are rare Salvador Dali prints. Come prepared for idiosyncratic lectures designed to expand your consciousness, sometimes delivered right while the movies are playing. Seats 20; bring your own food and drink.
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Cinematheque Ontario
Popular Cinematheque Ontario screens world cinema, independent films and retrospectives of famous directors, sometimes introduced by film critics and Canadian authors. About 400 films are shown annually at Jackman Hall at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Non-members can purchase tickets at the Manulife Centre box office 30 minutes before the day's first screening (be sure to show up early, since tickets sell out quickly).
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Cineplex Odeon Varsity
This state-of-the-art multiplex shows a respectable range of movies, from Hollywood blockbusters to small-budget indie releases. VIP theatres have extra leg room, table refreshment service and smaller screens (but excellent sound). Their Yonge Street Strip branch, Cineplex Odeon Carlton, attracts a more diverse crowd by screening major independent films and some truly bizarre offerings.
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Ciro's
Way out west in the emerging West Bloor Village, dodge the dealers and duck into Ciro's for a come-as-you-are beer and a game of pool as old soul crackles on the stereo. The good-looking owners inherited Ciro's from their parents, and they've refused to gentrify it - the crusty old Bukowskis at the bar still feel right at home.
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Comfort Zone
Lose track of time in this underground trip-hop club, where 24-hour pilled-up party people come when everywhere else has closed. It's grungy, but dress nice (no ripped stuff). The 24-hour Sunday session is the stuff of legend (or nightmares, depending on your point of view).
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Crews/Tango/Zone
This three-pronged joint sees women kicking up the heat at Tango, next door to the men's bar Crews (nice pun!) and the cabaret-style Zone. Show up for karaoke nights, drag queen/king shows and DJs spinning their stuff, usually during the weekends.
