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Supermarket
It looks like it probably once was a supermarket, but they ain't selling groceries any more. Instead, fill your shopping trolley with jazzy hip-hop DJs, themed costume parties (Rocky Horror, Casual Sex, Halloween, etc), occasional live bands and Asian-fusion dinners. Kensington Market at its kookiest.
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Tango Palace Coffee Company
En route to The Beaches, this artsy, stained-glass coffeehouse sits quietly amongst the Leslieville antiques and design shops. Sip inside amongst feathery miscellanea on old-fashioned tables and chairs, or linger on the sunny sidewalk over a rich croissant and a dark-roasted brew - ahhh, heaven...
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Theatre Passe Muraille
Alternative Theatre Beyond Walls is in the old Nasmith's Bakery & Stables buildings. Since the 1960s, its cutting-edge productions have focused on radical new plays with contemporary Canadian themes. Post-performance chats with the cast and producers are usually held on the first Tuesday evening after the show opens. Sunday matinees are Pay What You Can.
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Tonic
Tonic bills itself as 'neutral' and 'abstract,' but the grape-like disco balls above the entry lobby suggest otherwise. 'Uni Night' on Thursdays draws a slightly more literate crowd than 'Fashion Fridays.' Album launch parties by Diddy and others of his ilk see a steep decline in the skin-to-clothing ratio.
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Top O' The Senator
Upstairs in a historic building just east o' the Eaton Centre, the sassy jazz standards drifting from the Senator's stage are seductive and hypnotic. Musicians and bartenders fill patrons' dreams and martini glasses every night except Monday. Serious hepcats like Branford Marsalis play here when they're in town.
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Toronto Centre For The Arts
The 1000-seat George Weston Recital Hall is home to the Toronto Philharmonia ( www.torontophil.on.ca ) and the Amadeus Choir ( www.amadeuschoir.com ). The 1700-seat Main Stage Theatre and intimate Studio Theatre also host ballet and theatre. It's a long way to the top of Yonge St.
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Toronto Dance Theatre
Kinetic and poetic, this contemporary dance troupe performs at a restored church in Cabbagetown and the Harbourfront Centre's Premiere Dance Theatre during winter and early spring. The annual Four at the Winch event spotlights four works by emerging Canadian choreographers. The School of Toronto Dance Theatre also performs in Cabbagetown - opening nights are highly recommended!
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Toronto Symphony Orchestra
A range of classics, Cole Porter-era pops and new music from around the world are presented by the TSO at Roy Thomson Hall, Massey Hall and the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Consult their website or printed matter for the answers to such questions as, 'What if I need to cough?' and, 'Should I clap yet?'
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Tranzac
Drop in and say 'G'day' at the Toronto Australia New Zealand Club (Tranzac), where the bar is bolstered by a graffiti wall, theatre space, satellite TV sports and live performances Monday to Thursday (Pay What You Can) - anything from indie rock to bluegrass, poetry readings and book launches.
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Trinity-St Paul's Centre
The world-renowned Tafelmusik ( www.tafelmusik.org ) baroque orchestra and chamber choir performs most of the time at atmospheric Trinity-St Paul's United Church (tickets around C$22 -77). So too does the excellent Toronto Consort ( www.torontoconsort.org with early medieval and renaissance music (tickets around C$14 -48). Check schedules for family matinees, meet-the-musician nights and the annual holiday sing-along to Handel's Messiah at Massey Hall.
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Turf Lounge
If horse racing gets you all hot and bothered, this patch of turf is for you. It's a sassy room with a banking chamber vibe and a strict dress code (no runners, shorts or track suits), where the nags gallop around the world's racetracks on big-screen TVs above the bar.
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Underground Garage
Trying valiantly to keep it real in the otherwise skin-deep Entertainment District, this urban rock bar is down a steep staircase lined with Led Zeppelin, Willie Nelson and John Lennon posters. Wailing guitars, cold beer and good times - just as it should be. It doesn't usually get going until .
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University of Toronto Faculty of Music
U of T's scholarly and professional music faculty presents a series of concerts - orchestral, chamber, wind ensembles, jazz and new music - at various venues around the university's St George campus. An afternoon of tea and opera at the MacMillan Theatre costs less than around C$30 . Vocal performance classes and select concerts at Walter Hall are free.
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Village Idiot
The Idiot is a cherry-red, black and brass boozer on the southern fringe of Baldwin Village. Management aims for an Olde English interior, but (thankfully) comes up a bit short, the irrepressible student crowd helping to keep things local. Belgian beers on tap, great pub food and afternoon rays streaming in.
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Wheat Sheaf Tavern
At Toronto's longest running pub (since 1849), a host of faithful regulars shuffle and mutter around dartboards, pool tables, a kickin' jukebox and relaxed streetside patio. It's a bit out of the way, but we like it that way. Half-price wings Sunday to Tuesday.
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Woody's/Sailor
On any given night, red-hot Woody's sells more beer than any other bar in the country. The city's most popular gay bar complex has a glad bag of tricks, from drag shows, 'best ass' contests, leather sessions, billiards tables and nightly DJs. Sailor is a slick bar off to one side.
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Young Centre for Performing Arts
The Young Centre houses four separate performance spaces, utilized by theatrical tenants including Soul Pepper ( www.soulpepper.ca ), Moonhorse Dance Theatre ( www.danceumbrella.net/clients_moonhorse.htm ) and George Brown Theatre Co ( www.georgebrown.ca/theatre ). There's an onsite bookshop and bar too.
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Yuk Yuk's
A bit like the brass plucked chicken door handles, acts here are sometimes funny and sometimes just a joke. Canadian and international touring acts appear regularly, with famous faces on some weekends. Jim Carrey cut his comic teeth here. Cover for Tuesday's 'Amateur Night' is just around C$3 .
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