Greenavi was a great place to grab a cup of coffee and chill with a book, or do a few hours work with their free wifi. They also had lots of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free friendly stuff available for snacking. I’m really sad to see them go, but if the note posted to the door is telling the truth, it was simply a matter of the owners wanting to move on to pursue other things. I’ll really miss this place. Curious to see what opens here next; with Just Us Cafe and now Greenavi having not lasted in this location, I have to wonder if yet someone else will try opening a cafe here, or if the place really isn’t suited to that sort of business for the long term.

However, today we walked by and a giant ‘Opening soon – Starbucks!’ banner was visible across the front of the building.  Hmm.  I’ll return later this week to take a picture during the day.

I’m rather curious about the choice of location.  While I think the area is lovely (after all, my own office is at Dupont and Christie!) it doesn’t really seem like the typical spot that Starbucks would choose to open in.

If I get more information, I’ll be sure to share it!

Before I get to a quick review of Greenavi on Queen West, I’ll do a quick followup about Wild Thing. Remember that post I made a few months ago, mentioning their delicious looking panini and promising to go back and try one? Well, I finally did last weekend, and the results of that are pictured to your right.  I ordered the Brie, Garlic and Apple panini, which came with a fennel slaw.  The panini was delicious: simple cibatta bread spread with what tasted like garlic butter and filled with thick slices of brie and thin slices of apple, served hot from their panini grill.  The slaw was also really tasty. I love fennel so it really worked for me.  Two thumbs up, and reasonably priced at around 7 bucks.

Now, on to Greenavi, which opened at the beginning of the summer in the space vacated by Just Us. The owners at Greenavi seemed to want to continue on where Just Us left off, offering organic beverages and food.

The space hasn’t been renovated much since the new owners took over.  Sure, all the Just Us stuff is gone, but it basically looks the same as it always did, only with a different menu board.  This isn’t a bad thing, really, it’s more an observation. Clearly, the previous owner wanted to sell everything and get out of dodge as quickly as possible.

A quick glance at their product wall and display case tells me that they get their espresso from 49th parallel, other coffee roasted locally, chocolate from Coco Camino, and many of their baked goods come from the same vegan bakery that supplies The Big Carrot.  Not bad!

On my first visit, I decided to get a large latte and a coconut and sesame sticky bun, which I’d had before at The Big Carrot.  I eyed their menu of wraps and panini, but decided I was in the mood for something sweet.  The latte was a bit too milky for my tastes, but then, what do you expect when you order a large?  Next time if I want a big coffee, I’ll go for a cappuccino, or maybe just an americano.  That said, what I could taste of the espresso in the drink was nice, and it was a good-sized cup for the price.

On a second trip a few days ago, Rich and I discovered that they use 100% compostable/biodegradable takeout cups, which I’m a big fan of.  Yes, takeout cups still generate waste, but it’s far better than the styrofoam cup variety.

Another bonus: They’ve got free wifi.  I’ll admit that makes it a bit frustrating to get a table on the weekends, with students settling in to write papers or study, macbook plugs snaking around the tables to the nearest plug. But hey, it’s a niche that needs to be filled.  I think I may just join the students some afternoon soon and do some marketing work for my own job.  Beats sitting on my sofa at home.

Greenavi Cafe, 490 Queen Street West (a few blocks west of Queen and Spadina).  http://www.greenavi.ca/index.html

On Sunday, we left the Valley for Halifax, just in time for Hurricane Kyle to hit Nova Scotia.  Very unfortunate timing for our trip, but at least it did no where near the damage of Hurricane Juan a few years earlier.  It did make for some pretty empty streets and very windy conditions, so we hunkered down in local favourite pub The Old Triangle for drinks and some good old Maritime Music.

Both mornings we were in Halifax we went to an awesome cafe for coffee and breakfast.  When we first saw the sign for The Wired Monk, we figured the name had something to do with the place having internet access available.  Of course, that was pretty silly of us to assume – who has wired internet access in a cafe, anyway?  In fact, the name comes from the story of a monk who discovered coffee beans and how after he brewed them with water he found they gave him energy to get through late night prayer. Huh.

It also turns out this place is a franchise, with Halifax being the only one outside of British Columbia.  Honestly, I never would have guessed, as I found the place to have a very indie cafe feel, with funky decorations by local artists and hand-labelled signs for their food and beverages.

A big selling point for The Wired Monk is that all of their coffee and tea is fair trade.  For those of us in Toronto, that’s not such a big deal, since fair trade products are available almost everywhere these days. But for folks in Halifax, where fair trade is far less common, a place like this is a welcome addition to the city.

While we were there we tried cappuccinos and americanos.  Their cappuccinos are a bit on the wet side, but then, most places in North America make them that way.  Their americanos are quite nice, and not at all bitter.  And the food?  We stuck to the baked goods because we were usually pressed for time but also because they looked so darn tasty!  The chocolate banana scone I had on our first morning was extremely good and very filling.  I probably could have saved half of it for a snack later in the day.  The apple rolls we had on the second day were lightly sweet and also quite filling.  Sure, they were probably also 200 calories per bite, but hey, we were on vacation.

If you’re in Halifax and want to check them out, The Wired Monk is at the corner of Morris and Hollis, not far from the Via Rail station.

More Halifax-related posts coming soon!

Saturday morning we headed to St. Lawrence Market to check out the farmer’s market and do a little general shopping.  While there we decided to have breakfast, since neither of us had eaten yet.  I suggested we try both Everyday Gourmet (for coffee) and Crepe it Up (for a crepe or two).

Everyday Gourmet had caught my eye the number of times I’d been to St. Lawrence Market. Inside you’ll find coffee beans from all over the world, many of which are organic and/or fair trade. They also roast many of their beans in-house, and the giant roaster off to the right side of the store always seems to be in use. We opted to get some of their Haitian Blue beans as well as some of their Guatemalan Decaf, both of which are fair trade. We also decided to each get a double espresso to go; a little something to sip while we waited for crepes.  The espresso was quite nice, with a good crema and not too much bitterness.  Not the best espresso I’ve ever had, but still lovely, and I’d be happy to go back and order another sometime.

Crepes were one of Rich and my favourite foods when we were in Paris.  They made the perfect lunch or late day snack, as they were filling, portable, and delicious.  Crepe It Up had made BlogTO’s list of the best crepe places in the city, so I thought they might be at least somewhat comparable to our beloved French food.

The menu at Crepe it Up is pretty long, offering a large variety of both savoury and sweet crepes. Along with the more traditional flavours like nutella, ham and cheese, and mushroom and cheese, they’ve also got all kinds of combinations with ingredients that sound like an omelette or stirfry rather than a crepe. We both opted to get the breakfast crepe, which contained an egg, cheese, peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomato and spices.  This is served with a little side salad for just over $5.

After we received our food we retreated to a small park near the market to eat and watch the crowds go by. As you can see from the photo, the crepes here are not done in true ‘take away’ style like in France, but instead are served in your typical styrofoam container with the side salad. This means, of course, that you need both hands and a knife and fork to eat it. That’s ok, really, since the salad isn’t really portable food anyhow.

How did it taste? Pretty good! The combination of fillings worked well together, the egg was nicely cooked, and the crepe itself was the right consistency and not at all rubbery.  Next time I go back, I think I’ll try a nutella crepe.

Everyday Gourmet & Crepe It Up!: St. Lawrence South Market, lower level.  92 Front Street East, Toronto.

Here’s hoping that the change in hours is because they want more time off this summer, and not because the business isn’t doing well.  As I’ve mentioned previously we love Manic and it always seems busy when we are in there.

Honestly, I would have walked by this Borden Street cafe without giving it much of a second glance.  From the outside it seems pretty unremarkable, with it’s retro ‘Manny’s Coffee Shop’ Pepsi sign, left over from the previous business. Once inside, however, you’re greeted with a cute cafe with comfortable seating and a good menu.

The coffee menu contains all the usual suspects: cappuccino, latte, espresso, mochas, and various iced drinks.  I ordered a macchiato and Rich ordered a cappuccino. I was very pleased to find the owner asking how I wanted my macchiato: with just a hint of foam, or more milky.  Asking for just a hint of foam turned up exactly what I would expect in a good macchiato: nice espresso, good crema, and a hint of foam.  Delicious.  My croissant was nothing special, but it was buttery and got my pastry craving under control.  Rich’s biscotti was good, full of fruit and nuts.

Wild Thing is also offering homemade gelato, in a variety of interesting flavours  such as pineapple and basil, mayan chocolate, and vodka and grapefruit.  They also offer gelato with espresso, an Italian dessert known as an affogato.

Lunches here also look promising: a panini served with a side salad for $6.50.  I’ll be back to try one of those soon.

Has anyone else been here? What did you think?

Wild Thing: 196 Borden Street (Just off Harbord), http://thewildthing.ca/

The first thing I noted with all the online reviews of the place was that people were complaining about the lack of free or paid wifi. This is a strictly wifi-free place. Once you’ve been there, you can see why the owner made that decision: the place isn’t really suited to people sitting long hours with their laptops. It has a different vibe than that, more relaxed and easy, more the place to hang out with friends over a cup of coffee than to study or work at your computer.

The coffee menu contains all your coffee favourites: cappuccinos, lattes, americanos, drip coffee, and more. You can also get hot chocolate or tea, if coffee is not your thing. But the best thing about this place is over on a separate menu, back against the wall: coffees available for the clover machine.

If you’ve never had coffee from a clover, you can really taste the difference. I was a bit skeptical at first, but one sip and I was hooked. Rich even really likes it, and ends up drinking it black or with just a bit of sugar; he takes most coffee with milk and sugar. I’ve since tried all three coffees they have available and love all three, although I am partial to the Ethopian.

Also of note about their coffees is the fact that they come from Intelligentsia. The beans are directly purchased from farmers at the source, and are roasted at the company’s headquarters.

As for food, everything they sell comes from another Toronto business, Wanda’s Pie in the Sky. Almost everything is vegan, but don’t let that scare you away: vegan does not mean boring and healthy! So far we’ve tried several types of cookies including chocolate chip, oatmeal, and double chocolate, two different scones, and one of their berry burst muffins. We loved every single one. My only (minor) complaint about the food is that they don’t really carry any lunch foods like sandwiches or salads. However, given that they don’t seem to be going for that market, I can’t say I blame them. This is a stop in for a coffee with a book kind of place, not stop in for lunch on your break kind of place. And I like it that way.

I think we’ve found our new favourite cafe.

Manic Coffee: 426 College Street, Toronto, (416) 966-3888.

I wonder if the place will sell and remain a Lettieri, or if it will be converted to something else?

This past Saturday evening we were both exhausted from a long day at the Toronto Zen Centre. Neither of us wanted to cook, so we headed out to the Annex around 8:30pm. Originally, we thought we’d try Fresh, but when we got there we found it was packed and had a long line of people waiting. So instead we headed over to By The Way, remembering how much we enjoyed their brunch.

When we came in the door, it took our server quite a while to come up to seat us. The cafe wasn’t super busy, but there was a large table of 15 or so people just finishing up, so we figured that maybe that was keeping them. Anyhow, once we were seated we discovered the table of 15 had already paid and were just finishing up conversations before leaving. In spite of this, it took our server 15 minutes to come by to take our drink orders. We tried catching someone’s eye, but were ignored while several staff straightened tables and cleaned up after the large group that had just left. I can completely understand wanting to straighten things up, but maybe they could have done it in between taking our orders and when the food was ready from the kitchen?

When she finally returned to our table, we ordered a plate of spanakopita to share, and two of the day’s specials: for me, orzo with butternut squash and gorgonzola cheese, and for him, Mexican spiced fish with rice and vegetables. We had originally wanted to order some Middle Eastern food, but couldn’t tell from the menu how big the plates were. Feeling sort of put off by the staff, we just opted to try their specials instead.

Once we’d ordered, we noticed the table behind us at the window had opened up. We asked our server if it was ok if we moved to the window. She hesitated and then said yes, although was clearly frustrated to have to move us, even though we told her we’re happy to move everything over ourselves, and there wasn’t much to move: just cutlery and two drink glasses.

But what about the food? Well, the spanakopita arrived quickly and was delicious. Lightly crispy and with great flavour, it was a nice snack to start off the meal.

Our mains, however, were just ok. My orzo was cooked properly, but there was a bit too much of the creamy sauce, and the butternut squash flavours were really lost amongst the strong flavour of the gorgonzola. Rich’s fish was nice enough, but he said it was under seasoned and really needed to be cooked better to get a nice crispy layer to it. The rice it was paired with had too much lemon juice; by about halfway through it was like eating a lemon, which was probably not the desired effect.

The slice of Tiramisu we shared for dessert was delicious and more than large enough for two. Paired with two cappuccinos, it was a good way to end the meal.

Finally, when we were completely finished, we found the entire staff was sitting down to eat their own dinner. It took us a few times to catch someone’s eye so we could get our bill and leave. Now, I’m all for staff getting to eat, don’t get me wrong! But when you’ve got several tables still eating, it is probably best to eat in shifts so your customers are still taken care of. This was yet another reason why we felt like we were ‘putting out’ the staff, like we’d walked in on someone’s private party or something.

Will we go back? Sure. But for brunch next time.

By The Way Cafe. 400 Bloor St. W., Toronto. (416) 967-4295. Dinner for two with wine, dessert, tax and tip: $85.