Ainsley's Queen Street Top 3

Ainsley's Queen Street Top 3:


1) The Cameron House bartender is amazing. He made this Amaretto Sour to die for and apparently it is award winning. Can't remember his name though.

2) One time we saw a sort of police bust on the street. An officer who was outside his car was trying to stop a driver of a car and ended up getting sort of pulled along with the car. The driver sped off.

3) As for Java hut. Best deals EVER. We used to go every Wednesday for their wings and jug of beer. I saw Obama's election win at Java Hut. Just a great place with poor wait staff.

Love,
Ainsley

*click on the title if you want two dudes from Indiana to show you how to make an Ameretto Sour. The clip is from thier Public Access Television show, circa 1991.

bikes and cats and ants... summer

I like Queen West, I like to bike on my street. I always eat on my street, lots of people know my name on my street. There are lots of fun stuffs on Queen West. Michaud that lives with me lets me have a cat and stay up late. I like to go outside and play on Queen Street West but need to watch out for the streetcar and taxis. Some people say it is danger on Queen West but Michaud says that is just cause they are mad they dont live on Queen West. I like to bike to the store on Queen West they have every flavour of Crush Soda. Grape Crush Soda is my favourite drink in the summer time. I take it to the park and share it with the ants on Queen West. I work on Queen West and like to see all the pretty girls while I walk to work. Some times I bike to work but I am worried to leave it outside on Queen West in case Igor is back.

love,

Trevor

*Trevor lives in a loft on QSW with his buddy Michaud. They are currently building walls as the open layout has proven to repel ladies from sleeping over. Michaud has a bunkbed and Trevor owns a collection of interesting hats that go well with Vodka and Orangina. Click on the title to find out more about why Trevor fears Igor.

to a boozecan... and a freckle-faced girl...

"Let's finish up here and go somewhere else."
"But it's 2:00..."
"I know a place..."
She took my hand, and we headed out. She led, I followed. I was more naive than I thought I was.
*knock knock*
"Is this even an establishment? You sure it's open?"
"It's open, trust me."
"But..."
"Trust me."
A few moments pass, the door opens. It's possible a password was
uttered, but I couldn't be sure. Our hands were still clasped, we entered.
This felt very film noir.
We had a booth to ourselves, the room was suspect, but intimate.
Drinks were brought to us, but I don't recall money exchanging hands.
People were in the washrooms for longer than they should've been.
We drank and chatted, I loved her freckles.
I don't recall what time we left, but it was still dark outside.
She was still holding my hand - I'm not sure if there was a point in the evening when she wasn't.
To this day, I couldn't tell you where we were that night. My head was elsewhere.

Thank you, QSW.

love,
anonymous.

a green dress meets a plaid shirt...

"Would you like to dance?" he asked.

"I'm already dancing..." she said.

And so it began. It was Halloween 1983 at the Cameron House on Queen. My dad was a shy sort of guy, not dressed up for the occasion, but my mother remembers him being dressed as a hockey player. She says it was because he wore a plaid shirt, and all the boys in South Porcupine wore plaid shirts after hockey games. She was wearing an emerald 30's cocktail dress and was going as a starlet. Aaron and Mary-Theresa, they courted between my mother's guitar lessons, poetry readings, and dance classes. At the time Mary-Theresa was seeing a wealthy, good looking fellow, and had little trouble choosing between the men. My father was seeing someone who was a complete nut, so he went from the bad kind of nut to the good kind. Shortly after, my mother went to Europe because she "knew that if [she] didn't do it now, [she] would never do it," and my father waited for her return. At which time he impregnated her with their love child, Hilary, my brother. My mother is from an Irish Catholic family and was married before she started showing, in a small ceremony in her hometown outside of Timmins, South Porcupine. It is a love story that began on Queen West, as so many have started there.

For Dana. From Zoe.

*clicking on the title will lead you to a music video from 80's super-duo Renee and Renato that I feel echos this story for the following reasons:
1) theme of waiting for love
2) very 1983
3) they appear to be at a masquerade ball... or a high school drama club set for Romeo and Juliet
4) Renato is wearing a shirt and Renee is wearing a dress

from an old roomie...

Dear Studio 129 --

Do you remember the wonderful times we had together?
I do.

I remember hot summers spent in your shadowy coolness, and our guerrilla garden just out back in the alley.

I remember your high ceilings -- I LOVE that we got to have an 18ft Xmas tree one year,

and that our friend hung her silks aerial silks from your ceiling and rehearsed in your space. Living with you was like living a childs life all over again -- we had enough space to play hackey-sack while also recording an entire hard drive's worth of music.

I remember Fringe performers pitching their tents during the fringe one year - an indoor tent city, and how you accidentally locked me out in my underwear one morning... luckily the neighbours were as Bohemian as we were and didn't bat an eye when I knocked on their window and asked to be let in through the backdoor of your adjoining hallway.

I remember that living with you was rough at times, Studio 129. We got really sick one winter; living in a space that is just one step up from outdoors can lead to illness. We each took turns playing nurse while the other recovered... and you looked on.

But the joy of living with you casts a bright light onto any of the dark times.

I remember such moments of peace, comfort, connection, friendship, and satisfaction: the sounds of birds in the field behind us; the warmth of the heater on the coldest of days; late night/early morning tea with room-mates and friends, and countless artistic and creative endeavours.

I'l always remember you, Studio 129, 48 Abell Street.
Even if we weren't meant to be together forever.

Love,
Carmen

* click on the title to find out more about what old roomie 48 Abell is up to now...

A chat in the summer sun with the lovely Gail Hawkins!

Gail Hawkins opened Niche Coffee at 626 Queen Street West about 2 years ago, and sat with me on a sunny afternoon to talk about her experiences as a business owner and resident of Queen Street West.

Previously occupied by the Vienna Home Bakery, which closed it's doors in 2006 after 22 years of providing a meeting place and yummy baked goods for the neighborhood, the residents had mixed feelings about a new coffee shop taking over the space. Many were happy to see an independent owner take over the space (as opposed to a Starbucks, which created much debate in the neighborhood with the openings at Queen and Dovercourt and later, Queen and Bathurst). Some were opposed just because they had such strong love and nostalgia for the Vienna Home Bakery.

"I don't care how good it is by any metric. It can never replace the Vienna Cafe, only occupy the space."

-a response to a glowing review of Niche Cafe on blogTO

Sitting with Gail at Niche, she told me the story of a lady who vowed never to step through the door, as she was proposed to by her husband in what was the front booth of the Vienna Home Bakery. The lady eventually came in, and struck up a conversation with the barista! A story like this is so interesting to me, as it exemplifies the close knit pride in the neighborhood. Residents are affected by business closures, and have a personal connection to the shops. Change is inevitable... businesses don't last forever, sometimes by choice ( an interview with Vienna Home Bakery owner Gay Couillard sheds light on her decision to hang up her rolling pin: www.thestar.com/article/154552). But the response from this lady shows the personal connection residents feel on a strip that has been referred to by many as a "mini-mall". It isn't a mini-mall. People live here and care about the businesses that are staples in their daily lives. In years to come, Gail hopes that Niche will become a staple for current residents.

The atmosphere of Niche is quite chill, they have a super sweet back patio and the coffee was yummy, yummy. Gail knew many of the customers by name, and there seemed to be a stream of "regulars". Speaking with Gail about the neighborhood, she explained that she knew many of the other business owners and their employees and spoke of a sense of support in the area for each others businesses. When speaking about crime in the area, Gail expressed that there are issues with the crossroads at Queen and Bathurst, but that is part of the makeup of the community and the police are accessible and co-operative if problems arise. The pulse of the street and the unpredictability of an area which attracts so many different people were positive attributes of the locale, and Gail, a former east-ender who now also resides in the neighborhood, feels right at home!

Gail loves shopping at all the specialty shops and her favorite local haunt is Trinity Bellwoods Park, where she walks her dogs. Gail would like to see a nice cheese shop spring up in the 'hood. And she may have gotten her wish: The Leslieville Cheese Market recently opened at 541 Queen Street West!

Thanks for the coffee and the chat, Gail!

An interesting article from The Varsity last year...