Shari "fuckin eh" M.'s Profile

I have found my new favourite latte in Toronto.  In addition to the fact that they sell Glory Hole Donughts...I am putty in their hands.  

The service is friendly, the place is spotless and if you manage to get yourself a seat, you can watch all the neighbourhood four legged friends pass by.

Why is this latte my new favourite?  It's the perfect middle of the road - not weak and not so strong that I feel like I could change the oil in my car with it.  I compare this to a wine tasting...different notes and tones and complexities.  If I was drinking from a clear glass I would be looking for legs on this bad boy.

The donut...I must try them all...but for a start I shared the peanut butter and jelly with my friend.  Huge, crunch exterior, peanuts on top, (what I think is) Welch's Grape Jelly inside, the creamy and oily texture of peanut butter.  It is fantastic. Although the donuts are available daily - you gotta get here early before they are sold out.

Oh saweet Jebus!  I made the mistake of trying their carrot cake with cream cheese icing.  I am now comatose and stopping myself from reaching for more.  Must. Not. Eat. Whole. Loaf.

I like the idea of their summer promo.  $1 for any sized pop or iced coffee.  Cool!  I love a good deal!  Plus, their vanilla iced latte is a high calorie (so bad...so good) yummy beverage.  Or so I thought so.

I was at work and just finished drinking the iced coffee I got from this McD's drive thru.  I had literally just thrown the empty cup in the garbage.  My coworker comes in and says that she just got an iced coffee from this spot (from their drive thru too) and it had a cockroach in it.

Mmmm....iced coffee, now served with cockroaches!  Is that's why it is so cheap for the summer?!

I was disappointed with Rebozos.  Maybe it was what I ordered.

Our recent Mexican UYE had a great turnout, and of course, I had to veer from the normal and get something other than tacos.  Lauren loved her pozole, and Vivek loved his tacos (heee).  I was not loving my chicken mole dish.  The refried beans were very soupy, the Mexican rice was just okay, and the chicken pieces were far and few between.

The guac was okay, but you could tell it wasn't super fresh as it had been refrigerated.  The chips were not homemade either.

The decor is homey and makes you feel like you are in someone's home.  When I went to go pay (they accept debit - no VISA), I noticed it was just one gentleman in the kitchen and his wife(?) was serving.  Very cute.

I think my fantastic Mexican crusade for Toronto still continues.  Mexico Lindo on Bayview (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) continues to be my favourite with their homemade chips and fresh guac.

Would I give Rebozos another try?  Yes, for the tacos or pozole....and more Spanish soap opera watching!!!

They do have parking onsite, or if you are taking the Dufferin bus north, get off at Rogers and walk 3 blocks west.

Apparently the 34th year of my life means pizza for me.  Through the power of Yelp, I chose QMP to celebrate my birthday dinner with my family, BF, BFF and her BF.  Wow....so glad I chose this place!

You know when you are at a big table and everyone is chatting, laughing, and the food arrives and it is complete silence?!  That was us.  All 8 of us were diving into these pies like greedy little pigs.  

The crust is almost like a naan.  Very light, airy, yet with that all important bit of crispness on the bottom.  My only comment on the crust would be a bit more salt could be added to the dough.  The toppings were so fresh.  I sampled a couple of different pizzas and was so impressed with each.  The veggie one is like a garden on a pizza, the Italian sausage one is meaty delish, and the prosciutto one was some of the best cured pork I have had.

The space is adorable, and with the wood burning oven it still manages to stay cool.  

I can't wait to go back!

I had looked at L Studio's price list in the past, thinking I could get a mani-pedi as I work so close to the salon/spa.  But, the prices were too rich for my blood so I just gazed in the shop whenever I walked past.

Then, a few weeks ago one of those deal sites offered a coupon for L.  Spend $20 to get $50 worth of services/treatment.  Great I thought, I would buy two and perhaps try a facial or something.

My feet were in desperate need so I thought I would use the first coupon on my tootsies.  What a mistake.  Their regular pedicure costs $40.  At that price, I thought I would for sure be getting great pampering.  Boy was I wrong!  When I walked in I saw they had a little table for a manicure, but didn't see any area for a pedicure.  To do a pedicure (and I wish I was joking about this), they turn around one of their hairdresser chairs and put a little table apparatus in front of it.  That is it.  No comfy chair, instead you awkwardly balance your feet on this apparatus that just seems so inappropriate that it blew my mind.  I was shocked actually.  For that price, I could go to Urban Nails (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) and get a mani-pedi in a comfy massage chair.  

The quality of the pedicure was ok, but nothing special.  The esthetician made the water so hot for my feet they were red (even after she cooled down the water), forgot to ask me to pick a colour and ended up bring a few to me to look at (not many colours in stock, BTW....not like our beloved Nailsense http://www.yelp.ca/biz...), then she almost cut my cuticle, and spent wwaayy too much time working on my cuticles to the point that they hurt.  The leg and foot massage was weak, instead of putting tissue between my toes before the polish application, she used rough paper towels and the polish application was not spa worthy.  The esthetician works in what looks like a very awkward position, and if you had long legs, I have no idea how she would be able to do the pedicure without you being on an angle.  

Once she finished the polish and put the dryer on my feet, I thought I would relax my legs a bit.  Mistake there, it just moved the amateur table apparatus and I had to sit rigid again.  After a while I felt that I had sat uncomfortably long enough and got up and put my shoes on.  The esthetician came out and apologized as she had an emergency call in the back.  

Now maybe they do a good job with the hair.  I didn't see anything outstanding while I was there.  In fact, one of the hairdressers (who was quite funny and very nice), had his hair in a scrunchy!  Wow...I would never expect that from a hairdresser in 2011.

The best part about the visit was they use single package, single use sterilized materials and Seche Vite top coat.  They do have one of those Keurig coffee machines by the door, and I was kinda looking forward to a cuppa, but I wasn't offered one until I was in the midst of my pedicure.  

I still have one more coupon, and I am tempted to not even use it.   Maybe just a manicure, but the polish application on my feet was not as clean as I like, so I am hesitant to think what my fingers will look like.

I had been looking high and low for frames.  I knew exactly what I wanted - cat eye frames.  Every smaller (and cheaper) store I looked at, they didn't have any.  Even the pricier stores would have maybe one or two pairs of cat eye frames, but they were boring or wwwaaayyy over priced.

Now here comes Rapp.  Through reviews on Yelp, and watching Sandra Pittana rave about Rapp on CityLine, I knew I had to check it out.  

The store is very cool, resembling more of an old antique jewelry store than an optical shop.  I walked in and was greeted very warmly, and let the funky sales gal know that I wanted cat eye frames and she went to town.  I loved 99% of everything she recommended.  I settled on a pink and grey pair that cost about $300.  Not bad in my opinion.  I mean, I wear them everyday, and they were what I had been searching for.  The one pair that were uber funky that I coveted were over $600.  Needless to say I did not get those ones!

I recommend Rapp if you want something unconventional.  If you want statement pieces, and if you are willing to have items recommended for you, this is the place.  Rapp is not like every other optical store, you cannot just pick up a set of frames and try them on.  The frames are behind glass and laid out in a way that could be very overwhelming to some.

I feel almost bi-polar about this place.  I have gone back, tried it again, and am being won over a bit at a time.  

Being someone who like very flavourful food, I am realizing why Summerhill Market's prepared food isn't overly flavourful....low fat, low sugar, etc.  I will say the food is not greasy, and a couple of their items have won me over - their chocolate chip cookies and their meat pies.

This place is still not an "average Joe's" shop.  I find the only times it is worthwhile for me to stop here is if I am on my way home from work and don't want to cook, don't want to order in and need something for dinner and lunch tomorrow.  Even then I try to talk myself out of stopping in! I at least know that the food is MSG free and better for me than McDonald's or Pizza Pizza.

Summerhill has some great prepared salads, but their overall produce section is super tiny and OVERLY priced.  Some of their stuff makes Whole Foods look cheap.

The other thing that brings me back is well....the luxury.  I would be lying if I didn't love the pretty packaged food, the ultimate customer service, the cop directing traffic on weekends, etc, etc.  This place really lets me feel like I am wearing my tiara and being noticed for my pure princess abilities ; )

A gas station, is a gas station, is a gas station - right?!

Well, true, but this one is one of my favs.  For some reason, the in house Tim Hortons here has the best Timmies coffee.  

This place gets busy.  If you are going north on Jarvis, this is the first gas station you will encounter once it becomes Mount Pleasant.  A lot of people stop in here on their way to work.  A lot of the local private school students stop in here for lunch, and the weekends get quite busy too.  Every time I go in this place, I tend to see the same elderly people that live in the neighbourhood.  So - it is a regular hang out for folks

The staff at this gas station are friendly and the place is clean.  And you know what?!  They have gas!

Another gem on Mount Pleasant!!

When I walked past, I thought Midge was just a florist.  Man oh man was I wrong.  

Yes, Midge carries BEAUTIFUL flowers.  Beautiful!  If you are looking to buy me flowers - stop in here!  But, I love the raunchy cards, the toys, the candles, the beauty products, hell I love the whole store!

This place is great if you want to:
a) treat yourself
b) buy a gift for your girl friend
c) impress someone
d) treat yourself ; )

The staff are very helpful and sweet.

Go - now!