Coffee Pocket - more coffee love

The Coffee Pocket, at Christie and Bloor, serves a m a z i n g coffee. The milk foam on the latte was so thick, it was like they poured icing into my cup. The espresso was smooth and delicious, which made it a great drink.

The Pocket is literally a walk-in walk-out place with no place to sit, no decaf. I'd like to see the new tag line "Dark and Rich - just hit it and quit it." Sam James, the guy who opened the store and also has several locations around the city, appears to be a no-frills kind of person when it comes to indie-coffee.

 Dare I say it - this place is up their in my list of favorite cafes along with Thor Espresso Bar.

   

Jen

cafe pamenar

My friend and I biked to Kensington Market to enjoy the last few days of outdoor coffee patio weather. We spotted Cafe Pamenar, a few short steps away from the massive bike rack in the market, and decided to investigate.

What caught my eye was that the cafe is super, super long from the front patio to the back porch, without being uncomfortable. I particularly adore this specific aesthetic of mixing wood, metals, and natural light. I don't know - is it called industrial chic? Restoration Hardware-esque?

 

We took a seat a communal table, sipping a cappacino for my friend Brian and London fog for me. I find that every cafe has a slightly different London fog, and this one was not sharp at all. In short, it tasted good.

I really like when groups of people are relaxing in a cafe and chatting, amongst the customers with books and laptops, and Wi-fi.

Good vibe, a bit hipster, overall it's an awesome cafe. Cheers to the final days of patio season!

<3, Jen

307 Augusta Ave

9am to 7pm Mon to Sat

9am to 6pm Sun

 http://cafepamenar.ca/

summer sunset from my window

The view from my window is filled with skyscrapers, but from the few glimpses of the horizon, I'm still blown away by a summer sunset.

The Fairies Pyjamas

I found the Lululemon of the alternative culture - The Fairies Pyjamas. I was stunned when I stepped in. It was so anti-trends. Feather earrings? Leather rings? Unstructured clothing? Awesome. And affordable. It was like what I imagine the original Free People brand was sort of like.

Ish trying to decide on an outfit for hoola hooping at the Harvest festival

Feather goodies and more:

The story with the Fairies Pyjamas is based on Michelle, the owner, who met a business partner on her travels abroad. She met an artisan who wanted to open up a store based on hand-made accessories and unique clothing. So they set off! They visited different manufacturers around Asia, and decided to work with a Fair Trade manufacturer in Napal to bring their designs to life. Now, their store has grown to two locations, with even more partners carrying their designs. I recently met Morgan the White from The Clothing Show, and now they carry her line of earrings, and the products of many other awesome artists. It takes a lot of hard work to make the store happen, but it sounds like a traveller's dream, no?

The Fairies Pyjamas tells their story here.

in Kensington Market

Jen.

As seen at Dundas Square: SPOCK!

I walked into Spock on Sunday. He was drinking Jugo Juice. The 'real' Spock was 6'1. This Spock was 6'8. While he was towering over me, I suddenly had vivid recollections of William Shatner and Spock defending their rocket ship against all odds, teaching us lessons of humanity. Though I shall never forgive Spock for also teaching my brother to squeeze my shoulder in an attempt to to make me pass out. The internet says this is called the 'Vulcan Nerve Pinch'.

photo by Ish.