Hot-diggity dog!

Yes, at long last, it seems Parkdale has been deemed worthy of its very own hotdog cart. Located on the southwest corner of Queen and Dunn, the T.N.T. Hotdog (the dog with a bang!) cart has been spotted a couple of times since the warmer weather has developed. I've yet to try one of their dogs, but am quite excited at the prospect of having a cart so close to home. I'm sure not everyone feels the same way, and as soon as that empty storefront at that corner is rented he'll probably have to relocate, but in the meantime...enjoy your street meat! Watch this space for the unofficial review...

Keep 'em coming

Yesterday I managed to snap myself out of the zombie-like state that I'm usually in as I stroll through the streets of Parkdale. I was taking a good look at the businesses along my route to work, and grew rather excited as I noticed there are 3(!) new liquor license applications posted in windows in those few blocks on Queen St. W.

While I can think of a few things I'd rather have in Parkdale than more licensed establishments (like a bookstore and a music store, if anyone out there is listening), the prospect of new watering holes is also tantalizing. But what kind of establishments will they be? In pondering this, I started to think of some of the other bars on the strip. I wondered what the owners of the Sun Fa (as one example) had envisioned when they first hung out their shingle. They're not hurting for business, judging by the numbers of smokers who linger outside all day, but was that really the kind of place they had in mind?

These new places are probably more likely to be restaurants as opposed to bars, per se. Just let the record show that this Parkdalian hopes they're real neighbourhood joints...we don't need anymore "drake-iness" round these parts.

Parkdale Theatre, 1947 Archives of Ontario

Isn't it just something? The building is still there of course, now operating as an Antiques warehouse, but oh, how I wish it was still this glorious theatre! See interior pics here.