Dundas Street West around Keele, formerly a dry neighbourhood, now Toronto's brewery and small-plates strip. Henderson Brewing on Sterling Road, Blood Brothers Brewing, Donna's all-day on Lansdowne and the Junction Farmers Market on Saturdays.
Donna's on Lansdowne in the Junction is the Peter Jensen, Ann Kim and Jed Smith all-day cafe-bistro since 2018, French-leaning baking with natural wines.
Signature: All-day breakfast sandwich, Family-style dinner
Order: The breakfast sandwich at 09:00 or the family-style dinner plates after 17:00.
Tip: Phone or email reservations. Breakfast 09:00-11:00 is the easy seat; lunch and dinner fill the rest of the day.
Propeller Coffee on Wade Avenue in the Junction Triangle is roaster Chris Kessel and Geoff Polci's specialty cafe-roastery since 2014, single-origin focused.
Order: A pour-over flight of the day's three single-origins.
Tip: Saturday morning cupping is free and open to the public. The retail counter sells micro-lot 250g bags.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Guatemala, Colombia, Rwanda
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Cold brew, Whole bean retail
Caribbean Queen of Patties on Bloor West runs Jamaican beef and chicken patties, the city's reference west-end patty counter under owner Georgie.
Try: Jamaican beef patty
Order: A spicy beef patty plus a chicken patty in coco bread.
Tip: Closed Sundays. The line moves fast; cash discount under $10.
Blood Brothers on Geary Avenue is brothers Brayden and Dustin Jones's brewery since 2014, the Geary strip's reference taproom for sour ales and German lagers.
Order: A Shumei IPA in the taproom plus the seasonal sour.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. Geary Avenue runs four taprooms in walking distance; pair with Burdock and Halo for a crawl.
Henderson on Sterling Road in the Junction Triangle has run a craft brewery in the Drake Commissary since 2016, with a rotating monthly Ides series.
Order: A Best Bitter pint plus whatever monthly Ides release is on tap.
Tip: Patio in summer faces the Sterling Road art-deco facade. Tours and bottling experiences book online.
Burdock Brewery on Bloor at Dufferin is owner Matt Park's brewery, music hall and bottle shop since 2015, with a 100-seat back room for live shows.
Order: A glass of the wild-ale program on the patio.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday. The back music hall books on Eventbrite. Bottle shop separate till.
Junction Farmers Market behind the Junction Stockyards is a Saturday producer market June through October, the west-end alternative to Brickworks.
Order: Bread from Forno Cultura's stall and Ontario lamb from Cumbrae's, plus seasonal stone fruit.
Tip: Summer Saturday only. The Stockyards Village mall around the corner has parking; or walk in from the Stockyards subway.
Caribbean Queen of Patties on Bloor West in Bloordale runs Jamaican beef and chicken patties for $5, owner Georgie's reference Caribbean takeout counter.
Try: Beef patty in coco bread, $5
Order: A beef patty in coco bread and a chicken patty plain.
Tip: Spicy beef patty plus the bun-and-patty combo $5; cash preferred, the takeout queue moves fast at lunch.