This month we have our Board Secretary, Kelley Teahen opining on Cabbagetown.

Best place in Cabbagetown for a bite to eat… F’Amelia for fancy, MerryBerry for lunch (great patio out back in the summer), Scullery to meet a friend for a coffee and snack, Stout for a beer flight and cheese tray, Peter’s Cajun Pizza for a weekday pizza, Rashnaa for Indian, Zakkushi for fun Japanese barbecue, and (like everyone else) House on Parliament. Looking forward to a return visit to Little Schmiddy’s and, while not strictly in Cabbagetown, great to have Sukho Thai takeout down the road on Parliament.

Cabbagetown needs… a gym! Goodlife sets up a promo tent during the BIA’s Cabbagetown Festival but so far, no Goodlife. Here’s hoping.

Favourite block… Hillcrest Park, for the location: Wellesley Park is the front yard and, over the stone fence, the Necropolis is in the back. The houses look varied and full of personality. If anyone reading this lives there, invite me over for a tour.

Best public space… I love seeing the kids toboganning on the Riverdale Park West hill in the winter and watching the northern part of the park blossom on Tuesdays in spring-summer-fall with the farmers’ market.

Favourite store… The small-scale Home Hardware, food treats from Steak and Chops, house accessories at MiCasa. I don’t have pets, but Menagerie on Parliament is a destination store for pet owners all over Toronto, particularly those with exotic animals.

Cabbagetown pet peeve… Raccoons!

Cabbagetown’s best kept secret… The amount of dance activity centred here. There is the Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre (formerly Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre) on Parliament, which offers lessons for youth and adults, and the Toronto Dance Theatre and its school on Winchester. Just south of Cabbagetown is The Citadel on Parliament, home to Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie and being rented these days by Dance Dance Party Party, a phenomenon that began in New York and now has its Toronto home at the Citadel.

Best reason to join the Cabbagetown Residents Association (CRA)… The newsletter is terrific and you get to meet your neighbours through volunteering and attending events. And neither the newsletter nor the events – nor any other activity of the association – can happen without residents’ support.