Sunrise House, a new "minute restaurant" in Koreatown is an authentic replica of the quick-cooking, no fuss home-food restaurants that keep Korea thriving. The menu includes classic offerings of noodles, dumplings, fried rice, pancakes and meats.

See my review of Sunrise House in the restaurant section.

Bluebird Handmade in the Annex is all about beautiful handmade goods and craft supplies. Originally serving as a workshop for classes, the tiny Bathurst Street location now also makes and sells lovely custom ceramics, prints, scarves, ornaments, bags, jewelery, and toys from their storefront.

See the profile of Bluebird Handmade in the design stores section.

Located in a bustling strip-mall in Scarborough, Remely's serves up authentic Filipino fare cafeteria style. Being a newcomer to this cuisine, I tried everything from Tagalog Beef Steak to Chicharon Bituka (deep-fried pig intestine).

Find out about everything in between in my review of Remely's in the restaurant section.

After high priced Rain fizzled out in the midst of the economic downtown, the Rubino brothers revamped their Mercer St. space into the Japanese-inspired AME. From Wagyu beef to remarkably fresh tuna sashimi (but wait, isn't that endangered blue fin on the menu?), the kitchen is definitely on their game.

Read my review of AME in the restaurants section.

Serpentine ain't your typical Yorkville boutique. Rock-and-roll is the theme of the shop; they carry mostly men's items, but a lot of women's pieces as well. Hard-to-find lines include Lazaro, Diet Butcher Slim Skin, Damir Doma, DRKSHDW by Rick Owens, and Guidi boots.

Rock out in my profile of Serpentine in the Fashion Stores section.

Located just east of College and Lansdowne, Industtrees operates on the time worn premise that quality should be privileged over quantity. The tiny, white-washed gallery space is also home to a retail shop, which offers an intriguing selection of unique and hard-to-find items.

Read my review of Industtrees in the gallery section.