Event venues in Toronto run the gamut from bar back rooms, to immense, multi-floor monoliths, to the little guys that rarely top a standard Google search. We've previously covered the best event venues in Toronto, but what about the hidden gems? While these don't have the overt flash of The Royal Conservatory of Music (for example) or the much-publicized and recently opened Arcadian, many of these feature rooms flooded by natural light, loft and industrial accents, and just enough room for you and two-three hundred of your closest friends.

As much as David Storey's Home is about the pace of the dialogue and the pauses in between, what you'll inevitably remember is the way the seemingly unimportant setting comes sharply into view.

It might be Canada's pastime but hockey and other ball games have been banned on many residential Toronto streets for several years under threat of a $55 fine. Councillor Josh Matlow wants to rescind the harsh bylaw on streets where it is generally safe for kids to play, but other councillors say Matlow is creating a solution where there isn't a problem because the law is so rarely enforced. Should kids just continue to ignore the rules or do we need to figure out a way of making street hockey safer?

We won't know how city staff and Waterfront Toronto plan to boost development and increase parkland at the mouth of the Don River until fall due to delays announced this morning. The setback could be a sign a casino is starting to factor into the plans to revitalize the inner harbor and surrounding area (let's hope not, though).

THEATRE | RENT
New York City's gritty lower east side meets Toronto's gritty West Queen West with the opening of RENT at the Lower Ossington Theatre tonight. A rock musical based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La Boheme, RENT follows a group of poor, young musicians as they navigate life in New York and all the sex, drugs and disease circulating the city in the '90s. The Tony Award winning play will be performed seven times weekly at the Main Theatre until June 16th.
The Lower Ossington Theatre (100A Ossington Avenue) 8PM $45-$60

Photo by by jethros_tale in the blogTO Flickr pool

Espresso machines in Toronto are by no means a niche industry; we're a fast moving city fueled in large part by our gargantuan consumption of caffeine. But, if you're anything like me, you're particular about your coffee. Not just any run-of-the-mill (albeit economical) Black and Decker drip model will do; rather, it needs to produce a quality shot of espresso and be visually stimulating, which often requires going beyond your neighbourhood Canadian Tire or Wal-Mart.