My Perfect Day in the East End: A walk in Kew Gardens, then stop for coffee and later ramen

By KIMBERLEY DEWAR

My perfect day in the East End would include a walk, some coffee and some shopping.

Place for walking and hiking (with or without my dog)

I love walking down to the Boardwalk with my dog Daizy where we’ll catch up with other walkers and chat about our dogs before heading up to saunter through Kew Gardens to admire the Redwood Dawn trees.

Coffee shop

I have a couple of favourite coffee shops along Queen Street East.
I’ll go to Tim Horton’s (2002 Queen St. E.) to enjoy a coffee while Daizy gets treated to some Timbits, or The Remarkable Bean (2242 Queen St. E.) which has a great atmosphere and friendly, kind staff.

Grocery/ food stores

I’ll stop in at Carload (2038 Queen St. East) to pick something up for dinner, choosing from their range of fresh, colourful fruits and vegetables.
I’ve gotten to know the owners well over the years and love the sense of community there.
Rowe Farms (2126 Queen St. E.), where I also work, sells amazing organic produce along with grass-fed, hormone-free meats supplied by local farmers and there’s a great relationship between staff and customers.

Specialty stores

Book City (1950 Queen St. E.) is definitely a favourite store and I can spend hours in there looking at all the books while Daizy goes straight behind the counter where she knows she’ll find a biscuit!
The Artisans (1974a Queen St. E.) is also a great, independent store selling colourful and cozy hats, mittens and scarves.

Dinner Restaurant

Two restaurants I go to frequently are The Green Eggplant (2014 Queen St. E.) and Kyouka Ramen (2222 Queen St. E.).
The Green Eggplant not only has excellent service and food, but is a perfect place to meet up with friends.
Every two weeks I go to Kyouka Ramen to have a bowl of their tasty noodles. It’s a great environment and extra special if you get a window seat so you can watch what’s going on outside on Queen Street East.

Do you have a Perfect Day in the East End that you would like to share with the readers of Beach Metro News this spring and summer? Please contact Fiona Bramzell at fiona@beachmetro.com and let her know all about it.

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