This past Saturday we decided to do a sort-of Subway Saturday slightly off the subway line and visited the neighbourhood of The Junction in the west of Toronto.
The name "The Junction" originally came from the fact that The West Toronto Diamond, a junction of four railway lines, is nearby. We had heard a bit about the neighbourhood before, so we wanted to check it out for ourselves.
On Saturday afternoon, we took the subway to Keele Station and headed North to Keele and Dundas St W. It was approaching 2 pm and we hadn't eaten lunch so we immediately went in search of a restaurant.
We didn't go far before we came across Indie Ale House, an independent craft brewery so we dropped in for some food (and beer). Luke ordered a Ritual Madness and Elizabeth opted for a sampler of five craft beers which we enjoyed with our hummus and flatbread starter - we were too hungry to wait for a main course! Later on, Elizabeth went for the Southern Fried Chicken with potato salad as a main and Luke tested out the BBQ duck pizza.
On Saturday afternoon, we took the subway to Keele Station and headed North to Keele and Dundas St W. It was approaching 2 pm and we hadn't eaten lunch so we immediately went in search of a restaurant.
We didn't go far before we came across Indie Ale House, an independent craft brewery so we dropped in for some food (and beer). Luke ordered a Ritual Madness and Elizabeth opted for a sampler of five craft beers which we enjoyed with our hummus and flatbread starter - we were too hungry to wait for a main course! Later on, Elizabeth went for the Southern Fried Chicken with potato salad as a main and Luke tested out the BBQ duck pizza.
It's funny that the first place we visited in The Junction was a pub as this community was dry until 1998! Historically The Junction was a manufacturing community that underwent a lot of development in the late 1800s. As in many railway and factory towns, pubs became a mainstay of the community and the drinking of the workers got so out of control that the sale of alcohol was banned in the Junction from for over 90 years! Even after The Junction was Annexed by Toronto, prohibition continued. As a result, it's no wonder this area struggled to attract businesses for a number of years.
Not anymore! Lots of new businesses popping up.
After finishing up our not-prohibited alcohol, we walked along Dundas St W, peeking into the unique furniture shops, various restaurants, and trendy coffee shops along the way. We also came across some interesting graffiti on our adventure:
It was nice to spend the afternoon wandering around The Junction, among some low-rise buildings, for a change. We stopped into a used bookstore and grabbed a coffee before heading back to the station.
All in all, we had a great time scratching the surface of what this neighbourhood has to offer. It would have been nice to check out a couple of other restaurants but we were too full to think about any more food. Oh well, there's always next time!
Here are some more photos of our afternoon exploring The Junction:
All in all, we had a great time scratching the surface of what this neighbourhood has to offer. It would have been nice to check out a couple of other restaurants but we were too full to think about any more food. Oh well, there's always next time!
Here are some more photos of our afternoon exploring The Junction:
(SLIDESHOW)
This time last year we had our first Subway Saturday at Coxwell Station, two years ago we weren't allowed on a flight to Mexico so we took a trip to Swift Current, and three years ago we learned how to make Maple Syrup.
