Thrift shop with sweet prices and good choice.

Temple of alternative culture, full of underground comics, graphics and literature.

Just down the street from the impossible to get into Frenchie, you can complete the Gregory Marchand hat trick at the latest outpost from the renowned Frenchie chef. The Anglo-inspired eatery features excellent Reubens, flavorful fish and chips, sweet treats like brownies and pecan pie, housemade ginger beer, pickles & maple smoked bacon, and a great beer list.

Le Select is a “brasserie” where I like to have a drink in spring and summer especially by night.

This is another artistic centre that opened recently, this time housed in a former 19th century music hall that later became an indoor roller coaster attraction (yeah, really). The temporary exhibitions can be hit or miss, but I like hanging out in the free, open-to-all library on the first floor where you can sit in the futurist media pods and flip through the latest arts, culture, music, design and architecture magazines. Their shelves are also filled with a growing endowment of books which seem to be acquired according to the theme of the aforementioned exhibitions. Internet access is available on a dozen or so PCs (or via WiFi on your own machine) and for gamers, there are a few consoles connected to largish plasma screens. The café upstairs, with its classic baroque meets retro-futurist interior, is a sight to behold.