Campfire breve from Katz Club Diner! This beauty is a breve cappuccino made with housemade smoked vanilla bean syrup topped with a housemade toasted marshmallow and spices.
Why I Love Contra Café: The hidden coffee treasure of Christie Pits
The sinking house
I was intrigued after reading a CBC article about a sinking/ crooked house on Shaw St. that sat above the buried Garrison Creek. The house made news simply because it was a crooked home that sold for $689,000 – pretty reasonably for the hot Toronto market. I decided to check out the house and after consulting my Toronto Cycling Map found the best way to get there using bike lanes was by going across Dupont St. and south on Shaw St.
(Courtesy of @radioactiveghost22)
During my ride down Shaw St. I noticed a small café nestled on the corner of Shaw and Yarmouth. I snapped a quick photo as a reminder and continued down to see the crooked house. Sadly, my SD Card holding my photos corrupted and I forgot about the café without the photo. However, during a walk with my ex, I noticed the coffee the shop and urged we stop in for sip of java.
Welcome to the community
The coffee shop is minimalistic with exposed brick painted white, concrete floor, marble counter and hanging lights. The highlight is the beautiful patio. When I sat on the patio I loved seeing the community members walk by. I saw a number of different community members including: Families pushing their child in a stroller or chasing after their child speeding down the sidewalk on their tricycle, baseball players probably coming from Christie Pits, couples walking their dogs and seniors strolling the street on a warm end-of-summer day. The most amazing part was how close everyone was. There were constant moments of people bumping into each other or patrons on the patio flagging down a friend on the street to come over.
(Courtesy of @kimeleykan)
The corner of Yarmouth has been a community hub for years starting as a neighbourhood corner store called The Town Shop and afterwards becoming the Hub – another coffee shop. In 2014 Contra opened its doors and began serving coffee, tea, sandwiches and a variety of baked goods.
While it is a bit of the beaten path, it is the perfect stop for anyone looking to experience the strength of a community and have a nice relaxing cup of joe.
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