The owner of the Pinball Cafe, Jason Hazzard.
Café culture is getting a jolt in Toronto lately, but it's not all to do with caffeine.
New cafés are adopting themes to distinguish themselves in a field crowded with outlets where world-weary baristas serve premium coffee at post-premium prices.
This Saturday, the buzzes and bells of nine TC pinball machines will mark the official opening of the city's newest café on West Queen West. Parkdale's Pinball Café is the latest example of a coffee shop that uses more than the aroma of coffee beans and free Wi-Fi to attract toonie-toting customers.
Whether you're into vintage vinyl, toddlers, used books, computers, pinball or reefer, these cafés will feed your secondary addiction while the caffeine does its work.
Play that silver ball
The Pinball Café
1662 Queen St. W.
thepinballcafe.com
See how supple your wrist is at Toronto's newest specialty café. Nine bally tables line the walls at this bright Parkdale joint. The appeal to things retro is upfront, with mostly 1970s machines, period candy bars (sweet Baby Ruth), root-beer floats at the bar and a free-play jukebox (you'll find a rhythmic Who song at A1). Better yet, all but one of the tables play for just a shiny quarter. Owner Jason Hazzard likes to point out that they have a $10,000 cappuccino machine, but isn't going to let coffee snobbery cloud his vision. "It's a concept some people are struggling with," he says. "But, frankly, pinball is a lot of fun, rock and roll is fun, and Queen West is cool." Sounds like a good brew.
Toddler turf
Playful Grounds
605 College St.
playfulgrounds.com
The crowds in most cafés ebb and flow according to things like show times and class schedules. At Playful Grounds, rush periods are dictated by nap times. The café opened two weeks ago, timed for the dead of winter when parents of young children would be farthest up the walls with cabin fever. Playful Grounds – like its Leslieville predecessor Lil' Bean n' Green – tells parents it's all right to take children along on a civilized outing. For toddlers there are books, a play area, bumpers on all table corners, booster seats and high chairs. For parents, there is a chalkboard menu full of typical café indulgences, including, it should be noted, alcohol.
Getting with the open-source program
Linux Caffe
326 Harbord St.
linuxcaffe.ca
A computer operating system might not seem like a natural inspiration for a cozy coffeehouse, but the free and collaborative open-source Linux system is what keeps Linux Caffe from crashing. It's not just that the cash register, network, Wi-Fi and jukebox all run on Linux (the freedom-loving software system that begs no protection for its intellectual property), it's more that the customers behind the ubiquitous glowing laptops are largely Linux adherents who find comfort in the sound of open-source code being tapped into nearby keyboards. The late-night café hosts computer group meets almost every week, attracting number-crunching researchers, hobbyists and system administrators. Though all the face-obscuring laptops might seem imposing, a visitor need only café-crowdsource a technical troubleshooting question to see how collaborative Linux's system really is.
Vinyl grooving
The Sublime Cafe
219 Augusta Ave.
www.thesublimecafe.com
The sign on the door says "Analog café," and suggests laptops had best stay closed – this is not the place to plug into tinny MP3s with ear buds. Instead, peruse the racks of records along the south wall. Vintage and rare pressings average $10 to $20. If the barista isn't too busy you might get to listen before you buy. One thing is for sure: The background music of jazz, soul, blues and funk is the best coffee accompaniment in the city.
Art em pour iums
Covernotes Tea and Coffee House
10268 Yonge St.
Richmond Hill
and
222 Main St. S.
Newmarket
covernotes.wordpress.com
Covernotes is one-stop shopping (make that two-stop shopping) for all things art at the top of the city. The two locations grew out of one used bookstore and now feature gallery space for local artists, weekly free concerts (Richmond Hill), monthly poetry readings (Newmarket) and store-roasted coffee. The Richmond Hill location packs more than 10,000 used books for sale into the main floor of the restored 19th-century schoolhouse and the Newmarket location opens onto a public skating rink/splash pad, in case patrons need to practice more physical arts.
The joint joint
Hot Box Cafe
191 Baldwin St.
hotboxcafe.ca
To no one's surprise, the nachos are a big seller. This Kensington Market "munchery" bills itself as a safe place to smoke pot, betting on a lack of enforcement while the smoke clears around the legal status of cannabis. To be in compliance with municipal laws, at least, all smoking is done on the back patio; only vaporizers are used inside. Rasta-themed tracksuits for sale hang on somewhat grubby walls. The food offerings are extensive, but there's no booze available. "I'd rather not deal with drunk people," says owner Abi Roach. Cafe visitors, it seems, quickly lose the motivation necessary to cause problems.
Special to The Globe and Mail