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At Parliament and Carlton there are two very good reasons to be standing at 473 Parliament. You could be waiting for the streetcar or you could be heading into Patty Junior’s The Epicure Shop.

A Cabbagetown fixture for more than 30 years, you’d never guess the variety of fantastic goods kept in the seemingly small shop. This place is popular, and it’s no secret why: Patty is more than a shop owner, she’s a curator of delicious foods and a serious neighbourhood advocate. This combination is likely the key to her success.

Epicure is known for it’s breakfast sandwiches and lunch specials. It’s also the place to nip into for a coffee and a treat as you wait for the streetcar. Patty’s personal favourite menu item is the Santa-Fe salad, and she even drinks the shops house coffee blend at home she’s such a fan.

There are more fine foods than can be listed in this short feature. Some highlights include: Montreal smoked meat (actually from Montreal), made-in-house olives that have been shipped around the world, fresh daily breads, pastries and montreal style bagels, a direct line to incredible homemade shortbread and a number of quality gluten-free products.

Then there is the cheese. Over 100 varieties are in stock including the winner of the 2012 World Cheese Awards: a Manchego from Spain. The Cheddar is from one of the few remaining dairy farms in Ontario still making cheese and Patty even carries a 9 year old variety.

She also carries beans from three excellent coffee roasters. In fact, one of the coffee roasters she stocks is owned by a man who used to visit Patty’s shop as a boy with his mother. And Patty remembers him. She good like that – she remembers her customers. She hires many of her part-time staff from the neighbourhood including the dance school. It’s not unusual for her to hire a teen and then their sibling after they leave for school. She’s popular with local kids, too, who fondly refer to her as the “Cookie Lady.”

Patty has watch the neighbourhood’s children grow up, but she’s also watched the neighbourhood shift into what it is today. She notes that the biggest changes have happened over the past 7 years. One of her favourite aspects of Cabbagetown is how the existing artistic community is continuing to grow, bringing with it a dynamic and lively vibe.

And if the reasons above aren’t enough to spur you to visit, take note: they offer catering, custom ordered cakes and (perhaps best of all) if you are searching high and low for a product ask Patty to order it. If she can find it, she will bring it in for you.

For the epicurious, Patty’s favourite way to eat cabbage: In a vinaigrette coleslaw.

For more information:
Web:http: www.theepicureshop.com
Twitter: @TheEpicureShop
Facebook: TheEpicureShop
Phone: 416-928-0291
Real Life: 473 Parliament St. Cabbagetown

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