Even the bees enjoy Dalhousie Community Centre's garden photo: Aaron McKenzie Fraser

Five years later, I've lived in five different apartments within spitting distance of that parking spot and can't understand why anyone would want to live anywhere else. Far enough away from Centretown for cheap rent but still close to most live venues and bars. With four bus routes, the O-Train and the Transitway a quick walk away, it's easy to get everywhere.

But what makes this neighbourhood great is that you don't need to leave unless you want to. Rumour has it that Wayne, who works days at the Preston Food Mart (71 Preston), hasn't been east of Booth Street in 25 years.

If you're looking for cheap food, any one of the pho houses littering Somerset will do you right. At around $6.25 for a huge bowl of meat, noodles and broth, it's hard to go wrong. Especially if you hit a place like Pho Bo Ga 2 (843 Somerset W.) after the bar - it's open till 5 a.m. For the veggies amongst us, the pickings for Chinese are only slightly slimmer. So Good (717 Somerset W.), run by the jolly Peter So, has become a perennial favourite but I prefer May's Garden (122 Preston). May is from Beijing, and according to those in the know, her kitchen creates some of the most authentic Northern Chinese food around. Twenty bucks will stuff you and your friend, with leftovers for lunch to boot.

Daily needs are no problem either. The saddest grocery store in the world - known by locals variously as Dirty Loeb or Sad Loeb or Skid Loeb - does carry the necessities. Asian and South Asian grocery stores like Kowloon Market (720 Somerset W.), Phuoc Loi (791 Somerset W.) and Nasa Foods (802 Somerset W.) can fill in the rest. House stuff? Presents? Look for tchotckes at Global Giftware (708C Somerset W.) or Times Housewares & Gifts (653 Somerset W). Preston Hardware (234-248 Preston) has been open since 1945 and run by the same family since 1973. It has everything you might ever need to fix anything.

I was wrong that hot day. Somerset isn't drab or ugly, not by a long shot. You just need to know where to look. The garden in front of the Dalhousie Community Centre (755 Somerset W.) is stunning. The Primrose Park (at Rochester) is a sweet bowl of green. Make sure you walk along Lower Lorne when the cherry trees are in bloom. Want a cheap date? Take your paramour to the top of the Empress stairs for a breathtaking view of the river; kiss him hard as the sun goes down.

And don't leave.

 
 

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Watch what you say about my grocery store...     I live near the corner of Booth and Anderson St. and two weekends ago, I was proudly giving my Dad a tour of my hood. I ended the tour with my grocery store, the Lobe on Booth St. I pointed out the guy in the veggie section, who always has a smile, and it usually helping someone out. For the first time I said hi first to the guy in the meat section, he usually says hello, which surprised me at first. You were right in your review, that this is the place for the basics, necessities, which is what we bought. You can't find a potatoe anywhere else in China town. When I got to the cash, I said hi to the cashier, who said, "Hey, I havn't seen you for a while". I told him, "I missed the store, and I have no groceries". And when I said I had no groceries, I meant I had no groceries. He then went on to tell me that your article about the store was posted in the staff room, and then I looked around, and wow, everyone working that day WAS depressed. Thanks-a-lot! They are always making improvements, they change their offerings with the seasons, and last month the cashier helped me out by pointing out the great deal on paper towels...now I'm checking out the coupons online, she conformed me into a coupon cutter, who knew? After I read your article I was reminded of the Ottawa based artist, and a regular of the Leobe on Booth St., Dalal Chuaqui. She lives in the neibourhood and has done several appreciative paintings of the neibourhood, including the deli counter in the store. Maybe the Loeb, doesn't have the budget for a cooking school, but people still work there, and us folk in the neibourhood depend on them. I love my neighbourhood, I love my grocery store.
Christine Dyck		September 27th, 2006
Somerset isn't drab or ugly, by any means!     What I like the most, about restaurants in the Chinatown area is that they will serve you really huge bowl of meat, noodles and broth; and that you would always end up full with only one medium bowl of well inspired dishes. it's always tasty and it barely cost you 6$. It's usually a great combination of rapidity, good location, and affordability like any fast food with a nice and healthy quality of cuisine usually available in more expensive places. You don't need to leave Chinatown unless you want to, but you need to go if you haven't gone yet...
Valerie Augier		September 21st, 2006

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