Cafes

Balzac's Coffee

55 Mill Street
Phone: 416-207-1709

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  • Posted by Tim
  • April 16, 2006

Rating: 2.6/5 (18 votes cast)

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When I'm in the Distillery District, chances are I'll swing by Balzac's for a snack. It's one of my favourite cafe's in the city. In the winter, it's a good place to curl up with the weekend paper over a coffee and energy cookie on the comfy chairs upstairs. When the weather is nice, there are plenty of outdoor options including an expanse of picnic tables on the south side of the building.

Balzac's is a progressive cafe, meaning that unlike, say, Tim Horton's, they offer up soy milk, chai and wheat free snacks. More photos:

Inside the cafe. The lower level where all the action happens. This photo is taken from upstairs which offers a nice reprieve from the bustle below.
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A package of their house blend.
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Outside the cafe, at the south end of the Distillery District.
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Balzac's Coffee, 55 Mill Street in the Distillery District

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I recall the days when "progressive" referred to real politics, not to bicycling and fad diets. Sigh.

Posted by: Nonny at April 17, 2006 7:46 AM

Sigh...we can't all be Dooney's. I thought progressive meant moving towards better conditions, better ideas, better methods. I'd say that a diet conscious shop is a start - transportation and diet have an awful lot to do with "real politics".

Posted by: anon at April 17, 2006 3:14 PM

Wow, a coffee shop that has soy and chai. I've never heard of that before. I bet Starbucks would never do that, they're just so evil!

As for Dooney's, it is the absolute worst restaurant on its strip of Bloor. The service at the Brunny is light years ahead of the lackadaisical, coked up airheads that occassionally meander around to see if you're still there. I'm not a fan of message businesses, but the important thing to do is to excel at your business, then do politics. Doing the reverse is a bad idea, hence why they're doing all sorts of things to try to actually make money, rather than serve as a deficit laden haven for faux commies with million dollar real estate portfolios.

Posted by: Hey at April 19, 2006 1:16 PM

Balzac's runs a coffee shop first and foremost. They also happen to buy/sell fair trade coffee beans as opposed to many chain shops who buy rotten reject beans, roast the hell out of them and hope no one notices.

I don't understand where the argument is. A coffee shop that buys/sells fair trade beans, offers alternatives to dairy, is a haven for cyclists, etc - is more progressive than Tim Hortons or Starbucks anyday.

Perhaps Balzac's is not Alternative Grounds... yet. But for goodness sakes, we need more businesses moving towards these ideas. Let's help them instead of being so negative and critical.

Why so down on Blazac's - because of it's in the trendy distillery district?

Posted by: embracing a beginning at April 21, 2006 10:49 AM

Follow up - must give a shout-out for their croissants as well which they bring in fresh from Clafouti.

Posted by: Tim [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 23, 2006 10:05 PM

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