This is a stretch of Danforth where you can stroll along on a Saturday afternoon, marvelling at how peaceful, kid-friendly and unhurried the neighbourhood seems. Then you return to your car and find it blocked in by a couple of police cruisers.
It's like that on the length of High Street between Greenwood and Main that is forging an identity as Danforth Mosaic.
It's more unpredictable than la-di-da Riverdale to the west and the more mono-cultural Beach to the south - and cheaper, too.
Robert Riley and Ruth Heathcote decided to open Wag on the Danforth across from East Lynn Park after watching it change from a scruffy patch where teenagers congregated to a lively meeting place for kids and dogs.
The park is a perfect example of the changes taking place in the neighbourhood, says Mr. Riley: "It was pretty dreary," he says of his early days there in the 1990s. "You wouldn't want to hang out there at night."
Now he knows the neighbourhood pooches - and some of the kids - by name.
"It's a huge family scene at the playground."
It gets high marks for:
Real diversity: It's exactly as the name suggests, this eastern stretch of the Danforth - a little Utopia of Ethiopian, Moroccan, Greek, Italian, Hakka, Mexican, Thai and Tunisian entrepreneurs. Institutions like the Only Cafe, Royal Beef and Celena's Bakery have loyal customers.
Ease of movement: Bicycles, cars, trucks - all circulate freely here. Compared with Greektown, you won't believe the lack of traffic chaos.
Sustainable living: Organic foods are available at East Lynn Park's farmer's market Thursday afternoons. On the Danforth there are shopfront meditation gurus.
Room for improvement:
Materialistic signifiers: One homeowner says the area has really improved in the more than five years he has been there, with lots of lesbian couples and families with young tots moving in. "I wish some of my neighbours would be a little more curb-appeal conscious," he admits. "And I'm still waiting for a Starbucks to open."
Foodie chic: People in the neighbourhood have to travel down to Queen St. when the occasion calls for lavish entertaining.
Schools: Solid enough, but not distinguished.
Harbingers of change:
The Madina Mosque's towering minaret and geometric forms have brought new life to a previously drab streetscape.
Nearby, the facade of the old Allenby Theatre has been preserved and now houses a Tim Horton's.
The One in the Only Coffee House is as idiosyncratic as its beloved sister, the Only Cafe.
The Sunset Grill has opened a location here.
Market values:
This is one area where you can still buy a cute house for $459,000, live close to the subway, and maybe keep your car for driving out of town on the weekends. If your price bracket is closer to $659,000, well, you'll have your pick of detached homes.
Carolyn Ireland