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| - As you approach Leslieville Cheese Market, ignore the degenerates loafing next door at K&S Restaurant. The zombies are always around but thankfully they don't like cheese (or just can't afford it), so you can browse the store in peace as they clutter the nearby sidewalk.
In this tiny shop you'll find a panoply of treats: award-winning cheeses like Le Cendrillon (Cinderella) goat, made in St-Raymond-de-Portneuf, Quebec - literally named "the world's best cheese" (among 2440 others) for 2009 and very, very hard to find in Toronto. But it's here, in all its ash-covered glory. It's seriously a magical cheese.
Staff hotness has increased in recent months. Every time I go in lately, an even more gorgeous person is working behind the counter. You can sample cheese here and come looking for cheese advice, whether it's for grilling, melting or serving on a cheese board. Leslieville Cheese Market is also a purveyor of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches to go, and they usually have a rotation of three or four different varieties.
They also sell loaves from Epi Breads as well as homemade croutons, cream cheese and other spreads like tapenade, hummus and the like. Sign up for one of their nighttime cheese workshops, with cheeky names like "I Never Met A Goat I Didn't Like" (topic: goat cheese, natch).
My only wishlist item would be more square footage - forget about coming here on weekends or before holidays; there's usually only one person working and there's hardly enough room for more than five people to browse at a time. Leave your strollers, shopping buggies and skateboards at home folks.
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