Hot Spots and Hangouts

Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) students whose academic paths have led them to the Bayview campus of Sunnybrook have hangouts that make the SRI student experience unique. Removed as they are here from a lot of urban bustle, the social spaces SRI trainees pick enjoy special standing. Below, find some of the most-haunted, inside and out.

Inside:

• In the lunch area and adjacent computer area on the second floor of S wing, impromptu gatherings abound. The well-worn couches are regular attractions for members of the lab of Dr. James Carlyle, looking to work on Metro's crossword puzzle of the day; and of Dr. Margaret Hough, to celebrate lab members' birthdays. Free coffee is served one day per week. At other times, leftover food from various meetings and events held in S wing provides sustenance for students.

• The sixth-floor lounge on S wing is a popular hangout. Holiday potlucks pack the space in December, as do wine-and-cheese gatherings, poker tournaments and game nights that find lodging here over the rest of the year. On Thursdays, free coffee is served. Imaging and biology students mingle, catching up over their steaming cups.

• Harlequin's is a well-loved café in H wing that plays regular host to SRI students. The lab members of Dr. Greg Czarnota are particularly fond of lunchtime visits here.

• The café on the first floor of M wing coaxes students when they become weary of the food at Harlequin's. They show up here for such cafeteria staples as yogurt cups and fresh bananas.

• Second Cup provides caffeine jolts to SRI students for whom lab-brewed coffee just doesn't suffice. It's located beside the café on the first floor of M wing.

• Tim Hortons, on the first floor of C wing, is a competitor for the coffee crowd. It provides an oasis of pastries and hot drinks in the middle of the hospital.

• Druxy's, on the ground floor of the Odette Cancer Centre, is a franchised sandwich shop that attracts lots of hungry SRI students.

And out:

• The benches on the lawn outside the hospital lure students when the weather is nice. Bagged lunches, blue skies and green grass prove an enticing combination.

• Kramer's Bar and Grill, at 1915 Yonge St. (647-724-3425), is a cozy pub that feeds student life (and stomachs).

• Tokyo Sushi, at 1614 Bayview Ave. (416-485-8695), sees a steady stream of SRI students on the prowl for good neighbourhood sushi.

• The Granite Brewery, at 245 Eglinton Ave. E. (416-322-0723), serves its distinctive, copper-coloured ale to SRI regulars.

• The Madison Avenue Pub, at 14 Madison Ave. (416-927-1722), and the Duke of York pub, at 39 Prince Arthur Ave. (416-964-2664), are classic downtown student draws, conveniently located on the Bloor-Danforth subway line.

• Further south, the Bier Markt, at 58 the Esplanade (416-862-7575) and 600 King St. W. (416-862-1175), offers students a Belgium-inspired array of beer and fine food.

• Hollywood Gelato, at 1640 Bayview Ave. (416-544-9829), is an after-work or lunch destination for SRI students willing to make the 10-minute jaunt for an icy treat.

• Duff's Famous Wings, at 1604 Bayview Ave. (416-544-0100), serves as a frequent meeting place for labs looking to play in more casual surrounds.

• The Rose and Crown, at 2335 Yonge St. (416-487-7673), is a pub that offers live music from Wednesday through Saturday for SRI students (and others) looking to kick back.