A Prohibition-themed bar has replaced A-OK Foods

The second-storey space at 930 Queen West, tucked above a convenience store, never seemed like an optimal spot for a food business, but it may be uniquely well-suited to this one. Linwood Essentials, Toronto’s latest modern-day speakeasy, has everything an Ossington kid could want: comfy booths, decadently trashy snacks (salt-cod doughnut, foie-gras Philly sandwich), over 50 bottled beers (including hard-to-find brews, like the much sought-after Westvleteren 12) and a long list of totally nontraditional cocktails, some of which sound more like dares than drinks. The “Breakfast in Portland,” for instance, blends gin, Aperol, egg whites, soda and “Froot Loops milk.”