What Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman loves about midtown

When Kevin Gausman, or “Gaus” to his fans, signed a five-year contract with the Blue Jays in 2021, he and his wife, Taylor, wanted to plant some roots in Toronto. The man with the signature splitter pitch had only been to the city for games and had never ventured north of Queen Street. But, with two young girls, he wanted a house with a backyard that was close to parks and trails. He and Taylor asked former Jays players for recommendations and landed on midtown for its mix of leafy residential streets and vibrant main strips. Louisiana is the family’s home base, but they spend summers in Toronto. “The more we’ve gotten to know the neighbourhood, the more we love it,” says Gausman.

Related: How Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi spends a day off in Toronto

Hotel Gelato

“Taylor and I like to take the girls here for dessert. They always have a new favourite flavour. For a while it was strawberry, but they recently tried cookies and cream—it’s called Milk and Cookies here—and now that’s in the top spot. I support the change. I’m a big cookies and cream guy myself.” 532 Eglinton Ave. W., hotelgelato.com

Stock TC

“We come here a lot. The aesthetic is really cool—it’s inside an old Canada Post building from the 1930s. There’s a high-end grocery store on the lower level, and upstairs is Stock Bar, which does a great job of highlighting fresh, in-season ingredients. If there’s no seating available, I’ll just sit at the bar and order whatever pasta they’re featuring that day.” 2388 Yonge St., stocktc.com

Summerhill Market

“I love all of the boutique grocery stores in our neighbourhood. We usually go to Summerhill Market for our bread. They have great whole wheat bagels, and everything is always fresh.” 1054 Mount Pleasant Rd., summerhillmarket.com

Evergreen Brick Works

“Unfortunately, I often miss the Saturday farmers’ market at the Brick Works because of games, but we love going there when we can. My girls get the tomato soup at the café, and we usually buy some flowers. Over the past few years, we’ve been planting wildflowers in our backyard. We got a bird feeder last year, but the squirrels destroyed it. The squirrels up here are crazy. They’re all different colours, and they’re huge!” 550 Bayview Ave., evergreen.ca/evergreen-brick-works

Cumbrae’s

“This is an awesome butcher shop. I know they’ll have whatever I’m looking for, like picanha, my favourite cut, or bougie meats like Australian Wagyu. I love to cook, and since steak is one of the only proteins my girls will eat, I grill a lot of filets for them.” 1589 Bayview Ave., cumbraes.com

Toronto Botanical Garden

“I love that this place is just a short drive away. It has about four acres of gardens and beautiful walking trails. The girls love coming here and looking at the flowers, especially the lavender. We do a lot of typically girly stuff most days.” 777 Lawrence Ave. E., torontobotanicalgarden.ca

Cops Doughnuts

“I heard about these mini doughnuts through word of mouth, and they lived up to their reputation. I love a classic glaze or maple flavour.” 3011 Dufferin St., eatcops.com