Finding solutions to traffic mess

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12:36 pm

“Watch out for the brambles,” warns Raymond Jean — one of the few cautions he offers a group of residents, a city councillor and the councillor’s staff as he leads them fearlessly on a three-hour tour beneath Yonge and 401. And, yes, it really is much wilder down there than you might imagine.

The group has come in search of a pedestrian and bicycle route and to explore Raymond’s outside-the-box solution to the traffic mess above.

“I call it a double crossover,” he explains. “It will convert the Yonge 401 interchange so that all the traffic becomes free flowing.”

Along the stretch of Yonge between Sheppard and the 401, which becomes nearly impassable at rush hour, the single greatest source of congestion is the lineup of cars trying to turn eastbound onto the 401 from southbound Yonge.

His idea is to have the southbound lanes of Yonge go underneath the northbound lanes for a short distance, providing an entry ramp to the highway that doesn’t hold up traffic in either direction.

It took several explanations before I grasped the concept. But after that, it seemed simple.

Problem solving is Raymond’s hobby, and he stares this one in the eye each morning while walking from his West Lansing home to the subway station, en route to his job as a software engineer.

To be seriously considered, the idea needs a green light from city and provincial traffic engineers. That could come as early as this fall.

If there’s any reluctance, I suspect the naysayers will be invited on a hike they’ll remember for a long time.

Drink This: the Chimayo from Rose and Sons

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11:14 am

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By now, anyone who’s anyone has heard of Rose and Sons. The compact eatery from former Drake Hotel chef Anthony Rose is where comfort food aficionados head to stuff themselves on cornbread, monstrous sandwiches and yes, gasp-inducing brunch come the weekend. It’s also a place to suck back a cocktail or two, regardless of the time of day.

Behind the (tiny) bar, Ryan Thompson serves up drinks from the newly revamped fall menu. The Chimayo ($12) is his take on the classic cocktail that originated in Chimayó, New Mexico back in the ’60s. (Apparently a restaurateur was seeking out a use for the excess apples from his farm and ended up with this.)

Thompson’s take pairs Cazadores Reposado with Ontario apple cider. He ups the tartness of the drink by adding some crème de cassis along with Dillon’s cranberry bitters, which “adds a little more southern Ontario” to the mix.

Rose and Sons, 176 Dupont St., 647-748-3287

Karolyne Ellacott is a features editor at Post City Magazines. She pedals around town in heels, eating sandwiches and drinking cocktails. She writes about that, and about about other stuff too. She is also on Twitter.

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Bloody good theatre

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5:31 pm

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You (OK, I) should be forgiven for confusing Evil Dead: The Musical with Night of the Living Dead Live. Both are based on cult classic horror films. Both have been directed by Christopher Bond. Both have the word “dead” in their titles. And both are returning to a Toronto stage just in time for Halloween. But one is rife with killer zombies, the other with demons, and just as those supernatural nut jobs are distinct from each other, so are these two menacing musicals.

Evil Dead: The Musical

The story: Five college students go to an abandoned cabin in the woods and somehow manage to get turned into demons. Ash (played by Ryan Ward) is our hero, and it’s his job, along with his chainsaw, to help save the day. Along with splattering blood (more about that later) and dismembered limbs, there’s also music and demons.

Background: The hit musical, spawned from the 1980s film series from director Sam Raimi, is homegrown. With book and lyrics by George Reinblatt and music by Christopher Bond, Frank Cipolla, Melissa Morris and Reinblatt, the show’s first-ever performance was during the great blackout of 2003 at the Tranzac Club on Brunswick Avenue. Within days, the musical became a smash success (there were lineups around the block to see it), and in 2004, the show opened in Montreal as part of the Just For Laughs Festival. In 2006, the musical made its off-Broadway debut in New York before returning to Toronto in 2007, where it racked up a couple of cool honours: the Dora Audience Choice Award, as Toronto’s favourite show, as well as becoming the longest-running Canadian show in Toronto in over two decades.

The “ghoulish” factor: If you’re going to sit in the first three rows, come prepared. Known as the show with the only “splatter zone,” it’s here where audience members get drenched in blood. Diehard fans of the show are known to “kill” for these seats, so if you’re one of the lucky ones to land one of these spots, do ’em proud and wear white to show off your bloody new wardrobe. Ponchos are for wimps.

Evil Dead: The Musical, Randolph Theatre, 736 Bathurst St. Starts Oct. 24. Limited engagement.

Night of the Living Dead Live

The story: Six strangers — with very distinct (a.k.a. quirky) personalities — are trapped in a rural farmhouse that is being attacked by unnamed “living dead” monsters (a.k.a. zombies). Our hero is Ben (Darryl Hinds), the cool and calm one of the group. Like the movie, the play is also done in black and white. Unlike the movie, there are wacky alternative endings and a couple of weirdly funny song-and-dance numbers.

Background: The campy romp is based on the 1968 flick of the same name, which got the proverbial “head rolling” for making zombies the “it” weirdo of the moment (World War Z, The Walking Dead, etc.). The play was co-created by filmmakers Christopher Harrison and Phil Pattison, a pair of huge horror fans who wanted to branch out from their conventional storytelling. George A. Romero, the acclaimed creator of the original film, not only gave them his personal blessing for their project, but also acted as one of the play’s executive producers. Also on board: Evil Dead: The Musical’s original director, Christopher Bond, who recruited his writing partner, Trevor Martin, and Martin’s wife, Second City alum Dale Boyer, to punch up the script. The play debuted at Toronto’s own Theatre Passe Muraille in April 2013.

The “ghoulish” factor: Watch out for a pile of burning bodies alongside the front of the stage. Also, beware of a few wandering zombies in the crowd and the vocal Zombie Chorus.

Night of the Living Dead Live, Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave., Oct. 5 to 27.

Bloody good numbers

Number of cast members:
Evil Dead: 9
Living Dead: 6

Number of people who die:
Evil Dead: 7, but they all come back … because they are undead!
Living Dead: 6, over and over!

Means of death:
Evil Dead: With chainsaws, axes, shotguns and more chainsaws!
Living Dead: Lots of zombies ripping people up with their bare hands … but in a funny way!

Amount of (fake) blood used per show:
Evil Dead: Many, many, many gallons of blood.
Living Dead: None. The show is in grey scale. We’re fancy like that!

Consensus

With Evil Dead opening after Night of the Living Dead, it’s entirely possible to watch both plays without having to choose zombies over demons, which is comparable to Sophie’s Choice in the supernatural world. If you’re looking for music and bloody mayhem, head for Evil Dead. But if you’re after some scary sketch comedy, then I’d roll over to Night of the Living Dead. However, I’d recommend going for the guts and glory and seeing both shows. Happy Halloween.

Chef’s Secret: how to make Ted Corrado’s roast chicken

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1:24 pm

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“This is something that we’ve been playing around with for a little while,” says Ted Corrado, executive chef at the brand new Drake One Fifty. “I wanted to do a large-format rotisserie chicken for people at the new restaurant.” Playing younger sibling to The Drake Hotel, the 290-seat restaurant dishes out everything from escargots to seafood towers on its inspired menu.

This recipe for roast chicken is one of the eatery’s signature dishes, ideal for when temperatures are steadily dipping. “I’m doing my take on a modern Canadian brasserie,” Corrado says. “There’s a lot of throwback — sorta French, sorta Italian — dishes on the menu, giving it that local, Canadian twist.

See the recipe here

Comic Stripped: Toronto comedians play a big role in exploring Jewish comedy

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1:07 pm

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Recently, I watched myself on the big screen at TIFF, in a documentary directed by Alan Zweig called When Jews Were Funny.

I had forgotten I’d given Zweig an interview in the spring. I get asked to do a lot of pontificating on comedy for documentaries, few of which ever see the light of day. But the award-winning Zweig is not your average documentarian.

His latest film uses an axiomatic starting point: the enormous influence of Jews on modern comedy. But the title illustrates the film’s contentiousness: When Jews Were Funny. The past tense implies that they no longer are, which might come as a shock to fans of Jon Stewart, Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman and Judd Apatow.

But Zweig isn’t just talking about Jewish performers. He’s talking about the Jewish people as a whole.

Slowly, as the movie progresses, a thesis begins to take shape: there was a time, which ended a generation ago, when Jewishness itself was funny and when any bubbe or zayde had a humour about themselves and the world. And now, suggests Zweig, that world has vanished, leaving us poorer for it.

He lines up an impressive list of performers to explore the issue, beginning with the great Catskills comics: Shelley Berman, Shecky Greene and Jack Carter. Shockingly, at least to me, each of them vehemently denies being a “Jewish” comic. I can only think they mean that they didn’t tell stories that ended in a Yiddish punchline or engage in dialect jokes. But the other markers of Jewish humour are all there: the paranoia, the melancholy, the ambivalence about body issues, the mistrust of institutions.

Toronto native Howie Mandel is a standout. His intelligence and keen analysis are a stinging rebuke to critics who thought he was just a guy who put a rubber glove on his head. I also found Mark Schiff to be fascinating, a former stand-up turned writer.

“Super Dave” Osborne, a.k.a. Bob Einstein, gives Zweig an argumentative interview, which is both hilarious and insightful.

Simon Rakoff, another Toronto interviewee, is profound and witty, but his withering gaze at Zweig’s off-camera questions often speaks louder than his words.

Zweig’s presence as an interviewer grows as the story unfolds, and we begin to see some of the issues that drive his work. He’s recently married to a non-Jewish woman and has a two-year-old daughter. How does he pass on his grandparents’ culture when that world has virtually disappeared?

I went to high school in Toronto with Zweig, and I never thought of him as being sentimental. But it becomes clear that he misses not just some golden age of Jewish comedy, but of a Jewish lifestyle that was tinged by a Yiddish, European consciousness.

There are a lot of old Jewish jokes in the film, if you like that sort of thing. I found them unfunny and exactly what a new generation of Jewish comics is rebelling against. In this way, the old Catskillians have a point when they reject the “Jewish comic” label.

But blood is thicker than water. After the great Shelley Berman denies any Jewish influences repeatedly throughout the film, he breaks down as he tells the story of losing his 13-year-old son so many years ago. Tears welling up in his eyes, Berman sings a rendition of an old shtetl song in perfect Yiddish. Point made. Roll credits.

Post City Magazines’ humour columnist, Mark Breslin is the founder of Yuk Yuk’s comedy clubs and the author of several books.

Steven Tai and Jeremy Laing elevate sportswear to new heights at day two of The ShOws

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4:18 pm

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After an exciting — and educational — first day at The ShOws, the fashion crowd returned for a triumphant day two. This time, folks gathered to see creations from designers Steven Tai and Jeremy Laing.

Fashion Magazine’s Bernadette Morra was spotted looking chic; model Liisa Winkler had a plaid shirt wrapped around her waist; the Beckerman sisters were high impact in, yes, plaid and plaid, and overall plenty of round spectacles were noted (must’ve been the Laing effect).

The last time we saw the London-based Steven Tai’s work, he sent out a number of sporty looks (injected with a throwback raver aesthetic). For spring, Tai explored his ideas further by fragmenting them and pushing them into the digital realm. His pastoral print sweatshirt idea from last season was refreshed for spring: this time the scenery (a shot of Cornwall) was photographed, collaged and laser-cut, creating an ethereal effect.

While some pieces were printed and then laser-cut; others were cut and then printed, which required the textiles to be affixed to a board and transported to the printers completely flat in order to be silk-screened properly. An exhaustive process, to say the least. Another rendering of pixellation — or fragmentation — was visible in a T-shirt-cum-blouse that was seemingly woven, but was actually embroidered in white thread with the bucolic image then printed on top. Not only did Tai do amazing textile work, but he explored interesting avenues with his silhouettes, such as a drop-waist dress with a hemline reaching to the ground. Fascinating all around.

Laing was the final show of the two-day event, drawing the hustle and bustle that one would expect following his well-received collection during New York Fashion Week. For the first time, the designer put forth garments for both men and women — though, he noted, “It’s just a matter of sizing,” since his pieces tend to be on the boxier side. (However, his front-zippered, over-the-shoulder, skintight garb is best suited to the female form — or a particularly lithe male, at least.)

Laing worked off the idea of idyllic childhood references — sidewalk chalk, ice cream — making for a collection that backed off from his traditional palette of earth tones, making way for bright, cheerful colours. Prints were vivacious: he collaborated with his artist friend Julia Dault on them. One looked like a squeegee kid had found himself in the midst of Holi, the Indian festival of colours; another was inspired by Tiger Tail ice cream (which, Laing laughed, “Americans don’t know about!”): a swirling mess of muted tangerine and black that felt like what you’d see in a petri dish of nail polish colours.

Other looks were created using a burn-out technique (natural and synthetic fabrics are bonded together, and parts are “burned out” using acid), referencing his moon pieces from seasons past, while still others featured a seemingly simple stripe (the cuts weren’t so simple). Silhouettes were mostly, yes, on the boxy side, though there were more sensual pieces in the midst. Front zippers (with circular pulls) played a pivotal role and served as a focal point for many of the looks, which had “wings” that fluttered with movement. For the first time, Laing also sent forth shoes (a collab with Tiffany Tuttle), matching leather with wood in chunky shapes that anchored the looks.

Overall, the two days’ worth of shows proved that Canada has some incredible design talent to be reckoned with. The scene has been set for Fashion Week.

TIFF looks back on French filmmaker Claire Denis

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12:18 pm

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The compelling films of French auteur Claire Denis are full of sex, violence, deceit and tension, and starting today, you can witness her impressive body of work at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Objects of Desire: the Cinema of Claire Denis begins today and runs for the next four weeks. Here are our top picks.

Bastards

Bastards screened at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, and it now gets a limited run alongside the retrospective. Fans of Denis will find some familiar themes, as this dreamy, eerie psychological tale of vengeance deals with parallel stories full of blood and sex. Denis will introduce the screening on Oct. 18
Oct. 11-18

Chocolat

Chocolat is a semi-autobiographical tale about life and love. Denis tells the story in flashbacks, as she often does. Taking place in colonial Africa, the film depicts an eight-year-old girl as she observes her beautiful mother embark upon a forbidden relationship with an African houseboy. Denis slowly raises the tension, and even in this tale of love, she presents startling images that the viewer cannot escape.
Oct. 11, 6:30 p.m.

Beau Travail

Denis’ most heralded work, this wonderfully artistic film is also set in Africa, this time chronicling the life and events of a French Foreign Legion outpost. Beautifully shown and curiously told, Denis’ film dazzles with sun-soaked imagery.
Oct. 12, 7 p.m.

Nénette et Boni

Another hypnotic entry into the retrospective, Denis’ story of siblings living in Marseilles deals once again with sex and lust through ambitious narratives and imagery. Boni secretly lusts for the women he meets, while his younger sister Nénette keeps within her a powerful secret. The dreamlike scenes are underscored by a soundtrack featuring a longtime Denis collaborator, Tindersticks.
Oct. 27, 3:30 p.m.

Objects of Desire: the Cinema of Claire Denis, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Oct. 11 – Nov. 10

Taste Test: Toronto’s best hot turkey sandwiches

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Andrew Mannsbach

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9:43 am

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There is no better way to get yourself revved up for Thanksgiving than with an old-fashioned hot turkey sandwich. Chef Grant van Gameren tells us which Toronto throwback diner is on the gravy train.

WINNER

Good Bite, 2463 Yonge St., $10.95
“I do like me some mashed potatoes,” van Gameren notes. Initially skeptical of the overcooked peas, chef reconsiders, finding them to be rather comforting. As for the turkey, chef likes the mix of white and dark meat. “This is really good — it’s bringing back a lot of memories with the flavour profile.”

Cranberry cravings
Windfield’s, 801 York Mills Rd., $12.45
Unfortunately, this dinner doesn’t knock chef’s socks off. The turkey is a tad too dry for his liking; however, he does enjoy the addition of the cranberry sauce.

Groovy gravy
Steve’s Restaurant, 3788 Bathurst St., $12.99
“This gravy is definitely the best so far,” chef notes, finding it really flavourful. Had the dish included an acidic component — like cranberry sauce — it would’ve improved its standing.

Terrific turkey
Fran’s Restaurant, 20 College St., $11.99
“I like the strands of the turkey,” chef says, noting that it’s got a really nice turkey flavour. While the cranberry sauce impresses with its whole berries, the dinner loses points with the bread crusts, which stand out too much. “I’m more of a crustless guy when it comes to this.”

Crustless contender
Mars Diner, 2363 Yonge St., $14.95
Crust-wise, this pick fares better: “I like the fact that the crust is removed,” van Gameren notes. Mars gets points for its thin gravy and for using both dark and light meat, making the meal one of chef’s favourites.

Green bean gusto
Leonard’s Family Restaurant, 220 Laird Dr., $11.95
Initially turned off by the green beans, chef ruminates and decides he likes them after all. The turkey, however, is lacking in moisture, though chef gives the eatery props for including cranberry sauce.

Twist on tradition
Wimpy’s Diner, 8123 Yonge St., $12.99
“This is more of a non-traditional one — more like a turkey ham,” chef says. The result? More flavour, though, for chef, it doesn’t scream authenticity. He’d also prefer his peas to be, yes, overcooked.

Mashing mavens
Chew Chew’s Diner, 186 Carlton St., $11.99
“Their mashed potatoes are really good,” notes van Gameren, impressed with the seasoning. He also likes the mix of dark and light meat but, again, finds the crust to be a bit much. Overall, this pick is a top contender.

Tony Aspler’s Weekly Wine Pick: a grassy Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand

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9:26 am

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From the best district for Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand. Very pale lime in colour; with a grassy, green pepper, asparagus nose; medium-bodied, dry, gooseberry and elderberry flavours.

Food match: seafood; goat cheese

Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc, 2012, New Zealand, $18.95. LCBO #308288

Post City Magazines’ wine columnist, Tony Aspler, has written 14 books on wine and food. Tony also created the Ontario Wine Awards and has been inducted into the New York Media Wine Writers’ Hall of Fame. He can be heard on 680News.

Bellavance and Calla Haynes bring compelling and inspired designs to The ShOws

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4:55 pm

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Post TIFF, Hogtown creeps into a bit of a lull until, once again, Fashion Week rears its head. Last night in a loft space in the east end, the first eve of The ShOws was held, acting as a bit of a precursor to the official World MasterCard Fashion Week, still more than a week away.

As in seasons past, Paola Fullerton (the brain behind The ShOws) rallied a clutch of Canuck designers — most of whom are expats — to familiarize Canadians with their work and showcase their multifaceted talents.

“Stop demanding basics!” she exclaimed in her opening speech, asking us as fashion consumers to allow designers to create with freedom.

Fashionable mugs spotted in the crowd included Glen Baxter, shutterbug Tommy Ton (who was just snapping up a NY-London-Milan-Paris storm for style.com), Zoomer editor Suzanne Boyd (who was impeccable in navy fur) and ShOws designer Jeremy Laing (whom Fullerton insisted come fill seats instead of standing in the back).

First up was New York-based design duo Bellavance. Nolan Bellavance (Canadian) and Ava Hama (not) met at Parsons and have been slowly worming their way into the NYC fashion scene with their fresh take on sportswear. (Currently, Opening Ceremony carries the line exclusively.) For spring, the designers sent out a playful collection that was rife with stripes, inspired by architectural components such as scaffolding.

The stripes worked their way into the garments in a multitude of ways: some pieces have the name “Bellavance” embedded within the cloth to appear like a ticking stripe; knitwear pieces explore the stripe through a ribbed knit. The most labour-intensive method is found in the final look, which at first glance appears to be a relatively simple dress, but on closer inspection reveals its quilted qualities, with a total of 142 (!!) pattern pieces needed for its creation.

Calla Haynes returned to the runway for the second show. The Paris-based designer sent out a collection that compounded sea and surf imagery with a series of innovative textiles. Haynes, who always designs her own textiles, sent out two prints: a painterly one based on waves, and a floral print that played off the idea of a well-worn surfboard, complete with subtle wax marks and fibre cracks. Others lifted more transparently from surf culture (think wetsuit-influenced swimsuits with hefty zippers). Perhaps the strongest pieces involved a weave created with paper yarns — a collaboration with the same French house that makes the classic Chanel weaves. Various pieces made use of the weave; we loved a tiered fringe skirt that brought to mind Hawaiian garb, along with a haute take on the Guatemalan poncho.

Tomorrow: Steven Tai and Jeremy Laing

Local legends Skydiggers celebrate 25 years

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10:00 am

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It was the late ’70s and people didn’t really play in bands thanks to the platform-shoed masses of the soon-to-fail disco era. Josh Finlayson and Andy Maize wanted more. They wanted onstage, to make some real noise. And they’ve been doing just that for the past 25 years as the founding members of seminal Toronto band Skydiggers.

“When punk music was coming into the fray, that was the chance for anyone that could or couldn’t play to stand up onstage and make as much noise as they possibly could,” says Finlayson.

Finlayson met Maize at North Toronto Collegiate. Maize was a couple years older and a friend of his brother’s.

When they both headed off to university, one in Hamilton, one in Toronto, they took turns opening for each other’s bands: Finlayson’s The Ramblers and Maize’s Direktive 17.

A few years later, after Finlayson returned from England, the duo took over a live music night at the Spadina Hotel from Andrew Cash. And it was here where Skydiggers took shape … slowly.

“It just sort of evolved from what Andy and I were doing,” Finlayson explains.

“It wasn’t like thunderbolts or the sea parting. It was more a work-in-progress.”

The band signed to an independent label from California setting up shop in Canada called Enigma and released their self-titled debut album containing two of their biggest hits: “I Will Give You Everything” and “Monday Morning.”

What set the band apart, in addition to the burgeoning alt-country groove and stellar songwriting, was front man Andy Maize — his unique mannerisms, his almost stream-of-consciousness banter, but most importantly his ability to connect with his audience.

“You know, he comes from a school of entertaining where it is really important to connect with people. In some ways, he’s kind of an old song-and-dance man,” Finlayson explains.

“What people like about Andy is that it is very personal: there is humour, but he is an emotional person, and I think it runs a pretty wide spectrum — intense, funny, angry. He covers a lot of those bases emotionally and that’s what people really respond to.”

The band enjoyed their most prolific period during the ’90s, when they released six albums.

This year, to celebrate 25 years, Skydiggers are releasing four albums, including a three-disc live album entitled All of Our Dreaming, out this past spring; a covers album released July 1; an album with their favourite female artists singing their songs with them as the backing band; and a Christmas album slated for release during the holiday season. That’s a lot of music.

“Especially in a day and age when nobody is actually buying music, it’s a curious thing,” says Finlayson, laughing.

The band will also be performing a special concert at Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre on Oct. 19, with a number of special guests, including Andrew Cash, now an NDP MP, should his schedule permit.

“I think, ultimately, I feel very grateful that I’ve been able to do it, and that there is a chemistry that I certainly have had with Andy and other members for a long time that has allowed us to endure,” says Finlayson.

“Most importantly, people still seem to want to come and see us play and are still interested, and that’s very humbling.”

First Draught: a strong (and delicious) porter from a Danish craft brewery

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9:30 am

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If nothing else, the LCBO’s autumn seasonal release is consistent: all 11 beers are either stouts or porters. My favourite of the bunch is the Rye Porter from Amager Bryghus.

The Rye Porter pours a very dark brown with a coffee-and-cream brown head. Take a small sip of the resilient, foamy cap to see how much lighter the dense espresso and chocolate flavours are when diluted by all those tiny bubbles.

The aroma — dark-roasted grains, coffee and a bit of sweetness — loudly announces that this is a strong porter. We’re taken on a tour that starts with grain sweetness, continues on to the subtle spice flavours of rye and finishes with a double shot of bitterness from both American hops and nearly-burnt malt.

The creamy mouthfeel and the lack of heat (despite the 8.5 per cent alcohol content) complete the enjoyable experience.

Amager Bryghus is one of the better known craft breweries in Denmark. It has clearly designed the Rye Porter to fit into an ongoing trend: that of adding American-style hops to beer recipes that have traditionally been driven more by malt flavours.

With its slight kick of acidity, the Rye Porter will match well with rich and hearty meat stews, and it will also hold up to chocolate desserts that aren’t particularly sweet.

It’s very difficult to get a beer writer to admit that he just doesn’t like a particular style. So I’ll qualify myself here when I say that until the weather gets truly cold and gloomy, I find it difficult to get excited about thick, dark beers that are packed with dark-roasted flavours. But this is a beer I could enjoy at least eight months of the year, probably because it’s so well-made and so balanced from the rye-spice notes.

Amager Bryghus's Rye Porter, $6.25 for a 500 ml bottle, LCBO #330381

In addition to covering beer, new restaurants and food trucks for Post City, David Ort writes about food and drink for several Toronto publications including his own site, Food With Legs. He is also the author of the upcoming Canadian Craft Beer Cookbook. For more of his thoughts on food, beer and life in general, follow him on Twitter or get in touch at [email protected].