Autogrill describes itself as "a modern Italian restaurant." It's been around since 1996, started by brothers Steve and Sandro Costa and their friend John Bastone. I've been curious about the place but never tried it until Winterlicious: $25 for a plate of P.E.I. Mussels, Magic Mushroom Risotto (yes, I said MAGIC), and homemade tiramisu with Belgian chocolate.

Read the full review of Autogrill in the Restaurants section.

In my neverending quest to find the best places in Toronto for brunch, I decided to try out Kalendar. Lush and intimate, the cozy interior makes this the perfect Valentine's Day restaurant...if you can get in, that is.

Read the full review of Kalendar in the Restaurants section.

There doesn't seem to be much that Monica S. Kuebler can't do. She's studied acting, dance and music, holds a diploma in audio engineering, and does performance poetry. She currently spends her time working as associate editor / webmistress of Rue Morgue Magazine and running Burning Effigy Press, a micro press specializing in genre titles, provocative fiction and poetry.

I met Monica at Toronto's Word On The Street festival last year at the Burning Effigy Press booth where I picked up a copy of her poetry chapbook, "The Sound Of One Girl Screaming." As the title suggests, her poems are alive with vivid emotional imagery: sometimes heartbreaking or full of rage, sometimes intensely sensual.

I learned to hate poetry in school. I remember spending what seemed like weeks on a few lines by William Carlos Williams and wondered what the fuss was all about: why should I CARE about that stupid red wheelbarrow in the rain? Years later, a friend showed me some poems that took my breath away. That can't be poetry, I said, I hate poetry. But I was hooked.

I first grew curious about bpNichol when I discovered that the street behind Coach House Press in the Annex is called "bpNichol Lane." The street features one of his eight-line poems and according to this Wikipedia entry, an employee at Coach House regularly waters the word "LAKE".

A member of a sound-poetry performance group and winner of the Governor General's Award for Poetry, bpNichol also wrote for Fraggle Rock. He died in 1988.

Coach House Books recently released The Alphabet Game: A bpNichol Reader. One of the co-editors, Lori Emerson, agreed to answer a few of my questions about the project.

Read sample bpNichol poems and find out more about The Alphabet Game beyond the jump.

The Canadian chapter of the National Cartoonists Society holds a holiday party in Toronto every year, and this year I was delighted to be invited.

What do cartoonists do when they get together? Read my report beyond the jump to find out.

This small Mt. Pleasant restaurant (near Manor Rd.) has become one of my favourite dinner restaurants in Toronto, and not just because of the fantastic food, cushioned benches and cozy atmosphere. I'll wager that Chef Stavros Tsimicalis is one of the only restauranteurs in Toronto who is also a published poet!

Read more about Cafe Pleiade in the Restaurants section.