While there was ultimately no truth to the rumour that Zane Caplansky had sold the recipe for his Toronto-style smoked meat to Sysco Foods who planned negotiations with Porter Airlines to offer this noble sandwich on their Toronto-Montreal service in order to foment some kind of misguided cross-border brisket rivalry, it is true no single sandwich has stirred as much collective controversy as the humble smoked meat on rye at Caplansky's.

Read the whole just-in-time-for-Passover (but not open today!) profile of Caplansky's Deli in our restaurant section.

Are you as depressed as the markets are because there doesn't seem to be any affordable nosh left in the city? Well check your expectations and your irony at the door and get ready to eat some honest to goodness diner fare at this ghost of Leslieville's past - Gale's Snack Bar.

In an attempt to demonstrate that you can still occasionally get value for money, I arrive this winter afternoon with several hungry friends and a solitary $20 bill to see exactly how much chow we can get.

Read the results in our profile of Gale's Snack Bar in the restaurants section.

The internet definitely makes for interesting dining companions. Thanks to cyberspace, I recently enjoyed the opportunity to share a meal at an amazing suburban restaurant with a complete stranger.

I've never met Charles Yu before this particular snowy pre-Chinese New Year evening but he's already been one of my food heroes for quite some time. Anonymous and insightful, this local foodie is at the vanguard of the new DIY school of culinary crit (he doesn't have a blog but he definitely has a posse - check Chowhound for the ever-growing list of people who follow his posts), and he's had a more than passing influence on how I eat this town.

Still, kinda like online dating, y'never know how someone'll represent in real life. Is this meal gonna be an ordeal? Will the minutes drag on until the only chomping I'll be doing'll be at the bit to get out?

My fears that the drive all the way to Tanchikee Restaurant, in the belly of the suburbs, might be met with with a dumbed down version of Cantonese for Canadian palates were squashed by friends in-the-know. After feasting on lobster, pigeon, oysters and beef, I can honestly say that it was definitely worth the drive to Richmond Hill for an exceptional meal.

Read the full review of Tanchikee Restaurant in the restaurants section.

The year of the Ox quickly bears down upon us, promising us 365 days of prosperity through fortitude and hard work, though from all indications this year'll more likely leave our fortunes bull-trampled like so much china shop debris.

While I'm not sure it'll help your cosmic standing or your bottom line, I do know that one thing Chinese New Year always offers is a ready made excuse to eat really well and shamelessly nurse at the glorious gilded bosom of one of the world's mother cuisines.

Grabbing dim sum is de rigeur and sure there's plenty of great places to eat downtown (this is my personal fave) but if you're feeling especially adventurous, Chinese New Year is a great reason to gather some friends, pile into a car and head off to the burbs for some serious noshing.

Admittedly, until I came across a post describing one in a food blog awhile back I had no idea that the Aussies even had a burger let alone that it included thick slices of pinapple and the utterly bizarre addition of braised beet. What I discovered is that it may just be the best, strangest, most sublime thing since Aussies crossed a duck, a wolverine and a scorpion and called it a 'Platypus'. And look no further than the recently opened scene stealing Cabbagetown starlet, The Gourmet Burger Company for one of finest specimens of this chimeric concoction on this or any other continent.

Read my full review of The Gourmet Burger Company in the Restaurants section.