Summerlicious 2008 couldn't have launched with any more pomp and style than it did today in Toronto. Using a massive industrial crane to hoist up and suspend a 5-tonne, 22-person table over a red-carpeted Yonge-Dundas Square, the American Express sponsored harrowing-stunt-meets-gourmet-cuisine Dinner in the Sky event most certainly created summer food festival buzz.

Until tonight, I'd never had quite a unique dining experience - one that required a safety briefing and the signing of a waiver. With papers signed, and with a group cheer with my fellow eager table-mates, we were in upward tow. In my stomach were butterflies, and underneath the shiny silver lid before me was a very special meal.

Strapped into my seat, dangling some 35m above the ground, being served champagne by a waiter sporting a safety harness, I tucked my napkin under my plate to keep it from taking flight and landing on some unsuspecting pedestrian's head below. Then I took my first bite of Summerlicious 2008.

Summer fun doesn't get much better than indulging in ice cream on a hot summer's day - especially if you're a dog.



Video via Dear Toronto.

Things are heating up at Centennial Park, where the annual Toronto Ribfest is well underway. The opportunity to stuff your gut with slow cooked pork, kettle corn and funnel cakes runs through Tuesday, 11am to 11pm daily.

Just about any ribfest is on my short list of summer festivals, and this year's cookout certainly didn't disappoint on its opening night.

Photos and writing by guest contributor Arieh Singer.

Last weekend I went with my friend Hamutal to pick fresh organic strawberries at Applewood Farm Winery in Stouffville. Each 8-litre bucket was $15, and we each purchased three of them.

After we came home, it was time to learn how to make jam, and Hummy taught me all there was to know. The entire process took a few hours, but was filled with all kinds of interesting ways to use strawberries. Presently I have jam, frozen berries, strawberry-infused vodka, strawberry puree popsicles, and other goodies. It was a whole day of strawberry yumminess!

Fresh Ontario strawberries are taking centre stage in several of Toronto's best restaurants this month. The First Fruits of Spring festival is happening this month, with weekend strawberry-focused events and the restaurant program kicking in next week, June 23-29.

"Anticipation is a beautiful thing," says chef Jamie Kennedy, "When you eat strawberries in late June, courtesy of our local growers, you are rewarded with a perfume and sweetness that defines the season."

Although I may not have said it like Chef JK, I eagerly anticipate Ontario strawberry season each year and love it when I can make it out to a farm to pick my own.

The opening of a new location for The Healthy Butcher at Avenue and Eglinton had me pretty excited. If you like buying meat from a butcher but expect them to be able to answer a question or two about where the meat actually came from, this is certainly a welcome addition to the city's butcher selection.

This week is the grand opening of their second (larger) store at 298 Eglinton West. From June 12-15th they've got some sweet specials (great offers by this store's standards) and samples (ranging from cake to sheep's milk cheese).

Read my first look of the Healthy Butcher in our grocery section.