While the idea of a school that teaches its students about beer just begs for all manner of cheesy opening paragraphs about your "thirst for knowledge," or your "former studies" in campus bars, I'm not going to go there (expect insofar as I just did).

Instead, I'm just going to tell you that, tonight and for the next three Mondays, WVRST, the gourmet sausage eatery on King West, is hosting a beer school, where keen learners will be introduced to the art of drinking beer and pairing sausages. Each of the four evenings will feature a representative from one of Canada's top craft breweries who will lead the class in a discussion of the ins and outs of beer and, naturally, there will be plenty of samples so as to ensure that everyone involved leaves with some firsthand knowledge.

Meet Jan. He's here to teach us that a gentleman never drinks to get drunk and that a good Tequila shouldn't be poured in a shot glass and tossed back. It can be sipped and savoured like any good bourbon or scotch. A bit off the cuff, I found Jan to be an honest, laid-back guy with no airs about him. Hailing from Vancouver, this relatively new transplant has a passion for any distilled liquor from the agave plant — just don't ask him for a lime and salt while screaming: SHOT! SHOT! SHOT! — like in your salad days.

The Toronto Office Markets are a recent project by Alimentary Initiatives designed to bring locally grown food to the lobbies of office buildings. Artisan market in style, different vendors will sell their goods to the employees and guests of the office. Offering a range of freshly baked breads, cheeses, produce, and ready-to-eat items like samosas and raw pizza, the concept offers food for now and later.

In other words, you can grab something for lunch as well as some bread, soup, veggies and cheese for dinner tonight. "We don't want people to be 'food sleuths,'" Aruna Handa, the head of Alimentary Initiatives tells me, "we want to bring food to where people already go. We're trying to make local, organic food convenient."

There's a lot to like about Beau's All Natural Brewing Company.

In addition to brewing certified organic and extract-free beer, Beau's boasts an impressive commitment to sustainability. They produce 100% post-consumer posters, brochures, and coasters as well as environmentally friendly packaging. They also provide financial support to a host of environmental advocacy groups and they are the first company in Eastern Ontario to engage the Guelph Food Technology Centre's sustainability division for an energy audit.

This week on DineSafe, one of the places where I had obliviously enjoyed a meal was actually sporting a conditional pass. Gulp. Though the fact that it had boasted an impeccably clean (no pun intended) DineSafe record beforehand does provide me with some solace, especially considering the repeat offenders who often make it on this list. This week's conditional pass handouts were spread from downtown to way up north, nabbing offenders on Queen, George, and Bloor, plus one at York University and a Subway chain in North York. Here are some of the notable yellow passes that were handed out around Toronto this week.

Fresh (Spadina)
Inspected on: January 31
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 5 (Minor: 1, Significant: 1, Crucial: 2)
Crucial infractions include: Inadequate food temperature control, failure to protect food from contamination

George's Deli & BBQ
Inspected on: January 30
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 6 (Minor: 1, Significant: 3, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Failure to protect food from contamination

La Prep (160 Bloor)
Inspected on: January 31
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 9 (Minor: 4, Significant: 3, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Inadequate food temperature control

Leslieville Cheese Market (Queen W)
Inspected on: January 30
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 5 (Minor: 2, Significant: 1, Crucial: 2)
Crucial infractions include: Inadequate food temperature control, failure to protect food from contamination

Maggie's
Inspected on: January 31
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 7 (Minor: 3, Significant: 2, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Inadequate pest control

Mangia Mangia Mangia
Inspected on: January 31
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 12 (Minor: 2, Significant: 6, Crucial: 2)
Crucial infractions include: Failure to protect food from contamination, inadequate food temperature control

Smoke's Poutinerie (George St)
Inspected on: Feb 1
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 3 (Minor: 1, Significant: 2, Crucial: 0)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Subway Sandwiches (Yonge & Cummer)
Inspected on: Feb 2
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 4 (Minor: 2, Significant: 1, Crucial: 0)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Known by beer drinkers as one of the best spots in the city to get your craft brew fix, the Only Cafe will be hosting a mini beer fest this weekend that will feature live music, guided tastings, and, naturally, beer from a handful of some of Toronto's (and the GTA's) best micro-breweries.

The event will feature tasting booths manned by a beer rep or brewer who will offer samples of their wares in exchange for a ticket that costs you just one dollar. Given that the crowd at the Only is typically well versed in all things beer, the brewers will be sampling stuff that's a little out of the ordinary like seasonals or one-off brews wherever possible as opposed to their well-known flagship beers.