Usually, when I bring up the subject of local craft beers, it doesn't take long for someone to raise the point that these brews aren't typically of the variety one can consume in large quantities. With their hoppier flavour profile or their tendency towards the dark and rich, craft beers aren't often the first choice for people looking for a good, local session beer. Thankfully for those people, the guys at Hogtown Brewers agreed, and decided to do something about it.

Many coffee aficionados get turned off by specialty (and flavour-added) espresso-based drinks, largely because of their perceived low quality and high sugar content. And yet creative baristas around the world are always concocting new mixes and substitutions. When it comes to coffee, new ideas don't necessarily have to result in heavy-handed and tacky drinks.

This brings us to The Slow Room's own invention "The Mandoccino." What is a Mandoccino? Short glass (similar to what might be used for a cortado), espresso, steamed almond milk, chocolate. There's a balanced intensity that defines this drink, which is very much worth its $3 price tag.

Lynn Crawford's Riverside eatery Ruby Watchco was hopping last night as she welcomed a throng of people to launch her new book Pitchin' In, based on her television show of the same name on Food Network. The book is a compilation of more than 100 recipes featured from her first two seasons on the television show, which has proven that Crawford has reach beyond the long-running Restaurant Makeover series.

Viewers will recall her travels across North America in search of the best local ingredients, including lobster from the Bay of Fundy, Dungeness crab from Vancouver Island and humble asparagus from Michigan. On her hunt for all this produce, the chef engages the local farmers, gets her hands dirty harvesting what needs to be harvested, and then turns the bounty into an unforgettable meal for those involved.

A traditional Irish breakfast in Toronto is not as hard to come by as it may seem. While the city's best known brunch spots continue to offer up arugula eggs benny and buttermilk waffles, and many faux-Irish pubs share a common owner and thus breakfast fare — the Pour House, Brazen Head, and Pogue Mahone, for example — there are several others that offer their own takes on potato farl, rashers, eggs, grilled tomatoes, and homemade Irish soda crackers.

This week on DineSafe, those who were bad, were really bad. Granted, not bad enough to get shut down altogether, but the restaurants and cafes given conditional passes this week didn't simply manage a meager two or three infractions. No, take The Green Beanery in the Annex, India Palace on Queen West, and Gold Stone Noodle on Spadina — all of which were slapped with seven infractions. Beating them was Sandwich Box at Yonge and Eglinton with an impressive (unimpressive?) tally of nine, but the winner this week has to the pseudo big-chain-knockoff at Pape and Floyd named "Coffee Lime," which rang in with 11 total infractions.

As far as protests go, it wasn't much to look at, but employees at the Real Jerk — the iconic Riverside restaurant that's slated to close at the end of the month — took to the street around lunchtime today to voice their discontent with the hasty termination of the establishment's lease. It was more of an exercise in neighbourhood solidarity than anything else, as those passing by offered their support for the business, which has occupied the southeast corner of Queen and Broadview for over 20 years.