Just about every neighbourhood has a Thai restaurant (or three) to choose from, making it no easy task to select the best Thai food in Toronto. That doesn't stop us from trying, though.

Of the many cuisines in Toronto, Thai is among the richest in terms of range of fare and quantity of restaurants. Most offer up your typical list of noodles, rice and curries, with favourite standbys like pad thai, green and red curries and assorted spring rolls. Many try to set themselves apart, perhaps offering more regional authentic fare, a wine program or chic decor.

But which restaurant's cuisine reigns supreme?

Ah Tapas. Is there any single more over-heated trend on Toronto's dining landscape than the small plate? It attracts more buzz than molecular gastronomy and I think I understand the rationale behind it: most restos make their biggest profits on the booze and small plates can highlight a kitchen's creativity, allow people to keep eating while they drink, and share a whole bunch of flavour without tying themselves to one dish. Makes sense. Much like their penchant for fascist dictators, the Spanish were way ahead of the curve on this one.

Though it's easy to be cynical when even the humble tubesteak is falling victim to this rampant tapas-try there's still much to love about the ability to indulge culinary ADHD and enjoy a little bit of everything your tastebuds crave.

Bread is one of the most concise and versatile film props. It was bread that finally drove Sam and Frodo apart. Yet when a film needs to look idyllic, the art director can still just pop a baguette in the scene (preferrably sticking jauntily out of a bike basket) and take the rest of the day off.

Toronto's taste in bread is growing up. We're getting away from the "how many grains can you fit in a loaf" game, which, while fun, isn't all that bread has to offer. These days we're favouring artisanal loaves, and we won't settle for any bread without a crust sturdy enough knock a man out at a thousand paces.

Running a successful gallery in Toronto is like riding a bicycle backwards on a steep incline in the rain on a Sunday in church traffic hung-over. Not entirely impossible but an uphill battle of fierce proportions.

Not a whole lot has changed in Toronto's art scene since the days of the now-defunct sis boom bah and Luft gallery. Rents continue to increase, galleries open and galleries close. And though we've whined and complained ad nauseam to the point of cliché, we all know how the story goes. The movement from counter-culture to culture to "authentic loft living" is nothing new and certainly not unique to Toronto.

The restaurant business in Toronto, much like in most cities the world over, can be a relatively volatile scene. Old favourites continue to shine, but some also suffer sad, seemingly untimely deaths. Some new places open and within a few months fail, while others become thriving, trendy hot spots within no time at all.

This diverse list of some the best of the newer restaurants in Toronto (those that opened in 2007) in the cheap eats category (entrees under $15) highlights those that garnered the attention and adoration of diners who come hungry and leave satisfied.

Now that it's Spring, many of us are digging out our trusty aluminum (or iron) steed, and realizing that it needs a thorough tune-up. Or maybe we're getting fed up with the TTC, and looking for a comfortable and dependable human-powered vehicle to take us to and from work. Or perhaps we're gearing up to rip through some trails or roll through some country roads, and all we need is a new bike?

Fortunately, as a city with a healthy cycling culture, Toronto has an abundance of bike shops for cyclists of every stripe, sort and persuasion.