“You guys still working on that?”

I have to thank our Expos VP, Steve Barber, for sending me this one.
In recent years, one of the most popular speakers at our trade shows has been Joel Cohen of RestaurantMarketing.com.  The site bills itself as “Real World. Real Time. Real Honest.” and the story below is a perfect example of the kind of [...]

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Oh, to be in Scotland

I’m not sure if it’s a back-to-school thing, or a weather-getting-cooler thing, or a need-more-dietary-fibre thing, but lately I’ve been drawn to oatmeal.  And none of this flaky rolled-oats business, either.  I’m talking Scotch oats, aka: steel-cut oats, aka: a thousand other names).
This morning it was bothering me that I couldn’t remember the name of [...]

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Introducing the latest sandwich sensation: The BLA

Yep, if Mother Nature doesn’t cast some more sunshine our way, we might find a curious addition to normally unchanging diner menus: The Bacon, Lettuce and Apple sandwich*.
Here in Ontario, the lack of summer sun has been bad news for some vegetable growers and “a challenge for chefs who use local produce.”  Specifically, chefs have [...]

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You can’t always get what you want …

… but you CAN blog about it.
I know that I posted recently about baristas and what can I say … coffee on the brain.  Coffee on the baby brain, to be more precise.  Other than a few visits to my parents’ place, where decaffeinated coffee is about as welcome as warm beer on a hot [...]

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It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world

This article from the New York Times appears to have two titles: “Sixties accuracy in every sip” and “When cocktails were office supplies.”  I personally prefer the latter, but I’d have read an article titled “You’re a big stupid loser” if it meant I could get another serving of my preferred poison, Mad Men.
I first [...]

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Coming soon to a sleepless city near you …

With apologies to Central Canadians, I just stumbled across this schedule this very day: 2009 Canadian Regional Barista Championships
The middle-of-the-map event has already come and gone, but there are three more competitions still to come, in Eastern Canada, Western Canada and the Prairies.  These events are open to the public, who can watch with jittery [...]

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