Food Notes

• Breadland, the newest artisan, upscale bakery opened in Oliver Square in May, and was featured in two articles this week.
• Downtown's Essence Organic Tea Bar is holding it's grand opening this week, from November 5-10. It's a good opportunity to taste their products, a great alternative when you're looking for something lighter than a cup of joe.
• Speaking of coffee - Tim Horton's now offers a reloadable TimCard, making it even easier to get your fix.
• There's a pretty good article in the newest Vue Weekly about Tree Stone Bakery owner Nancy Rubuliak's journey from social worker to bread baker. It seems that her transition from professional to practitioner of the culinary arts is not unique - from Ina Garten (who started off as a nuclear policy analyst to owner of Barefoot Contessa, and is now, of course, a well-known television personality) to Anna Olsen of Food Network Canada fame and Gail Hall, owner of Edmonton's Seasoned Solutions, it's interesting to know that many who work in the food industry didn't directly arrive at that career.
• The next time I'm in Toronto, I'll be sure to give Buddha Dog a try. Offering hot dogs with creative toppings and the choice of 80 sauces, they are making waves primarily because of their distinctive logo.
• Has anyone tried Taco del Mar? (Their slogan is the cheesy "Delicious is our middle name.) I've noticed two new locations over the past few week - one on Roper Road, and another in the shopping complex on 17th Street, and according to their website, there are two other branches in the city.
• I bought an Entertainment Book for the first time this year, and was really expecting more from it. I know it is impossible for the book to foretell restaurant closures, and likely, requests to be included in the book are submitted well in advance of its distribution, but after a coupon was declined at Wok Box, finding out that Sapphire had shut down, and on the weekend, discovering that another coupon sponsor, R U a Pasta Lover (ignore the name), had already been taken over, the value of the Entertainment Book continues to diminish.