General Mills is being sued for the labelling of their Nature Valley granola bars. The gist of it is this: the ingredients in this product are highly processed, yet the box has the words “natural” and “nature” all over it. Interestingly, people prefer buying products that use the word “natural” over “organic,” even though to use the word organic your product needs to meet a bunch of government-set regulations, while “natural” requires none. The mothers who are suing General Mills want the company to defend its claims that the ingredients in this product are “natural.” Full story at The New York Times.

Whatchya doin’ tomorrow? Why not head over to Type Books and see Journalist Robin Shulman discuss her new book Eat the City, which delves into the epic history of New York’s urban gardeners, fishers, beekeepers, brewers and foragers. The event is free. For more info, visit Typebooks.ca.

It’s the Beer Festival this weekend! And there is so much going down! But it’s sold out. Except for the shenanigans on Sunday, which you can buy tickets for here. Have fun. Drink well and safe.

Ooohh. There is a Hot & Spicy Food Festival at The Harbourfront happening next weekend. It’s the 15th annual and there are a zillion amazing activities: a Red Hot Market of hot sauces, a Spicy International Iron Chef Competition and a Taco Takedown, among many others. There’s also some live music. Plan on going now.

I LOVE THIS. Dude dances in St. Lawrence Market. A baguette is involved. This makes me happy.

The next Group of 7 Dinner: Fish & Beer at Bellwoods Brewery. Five courses with beer pairings. July 30th. $75. Tickets details (ie: where to buy them) are coming soon – for now you can stare at the poster.

Bellwoods Brewery is doing their second pop-up retail store sale tomorrow from 1-5 pm at 126 Ossington. Growlers, bottles and t-shirts, oh my.

It’s almost July. I love July – it’s ridiculously sexy. Admit it. Which is why it’s the perfect time for Ivy Knight and Swallow to launch Toronto’s Hottest Chef competition. Voting starts July 9th. Proceeds go to charity. The winner is announced on July 23rd. Read all the sexy details here.

Happy Canada Day! What are you going to make? I’m thinking these Cherry & Red Currant Curd Granola Parfaits from The Gouda Life might just be perfect to start a day of celebrations off.

Pop-up Lobster Beer Dinner Party! Tomorrow night. Hosted by Ivy Knight and Chef Matt Kantor, with guest Matt Pettit. 6 lobster courses. Crisp Muskoka beer. $100. Read all about it here.

Tonight on CBC a group of Canadian chefs will be discussing the topic: What is Canadian food? Michael Smith, Aaron Joseph Bear Robe, Mark McEwan and Carl Heinrich are the chefs that have been invited to weigh in on the question. Select audience members will be invited to join the discussion via video feed. The live chat starts at 7 pm. See here for more details.

Tomorrow from 11 am to 2 pm Jamie Kennedy’s Gilead Café will be serving side-door beef burgers (like, they’ll be selling them literally from their side door) for $5. First come, first serve. Details at The Grid.

This is super cool: NPR’s program Planet Money has created some infographics showing how American grocery shopping has changed in the past 30 years. It’s a bit frightening, especially when you see that only 11.6% of a shopper’s budget went to processed foods and sweets back in 1982, while today 22.9% of it is dedicated to the processed and sweet stuff.

The Social Dynamics of Coffee Shops, from The Atlantic. How customers still determine the (Wi-fi) service.

If Dad likes his wine, you might want to check out this list of “Top Wine Picks for Dad“ from The Star. It’s a misleading title – this is just a list of awesome wine, with Father’s Day used as an excuse.

The Depanneur is kicking off the beginning of a dinner series this Saturday with novice Chef Alexandra Albert that will explore the sweet,  smoky, cheesy flavour of the American south. Saturday’s menu includes such wonders as cheese grits, green gumbo and hush puppies. Start time is 7:30. Membership to the series costs $40. For more information, click here.

The Stop‘s Beer Garden returns this Sunday, with beers by Muskoka Brewery and food from Hot Mess Halland. Located in the Sheltered Garden in their Green Barn, admission to the event is free and beer and food tickets are sold on site. Click here for more

The Dish has a cute interview with Keriwa Chef Aaron Joseph Bear Robe. Basically, the authors ask him how he’d spend a perfect Saturday. His answer, which includes a trip to High Park with his family and feasting on Polish food in Roncesvalles, reminds us that chefs are human, too. I forget sometimes. And I like to see a Chef giving love to some smaller local establishments, as Bear Robe does in his interview. Worth the quick read.

Restaurants that are worth the wait, from The Grid.

Introducing….Bacon Maple Ale. Yes, bacon beer. In a pink bottle. Brewed with real bacon. My god, I think hell has frozen over.

Some restaurants in the US are now hiring ‘Music Sommeliers,’ professionals who create playlists to enhance their patrons’ dining experience. I was really happy to read this article because I think having the right soundtrack for a meal is very important. I don’t want Katy Perry with my pumpkin gnocchi, I want Sam Cooke. The LA Times has the full article.

It’s picnic season! And Blog TO has compiled a list of the best parks around Toronto to have a picnic in this summer. Let’s play Canadian celebrity dream picnic: personally, I wish I could have a picnic with Margaret Atwood, Anne Carson, Leonard Cohen, Esi Edugyan and Jian Ghomeshi. With live music by Zeus. We’d eat arancini, home-made mac & cheese, southern style BBQ’d ribs, watermelon martinis and hazelnut gelato. What’s your Canadian celebrity dream picnic?

Want to buy crazy amazing Ontario craft beer not available year-round at the LCBO? No problem, there’s an online company called Keep6 Imports that now allows you to do exactly that.

Hot dogs. Ketchup. Happy Food. This video is weird, short and entirely appropriate for a Wednesday.

Toronto Life will be releasing the name of the chef who will be taking over for Matt Blondin at Acadia very, very shortly. Keep checking The Dish to be the first to know. Anyone have any good guesses in the meantime?

From helping women maintain their weight to providing a burst of antioxidants, The Grid lists five reasons why beer is good for you.

May 19th is Food Revolution Day, 24 hours meant to inspire people to stand up for good food, whether it means educating families or children about nutritious food or learning how to cook. There are a million ways you can get involved; to learn more, please visit the event website.

What are your food plans this weekend? The TUM Street Food Block Party is happening on Saturday evening at Evergreen Brickworks. Food will be Cinco de Mayo themed and line-ups will surely be long. Unfortunately, tickets are already sold out, so if you don’t have one you’ll have to live vicariously through someone else. If you do, congratulations – and be sure to wear your patience and a comfortable pair of shoes. (PS. We’ll be there.)

Speaking of Cinco de Mayo, there are lots of cool May 5th celebrations going down around the city this weekend, with lots of restaurants  – like Beast, for example – celebrating with Cinco de Mayo based menus. Call your favourite restaurant to see how they’re celebrating.

Tomorrow morning is Saturday morning, which means someone should be home making pancakes – instead of waiting in an hour-long brunch line. How about these Down & Dirty Southern Pancakes with Blackberry Sauce?