Steve Basic and Eric Pocket

Talia Syrie learned to cook for a crowd in a tree-planting camp.

Since 1948, City Bread has been putting bread on the table. The company prides itself on using only natural souring agents to give their loaves a unique—and downright delicious— flavour.

The Staff Series Sundays started as a way to liven up the winter season with staff-made libations using Half Pint’s small-batch brewing system, said brew master Chris Young.

Bernstein’s Deli has been a south end fixture for more than 30 years. Regulars come for a deli lunch, great take out in the grocery section (they are more than 30 kinds of soup in the freezer!) or a morning cup of coffee and meet up with friends.

For Cheryl Zealand, inspiration arrived in a pot of cold oatmeal. At the time, her twins were 2 and her older child was 7 years old. With the children’s needs pressing, the oatmeal she’d made earlier in the day had been forgotten.

Luke Nolan knows noggins. Whether yours is a small, average, or an orange-on-a-toothpick, Sputnik-sized noggin, his Exchange District shop has a style that will capture your cranium …and your personal style.