We went to Howard's and had a fried softshell crab sandwich - which was not on the printed menu. It was delish! The fries were good, too. Thanks for the suggestion. This is one place we'll return to.

We went to Risky Business today and picked up some fresh steamed shrimp and some crab cakes. The shrimp tasted great but the crab cakes were VERY salty. Too bad because otherwise they would have been perfect as they were full of crabmeat and no filler.

We'll try and check out all of these places -- thanks for the suggestions! We're definitely going to Ocracoke as well.

We are heading down to OBX next weekend from Toronto, and craving fresh, local seafood. Looking for restaurant suggestions as well as stores where we can buy fresh seafood in season. We'll be based in Hatteras but are willing to drive anywhere in the area. Thanks!

Toboggan3, did you grow up in my house? We also ordered from Holima in the 70s as a Saturday night treat when I was a kid. Also whenever it was somebody's birthday. The deep-fried shrimp was my favourite. They were actually a pretty respectable size considering.

The Milbree Viking web site now says the old place on Laird is going to be demolished, and that they are "in the process of settling on a new location".

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Milbree
133 Laird Dr, Toronto, ON M4G3V5, CA

I had my wedding reception at the then newly-built Civic Garden Centre at Edwards Gardens (now called Toronto Botanical Garden) 31 years ago. The grounds are perfect for wedding photos and the building is unique. Plus, it was just around the corner from my house :-) Back then, we could use the caterer of our own choosing, not sure if this is still the case.

I believe William Ashley will order it for you. It's probably cheaper to drive down to West Virginia and buy it straight from the factory, though.

Not sure if it has anything to do with the Sweet Gallery on Mt. Pleasant as I haven't been there (I probably should check it out, though!). There used to be one on Yonge Street somewhere around Wellesley years ago. I hope they are related.

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Sweet Gallery
694 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

I just looked at the Amadeus web site -- it looks intriguing but it's a bit of a trek from my neck of the woods. What cakes have you tried from there that you would recommend?

I think Dufflet's is closest to the type of cake I'm looking for -- real buttercream icing and moist sponge cake layers. It will be consumed at a birthday party, after dinner with coffee (and liqueur!) I just wondered if there were some other places besides Dufflet's. Years ago we used to order from Sweet Gallery and Rooneem's on Queen Street West.

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Dufflet
787 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6J, CA

Sweet Gallery
694 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

Looking to order a quality European-style cake made with buttercream for a special birthday, preferably from a local bakery in Riverdale/Leslieville or thereabouts. Any suggestions?

I don't know about the burr model, but we had a no-frills Krups coffee grinder (I don't think we paid more than 10 or 15 bucks for it) that lasted about 25 years before it gave up the ghost a year or so ago and we had to replace it. We would generally grind about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of beans per day for our morning cup of coffee for two of us, and it never failed us. The burr looks BIG. If you grind coffee regularly, you get to know exactly how long it takes to get the consistency you want, so not sure why you would want to spend so much on a grinder for this reason.

I agree with Davwud that the burger reminded me of a Lick's burger in its heyday, both in size and seasoning. However, the fries, though they may have been cut from quality potatoes, were very soggy and greasy. We had to throw them out.

Milbree-Viking on Laird Drive.

Try Vienna Fine Foods on Birchmount Rd.

Jillvis, you can bring wine, beer or spirits back home to Canada even if you've only crossed the border for a single day. I go cross-border shopping from Toronto to Buffalo quite often, usually just as a day-trip. Occasionally, I'll pick up some wine and/or beer. My experience at the border has been that sometimes they make me pay the taxes (I always declare everything) and sometimes they just wave me through without making me pay anything (that's usually if I haven't spent a lot and am bringing back mostly groceries & only beer, not hard liquor). If they do make you pay, expect to be dinged for duty, "Provincial liquor mark-up fee" which I think varies from province to province, as well as GST & PST. It may end up costing you as much in taxes, if not more, than what you paid for the bottle. However, some liquor prices are so low state-side, that even with all the taxes figured in, it still turns out to be a good deal.

Estonian = Tervist!
We have been known to toast in other languages. I remember hearing "Skol" and "Prosit" said by my family as well. Both Sweden and Germany once ruled over the country.

a) Grapefruit - First of all, it has to be pink. Slice it in half, cut it into sections, carefully cut around the membrane with a serrated grapefruit knife, then dig into each section and eat. Any remaining juice gets squeezed out of each half into a spoon and drunk! Only way to eat grapefruit!

b) Sandwiches - After too many years of eating soggy warm sandwiches in grade school, I can now only eat them if they have just been made fresh. I keep all components nice and cold in fridge until lunch (except bread, of course), then assemble everything just before consuming.

c) BBQ or Rotisserie Chicken - For some inexplicable reason, I only enjoy eating dark meat cold and white meat hot. Go figure.

d) Hot foods, for the most part, have to be eaten hot, and cold foods cold. Coffee tastes gross if it is lukewarm or cold (or iced). But iced tea is fabulous!

e) Ice cream has to be stirred and stirred in my bowl til it resembles soft serve.

f) Grilled cheese sandwiches have to be made with real cheddar and not really grilled at all, but rather toasted & melted in the toaster oven. Of course the bread has to be paired with its neighbouring slice so it fits together properly.

g) Baked potatoes get smushed in one way, then turned and smushed the other way (with fingers, usually protected by paper towel to avoid the hotness) before adding toppings. That way they are nice and fluffy.