Photos by Joseph Michael Howarth

The weekend, the Gourmet Food & Wine Show is encouraging wine connoisseurs, aficionados and novices to avoid the frosty weather outside by enjoying fine dining and wining in the warm comfort of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

In its fourteenth year, the feature country is France, which is evident with several free and tutored tasting events targeted to the Bordeaux area. Joseph and I took a look at the show this year to give you an idea of what to expect this time around, and how to get the best bang for your buck.

Classic (and I mean really classic) hip-hop and electro heads can rejoice in the fact that Brooklyn based synth pioneers Newcleus are swinging by Wrongbar this Saturday to throw down a set as part of ACTIVATOR, DMONEY's bi-monthly showcase dedicated to 70's and 80's RnB, early electro and hip-hop, funk/boogie and the music it has inspired.

First, let's rewind some 30 years. It began in 1977 as a group of teenagers throwing one-off DIY parties under the DJ collective Jam On Productions. As punk was exploding across the pond and just starting to take foot in New York City, this group was pumping out breaks and beats, later leading to the breakdancing craze. In 1981 four core members, Cozmo D, Lady E, Chilly B and Niqué D, decided to create a recording group and their sounds soon became underground classics in night clubs around the world. Jam On Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song) (audio below) was the first single released n 1983, and it is still being sampled and mashed up today. They had also established themselves as one of the first self-contained Hip-Hop bands, playing all of the instruments themselves live.

Now let's fast track to today. This Toronto show is one of only a few the band are playing, and actually the first time they have ever played here, or anywhere in Canada.

Atomic Vaudeville's Legoland is very good.

I would normally try to open this review with something a bit more clever. But anything I could come up with would pale next to the creativity, wit and sheer enthusiasm of this excellent play. It is a weird and warm-hearted piece of theatre, and you should go see it. Tonight, if you can.

I had concluded some time ago that the best delis in Toronto were sadly not worth my love. On every train ride home from New York, I'd spend 14 hours lamenting the illegality of getting pastrami over the border. A loved one would occasionally bring me a pound of Schwartz's from Montreal, but the long waits in between these gifts was starting to get me down. Admittedly hasty, it took only the buzz of a good sandwich to challenge this stubborn assumption that my hometown is inherently meat deficient.

I went with another "best of the pool" 24 panel mosaic this week. I hope everyone is liking is liking the increased number of photos, even if it does come at the expense of our beloved themes. We'll run a few themes over the winter, and fully bring them back in the spring.

As always, links after the jump. Discussion in encourage. And we love hearing the story behind your photos from the featured photogs.

Photo: "streetlight" by hesitation, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):

"Yongesterdam" has been squashed. The pot-friendly Kindred Cafe on Yonge Street was raided by police last night, and its assets (chairs, coffee makers, volcano vapourizers, and more) seized. It's alleged that the cafe was selling spaaaace caaaakes. How do you feel about your tax dollars being spent both on the war on drugs AND on glossy LCBO magazines that promote alcohol?

Last night at Keele & Dundas a German Shepherd was killed when "stray voltage" from a street-side hydro pole struck it. Ummmm. WTF? If it could happen to a dog, could it not happen to a person? I suspect a lawsuit is forthcoming. And some rigorous inspections.

GO Transit wants to buy a chunk of Union Station. This seems like a sound idea - GO gets their head office space where they want it, the city gets money to help fund the major renovations needed at the station, and if all goes as planned, commuter congestion in the area can be curbed some as well.