The next stop on our international tour of pastry is Eastern Europe.

Chimney cakes (an ancient Transylvanian street food) are made by wrapping yeast leavened dough around a spool like a ribbon and baking it in a special rotisserie oven. The cake comes out piping hot and is rolled in your choice of chocolate, coconut, cinnamon, walnuts, sugar, or, my favourite, cinnamon. Tug on the top edge and the hollow treat unravels like a spring with steam rising through the middle.

Twist our rubber arm. —Jaelyn Molyneux

$5 or $3 for a mini-cake at Twisted Café in the Crossroads Market, 1235 26 Ave. S.E., 403-291-5208, www.crossroadsmarket.ca

Blue Star Diner wooed us with its breakfast, but it’s the tacos and whiskey that have us going steady.

The Bridgeland hotspot (and sister restaurant to Dairy Lane Café) is open for dinner now with a menu that is tightly packed with casual eats that let local, fresh ingredients shine. There are burgers including chorizo, chicken, lamb and three veggie varieties and six types of tacos with toppings including battered avocado, braised pork shoulder, and cilantro sour cream. Wash it all down with an old-fashioned or rusty nail from the whiskey cocktail menu.

If you happen to drink too much, head back to the same place the next morning for a healthy hangover breakfast. —Jaelyn Molyneux

Blues Star Diner, 809 1 Ave. N.E., Calgary, 403-261-9998, www.bluestardiner.ca

Raise a glass! Our editor share their favourite holiday wines:

Pfaffenheim Gewurztraminer is a mouthful to say but the French wine is floral and fruity and pairs nicely with Thai takeout making for a perfect night in. $18.49 at Kensington Wine Market, 1257 Kensington Rd. N.W., Calgary, 403-283-8000, www.kensingtonwinemarket.com —Jaelyn Molyneux, Calgary editor

Moving from London back to Vancouver meant that my favourite wines (usually from Spain) were suddenly a lot more expensive. The Rioja Crianza from Campo Viejo is a good staple when you don’t want to spend much money, it is oaky, fruity, and rich (all the things I hate in a white wine but love in a red.) $14.99 from BC Liquor Stores. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg, Vancouver fashion editor

For a sparkler that won’t set you back, we love Sieur d'Arques Première bulle Blanquette de Limoux mousseux (2008) ($17.55). It’s the perfect girly sipper, from the pretty pink label to the fruity bubbles. At selected SAQ locations.  —Jennifer Nachshen, Montreal editor

As a rare girl that doesn’t like Champagne, I always make sure to stock up on riesling, which can feel just as festive and taste just as sweet. This one by Tantalus is my personal favourite: very floral with strong hints of both apple and pear. Its full-bodied, yet breezy palette makes it a great companion for any celebration. $22.90 at Village VQA Wines.—Anya Georgijevic, Vancouver beauty editor

Cedar Creek Riesling 2010 ($17.90)  I’m a seafood-aholic and this light, bright riesling goes beautifully with almost anything from the ocean. —Kelsey Dundon, Vancouver lifestyle editor

Outis Etna is a fabulous wine that we discovered at Terroni. According to Max Stefanelli who runs the L.A. outpost, this ruby red is best paired with meats and caponata. $16 per glass, $74 per bottle at Terroni, 720 Queen St. W., Toronto, 416-504-1992, www.terroni.com —Athena Tsavliris, Toronto editor

After living in Argentina, I figure you can't ever go wrong with malbec. The full-bodied flavour and richness of the Andeluna Malbec pairs perfectly with nights spent reminiscing around the fire with old friends. $25 at Firefly Wines, 2857 Cambie St., Vancouver, 604-875-3325, www.fireflyfinewinesandales.com —Kelsey Mulyk, Managing editor

Bear Flag's smooth red blend wins points on several counts: a female winemaker, a highly drinkable blend oozing vanilla and cherry, an accessible price point, and an illustrated label by an emerging artist (because, yes, packaging counts!) $ 12.99 at BC Liquor Stores. —Sarah Bancroft, Editor-in-chief

Another pizza place has thrown its pie into the dining ring, but this one has some Italian street cred.

LDV Pizza Bar is above La Dolce Vita where chef Rocco Cosentino has been cooking authentic Italian dishes for decades. Upstairs, his son Rocco Jr. went the casual route with a pub where a wood-fired oven pumps out perfect pies that he learned to make in Italy. While pizza is the main attraction, you can skip the slice and order from homemade pasta, oven baked whole trout or rotisserie beef striploin. —Jaelyn Molyneux

LDV Pizza Bar, 916 First Ave. N.E., Calgary, 403-263-5999, www.ldvpizzabar.com

Bigger might better for Petite Restaurant and Lounge.

While its former location was cozy with just a handful of tables, its new space is all the better for feeding friends. At any given time there could be 190 people noshing on lobster ravioli and beef tartare and that’s just to start. Chef Jared Alvey’s menu has mains that pair sable fish with pork belly and duck breast with butternut squash risotto. It’s a line up that makes for fancy feasting in a space built for casual chatter among friends.

Did I mention there’s sticky toffee pudding? —Jaelyn Molyneux

Petite Restaurant and Lounge, 344 17 Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-452-5350, www.petiterestaurant.ca

We the people support the Commonwealth and not just the one that will eventually be ruled by Wills and Kate.

We also plan on throwing our support behind Commonwealth Bar & Stage, the club that has moved into hallowed ground once occupied by the Warehouse. The 25,000-square-foot party space is the brainchild of HiFi Club owners Smalltown DJSs and as such is built for a good time. There is a main stage level, a downstairs DJ room and a street level lounge. The Cafeteria serves finger foods including beer nuts and meatballs all created by Una Pizza + Wine chefs to be eaten quickly during brief breaks in the dancing beats.

It’s a bar where commoners are treated like kings. —Jaelyn Molyneux

Commonwealth Bar & Stage, 733 10 Ave. S.W., Calgary, www.commonwealthbar.ca

If you live in the northeast and make the pilgrimage to Manchester for the city’s best barbecue, you can save your gas money. Holy Smoke Barbecue & Smoke Pit has a second location on 16th Avenue Northeast.

The menu offers up the same Sophie’s Choice of smoked meat with pulled pork and beef brisket. That decision is solved by The Manwich that combines both meats. The more difficult dilemma is which of the more than a dozen homemade sauces do you slather on.  Will it be the tangy Jack Daniels or the sweet South Carolina? Maybe a combination of both?

Whatever sauce you choose, your smoked meat will taste like summer in a sandwich even when there is snow on the ground. —Jaelyn Molyneux

Holy Smoke Barbecue & Smoke Pit, 420 16 Ave. N.E., Calgary, 403-263-4659, www.holysmokebbq.ca

Every time we think we might try to reduce the gluten in our diet, lunch rolls around with its bread-basket of choices.

The answer is Big Star Bake House, the new gluten-free bakery from the owners of Milk Tiger Lounge. Loaves of Italian, cheese, cinnamon raisin and banana breads are baked without a hint of gluten, along with brownies, butter tarts, scones and other daily specials. Grab pizza doughs and hamburger buns from the freezer or a bag of flour and prepare a meal at home.

Now, about those carbs... —Jaelyn Molyneux

Big Star Bake House, 1510 6 St. S.W., Calgary, 403-452-6572, www.gfpatisserie.com

If you build it, we will come and eat.

The renovation dust has settled at the Community Natural Foods 10th Street location and from the sawing in hammering the Community Café has emerged. In keeping with the grocery store's nearly 35-year tradition, the café takes organic, all-natural ingredients and whips them into ready-to-serve meals. The wood-fired pizza oven cranks out pies sold by the slice. There’s a build-your–own burrito counter, a smoothie station and a salad bar with all the fixings. Hot entrees include artichoke lasagna and butter chicken, all of which can be packed to go or eaten in at the café’s smattering of tables.

Letting someone else do the cooking just moved to the top of our grocery list. —Jaelyn Molyneux

Community Natural Foods, 1304 10 Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-930-6363, www.communitynaturalfoods.com

Make room for another a restaurant that does your social life good.

Model Milk is Chef Justin Leboe’s new bistro-style restaurant that’s loud like the best house party you’ve ever been to only better with art deco décor and food. Named for the building’s original 1930s dairy factory, Model Milk has exposed bricks, reclaimed wood beams and lighting made from vintage milk bottles. The restaurant has been renovated for people watching and offers a menu that rotates often on the whim of the kitchen, with everything from shrimp and grits, oysters and fried chicken to meat slow roasted in a Japanese wood smoker.

Recommended serving is two to three times a week, with friends. —Jaelyn Molyneux

Model Milk, 308 17 Ave. S.W., Calgary, 403-265-7343, www.modelmilk.ca