When one dessert door closes, another one opens.

At least that was the case for Calgary’s Rebekah Pearse. After being forced to close her sweet-tooth mecca, Nectar Desserts, Pearse has had plenty of other things on her plate. She’s currently a contestant on Top Chef Canada and just released Sweet Seasonal Desserts ($28.65) where she dishes out all her pastry-chef secrets. The collection of recipes is divided into treats for different times of year, with a special section on holiday sweets.

There's always room for dessert. —MG

At Amazon.ca

Patio season couldn’t come sooner, and what better way to will spring in than sampling a patio-perfect bevy.

Lemon Tea Beer ($2.65 each) from Toronto Mill St. Brewery is a little bit sweet, slightly malty and totally refreshing. The sunset-coloured (how summer) wheat brew is infused with a blend of Orange Pekoe and Earl Grey teas, finished off with a lemon twist.

Cheers to new brews and warmer days.

At Highlander Wine and Spirits, 2919 Richmond Rd SW, Calgary, 403-233-2629 and two other locations, www.highlanderwine.com

On the heels of online dating sites like Findyourfacemate.com and Findyourfacematch.com, devoted to finding a partner that looks like you, comes a new, revolutionary site that works with one of our most powerful senses.

Forget pheromones, SmellYouNow.com focuses on your favourite scents and finds you the perfect partner by identifying who smells most like what you love. Adore the smell of fresh cinnamon buns out of the oven? There’s a man out there that smells like that all the time. Can’t get enough of gas station fumes? Your perfect match is just a click away. Start by composing a list of your favourite smells and preparing a sample of your own clothing and hair and once everything is in the database, your matches will appear.  

Remember the “smell you later” joke as a kid, well, now, it’s “smell you forever.” —MG

Read more at HappyAprilFoolsDay.com

Why should fashionistas have all the fun? Foodies deserve a spring overhaul too.

Taste’s spring menu combines the cozy eatery’s classics with some new features for a delectable noshing list just in time for spring.

It’s not a rumour, the duck fat popcorn ($5) really does exist! Other new dishes include scallops served with crispy pancetta and savoy cabbage and a tomato salad with basil mascarpone and balsamic. Favourites like the pretzel bits, beef tacos with carrot salsa ($15) and tuna tartare served on a wasabi cookie ($15) have made a comeback as well.

The aged cheddar and parm Mac n' Cheese is also on the list but beware, once you start you can’t stop.

Taste, 1210 First St. SW, Calgary, 403-233-7730, www.taste-restaurant.com

Forget misfortunes, it’s the good things that come in threes.

Alloy Dining, Rouge Restaurant and Charcut Roast House have just announced they are teaming up on a travelling dining tour of sorts.

Taking place over three months, in three different restaurants, chefs from each hot spot will meet in one of the three kitchens and collaborate on a six-course meal ($140). It’s a meeting of delicious minds and varying styles—modern Mediterranean influences, classic French and meat-lover’s rustic, respectively—that will surely result in some unique flavours.

The first event doesn’t happen until May 25 but Calgarians are culinary connoisseurs and reservations are sure to go fast. —MG

May 25 at Alloy Dining, 403-287-9255, www.alloydining.com; June 21 at Rouge restaurant, 403-531-2767, www.rougecalgary.com; July 27 at Charcut Roast House, 403-984-2180, www.charcut.com

From the owners of Sugo and located right next door, the newest addition to the city’s impressive pizza repertoire is Without Papers Pizza.

Grab a slice of the Hogwild pie (wild boar sausage, prosciutto, braised rapini, friulano and roasted garlic white sauce, $18) or the Baby Doll (chicken, eggplant, artichokes, tomatoes and goat cheese, $18) while enjoying classic flicks (think Barbarella and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) projected on the walls.

And afterward, leave room for something sweet. The eatery serves house-made ice cream ($7) and Grizzly Paw Floats ($7), because nothing finishes off a pizza night like a Black Cherry Cola float. —MG

Without Papers Pizza, 1216 Ninth Ave. SE, Calgary, 403-457-1154, www.wopizza.ca 


Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and for the other times, you draw a blank. 

Rechristened The Big Taste Calgary, the annual 10-day dining out event, where you can enjoy prix-fixe menus at some of the top restaurants in the city, begins today. Over 100 dining spots are taking part, with each one offering lunch ($15 or $25 per person), dinner ($25 or $35 per person), or both.

We’re gearing up for a daily trifecta of sampling. First up, the wood grilled Olson’s bison burger for lunch at River Café followed by the grilled lamb popsicles, fenugreek curry and sauteed spinach cumin potatoes at Mango Shiva for dinner and once all that’s settled, round three at Winebar Kensington, where the finale is a pear bread pudding, with double chocolate ice cream, praline and caramel sauce.

Sleep and repeat. —MG

The Big Taste runs until March 14; for complete list of participating restaurants and menus, go to www.bigtastecalgary.com

After a trip to Montreal, there are so many things we miss about the city: the effortless chic, the perfect bagels and Old Montreal’s cobblestone streets.

But the traditional Montreal smoked sandwiches served at the new Kickers Smoked Meat and Deli means there’s one less thing to pine over.

The regular cut smoked meat on rye, with a pickle and a side of soup, coleslaw, macaroni or potato salad (from $10) is our pick for a perfect lunch combo. For a feminine feast, the Miss Montreal on rye has smoked salmon, cream cheese, and the fixings ($10).

Now all you need is a patch of grass and it’s as if you are in Parc du Mont-Royal.

Kickers Deli, 1215 First St. SW, Calgary, 403-288-8860, www.kickersdeli.ca

Dom Pérignon already has a rep as the champers of note, and now the famous champagne house has gone pop with the Andy Warhol tribute collection, a collaboration with the Design Laboratory at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design.

In celebration of the three reinterpreted bottles, 100 Wines by David Walker is hosting a Canadian release party, complete with food, live art, music and a bottle of Andy’s Dom. 

Like Warhol's take on fame, we don't expect these bottles to last more than 15 minutes.

Tickets $500 (includes a bottle), February 8 at 8 p.m., 100 Wines by David Walker, 1109 Olympic Way SE. Calgary, 403-452-8820, www.davidwalkerwines.com

While the weather outside calls for a cup of hot cocoa, keeping it cool is so much tastier.

Combine milk, ice and Frozen Hot Chocolate mix ($19) in a blender and the result is a thick, chocolaty milkshake that is worth every cold sip. Made famous at New York’s Serendipity café, the frozen dessert is best served with whipped cream on top and, this time of the year, with a wool blanket on the side.

At Williams-Sonoma, www.williams-sonoma.com