Prior to about a week ago, when I thought about Prince Edward Island (PEI for short) the only things that came to mind were potatoes, red earth and Anne of Green Gables.

PEI was always a place that I knew very little about, and never had much of a desire to visit. Since attending an event about P.E.I. last Tuesday, I have discovered an Island with more to offer than I could have ever imagined.

PEI is so rich with food that you can even walk around and find delicious things to eat in the wild. From Fiddleheads and Strawberries to Mussels and Lobster, if you look in the right place these things can be found just a short drive away on the Gentle Island.

PEI Mussels

Side Note: Living in the city, much of the food we eat is controlled completely by large corporations. We know nothing about where it comes from, or even if it is safe to eat. Food has become so modified that chances are we are all going to die of some form of cancer.

Think about this, do you know someone who produces food? If you live in a large city, chances are the answer to this question is no. But, if you live in P.E.I., Chef Michael Smith claims that everyone there knows at least someone who produces food. Continue Reading »

Bars are getting more expensive to go for drinks in this city every year. A $5 cocktail of a few years ago is now $8. Here are some of my favourite places to go in Toronto for cheap drinks:

Ballroom Bowl
Located in the Entertainment District, Ballroom is one of my favourite bars in the city for a fun time. They have live music, bowling, ping pong, foosball AND they also have many great deals!

Monday-Friday from Open-8pm (Thursdays til Close): $4 Bar Rail / $5 Creemore, Corona & Steamwhistle
Tuesday: $12 Canadian Pint & Burger
Thursday: $8 Signature Double Cocktails
Friday: $12.00 Pitchers
Saturday: $4 Caesars from 12-4pm, $45 Mickeys 4pm-Close
Sunday: $4 Rail, $5 Jagermeister & Jack Daniels 4pm – Close (and 1 hour FREE bowling!)

Bar With No Name (1651 Bloor St. W)
One of the best places in the Junction with great drink deals (suggested by @jaypishere on Twitter)

Monday: $10 Pitchers & $2.75 Bar Rail
Tuesday: $3.50 Bottles of Beer
Wednesdays: $10 Pitchers & $2.75 Bar Rail
Thursdays: $3.75 Tall Cans

Crocodile Rock (240 Adelaide St W, Toronto)
Toronto’s most notorious cougar bar!

Wednesdays: $4 Drinks All Night
Thursdays: $4 Premium Martinis All Night
Every Day: $4 Martinis (Except Friday/Saturday Nights After 8pm)

Eat My Martini (648 College St, Toronto)
With one of the most extensive martini lists I’ve seen in the city, they also offer some great deals throughout the week:

Monday – Thursday: $3 Shots, $5 Martinis & $3 Mixed Drinks
Friday-Saturday Night: $6 Martinis, $4 Mixed Drinks Continue Reading »

Last night, history was made in the Canadian cocktail industry at the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel in Toronto. For the first time in its four years of running, Canadians were allowed to compete for a spot in the world’s largest cocktail competition: Diageo World Class. At the Global World Class competition, bartenders compete from 50 different countries to win the title of “world’s best bartender”.

10 Canadian finalist bartenders were selected for last night’s final after going through lengthy selection process that ran from February 20^th until April 30^th, 2012. For the finals, each bartender had to invent 2 cocktails for the 3 following categories:

Retro Chic – An understanding of cocktail evolution from classics to their modern counterparts.
Tropical Journey – An understanding of Tiki culture, tropical ingredients and next-generation tropical drinks.
Hollywood, Bollywood, Hong Kong – An understanding the art of cocktail presentation and service.

Drinks were judged by mixologist & author Tony Abou-Ganim, bar consultant Steve Olson, author Jacob Richler, and 2012 Diageo World Class US winner Ricky Gomez (who finished 5^th in the world at last years event).

The bartenders competed all day from 10 in the morning until 10 at night when the winner, Jenner Cormier of Halifax was selected. The competition was so close that Cormier beat out Toronto based Shane Mulvany by just .25 points.

Jenner Cormier hugs Ricky Gomez after winning Diageo World Class Canada

Continue Reading »

Cable TV is one of the biggest rip-offs. To get a decent channel setup you are looking at spending around $100 EVERY month. Reoccurring monthly costs are what make if very difficult for people to build up a savings, so when possible try to cut these from your life.

Here are 5 tips and tricks to save money on your cable TV bill, or even drop it entirely!

1) Get FREE TV with OTA / an Antenna – OTA (or Over-The-Air) are signals that are broadcasted free of charge and can be picked up using an Antenna. Antennas can range from something as simple as a coat hanger, to a more elaborate roof-top HD Antenna setup.

Here is what you need to get started: Continue Reading »

There have been several apps that allow you to make calls for free as long as you have wi-fi, but recently these have expanded to even include a few apps that give you your own phone number for FREE! This means you can get rid of your home phone, make calls while traveling (this is an update to my save money on your cell phone while traveling article), get free long distance and possibly even ditch your cell phone as long as you have an old app enabled cell-phone with wi-fi. While the article is about getting a free phone number, it is also a guide on how to cut long distance charges anywhere in the world and much more! Here’s how it works:

Get A Calling Device

All of these apps will require you have a an app enabled wi-fi phone. If you don’t have an old phone kicking around, head to Craigslist or Kijiji and pick up an old iPhone 3GS or iPhone4. You should be able to find a 3GS for under $100 or an iPhone 4 for a bit more. If you go over your minutes already on your current phone, this is a small investment to cut down your bill.

The FREE Phone Apps

Fongo

In Canada, Fongo is the only app that I have found that will give you your own phone number. Fongo started as a joint collaboration with Dell and up until January of this year was known as Dell Voice Powered By Fongo. To get started all you do is download the app, set up your account and Fongo will assign you your own number based on your location. My number is a 647 area code number because I am located in Toronto. Fongo will import all your contacts (if you let it), allow you to both make and receive phone calls anywhere in Canada and send instant messages to other Fongo users free of charge. If you need SMS messaging to any phone, you can buy a monthly package for $1.99. The app is available for iPhone or Android but they also have a desktop version of the software. Here are some screenshots of the app: Continue Reading »