Stop Whining About Gas Prices!

news in canada isn't as negative as in the u.s. and is what i normally watch. my only dose of U.S. news is from nbc nightly news which i watch on a fairly regular basis. without fail, the price of gas is mentioned almost daily and i just laugh. we have no idea how good we have it in the u.s. where gas prices are concerned. gas here went up to $1.08 per litre this week and for those of you who can do the math on the non-English system, there are 4 litres to a gallon, so we're paying $4.32 a gallon for regular gasoline. except for older cars, most cars require premium gasoline which is $1.28 per litre here. yes, your math is right. that's $5.12 per gallon. so the next time you go the pump, just think of your friends north of the border and stop whining about gas prices - we've got it good down there.


what you may notice from the photo below is the red tax sticker on the pump. for those of you who haven't yet had your lasik surgery, it reads "Taxes included in in Gasoline Prices in Ontario: 5% GST (sales tax), 10 cents per litre Federal Excise Tax, 14.7 cents per litre Provincial Gasoline Tax". that's over $1 per gallon just in taxes. we may have that in the states and i've just never noticed it. or more likely, they just don't have to post it. all i know is that they do not joke about their taxes here.





it's still cold today. it's -4C or 24F today with the windchill. and it's almost april. geebus.

i had a yummy brunch today at mitzi's cafe on queen west and sorauren. i had to wait about 25 minutes for a table for 1, but it was well worth it! ( http://www.mitzissister.com/cafe.html - i can only find a web site for its sister property, aptly named "mitzi's sister") i had english breakfast tea with cream and sugar (my usual), scrambled eggs with artichokes, roasted cherry tomatoes and grated fresh romano cheese, potatoes and the best toast i've ever had. they are well known for their oatmeal buttermilk pancakes but i couldn't really eat two whole breakfasts, so i asked for a half portion just to try the pancakes. boy, was that worth it. they were oatmeal buttermilk pancakes with poached port pears and whipped cream on top served with hot, fresh maple syrup. it was badass!! go there if/when you come to t.o.

lastly, i found a new drink i just love! it's an italian brand of peach iced tea called santal. it's a little glass figure 8 shaped bottle and they have many different flavours. it's about 100 times better than snapple peach iced tea - as a matter of fact, there's really no comparison. if you find any, definitely try it because it's fabulous! (http://www.parmalat.it/prodotti/santal/index.htm) p.s. darren, they have lemon iced tea, too :o). i found it at an italian gourmet food store in little italy here, but i bet either central market or cost plus world markets carries it in houston. fingers crossed they do!