I love my Dutch ovens -- I have one bare cast iron and one enameled cast iron, and I use them both for different things. The plain cast iron is used more for slow cooking meat, and the enameled cast iron is used more for saucy and acidic foods; generally I use them both in the oven, not on the stove top. I would have gotten both enameled, but I didn't want to spend hundreds for a small ECI, so I got a small bare cast iron instead (I live alone, so I don't want them too big). Far, far better than a slow cooker - I have one of those too for when I'm leaving the house, but it's not the same.

My enameled cast iron is a Cuisinart brand bought on sale -- I don't know how it rates compared to other brands, but I've had no chips or burns and it goes in the dishwasher every time it's used (I've had it about 7 or 8 years).

Wow, this thread took a very interesting turn.

Yes, that photo is sort of what my KD is recommending. For all the various reasons stated here, that's not where I prefer to -- nor where I will -- keep them. I don't know where yet, but I believe you really need to stand in a place to decide where it makes most sense to you to store something. It's a more "organic" thing that can't really be done well on paper. In my opinion at least. I'll tell her instead to widen it and make it a cookie sheet/cutting board storage cupboard.

I was there about 30 minutes before the fire started, buying what will now be my last loaf of Haymishe rye bread :( I've been shopping there for over 30 years, since I was a teenager and my family lived in the neighbourhood. I can't believe how sad I am about this.......

I understand it was also pretty well regarded among Torontonians with Celiac disease for its quality and variety of gluten free products - a loss in that regard too. I'm very glad no one was hurt, and I'll have to start searching for a replacement bread.

I had a Winterlicious dinner at Corner House last night - group of 3, my first time there. The food was lovely and I was very impressed with the restaurant atmosphere (it's not too cramped, and I liked the homey feeling) and our service. They had a very full house and it's a very small place, so it's a place you want to dine earlier in the evening - we were the only ones waiting for our table at 6:45 (wait was just 2-3 minutes), but when we left 90 minutes later there were people lined up in the barely-there front entrance as well as in the upstairs hallway.

As for the menu, it was nicely varied and the food was really nice. Between the 3 of us, we had salads (arugula or pear) for starts, black cod (tasty and buttery-soft), Angus striploin (perfect texture, nice flavour, perfectly prepared), and venison stew (deep flavour, not overly gamey) for mains, and flour-less chocolate torte or sticky toffee pudding for desert (the toffee pudding was about the best dessert I've ever had). Portions were actually the perfect size - the portion of stew looked small when I got it, but was perfectly satisfying once I had eaten it - my dining companions said the same.

Really nice meal, really bad timing with respect to reservations. They have an early-evening prix fix menu (5:30p-6:30p) during the rest of the year, and I'll probably take advantage of that in the future.

Durian is available in a lot of grocery stores - the one that comes to mind first is the RCSuperstore in Scarborough.

For raw oysters, Rodney's Oyster House gets my vote.

I had a great float at Gale's diner - a unique atmosphere, but that's where I'd get my root beer float (and they're <$2)

You can't get good lox or bagels in the grocery store - I vote for bagels from Hamishe Bakery on Bathurst if you like the NY style (and I do - hate Montreal style bagels), and lox from United Bakers at Bathurst and Lawrence (but don't get the bagels there). Actually, I make my own lox, but before I knew how, that's where I got it.

The best gumbo I've had in Toronto has been at Harlem.

Great baba ghanoush at Jerusalem, but it's pretty easy to find at most delis.