Does Happy Seven (one of Toronto's most favourited late night Chinese restaurants) have a rat problem?

According to Jesse Ship, Arts Editor of Format Magazine, it just might. He took what he says is a photo of a rat in the window of this popular Chinatown restaurant on his way to work this morning.

In his words: I was just walking past happy Seven today on Spadina and snagged images of a rat in the window on my cell phone, sitting right next to the health inspector sign. The restaurant wasn't open yet.

Here's a closer look: Update! A video that confirms this is a rat has now been posted on Vimeo. It's embedded below.

Bacchus, the venerable Parkdale roti shop (and one of the best in the city) has a new look. Gone is the uber casual environs and Caribbean blue walls and in their place is a surprisingly stylish setup that includes white leather seats, modern wood tables and fancy chairs.

Who's the best chef currently working in Toronto? Is it the soon to be departed Susur? The locavore obsessed Jamie Kennedy? How about Rocco Agostino who's been winning praise for both the Silver Spoon and the newly minted Pizzeria Libretto?

If it's any of the above, we won't know it by the soon to be in production seven-part television series and culinary competition Gold Medal Plates: The Quest for Canada's Best Chef which will air on Travel + Escape in the Spring of 2009.

The National Post is reporting that Starbucks is in talks to move into Kensington Market. The location? The shuttered J&J Fruit Market at the corner of Nassau and Augusta Ave.

If the deal is sealed Starbucks would be hawking what some consider overpriced lattes and burnt coffee just steps from I Deal Coffee and some of Toronto's other top cafes.

Unbeknownst to most, the next few weeks present the best time of year to get your hands on grass-fed beef. That is, meat from animals fed a proper, natural diet.

The arrival of fall means that pasture-raised animals have had all summer to fill up on grassy goodness and are prime for keeping us well-fed over the winter months. You won't find the stuff at your average grocery store or butcher though. In fact, asking for grass-fed beef in these locations tends to illicit blank stares. But a little research reveals some great sources in the Toronto area.

If grass-fed isn't on your meat buying radar, read on and it just might change the way you think about premium meat. And if your butcher hasn't heard of grass-fed meats, well, send him here too (and/or find a new one).

Okay... back up. What are cows usually fed? Well, with the advent of factory farming in North America, we've switched them on to a diet of grain because it's cheap and it fattens them up quickly. So practically any meat you buy in the area, unless otherwise stated, is "grain-fed". It's the cheapest thing you could possibly feed an animal and brings them up to slaughter weight abnormally fast. Farmers don't have to let the animals graze on grassland pastures; they can just pile them into stalls where they have nothing to do but stuff their faces with grain feed.

Not Far From the Tree will host a Toronto Tree Tour with Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Foresters (LEAF) and the Toronto Public Space Committee this afternoon (Saturday). It's an "edible tree tour" with a heritage apple tasting built into the walk.

Last month I joined Not Far From the Tree for an apricot-picking in the urban orchards of ward 21. The group is made up of volunteer gleaners who are sent in teams offer to pick fruit trees in the backyards of residential properties in Toronto, alleviating the burden of harvesting the fruit while sharing the bounty with the community.

In addition to apricots, they've picked pears, apples, elderberries and grapes. So far this year they have shared over 2,000 pounds of fruit that would have otherwise fed only the birds, worms and possibly raccoons in the neighbourhood.

So what's it like being a volunteer gleaner?