One of my top-five favorite TV shows is Boardwalk Empire. Boardwalk Empire tells the story of a twenties gang called the Big Seven Group and their rise to gangster fame. The Big Seven came together to bring people booze during Prohibition by smuggling barrels of Canadian Club whisky across the border. Gangsters like Al Capone, Arnold Rothstein, Nucky Johnson, Meyer Lansky and, my personal favorite, Lucky Luciano. Why is this relevant? It’s relevant because right now in my top-five favorite Edmonton coffee shops is Lui-Chi’s. A shop that sells wood roasted, whisky barrel aged coffee (see what I did there? Luciano-Lui-Chis, whisky barrels… you get it).

What are you doing for lunch? According to recent studies, two-thirds of Canadians do not leave their desk at lunchtime, and choose to dine “al desko”, a phrase that somehow makes this statistic all the more depressing. This isn’t a new phenomenon. If you Google #SadDeskLunch  you will find picture upon picture of people eating in front of computer screens, and a laundry list of how-to tips on avoiding the practice. Here’s the thing – just as 5 p.m. is to cocktails, noon is to lunch. It is the earliest socially acceptable time to grab a slice of pizza or burger. With so many great lunch specials out there, who needs to wait for happy hour? One such example are the newly launched lunch specials from The Rec Room’s Three10 restaurant. Named in honor of Canada’s 3 territories and 10 provinces, Three10’s menu offers Canadian-inspired cuisine (which is difficult to define, but I digress).