At Toronto’s Alimentari Italian Grocery, you’ve got al-fresco lunch or dinner in the bag — literally. Just add the sunshine.

The popular artisanal Italian grocery is one of a number of restaurants and shops in that Toronto Life featured in an article detailing where to find and pre-order fully loaded picnic baskets throughout The 6ix.

Alimentari Italian Grocery’s boutique baskets for two include fresh-baked focaccia sandwiches, summery Caprese salad, hand pies and a choice of two beer or a bottle of vino for $80 ($60 without alcohol) — and a bag to cart it to your favourite park.

This year has gone from eye-opening to head-scratching to stomach-turning and back again — and we’re only just NOW at the halfway mark. In terms of both sheer irony and utter coincidence, the old axiom about “hindsight is 2020” has never rung truer.

It’s been a time of great upheaval, uncertainty and much-needed reflection about who we are as a people. How we got here. And perhaps most importantly — how we move forward, acknowledging that while so much has kept us apart (especially this year), there is also so much that brings us together and is still worth honouring.

Congratulations to Ship & Achor Pub, which lassooed big wins for Best Patio and Best Neighbourhood Pub in Best of Calgary’s latest roundup of the annual ‘Best of Calgary’ Awards.

Like most restaurants across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic forced The ‘Ship to close its doors, spelling a significant decrease in both sales and hours worked for their staff members, but the management implemented new protocols and systems to keep things afloat and prepare for when it was finally time to return to regular business.

Our sincere congrats to the staff and loyal patrons of The ‘Ship, who can now get back to enjoying a (responsibly socially distanced, of course) pint on the patio!