It's the peak of summer and local fruits and vegetables are cropping up everywhere, and La Coalition des Marchés de Quartiers has a handy interactive map tool to help locate the nearest Public Market.

Cuisine from the Antilles Islands in the Caribbean could mean anything from Jamaican jerk chicken to Cubano roasted pork and swiss cheese sandwiches, but French-Caribbean means something a little different, so when a new restaurant with a gorgeous terrasse opened on Parc just north of Mont-Royal I knew I was about to go find out exactly what island we were talking about here.

Here is a food criticism series like no other: searching for strange, hilarious and sometimes frightening food around Montreal and, more importantly, searching for the reasons why we love it so. Forget every trendy and creative eatery you know in Montreal and take the plunge, dive into the underworld of this grand city's food industry. We're looking past the food here and might dabble in existentialism in attempting to assign words to the altering experience of eating good-bad food. In the increasingly changing neighbourhood of St-Henri, The Green Spot remains the same after 70 years of service at 3041 Notre-Dame O. This family place filled with über-regulars is known for its great greasy fries and straight-up junk food delights, but that's not where my interests lies.

The First Date Series takes a look at restaurants in Montreal where you might want to go -- or might not want to go -- on a first date. Le Continental is bustling, and chic. The cuisine is uncomplicated, but it's exceptional. If a less-intimate, yet still upscale date is what you're after, Le Continental is the place.

There are 3 very good reasons to go to Cinema du Parc this week.

The First Date Series takes a look at restaurants in Montreal where you might want to go -- or might not want to go -- on a first date. The food at Bonnys Vegetarian and Organic Cuisine is witty and creative, and the eatery itself is cute and charismatic. Bonnys is a superb choice for an unpretentious first date - whether you're a meat-eater or not.