Every city has a newspaper with local listings, restaurant reviews and obituaries. New York has the "New York Magazine" and "Time Out", Seattle - the "Seattle Weekly", Toronto – the "Toronto Star". You pick one up for free or buy it at the first newsstand. You’re instantly projected into the know of all the amazing happenings, places to go, people to see and everything else that you will just have to miss because of the information overload.

Fast forward to the 21st century. Recycle the newspaper and go online! Every city should have a blog, run by a couple of local friends, which will tell me what to do, and, most importantly, where to eat, today, right now. For a great example I look south to our Canadian friends (this is not a typo). Please welcome Pina Ciotoli from WindsorEats.com.

***

DB: We, clueless Americans, think of Canada as our Northern neighbor. Can you please help us improve our map skills?

So you'd like to know a little about Canada, eh? While the majority of Canada lies north of the United States, Windsor is actually SOUTH of Detroit, Michigan. Yes, you read right. South. The D is OUR northern neighbor (do they live in igloos and walk around in snowshoes up in Detroit?)

DB: Indeed. Detroit is the northern igloo capital. You can almost see Russia from there. But back to you. How and when was WindsorEats born? And who is really Adriano?

Windsoreats was started about 5 years ago by Adriano (who is actually my brother). I jumped on the bandwagon about a year later. I could probably tell you some exciting story of a young entrepreneur who overcame insurmountable obstacles to start his business. But the truth is Adriano needed a job and couldn't find one. So he made one up. He kept taking his girlfriend to the same restaurants over and over again and thought there should be a place online where you could just look up a menu. There wasn't one, so the website was born! WindsorEats lets you view restaurant menus online. The blog started around 2007 because I needed a place to talk about food. We're Italian. Food pretty much consumes most of the day for us. Add a food site to that and well ... you've got a borderline obsession going here.

DB: It’s really cool to find a local blog that is faithful to its origins. Which city could use a WindsorEats?

Every city could use a WindsorEats! What I love most about the blog is that we get to celebrate everything we love about where we live. I like to think that we tell the story of our community through food. It allows visitors and locals alike to explore the restaurants that are available and that are owned and operated by people that live in the city. We even won Best Local Canadian Blog for 2007 which we're really proud of. And we just won for Leading Online Local Business in our region. It's always nice to know someone out there likes us :)

DB: What other Canadian blogs do you pay attention to?

We basically stick to the local blogs around town. Sites like Scaledown.ca and InternationalMetropolis.com are two of our favorites. They're great sites that engage people in discussions and have a local focus to them. We've got our own little blog community here and even meet up once a month to chat, drink a pint and have a few laughs, drink, share ideas. But mainly drink.

DB: You claim that Windsor has some of the best food in Canada. Should we skip Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal?

Shun the other cities, shun them all!

Ok, so that might be going a little too far. In all seriousness, everyone loves to travel, including WindsorEats, and every city has great food. We encourage and advocate that if you are going out to eat, avoid chains and choose a local establishment. What makes Windsor so great is that the ethnic diversity of the city is mirrored in the choices of food available when going out for dinner. Being one of Canada's most multicultural cities definitely has its benefits. If you really want to know a country, you eat the food and we have the unique opportunity to experience the world without really leaving our own city.

DB: If our newly elect President, Barak Obama, were to visit Windsor with Michelle and kids, where would he eat?

Oh so many restaurants so little time. Barack seems like an easy going kinda guy so I don't think a fancy restaurant would be on the menu. Right now, I think I'd have to pick Mazaar Lebanese Cuisine. They have these kick ass homemade pitas made fresh in the restaurant and deliver it to your table steaming. Fantastic! Like I said, we have great ethnic cuisine. Another favorite of mine, and that I take friends and out of town guests to, is Marathon Ethiopian. Traditional Ethiopian cuisine eaten in a traditional manner. That means that everyone shares one plate and by tearing off pieces of a crepe like bread called injera, you just scoop it with your hands. I think the Obama kids would get a kick out of that. What kid doesn't like eating with their hands? It is a great experience and even better food. We also have our own "Little Italy" which is home to some great Italian restaurants. Add to that cozy cafes, like Taloola's in our historic neighborhood Olde Walkerville, for a coffee or a hot chocolate and you've got the makings of a great culinary night out.

***

You can find Pina Ciotoli on FoodCandy and on WindsorEats.com.