What’s up: St. Patrick’s Day events

The Dust RhinosWest End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave.Sunday, 8 p.m.Tickets: $25-30 plus fees at wecc.caSt. Paddy’s Day is basically Superbowl Sunday for Winnipeg Celtic-rock outfit the Dust Rhinos.

In fact, in an interview with the Free Press in 2024, founder and leader singer Blair McEvoy figured he hasn’t had March 17 off since, oh, the year 2000.

The band has a private gig on St. Patrick’s Day proper, but McEvoy, Dan Cannon (bass), Darren Wittmann (drums), Ryan Spracklin (mandolin and fiddle) and Ivanka Watkin (fiddle) want to party with you on Sunday at the WECC, where they will be performing what they’ve dubbed the Cross Canada Celtic Songbook. (Home for a Rest is probably a setlist safe bet.)

The show is all ages.

Manitoba bill targets technology that could alter grocery prices for some shoppers

WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government says it's moving to ban what it calls "predatory pricing" on groceries, even though the issue hasn't been seen locally.

Finance Minister Adrien Sala says a bill introduced in the legislature last week is aimed at ensuring shoppers won't be charged different prices for the same product from the same store.

Sala pointed to a recent investigation by Consumer Reports and two advocacy groups in the United States, which says some online shoppers using a third-party platform were charged different prices for the same item bought at the same time from the same seller.

Sala says technology can allow for companies to use personal data to set different prices for individuals, and the government is moving to ensure it doesn't happen in Manitoba.

Celebrate pi day with (what else?) fresh pie

Math fans and baking enthusiasts have a common cause for celebration on Saturday. Read on to find three recipes from Free Press readers to help fuel your numerical revelry on Pi Day.

Smaller portions are a big restaurant trend as customers watch their budgets and waistlines

The biggest new restaurant trend is small.

Special menus with petite, less expensive portions are popping up all over, from large chains like Olive Garden and The Cheesecake Factory to trendy urban eateries and farm-to-fork dining rooms.

Restaurants hope that offering smaller servings beyond the children's menu will meet many different diners’ needs. Some people want to spend less when they go out. Others are looking for healthier options or trying to lose weight. Younger consumers tend to snack more throughout the day and eat smaller meals, said Maeve Webster, the president of culinary consulting firm Menu Matters.

“These are really driven by, I think, changes in the way people are thinking about their relationship with food, the way they spend money on food, what is a good value and what’s not,” Webster said.

Feta-brined spatchcock chicken is cooked under a weight in this Egyptian recipe

My dad didn’t have much success grilling chicken in our backyard when I was growing up, but going to Egypt made me realize what he was trying to emulate: a bird with a crisp exterior that was thoroughly seasoned throughout.

This dish from my cookbook “My Egypt” gives the answer: submerging the chicken in feta brine overnight, then cooking it with the classic “under a brick” technique, which maximizes the chicken’s contact with the hot surface, all but guaranteeing even cooking and crisp skin.

A smaller bird (3 1/2 to 3 3/4 pounds/ 1.6 to 1.7 kg) is preferable to a larger bird here because it is easier to fit into a skillet. If you have a larger chicken (4 pounds/ 1.8 kg and up), it’s better to cook it skin-side down on a grill over a medium flame. You can put a cast-iron skillet on top to help press the bird down on the grill, ensuring it gets a crispy skin.

Have a pair of poultry shears, a blender or food processor, an instant-read thermometer, and cheesecloth available. Also locate a large (12-inch/ 30.5cm) cast-iron skillet and another heavy, smaller skillet or Dutch oven, or something else heavy and oven-safe that you can put on top of the chicken as it cooks to help it stay flat.

Mezcal’s popularity is booming. That comes with a growing environmental cost in Mexico

SAN PEDRO TOTOLAPAM, Mexico (AP) — Thirty years ago, a single light bulb would illuminate the mezcal distillery owned by Gladys Sánchez Garnica's family in rural Oaxaca, where the agave-based spirit was made through the night. As drops dripped from a clay oven, Garnica and her siblings listened to stories told by their parents while neighbors arrived by horse to get a taste of a drink known for its smoky flavor.

“We were taught when to harvest agave, how to care for the soil, and how much we could ask of the forest,” said Garnica, 33, speaking from a women-owned distillery in San Pedro Totolapam, a town of just over 3,000 residents in Mexico's Oaxacan Central Valleys, where much of the economy depends on mezcal.

Today, that small-scale tradition exists alongside a global boom that has transformed mezcal into a major industry dominated by international brands. As mezcal has spread to bars around the world, so has its footprint on the land. Along the road to communities like San Luis del Rio, where celebrity brands such as Dos Hombres, created by actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul from the hit series “Breaking Bad,” are made, agave plantations now blanket hillsides that were once forest. While the boom has brought economic benefits for many local producers, it's also led to rising environmental costs.

Mezcal production surges as popularity takes off

Province takes aim at Sobeys over competition-killing property controls

The Manitoba government has Sobeys in its crosshairs as it looks to end anti-competitive zones around grocery stores and offer consumers more choice.

Public Service Delivery Minister Mintu Sandhu has flagged 43 property controls — restrictive legal covenants and exclusivity clauses that prevent competitors from locating nearby — registered by Sobeys Capital Inc., in a letter to the supermarket giant.

Sobeys is, Sandhu said, the last supermarket chain operating in the province holding property controls.

Legislation enacted last June voids any new restrictions. Existing, registered controls can be removed after a review by the Municipal Board if deemed to be against the public interest.

Empire posts Q3 loss as it takes charges tied to Voilà closure in Alberta

Empire Co. Ltd. posted a loss in its latest quarter as one-time charges related to the closure of its Voilà grocery delivery facilities in Alberta took a toll on its bottom line. 

"While this impacted reported earnings, it resets the cost structure and sharpens our focus on profitable growth," CEO Pierre St-Laurent told analysts on the company's fiscal third-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

Sobeys' parent company had warned it would take a large writedown after it announced in January it was closing its Voilà grocery distribution centres in Alberta and pausing the online service's expansion in the Vancouver area.

Empire, which also owns Safeway, IGA and Farm Boy, reported a loss of $385 million of $1.68 per diluted share in the quarter ended Jan. 31 as it recorded an e-commerce impairment charge of $746 million.

Manitoba government proposes new grocery rules, rent control, some hydro hikes

WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government announced plans Thursday to expand rent control, raise electricity rates for some large users and keep grocery prices from fluctuating for different consumers.

The proposals were among more than 15 bills and potential regulations introduced at the legislature before politicians broke for the weekend.

The NDP government launched public feedback on a plan that would apply rent controls to more-expensive units. The province currently sets a limit on annual rent increases for units that rent for up to $1,670 a month, and is proposing to raise that ceiling to $2,000.

Landlords can apply to raise rents higher than normally allowed for a variety of reasons, including repairs and upgrades, and the government is planning to reduce the percentage of upgrade costs that can be passed on to renters. Administrative penalties for landlords who violate the act could be increased.

Conservatives seek to remove barriers to alcohol shipments across provincial borders

OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives are pushing to allow Canada Post to ship alcohol between provinces, saying the Liberals have failed to live up to their pledge to remove interprovincial trade barriers.

B.C. MP Dan Albas, whose riding includes the Okanagan wine region, has introduced a private member's bill that would amend the Canada Post Corporation Act to remove restrictions on direct interprovincial shipments of alcohol to consumers.

Albas said the change would "free the beer."

"We need to be our own best customers. This is a valid way to do that," he said. 

It’s a little taste of Hawaii in a pie. Coconut custard meets pineapple upside-down topping

When I think of Hawaii, I think of coconut trees softly swaying above white beaches with big blue waves crashing against the shore, and I think of the many days I spent swimming and drying off in the sun while eating pineapple. I have tried to capture these feelings with this pie from my cookbook “50 Pies, 50 States."

A popular dessert in Hawaii is haupia, or coconut custard, which is the main component of my pie, paired with pineapple to set it apart. This coconut cream pie has a graham cracker crust, a pineapple upside-down cake topping and a little ’60s flair.

The cold-set pie can be made a day in advance, but don’t make the pineapple topping until you are ready to serve!

Coconut Cream Pie with Pineapple Upside-Down Topping

‘Wine tonight?:’ Statistics Canada data shows liquor store sales down another year

Having alcohol in the home felt like an eternal struggle for Andrea Pain.

"I always (had) that dialogue with myself about, 'Am I going to have a glass of wine tonight?" the Burlington, Ont., resident said in a phone interview.

"'No, maybe I shouldn't, but I really want one.' And I would keep going back and forth."

Then, last year, an idea she had drained her mental turmoil.

Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week

TORONTO - Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:

Transat meeting

Transat A.T. Inc. will hold its annual meeting on Tuesday. Media magnate Pierre Karl Péladeau is trying to overhaul the board at the company and seize effective control, however Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) have both recommended that shareholders vote against the Quebecor CEO's proposal to install himself and two associates on a slimmed-down board.

Algoma Steel earnings