Well, it's getting on toward summer time. It's the time of year when you want to take your dog on a walk right down to your favorite dining/ drinking establishment (if you live in a place where that's a possibility, that is). In the US, and I assume a large number of other places around the world, you'd be relegated to the patio or sidewalk areas if you brought Fido along. That's nice for this time of year, but it gets pretty chilly of you want to do that in the colder months.

If you lived in Tuscany, though, that might be about to change. Lawmakers there are looking into passing a law that would allow pet owners to bring the hairier members of the family along to any public venue, including museums and theaters. There are conditions: the pet must be on a lead, the pet must be well behaved, proper hygiene must be looked after, and the pet must be vaccinated and healthy.

If your baby doesn't do well in with other dogs or has hygiene problems, then you're out of luck. But if a pet in Tuscany meets all the rules, then they can go out to dinner with their person. Life is sweet under the Tuscan sun.

Ah, Florence -- that beautiful Northern Italian city split snugly along the banks of the winding Arno River. After Rome and Venice, Florence is one of the biggest draws for international tourism in Italy. And it's with good reason that millions flock there every year -- between the art and the local cuisine, Florence offers endless options to the foreign traveler (myself included).

When I lived in Milan, I would occassionally take gastro-tourism trips to Florence to enjoy the rich Tuscan cuisine. I was lucky enough to have a couple of Italian friends who were willing to help me pick through extensive menus and wine lists to find the most authentic, or as the Italians say, the "tipica" foods of the region.

Given that Saveur's website is "stylishly useless," it's almost unfair to post all the wonderful things that are in the April 2006 issue of the magazine I just received. Consider it simply an express-view for you as you ponder whether to pick it up in the check-out line. (And I'll do my best over the next few weeks to post any adventures I have with the recipes).

• A look at the changing fare on college campuses, which are ditching the dining halls and favoring the carts and trucks that serve fast, cheap, and authentic ethnic food like falafel and veggie pakoras at UVM and kimchee and bulgogi accessible to a number of schools in Philadelphia. Of course, I know all about the In-N-Out truck on the UCLA and USC campuses once a year.
• Cookbooks under review are Jewish: The Jewish Kitchen by Clarissa Hyman and Matzoh Ball Gumbo: Culinary Tales of the Jewish South by Marcie Cohen Ferris.
• In the cellar, the wine of the month is madiran, a "dark, spicy, tannic expression of the French southwest."
• In a different kind of cellar, Campbeltown is Scotland's "other" whisky region.
• San Francisco chef James Schenk (of Nuevo Latino restaurant Destino) makes alfajores, South American butter cookies filled with dulce de leche.
• Stop all the debate. The original recipe for Buffalo wings from the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York!
• The feature of the magazine is Tuscan trattorias, with recipes for: arista di maiale (roasted herb-stuffed porkloin), fagioli sgranati (white beans with sage), piselli freschi (fresh peas with Prosciutto), pappa al pomodoro (bread and tomato soup), insalata di trippa (cold tripe salad - I doubt I'll be trying this one, but who knows?), pappardelle all'anatra (broad noodles with duck sauce), and fritto misto di coniglio e verdure (fried rabbit and vegetables - imagine serving that to your kids on Easter!).
• We love hummus, and who knew Saveur could dedicate six whole pages to the simple chickpea puree?
• Le Veau d'Or in Manhattan is "a real French restaurant: the music is terrible but the food is great."
• And finally, a look at the endagered Danish tradition of the smorrebrod (different from Swedish smorgasbord).