I won’t be blogging while in Washington, but if you want to keep up with what we’re up to, check out Mack’s blog, Flickr photo stream, or Twitter feed. I do have some notes to share this week though:
- Vue Weekly released the results of the 2009 Golden Forks awards this week. Categories include best restaurants, best dishes, and other. Some consistent winners continue to baffle me: Creperie for most romantic, Route 99 for breakfast (I love their poutine, but their breakfast offerings are pretty weak), Lingnan for Chinese (although I suppose the category didn’t specify “authentic Chinese”).
- My cover article on how some restaurants are coping with the economic downturn was also published this week. Thanks everyone for your kind comments over the past few days!
- Liane has been really pushing Teddy’s – it was featured in her piece about the city’s best sandwiches back in April, while its desserts were highlighted this past week. Maybe it’s my perception, but those ads with the woman in the leopard print dress probably give me the wrong impression about the place. That and the fact that the stodgy brown building looks a bit foreboding from the outside.
- The latest edition of City Palate mentioned a fairly new restaurant called Easy Burger and Bar, located at 11172 – 87 Avenue (the old Windsor Pub, which was shut down for health violations).
- Chris over at Eating is the Hard Part posted about Harvey’s upcoming “free hamburger day” on May 24. Brulee Blog also has a great compilation of deals to be had.
- Apparently the Calgary Farmers’ Market is considering becoming a for-profit organization. A great post on where this might lead.
- The NYT has a great article about corporations attempting to jump on the local food bandwagon.
- I’m still reeling from the announcement that Frank Bruni will be leaving his food revising post at the Times in August. On the bright side, I’m loving all of the coverage, and the chatter about who might replace him.
- Our version of pre-theatre dinner on Thursday was Oodle Noodle on Whyte. We needed a quick dinner preceding wine and cheese night at the Varscona for our first show as Teatro la Quindicina subscribers. Mack ordered his usual combo box while I decided to try something new – the penang laksa. While the creamy coconut sauce was fragrant and tasty, I wished the noodles would have soaked it up a little better.
Combo Box and Penang Laksa boxes
- I tried the new Tim Hortons iced coffee ($1.39 for a small) over the weekend. While it isn’t bad, and cheaper than the iced brewed coffee from Starbucks, I would still head to Starbucks on most days.
Tim Hortons’ Iced Coffee
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Mack and I took his grandma out to the Arbour Restaurant at Rutherford House yesterday to celebrate her birthday (I’ve written about it before). As a tea lover, we thought she’d love their selection of teas, in addition to their small dessert plates. We ended up with probably too much to eat, but it was a lovely meal nonetheless. Both Grandma Male and I had their turkey pot pie ($13), while Mack opted for their sandwich of choice, a ham and swiss on brioche bread ($11). For dessert, Mack and I shared the afternoon scone plate ($12 for two), which included a pot of tea, mostly because I had a hankering for their always delicious raspberry butter. Mack’s grandma opted for the chocolate pot du creme ($6), which she enjoyed as well. If you’ve never been, I’d recommend the Arbour Restaurant as an alternative to your usual Sunday brunch standby.
Turkey Pot Pie
Ham and Swiss Sandwich with Broccoli Soup
Chocolate Pot du Creme (in the background) and Afternoon Scone Plate for Two
Scone with Raspberry Butter and Monk’s Blend tea (I love their delicate china!)
Only Here for the Food 
1) Teddy’s used to be one of my favourite places to get a sandwich – their corned beef and “off the roast” sandwiches were second to none. When the restaurant changed hands and became more of a gambling establishment, the quality of the food went down. The last time I was there, the bread tasted of freezer, and the freshness of the meat was not what it used to be.
2) Starbuck’s iced brewed coffee is one of my favourite things about the summer. I get really frustrated that, invariably, whenever I go to a Starbuck’s they never have it. They are either out, or they don’t have it in the first place. I usually end up with an iced Americano, the next best thing.
Thanks for the link!
Oh, and I read your article too, and thought you did a great job.
Thanks!
The raspberry butter looks great. Reminds me of a strawberry version my mother would make for pancakes! Sometimes I could care less about savory butter spreads, when sweet ones are soooo good!
I haven’t really paid attention to the whole Frank Bruni thing, but I’ll have to take a look. The stories I hear about food critics in the past seem so out there. It always amazes me what they do to be unknown.
congrats on your article!
1. While I don’t like that Teddy’s has become something of a mini-casino, I think they’ve still got good food. It’s comfort food, for me. It’ll take a lot before I stop enjoying it, I think. The new ads are a bit weird, though. They don’t really match up with the reality of what Teddy’s is.
2. Congrats on the cover article!
Teddy’s is the best. You really should try it sometime.
Whoa, I’m glad that the Windsor Bar & Grill is no more. I used to live a block away from it for about 15 years and we lamented the fact that it was so close yet so bad. There’s a captive audience in Windsor Park so hopefully the new place is clean and the food is tasty. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks. Jenn
When just out of school I used to love going to the Windsor pub because it was cheap and made me feel like I was still a student. Rather frightening that it closed due to health violations! I’m glad something is taking it’s place though, it is a nice convenient location if you are going to see something at the Jubilee.
(and nice work on the article!)
Kudos on the article Sharon! Also, thanks for mentioning the Arbour resto at Rutherford House -it’s a fantabulous destination if planning a
ladies-who-lunch afternoon!
13.00 for a bowl of chili ,is the ambience so superb it makes it worth the dollars? ,this is what I was writing about in response to the prices of restaurant food in Edmonton. I would pay that for let’s say duck chili .I can guarantee 1 thing as long as owners are unrealistic in the pricing for what they are offering you will lose more and more Smart,foodie people who have the cash to spend . Gotta run i’m making a big pot of chicken chili to sell for 5.00 a bowl to make 300% on my original investment .Sorry nice people at the Rutherford I can’t lie and I will never eat a lie and pay for it.
Thanks for all of the comments about my article!(though this response is long overdue.)