- Connect2Edmonton asked me to write a guest column about food. I came up with a piece about an Edmonton “dining passport”. Thanks for the opportunity, C2E!
- Liane posted on her blog that Bistro Praha, which was heavily damaged in the Ramsay Building fire, will be relocating to Tower II of the Icon Tower.
- From Chris’s blog – there’s a new cupcake store that opened on June 27: Cake Couture (15008 87 Avenue, 780-709-1682). While I’m sure Edmonton can support the growing number of cupcake boutiques, one has to wonder why no one has situated a bakery in downtown Edmonton, where office workers may wander in for an afternoon pick-me-up, and custom orders would presumably be in high demand.
- The Culina Family of restaurants finally launched their new website, complete with a rebranding of Passa Tempo, which is now BiBO. The site has the option for each restaurant to have a blog, but we will see if if the promise for content holds true.
- The Taste of Edmonton, which runs July 17-26, have released their menus. It’s nice to see some new restaurants participating (Padmanadi, The Hat), but given other great sample events that are more economical and serve higher quality food, I have to seriously think about spending my dollar at Churchill.
- Michael Pollan was at UBC last week speaking at a fundraising event to help protect the UBC farmland from residence expansion. The event was followed up by a tasting featuring local produce and ingredients.
- Via the blog Eat. Drink. Better., a link to the recent bylaw passed in Toronto that will require buildings of a certain size to have either a green or a cool roof. So progressive – who knew I’d be applauding Toronto?
- When I interviewed Rob Feenie back in February, I asked him about the possibility of sourcing local ingredients. He said it might be possible, working with a local producer. Well, Chipotle, a popular Mexican chain based in the U.S., is doing it on a large scale, and has made a commitment to purchase at least 25% of one ingredient from small or mid-size farms within 200 miles of their 760 stores in the country. I didn’t think such a shift would be logistically possible – bravo to them for making the effort.
- Mack sent me an article from the Boston Globe about the proliferation of restaurants using Twitter as a vehicle for publicity and interaction with customers. C’mon, Edmonton restaurants – jump on the bandwagon!
- I had seen a sandwich board advertising a new “Indian fusion” restaurant – I didn’t know that the name of the restaurant was actually Indian Fusion (10322 111 Street, 780-752-5500).
Indian Fusion: The Curry House
- My family received our order of 1/4 of a cow this past week, which worked out to 183lbs. We immediately dug into our steak stash – when Mack took his first bite, he commented, “it tastes organic,” haha. I don’t think my palate can make that distinction, but it was pretty darn good steak.
Mack’s steak and potato
- My coworkers surprised me with a giant cupcake from Flirt last week to help me celebrate my birthday! I suspected nothing, even when one of my coworkers asked several questions relating to cupcake boutiques in the city. I am happy to report that it was delicious – the icing wasn’t overly sweet, and several coworkers commented that the cake had a nice texture. Thanks, guys!
The first super-sized cupcake Flirt has ever made
Great C2E article, Sharon. You’ve got a few places on the list that I haven’t heard of. I’ll have to do some exploring!
Fantastic looking cupcake. Like a pillow of goodness I could just lay my head into!
And the restaurant seems funny with the double names – Indian Fusion or The Curry House.
Hmm.. Taste of Edmonton has never been good value for money (esp seeing how the socialist event coordinators *force* vendors to have the same/small portion size for the # tickets)
But it’s a nice change of pace for lunch and a nice night out w/entertainment.
ahh, another Chipotle mention. the americans i’ve met rave about this place! i had never heard such accolades for a fast food place.
I think Mucho Burrito is the closest thing we have to Chipotle, and I’m not sure it’s a place I would write home about
Thanks Hanne!
Don – I agree, it isn’t always about price. Taste of Edmonton does provide a nice way to spend an afternoon or evening out.
A – I’ve actually never been to Chipotle, but have seen them around the States. Their effort to source locally really does blow me away.