Food Notes for March 21, 2011

I hope everyone isn’t having too much trouble avoiding those puddles! Most of the lake-sized ones seem to have disappeared over the weekend, which I for one am thankful for – I’m pretty sure those two trucks aimed to splash me on my way home last week…on to this week’s food notes:

• Looking for something to do this Saturday? How about helping out a good cause at Twestival? Join other Tweeps at Red Star Pub on March 24 as they raise funds for the Edmonton Public School Foundation.
• Somerville Wine & Cheese is celebrating their grand opening March 24-26, 2011. They will be offering free prosecco until 8pm and live music on each night, and a percentage of the sales will be donated to support arts programs at Westmount and Oliver Schools.
• Sorrentino’s is celebrating two decades of their annual Garlic Festival this year, just around the corner in April. As a thank-you, they are offering $20 gift cards to be used during the Festival.
• The big news this week was about the expansion of Duchess, who will be tripling in size. Not only are they expanding the size of their kitchen space, but they will also be adding a dessert bar!
• A new, authentic Mexcian restaurant on Rice Howard Way called Tres Carnale is taking shape! Great to see they are documenting the work for the public to see in a blog format.
• Brooke wrote about a new Japanese restaurant called Nomiya (3803 Calgary Trail) on the south side.
• Both Karlynn and Leslie had the chance to sample some of the savoury fare at Queen of Tarts last week.
• Kathryn offers us a peek inside the Jacek Chocolate Couture studio.
• Is it still hyper-local if the street chosen is an artery that cuts across the city? Liane posted about a new food blog that chronicles vegetarian eats along 99 Street.
• It was great to read about Barr Estate Winery in Taste Alberta last week.
• I noticed recently that the Good Food Box added a “how local is it” rating (out of 5) under each product. Points are awarded for local ownership, production, and source of ingredients. For example, Clover Valley Honey rate 5/5, beech mushrooms from MoNa rate 3/5, while Two Leaves and a Bud Peppermint Tea rates 0/5 (at that point, one has to wonder why it is in the Good Food Box at all…).
• Canadian Beef is awarding several Canadian food bloggers the opportunity to attend a food blogging conference in DC for free.
• The City Market held its second farmers’ market at City Hall this past Saturday, albeit in the parkade. I’m glad the rest of the markets will be returning to the bright City Room – hope to see you there!

In the grey zone