Food Notes for September 10, 2012

Apologies for being on a bit of a hiatus, but working fourteen hour days really cut into any time and energy I might have had for blogging. Hopefully I’ll be back on track this week! On to this week’s food notes:

• Passion for Pork week runs September 10-16, where 14 local restaurants put their best pork dishes forward. Check out City and Dale’s post for your chance to win a gift certificate to dine at a participating restaurant of your choice!
• The Way We Green is hosting a panel discussion on local food and how we can create a more sustainable Edmonton on September 13, 2012 at the AGA. Mack is moderating a panel that includes Kevin Kossowan and Jennifer Cockrall-King. The event is free to attend, and will feature a pop-up teahouse to end. Hope to see you there!
• If I weren’t volunteering for DECL’s Cornfest, I’d be attending Eat Brunch at Elm Cafe, part of the Oliver Community League’s offerings for the city-wide Community League Day on September 15.
• The Ronald McDonald House is hosting its second Red Shoe Crawl this year on September 16, this time to take place along 124 Street! I’ve had my tickets for a while now, but if you’re interested, there’s still time to join in.
• Sherwood Park is home to a specialty kitchen and food store, The Pan Tree. Love the name!
• There’s another farm-to-table dinner you should know about, called the 10 Mile Meal. It will take place on September 30, 2012, and 80% of the meal’s ingredients will be sourced from within a ten mile radius.
• The City of Edmonton announced their date for the public hearing on the food and agriculture strategy. Mark your calendars for October 26, 2012.
• If you ever wondered why Edmonton and area pubs don’t seem to carry any locally-brewed beers, read this.
• Will you watch the Edmontonians featured on W Network’s Come Dine With Me? I can’t say I will – I’m pretty sceptical that it will actually showcase the city at all.
• It looks like we might get a bit more summer this week – so there’s still time to make Michelle’s inspired mojito poptails.
• Yelp means business, at least in San Francisco – a half star difference apparently can make or break a restaurant.
• Food truck and Leduc favourite Smokehouse BBQ will be opening up its first Edmonton location this fall, taking over Cosmos (10810 124 Street).

Smokehouse BBQ

• 104 St Grill is now open, though the signage is a bit confusing – there are an awful lot of names on the banners – “Ric’s”, “104 St Grill” and “David Bowie”. I hope the menu is more coherent.

104 St Grill

• It looks like the new 124 Street farmers’ market decided to postpone its opening until next May. Look for Eden’s Farmers’ Market starting on Sundays in May 2013.

Revised Eden’s market signage

• Mack and I started off our Sunday afternoon at Duchess (looking forward to stopping into Duchess Provisions next door when they open in the fall!).

I had forgotten how good their blueberry lemon scones are!

• To help us cool off on the walk home, we stopped at Yogo Frogurt, the newest addition to Edmonton’s burgeoning frozen yogurt scene. Unfortunately, we probably won’t be returning again. Although the attendant was very friendly, not much good can be said about the frozen yogurt – the peach and raspberry flavours we tried tasted artificial (vaguely reminiscent of cocktail vs. juice-based beverages), and the fresh fruit toppings were past their prime. Disappointing.

Cute interior

Our treat

• That night, we had my family over for dinner. Amanda (visiting for Toronto) was especially excited for the roast chicken I’ve owed her for a while!

Homee hungee

Also made Trish Magwood’s tomato and bread salad – one of my favourite “feed the crowd” salads

• Mack and I were lucky enough to be invited to Sailin’ On’s public launch at Wunderbar tonight. Sailin’ On will be Edmonton’s first vegan food truck, to be launched in spring 2013. Tonight, the three proprietors were samplings two dishes – chicken caesar wrap, and a chili lime tofu burrito. The latter was definitely the star – it had some kick, and the beans were perfection – smooth and smoky. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with their progress!

Sailin’ On samples

Dallas, Garret and Mike of Sailin’ On