LitFest 2012: Roaring Twenties

After returning from a weeklong jaunt to BC late Tuesday night, there were certainly more productive things we could have done on Wednesday, such as grocery shopping. But with the promise of a whisky tasting and burlesque, we threw practicality to the wind and headed to Roast Coffehouse after work yesterday.

LitFest, Canada’s only non-fiction festival, were throwing a Roaring Twenties party to kick off this year’s festival. Mack and I were fortunate to receive guest invitations, and were so glad we were able to make it.

Roaring Twenties hosts Jennifer Cockrall-King and Tracy Hyatt in their Twenties finery

Roast accommodated the modest crowd well, its brick and Edison-bulb glow well-suited to the theme of the night. The thoughtful program also encouraged mingling and movement through the space, with well-timed breaks between the readings and performances.

Though the event advertised a number of readings, the evening was so much more than that. Ottawa-based sommelier and independent whisky expert Davin de Kergommeaux kicked things off with an introduction to Canadian whiskies by reading an excerpt from his book, Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert. He noted that we are experiencing a “renaissance for Canadian whiskies”, and encouraged the crowd to partake in one (or several) of the eight whiskies being poured at the event. We also learned that adding ice and even water (gasp!) to whiskies is acceptable, depending on your palate.

Mack enjoys his whisky sour

While I have to say I much preferred the whisky sour cocktail poured for us to start, it was interesting to compare and contrast several whiskies in a short period of time. Our favourite turned out to be Gibson’s Finest 100th Grey Cup anniversary edition. Made from their 12 year old whisky, a dash of maple syrup was added for a link to Canadiana. Smooth and subtly sweet, it was the easiest drinking of the whiskies we tried straight up.

Gibson’s Finest line-up

Edmonton-based author Curtis Gillespie added his own sense of history with a reading from his current book, Almost There: the Family Vacation, Then and Now. He described it as part-memoir, recounting his own remarkable trips growing up, leading to perhaps the most memorable moment of the night – an anecdote involving a squirmy four year old, a car seat, and a severed finger.

Almost There

After each of the brief readings, as LitFest Chair Jennifer Cockrall-King put it, they offered a “sprinkling of sin”. That is, performances from the ladies of Capital City Burlesque.

Some of the ladies of Capital City Burlesque

Congratulations to the organizers for a fantastic opening event! But this was just the beginning – there are over 30 different events happening over the next ten days. I know I’m looking forward to Food Matters on October 27, 2012 that will be highlighting examples of local food production. Thanks again to LitFest for the invitation!

Date Night: El Rancho and Retro Drive-In

Mack and I love taking in a dinner and a movie as much as the next couple, but there are so many other interesting things to do in Edmonton. “Date Night” will be a semi-regular series highlighting some of these ideas.

Funny enough, the first of this series features the aforementioned dinner and a movie format, but with a bit of a twist. Last Friday, we headed toward the Alberta Avenue neighbourhood for dinner. Though our original intention was to dine at Cafe Amore, the restaurant was closed for a private function, so we ended up at El Rancho (11810 87 Street).

It has been some time since I’ve been to the El Salvadorian establishment, and this was Mack’s first visit. Clearly, it hasn’t lost its popularity, as all the tables had been claimed by the time we finished our supper.

We shared the Antojitos Platter for two amigos ($16.95), and ordered two mixed pupusas ($2.75) on top of that. It was a great way to reacquaint myself with their dishes. Though the flautas (fried, rolled tortillas) and tacos were good, Mack and I both agreed that our favourite was the crispy enchiladas, topped with shredded chicken, a pickled slaw and a touch of tart salsa was a lovely combination of flavours.

Antojitos Platter

The pupusas were also a nice treat, if not only because it meant we could help ourselves to a bit more of the pickled cabbage to accent the savoury combination of mozzarella, fried beans and pork.

Pupusas

We had just enough room for dessert, and split a slice of tres leches cake ($5.95). Mack doesn’t usually like desserts, but loved this cake, bursting with milky goodness and not all that sweet. The whipped cream was an indulgent finish.

Tres Leches

Service was friendly, and fast (the kitchen had been slow in my previous experiences). Even better, our entire meal came in at around $30 – a fantastic value for the variety and exceptional food quality.

After dinner, we headed over to the Alberta Avenue Community Hall, who was hosting a retro drive-in that night. Though Mack and I are far from being car people, there’s something about a drive-in that appeals to me. I think it might have to do with the fact that my family lived pretty close to the Stardust Twin Drive-In (50th Street and Whitemud Drive), but I didn’t get to go before it was shut and torn down in the late 1990s.

Drive in on the Ave!

This article from Lawrence Herzog states that Edmonton’s first drive-in theatre opened in 1949. The Starlight Drive-in had room for 600 cars, and was so successful on its opening night it had to turn folks away! These outdoor theatres peaked in 1977, when Edmonton had ten drive-ins. But just two decades later, suburban growth and at-home entertainment led to the demise of drive-in theatres, the last screens at the Millwoods and Twin Drive-In shuttering in 1996.

So we jumped at the chance to relive a bit of nostalgia – for free! This community league-sponsored event was promoting safe, family fun, and was also a way for the neighbourhood to bring people out to Alberta Avenue after dark. They had set up a basic screen on the side of a neighbouring building, and had volunteers on hand to direct cars to make sure space in the lot was used efficiently. We bought some hot drinks from The Carrot and some candy from the concession stand and settled in for the movie.

The volunteers were too cute in their costumes

I was a little too giddy about the streaming of the film’s soundtrack on a radio station (I had no idea it was so cheap and easy to do this), while Mack enjoyed the retro pre-show advertisements screened before the feature presentation. Not only was there a rocket that flew over candy-dotted planets, but also a PSA warning audience members not to get frisky.

Warning all you young lovers out there

It almost didn’t matter at this point what the movie was, but Grease was an inspired choice, upbeat and easy to watch. To say the least, there was a lot of appreciative honking at the end of the night.

You’re the one that I want

Thanks again to the Community League for a successful screening! They indicated that this was their first annual drive-in, so you can look forward to checking it out next year!

El Rancho
11810 87 Street
(780) 471-4930

Alberta Avenue Community Hall (keep your eyes peeled on their website for next year’s flick!)
9210 118 Avenue

Food Notes for October 8, 2012

In all the craziness since returning from vacation and getting caught up on things, I realized I forgot to thank everyone who voted for me in Vue Weekly’s recent Best of Edmonton poll (the issue came out while we were away). This site came in second in the “Best Local Blog” category, thanks to you (if you’re wondering, Mack came in first)! I really appreciate your votes, and even more, that you’re all still reading! On to this week’s food notes:

LitFest has a couple of great food-themed events lined up, including a Roaring Twenties party on October 17, 2012, complete with a whisky tasting, and a great hands-on/lecture titled “Food Matters” on October 27, 2012 which will not only introduce the audience to examples of local food production, but will also encourage participation with a pie making session!
Jacek Chocolate will be celebrating their new storefront location in Sherwood Park on October 20, 2012 with a grand opening!
Normand’s Bistro received a surprisingly muted review from the Journal. I haven’t yet tried it myself, but if a recognizable name in our local food scene can’t animate the space, who can?
Some recent shutters: Kiwi Kiss in Edmonton City Centre (as noted in the comments; a bit of a surprise given the seemingly upward rise of other frozen yogurt shops in Edmonton), and Nola (one has to wonder if the restaurant was really as bad as this review made it out to be, or if it just scared potential diners off).
It’s disappointing to see that not a single made-in-Edmonton beer made the fall brewing feature in Where Edmonton’s September-October 2012 edition. What does it say about us if we don’t even promote our local brews to those visiting our city?
Short and to the point, I heartily agree with Wade Sirois’ post on the XL beef crisis. Similar thoughts are captured in Liane’s post as she interviews Sherry Horvath of Sunshine Organic Farm.
It’s amazing how the Cheesepalooza challenge just keeps on growing. Keep tabs with what the group is up to on Valerie’s blog.
Mack and I attended a cooking demo on Thursday night, put on by Meridian Plaza, a newer condo building downtown. Suburban developments seem to host mostly family-friendly events to attract buyers, ranging from hockey tournaments and bouncy castles, so it was interesting to see a different strategy employed by Meridian in an attempt to appeal to a different kind of clientele. Only time will tell if it worked, but we enjoyed the half hour demo led by Chris Hrynyk, the head catering chef from Sorrentino’s (of the three dishes, the makeshift tiramisu was my favourite).

Chris Hrynyk clearly loves teaching classes

I was able to check out the St. Albert Farmers’ Market on Saturday, their last market day of the year. Boy, was it busy, packed with Thanksgiving shoppers.

St. Albert Farmers’ Market

Cute pumpkin arrangements

We’ve been meaning to go on a walk through the river valley for ages, and finally had some time to do so on Sunday. We wove our way down into Louise McKinney and Cloverdale, enjoying the beautiful autumn scenery. Hope you had an equally lovely Thanksgiving weekend!

Our river valley in the fall

A Fruit Cafe: T.H.I.S. Place

Though I’ve made stumbling upon new restaurants a sort of pastime, I wouldn’t have come across T.H.I.S. Place unless someone pointed it out to me. Chris was the one who told me about this new cafe, located in a storefront in the Quest Building downtown on 105 Street and 104 Avenue.

T.H.I.S. Place

Opened by the same family behind Lan’s Asian Grill, T.H.I.S. Place applies the same philosophies of wholesome, all-natural food popularized at the restaurant, but in a smaller scale, cafe format.

The interior is simple but modern, featuring art from local artists, and includes a small stage to host performers.

Interior

Proprietor Tom Lim describes T.H.I.S. Place (which stands for “to be happy is simple”) as a fruit cafe. Not only can fresh squeezed lemonade be found on the menu, but also a variety of creative house-made popsicles, frozen yogurt and shaved ice. I tried a raspberry lemonade popsicle ($3), and was impressed by the intense fruit flavour and smooth texture. And yes, they will even be serving these through winter!

Raspberry lemonade popsicle

Even if fruit is their forte, T.H.I.S. Place has a strong coffee and tea menu which includes five varieties of brewed coffee options (lattes are forthcoming), and five loose leaf teas. Their coffee is roasted by Abiamo (based in Rocky Mountain House), and is delivered fresh once a week. Mack tried an iced apricot peach tea, sweetened to his liking, and really enjoyed it.

Iced tea

Tom says they will be tweaking the menu over the next few weeks (there is still space above the counter to add even more menu panels), so expect even more desserts and drinks. In the meantime, pay them a visit when you’re in the neighbourhood – whether you’re looking for some coffee or something sweet.

T.H.I.S. Place
10382 105 Street
Monday-Friday 7am-7pm, Saturday Noon-9pm, Sunday Noon-6pm

City Market Report: Week 21

The City Market’s final outdoor date in 2012 was a beautiful send off. A bit chilly to start, but the sun was in full cooperation, further highlighting the autumnal glow of the trees surrounding the 4th Street Promenade.

Creative bouquets from Sundog Organics

It was also great to see all of the fall-themed treats, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Beautiful cookies from Dauphine

But with this final post for the season, I just really wanted to pay tribute to some of our favourite producers. Thank you for helping me put food on our table this year!

Green Valley Farm

Sunshine Organic Farm

This isn’t the end of the City Market this year however. Next Saturday, on October 13, 2012, you can find select vendors at Churchill Square in conjunction with the City’s annual Olde Time Fair on the Square. Then, starting October 20, 2012, look for the City Market to once again take over City Hall every Saturday from 10am-3pm until May 18, 2013. See you there!

Red Shoe Crawl: 124 Street Edition

The 124 Street area is a natural fit for the growth of the Red Show Crawl, an event put on by the Ronald McDonald House of Northern Alberta, a charity which provides affordable accommodation to families of sick children receiving medical care in Edmonton. I attended the inaugural crawl based around Whyte Avenue last year, and enjoyed it immensely. Well-organized and pedestrian-oriented, I thought it was a great way to eat our way through the neighbourhood. Mack and I looked forward to exploring 124 Street in the same way.

We arrived at the Desert Rose Dance Studio for check in, and were assigned a random starting point from the eighteen participating businesses. This probably did much to help alleviate initial congestion from venues surrounding the registration site.

We were assigned to begin at The Bothy, one of the few places who opened up specifically for the event. It was our first time at their downtown location, though we intend to return again in the future for a more formal experience.

Bothy’s beautiful bar

The Bothy started us off with a pour of wine, which became a pattern on this tour. As Mack said about halfway through the afternoon, it seemed more like a pub crawl as opposed to a food crawl. Though organizers may not have known in advance what each establishment would be serving (since each business donated their time and refreshments), it probably would have been better to have set expectations up front.

Our first glass of many

As a result, the most memorable of the stops involved food. The garlic chili prawns at the sleek Somerville Wine and Cheese Bar, for instance, were at the top of our list. We finished the delicious, flavour-packed bites much too soon.

Chili prawns and bubbly from Somerville

The generous plate at Paddy’s Cheese Market was also a welcome sight to balance out the wine (or even to have accompanied it). It even featured a local selection of The Cheesiry’s sheep’s milk ricotta!

Cheese plates at Paddy’s

Neighbourhood favourite Urban Diner featured a long-braised pulled pork sandwich and their house-brewed lemonade, enjoyed on their sun-drenched patio.

Pulled pork and lemonade from Urban Diner

New bakery Cookie Love served adorable one-bite cookies alongside shots of milk. The taste definitely piqued my palate – I’ll have to be back to purchase a full bag next time!

Cookies from Cookie Love

Also for dessert – a two-bite macaron, plus a meringue, from Duchess.

My sister Felicia photo bombs Mack

We finished our crawl with gelato from Cococo – a scoop of our choice!

Gelato from Cococo

Food aside, the crawl was a great opportunity to check out not only our favourite shops along the way, but also some of the businesses I’d never been to before, such as the Daffodil Gallery, Thread Hill and Body by Bennett. Mack will attest to the fact that I did a lot more shopping this time around when compared with the Whyte Avenue edition.

Blending up smoothies at Body by Bennett

Rajeev and Felicia browse at Windscape Clothing

Mack makes a new friend at Call the Kettle Black

Overall, it was another well-organized crawl and a fun way to spend an afternoon, all while benefiting a great charity. Thanks to all of the businesses who participated, and bravo to the organizers for another great event!

Finis!

You can take a look at my full photo set here.

What’s Your Colour: KitchenAid Stand Mixer Giveaway!

Although I love my ever-present, practical rice cooker, it definitely doesn’t help beautify my kitchen. And let’s be honest, most countertop appliances are designed for functionality, not for aesthetics.

The KitchenAid Stand Mixer is one exception. A staple in most kitchens (especially in those that see a lot of baking), the stand mixer commands attention, in a pretty, statuesque way. And now, with twenty-six shades to choose from, it’s a way to add a pop of colour all while easing your prep work.

While browsing through the options is one way to find your favourite, KitchenAid has come up with a fun way to determine which Artisan Series Stand Mixer colour is you. Just answer six questions at www.KitchenAidColourology.ca and your shade will be revealed!

I did the quiz and was a bit surprised at the answer: crystal blue (I think I was hoping for empire red, which is the shade my Mum has). My profile reads: “Sometimes you just need that little extra sparkle to brighten your surroundings. Crystal Blue is the bling you wear with your favourite outfit for a night on the town. It’s that “something blue” that will make your kitchen glisten with style.” Hm, maybe it’s telling me that I need a bit of a kitchen makeover!

Regardless, KitchenAid has kindly allowed me to give away a KitchenAid Stand Mixer on my blog. To enter, simply take the quiz and comment (with a valid e-mail) on which colour is chosen for you. Entries will be accepted until 11:59pm on October 9, 2012. I will contact the randomly chosen winner by e-mail by October 11, 2012. Only Canadian residents can enter.

Good luck!

Food Notes for October 1, 2012

Thrown back into work today, I realize I have quite a bit of catching up to do! And though we just got back from a holiday in Portland, we’re already preparing for another short vacation – a few days in the Okanagan as a tagalong to a conference in Kamloops. I am really fortunate to have these opportunities to travel, but it’s all a bit much for me, I’ll admit. On to this week’s food notes:

Dreading the end of food truck season? Then head over to Azimuth Theatre on October 6, 2012 for a taste of Drift and Nomad in celebration of Oktoberfest.
This is the last week the Green & Gold Garden will be open for regular market hours. Go check out this volunteer-run garden for one last fall hurrah!
Culina Mill Creek is hosting harvest dinners on October 23 and 24, 2012. The five-course dinner with wine pairings is $95.
Sturgeon County is hosting its first ever Food & Wine Festival on October 27, 2012 at the Enjoy Centre. Admission is $25 and food and wine tasting tickets are $0.50 each.
Duchess Provisions is now open! Check out Liane’s preview for an idea of what you can expect on the shelves.
Great news: the Italian Centre is set to open a location in the city’s west end, in the former Ethan Allan storefront.
Congrats to Corso 32 and Tres Carnales for their inclusion on Macleans’ 50 Best Restaurants list. Hopefully next time around we’ll beat out Calgary in numbers.
Great piece about Bully Food Truck in the Edmonton Sun.
Missing Kerstin’s Chocolates? Well you’re in luck – Kerstin’s sister Angie has brought the brand back, and will be selling the line at farmers’ markets in Edmonton, including the City Market indoors at City Hall.
We missed the opening of Williams Sonoma in West Edmonton Mall, but it received so much coverage I felt like I was there! Check out write-ups from Liane, Karlynn, Michelle and Lillian.
Also new to WEM is another location of Tutti Frutti, a chain that seems to be quite aggressively expanding.
The City released its long-awaited Food and Agriculture strategy today, entitled Fresh. I haven’t had a chance to page through it myself, but here are some thoughts from Liane and Jennifer.
The City also released its report on outdoor patios last week.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the supposed bacon shortage forecasted for next year. But should you really be panicking? Maybe not.
104 Street played host to another rockin’ street fest on Friday night, as the kick off to the annual Alberta Culture Days. There was an on-stage cooking demonstration, street food, and of course, music. Hope you enjoyed the festivities this weekend as well!

Liane hosts a cooking demonstration where second year NAIT students prepared flank steak

My DECL colleagues heart yegdt too!

My braised beef sandwich from Drift

The stage (right below our building, and so loud things were vibrating on our kitchen counter)

Recap: What the Truck?! @ Churchill Square

September 8, 2012 saw the biggest What the Truck?! take place in Churchill Square. Twelve trucks congregated downtown for our final hurrah for the 2012 season.

WTT @ Churchill Square

As with our penultimate event on Victoria Promenade, we again lucked out with the weather. And though it started out unbearably hot, the shadows cast by the surrounding buildings in the early evening soon made the conditions absolutely ideal for an outdoor food festival.

Enjoying summer

There were other benefits to setting up on Churchill Square, which made it immediately obvious why it is Edmonton’s de facto events space – the infrastructure, which includes built-in power hook-ups, on-site washrooms and a multitude of seating options is efficient, and cost-effective. It also does, in a way, spoil us for any other location in the city, but given the pop-up nature of the event, we hope you’re willing to bear with us in the future!

Lots of seating

Loved that newly-married Nadine and Glyn stopped by!

That said, we also recognized that in order to even attempt an event at Churchill Square, we needed to have our biggest turnout yet to not only animate the area but also enough people to patronize the trucks. Thankfully, we were thrilled for the support we received that night. One of the pieces of feedback we did receive was that people appreciated the expanse of the location – lines had enough room to breathe, and those browsing through menus could do so fairly easily. We do have to thank Northlands for stepping up and lending us stanchions for this event – they did wonders for directing and managing lines!

Yay, stanchions!

The trucks all deserve a standing ovation for what they did that night – all twelve absolutely rocked it, serving the huge crowds tirelessly and with grace to spare. We are very lucky to have such a great food truck community in Edmonton that seems to be getting bigger by the season! Among our WTT newcomers this time around were Little Village, Yellowbird Cafe and Bully.

Little Village

Nachos from Yellowbird Cafe

Bully is the shiniest new truck on the scene, the city’s first American-style truck. I tried their grilled salmon served on salad – the fish was deliciously flaky, with a nicely seared crust. The portion was so big that I didn’t have room for any other savoury dishes that night!

Bully

Buttermilk and basil marinated salmon from Bully

This time around, we also had volunteers helping us out with set-up and clean-up. Especially when things got going, it was great to have extra pairs of hands changing garbage cans so we could ensure the Square stayed spic and span. Thanks again to Brittney, Fel, Kathy, Kim, Patrick, Su and Thom for all of your help!

Some of our great volunteers – Kim, Thom and Patrick

It was great to work DJs Raebot and wijit, who really helped set the tone for the evening. No doubt Churchill is a large space, but their tunes helped bring it all together.

DJs Raebot and wijit

Thanks to everyone who came out to What the Truck?! in 2012, and to those who voted us Edmonton’s number one pop-up event in Vue Weekly’s Best of Edmonton poll. We really appreciate the support!

Churchill Square

And though we might be done for the year, that doesn’t mean all of the trucks are! Bully, Drift and Little Village among others will be serving into October. Keep the truck love going!

Check out the full photoset here.

City Market Report: Week 20

With an empty fridge after returning from Portland on Thursday night, it was nice to get back into routine this morning with a prompt visit to the City Market.

Sunshine!

It was also great that the weather held out for another week in September – I think we can safely say we’ve had a pretty good fall!

Pumpkins from Sundog Organic

Carrots from Sundog Organic

Celeriac from Green Valley Farm

Squash from Kuhlmann’s

More squash from Kuhlmann’s

Pears from Steve & Dan’s

Apples from Steve & Dan’s

Brussels sprouts from Riverbend Gardens

Cauliflower from Riverbend Gardens

All sorts of gourds at Riverbend Gardens

The market has just one more outdoor date on 104 Street, before relocating indoors at City Hall for the rest of the fall and winter season. Make it count – see you next week!

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