Food Notes for April 1, 2014

Have you checked out this year’s Eat Alberta 2014 sessions yet? I think there’s something for everyone! Tickets are 75% sold, so if you’re interested in coming, make sure to take a look soon! On to this week’s food notes:

• The Western Living’s 2014 Top 40 Foodies Under 40 list is out! Not as much Edmonton representation as in past years, but good to see local Darcy Scott recognized.
• It’s officially food truck season – Drift has kicked things off, with today being their first day of service!
• I haven’t heard of Wetzel’s Pretzel’s before, but if you have, you may be excited to hear their first Western Canada location has opened in West Edmonton Mall. I’d be interested to try one of their scratch-made, fresh baked pretzels the next time I’m at WEM.
• Bar Bricco received a lot of love from the blogosphere this week – from both Andrea and Liv.
• Twyla reviewed Glass Monkey this past week.
• Speaking of Glass Monkey – Phil’s latest Burger Odyssey pits their burger against an offering from Original Joe’s.
• Lillian wrote about taco day at Expressionz Café, something I’ve been meaning to try as well! Looks like it is worth seeking out.
• Harambee (11008 107 Avenue) is the newest Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurant in Edmonton, located in the Queen Mary Park neighbourhood.
• City & Dale wrote a feature on Woodwork’s wonderful bar.
• Great to see a lengthy piece on Reclaim Urban Farm in Vue Weekly. Reclaim takes unused spaces in mature neighbourhoods and grows food for the community – look for their product at farmers’ markets and restaurants this summer.
• I had a productive dinner meeting at Woodwork on Thursday. It was great to see some new things on the menu (the country pie with chicken and ham was delicious!), but we also tried some things I’ve been before but never ordered. The charcuterie board with various house-made meats was more than enough to share between the four of us. The venture into offal with an order of beef tongue was interesting –  it was perhaps a bit too sour tasting for me with the vinaigrette, but I found the texture to be similar to boiled ham.

Charcuterie board at Woodwork

Marinated beef tongue at Woodwork

• On Friday I caught up with May and Annie over dinner at Tavern 1903. While the food was great (and actually, the portions huge – the chicken and waffles featured two large pieces of meat), I was really disappointed with the service. I had a great previous experience, so to deal with a curt, indifferent server made me reconsider heading back soon.

Chicken and waffles at Tavern 1903

• These food notes are late because I spent the last three days at Pigeon Lake for a work-related training. We stayed at the Village Creek Country Inn, and after this, I’ll definitely be back! A fresh blanket of snow made it a picturesque winter wonderland, perfect for contemplative walks.

Loved this sign

Snow!