Food Notes for February 23, 2015

• The Pourhouse Bier Bistro continues their “chef vs chef” pop-up series through April. The throwdowns will feature several chefs, including Chef Matt Phillips of Lux and Chef Danielle Majeau of Creole Envie.
• Save the date – Characters is bringing back their Taste of Iceland feature April 9-12, 2015.
• Though we often think of building up, we don’t often think of better utilizing subterranean spaces as well. Sofra (10345 106 Street) has redone their basement space up into a sumptuous Turkish wine bar.
• Overtime on the south side has been replaced by Provincial Pub (#160, 4211 106 Street).
• Edmonton is now home to another casual franchise – Browns Social House is now open in Winderemere (5210 Windermere Blvd).
• Mack believes that newly-opened Coffee Bureau and Lock Stock Coffee have revived Edmonton’s coffee district.
• Amelia alerted me to paper signage next to Smokehouse BBQ – look for their sister restaurant, Pie Piepers, soon!
• Linda tweeted about a forthcoming Korean restaurant, Nong Bu, in Old Strathcona.
• Twyla takes aim at Halo Bar and Bistro’s byline of local ingredients at the Edmonton International Airport.
• Phil’s latest Pizza Odyssey post rounds up the best of the old timers – Royal Pizza and Dallas Pizza.
• Cindy is the latest to check out Chinatown’s Tao Garden for noodle soup.
• Fancy some afternoon tea? Check out Andrea’s review of elegant tea service at the Hotel Macdonald.
• I love the idea of a pedway food adventure – here’s one suggested by Vue Weekly.
• Cindy recapped the inaugural Edmonton Food Fight on February 21, hosted at Get Cooking.
• Avenue’s annual Best Restaurants issue is out next week!
• Love food trucks and want to help grow Edmonton’s food scene? Consider joining the What the Truck?! organizing committee – we’re recruiting!
• It was great to be at The Westin on Thursday night to help Chef Ryan O’Flynn celebrate his win at the Gold Medal Plates this year. He even made sure guests had something special to sample – the dish he prepared to pair with the mystery wine: a smoked sturgeon with a deviled egg aioli, beet root puree, and caviar. Spectacular.

Gold Medal Plates redux

• I watched my first ballet on the weekend – Alberta Ballet’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Marveling at the athleticism and grace of the dancers, it would be interesting to see their technique deployed in a more traditional show. At the very least, I know this won’t be my last ballet!

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

• Happy Lunar New Year to those who commemorate the occasion. I missed the bulk of the fun in Chinatown, but while picking up some groceries, I was still able to partake in lion dances and firecrackers – it should be an annual tradition for more Edmontonians!

Lunar New Year in Chinatown