• Hope to see you at out at the next What the Truck?!, taking place Friday, July 10, from 5-10pm at Northlands Park. The menus are now up, and we’re introducing a new system to help us manage lines better.
• Great to see Chinatown is changing it up somewhat, hosting a different type of festival this year in place of their usual East Meets West. The Summer Market is taking place on July 11, 2015, from noon-8pm. Expect food, a fashion show, live entertainment and vendors.
• The fifth Edmonton Food Fight is moving to an even bigger stage at the Taste of Edmonton, involving 4 chefs on July 19, 2015. Tickets are $63.
• It’s already that time of year – the August 1-3, 2015 Heritage Festival’s menu is now online. If you can believe it, they’re celebrating their 40th anniversary!
• I love al fresco dinners, and Chef Brad Smoliak has a unique location for his upcoming events – Elk Island Park. Tickets for the August 22 and September 12 suppers are $145.
• HUMA Mexican Comfort, a new restaurant brought to you by Mariel Montero-Sena formerly of Expressionz Café and Taco Day fame, is now open (9880 63 Avenue). Learn more about her restaurant here.
• Expect a new coffee and beer lounge to open in August called BRU Coffee + Beer House, located in the Pearl (11965 Jasper Avenue).
• It’s the end of an era: Chef Paul Shufelt is leaving Century Hospitality after a decade to open his own restaurant, The Workshop Eatery. Best of luck, Paul!
• I’ve never heard of Nando’s, but apparently they have quite the following. They’re opening an Edmonton branch in the fall.
• Who knew rolled ice cream was a thing? Scoop n Roll has brought this concept to Edmonton. Rebecca and Stephanie have the details.
• Jonny is the latest to give St. Albert’s newest eatery 12 Acres a try.
• Cindy offers a peek at some of the new menu items offered at The Denizen Hall.
• Diane was invited to a pizza party at Urbano Pizza, and shares her favourite creations.
• Phil had to eat his way through a ton of pizza to find the best – check out his final wrap-up Pizza Odyssey post to see which pies ended up at the top of his list.
• Avenue Edmonton’s annual 25 Best Things to Eat list is now live, featuring dishes chosen by local celebrities.
• Mary Bailey is this month’s Edmonton Woman of Vision.
• Congratulations to Alley Kat on winning Beer of the Year for Scona Gold at the 2015 Canadian Beer Awards. Speaking of beer, Jason Foster is optimistic about the city’s craft beer scene.
• You Gotta Eat Here was busy filming in Edmonton last week, with stops at Battista’s Calzones, MEAT and Rostizado. Great to see more local restaurants featured on a national show.
• It’s interesting that the Youth Council decided to make eliminating meat from their catered meals an issue for City Councillors to consider. The vote is Tuesday.
• Another establishment is moving into 124 Street and 107 Avenue – Selam Café.

Selam Cafe

• It was definitely a food truck kind of day at the Legislature on Canada Day, with nearly 40 vendors set up around the grounds. We indulged in our first mini donuts of the summer at Jackie O’s. They were larger and more substantial than the donuts we’re used to, so much so that we could have used a third person to share with!

Mack loves minis

• We also headed to 124 Street’s Mardi Gras festival on Sunday. It wasn’t as well attended as I would have anticipated, but the swing dancers and big band were mighty entertaining! The chicken shawarma we sampled from Dedo’s Food Truck was the delicious cap to the afternoon.

Mack feels like an Avenger

• I had the most intense craving for Izakaya Tomo on the weekend that couldn’t be ignored.

Bring on the carbonara udon!