Food Notes for March 21, 2016

• Fruits of Sherbrooke will be hosting jam making classes on April 16, 2016.
• It looks like Blitz Conditioning’s idea of a food crawl on bicycles was such an inspiration that it’s already sold out. Hopefully this means many more to come, especially as the weather warms up.
• The second location of Sandwich and Sons had their soft opening this weekend, at 10184 104 Street.
• Liane reports that Sugarbowl owner Abel Shiferaw is planning to open a new café and pop-up space in the three-floor building right beside the Sugarbowl. Plans call for the third floor to be a “continuous pop-up restaurant.”
• Mark your calendar: the tentative opening date of the Downtown location of Careit Urban Deli is April 4, 2016.
• Chefs Andrew Cowan and Matt Phillips demonstrated their chicken prowess at the Home and Garden Show this weekend, in anticipation of their new Northern Chicken project. Looking forward to hearing more!
• I would love to see a Chipotle in Edmonton, but is this rumour true? It seems unconfirmed for now.
• The Journal is the first to review Farm to Fork, the newest restaurant in Sherwood Park.
• Linda has been won over by the changes at Kazoku, and now heartily recommends their ramen.
• The Breakfast Club checked out Juniper Cafe.
• Cindy reviewed Noodle Feast and decided it tugs on all the right strings for her.
• The episode of You Gotta Eat Here, featuring Edmonton’s own Battista’s Calzones, aired over the weekend. You can see it in full on the Food Network website.
• Has the economic downtown affected restaurant business? It doesn’t seem to ring true, at least not for some local mainstays.
• Vesta Gardens is hoping to raise $10,000 through a crowdfunding campaign to purchase a tractor for their farm.
• Alberta Agriculture is looking to study the demand for local food in the province.
• Best of luck to the three University of Alberta students who will be competing in the upcoming food expo in Chicago this July. They’ll be showcasing BiotaGelata, a dairy-free gelato product chock full of fermented beans.
• Izakaya Tomo is celebrating the flavours and music of Okinawa during Okinawa Nights this weekend.
• Until Ketchupgate, I had no idea people would feel the need to express their patriotism through their ketchup.
• Italy is following in France’s footsteps in passing a law to limit food waste. The difference? Their law is incentive-based vs. punitive, by offering grocery chains tax breaks for recovering food.
• I joined Mack and some of his colleagues last week at Parlour. While everyone else ordered off the Downtown Dining Week menu, I couldn’t pass up my usual Gamberi pizza. While there was more shrimp than ever on the pizza, the crust was a little more lacking in structure than I’m used to.

Gamberi Pizza at Parlour