Food Notes for October 31, 2016

Happy Halloween! We always feel a little far removed from the festivities being downtown, but it seemed warmer than average for trick or treating tonight. A note that there will be no Food Notes next week; Mack and I are heading to Chicago for a short vacation.

• The annual Chili Cook-Off takes place November 4, 2016 in Churchill Square. Sample bowls are just $1, with regular bowls priced at $2.
• Bo and Marrow, who you may be familiar with from their farmers’ market appearances this summer, are popping up at Prairie Noodle on November 6, 2016 with noodles and their broth. The meal will be $18 per person.
• The sixth COMAL Mexican Table Dinner is taking place November 29-30, 2016. Tickets are $85 each.
• Save the date: Northern Lands will be taking place May 2-6, 2017, and it will be bigger and better.
• Su notes that there’s a franchise location of Hong Kong’s Dazzling Cafe to open soon at 10538 82 Avenue, rabbit-eared chairs and all.
• The buzz continues to grow for the brew pub to open in the Richie Market – they just announced Chef Christine Sandford will lead the kitchen.
• The latest local business to launch a crowdfunding initiative is Caramia Caramels, who hope to use Kickstarter to help them purchase commercial equipment to enhance their production.
• Speaking of crowdfunding, big congratulations to Sugared and Spiced, who blew their original $20,000 goal out of the water, raising close to $57,000.
• While the Edmonton and area has its share of meal prep services, The Backyard Basket might be our first Blue Apron-style ready to cook meal service (where pre-portioned ingredients are delivered for time-strapped home cooks). It’s not something that would appeal to me, but it would be more ideal if they supported local producers in the process.
• Prairie Noodle is an example of a business succeeding in overcoming poor quality control in its initial stages.
• Did you attend What the Truck?! this year? Consider filling out this survey to help the organizing committee make decisions for 2017!
• Karlynn is doing a cookbook giveaway on her blog, but you can also pick one up from her in person on November 5, 2016 at Chapters in West Edmonton Mall.
• Phil’s latest Community Table Project features butter chicken risotto.
• The Wood Buffalo Brewing Company is creating a special whisky called the Beast, using some peated malt that remained behind and absorbed some of the smoke from the fire.
• I was sad to see Calgary’s Farm restaurant shut down, but I never expected the subsequent scandal surrounding Janice Beaton to spring up, with past Farm employees accusing Beaton of unpaid wages. She responded to the allegations in a Facebook video.
• November 1, 2016 is the deadline to apply to join Eat Alberta, a committee working on organizing another hands-on food conference next year, in addition to multimedia content promoting local food.
• Signage is already up on two of the Ultima’s retail bays: XO Bistro & Bar and Gong Cha, a small chain of bubble tea cafes based in Toronto.

XO Bistro & Bar and Gong Cha

• Grand Villa Casino’s quick-serve options are now open – joining the Starbucks are Vera’s Burger Shack, Pinkberry, and Sbarro. It was a bit unusual that no seating was available, but I assume patrons are expected to return to the casino to consume their food, or head to the adjacent community rink.

Pinkberry and Starbucks in the Grand Villa Casino

• I also had lunch at Match Eatery and Public House inside the casino on Friday. The food was fine, but the service produced enough minor mistakes to point to a very inexperienced staff (tried to deliver our food to another table, mix-up with a sidedish, topped up a half-full soda glass with water). Hopefully things will improve with time.

Dip your beef sandwich

• I met up with a friend for dinner at Uccellino last week. Most of the week’s ills melted away with a bite of their cacio e pepe and meatballs. If only I could eat like that all the time.

Cacio e pepe

Polpette

• Edmonton City Centre’s new food court, Elevate Food Fare, located on the top level of the mall, opens to the public on November 1, 2016. It will consolidate many of the existing retailers in addition to offering a few new choices, including Burrito Libre and Paramount Fine Foods. The food court will provide another dining choice for those in the area, and will likely be one of the more inexpensive options available within walking distance of Rogers Place. It will be interesting to see if the food court hours are extended to align better with arena events in the coming months. Mack and I received gift certificates in appreciation for mentioning the Food Fare, but want to pass them onto two lucky readers. For your chance to win one of two $50 gift certificates to Edmonton City Centre, leave a comment with a valid e-mail address that answers the following question: which restaurant offers the best value Downtown and why? The contest closes on November 10, 2016 at midnight. Winners will be contacted by e-mail on November 12, 2016.

Elevate Food Fare at Edmonton City Centre Mall