Happy Lunar New Year to those of you who celebrate! I had a lovely weekend full of family festivities – though it’s hard to believe the first month of the year has already passed us by. On to this week’s food notes:
- La Mision is back with its first pop-up of 2017 at The Chvrch of John on January 31, 2017 from 5-7pm.
- The next event in the Dining with Friends series will be a Buddhist feast hosted at Padmanadi on February 9, 2017. The family-style meal will include nine dishes for $43 per ticket.
- Mark your calendars: the 14th annual Downtown Dining Week will take place March 10-19, 2017. Menus will be up by February 15, 2017.
- Avenue Edmonton is getting ready to celebrate their annual “best restaurants” issue – tickets for the launch on March 13, 2017 are now on sale for $44 each.
- Thanks to Jenn for the heads up – Tokiwa Ramen is coming to the Brewery District this spring at 11978 104 Avenue.
- Avila Arepa, an “urban Venezuelan kitchen,” is also forthcoming in Old Strathcona – 10760 82 Avenue.
- Blink and you’d walk right by it – Bundok in Fox One is now open at 10218 104 Street.
- Just down the street – Baijiu, the new Asian-inspired cocktail bar (and sister restaurant to North 53) opens on February 1, 2017.
- The folks behind El Cortez are expanding their Old Strathcona empire to include a third restaurant inside the same historic building this summer.
- Chef Nathin Bye has put his stamp on the menu at the restaurant inside Crash Hotel (the former Grand Hotel).
- Cindy is among the first to review new Old Strathcona restaurant Pho Boy, and its somewhat modern take on Vietnamese cuisine.
- The Journal enjoyed brunch at the Riverside Golf Course, as prepared by Dogwood Cafe (who also runs the brunch program at the Victoria Golf Course).
- Twyla shares her experience at a recent Scandanavian-inspired pop-up at Clementine, called Kos.
- Congratulations to Chef Levi Biddlecombe, who will be at the helm of Packrat Louie.
- Why did Chef Andrew Cowan of Northern Chicken gravitate towards fried chicken? It’s all about family.
- Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Jacek’s spring collection (romantically named the Galaxy Collection) is now available.
- It’s never too early to start thinking about the summer – shares of Riverbend Garden’s community supported agriculture are now on sale!
- Ian from Winding Road Cheese reflects on his first year in business.
- Megan checked out the “Meet Your Farmers” event hosted by SPUD Edmonton over the weekend.
- Sleep in all you want: all-day breakfast at McDonald’s rolls out in Canada on February 21, 2017, followed quickly by A & W on February 27.
- We’ve been hankering for brunch at Meat for weeks, so we were happy to finally indulge over the weekend.
Breakfast sandwich and beef brisket benny from Meat
Only Here for the Food 