Taste of Edmonton Considering Festival Location
The Taste of Edmonton, which just wrapped up its 35th festival on Sunday, is considering its site options.
Although the festival had only planned on being at Capital Plaza by the Alberta Legislature for two years (to ride out the construction around Churchill Square), the organizing team and most visitors seem to prefer this location. However, if they do decide to remain at Capital Plaza in 2020, the festival will have to foot the bill for the additional costs to produce the event at this site, such as portable washroom rentals and special cleaning fees, which were covered by the City of Edmonton over the past two years.
Organizers haven’t yet committed to either location, but are still soliciting feedback.
Openings
- Braven, the most formal of the forthcoming restaurants in the new Ice District JW Marriott, opens on August 1. The menus are up now, and if you include “OEG25” on your online reservation under special request, your food for up to a party of 4 will be discounted by 25% in August.
Upcoming Events
- The latest in the Hotel Macdonald’s Classic Series dinners will highlight the cuisine of Greece on August 1, 2019. The multi-course dinner is $75.
- Nigerian-born Blessing Okpala is hosting Savoury Bites and Jazzy Vibes on August 17, 2019 at Cafe Lavi, and will serve a blend of Canadian and African flavours. Tickets for the 4-course meal are $65.
Reviews
- Sharon is among the first to review Bianco, the new-ish sister restaurant to Rosso located Downtown.
- Leduc enjoyed his recent experience at Pink Gorilla Pizza.
- Crystal posted about her visits to Made by Marcus and Meat.
Local News
- Beaumont restaurant Chartier officially introduced their new Executive Chef, Tamara Solon, who has been with the team since the beginning. Chef Tony Krause, who had been announced as the previous successful candidate, was let go after two days (thanks Linda for the heads up!).
- Ritchie is the focus of Liane’s latest food-centric neighbourhood feature, with profiles on new ice cream purveyor Kind and hot dog cart Hans’ Wurst.
- Leduc recapped the ‘Tempt Your Taste Buds’ tour he attended led by Epicurean Adventure Tour in the 124 Street area.
- The latest episode of CBC’s Fast Food web series features a recipe for Hotel Macdonald Chef Mridul Bhatt’s chicken tikka pita taco.
- You can now vote for your favourites in Sustainable Food Edmonton’s annual Golden Wheelbarrow Awards. Categories include favourite “locavore” restaurant and favourite agriculture business.
- The Journal covered a social enterprise called Fresh Routes Calgary that may be launching in Edmonton this fall, bringing fresh produce and groceries to food deserts in the city through mobile markets.
- Every week, Global is again soliciting votes for their “Best of Summer” list. Earlier in July, Julio’s Barrio on Whyte was voted Edmonton’s best patio, and this week, Bully Food Truck was voted Edmonton’s best food truck.
- A nice write-up in travel magazine Fathom about things to eat and drink in Edmonton.
Urban Agriculture and Farming
- The 6th annual Grand Taste Tour organized by Wild Heart Collective will be taking place on August 17, 2019, with a visit to Stonepost Farms and a dinner prepared by Chef Paul Shufelt of Workshop Eatery and Woodshed Burgers. Tickets for the full tour and meal are $125.
What I Ate
- Mack, Emily, and I returned to Taste of Edmonton over the weekend to use up the rest of our tickets. My favourite plate that day was from Nyonya Malaysian Cuisine, a food truck who vends at the City Market. Their lemongrass rendang chicken in a turmeric pancake was so flavourful, and plated nicely.
Lemongrass rendang chicken in a turmeric pancake from Nyonya
- A friend and I met up for dinner at Tzin, and among the plates we shared, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to indulge in their bacon. It’s also great to see that dish is listed as a Mealshare item – for every plate ordered, a meal is given to a youth in need.
Bacon from Tzin
- Lastly, Mack and I tried the new ramen restaurant on our street, Ramen Misoya. They offer two types of miso – “gold” which is fermented for 6 months and “silver” which is fermented for 3 months. We both chose the silver, after the server told us it’s a bit lighter and creamier in flavour. I ordered the Silver Shiro Chashu ($16.75, plus $1.50 for a miso egg). The bowl was on the pricey side, but I did find the portion size matched my expectations. The kitchen was quick, which I appreciated, and though it wasn’t my favourite ramen in the city it would work in a pinch.
Silver Shiro Chashu
Only Here for the Food 