Edmonton Downtown Farmers’ Market Opens Year-Round Location

The Edmonton Downtown Farmers’ Market opened their new year-round location on October 26, 2019 in the GWG Building located at 10305 97 Street.

This date came about after numerous delays and confusion. In March, it was first reported that the market would not return to 104 Street in the summer, and instead, would transition from their previous winter home in City Hall directly to their new digs in the Quarters. Then, after operating outdoors for a few weeks in May and June adjacent to the GWG Building, the market returned to 104 Street for the remainder of the summer season. Permitting issues delayed their move indoors in October, despite the market’s announcement of a grand opening party.

Although the Downtown Farmers’ Market has plans to become a multi-day market (to operate on Saturdays and Sundays), for the time being, they will only be open on Saturdays until further notice.

Openings

• El Beso, the new tequila, mezcal and taco bar was offering a sneak peek this past weekend, and are now into their soft opening. It is located at 10432 Jasper Avenue.
• Popowich Meat Company is now open at 6853 170 Street.
• Detroit-style pizza is now available in Edmonton at Big Bite Pizza & Donair (16620 71 Street).
• Gangnam Street Food is preparing to open their third location at Londonderry Mall on November 4, 2019.
• A new breakfast and lunch placed called Rosewood Foods is coming soon to Rice Howard Way, at #101, 10150 – 100 Street.

Closures

• Two Sergeants Brewery announced they are permanently closing due to zoning issues.

Upcoming Events

• The next discount Fruit & Veggie Sale run by Food4Good is scheduled for October 29, 2019.
• Seconds, Please, a web series documenting stories and traditional recipes from immigrant families is launching their newest Diwali-centred episode with a free event on November 6, 2019 featuring food, and a Bhangra dance workshop.
• The next Swine & Dine event will be hosted by Drift at their winter home (the Shamrock Curling Club) on November 14, 2019. Tickets for the multi-course meal are $45.
• As the NAIT Culinary Team continues its preparation for the Culinary Olympics, they are hosting a lunch on November 16, 2019 that will serve as one of their practice sessions. Tickets are $21 plus fees.
• The final Winery Spotlight dinner at the Edmonton Expo Centre takes place on November 28, 2019. Tickets are $125 each.

Reviews

• Lydia had a positive experience at Japanese restaurant Kobachi in Sherwood Park.
• Stephanie had a complimentary staycation at the JW Marriott that include sampling the fare at their bars and restaurants Alchemy, Kindred, and Braven.

Local News

• Graham offers an ode to Chef Shane Chartrand in celebration of his new cookbook.
• There is a new web series launched about a month ago called Edmonton Uncovered, which profiles different businesses in Edmonton. Their first few episodes profile Otto, Cafe Linnea, and Battista’s Calzones.
• Passports and Pigtails shared her experience attending the Strathcona Brunch and Bakeries tour operated by Alberta Food Tours.
• Hole’s Greenhouses announced their sale, effective January 1, 2020.

Beyond Edmonton

• Alberta was shut out of En Route’s 2019 Best New Restaurants list.

What I Ate

• I attended Lit Fest’s sold out Food Matters event over the weekend at The Common. It was a great afternoon featuring an (all female!) panel of writers – Ann Hui, Lenore Newman, Twyla Campbell, and Giselle Courteau. Giselle even brought some macarons from Duchess to share!

Macaron treats at Food Matters

• Mack, Emily, and I are in Calgary for a few days as I’m attending a work conference. It’s been an excuse to get some take out, and we ended up going back to Pow Pizza for their Detroit-style pizza.

Italian street meat from Pow Pizza

Edmontonians Win Big at National Coffee Competition

Two Edmonton-based baristas were recognized at the 2020 Canadian National Brewers Cup in Montreal over the weekend. Organized by the Canadian Chapter of the Specialty Coffee Association, they sanction regional and national-level competitions that feed into World Coffee Events.

Ply Pasarj of Rogue Wave Coffee won first place, while Santiago Lopez of The Colombian took third. Ply will go on to compete in the 2020 World Brewers Cup Championship in Melbourne, Australia in May.

Openings

• Shojo in the Brewery District is Edmonton’s newest izakaya, located at 10425 121 Street.
• The Grand Cafe (located at 10802 124 Street) is now open. It is located on the ground floor of the new development situated on the site of the former Colonel Mustard’s.
• Plant-based restaurant Gidget’s is now open in St. Albert (125 Carleton Drive, #101).
• A new Korean restaurant called Banjoo is open at 3212 Parsons Road.
• Mini Kitchen and El Gringo, offering ready-to-eat Indian, Thai, and fusion Mexican food has opened a storefront at 9729 42 Avenue. They’re a familiar face at farmers’ markets in the city, and in addition to their reheat and serve dishes, they’ll also have a small deli.

Closures

• All Alberta locations of Red Robin will close by December 8, 2019.

Upcoming Events

• High tea at Ernest’s is back on October 26, 2019. Tickets are $46 per person.
• Vignettes is offering a Dinner Series involving chef-led cooking classes on October 26 and November 2, featuring Chefs Blair Lebsack from RGE RD and Chef Mariana Yanez Sanchez from Bottega 104, respectively. Tickets are $125 per person.
• Chef Larry Stewart will be preparing Hardware Grill tribute dinners at XIX19 on November 3-4, 2019. Tickets to the 3-course dinner are $145.

Reviews

• The meat at Woodshed Burgers gets a thumbs up from Twyla, with a note to work on their buns.
• Woodshed also received a positive review from Graham, but he was looking for more from Fox Burgers.

Local News

• The Taste of Edmonton shared that they will be returning to Churchill Square in July 2020, after two years hosting the event on the Federal Plaza.
• Beverly Dining Week continues until October 25, 2019. I had the chance to attend a media preview of the event last week.
• Woodshed Burgers was in the news when owner/chef Paul Shufelt shared that McDonald’s had contacted them from infringing on their trademark “Filet-O-Fish” with their “Effing Filet O’ Fish” sandwich.
• Forbes spoke with Calgary-based writer Dan Clapson on his recommended eats in Calgary and Edmonton.
• A student at the U of A highlighted some of Edmonton’s newest ice cream shops.
• Lydia shared her most recent complimentary chef’s table experience at Central Social Hall.
• Earls co-founder Bus Fuller passed away at age 90. He opened the first Earls restaurant in Edmonton in 1982.
• Co-authors Chef Shane Chartrand and Jennifer Cockrall-King discuss their new cookbook tawâw.
• Prolific blogger and cookbook author Karlynn Johnson was recently interviewed on the Welcome to Town podcast on the topic of what Albertans eat.
• A new local start up Keto Simple, offering keto meals and desserts, has launched a crowd-funding campaign.

What I Ate

• Emily and I met up with the Chinatown Dining Week team last week at Boualouang in preparation for the third iteration of this event, coming in January 2020. Among the dishes we shared was a delectable mango salad – even Emily approved!

Mango salad from Boualouang

• Mack, Emily, and I tried one of our new neighbourhood additions on Friday. Dagu Rice Noodle has had consistent line-ups since opening a month ago, so we were lucky to get seated right away. They make their rice noodles fresh on-site, and feature no MSG in their broths. I tried the rice noodle soup with braised bone-in beef ($14.99). I did enjoy their broth and noodles, but I would have hoped for some more vegetables. Still, their service was fast and friendly, so we’ll be back!

Rice noodle soup with braised bone-in beef from Dagu Ride Noodle

First Time Competitor Wins Great Kitchen Party

Canada’s Great Kitchen Party held their annual fundraiser and food competition in Edmonton on Thursday. Nine chefs vied for gold, and a newcomer to the contest topped the podium. Competitions are held in a dozen cities across the country, with proceeds supporting amateur athletes, children’s music programs, and community food centres in Canada.

Chef J.P. Dublado, of River Cree Resort and Casino won with a dish of terrine made with char siu foie gras, cured duck egg yolk and truffle, and a dumpling comprised of ube and chicken rillettes. It is Chef Dublado’s first time competing in the event. The Executive Chef at the River Cree, Shane Chartrand, has competed in the Gold Medal Plates (the previous incarnation of the Great Kitchen Party) four times, winning gold in 2017.

Silver went to Chef Serge Belair of the Edmonton Convention Centre, and Chef Doreen Prei from Zinc Restaurant took the bronze.

Chef Dublado goes on to represent Edmonton in the Canadian Culinary Championships in Ottawa, to be held January 31-February 1, 2020.

Openings

• Campio Brewing is the newest brew pub in Edmonton, located in the former Characters space at 10257 105 Street.
• Bodega has opened its fourth location in the Edmonton region, this latest one in St. Albert at 1 Herbert Road.
• There’s a new sushi restaurant in Sherwood Park called Kobachi, located at 200 Festival Lane, #125.

Closures

• A number of Edmonton Starbucks locations have shut down, including stores in High Street and Garneau.

Upcoming Events

• Giselle Courteau of Duchess will be releasing her new cookbook this week and will be hosting a cookbook launch on October 16, 2019. She spoke to the Journal about what type of recipes to expect.
• The Edmonton Food Bank is hosting a fundraiser called the Harvest Luncheon on October 24, 2019. Tickets are $50.
• The second Bayanihan Dinner, a collaboration between some of Edmonton’s best Filipino chefs, including Kanto 98 Street’s Edgar Gutierrez and JP Dublado of SC at River Cree Casino (fresh off his Great Kitchen Party win), is taking place on October 30, 2019. Tickets are $85.

Reviews

• Sharon was invited to try the food at Dagu Rice Noodle.

Local News

• Graham interviewed Larry Stewart about the Hardware Grill closure; Stewart says the closure relates most to the debt accumulated from the opening of Tavern 1903.
• Natalie Hanke has spearheaded a campaign to encourage diners to “bring your own to-go box” when eating out at local restaurants.
• Let’s Do Coffee, a NAIT podcast that interviews local entrepreneurs, featured Chef Levi Biddlecombe in the latest episode.
• A local catering company Acappella now offers a “take and bake” dinner pack for those looking for a more convenient way to prepare dinner over the holidays.
• Fresh Routes held their first mobile market selling affordable produce and grocery products at Clareview Recreation Centre last week.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• The Downtown Edmonton Farmers’ Market delayed the opening of their indoor location due to permitting issues.

What I Ate

• Mack, Emily, and I have been in Yellowknife over the weekend, spending Thanksgiving with Mack’s parents. It’s been a pretty relaxing trip, but one of the only things we really wanted to do was eat at Bullocks. It’s the most famous restaurant in Yellowknife; in the past it was known for questionable service, but since changing hands, it’s become more about the food quality. They serve fresh fish caught in nearby Great Slave Lake, and diners can choose the preparation method – deep fried, grilled, or pan-fried. Mack and I both chose the latter, and eating at the counter, we had a front row seat to the cooking process. While the herbs and spice recipes are proprietary, we could see that loads of butter, wine, and Guinness also play prominent roles. Whatever it was, the fish was delicious, and met all of our expectations.

Pan-fried white fish from Bullocks Bistro

Beverly Dining Week Returns for a Second Year

The Beverly Business Improvement Area and Wild Heart Collective are bringing Beverly Dining Week back for a second year.

Running from October 17-25, 2019, the event highlights restaurants in the northeast Edmonton neighbourhood located on 118 Avenue between 30th and 50th streets. This year, Beverly Dining Week will feature 10 restaurants (up from 8 in 2018), including some area stalwarts like Uncle Ed’s Restaurant and Swiss2Go, and relative newcomers such as Chicken For You and Mumbai Dakar Restaurant.

Menus have yet to be released, but check the BIA website for updates.

Openings

• Brasserie Bardot opened in late September in the former Manor Cafe space (10109 125 Street). It’s described as a “chef driven cocktail brasserie paired with a traditional Parisian cafe”, and is operated by the family behind Violino Ristorante and the Mayfield Inn.
• Congratulations to Meat Street Pies on the opening of their brick and mortar storefront, located at 800 Broadmoor Boulevard in Sherwood Park.
• I missed the opening of Paramo Cafe last year, a Venezuelan-based coffee chain. It is located at 9940 137 Avenue, #110.

Closures

• Paws the Cat Cafe is closing on October 27, 2019.

Reviews

• Twyla raved about the food and hospitality at Turquaz Alaturka.
• Sharon had a mixed dim sum experience at Chef Tony’s.
• The Journal wrote a positive review about Blue Plate Diner’s new location.

Local News

• Hosting Thanksgiving dinner but don’t want to cook? The Edmonton Expo Centre and Hotel Macdonald offer feasts to-go, for a fee.
• The Journal has a few more details about Alchemy, the new bar in the JW Marriott. In addition to cocktails, they offer a “vegetable forward” food menu.
• Staff at NAIT’s Centre for Culinary Innovation and Chef Levi Biddlecombe are developing plant-based options that are actually good for you.
• Rogers Place unveiled their new food menu for the season, which includes a Beyond Meat burger and a pierogi quesadilla.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• The Edmonton Downtown Farmers’ Market opens in their new indoor home on October 12-13, 2019 at 10305 97 Street.

Beyond Edmonton

• Getting a cookbook published can be an expensive endeavour, found the NYT.

What I Ate

• It was a soup kind of week for me, partly because I was hoping to ward off the colds going around my office. First stop: T and D Noodle House for their Bun Bo Hue. As always, great service, and their kitchen is really efficient.

Bun Bo Hue from T and D Noodle House

• Next up was the prairie pork shio from Prairie Noodle Shop. I particularly enjoyed the smoked pulled pork.

Prairie pork shio from Prairie Noodle Shop

• While the mac and cheeza remains my ultimate favourite, the Lovesgiving feature at Love Pizza is also a great deviation from more traditional toppings. Here, the mashed potato spread, pulled turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce offer a different version of turkey dinner – it’s available for the month of October.

Emily says “Happy Thanksgiving!” at Love Pizza