City of Edmonton Makes Hawrelak Park Food Vendor Announcements

Last week, the City of Edmonton officially announced that Culina to Go will be the food provider in William Hawrelak Park. The contract length is one year.

Rhonda Norman, the Director of River Valley and Horticulture Facilities stated that, “We recognize the importance of working with local providers and we are excited to have Culina operating out of the park. This decision keeps in mind Fresh: Edmonton’s Food and Urban Agriculture Strategy.”

Culina to Go operator Brad Lazarenko had spoken publicly about Culina on the Lake back in December, and launched his crowdfunding campaign for “Edmonton’s only lakeside cafe” earlier this month. Culina previously operated concessions at the Victoria Golf Course, ACT Centre and Rundle Park, before losing those contracts in 2018, and they will resume operations at the Muttart Conservatory after renovations of that facility are complete.

Openings

• Woodrack Cafe is opening a second location, taking over Square One’s spot in the Premium Outlet Mall. They hope to open in mid-February.

Upcoming Events

• Kind Ice Cream is hosting a fundraiser called Ice Cream for Breakfast for Momentum Walk-In Counselling on February 1, 2020. All proceeds from scoops sold from 9am-noon that day will go to the charity.
• The Glenrose Foundation is hosting Charcuterie Night on February 12, 2020. Guests will learn how to put together a balanced charcuterie board; tickets are $99.
• Prairie North’s February Cidermaking 101 workshop is sold out, but they have other workshops with spaces in March, including cider tasting.
• The next Edmonton Eats event, a social enterprise featuring the cuisine of local host families, will highlight Somalia. Tickets for the March 21, 2020 dinner are $75.

Reviews

• The Journal had a mixed experience at tequila and taco bar El Beso.
• Twyla flipped for Fox Burger, noting their burgers are “dream-worthy”.
• Graham shared his picks for the best ribeye steaks to be found in the city.
• Jonny shared some photologs of his visits to SYC Brewing and Toyo Sushi.

Local News

• CBC highlighted Little Duchess that opened at Ritchie Market in October; in the story, the building’s owner shared that “Since Duchess came in we’re up 20 per cent year on year for the number of people coming through.”
• Also from CBC, they analyzed restaurant inspection violations in the Edmonton area in 2018: poor cleaning cloth practices came up the most often at 18%. Inspection reports can be easily searched online through Alberta Health Services’ database.
• This month’s episode of Avenue Magazine’s Sidebar Podcast features Phil Wilson, who discusses cold weather food and his experience as a judge on the Best Restaurants panel.
• Local podcast Yeg.Me interviewed South Island Pie owner Jamie Scott about how he started the company and his work on the food business accelerator UpRoot Food.
• Last week, I shared my (belated) 2019 Year in Review, summarizing what was notable to me over the year.
• A forthcoming book called Tapping the West: How Alberta’s Craft Beer Industry Bubbled Out of an Economy Gone Flat covers the story behind Alberta’s craft beer boom. It is available for pre-order.
• The sixth season of Kevin Kossowan’s From the Wild is now available to stream on demand.
• Victor Hugo shared his recipe for maple-orange carnitas on the Passion for Pork blog.

Beyond Edmonton

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau inspired “doughnut-gate” last week, having purchased several boxes of doughnuts from a locally-owned shop in Winnipeg. I really appreciated the shop’s response to the incredulity.

What I Ate

• Mack, Emily, and I finally stopped in at the new cafe on our street, A Bite of Brazil. They have a great deal right now: a medium brewed coffee and 3 units of cheesebread for just $3.95. The space is warm and inviting, the staff were super-friendly, and Emily couldn’t get enough of the cheesebread! We’ll be back!

Cheesebread and coffee from A Bite of Brazil

• We’ve started a tradition for Emily’s birthday gatherings to always include soft pretzels from Zwick’s, so while picking up our order, we also treated ourselves to some sandwiches. The McZwick really hit the spot.

The McZwick’s is a thing of beauty

• January can be a hard month to get through, but it is a little bit easier to do so with Love Pizza’s January feature – the mac and cheeza! We grabbed their 2 for $22 deal today on the way home for supper.

Mac and cheeza from Love Pizza

Eat Local Magazine Announces New Editor

Eat Local just celebrated its one year publication anniversary, having launched their first print issue in December 2018. Within that short time, they tripled their print run from 3,000 to 10,000 copies.

This week, they announced that local freelance writer and CBC Food Explorer Twyla Campbell has joined the team as the new editor.

As she described to Eat North, “My role is to help tell the stories behind the pictures and to connect the reader to the good, conscientious chefs and producers who feed us all."

Her first issue will land in March 2020.

Openings

• Love Pizza continues to expand! They already announced a forthcoming location in south Edmonton, and will be adding a Spruce Grove franchise to the mix in the spring.

Upcoming Events

• Starting January 22, 2020, Food4Good’s low-cost produce markets are relocating to Salvage Reclaimed Furniture (15308 Stony Plain Road) and will happen regularly every other Wednesday.
• Culina Chef Brad Lazarenko has organized Pe Mitso, a collaboration dinner on February 9, 2020 celebrating the Indigenous roots of Brad, and Chefs Shane Chartrand and Scott Iserhoff. Tickets for the 5-course dinner are $85.
• Winefest returns to the Edmonton Convention Centre on February 14-15, 2020. Tickets start at $87.
• Join Avenue at their annual Best Restaurants event on March 16, 2020 at the Edmonton Expo Centre. Tickets are $60 and includes food and beverage tickets.

Reviews

• Graham opines that the food at Calle Mexico’s new south side restaurant is “very good”, but “conventional”.
• Jonny offers some photologs on Korean restaurant Machef, China Burger BBQ in Old Strathcona, and old favourite Sunbake Pita.

Local News

• The Tomato is accepting nominations for their annual Top 100 Best Things to Eat in Edmonton. Nominations close January 31.
• Culina will be opening up an outpost called Culina on the Lake at Hawrelak Park. They’ve started a crowdfunding campaign with the hopes of raising $35,000 to help with expenses.
• Cafe Linnea, along with some partner businesses, is sponsoring a free wedding, valued at up to $10,000. Interested couples have until February 17, 2020 to enter.
• Bloom’s Valentine’s Day Cookie-Grams are back! They will deliver a box of their egg and dairy-free cookies for $35, with $5 from each box going towards the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton. Orders will be accepted until February 7, or until sold out.
• Speaking of Valentine’s Day, Linda has some great food-related ideas to help you celebrate this year.
• The Journal offers some background on Chef Ben Staley’s new venture, Restaurant Yarrow.
• Smokey Bear had received many positive reviews over the past few weeks, but its reputation may have taken a hit after well-known LGBTQ academic and advocate Dr. Kristopher Wells shared his negative experience dining out at the restaurant this weekend.
• It was reported that Planet Organic has racked up thousands of dollars of unpaid bills with some local vendors, including Honest Dumplings.
• CTV’s series Josh Eats Edmonton finally has its own landing page – catch up on segments featuring Nello’s.
• The University of Alberta’s podcast What the Job? interviewed restauranteur Nate Box (of District, Fox Burger, and June’s Delicatessen).
• In case you’re on the hunt for cheap eats Downtown, The Yards has you covered.

What I Ate

• It was definitely a soup kind of week, though I never need an excuse to return to Tau Bay for my pho fix.

My usual at Tau Bay

• In the middle of the deep freeze, I met up with Su for dinner at another participating Chinatown Dining Week restaurant Youth BBQ. We didn’t end up ordering off the set menu as it was easy enough to put together our own sampling of their charcoal-grilled skewers (most only $2 each – it might possibly be one of the best deals in town). We both found their spicy and slightly sweet seasoning salt addictive, whether sprinkled on beef skewers or fried potato chips. We’ll be back!

Beef skewer from Youth BBQ

 

Local Talent on Western Living’s 40 Foodies of the Year

Several Edmontonians made this year’s Foodies of the Year list, put out by Western Living Magazine. While the list will crown the “top 10” on March 7, 2020, three individuals were included among the forty finalists.

Lindsay Porter was recognized for her take on British classics at London Local, Cyrille Koppert for his gem of a French restaurant in Partake, and Keenan Pascal of Token Bitters was highlighted for his line of locally-inspired bitters.

Openings

• Restaurant Yarrow and its accompany 12-seat Bar at Yarrow opened in early January. It is Chef Ben Staley’s latest foray into the Edmonton restaurant scene, after Alta and Alder Room closed in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Dining at Yarrow requires a prepaid reservation at $170 per person for a meal ranging between 18-22 servings.
• Lan Noodle is the newest hand-pulled noodle restaurant in Edmonton, located at 10475 82 Avenue.
• Ice District has a new tenant – Delux Burger Bar in the Edmonton Tower is now open.
• Japanese Village is now open on BRBN St. at West Edmonton Mall.

Upcoming Events

• Kitchen by Brad is hosting Kitchen Suppers on Wednesdays until the end of February. They will be serving a 3-course, $35 dinner; reservations are recommended.
• The third Nowhere Kitchen event will take place on January 26, 2020 with Chef Chris Tom-Kee, and focus on Chinese cuisine. As with their previous events, it is hosted by chefs of colour focused on their cultural identity and food justice. Tickets start at $30.
• Filistix continues with its series of special events highlighting aspects of Filipino cuisine – this time, with a Kamayan Feast (“kamayan” translates to ‘eat with your hands’). Tickets for the January 31, 2020 dinner are $56.75 plus fees.

Reviews

• Graham was “delighted” with his recent meal at Old Strathcona newcomer Smokey Bear.
• Twyla recommends the pizza and prosecco at Bianco, Rosso’s sister restaurant.
• The Journal had a pleasant experience at Terrace Heights Vietnamese restaurant Thien An.

Local News

• Forbes featured Edmonton as a travel destination, highlighting Bundok, Pip, Biera, Uccellino, Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market, and Strathcona Spirits as notable stops.
• An Edmonton candy store called Sweet Convenience is offering customers a “cold weather discount” in January equivalent to the freezing temperature.
• Retired professor of food marketing David Hughes spoke at a retail food trends event on Monday about the continued demand for plant-based alternatives.
• IKEA plans to “diminish food waste in all IKEA stores by 50 per cent before the end of 2020” and IKEA Edmonton has “led the way with an accumulative food waste reduction of 40 per cent in one year.”
• Campio Brewing Co. executive chef Hans Pinto visited the Global Edmonton test kitchen to preview their menu.
• A local high school student spent 16 hours inside the Denny’s on 104 Avenue downtown and documented the entire thing on Reddit.

What I Ate

• It was definitely a soup kind of week – I started with a warm-up at T and D Noodle House. Their bun bo Hue has perhaps replaced the two-colour vermicelli as my go-to dish!

Bun bo Hue from T and D Noodle House

• On the weekend, I met up with some friends at Chinese Hot Pot Buffet. I’d never been before, but I can see why they have many fans – the serve yourself (for most things) model means nothing stands in the way of you and getting food in your belly! I also appreciated the opportunity to have a chicken soup sauna for a couple of hours on a cold night, heh.

Our (first of many) spreads at Chinese Hot Pot Buffet

• Mack, Emily, and I went to Syphay’s Chinatown location for the first time for Chinatown Dining Week (which continues until January 19, 2020). They’re offering a great deal – either curry or pad Thai, plus soup and spring rolls for just $18. I really enjoyed the pad Thai, and Emily happily munched on the spring rolls.

Chinatown Dining Week special at Syphay

CBC Names RGE RD and Corso 32 Best Restaurants of the Decade

CBC Edmonton released their fifth annual Best Restaurants list for 2019, and to help round-out the decade, included their picks for best restaurants of the decade.

Food Explorer Twyla Campbell chose RGE RD, who attributes their success to the fact that the restaurant is a genuine farm-to-fork establishment, where “the staff eat, live and breathe it, unlike others who profess to be, but fail to abide.”

Radioactive host Adrienne Pan and food writer Phil Wilson selected Corso 32, based on its standards and consistency, writing that the restaurant “ushered in a new standard for quality and flavour.”

The rest of the list includes neighbourhood-based categories, and a cheeky “don’t skip the dishes here”.

Openings

• Calle Mexico’s third location (in the former Atlantic Trap & Gill) is now open at 7704 104 Street.
• Barbarella is a new restaurant at 17115 100 Avenue (former Milestone’s). They completed their soft opening week on January 6.
• The Delta Hotel has opened their fully renovated restaurant and cafe in Edmonton City Centre, rebranded as District 102. Interestingly, they offer a 15% discount to “neighbours”, which I take to mean Downtown residents.
• New cafe alert: Take Care Cafe is now open at 9621 82 Avenue.
• Also on the cafe front, Overflow Cafe has taken over Da Capo’s Whyte Avenue location (8135 102 Street).
• Love Pizza announced a second Edmonton location on the south side at Rabbit Hill Crossing.
• BaoBao is a forthcoming Chinese dumpling and noodle restaurant that has replaced Watari Express at 10544 Jasper Avenue.
• Wing Snob, an American-based chain, is opening its first location in Canada in the Brewery District (11988-104 Avenue).
• Chain Leopold’s Tavern will be opening in the revamped Strathcona Hotel this summer.

Closures

• Holt’s Cafe closed on December 28. Liane wrote a beautiful tribute to the restaurant, incorporating the memories of lunching with her mother.
• The Woodrack Cafe relocated to Old Strathcona, but that meant closing their original location at 7603 109 Street.

Upcoming Events

• There’s still time to enter Deep Freeze Fest’s tourtière baking contest on January 12, 2020! The deadline to enter is January 11.
• Chinatown Dining Week runs January 9-19, 2020. The event showcases 16 businesses in Chinatown who are offering $18 multi-course dinners or $10 take-away deals.
• Silver Skate will be putting on a series of Long Table Dinners from February 7-17, 2020, featuring a number of Edmonton, Calgary, and Saskatoon-based chefs. Tickets for the 4-5 course dinners are $150 per person.

Reviews

• Graham enjoyed his visit to Dorinku Osaka, stating that their “lunch menu [was] a true winner.”
• The Journal raved about Fox Burger’s addition to the Highlands neighbourhood.
• Avenue tried out China Burger’s namesake dish.
• Stephanie had a mixed experience at Huma.

Local News

• Chef Lindsay Porter will be back at El Cortez in February with a new menu!
• Phil (aka Baconhound) pulled together a list of Edmonton’s most notable restaurant openings in 2019.
• As always, Liane put together a great wrap-up of the Edmonton food scene in 2019.
• Graham’s round up of 2019 in food emphasizes the success of more casual restaurants and food delivery. In the piece, he also shares that Black Box Hospitality sold Little Brick.
• Skip the Dishes shared some of their 2019 data, listing Rice Bowl Deluxe, Mikado Sushi and Robata and Panini’s Italian Cucina as the most popular local restaurants.
• Onward to 2020, Global Edmonton tackles the trends to watch for this year, including meatless meals, ghost kitchens, and low or no-alcohol options.
• Speaking of ghost kitchens, Avenue features a couple of business owners who have, or will be bringing the concept to Edmonton.
• Where Edmonton’s January/February 2020 issue features their annual Where to Dine awards. The People’s Choice award for Best New Restaurant went to Woodshed Burgers.
• Linda started a new Food Crawl series and starts with recommending 4 places to eat in Chinatown.
• Sharon shared photologs of her recent visits to Menjiro Ramen and Nara Chicken and Tonkatsu.
• Chef Ryan Hotchkiss is currently the National Arts Centre’s Resident Chef, cooking up “modern cuisine inspired by local ingredients and culinary history of Western Canada.”
• 1st RND celebrates five years in business, and is on its way to opening its first location in the US.

Beyond Edmonton

• The National Post numbered 10 of the biggest food trends of the past decade.

What I Ate

• While I wasn’t intending on taking a break from the blog over the holidays, with family in town, it was a nice excuse to relax! It also meant we ate really well, and perhaps indulged a little too much. We started with a family brunch at OEB, which seems to have become a tradition for us.

My usual order of Confit de Canard

• We also introduced some of my family to one of our Downtown favourites – Love Pizza! Emily is a fan.

Our Meatatarian standard at LovePizza

• My sister Amanda then introduced us to her favourite donair in the city, which she has to have while in town. Mack and I had never been to Swiss Donair, but clearly, based on the line-ups that day, it is well-known to the Edmonton community. We were amazed at how fast they were.

Mack attempted to finish the jumbo-size donair at Swiss Donair

• We had a pretty great meal at Langano Skies; with such a big group, we were able to sample many of their meat and vegetarian dishes (I particularly loved the split peas with curry).

Our beautiful platter from Langano Skies

• We also had a chance to finally try the “bring your own soup pot”-style bun bo Hue from Calgary-based Bun Bo Hue Deli. Even after six generous bowls, the $40 pot my sister brought back yielded enough leftovers for at least another meal for four.

Home-style bun bo Hue!