Best Restaurants and Favourite Plates Highlighted in Local Publications
Avenue Edmonton and The Tomato released their annual lists of Best Restaurants and Top 100 Best Things to Eat or Drink in Edmonton, respectively (disclosure: I was one of the judges on Avenue’s panel).
On the Avenue side, three restaurants were included in the “best new” category: Partake, Fox Burger, and Braven. In addition, the five restaurants in the “best overall” category shouldn’t be a surprise, given their inclusion on lists prior: Biera, RGE RD, Uccellino, Bundok, Corso 32. Other categories this year include “best plant-based”, “best diners”, and “best quick meal”.
In The Tomato, it’s no small coincidence that the restaurants behind the top five dishes on their list match Avenue’s “best overall” category: Biera, Corso 32, RGE RD, Bundok, and Uccellino. This year, The Tomato has also included a list of their Top Edmonton Food Experiences.
Openings
- We can expect an Edmonton location of Jack’s Burger Shack to open in the fall. They were the winners of Rohit’s competition The Cut, which saw local businesses compete for the chance to become a tenant in their Stadium Yards development (located behind the Stadium LRT station).
- The Italian Centre Shop will be opening up its fourth location in the Edmonton area, with a Sherwood Park branch in the Emerald Hills Urban Village planned for Fall 2021. They are also planning a second store in southwest Calgary to open next fall, and expanding to Saskatoon in the future.
- Another new bubble tea chain has arrived in Edmonton – ShareTea is now open in Edmonton City Centre Mall (10200 102 Avenue), in the space formerly occupied by Second Cup.
Upcoming Events
- The Environmental and Conservation Sciences Students’ Association is hosting a free Climate Friendly Food Workshop on March 5, 2020. Camola Sustainable Foods will be on hand with samples of their edible insect products.
- The 20th annual Taste of the Chamber, put on by the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, takes place on March 10, 2020 at the Jubilee Auditorium. General admission tickets are $25, not including food and beverage sample tickets.
- Cafe Bicyclette’s annual Sugar Shack Dinners (served in a wood-fired heated tent) return every weekend from March 13 until April 4, 2020. Tickets for the 5-course menu are $75 each.
- The next Green Drinks on March 18, 2020 is all about “how our food systems are changing the climate and how we can adapt those systems to survive the climate emergency.” Tickets are priced at pay-what-you-can up to $15.
Reviews
- Leduc Nguyen has a new go-to place for Korean Fried Chicken – Country Coco.
- Graham Hicks sampled Japanese fare from two restaurants – Gyu-Kaku and Kobachi. He was pleasantly surprised by the former, and disappointed by the latter.
Local News
- The current economy and coronavirus fears have led to a drop in business in Edmonton’s Chinatown.
- Edgar Guiterrez shared that he is leaving Tres Carnales and Rostizado to focus on Kanto 98 St. full time.
- To commemorate their 10th anniversary, Duchess Bake Shop is bringing back several of their pastry classics for one day each starting this week.
- Both Cask and Barrel and El Cortez revamped their menus over the last few weeks.
- It’s great to see a collaboration between Love Pizza and Otto – they teamed up to create the March feature pizza.
- The latest episode of Josh Eats Edmonton sees the host travel to Japan, via Dorinku Osaka.
- Avenue highlights the genesis behind and objective of Fresh Routes, a mobile grocery social enterprise.
What I Ate
- A cold snuck up on me last week so I headed to my trusty (work) neighbourhood T and D Noodle House for my go-to cure.
Bun Bo Hue from T and D Noodle House
- Mack and I finally tried On the Edge Coffee, one of the vendors at the Downtown Edmonton Farmers’ Market. They use beans sourced from The Grizzlar.
On the Edge Coffee
- We tucked into some take-out burritos from La Mision last week – it’s always great to know they’re close by if we need dinner in a pinch!
Chicken burritos from La Mision
Only Here for the Food 