Local Restaurants Continue to Innovate During Pandemic

It’s been six weeks since the current social restrictions were put into place, with no end in sight. Restaurants have been forced to get even more creative as the length of the pandemic grows, with no choice but to meet the need for diners to eat at home.

Several food businesses have started creating kits for people to build dishes at home – Nomiya is offering tonkotsu ramen kits, El Beso is selling margarita and taco kits, and Meuwly’s makes it easy to bake your own flatbread (with a side of dessert). New businesses have also sprung up to cater to this demand, including Nai Nai Mie’s Indonesian-style tossed noodles.

Others are combining food with (socially distant) events. Chefs from Milk Crate and Why Not are collaborating on a take-out burger battle on April 29, 2020, while Colleen’s Chocolates is leading a virtual chocolate tasting on May 1, 2020. Even food trucks are getting into the mix, with a food truck “drive through” being organized for May 2, 2020.

In other COVID-19 related-news:

• Several restaurants that have been closed for some weeks are returning for limited take-out, including Bundok, Baijiu, and Campio Brewing.
• Zwick’s has partnered with SYC Brewing for craft beer and pretzel delivery.
• Indian Chef, a restaurant in Chapelle, has been offering free meals to anyone in need since April 1. Dil-E-Punjab, a restaurant in Mill Woods, has been serving 25 to 50 meals per day.
• Blue Plate Diner has started selling their supplier’s eggs for pick-up at the restaurant.
• Liane provides some background on how Steve and Dan’s expanded into the grocery delivery business.
• K-Days, Taste of Edmonton, and Heritage Days announced last week that their 2020 events are cancelled.
• Sysco has joined the household grocery market, with their new Sysco@Home service.

Upcoming Events

• The next #EatWithMeEdmonton will be taking place on April 29, 2020, and focuses on businesses in the 124 Street area.
• The Edmonton Resilience Festival has moved online for this year’s iteration; most workshops commence on May 2, 2020, but more are still being added.
• Knifewear is streaming online classes on their social media channels, which include knife skills and cooking classes.
• NAIT is hosting a webinar on the future of plant-based foods on May 21, 2020.

Reviews

• Linda and her husband Mike celebrated his birthday by eating pizzas for a week! She shared his five favourites, but his top pick was Stony Plain’s Atomic Pizza.
• Sharon reviewed Korean-Chinese restaurant Rae Mi Hyang.

Local News

• The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald is offering their afternoon tea to go for pick-up over the Mother’s Day weekend, while Workshop Eatery has put together some timely gift baskets for the occasion.
• A car crashed into Pind Punjab Restaurants and Sweets today; although no one was hurt, the business owner does not know when they might re-open.
• Foodora has announced that they will be closing operations in Canada in May.

Beyond Edmonton

• Restaurants across Canada are uncertain the reliance on third-party delivery apps are tenable to their bottom lines at this time.
• This NYT Magazine feature by Gabrielle Hamilton is a must-read – synthesizing her twenty years in the restaurant business and why her restaurant may not return after the pandemic.
• As some states in the US are permitting restaurants and bars to re-open, the NYT explores how post-pandemic dining might look.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• The Organic Box is partnering with participants in Open Farm Days to deliver three locally-sourced boxes for a limited time this week, in support of Alberta producers.
• Given all of the uncertainty in supply chains, it’s great timing that Sundog Organic will be offering farm box subscriptions this year!
• Supplies of meat across the country are being impacted by meat processing plant shut downs, while there is a glut of some agricultural products, such as milk and potatoes.

What I Ate

• Friday night dinner was take-out from Dynasty Century Palace – they’re offering 30% off all pick-up orders. It was a great excuse to visit a #yegchinatown mainstay and get a walk in as well!

Our order from Dynasty Century Palace

Restaurants Shift to Become Alternative Grocery Stores

To offer diners the convenience of take-out meals and groceries in a single pick-up or delivery, several restaurants have shifted to open up their pantries to customers.

Earls pivoted back in March, offering grocery packs and home essentials. Local Public Eatery has also opened up their shelves and liquor cabinets, calling it The Local Corner Store. OEB has done the same, offering breakfast essentials at their locations.

In other COVID-19-related news:

• The trio of restaurants – The Next Act, Meat, and Pip – have now re-opened for limited take-out and in Pip’s case, oven-ready dinners.
• Dorinku Osaka and Dorinku Tokyo are offering frozen ramen for diners to heat and eat at home.
• Many local breweries have started doing home deliveries to keep their businesses going.
• The Downtown Edmonton Farmers’ Market and Reclaim Farm were featured on Serena Mah’s latest podcast on how they’ve pivoted during the pandemic.
• Edmonton’s only Jollibee location has been forced to close due to issues related to social distancing.
• Kitchen staff laid off from local restaurants have bolstered the volunteer ranks at Meals on Wheels.
• The Cargill meat-processing plant south of Calgary has been temporarily closed after a worker dies.
• Pork producers are concerned about the effects of the pandemic on their bottom line.

Openings

• Wishbone is currently the home of Grey Mare, serving up Chef David Leeder’s burgers and sides.

Upcoming Events

• The next #EatWithMeYEG focuses on the North Edge, and will take place April 22, 2020.
• Canada’s Great Kitchen Party is going virtual on April 22 and 29, 2020. They encourage diners to purchase take-out on those days to support restaurants, then tune in to concerts to be livestreamed.

Reviews

• Both Lydia and Sharon showed much love to Sepp’s Pizza.

Local News 

• The Spring 2020 issue of Eat Local is out, and available to read online. It’s the first issue edited by Twyla Campbell. Among the pieces, they feature the family behind Nature’s Green Acres, and profile longstanding restaurant Bistro Praha.
• Speaking of Twyla, she shared an experience tasting various cheeses from Lakeside Farmstead. Cheesemaker Ian Treuer (formerly of Winding Road) has been experimenting with the milk from Jeff and Coralee Nonay’s cows. The cheeses aren’t commercially available yet.
• The Prairie Dinner Series, an annual fall event, released a mini documentary featuring participating chef Lindsay Porter.
• Maps like this one try to help keep consumers up to date with waiting times at grocery stores and pharmacies.
• If you need some inspiration to bake your own bread at home, consider listening to this podcast featuring home baker Emily Hoven.
• Locally-based app ClickDishes, which allows diners to pre-order and pre-pay for food, has expanded to Japan.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• Good news has been in short supply, so it was great to hear that community gardens have been permitted to operate this summer.
• The St. Albert Farmers’ Market is among the nominees in this year’s Alberta Business Awards of Distinction under the category of Community Attraction.

What I Ate

• We’ve been doing our best to support small businesses in other ways – this week, we ordered from Good Goods Co., which offers an assortment of locally-made foods and beverages. Our box included bread and sourdough starter from Laneway Bakery, coffee beans from Alternate Route and Roasti Coffee, and oats from Strathcona Stoneground Organics.

Our haul from Good Goods Co.

• I’d been craving ramen for a while, so thought this weekend would be an opportune time to (finally!) try Dorinku Osaka. Everything was well packaged to keep the noodles springy, and our pick-up order was 10% off. The tonkotsu was tasty, and Mack enjoyed the shoyu. We’ll be ordering again!

Ramen and sides from Dorinku Osaka

Government of Alberta Allocates $5 Million to Food Supply Efforts

Recognizing the challenges an increasing number of Albertans have with meeting basic needs, on April 10, 2020 the Government of Alberta announced a provision of $5 million to “support Alberta food bank locations, charities, not-for-profits and civil society organizations with their food supply efforts.”

Many local organizations have also been doing their part to support Edmonton’s Food Bank. #YEGTechCares has pulled together 20 companies so far whose salaried staff have pledged the equivalent of one hour of their monthly salary to donate to the Food Bank over the next three months, and a group of Dynalife employees donated $10,000 from their April pay for the Food Bank.

In other COVID-19-related news:

• Smokey Bear has created a take-out/delivery taqueria called Pedro’s. Their first menu featured a collaboration with Biera’s Christine Sanford.
• I’m late to the party, but it’s great to see HanJan and Izakaya Tomo teaming up to offer “mix and match” items from both menus for pick-up and delivery orders.
• In an effort to recreate some of the ambiance of dining out, some restaurants like Blue Plate Diner and Tzin have offered music alongside their take-out, in the form of streamed concert or a playlist.
• It looks like OEB has gone the route of Earls in setting up a marketplace to those interested in picking up some essentials.

Upcoming Events

• Get Cooking continues to deliver virtual cooking workshops, including several free classes this April, such as how to make Asian-inspired pork stock and Asian-braised pork.
• Local author Jennifer Cockrall-King will be leading two upcoming workshops as a part of the Pandemic University School of Writing; 50% of the proceeds will go towards the Canadian Writers’ Emergency Relief Fund. The first, on April 20, 2020, will cover food writing fundamentals, while Cookbook Confidential on May 11, 2020 is intended for aspiring cookbook writers.

Reviews

• Sharon shared her pre-pandemic experience at Shojo Izakaya.

Local News

• Congratulations to all of the breweries recognized in the 2020 Alberta Beer Awards, including Odd Company Brewing, who won gold in the category of New Brewery of the Year, and Campio Brewing Co. who won silver in the Brewery of the Year category. Jason Foster breaks down the trends based on the winners.
• Many people seem to be clamoring for sourdough starter – through Good Goods Co., Laneway Bakery is selling some of their 13 year-old starter.

Beyond Edmonton

• Top Chef Canada debuts its eighth season on April 13. While there are no Edmonton-based competitors, two chefs from Calgary made the cut.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• With so many people thinking and planning for “victory gardens” this year, some may be interested in this free introductory online webinar about permaculture, scheduled for April 14 at 4pm.

What I Ate

• My Chicago-based sister Felicia sent us an Amore Pasta care package last week, featuring fresh pasta, sauces, and bread (the cream sauce was perfectly indulgent, especially when doctored up with some pesto). The whole box has been enough for several meals!

Amore Pasta care package

• We finally gave into the hype and tried Sepp’s Pizza, offering New York-style pies. I appreciated that the crust was thin but sturdy, and the pepperoni is something special. Emily gave it two thumbs up!

Pepperoni and mushroom pizza from Sepp’s

Local Restaurants Launch “Save Hospitality” Campaign

On the heels of the national Save Hospitality campaign launched back in March, local entrepreneurs Katy Ingraham (of Cartago) and Kris Harvey (of Chvrch of John) have spearheaded Save Edmonton Hospitality, under the banner of the Edmonton Independent Hospitality Community.

There is no question that the hospitality industry has taken a massive hit; a recently released Restaurants Canada report states that 95,000 food service jobs were lost in Alberta. Signatories so far represent nearly 60 businesses in the Edmonton area, and their asks include suspension of payments, rent, and one-time cash payments to provide financial stability.

A few of the same signatories also supported the Restaurant Realities campaign launched by Restaurants Canada in February 2019, which called for, among other things, a rollback of benefits to workers, and a reduction of the minimum wage for youth workers.

In other COVID-19-related news:

• While many restaurants that remain open have pivoted to serve comfort food, others have chosen to continue offering refined dishes. These include The Marc, Nineteen XIX, Sabor, Sofra, Tzin, all offering curb-side pick-up.
• On that note, those restaurants, in addition to many others, have chosen to refrain from listing with third-party delivery apps like Skip the Dishes or Uber Eats. Chef Paul Shufelt of Workshop Eatery and Woodshed Burgers took to social media last week to provide information about the significant cost for restaurants to use the apps.
• Lists continue to circulate to provide diners with accessible information about local restaurants to support, including one featuring establishments in and around Chinatown, another focused on Latino restaurants, a list put together by The Tomato, and a list compiled by Avenue of brewers and distilleries that deliver.
• Unfortunately, Woodwork and Bar Clementine had to cease selling their cocktails via pick-up and delivery. They’re hoping AGLC may reconsider. Perhaps to get around their requirements, DOSC has opted to sell cocktail kits instead for people to create drinks at home.
• Many local restaurants are selling #HereForGood t-shirts that will help them during these hard times, including the High Level Diner and Northern Chicken.
• Steve and Dan’s, a familiar BC fruit vendor at many local markets, has launched a grocery delivery service available in the Edmonton area. In addition to offering their own products, they will also deliver items from Lacombe Fresh Vegetables and Effing Seafoods, among others.
• Shojo Izakaya is the latest to offer a 25% discount to Alberta Health Services workers, while Tiffin’s southside locations are offering free food to long-haul truck drivers until April 15.
• Many more companies have pivoted to provide seniors and immunocompromised individuals with free grocery delivery services during the pandemic, including Men with Kilts and the Wolfe Automotive Group.

Openings

• High Dough, Detroit-style pizza from the kitchen of Three Boars, is now available through pick-up.
• Next week, Chef Daniel Costa will be offering “classic New Jersey/Italian cuisine” through his new initiative Zios on Uber Eats.

Upcoming Events

• Events have started to come back online, so to speak – #EatWithMeYEG is a virtual lunch club that has hosted three online gatherings so far to connect people and support local businesses at the same time. They have focused on Chinatown, Old Strathcona, and Downtown in previous events, while their upcoming event on April 8, 2020 will highlight many different communities.
• Green Drinks will be hosting their Food and Climate Change panel online on April 8, 2020. The event is free.
• Campio will be hosting their beer club virtually on April 9, 2020, leading a tasting of 5 different Alberta beers.

Reviews

• Graham Hicks caused a firestorm online last week with his negative review of Saigon Cuisine, with some feeling that the current struggle of the hospitality industry wasn’t appreciated. The review was subsequently taken down that same day.
• Avenue paid a visit to Dorinku Osaka, pre-pandemic, of course. Though the in-person experience is indefinitely suspended, Dorinku, along with DOSC, Japonais, and Seoul Fried Chicken will be offering curated combinations that can be pre-ordered from all of the restaurants. The menus will be launching on April 9 for delivery starting April 12.

Local News

• People looking for take-out Easter dinners have a lot of choices: Smokehouse BBQ is serving up Easter with a Southern twist, more traditional options from Central Social Hall, High Level Diner, Sandy View Farms, Simply Supper, and Woodwork/Bar Clementine. Pre-orders are necessary.
• A 38 year old woman was charged with arson in relation to a fire that destroyed the Chinatown location of the Italian Bakery. Their other location in Beverly had to rebuilt after a fire in 2016; the owners are not certain they can go through that again.
• There seems to be a bread baking renaissance as people embrace the time they have and observe self-isolation protocols. Sourdough starters definitely help with this, and RGE RD has a limited number of breadmakers’ starter kits for sale this week. Alternatively, the chair of the Baking and Pastry Arts program at NAIT provided information on how to make a sourdough starter from scratch.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• The Chatsworth Farm in Vermillion (two hours east of Edmonton) is offering virtual tours of their farm.

What I Ate

• We’ve been avoiding third-party apps in favour of dealing directly with restaurants, recognizing that as a result, more of the profit goes towards these small business owners to help them during these tough times. It might be a little less seamless for the diner, but I think the outcome and food choices make it worthwhile! One example is our take-out dinner from King Noodle House, one of my favourites in the city for pho. They’re now offering take-out from Wednesday to Sunday. We had to bring out or mixing bowls to accommodate all of the broth for the bun bo Hue we ordered, and Emily devoured the spring rolls!

Our King Noodle House order

• We also ordered from Rosewood Foods over the weekend. I loved their use of spices in their chicken shawarma bowl (it was also big enough for a full lunch portion the next day), and their biscuits are the stuff dreams are made of. Emily couldn’t get enough!

Biscuits from Rosewood Foods with rhubarb jam and honey butter