Food Notes for August 3, 2020

NHL Playoffs Bring Additional Patio Space

Back in May, the City of Edmonton announced relaxed guidelines that allowed food establishments to more seamlessly open or expand patios. In the months that followed, it was great to see increased vibrancy on the sidewalks and streets.

The start of the NHL playoffs on August 1, 2020 has added another layer to this, as restaurants and pubs scramble to attract hockey fans seeking socially distant options to watch games. Many establishments that weren’t previously equipped with screens have adopted them for this purpose.

Campio Brewing was already equipped with a sizable patio, but for the playoffs, the brewpub has more than doubled their outdoor space. They’ve turned their adjacent surface parking lot into a so-called “Beer Arena”, with picnic tables and a big screen and speakers.

While it’s unlikely these transformations will be permanent (though in New York, they’re already planning for street closures beginning June 1, 2021), the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic means they may need to be in place beyond this season. And urbanists can dream that more long-term changes are possible.

COVID-19-related News

• Ra Bar, located in the McLeod Building, re-opened on August 1, 2020. They had only opened for two weeks before COVID-19 shut them down; they serve Japanese, Korean, and French fusion.

Openings

• Yelo’d is now slinging Filipino-inspired scooped ice cream in their Sosyal Scoops food truck!
• Winston’s Fish and Chips has added a food truck to their business.

Closures

• Doppio Zero Pizza (the retooled Kanu Cafe) is now closed.
• The Empress Ale House in Old Strathcona has closed.

Upcoming Events

• If you’re missing your Heritage Days fix, the virtual format of their festival this year connects with 35 restaurants representing a variety of countries/cultures/regions. Menus will be available for the month of August.
• The Edmonton Ski Club will be hosting food trucks from August 6-9, 2020, and will feature live music, too.
• 7 Edmonton and area restaurants will be participating in Alberta on the Plate, which features fixed price menus with dishes created using local ingredients. The event runs August 7-16, 2020.
• Participating farms and events are now listed on the Alberta Open Farm Days website, running August 15-16, 2020 this year.
• The annual Capital Care Foundation fundraiser Feast on the Field has transitioned to Feast on YOUR Field on August 19, 2020 this year, offering pick-up or (for larger groups) delivery of a meal to enjoy at home. Tickets start at $95.

Local News

• Bon Ton Bakery has a beautiful new website to allow for curbside pick-up to skip the line. It’s great to see local businesses stepping up their online game.
• The people who hope to rebuild the Transit Hotel have started a crowdfunding campaign to help their efforts. Their renovation plans include a smokehouse restaurant. They reached their $5,000 goal and have increased their next milestone to $7,000.
• Chartier in Beaumont is now closed for a few weeks to undergo renovations.
• Guilt Free Eats is enjoying their hectic time inside Edmonton’s NHL bubble.
• The hockey reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tried the comfort food from The Local Omnivore from the bubble.
• Costco has now rolled out a delivery option at 76 stores across Canada through Instacart, including in Edmonton.
• Where Edmonton’s new Edmonton City Guide is now available (though given the current circumstances checking websites for opening updates would be advised).
• Have you considered eating your weeds? “Wild eating” is a growing trend, says one local.

Beyond Edmonton

• Would you consider subscribing to a restaurant? Panera in the US offered subscriptions for unlimited coffees at a cost of $8.99 per month.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• The Alberta Farmers’ Market Association is offering some cash prizes for those sharing on social media what they’ve created using products purchased at local markets. Entries are accepted until August 16, 2020.

What I Ate

• On Fridays we picnic, or at least, that’s what we’ve tried to do this summer. We enjoyed the chicken katsu sandwich and patty melt from our new favourite neighbourhood spot, Rosewood Foods.

Rosewood Foods in Churchill Square

• To help beat the heat, Mack, Emily, and I donned our masks to pick up some gelato from La Carraia this weekend.

La Carraia

• The Edmonton Eats event that was to showcase Somali cuisine was postponed back in March. Organizers re-tooled the event to be delivered virtually, with videos to be watched and food delivered to be enjoyed from the comfort of our own homes. Everything was delicious: the salad, while simple, was so refreshing; and the Somali rice was tasty. I think more explicit instructions or details about the food would be an improvement to consider for future events (it may not be common knowledge, for instance, that the bananas were meant to be eaten alongside the main course), but overall I was really impressed with the transition to a different format.

Our Edmonton Eats spread