In-Person Dining Permitted to Resume
Last week, the Alberta Government announced that due to declining hospitalizations, certain restrictions would be lifted. This includes permitting in-person dining as of February 8, 2021, as long as hospitalizations remain below 600.
The guidelines in place are similar to those introduced back in November, and limit 6 individuals to a table from the same household or two close contacts for those living alone. Liquor service must also end at 10pm and in-person dining by 11pm. A new requirement is the need for the establishment to collect contact information from one person in the dining party.
Some restaurants have already announced that they will be opening on February 8, 2021, including Braven and Dalla. Others, such as Pho Tau Bay, are gearing up to open in March.
Many restaurants have announced that they will remain closed to in-person dining in spite of the change in restrictions. These businesses include Northern Chicken, Cartago, and Jack’s Burger Shack, who shared:
“On Feb 8th we will not be opening our dining room. The reality is our restaurant is just too small to serve everyone safely. At the end of the day, the safety of our staff and guests is paramount. We are suffering along with all other restaurants; we went from a bustling room to only being able to take 40 orders a night before we are sold out of pick times, to avoid overcrowding. Regardless of the impact, we will continue to only provide take out at this time.”
COVID-19-related News
- Guru’s Ice District location has re-opened for pick-up and delivery.
- Several restaurants in rural Alberta chose to defy public health orders and opened for in-person dining last week.
- Fox Burger talked about the ups and downs of running a restaurant during COVID-19 with ATB Financial.
Openings
- New vegetarian restaurant Palette Cafe is now open in Old Strathcona at 10047 80 Avenue.
- Hey Croffle is open in the Premium Outlet Collection by the Edmonton International Airport, serving up croissant waffles. Sharon enjoyed her croffles.
- Freson Brothers is opening a store in Edmonton proper on March 5, 2021 at 5139 Mullen Road.
- Jess noticed Phoenix Diner coming soon to 10803 Jasper Avenue.
- Ghost kitchen Flying Burrito is now open.
Closures
- Careit’s Downtown location in the Fox Tower is closing on February 5, 2021.
Upcoming Events
- The Edmonton Intercultural Centre is hosting a series of free virtual cooking classes from February 4 – May 6, 2021, with cuisines ranging from Bengali, Sudanese, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
- The next Edmonton Eats event on February 12-14, 2021 celebrates honey in all its forms, and features recipes for honey marinade, honey vinegar dressing, and honey cake. Tickets are $75 per household.
- Milk Crate is hosting two virtual cooking classes on February 13, 2021, one for women seeking men/men seeking women, and a second for LGBTQ2 community members. Tickets are $30.
- Deep Freeze is taking place this year, but with many modifications due to the pandemic. One such change is their annual tourtiere contest, which will be a recipe draw instead of a tasting competition. Share your recipes with the festival by e-mail and be entered to win a prize. The submission deadline is February 14 2021.
Local News
- Have you ever dreamed of trying that famous dish from iconic movie Big Night (aka Timpano)? Dalla is making it easy to assemble it at home with a kit – pre-order for pick-ups on February 5.
- It’s always great to see collaboration between local businesses, and this looks like a delicious one: LovePizza’s feature pizza for February was created by none other than the folks behind Drift Food Truck!
- Sharon has a round-up of some new home-based bakeries she’s tried.
- CBC featured the family behind west end’s home-based business Bicycle Bakery.
- Twyla recaps the list of Valentine’s Day treats she provided on Edmonton AM.
- Banquet halls will be among the last to re-open due to public health restrictions, but many are trying to stay afloat by offering take-home meals. The Santa Maria Gorreti Centre is among them, and offers multi-course meals and an extravagant Valentine’s Day meu.
- The Burger Brawl ghost kitchen (operating out of DOSC) has been very well-received, reports CTV Edmonton.
- Nisku restaurant Saskitoba Diner put out a desperate plea on social media to help them make it through the month and were floored by the public support.
- Global was the latest to cover ch. cafeteria, a cafe and chocolate shop that opened last year.
- Did you know that Joey’s Fish and Chips rebranded to Joey’s Fish Shack?
- Daily Hive has a listicle of 7 independent spots for take-out.
- Edmontonian Mai Nguyen is one of three Albertans vying for redemption on MasterChef.
- Sea Change Brewery raised over $13,000 for Edmonton’s Food Bank after running a $1 growler-fill promotion.
Beyond Edmonton
- Would you try candy-flavoured Kraft Dinner?
Urban Agriculture and Farming
- The Craft Beef Company is offering a new approach to direct-to-consumer meat, allowing customers to choose beef, pork, poultry, and bison based on what the animal was fed.
What I Ate
- Last week, we were fortunate to receive a gifted Meuwly’s Secret Meat Club package to help celebrate their fourth birthday. The bag includes charcuterie, sausage, condiments, and their house-made Fleur Jaune cheese. We tried the Cassonade sausage over the weekend, and it is some of the best sausage we’ve had in some time. First time subscribers can get 30% off their first month’s subscription by using the promo code SMCTURNS4, valid until February 15.
Secret Meat Club package from Meuwly’s
- We got our annual fill of Love Pizza’s mac and cheeza on Friday – it’s one of the rare things to look forward to in January!
Mac and cheeza from Love Pizza
- We were so spoiled by a gifted curbside brunch from the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald this weekend. It was a sneak peek of their new menu created by new Executive Chef Jiju Paul. The crispy chicken (buttermilk marinated crispy chicken, smoked bacon, mushrooms, hash brown potatoes, and fried eggs) was our favourite, so flavourful and crunchy even after the ride home. The menu launches to the public on February 6.
Crispy chicken from the Hotel Mac
- One of the best things about living in #yegdt is the diversity of small businesses within walking distance. For Emily’s birthday, we ordered cupcakes from My Cupcake Mama, housed in the Don Wheaton YMCA (and the COVID-19 pivot of Maka Eatery). They were fantastic to work with, and the cupcakes were delicious and not too sweet (their Swiss meringue buttercream is a nice alternative to super sweet icing). I’d definitely recommend them, as would Emily!
Cupcakes from My Cupcake Mama
Only Here for the Food 