Food Notes for May 24, 2021

Local Business Prairie Catering Takes Over Art Gallery of Alberta Restaurant

Prairie Catering has partnered with the Art Gallery of Alberta to exclusively operate their food service, events, and facility bookings. This will include the space that houses Zinc Restaurant.

In the press release, Prairie Catering owner Jimmy Shewchuk said:

“Our goal with the new space is to inspire and usher in a new wave of hospitality concepts in Edmonton. Considering the disruption throughout the pandemic to the hospitality industry, I believe we have a unique opportunity for new ideas to emerge as we experience yet another hospitality renaissance.”

When public health guidelines permit, Prairie Catering plans to host food pop-ups.

Prairie Catering operates Say Uncle, and has been providing food and beverage services at the Edmonton Valley Zoo since 2019. In April, they announced that all areas of the Zoo where food and beverages are permitted are now licensed for alcohol consumption.

When it first opened in 2010, Zinc was operated by The Compass Group, a multi-national company that provides foodservices in various sectors including universities, hospitals, and work camps. When the pandemic shuttered restaurants in March 2020, Zinc temporarily shut its doors, but never did reopen even after restrictions lifted in the summer. The last chef who helmed the restaurant, Doreen Prei, shared in October 2020 that the restaurant had permanently closed.

Openings

• There’s another ghost kitchen in Edmonton called Waffle Bird. It operates out of the High Level Diner on Friday and Saturday nights from 8pm-midnight, and serves up chicken and waffles.
• Iland Vybes Cafe, serving up Jamaican food, is now open at 10027 106 Street (formerly Beans Cafe and Bistro).
• Awn Kitchen has announced an opening date of June 9, 2021. They are located at 104, 5124 122 Street.
• I missed the opening of New Gurkha Indian Restaurant and Bar last fall, in the space that formerly housed Thai Orchid at 4005 Gateway Blvd.

Upcoming Events

• On June 1, 2021, the Edmonton Public Library’s Capital City in Conversation focuses on the eBook launch of Edmonton Eats. Attending the event is free but pre-registration is required.
• For gardeners looking for some tips on everything from worm-based composting to developing better soil, check out the schedule for the upcoming Edmonton Resilience Festival, running June 2-13, 2021 online.

Local News

• Calle Mexico will be rolling out taco stands onto the streets of Edmonton soon!
• You may have heard that the reunion of Friends is airing later this week; local catering company A Capella has jumped on the bandwagon and is offering a Friends-inspired take-and-bake special. The order deadline is May 26 at noon.
• If you needed an excuse to visit Doughnut Party, $1 from each half dozen order will be donated to Edmonton Cat Fest on May 27 and 28, 2021.
• Biera and Blind Enthusiasm have supported 24 charities so far through a weekly curated charcuterie and beer box. Each box sells for $65 (delivery is extra) and $20 from each box is donated to a local charity.
• Simply Supper pivoted last March to exclusively offer pre-assembled meal kit services (dropping their in-person assembly option) and hasn’t looked back.
• EDify checked out the Dosi-Rock food truck.
• Boyle McCauley News had pastries from Shan Shan delivered.
• Alberta quick-service restaurant The Mash has allegedly faced difficulties with the City of Edmonton’s permitting process. They hope to open a restaurant in Edmonton this year.
• #Eat124StBingo, an initiative of Meuwly’s and 124 Grand Market, was featured on CTV.
• Speaking of Meuwly’s, Eat North has a short piece about the story behind their name.
• The Real Estate News EXchange featured Gather Co., the company that owns and has revitalized a number of heritage buildings throughout central Edmonton, including those that house Chef Daniel Costa’s restaurants.
• Alley Kat’s Full Squeeze beer returns, with partial proceeds to be donated to the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose, an organization that supports the LGBTQ2S+ community.
• CBC’s mocktail columnist JoAnne Pearce talked about zero-proof spirits from Western Canadian producers.
• Edmonton’s Nabati Foods started at a farmers’ market and recently just expanded into a larger production facility.
• The John Humphrey Centre created an online emergency food supports map, showing locations of LoveGood Boxes, drop-in food pantries and free food access points, among others.
• The “Pandemic Planting Project” is running a second year; last year, volunteers helped produce nearly 100 pounds of food for Edmonton’s Food Bank. David Benjestorf has expanded the garden this year.
• Domino’s Pizza will make a $5 donation to Edmonton’s Food Bank with the purchase of a combo online using a coupon code.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• Good Worm Garden Program, sometimes called “Tinder for gardening”, is a yard-sharing program that matches yards with gardeners who may not have their own space to grow food.
• The Young Agrarians farm listing map is a website designed to help young and new farmers find farms to rent or buy.

What I Ate

• • Long weekends are made for picnics! We grabbed take-out from Grandin Fish ‘N’ Chips, picked a sunny spot on the Leg grounds, and revelled in the fact that public washrooms are back (porta potties, but still), and that the fountains on the plaza are on for the first time since 2019! Hope you all had an enjoyable long weekend, too.

Dinner for two from Grandin Fish ‘N’ Chips