Openings
- Chain Castella Cheesecake is now open at West Edmonton Mall (Phase 1), serving up Japanese-style pastries. It is their second Alberta location.
- Fat Fox, a new ghost kitchen offering Nashville hot chicken, is now open.
- Crumbl has announced the March 31 opening date of their Edmonton store (the first in Canada). Find them at 5041 Mullen Road.
- New brewery Polyrhythm Brewing opened at 11635 145 Streeton March 15, 2023.
- Darling will be opening their permanent location in April at 9616 82 Avenue.
- Calgary-based Community Natural Foods will be opening up in Edmonton with a store in Old Strathcona in June 2023.
Closures
- I was so sad to learn that A Bite of Brazil is permanently closing. It was a favourite stop of ours for their addictive cheese bread. Their last day is March 29, 2023.
- Violet Chocolate Company also announced their closure. They do not yet have a set date. They launched a Nostalgia Collection featuring their favourite flavours.
Local News
- Chartier announced that their bakery will be expanding to the Nisku Business & Economic Centre.This will allow Chartier to expand their in-house offerings and offer more wholesale options for other restaurants.
- Fawkes Coffee is relocating their pop-up shop from Saskatchewan Drive back to 104 Street. It will re-open on March 29.
- Congratulations to Noodle Feast on ten years in business.
- Happy first birthday to Stopgap Coffee!
- A group, including chef Eric Hanson, are looking for investors and crowdfunding for a project called Tabby’s. It “will be the home of Burlesque, Pole, Aerial, Poetry, Drag, Variety Shows and Live music. Tabby’s will also be a place for Edmontons food and cocktail scene to continue to flourish.”
- Taproot looked into the reasons behind the increase in butcher shops in the Edmonton area.
- In addition to hitting up local spot Hanjan, Simu Liu also enjoyed dinner at Fu’s Repair Shop while in town to host the Juno Awards.
- Also while in town for the Juno Awards, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger named Burger Baron as his favourite place to grab a bite in Edmonton.
- Linda (who just had a baby!) published a great guide to Vietnamese restaurants in Edmonton.
- The Journal has more behind PhatBar’s goal to become a late-night dessert destination.
- Stratus Journal put together a mini-documentary about Kasey Ramen.
- Phil’s latest Best Dish column featured Barbacoa in Spruce Grove.
- JustCook Kitchens has rebranded to Epic: “we needed a new name and brand that better resonated with our end customers: the foodies and bon-vivants coming to eat, drink, and enjoy good times at 5th St (and soon Station Park).”
- CBC had a story about the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market’s renovation plans (I wrote a similar story back in May of last year).
What I Ate
We took our annual staycation at Prairie Creek Inn last week, so I took a week off from the blog.
- Before we left, we took advantage of several Downtown Dining Week deals. Mack and I stole away for lunch at Continental Treat. It was our first time at the restaurant, and the special enabled us to try their famous dill pickle soup. It is definitely worth a try, alongside their excellent potato salad.
Schnitzel from Continental Treat
- We also ordered take-out from BaoBao, Dagu, and Tiffin – given my parents are still avoiding dining indoors, it was great for these restaurants to honour the deals for take-away.
Takeaway from BaoBao, Dagu, and Tiffin
- As noted above, we were big fans of A Bite of Brazil’s cheese bread. While the bread will still be available at Pampa, it really isn’t the same as being able to grab some warm bread to enjoy alongside some coffee. We made sure to stock up.
A Bite of Brazil freezer stores
- Our staycations always involve as many local meal kits as I can find. This time around, we took along Golomein, Battista’s Calzones, Meat Street Pies, and Kasey Ramen.
Kasey Ramen tonkotsu
- Breakfasts at Prairie Creek are always epic, as Emily can attest. We enjoyed feasting on hot breakfasts every morning during our stay.
Emily with one of our many Prairie Creek breakfasts
Only Here for the Food 