Openings

• Backstairs Burger will be re-opening in a standalone location at 11010 51 Avenue (they most recently operated out of the 5th Street Food Hall). They are planning a July 5 grand opening.
• New Japanese restaurant Tansen Izakaya is now open at 11044 82 Avenue. All orders are 20% off until the end of June.
• Moonga Nori, offering “Edmonton’s first hand maki bar” soft opened last week. Find them at 10347 82 Avenue.
• Come Find Me has opened in the courtyard of Take Care Cafe (where Darling Wine Bar operated before moving to their permanent space). Find their small plates and drinks at 9621 82 Avenue.
• It’s great to see that there are still food businesses transitioning from (or adding) brick and mortar shops after operating food trucks. The latest to join this club is White Rabbit Ice Cream, who has opened at 10546 110 Street.
• New bubble tea shop Teaspot is now open at 16761 91 Street, Unit 205.
• Calgary-based Lloyd’s Patty Distro, serving up Jamaican patties, is now open in Edmonton at 10534 111 Street.
• Rollz Ice Cream, an Ontario-based chain of rolled ice cream, opened up a location in Edmonton at 6864 Ellerslie Road SW.
• The Arbour will be opening in the former Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria space on Whyte. They aim for a July 4 opening.
• Also coming soon is La Prosciutteria, which will feature wine, charcuterie, sandwiches, and pastries.

Upcoming Events

• The North Edge is hosting its own dining event called YEG Food Fiesta. It runs from June 9-July 2. There are nine participating restaurants, most offering specials priced at $18. Restaurants include The Lingnan, Mesob Habesha Fusion, Die Pie, Acajutla, and Sarap Sarap.

Local News

• Battista’s Calzone is temporarily closed because they did not renew their business license with the city. They are also facing the need for upgrades to the restaurant, but hope to re-open.
• Taproot featured Old Strathcona restaurant Marlo and the forthcoming bibo Wine Bar in a story about independent restaurants opening in the neighbourhood.
• It’s the end of an era: Christine Sandford departs Biera after a seven year run. During that time, she helped bring much renown to the Ritchie restaurant. Taking over the post of head chef is the very talented Davina Moraiko, formerly of RGE RD.
• Happy fifth birthday to Yelo’d!
• El Mero Mero is celebrating their first birthday on June 30 with live music, a Latin vendor market, and salsa lessons, among other specials and festivities.
• Edify checked out Nowhere Wine Bar and the new digs of Fu’s Repair Shop.
• K-Days has released their new food menu, which features ketchup and mustard ice cream, and Kool-Aid chicken burgers. K-Days runs July 21-30, 2023.
• Polar Park Brewing Company has been resurrected (minus the brewpub). Their first beer, the Championship Pilsner, is available at Edmonton Stingers’ home games.
• Uproot Foods is crowdfunding for additional investment. They have raised $207,000 so far.
• The B’nai Brith Youth Organization held another successful Montreal bagel fundraiser, as 17,280 St. Viateur bagels were shipped to Edmonton two weeks ago.
• Seeds for Seniors is looking for volunteers to help tend to gardens planted at seniors’ residences and some backyard gardens.

What I Ate

• Our family was away last week visiting one of my favourite places – Sooke, BC. It was the perfect holiday of great hikes, good food, and lots of down time. We hit up some of our usual haunts (Shirley Delicious, Wild Mountain, Stoked Pizzeria), but found some new gems as well.

There’s something comforting about being able to order the same dish at Shirley Delicious even after a couple of years away

It’s an understatement to say Emily loved this intense rhubarb and strawberry sorbet from Wild Mountain – it tasted like summer in a scoop

There’s something about enjoying Stoked Pizzeria in the sun

The food truck East Sooke Eats surprised us with the most value-forward but tasty meal we had – the smash burger was perfect, and the ling cod tacos were super fresh

• Back home, it’s been a whirlwind few days, with many surprise birthday festivities. A special dinner at May yielded this tasty pickerel dish, and tempura oyster mushrooms worth returning for.

Cornmeal crusted pickerel from May

Openings

• Nowhere Wine Bar opens on June 13, 2023 at 12315 102 Avenue, led by Chef Filliep Lament, formerly of Cafe Linnea.
• Ukraine’s Kitchen by Free Store, a food business run by Ukrainian newcomers who fled Russia, now has their own location. It is located in Butchers and Packers, 12225 Fort Road.
• Bagel Bar announced that they will be opening a standalone location soon on the south side on 99 Street.

Closures

• The Japanese Village on 104 Street closed at the end of May. They continue to operate three locations in the Edmonton area.
• Von’s has closed its southside location but will be re-opening downtown this summer.

Events

• The popular 5@Circque (Circus Happy Hour) takes place during the Alberta Circus Arts Festival on June 23 at Cafe Bicyclette. Expect performances and your drink might be poured with flair. No registration is required.

Local News

• It’s so great to see when local business band together, as in the case of Hop Pocket, a collection of eight breweries in the 124 Street area (similar to Happy Beer Street on the south side). They will be hosting events and cross-promoting each other.
• Boyle McCauley News reviewed Filipino restaurant RJ Tasty Bites, located in Chinatown.
• Edify checks out Feng Donburi, Sabor los Andes, and Fuzion Donuts.
• Twyla featured Toast Culture and Birch and Bear Pizza in this month’s issue of Modern Luxuria.
• I love this idea from Kind Ice Cream – they offer kids cone tokens that can be redeemed at any of their shops.
• Jacek Chocolate partnered with Sherwood Park’s You Need a BBQ to produce a chocolate BBQ rub, just in time for Father’s Day.
• Crowds turned out for the opening of Alberta’s largest Community Natural Foods last week, located in Old Strathcona.

What I Ate

A heads up that there will be no Food Notes next week as I will be away on vacation – enjoy the summer weather!

• It’s been too long since I enjoyed a coffee on Credo’s streetside patio on 104 Street. Shaded in the afternoon, it’s a lovely spot even during this heat wave.

Credo Coffee

• We celebrated Father’s Day early with my Dad, and he requested a feast from Meat. Their brisket was especially on point.

Take-out from Meat

• We were #hosted at Fu’s Repair Shop’s new location at 10524 Jasper Avenue last week. The space is bigger, with an adjacent event venue called Double Dragon, but manages to retain the speakeasy vibe they created at the first spot. The cocktails sure went down easy (and I do appreciate that most can be made non-alcoholic!). Their XLB soup dumplings were tasty, and I enjoyed the chow ho fun with confit duck. I hope to be back soon!

Lychee martini and butterfly tea sour from Fu’s Repair Shop

Openings

• Fu’s Repair Shop is relocating to the former Station on Jasper space (10524 Jasper Avenue) and will re-open on June 10. The move will allow Fu’s to expand their kitchen. They will share a space with Double Dragon, which opens on June 9.
• Dolly’s Cocktail Bar will be taking over the space vacated by Fu’s at 9902 109 Street in July 2023, and will be operated by the folks behind Fu’s and The Common.
• Japonais’ Windermere location opened on the weekend, located at 6138 Currents Drive.
• MilkCrate has expanded with a second location Downtown, re-opening the Ghostlight coffee kiosk located in the Citadel Theatre. Their hours are currently Monday to Friday, 7am-3:30pm.
• Calgary-based Community Natural Foods, a store that offers organic and locally-sourced grocery items along with body and home care products, will open its first Edmonton location on June 9 at 7917 104 Street.
• Microbrewery Manual Labour Beer Co. is now open in Sherwood Park.
• Spruce Grove-based pizza shop Canadian Pies will be opening a location in Edmonton on 104 Street.
• Krispy Kreme will return to Alberta (they had a previous location in Calgary) in 2024 with a location in Edmonton on Gateway Boulevard and Calgary Trail. This announcement prompted some on social media to remind everyone of the locally-owned doughnut shops to support in the city.

Closures

• Seitans will be focusing on their standalone Die Pie location and as a result, will no longer have an outpost at Dine Epic’s 5th Street Food Hall. Their menu items will be offered at Die Pie, however! On a related note, the 5th Street Food Hall is closed from June 5-9 for maintenance and upgrades.

Upcoming Events

• The Friends of the Royal Alberta Museum Society’s next Dining with Authors event highlights Karen Anderson’s new cookbook Eat Alberta First. Tickets are $89.27 and include 3 courses prepared by Culina’s Brad and Cindy Lazarenko using recipes from the book. The event will take place at Culina’s new location in McCauley.
• Campio’s second annual Lagerfest features 19 Alberta breweries and will take place on June 8.
• VegFest returns to Borden Park for its third annual festival on June 24, from 11am-7pm. The event will feature plant-based food, speakers, and a marketplace.

Local News

• Transit Smokehouse & BBQ shared on social media that they need more support: “Transit is in a tough place now financially…A few more bad months this year and we may have to close our doors.”
• Bloom Cookie is relocating to Gold Bar (50 Street and 106 Avenue) because their lease on 124 Street is ending. The new space has ample parking, is accessible, and will allow them to expand their menu to include coffee and snacks. They hope for a mid-July opening date.
• In honour of Pride Month, many local businesses are offering special menu items, with some proceeds going to local LGBTQ2S+ organizations. This includes Kind Ice Cream’s Gay OK ice cream, supporting OUTlaw’s Trans ID Clinic, and District Cafe’s rainbow biscotti and cookie that will support the Edmonton Pride Centre.
• Edmonton grocery delivery startup Atadel helps underserved communities access specialty food items.
• The building that housed the Union Bank Inn has been purchased again, and will be renovated over the next year to accommodate hotel suites and a first floor restaurant.
• A full-service grocery called Tesoro will be opening in southwest Edmonton. To be designed by CKDesign, it will be anchored by the Italian Bakery and include a deli, pasta bar, cafe, and produce.
• The winners of the inaugural Edmonton Tourism Awards included the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market for business of the year and Taste of Edmonton for event of the year.
• Speaking of Taste of Edmonton, advance tickets for the festival are available from now until July 20. The festival runs July 20-30 this summer.
• Congratulations to Brio Bakery staff Judy Lan who won the gold medal in baking at the 2023 Skills Canada National Competition in Winnipeg.
• Farmers really are at the mercy of weather, as can be seen in the case of Reclaim Farm, whose crops were heavily damaged by hail and rain last week.
• The Mustard Seed continues to see an increased demand for their meal programs, as inflation makes it difficult for folks to make ends meet.

What I Ate

• Emily, Elizabeth, and I tagged along with Mack to Calgary for most of last week while he was attending a conference. It was our first time back since the pandemic, so we had lots of ground to cover! We hit up some of our old favourites, including Blue Star Diner and ChixEgg Shop, and discovered a new one in JinBar. Until next time, Calgary!

Emily returns to Blue Star Diner

Breakfast at ChixEgg Shop

Amazing Korean fried chicken at JinBar

• We were back in time to check out the Downtown Spark block party over the weekend, and the highlight for me was being able to again enjoy the Fairmont Macdonald’s famous scone (they were absent from the Taste of Edmonton last year, where they usually serve up this dish). I may have also ordered a second one to go…

Fairmont Mac’s scone at Downtown Spark