Openings
- Edmonton has its first location of BeaverTails, a chain serving up deep fried dough served with a variety of sweet or savoury toppings. Find BeaverTails at 10534 82 Avenue.
- Boba InfiniTEA is now open at 8115 Gateway Blvd, Unit 106, and offers “traditional Taiwanese bubble tea infused with Filipino and Japanese tastes”.
- The folks behind Mockups Mocktails and Token Bitters are teaming up to open Edmonton’s first fully zero-proof cocktail bar called Split. In addition to the bar, Split will also offer mocktail classes and curated retail offerings including mocktail kits.
- Jinya Ramen Bar, a chain with locations across the US as well as Calgary and Vancouver, is coming to Edmonton (10037 109 Street).
- L’OCA Quality Market, a grocery store which will also feature two full-service restaurants, has announced an opening date of May 10, 2024. It is located at 340 Baseline Road in Sherwood Park.
- Kasey Ramen, which has been rebranded as Menya Mori, a name that better represents the team now operating the business, has announced that they are also opening a restaurant.
- Slap Shot Restaurant and Bar will replace the former Northern Chicken location on 104 Street…just in time for the Oilers playoff run.
- Another location of the bubble tea chain Tiger Sugar is coming to West Edmonton Mall this summer.
Closures
- Gaya, a Korean restaurant that has operated near the University of Alberta campus for over 20 years, will be closing after the owners decided to retire. Their final day of business will be April 26, 2024.
Local News
- Pazzo Pazzo is re-opening on April 8 after a closure since January to repair the damage from a fire. They are also celebrating their 20th anniversary, and are offering a 20% discount this week.
- Happy second birthday to Fu’s Repair Shop!
- Dolly’s is now serving up brunch on Sundays.
- The current issue of Modern Luxuria profiles the flavours of Lil’ Wolf.
- There are so few people writing food reviews in Edmonton right now that it was a breath of fresh air to stumble upon Allan Suddaby’s blog. In a past life, we volunteered together on food-related endeavours, and Allan’s knowledge on food has always surpassed mine. His approach to capturing the essence of and his experience at local restaurants is vivid, articulate, and memorable. Check out his most recent piece about Steel Wheels.
- Edify checked out several establishments, including NV Restaurant and Bar, Rob’s Famous Fried Chicken, and CQ Noodle.
- The owners of Gratitude Coffee in Sherwood Park have enjoyed the process of welcoming customers since opening back in November.
- Malina Bakery shared a raw post about how they reacted to a Google review criticizing their prices.
- The Edmonton Urban Farm will be tentatively relocated east of Borden Park, as its current area will be redeveloped into housing.
What I Ate
- I ate really well this last week, including a catch-up with a friend at Happy and Olive. The place was absolutely hopping on Friday night. I heartily enjoyed the burger (that tomato jam!) and fries.
Happy burger from Happy and Olive
- We had a work lunch at Padmanadi. It’s been a while since I’ve had their ginger beef, but it always hits the spot.
Ginger beef lunch set from Padmanadi
- We also brought some sweet and savoury treats to family who welcomed a new baby recently – the Farrow donuts were irresistible (we also brought heartier freezer meals from Culina, too).
Donuts from Farrow
Only Here for the Food 