Openings

• Lucky Supermarket is opening their third location in Edmonton (eighth location in Western Canada) on November 28. It is located at 2950 Calgary Trail.
• Tiramisu Bistro has opened up its sister restaurant next door at the Lift Me Up Sandwich Bar, serving up focaccia sandwiches at 12408 108 Avenue.
• The folks behind Panini’s Italian Cucina and Rob’s Famous Fried Chicken have a new ghost kitchen called Michelangelo’s New York Pizza that opened last week. The pizza can be ordered through Uber Eats.
• South Island Pie opened their hot pie pop-up shop at Zwick’s Pretzels on November 20.
• St. Albert bakery BreadLove has opened up a café in the same space called Little Darling Coffee, at 46C St. Michael Street.
• Sawaii Indian Restaurant and OMG Bowls & Wings, serving up Indo-Mexican fusion, had its grand opening last week. It is located at 8656 118 Avenue.
• Tahini’s a Canadian chain serving Mediterranean fusion cuisine, opened its first Edmonton location in October, at #35671, 3535 Gateway Blvd.
• Edmonton’s second Chick-fil-A location is now open at 2060 99 Street.

Local News

• Filistix hosted a pop-up for SiuYeh over the weekend, which offered skewers and a few other dishes.
• Three restaurants made OpenTable’s list of the Top 100 Restaurants in Canada: Bernadette’s, Sabor, and Tzin.
• Edify checked out newly-opened cafe Nuestra.
• CTV wrote an article about food trends in Edmonton, which included an interview with my friend Linda. She also shared a follow-up blog post with additional links about what she discussed.
• Baijiu’s outdoor heated patio is back for a second season.
• I always love seeing local businesses collaborate, like this vanilla confetti cake lotion bar, from Sugared & Spiced and Wild Prairie Soap.
• En Route featured Lessig Ferments’ Strawberry Basil Bomb hot sauce in a piece highlighting products from across Canada.
• Analog Brewing Company is offering a “12 Beers of Christmas” half-advent calendar with $5 from each sold to benefit Edmonton’s Food Bank.
• Members of Edmonton’s Sikh community and My Radio 580 AM raised $50,000 for Edmonton’s Food Bank.

What I Ate

• I met some friends for lunch at Jinya Ramen Bar last week. The room was packed at lunch with others who had braved the snow for some hot soup. Service was excellent, and the space is bright and welcoming during the day. I tried their Tonkotsu Original 2010, and found it to be as hearty and creamy as I was hoping for.

Tonkotsu Original 2010

Openings

• On the heels of opening their fifth location, The Colombian announced that their sixth location is in the works, to open in Sherwood Park in the new year.
• Frank’s Pub, a “casual, inclusive friendly neighbourhood pub” is opening on November 20 at 8815 99 Street.
• Kommune Snack Bar is coming soon to 11931 Jasper Avenue, which previously housed Ikki.
• Eleven Eleven, housed in the former Rigoletto’s spot at 10305 100 Avenue, has delayed their opening.

Closures

• Shogun in Wîhkwêntôwin has announced its closure, with its last day of operation being November 24.

Local News

• South Island Pies will be opening up a “hot pie pop-up shop” at Zwick’s, serving the pies hot out of the oven. It hosted a soft opening on November 15, with details about the official launch to come.
• Sale of the new Coffee Pass – its biggest ever with 40 independent cafes, bakeries, and roasters – is now live.
• Mother by Chartier in Nisku announced they have re-opened, after a closure lasting several weeks due to water line renovation.
• Edify checked out Backyard Smokehouse and An Vat.
• Lakeland Today featured Endeavour Brewing and Endeavour Coffee Roasters.
• The Fort Distillery won at least $150,000 in investment from Startup TNT’s Summit X last week.
• American Rapper Blvck Svm filmed one of his music videos at RGE RD. The song appears on an album alongside other songs inspired by fine dining.

What I Ate

• After some errands, I stopped by Van Loc for some sustenance. Their assorted sub always hit the spot.

My usual from Van Loc

• The soul of Uccellino is alive and well at Olia, its renamed incarnation at the Citizen on Jasper. I found several of my favourites (including the whipped ricotta) on the menu on Friday, and the Caramelle, with the classic flavour combination of pumpkin, brown butter, and sage, was delightful.

Whipped ricotta and arancini from Olia

• My friend and I also had a drink afterwards at Spilt, Edmonton’s first zero-proof bar. We both really enjoyed the cocktails (I had the Whoops-a-Daisy) and felt the prices were reasonable. We learned that although Spilt doesn’t serve food, it is possible to order a pizza from fn’za a few doors down, and staff will walk the pizza over.

Whoops-a-Daisy from Spilt

Openings

• Chef Shane Chartrand has opened Paperbirch by Chartrand at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market, serving up breakfast and lunch with “local flavors and a cultural twist.”
• Transcend opened their permanent location on 124 Street last week! Find it at 12332 106 Avenue.
• Nearby, Tiramisu Bistro will be opening up Lift Me Up Sandwich Bar next to its restaurant, which will serve up focaccia sandwiches by day, and charcuterie and wine by night.

Upcoming Events

• Sauce is hosting a cozy fireside feast on November 23 to celebrate their second birthday. Tickets are $50 and include a buffet and s’mores dessert.

Local News

• Zocalo has re-opened 10 months after it was closed due to fire, and has allowed the owners to partner with other local businesses. The café is now managed by Aspen Coffee Roasters.
• The Journal interviewed Biera owner Greg Zeschuk for more details behind the closure announcement. He reiterated the multiple factors that led to the decision.
• The duo behind Veg In YEG, Kassia and Erin, created a guide to plant-based, vegetarian, and vegan eating in Edmonton for Linda’s blog.
• Bar Henry is featured in this month’s issue of Modern Luxuria.
• Edify checked out Steve’s Famous Sandwich Co. and Stopgap Coffee.
• Meat and Don’Ya Ukraine’s Kitchen collaborated to create a limited edition perogy with brisket in place of potato. Proceeds are being donated to cancer research.

What I Ate

• Press’d had a buy-one-get-one free sandwich deal last week, so it was a good excuse to try their food again after several years. While I appreciated the ease of online ordering and the food being ready at the allotted time, the sandwich was just okay. There was way too much mayo, and I wouldn’t have known the bread was scratch-made if it wasn’t advertised as such.

California club from Press’d

• I was #hosted at the Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival last week with my friend Su. It has been years since I’ve been, and the event has grown a lot in that time, in terms of the number and range of wine and spirit vendors, as well as the diversity of food options served. It was great to see several soju and makgeolli booths, for instance (I picked up a new-to-us makgeolli for Mack, who is a fan). Although it was pretty packed, it was fun to browse through the aisles of vendors to see what was on offer. For food, our favourite bite of the evening was the bulgogi tacos from Hanjan, flavourful and a good portion size for the price. Thanks again to the Festival for a great evening out!

Bulgogi taco from Hanjan

Openings

• It looks like the third of Daniel Costa’s new restaurants in the Citizen on Jasper (10110 120 Street), Mimi, is now open.
• Birch and Bear has opened a third Edmonton location in the former Fleisch space in Forest Heights, at 8210 106 Avenue.
• It’s great to see that Fox Burger is adding a third location. It will be located in Westmount on 124 Street.
• Popular Calgary-based pizzeria UNA opened in Edmonton in South Edmonton Common, 1708 99 Street on November 2. Outside of Calgary, UNA also has a location in Saskatoon.
• Fawkes Coffee has closed its pop-up location in the Great West Saddlery Building and will be opening their permanent spot in the same building on November 5.
• Nuestra Coffee Shop, located opposite Borden Park, is opening on November 13 at 7601 112 Avenue.
• New Vietnamese bakery and dessert spot Ăn Vặt opened on November 1 at 3555 Gateway Boulevard (the name translates to “to eat between meals” in Vietnamese). They offer banh mi, snacks, and treats.
• Mai Mai has opened a location based out of Sea Change Brewing’s Edmonton taproom, located at 9850 62 Avenue.
• The Backyard Smokehouse, based in Ontario, is opening its Edmonton location on November 9.

Closures

• It was a surprise to learn that after 7 years, Biera will be closing at the end of December: “due to changes to market conditions, we feel the restaurant is in need of a revamp, but we’re not going to be the ones to do it. Our goal is to find a worthy successor with fresh ideas and energy that will continue to serve customers in the existing space.” Blind Enthusiasm’s Market Brewery will close along with Biera. The Monolith Taproom will continue operations, and Biera Market will operate until the end of the year and will re-open in the new year offering many of the same products.
• Nomiya is closing its Ellerslie location after 11 years on November 27. Nomiya’s original location on Calgary trail will remain open, as well as its sister Ellerslie restaurant, Chan Can Wok.

Upcoming Events

• The Polar Patio Club, celebrating winter patios, launches on November 6 at the Rocky Mountain Ice House at 5pm.
• Sisters Dialogue is hosting an event focusing on Uyghur cuisine, and “how food can serve as an act of resistance, community, and liberation.” The event takes place on November 9, and tickets are $10.
• Out of Bounds Restaurant is hosting a series of pop-up dinners in November, including a Modern Polish Feast on November 9 with chef Julia Kundera and A Night In Mexico on November 28.
• The Fairmont Hotel Macdonald is hosting a community tree lighting ceremony on November 14 from 12-1pm. It is open to the public and they will be serving up cookies and hot chocolate.

Local News

• It’s always great to see hospitality trailblazers recognized on Edify’s Top 40. This year’s class includes Doug Checknita, The Monolith’s head brewer, and Winnie Chen, executive chef and operating partner at Fu’s Repair Shop.
• Connected Kitchen Project, offering food production space for micro- to medium-sized food businesses, opened in the former EPIC Market space downtown on November 1.
• Square 1 Coffee and The Stone & Wheel Pizzeria is aiming to raise $500,000 through gift cards with bonus values to bring the businesses to Sherwood Park.
• Good Goods, who closed its downtown storefront in September, will launch a new partnership with Little Brick on November 8.
• La Prosciutteria is under new ownership.
• Edify profiled Callie Draper, who was the winner of this year’s World’s 50 Best Bars Roku Scholarship.
• It’s too bad none of the three Edmonton restaurants recognized on the longlist of Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants made the top ten, released today.
• Chefs Allan Suddaby and Chael MacDonald talk all about Edmonton food chains on their Food Court podcast.

What I Ate

• Linda and I visited Out of Bounds Restaurant, located at the Cattail Crossing Golf & Winter Club, for the first time. The crispy broccoli was a great appetizer, fried but not heavy at all.

Crispy broccoli from Out of Bounds