Openings
- Culina’s Little Italy location will be transitioning from an event space to Culina Famiglia, an “approachable Italian spot with great food, wine, and neighbours”. It will open this spring at 10821 95 Street.
- Nashville-style chicken chain Dave’s Hot Chicken opened last week at 10832 102 Avenue. Taproot has a story about what led to the choice of a central location, given most recent American chain openings have focused on suburban areas.
- Kitchen by Singh, offering Indian fine dining, has opened at 10810 124 Street.
- Calgary-based Deville Coffee has opened its third location in Edmonton, at 8329 112 Street.
- Leopold’s Tavern has also opened its third location in Edmonton, at Heritage Valley, 2861 119A Street SW.
- Chipotle will open its third location on March 26 at 891 Tamarack Way.
- Indian restaurant Cilantro Kitchen is opening soon at 8985 Carson Way SW.
- Chick-Fil-A is old news at this point, but did add a third location last week at 10175 186 Street.
Upcoming Events
- I might live to regret it, but it is for a good cause: I am one of the panelists for the Wing Wednesday fundraiser on April 2 for Edmonton Meals on Wheels. I’ll be subjected to a Hot Ones-style interview on stage (attempting to eat increasingly spicy wings while answering questions). Tickets are $75 and include (less spicy) wings and other appetizers.
Local News
- Five restaurants have decided to hold-over their Downtown Dining Week deals until the end of March. Businesses include Shoyu Sushi, Central Social Hall, Dining Car Cafe, Von’s, and Ramen Misoya.
- Taproot profiled Next of Kin, Ben Staley’s first concept as Hoot Company’s creative director.
- Congratulations to Jacob Marler who took the top prize with The Long Winter Iced Tea at the Bartender Competition at Edmonton Cocktail Week.
- DRTY Ice Cream is hosting their grand opening party on March 29.
- Dagu started offering an all-you-can-eat option about a month back; its been interesting to see more and more restaurants adopt this.
- MSSM’s DJ Night, which offers “unlimited sushi while it lasts” charges men $80/person while women are $50/person. Gender-based pricing shouldn’t be a thing for so many reasons.
- Balay Coffee (formerly Intent Coffee), shared how slow it has been for them during their current pop-up at Delavoye Chocolate. Go support them if you are able!
- Evolution Wonderlounge, Edmonton’s only gay bar, shared their new location will be in Wîhkwêntôwin, in the space formerly occupied by Reign. When it opens this spring, it will be renamed Evo, with extended hours and a food menu.
- It is always great to see when businesses are fully transparent about price increases, as was the case with Roasti Coffee Company last week, regarding the rise in their coffee prices.
- Edify checked out Miss Saigon in Windermere and Cafe Aria.
- Modern Luxuria has opened up nominations for their Awards of Excellence, which include some food and drink categories, including restaurant, chef, front-of-house server, coffee shop, brewery, distillery, and mixologist/cocktail bar.
- Pizza 73 has temporarily rebranded to Pizza 74, in honour of the Oilers’ Stuart Skinner. During this time, They are also offering an apt-named “Skinner dinner” special.
- Artist Edith Chu’s exhibition Sweet and Sour Memories at the Art Gallery of St. Albert honours her parents’ Szechuen Restaurant, which operated in Edmonton from 1984-2007. The exhibit runs until May 1.
- Two Edmonton-based authors were recognized in a Food and Wine article highlighting 5 essential Canadian cookbooks, including Shane M. Chartrand for Tawâw and Twyla Campbell for Prairie.
- Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton is crowdfunding $1,600 for equipment and resources to shift their focus to teaching people about processing and preservation techniques.
What I Ate
- After a very long week, I was so happy to be able to nip out with Mack for a Friday wind-down. We hit up Kelly’s Pub in our ‘hood for the first time in many years, and found the casual atmosphere and specials just what we needed.
Fish and chips are $17 on Fridays at Kelly’s
- We don’t go to Buok as often as we should. Every time we eat there, we comment on just how much we enjoy the food. They had a great Downtown Dining Week deal, but we will return for more bibimbap and ginseng chicken broth.
Our Buok feast
Only Here for the Food 