Openings

• Nero, from the folks behind Rosso and Bianco, opened over the weekend. Find it in the historic Molson Brewery building at 12068 104 Avenue.
• Bento Kuma is now open at 2731 182 Street SW.
• Toronto-based chain Holy Shakes offers modern Indian fusion food, including Kathi rolls, desserts, and milkshakes. Their first Edmonton location is open at 2670 James Mowatt Trail SW.
• FreshCo is opening a new store in Glenridding, at 16705 Rabbit Hill Road SW on May 29.

Closures

• I missed the closure of Bistro 99 at the end of April.

Upcoming Events

• UFest, Western Canada’s largest Ukrainian festival runs May 30-31 at Borden Park. Look forward to a bevy of Ukrainian food and other eats alongside workshops, performances, and vendors.
• I love local collaborations, so it is great to see Meat and Duchess team up to put on a Dinner with Dad class on June 13 and 14. Sign up for a hands-on class to bake brisket-stuffed meat pies, chocolate cake, and enjoy a beer tasting. Tickets for 3 people are $350.

Local News

• DRTY Ice Cream is hosting their grand opening Kanto party on June 7.
• The forthcoming Made by Marcus in Mill Creek will be the first Edmonton location to offer ice cream-making workshops, shares Taproot.
• Fawkes is the latest business to offer an Oilers-themed product on game days, and Doughnut Party has added the LEmON Draisaitl bismarck to its line-up.
• While I am an Oilers fan myself, I love how Otto is leaning into their space as a no-TV zone and offering “escape the game” specials available from puck drop to close: “all of the specials, none of the sports”.
• Edify checked out Juana Ines in Manchester Square, as well as The Common’s Streetcar Cask Party.
• The Globe and Mail profiled Bernadette’s.
• CityTV did a story about the reason behind Remedy Cafe’s Jasper Avenue closure, linking it to the Downtown post-COVID downturn.
• It’s always great to see Linda being celebrated for championing Chinatown restaurants.
• CBC RadioActive highlighted Kingsway Mall’s initiative to grow produce for Edmonton’s Food Bank on its rooftop garden.

What I Ate

• I finally got my paws on some of MilkCrate’s adorable Oilers-themed cookies. I picked them up at Ghostlight.

Go Oilers Go!

• We picked up some take-out from Hanjan on Friday (their Wîhkwêntôwin location is conveniently located on a bike lane). The kids especially loved the Korean fried chicken, and I’m always a sucker for japchae.

Hanjan take-out

• Chinatown After Dark continues to gain momentum, and I thought the event on Saturday was its best yet! I can never pass up Xu Hue’s rare beef salad, and Mack tried Lee House’s bibimbap. And of course, we finished the night at Little Bon Bon. We’re very intentional in trying to provide Emily and Ellie with some positive memories of Chinatown through experiences like these – thanks to the volunteers who help make it happen! There are three more dates this summer to check out.

The fam at Chinatown After Dark

Openings

• Andrew Fung’s newest restaurant, Juu Ku, opened its doors on May 16. Find it at 5944 Mullen Way.
• Fluffy Bakery is in its soft opening phase at 10504 99 Avenue.
• After opening their sixth location in March, The Colombian is gearing up to open a seventh, with the exact location not yet public.

Closures

• After 13 years, Remedy Cafe’s Jasper Avenue location closed on May 18.

Local News

• It’s great that Christine Sandford and Roger Letourneau of Vagabond Pop-ups will be back in town this summer, this time with a Summer Bistro Pop-up at Under the High Wheel, starting June 20, until the fall.
• Delavoye Chocolate is asking for continued support as they go into their slowest months of business.
• Thoroughfare Baked Goods in Beaumont has rebranded as Blush Cake Bar and Coffee, in order to emphasize the cake side of their business more prominently.
• Edify checked out Chinatown’s Boa and Hare.
• Happy first birthday to Bernadette’s!
• More Oilers-themed goods available at Ayco Cafe.
• CBC Radioactive checked out the new Old Yale Brewing location in Beaumont.
• Steven Brochu estimates that the construction outside of the Citadel Theatre will cost his restaurant, PlayWright, $20,000 in loss of income.
• Simone Atenea Medina Polo is collecting stories that folks have to share about the Chili’s Grill & Bar at the Edmonton International Airport.

What I Ate

• It was too beautiful not to eat al fresco on Friday in our neighbourhood park. We grabbed some take-out (Splash Poke for me!) – food always tastes better outside!

Picnic season

• We stopped by Flat Boy Burgers in Shiddy’s Distilling & Rumpus Room on the weekend with the kids. It was absolutely hopping on a Saturday afternoon. We liked the retro vibe of the space, and our food came relatively quickly after we were seated. The burgers were tasty (I probably could have handled a double with the thinness of their patties), and the milkshakes were a hit with Emily and Ellie.

Flat Boy Burgers

• We had to have one last chai from our closest Remedy before it closed on Sunday.

Chai from Remedy

• We also planted our community garden plot before the weather took a turn over the long weekend. The kids picked pattypan squash and Chinese cabbage to experiment with this year – we will see how it goes!

Alex Decoteau Community Garden

Openings

• The space on the southeast corner of Whyte Avenue and 104 Street will be vacant no longer, with Italian restaurant Da Cecot moving in soon.
• Kadak Cafe, serving up chai and street food, is now open at 6818 Ellerslie Road.
• Chain Paris Baguette has opened its third location in Edmonton at Heritage Valley Town Centre, 2853 119A Street.

Upcoming Events

• Calgary-based bakery Crave published a cookbook with the same name, and are launching it in Edmonton at Audrey’s on May 13.

Local News

• Taproot has the story behind Filistix’s latest pivot to focus on catering.
• Honi Honi Tiki Lounge ranked #28 on Canada’s 50 Best Bars list (published by the folks behind Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants). Unsurprisingly, as Edmonton continues to be underrated in national lists, no local restaurants are on the 100 Best Restaurants list, but Calgary has five featured restaurants).
• Edify checks out the happy hour menu at The Confederation Lounge, and offers up a patio guide.
• The May issue of Modern Luxuria features MSSM.
• Alberta Food Tours is again offering their Savour Strathcona tour this summer, with a new route with 6 tasting stops. Tickets are $125/person. If you are considering it, use discount code Only10 for 10% off.

What I Ate

• A couple of coworkers and I popped into Otto’s new daytime concept, Tulip, for lunch last week. They have a small but solid menu of hot and cold sandwiches, but I deviated and ordered the daily strata. I liked its play on pizza flavours (pepperoni and mushroom with hot honey), and with the arugula salad, it made for a substantial meal. Service, as always, was warm and considerate. I hope more people find their way to Tulip!

Strata from Tulip

• Our family had brunch at Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market’s Paperbirch on Saturday. I enjoyed my gouda morning brisket wrap, but it was the pea shoot salad that was the standout for me, with just the right amount of pickles and sweetness from the dressing. The kids loved the cinnamon sugar bannock bits.

Wrap and bannock bits from Paperbirch

Openings

• JUU-KU is the newest restaurant from Nineteen’s Chef Andrew Fung, “blending Japanese, Chinese, and Korean influences with bold, forward-thinking flavours.” It is located along the same complex as the original Nineteen in Terwillegar, at 5946 Mullen Way.
• Maria Northern Mexican Cuisine opened their second location, Maria Express, at 6506 170 Avenue.
• Juana Ines, a new Mexican restaurant from the folks behind the now-shuttered Frida, opened on April 29 in Manchester Square, 12042 107 Avenue.
• Old Yale Brewing’s first Alberta location will open in Beaumont on May 12 at 7201 49 Street.
• Deccani, a restaurant serving up the “delicacy of the Nizams” from Hyderabad, had its grand opening on May 2 at 6412 Cartmell Place SW.
• Indian restaurant The Curry Table opened last week in St. Albert (Unit C, 388 St. Albert Trail).
• Mr. Halal Burger is set to open a second spot in the city, to be located in West Edmonton Mall.

Upcoming Events

• The 2025 Canadian National Barista Championship will be hosted by The Colombian at the Oliver Exchange Building from July 24-27. Spectator tickets will be available at some point.

Local News

• The Journal has the story behind Bodega’s continued expansion – in the Edmonton area, and soon, to Calgary – and the addition of Roca by Sabor to open in the former Union Bank building in 2026.
• Bagel Bar has moved to 6792 99 Street as of May 3.
• Ben’s Meats and Deli’s final day at their current location will be June 7. They will re-open at 10516 184 Street on June 10.
• Happy and Olive will be closed for building repairs from May 5-23, and re-open on May 24 for regular service.
• We’re into the Oilers’ second round, so naturally, there are more team-themed products to choose from, including the return of the cutest cookies from MilkCrate, and an Oilers-themed espresso drink from Objects.
• Just in time for Mother’s Day, Edify asked three food enthusiasts, including Blair Junior McFarlane of Red Star, where they would take their moms for the occasion.
• Also from Edify, stories about two 124 Street eateries – Golden Sparrow and Mr. & Mrs. Singh Kitchen (great to see Liane Faulder, who wrote the latter piece, back with a food byline!).
• The Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market opened for their first Sunday market day on May 4.
• CBC Radio Active’s beer columnist Jason Foster covered the transition from Biera to Campio in Ritchie.
• Linda released the 2025 edition of her Asian Heritage Month clothing collaboration with local business Zen Lion Design. I’ve always been partial to her food-themed designs.
• Honest Dumplings and South Island Pie were broken into last week, and “thousands of dollars in equipment, cash, and essentials were stolen”. Consider supporting them during this time.
• Tu Le of Jack’s Burger Shack has survived the first two rounds of Big Burger Battle.
• Podcast This is Edmonton’s latest episode features a Cooking 4 Community class, put on by Touch Grass Club, New Grocery Movement, and the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians.

What I Ate

• I caught up with a friend at CQ Noodle last week. It’s so great to see how busy they are on my past two visits.

Chef meat specials with pork

• We always deliberately over-order from Jerusalem Shawarma because we enjoy their food so much, but it is especially dangerous now that they have a more central location in Wîhkwêntôwin (11303 104 Avenue). I will say the pitas from this location were much fresher than the other locations we’ve tried.

Shawarma chicken family plate from Jerusalem Shawarma

• I finally tried Mimi, Daniel Costa’s lobby bar in Citizen on Jasper. The food was great, as expected. I will say I was a little overwhelmed with the music volume during the visit as a friend and I tried to have a conversation (recognizing how incredibly old I sound in writing that!).

Arancini and goat ricotta crostini from Mimi