Openings
- The third Made by Marcus location in Edmonton is now open. Find it in Mill Creek at 9853 89 Avenue.
- I missed the March opening of Lunar in the Crawford Block building in Old Strathcona, at 8222 Gateway Blvd, a sister restaurant to Boxcar.
Upcoming Events
- Downtown YEG Burgerfest is returning for a second year, running from July 2-6. Participating restaurants, including Jack’s Burger Shack, The Common, and Let’s Smash, are returning with burger specials. Check the Instagram account for the menus.
- The sixth annual Culinaire Edmonton Hunt returns later this year; early birds can send an e-mail to get on the list before registration opens in August.
Local News
- Epcor’s Glass of the Sask campaign is back, highlighting the high quality tap water available in Edmonton. Five restaurants have created dishes that use tap water as a key ingredient, including High Dough’s pizza. Check out the menus available from June to August.
- Edify checked out Ester’s Ukrainian sushi, and presents a listicle of globally-inspired ice creams.
- Taproot learned that the City’s entertainment districts are exempt from the single-use item reduction bylaw.
What I Ate
- It is an age-old decision for Mack and I whether our infrequent date nights are spent at a new restaurant or at a tried-and-true. For my birthday, we decided on the former. We were curious about Nero, which opened after a lengthy renovation of the historic Molson Brewery building. The room has a sense of grandeur, and makes the most of its high ceilings and brick. Service was great, and we found a lot to like in the lengthy cocktail menu. The mushroom toast was fine, but I wished for more char on the flank steak.
Our spread at Nero
- We also popped into Kin, which felt like the polar opposite of Nero. Kin leans into its subterranean location, dim and inscrutable. The menu is short and approachable. We loved the smoked chili emulsion served with the long tots, but the namesake burger was the standout, decadent and wholly satisfying.
Kin burger
- Our family spent some time at Blatchford on Saturday. In the company of Drift, it was giving me flashbacks to the What the Truck?! we hosted there nine years ago(!), not long after they had just broken ground on the development.
Poutine from Drift
- I have mentioned that Cinnzeo is very high on my guilty pleasures list, and it seemed fitting for me in lieu of a birthday cake this year.
Cinnzeo
Only Here for the Food 