Openings
- Vegan restaurant Seitans held its grand opening last week at 11219 Jasper Avenue NW.
- Tiny’s Cheese Shop, from the folks behind Iconoclast and Lovesong, has opened at #103, 12017 102 Avenue NW.
- I missed that back in August, Art of Charcuterie opened its own storefront at 6728 99 Street NW.
- Greek donut franchise Mr. Puffs has opened its first location in Edmonton at 1925 98 Street NW.
- Nagaiki Ramen, offering authentic Japanese Abura Soba, will open in West Edmonton Mall.
Closures
- Culina To Go in the Oliver Exchange Building has closed. Culina Famiglia, its location in Little Italy, will be opening soon.
- The Unity Square Brewsters location closed on the weekend, and will be moving into the former Beer Revolution space after some renovations.
Upcoming Events
- The last Chinatown After Dark of this season is taking place September 20, from 6-11pm. Local mural artist Busyrawk will be animating the mural behind China Marble, so it should be a good one!
- NAIT is hosting an Alumni Series of dinners, featuring chefs who have graduated from its program. The first is on September 19, and feature Heena and Michael Mak of Brown Butter Cafe. Tickets are $104.76 each.
Local News
- Local institution Hazeldean Bakery, which has been in operation for 50 years, is up for sale. The current owner, who has run it for 15 years, is ready for retirement.
- Duchess is consolidating its Atelier teaching location with its 124 Street location, but will remain open through this renovation.
- Taqueria El Chingon has shared that they will be expanding, moving “ten steps” away to a bigger space soon.
- Along with their matcha being available at Kommune, Whisked now has a mobile trailer, too.
- Edify checked out Bella in Old Strathcona.
- Happy second birthday to the Ritchie location of Aspen Coffee Roasters!
- Here is a lovely video profile of Menya Mori showing all of the love they put into their ramen.
- The Globe and Mail profiled Edmonton-born Chef Jonathan Tam, who has a Michelin-starred restaurant in Copenhagen. Some of the dishes served at his restaurant are inspired by food he grew up eating in Edmonton.
- Part-time German teacher Margaret Bose-Johnson from Parkland County will be competing in the upcoming season of The Great Canadian Baking Show. It starts airing October 5.
- When writer and producer Phil Rosenthal (of Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil fame) was in Edmonton, he checked out Duchess and Fu’s Repair Shop.
What I Ate
- A Rosewood Foods appreciation post: their carrot cakes are everything.
Carrot cakes from Rosewood Foods
- Our family had a blast at the outdoor moving screening for those who participated in Lemonade Stand Day this year. We’re so happy to be among the more than 600 stands who raised $533,664 for the Stollery Children’s Hospital. At the event, I tried Street Taco YEG for the first time, and enjoyed their OG pork tacos.
OG tacos from Street Taco YEG
- My friend Su and I were #hosted at the Culinaire Edmonton World Taste Tour on Sunday. We solved the clues in order to eat and drink our way through 32 businesses and vendors in Old Strathcona. It was really great to check out some new-to-us businesses, and we appreciated how some were really thoughtful in designing a fun challenge or embraced the opportunity to be really welcoming. I loved the sourdough bagel bites from Leo’s Cafe, the friendliest vendor behind Vegan Cheezery, and the hospitality at Arbour. Culinaire definitely packed a lot into four hours, but we did not feel rushed as the organizers made it clear it wasn’t intended to be a race, but a journey. It was also a very appealing activity for us both to do on foot in a neighbourhood well-designed for pedestrians. I do hope they bring it back next year – thanks again Culinaire for the invitation!
Su and I at DRTY Ice cream, our first stop (with a taste test!)
Only Here for the Food 