Openings

• Jacek Chocolate has opened a location in St. Albert, at 150 Bellerose Drive, #107. It is their third standalone store in the Edmonton region.

Upcoming Events

• Shane Chartrand of Paperbirch is offering an Indigenous Taste of the Market on January 28 and February 11. Tickets are $120 and include 7-courses.
• Chinatown Dining Week is back, running January 29-February 8. Though I am no longer involved in the organizing committee, I am looking forward to eating my way through the $10 and $20 deals!
• I’m so happy to be returning as a volunteer to Togather. I’ll be leading a free walking tour (yes, in winter!) in Chinatown North on February 8. We’ll talk about the history of Edmonton’s two Chinatowns, discuss the future of the neighbourhood, and sample some of Chinatown’s culinary delights. Sign up here.
• Save the date for the return of Nosh Food Fest in Sherwood Park, which returns March 7-8.

Local News

• Edify has quietly changed Editor-in-Chiefs; Omar Mouallem is out, and Mifi Purvis is in.
• Tu Le and his brother have put Jack’s Burger Shack up for sale, to enable him to spend more time with his family.
• Slow Pour has debuted a new food menu, inspired by “small side-street beer bars of Copenhagen and the beer halls of Berlin and Prague.”
• Also in the beer family, it’s great to see another local collaboration, this time between Boa & Hare and Dog Island Brewing, for a limited edition Lunar New Year lager.
• Fn’za did a PSA for those in Central Edmonton to avoid the mark-up of third-party delivery apps by using their in-house delivery service.
• Zymo is soliciting for interest of private investors.
• Chartier has announced a new executive chef, Crystal Higgins. She is transitioning from her most recent role at the Royal Glenora Club.
• Edify checked out the latte design class at Liberta Coffee.
• The owners of Mokha Coffee House and Yemeni Palace Restaurants are working to revive Yemeni coffee traditions in Edmonton.
• CBC Radioactive’s beer columnist Jason Foster discussed what to expect in 2026 from the Alberta craft beer industry.
• Congratulations to Alberta Food Tours on their 20-year birthday!
• Local writers Mifi Purvis and Kim Larson (and former Edmontonian Jennifer Cockrall-King) have published a new cookbook called Worth the Weather, a “1970s snack-sized winter cookbook”.

What I Ate

• I spent much of last week in Calgary, and was able to explore some local eats. Ramen Ichinen was excellent – efficient, friendly service, and great bowls of ramen.

Tonkotsu from Ramen Ichinen

• Pho Dau Bo brought me to Calgary’s Little Saigon for the first time. Their broth was fantastic, and my colleague enjoyed the hearty stew. A shoutout to Dong for the stellar recommendations.

Pho from Pho Dau Bo

• Back home, it was time to reacquaint ourselves with Love Pizza’s mac and cheeza.

Mac and cheeza

Openings

• Flatboy Burgers is now open in Beaumont, inside Sea Change Brewing Co. at 5302 50 Street.
• DRTY Ice Cream has opened a location north of the river, inside Foosh at 10150 104 Street NW.
• Cheese Louise, a grilled cheese-focused spot, opened in Station Park in Old Strathcona last weekend.
• UK-based dessert chain Heavenly Desserts opened over the weekend at 10430 82 Avenue NW (formerly Cacao 70).
• Back in November, Spruce Grove’s El Taco Loco opened a location in Edmonton at 11520 100 Avenue (formerly Villa Bistro).
• Leduc has a new café called Pastry Heaven & Coffee Shop, at 5201 50 Street.
• It looks like Korean Fried chicken restaurant Bonchon is close to opening, at 10418 124 Street NW.
• BB2 Korean BBQ is opening a second location at West Edmonton Mall this spring.

Closures

• Epic Market at Station Park is now closed after nearly 2 years: “Operating at that corner was unfortunately a Herculean task without parking or foot traffic…We’ll be pursuing a new and improved home and let you all know as soon as possible!”

Upcoming Events

• Mother by Chartier is popping up at The Hub on Whyte on January 24.
• Filliep Lament has left Nowhere Wine Bar to pursue his Polish restaurant venture Jola’s full time. In the meantime, he will be hosting Slavic Supper Series on January 31 at Under the High Wheel, along with Davina Moraiko and Peter Zukiwski. Tickets are $75 for the 6-course family-style meal.

Local News

• Chinatown Chowdown was featured in the Journal.
• Also, The Journal reviewed all 19 of Wyrd Bier Adventure’s beverages.
• Edify has a round-up of some hot wings available in Edmonton, including Rob’s Famous Fried Chicken, Nashville Hot Chicken Flirty Bird, and Dave’s Hot Chicken.
• Uber Eats celebrated their 10 year anniversary in Canada with some highlights, including naming Edmonton the most polite Canadian city.

Beyond Edmonton

• I don’t typically link to the NYT because of their paywall, but an article by Tejal Rao this week about the grief experienced when your favourite restaurant closes is worth sharing. The final paragraph: “In the past, if I’d neglected to go back to an old place, it was because some small, delusional part of me thought it would always be there. But restaurants, like people, aren’t made to last forever. And it’s not stars or reels or lists that give a restaurant meaning — it’s going back, again and again.”

What I Ate

• It’s been a while since my last Too Good to Go order, but one from Fawkes last week was a great value at under $7. The cinnamon buns were delicious!

Too Good to Go Box from Fawkes

• I had been wanting to try the breakfast pop-up Brunch, Baby at the Fox Burger location in Westmount. It exceeded our expectations, with excellent food (I loved my spud bowl and its extra-crispy potatoes) and fun drawing pads available for kids. Bonus – it is super transit accessible, as we disembarked to the bus stop right in front of the restaurant!

Spud bowl from Brunch, Baby

• Our family had a wonderful time at Deep Freeze on the weekend. It is our tradition at the festival to snack on treats from Green Onion Cake Man.

Green onion cakes at Deep Freeze

• Our kids are over the moon that DRTY Ice Cream is now on our street. As a parent, I also love that their sorbabies are perfectly sized for kids, as golf ball-sized scoops. We’ll be back!

Ellie and Emily at DRTY Ice Cream

Happy New Year! I took an additional week off due to personal and work commitments, so there is a lot to catch up on.

Openings

• The folks behind Dagu have opened a hot pot restaurant called Boiling Hot Pot at 2848 James Mowatt Trail SW.
• Chianti’s has opened a second location in Riverbend, at 500 Riverbend Square NW.
• King of Tarts has re-opened a brick and mortar shop at 10334 82 Avenue NW (the former Sugared and Spiced location).
• Cocktail bar Plume Bar opened on Boxing Day at 10145 104 Street NW.
• After a ten year break, The Druid opened in the Mercer Warehouse on December 30.
• Calgary-based Gogi Korean BBQ has opened in Edmonton, at 4112 Calgary Trail.
• Sam’s Whyte Ave closed to make way for the owners to pivot to Banh Mi Nghia.
• Yelo’d announced that they will be opening a new location in Terwillegar/Riverbend.
• Flat Boy Burgers will be expanding to Beaumont.
• DRTY Ice Cream will be opening an indoor location downtown.
• Tarboosh Market, a Lebanese grocery store, is now open at 6873 Astra Boulevard NW.
• Calgary-based Perfect Meat Bowl, offering build-your-own hot pot, opened in December at 3316 Gateway Blvd. NW.
• Korean bubble tea chain Palgong Tea is now open in NorQuest College.
• UK-based dessert restaurant Heavenly Desserts will be opening a location in Edmonton, their first Canadian branch outside of Ontario and BC.
• I can’t believe the restaurant name is real, but it is: American chain Bag O’Crab is now open at West Edmonton Mall.
• H & W opened a new store in St. Albert, at 90 McKenney Avenue.

Closures

• The Moth Cafe announced a planned closing date of November 2026. The reason is connected to plans to “revitalize this corner of the city.”
• After 50 years, Red Diamond House Restaurant will be closing at the end of January.
• Langano Skies announced their closure of their operations out of Barb & Ernie’s, with their last day being January 17. Langano Skies closed their brick and mortar shop in 2022.
• The owners behind vegetarian restaurant Loma House announced their retirement after 16 years in business. Their last day was January 10, 2026.
• Dosti is now closed, but hint that a “new Dosti experience is on the way.”

Upcoming Events

• Wyrd Bier Adventure is returning from January 7-February 1, featuring creative beers from 19 breweries. The Journal covered what to expect.
• Vagabond Pop-up is returning with Alpine Express “Express” at Little Wolf on January 17-18.
• Chinatown Dining Week returns January 29-February 8, 2026.

Local News

• It looks like CoffeePass has a direct competitor in Cafe Quest. Created by the folks behind Felice Cafe, they differentiate themselves with a minimum $5 value at each cafe, including food among what can be enjoyed, and that “profits are shared with our café partners – plus, a portion of every map goes to the Edmonton Food Bank.”
• Edify checked out Atrium and featured the story behind Hatch’d.
• The Tomato had a story about seven places for donairs in Edmonton – let the great debate continue.
• Modern Luxuria’s latest issue highlighted Fu’s Repair Shop and Mokha Coffee House.
• Evo Wonder Lounge posted that they could use more regular visits from folks to support being open for food and drinks seven days a week.
• Don’ya Ukraine’s Kitchen pitched for investment at CBC’s Dragon’s Den earlier this year, and the episode finally aired in December. They were unsuccessful.
• Steve and Dan’s Fruit also pitched at Dragon’s Den, for investment for their Pomme MD electrolyte apple juice drink. They were unsuccessful.
• The competition TV series Come Dine With Me is returning to Canada, and among its episodes, will feature five Edmonton amateur chefs.

Urban Agriculture and Farming

• The Strathcona Rail Community Garden has been added to the City’s inventory of historic resources.

What I Ate

• I met up with a friend at Sofra for dinner, a restaurant I haven’t been to in years. We enjoyed the food – the beef meatballs were the standout.

Beef meatballs from Sofra

• We returned to A Cappella’s take-and-bake turkey dinner for the holidays. Long live turkey leftovers!

A Cappella take-and-bake provisions

• We had many pizzas to commemorate Mack’s birthday (his annual request). This year included a stop at Leopard. The kids approved.

Pizzas from Leopard (plus Ellie)

• Our family satisfied a soup craving over the holidays with dinner at King Noodle House. We love #photogo, but there’s nothing like not doing the dishes, too.

Happy to say my kids love bun bo hue just as much as I do!

• I spent some time in Calgary for work, and had dinner at Park by Sidewalk Citizen. The solarium probably feels much different when bathed in natural light; on a winter evening, the room was too dim and bleak for my liking. That said, the food made up somewhat for the surroundings – the watercress salad was bright and wonderfully textured.

Watercress salad and gnocchi from Park by Sidewalk Citizen

• Our family continued our annual tradition of adopting a Holiday Hamper family. Emily has reached the age where she asks about the hamper as we approach Christmas; we look forward to Ellie doing the same in the years to come.

On our way to delivering holiday cheer!