Openings
- Yelo’d has opened their second location in Terwillegar at 2327 Rabbit Hill Road NW.
- Tiramisu Bistro will be opening Lift Me Up on the Lake at the newly-refreshed Hawrelak Park. While it’s great that Hawrelak (and a couple of other City-owned attractions) has been home to a number of local businesses, there has been a pretty high turnover rate. Hopefully Tiramisu can make a go of it.
- A new Filipino café called Gathr Cafe has opened at 8132 102 Street NW.
- Yosi’s Cafe has opened in the former Corpuz Bakeshop space on Alberta Avenue, at 11812 86 Street NW. The restaurant offers doughnuts, Ethiopian, and Filipino dishes.
- The dirty soda trend continues with Kickstand Drinks, located at 11158 Ellerslie Road SW. They also serve Toronto-based Craig’s Cookies.
- Farmer’s Cafe is now open at 1648 24 Street NW.
- Downtown’s Central Social Hall, which was recently sold, will transition into The Public Exchange.
Local News
- My friend Linda’s Asian Heritage Month clothing collection has returned, with some fun food designs again (I’m partial to the “Meet Me In Chinatown” fortune cookie).
- Don’ya Ukraine’s Kitchen has been frustrated with the lack of foot traffic on weekends.
- Edify checked out Korean Fusion Deli, and sampled some local beers in honour of St. Patrick’s Day.
- The closure of L’oca has impacted some of its local suppliers.
- This week, City Council will be discussing a motion to remove restrictive covenants for grocery stores.
- A new vegetable and flower farm in Edmonton will open this summer, called Patchwork Market & Garden. They are currently selling shares of their Community Supported Agriculture for the coming summer.
What I Ate
- The Feed the Soul pop-up at Lochi Afro Nija was a good excuse as any to finally sample something from the restaurant. We picked up the newly-released Black Futures Dining Guide, as well as some savoury hand pies to go. The meat pie, with its spiced beef and potato, was our favourite.
Hand pies from Lochi Afro Nija
- Another banh mi on the bus (to Calgary), this time from Van Loc.
My go-to assorted sub from Van Loc
- Dinner with my colleagues in Calgary was at Kama, a Mediterranean tapas restaurant. We were very fortunate to try many little bites over the night, and the initial warm pita and dips were fantastic.
Pita and dips from Kama
- How could one pass up breakfast from a place called Friends with Benedicts (located in First Street Market)? I was amazed the tater tots stayed crispy as I struggled to finish the massive portion. The basil hollandaise was great.
Pillow talk from Friends with Benedicts
- I headed back to First Street Market to pick up dinner for the bus ride home. The humble sandwich from Al Forno, with its house-made seeded baguette, was the standout.
Pear and turkey sandwich from Al Forno
Only Here for the Food 