Epicurious in Edmonton: 2010 in Review

It’s become a bit of a tradition for me to look back on Edmonton’s food scene after the year has wrapped (read 2009 here and 2008 here).

I think one of the most notable food happenings in 2010 was the growth of the blogosphere. More than a dozen local food bloggers joined the fray this year, and though some of them haven’t stuck, restaurants and media alike really started to recognize the fact that some diners do gather information from online food writers. Menu launches like the one that took place in November at ZINC will likely be more commonplace in the future.

As a result, however, I think readers will have to be more vigilant about what they read. Besides comped meals, it is inevitable that bloggers, like journalists, will develop relationships with chefs and restaurateurs. Edmonton may not have the critical mass of food bloggers as other cities do (yet), but I foresee more discussions about food blogging ethics on the horizon in our online community.

Other notable trends and events:

Local chains are continuing to increase their foothold in the local dining scene, including a second Transcend, a second Delux, a third outpost of Culina (in the Muttart Conservatory), a fourth location of Oodle Noodle, and another Cafe de Ville in Sherwood Park.
Of course, there’s usually more public excitement for the establishments opened by international chains, which was the case for Melting Pot and IHOP.
A few Canadian chains also launched their Edmonton presence this year, including Kelowna-based Big City Cupcakes, and Vancouver-based Local Public Eatery. Coming early 2011: beloved Crave Cupcakes, of Calgary.
It seems like loose tea purveyors had a good year – Teaopia opened in Kingsway, and David’s Tea now has two locations in Edmonton, at West Edmonton Mall and Southgate. Tea Fusion just opened in November in City Centre Mall (though bubble tea seems to be their focus).
Something I’m excited about, and really hope blossoms in 2011: one-note restaurant Battista’s Calzones opened in October, and La Poutine, which offers, yes, only poutine, is set to open in January 2011.
There seems to be a hunger for upscale, quality, not-your-average-deli sandwiches, with MRKT, Press’d, and the neighbourhood darling, Elm Cafe, seeing success this year. In the same vein, I have to think banh mi (Vietnamese subs) have become mainstream in Edmonton, with Nhon Hoa opening up a spot on Whyte Avenue, and V Sandwiches and Far East Sandwiches occupying prime downtown real estate.
Wine bars really were all the rage in 2010. With the addition of Lit, Moriarty’s, d’Lish, and Somerville Wine and Cheese, there are now several options for those looking for a glass of vino and some nibbles. So many, in fact, that 4th and Vine now bills itself as the “original wine bar” in print ads.
Speaking of wine bars, after fashion shows took place at both Lit and The Common this year, perhaps we should expect further mingling of bars and fashion in 2011.
Urban China and the more recent Emperor’s Palace really give me hope that one day, Chinatown might return to its glory days. At the very least though, they have ushered in the modern, stylish Chinese restaurants more common in Vancouver and Calgary.
This year saw the advent of group-based discount services in Edmonton – Groupon was the first, but it has now been joined by others, including Living Social, TeamBuy and most recently, SwarmJam.
As the city grows, pockets of businesses like the one in southeast Edmonton with Dumplings and Real Deal Meats will likely be more common (hopefully with locally owned businesses!).
With the excitement around The Marc and La Persaud in 2010, I wonder if more French bistros are in the cards?
The Municipal Development Plan, which will help protect some local food sources, was passed in May, and the Capital City Downtown Plan, which mentions providing assistance to those wishing to grow food downtown, as well as a multi-purpose arts/city market space, was passed in July.
Also on the topic of sustainability, it’s great to see the post-secondary institutions offering opportunities for students to learn more about food security, among other topics – Common Ground at Grant MacEwan University in March, and Sustainability Awareness Week at the U of A in October.
Another farmers’ market popped up in South Edmonton Common in the summer, and another is being investigated for the Riverbend/Terwillegar communities.

Here’s to more great happenings in 2011!

A Day with the Birthday Boy!

Mack celebrated his birthday on Tuesday. He probably gets short-changed somewhat because it falls so close after Christmas, but he usually has the day off of work for the holidays, which means we can spend the day together.

Mack loves LEGO, so we had already made plans a few weeks ago to check out Wheels, Wings & Waves, a LEGO World of Transportation Exhibition (two years ago for his birthday, we took in the Art of the Brick exhibition, also at the Telus World of Science). The exhibition chronicles the history of transportation “on the ground, in the air and on the water, all as seen through the eyes and built by the hands of talented LEGO builders”, and runs until January 2, 2011.

Mack thought he was too big to fit inside the racecar

All of the models were pretty cool, but of course, we had a few favourites, including the Titanic and the Space Lab.

Titanic

Space Lab

But it was a model of the High Level Bridge and the LRT bridge, built by the Northern Alberta LEGO Users Group that really caught our eye in the main showroom. We loved the small details – the people on the trails, the cars on the bridge.

Too cool!

A small room at the back of the exhibit housed a model inspired by The Way We Move, the City’s Transportation Master Plan.

Edmonton, reimagined

In the middle of the room, there was a LEGO equivalent of “Where’s Waldo?”, complete with a working lighthouse and a moving train.

Look for the details

Mack couldn’t wait to get his hands on LEGO. After rummaging around the numerous bins available, he was able to find pieces to put together a car.

Mack hard at work

His masterpiece

Before the centre closed, we checked out a show at the Margaret Zeidler Star Theatre. The last time I watched a show under the domed theatre must have been back in elementary school; an educational film about the stars. On this day we watched The Celestial Railroad. Though the images were quite beautiful, the milky way dissolving into a field of blinking flowers and flying cranes, we really didn’t enjoy the story or the message.

After our visit, we went to Route 99 for dinner. Nothing hits the spot like food at our favourite greasy spoon!

Beer and poutine FTW!

Pizza!

For dessert, I made us Mark Bittman’s Brown Betty (isn’t that the most charming name for a dish?). I had a lot of leftover bread from the scalloped tomato dish, and the Brown Betty incorporates quite a bit of fruit, not a bad thing after indulging on more than enough cheese.

A Brown Betty is similar to a bread pudding, with layers of toasted bread (tossed in sugar) and fruit drizzled with a mixture of juice and butter and baked.

Brown Betty

Unfortunately, the name was better than the result – part of it probably had to do with my poor job of tossing the sugars with the bread, but I was hoping for something with a little more oomph – the sum wasn’t greater than the parts.

We ended the night playing with Mack’s new toy from Santa – his XBOX Kinect. Our favourite game so far is Joy Ride (who doesn’t love a good old racing game?). The coolest thing about the Kinect (besides the limited voice activation features) is the fact that the console takes photos of the players throughout the game.

Yes, our steering wheels are really that big

Happy birthday, Mack!

The Cooking Chronicles: More Vegetarian Dishes

This year, I’ve made a conscious effort to make more vegetarian dishes. Some are hit or miss (a cheddar apple soup we tried recently was definitely the latter), but the two below did not make us miss meat.

Polenta Pie

I immediately bookmarked Mollie Katzen’s recipe for polenta pie as soon as I saw it on Kelley’s blog. I hadn’t really made polenta any other way than on the stove, eaten while still creamy, so baking polenta to form a crust really intrigued me.

On top of the crust went a layer of cheese, sautéed vegetables, then another layer of cheese. Unfortunately, we only had enough fontina for the first layer, which is something I think impacted the success of the dish somewhat.

Mack ended up enjoying the polenta crust more than I did; the crispy bits were fun to eat, but perhaps a more even ratio of vegetables to polenta would have helped for me.

Polenta pie

I would make it again, but I’d have to think about how to jazz it up a little more.

Curried Lentil Soup

If there is an idea to get excited about, this is it (okay, at least for the soup lovers among us). We’ve tried a number of ways to thicken our soups – cornstarch, roux, pureed potatoes – but Molly Wizenberg’s idea of pureed chickpeas in her recipe for curried lentil soup has got to be the most flavourful, nutritious way that we’ve come across so far.

It didn’t thicken the dish as much as I expected it to (we would have needed two cans of chickpeas for that), but it did the trick, and combined with the green lentils that still had a bite, made for a lovely texture.

Curried lentil soup

I’ve mentioned that Mack isn’t the biggest fan of soups (he’s hoping it’s just a phase in my cooking), but between the heat from the curry powder and the consistency, even he requested this dish be made again. Thanks Linda for the recommendation!

Solid Brunch: Blue Chair Cafe

The Saturday before Christmas, Mack and I had brunch with Grandma Male at the Blue Chair Cafe. I’d been meaning to try the restaurant for brunch for some time, after having a positive experience on one of their music nights earlier this year. We were hoping a musician would be lighting up the atmosphere during our meal, but it turns out live music only takes place on Sunday mornings.

Interior

Perhaps the lack of performers was linked to the empty restaurant when we walked in that Saturday, but truth be told, it was a pleasant change – the morning dash for tables at places like the High Level Diner or Urban Diner can be quite harrowing. Two other parties eventually joined us in the restaurant; maybe they had the same idea for a stress-free breakfast followed by a trip to the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market.

Love the bank of windows

With a dozen dishes on the brunch menu, including vegan and celiac-friendly options, we had a tough time deciding what to order. Mack eventually settled on the blueberry yogurt pancakes with maple alder-smoked bacon ($13.50), while Grandma Male chose the banana bread French toast ($13.50), and I opted for the basic benny ($13.50) with capicola ham and buckwheat sunflower bread.

My eggs benedict was fine, though I am probably not the best judge, given it isn’t a brunch dish I usually order – the eggs were poached well, the yolks still runny, and the bread was the hearty, grainy sort, my favourite. I also would have preferred crispy, home-style potatoes instead of the roasted baby potatoes. All of our dishes were served with a colourful side of fresh fruit, reminiscent of the New York Bagel Cafe.

Basic benny

Grandma Male thoroughly enjoyed her banana bread French toast (something you’d think would be more common – such a great twist on a classic). The brown sugar finish was a nice touch, and the serving was so large she had leftovers to take home!

Banana bread French toast

I had serious dish envy with Mack’s blueberry yogurt pancakes though. The pancakes were so light and fluffy, even more so than the usual buttermilk pancakes on restaurant menus. His serving was also quite large, but Mack managed to power through it, not a difficult task because the dish was accompanied by super-crispy bacon, his favourite.

Blueberry yogurt pancakes

I’d definitely return to Blue Chair Cafe in the future. Service was friendly and prompt, and the food was solid. Check it out if you haven’t already!

Blue Chair Cafe
9624 – 76 Avenue
(780) 989 – 2861
Monday – Sunday 10am-10pm

Food Notes for December 27, 2010

I hope everyone had a good Christmas! We’ve been putting our feet up over here…we haven’t had this relaxing of a holiday in some time. Much of that relaxing has been in the form of watching Mad Men from the beginning – it really is dangerous having access to an unlimited trial of Netflix, with the first three seasons of the show available. Though there’s not too much happening in the blogosphere, here are a few notes anyway:

Foodie McPoon notes that the IHOP has officially opened.
If you’re looking for reading material, make sure you check out Lightside Photography’s 30 Days of Edmonton series, if you haven’t already.
Valerie posted about her favourite Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market purchases last week.
Also from Valerie – a post reflecting on her thoughts on trends for the next ten years, and a post soliciting thoughts on trends from chefs. Keep an eye on her blog this week – more trends from others to come!
Christmas week meant a lot of eating out, catching up with friends and coworkers alike. One of those lunches took place at Viphalay, where I had my tried and true pad thai.

Viphalay’s pad thai

I love freshly baked bread, and Mack was sweet enough to feed my habit with a loaf this week.

Mack’s bread!

A few weeks ago, we agreed to sign up to try out an indoor composting system called Bokashi, which instead of using worms, utilizes microorganisms to break down organic material by fermentation. It’s been about two weeks, and still, there is little to no odour! We’ll be writing more about it in the new year.

Indoor composter

We had our second Christmas dinner over at Mack’s grandparents’ house on Saturday. Besides being treated to a delicious meal, I had my annual visit with Peanut.

Isn’t she adorable?

Enjoy your week!

The Cooking Chronicles: Holiday Potlucks

Potlucks were so much a part of my childhood holidays that it wasn’t until much later in life that I realized some families didn’t celebrate the way that we were used to. Never did any one family make all of the dishes; instead, each family was responsible for one or two sides, while the host prepared the turkey.

As such, I marvel at those families (like Mack’s grandparents) that do put all the food on the tables themselves, but I have to say, I am very happy that the potluck tradition continues – both in my family, and at work.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

One of the teams I am a part of at the office decided to put on a holiday lunch for the rest of the staff, in recognition of their service to the agency. Most of my colleagues volunteered to bring mains or side dishes, so I figured the dessert table could use some additions.

I chose Trish Magwood’s recipe of buttermilk chocolate cake for the base of my cupcakes. Her recipe should really be called the one-bowl, no-fail wonder, for how reliable it is in producing a moist, fluffy product. It’s a fabulous chocolate cake (and with cocoa powder from Kerstin’s, just chocolate-y enough).

I topped them with Ina Garten’s peanut butter icing and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts (my office is void of anyone with peanut allergies – probably an anomaly in the city).

Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing

I’m happy to say they were a hit with the staff, with several people asking for the recipe the next day. A special thanks to Jill and Kat for transportation help – it would have been a rather comical trudge through the snow with 50 cupcakes in hand!

Scalloped Tomatoes

I turned to another Ina Garten recipe for our annual Christmas Eve potluck with family friends. I borrowed her newest book, How Easy Is That? from the library a few weeks ago, and after seeing her recipe for scalloped tomatoes, thought it would make a good vegetable side dish for the dinner.

Mack did most of the grunt work for the dish, which involved dicing 15 plum tomatoes. After that, it was really easy to pull together – sautéing the tomatoes with crisped-up bread crumbs, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper, then baking it off with some basil (we threw in almost two cups), parmesan, and a drizzle of olive oil.

In the pan

Our condo smelled of summer while the tomatoes baked, and the dish came out beautifully, with a crust of golden-brown cheese on top.

Scalloped tomatoes (of course, running late, I didn’t get a chance to take the photo at our place)

I thought the dish could have used a little more sugar (the tomatoes were a little tart for me), but as a whole, it was a solid vegetable side, and one I would consider making again.

Do you have a go-to potluck dish?

The Cooking Chronicles: Holiday Baking

My Mum always does a ton of Christmas baking. She makes a variety of cookies like clockwork every year – from almond crescents to jam pinwheels to butter balls, our house was always full of good things to eat and give away this time of year.

My baking routine isn’t so measured – most of it is last minute (I finished a batch of cookies for my coworkers at midnight last night). That said, I wanted to make sure we included some homemade treats tucked in among the gifts to Grandma Male and Mack’s parents, which meant some necessary planning.

Cookies ‘n’ Cream Brownies

To satisfy Grandma Male’s sweet tooth, I thought Anna Olson’s recipe for cookies ‘n’ cream brownies would be perfect. The layer of snow white cream cheese icing on top had a nice winter feel to it, and speckled with crumbled Oreo cookies, how could one go wrong?

They turned out quite well, with a soft, chewy brownie base thanks to the cream cheese inclusion and a balanced icing from a combination of butter and cream cheese. Mack had to taste test them (of course), and declared them gift worthy! And Grandma Male enjoyed them too.

Cookies ‘n’ cream brownies

White Chocolate and Cranberry Drops

For Mack’s parents, we made sure to pick a recipe with full nutritional disclosure (nearly the same as it appears here), and a cookie that included red and white fillings seemed to be a good fit for the holidays.

The good news: the dough was easy to work with (shortbread doughs are hit or miss for me), and didn’t require any refrigeration before baking. The bad news: I didn’t pay attention to the fact that it was a shortbread to begin with – not a problem if we were just delivering the tin ourselves, but since we had to mail them to Yellowknife, cookies at risk of crumbling + rough handling should not mix.

White chocolate and cranberry drops

The story does have a happy ending though – the cookies reached Patti and Martin in good shape!

Culinary Q & A with Andrea

What did you eat today?

Gruel for breakfast 🙂 salmon w/sesame sauce for lunch and shepherd’s pie for dinner.

What do you never eat?

Blue Cheese!

What is your personal specialty?

I can make a mean pasta sauce.

Complete this sentence: In my refrigerator, you will always find:

Parmesan Cheese.

What is your weekday meal standby?

Fajita’s.

What is your favourite kitchen item?

My burr grinder, I couldn’t have a great cup of coffee without it.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

My moms turkey dinner with all the fixings, home made buns and cheesecake for dessert.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Teriyaki Corner.

Where’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

Guru! It is in the west end, the best.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

Smoken Bones Cookshack in Langford B.C and I would order the beef brisket Po’ Boy with collard greens on the side. Yum!

Check out Andrea’s blog, GourmAndrea.

Guests of Honour: Istanbul Restaurant

On the snowiest of nights last week, Vicki and I made our way to Istanbul Restaurant, the location of our volunteer appreciation dinner (we’re so fortunate to sit on a committee that chooses to highlight different ethnic cuisines every year – last year, it was Ethiopian).

I can’t say it was the easiest place to find (it would have been helpful if we had been told to look for the shining beacon of a Tim Horton’s sign along 82 Street), though our indirect route plagued with wrong turns was scenic – who knew Balwin had such a nice community league?

A sign just inside the door made us feel welcome the moment we stepped in, which read, “Once you enter our doors you are no longer a customer you are our guest of honour.” The warm ambiance – created from a combination of Christmas lights, neutral wall colours, and a hearth (albeit an electric one), was mirrored in the service, which was attentive and personal (each person, arriving separately, was immediately greeted at the table upon arrival).

Interior

We opted to order platters to share, which suited the group quite well, and enabled us to sample several types of their kebobs and included hummus, salad, rice, pita bread and a nice bonus – dessert.

The platter was a mixed bag – the beef was overdone, and was difficult to pry off its skewer, let alone enjoy. The chicken fared better, and seasoned well with a spicy finish, was the favourite. Vicki liked the salad, but we both thought the hummus was just okay (I much prefer the version at Tazza).

Istanbul mixed platter (for three)

The best part of the meal arrived near the end – dessert. We had the choice of either baklava or rice pudding. The latter won out, and based on the comments around the table, was a good choice. The top had been baked, resulting in a slightly browned “crust”, which gave way to a custard, thinner than I anticipated, but with just the right amount of sweetness. The grains of rice had settled at the bottom of the ramekin, which was nice as an extra layer of texture.

Rice pudding

Vicki and I both decided to try a cup of Turkish coffee. Made tableside, the coffee was poured into delightfully tiny porcelain teacups. The proportions threw me off – about 1/3 of it was actually drinkable (albeit strong) liquid, and the rest of the cup was filled with silt-y grounds. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I found out later that this preparation is traditional, and that the remaining grounds can be dumped out onto a saucer to be “read” like tea leaves.

Turkish coffee

I wasn’t blown away by the food, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to return. But if I find myself lost in the neighbourhood again on a snowy winter day, Istanbul might be that shining beacon for a weary traveler.

Istanbul Restaurant
12918 82 Street
(780) 478-8881
Monday-Saturday 11am-10pm, closed Sunday

Food Notes for December 20, 2010

Christmas indeed snuck up on us, didn’t it? I’m looking forward to Christmas morning and all, but there are still a few days of work standing in my way! I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday full of family and good eats. On to this week’s food notes:

Daniel Costa, formerly of Red Star, opened Corso 32 (10345 Jasper Ave, 780-421-4622) last week. Anyone tried it yet?
Queen of Tarts (10129 104 Street, 780-421-4410) is finally poised to open the first week of January. I know many are looking forward to accessing Linda’s delectable pastries year-round, but I’m looking forward to fresh, artisan breads baked right on our street!
The next round of local restaurant excitement surrounds Bistro La Persaud, a French restaurant tucked in La Cite Francophone – a Journal review, a CBC review, and a food blogger review all in one week. Though the reviews all claim that the restaurant is still in “soft opening” mode, I’d say the doors have been blown wide open now.
Lea reviewed a new Indian restaurant on the south side of Edmonton, called Shafi Tandoori Grill.
I know Edmonton will never be big enough to have the critical mass to generate a post like this one, but a girl can dream, right? Eater tracks the taco explosion that hit New York in 2010.
Though I know the trends projected in the US/New York take several years to land here (if at all), they’re still fun to read: here are two great roundups from Grub Street.
For trends that are more likely to hit closer to home – check out this list of supermarket trends.
And though this time of year is all about trends – what about the trends that weren’t?
I spotted this 2011 Calgary Dining Guide, published by Calgary’s Avenue Magazine, at Chapters this weekend. Though I know their editions are routinely double the size of Edmonton’s version, I wonder if we’ll be lucky enough to have a similar guide produced for our fair city?

Calgary Dining Guide

Sweet Lollapalooza, the Commerce Place-based chocolatier, opened up a second small storefront around the corner from its original shop, just for the holidays. The second shop sells pre-boxed versions of their popular truffles for those without time to select the bonbons themselves. I’m a big fan of their buttercrunch toffee…yum.

Sweet Lollapalooza

Speaking of chocolate, I tried the hot chocolate from Credo last week, made with Jacek Chocolate. It had a depth and subtle cocoa powder sweetness that was the perfect accompaniment on our winter walk – I’ll be back for another cup soon! Also, it was awesome to read that Jacek sold out of all of their chocolate for the holidays – you snooze, you lose (that would include me).

Jacek hot chocolate from Credo

We stopped by Duchess this weekend to pick up a few gifts. It was also a good excuse to check out Garner’s gingerbread Notre Dame cathedral in person. It is stunning, and from the photos on Facebook, even more so after dark.

Gingerbread cathedral

Amanda managed to score us a pair of free tickets to the Oilers game on Thursday night, where we watched the Blue Jackets get rocked. Man, Linus Omark is going to be a star, isn’t he? This was also our first time seeing the newly-minted Octane dance team. They were underwhelming.

Thanks for the tickets, Kelly and John!

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