“Where Edmonton’s” Most Memorable Meals 2006

When I was younger, and traveling with family on summer vacations, I would always look for Where Magazine. Published in nearly every major North American city, I found it a handy, easily available, and conveniently free guide to use when planning things to do.

Now, with everything so readily accessible on the Internet, I find myself depending less and less on paper media for vacation tips. Still, I can’t entirely pass up the glossy goodness of a magazine, and today, picked up a copy of the latest Where Edmonton – it’s intriguing to see how the City of Champions is portrayed to tourists.

The January/February 2007 issue features a list of “2006’s Most Memorable Meals,” apparently reader-voted (though I like Where, I’m still somewhat skeptical that there isn’t some big advertising puppet that chooses what to feature). Winners by category:

Chinese: Blue Willow
Bar/Lounge: Brewsters
Romantic and French: Creperie
Family: Earls Tin Palace
Wine List and Fine Dining: Hardware Grill
Breakfast/Brunch and Hotel Dining: Harvest Room
Italian: Il Portico
Service and Steak: The Keg (South)
Indian: Khazana
Japanese: Mikado
Ambiance: Ric’s Grill
Business Lunch: Sorrentino’s
Best Greek: Yiannis Taverna Greek Restaurant

It’s not a bad list, though it’s interesting how the editor had to specify “Best Greek,” while assuming that one-word ethnic denominations for “Chinese,” “Italian,” “Indian,” and “Japanese” would suffice.

Based on my last experience, I would have to disagree with Mikado’s win, and would opt for Kyoto any day, but that’s likely indicative of the income bracket Where publishers are aiming for. Those who know my dining preferences also know that I despise Earls, but I do find it curious how it ended up in the “Family” category – the chain always struck me as more business-friendly or upscale casual. Lastly, I’ve actually never been to Blue Willow, and certainly had no idea it had been in operation for so long (since 1958!). While lists like this seem to prioritize image over authenticity, it may be worth a try.

Perhaps I should compile my own “Best of” soon…

Culinary Q & A with Sharon

What did you eat today?

A tall mild from Starbucks and my mum’s orange pound cake for breakfast. A fruit & nut granola bar for my midday snack. A container of peach yogurt, another loaf of pound cake, and a box of orange juice for lunch. A mug of Twinings green tea in the afternoon. A decaf, non-fat, no-whip cinnamon dolce latte after work. And chicken fingers and fries at City Centre’s Elephant & Castle for dinner. Whoo, am I ever unhealthy.

What do you never eat?

Blue cheese. I had an awful experience involving preschool-kinders, a cheese tasting, and vomit.

What is your personal specialty?

Anything involving baked eggs, but in particular, mini frittatas.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

I have fallen in love with pepper mills. I can’t believe I lived without fresh ground pepper for so many years!

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Champagne cocktail. Portobello mushroom puff pastries to start. Medium rare filet mingon with a side of grilled vegetables (zucchini is a must!). Whipped chocolate mousse and strawberry apple Passion Flakie for dessert. Cup of mild coffee to end.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Pagolac on Edmonton’s southside.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

Blue Plate Diner for the ambiance, Hardware Grill for the food and Madison’s Grill for a premium combination of both.

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

At an outdoor food market in Brunei. I would order a plate of char kway teow and a tall glass of iced desi. An entire meal for about $3. Yum!

Friendly and Efficient: Kyoto Japanese Cuisine

I went to Kyoto Japanese Cuisine (10128-109 Street) for a farewell lunch this afternoon with my workmates. In order to bypass the oft-busy lunchtime crowd, we not only elected to start our meal early (11:30am), but we also pre-ordered our food the day before.

We arrived fashionably late – quarter to noon – to a table already set, with filled glasses and bowls of Miso soup waiting. The restaurant itself is tasteful, with clean decor and muted colors. The chairs were slightly awkward though – made of metal and rather clunky, they weren’t all that comfortable to sit in or shift.

But before we even had the opportunity to really get settled, the waitress came by to deliver our individual bento boxes, which all but one of my coworkers had opted for. As I typically order all-in-one rice bowls, this was my first experience with a bento box. With carefully partitioned food à la a TV dinner, and separate bowls for rice, bean sprouts, and dipping sauce, it was an extremely novel – bordering on OCD – way of consuming a meal. And at $8.95 – it is a great deal. The tempura was light and not greasy while the chicken slightly crispy and tender. The beef, however, left something to be desired – slightly cold, and chewier than I had liked, I suppose it could have been a byproduct of our tardiness. But with the rice and salad, the box was a nicely rounded meal.

Because we had to be in and out in an hour, I didn’t have time to really enjoy the atmosphere of Kyoto. It may be worth a return trip.

Sushi bar

Place setting and Miso soup

Bento Box with beef, chicken, and tempura

Culinary Q & A with May

Like my infamous pink and white books that unfailingly trigger hand spasms and internal screams of dread in my friends, I was inspired to create a new questionnaire by a food blog I stumbled upon recently. I decided to ask a few of my readers to contribute to a culinary compilation of sorts by answering a few questions. Responses will be posted over the next few weeks.

To start with – Culinary Q & A with May

Occupation: soon-to-be Chartered Accountant

What did you eat today?

Dim Sum Mirama. I’ve had too much Chinese restaurant food the past holiday and am sick of it.

What do you never eat?

Yams. So tasteless.

What is your personal specialty?

Better Butter Chicken, Grilled Salmon, and Sloppy Joes.

What is your favorite kitchen item?

Measuring cups.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Mexican meal at authentic Mexican restaurant. Chicken burrito with rice.

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Saigon Givral on Jasper Ave and 110 Street and Kyoto on Jasper Ave.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

Manor Café.

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

Multiple authentic ethnic cuisine in Los Angeles. Mexican burritos and rice. Pad Thai and Thai Ice Tea. Pho Rice Noodle Soup with Beef.

Charmingly Urban: Blue Plate Diner

I mention Blue Plate Diner (10145-104 Street) so often that you’d think I’d eat there more frequently, so I was more than happy to return on Friday night for dinner with Mack.

Just stepping into the restaurant makes me happy. Located in the warehouse district, the dining room retains some of the original brick, adorned with contemporary art, and accented with aged windows utilized as table dividers. I love the ambiance in the evenings, with swoony ’50s music, the natural buzz of conversation, and dim, candlelit tables.

The menu isn’t anything spectacular, but it’s like my favorite sweater – comfortable and good for all occasions. Something unique that they do offer is their Friday night dinner specials, with two featured dishes every week (and yes, it does remind me of dinner at the Gilmore residence). I ordered one of the two specials, a winter vegetable pie served with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. Mack chose the beef burger and regular fries.

I forgot my camera (the photos below are from their website), so you’ll have to bear with text, but the pie was huge! Baked in a large dish and topped off with a puff pastry crust, it was teeming with carrots, mushrooms, and fennel root (to me, tasted like a cross between celery and onions). It was a satisfying dish that wasn’t too heavy, and a great choice on a cold night. Mack’s said his from-scratch fries were good, and polished off his burger in no time!

Needless to say, I’ll be back!

Ambiance

Table for two

Delicious and Economical: Lorenzo’s

In search of a late afternoon lunch today, I wandered over to Zuppa Cafe, but was disappointed to find out that they would be closed until January 2. They have one of the most inexpensive meals I have ever encountered in the city centre area – a bowl of hearty, homemade soup of the day and a side of baked pita chips for $3 – perfect for a light lunch.

Thus, I made my way to my reliable backup – Lorenzo’s in Edmonton City Centre West (10025-102A Avenue). Though they recently moved from the City Centre East food court, they haven’t changed the specials they offer. My staple in high school, they were not only affordable (a pizza, pasta, and drink combo for about $5), but also, the service has always been excellent. The woman who is a mainstay at Lorenzo’s is always friendly, efficient, and sprinkles terms of endearment like “honey” in her speech, making me feel welcome and taken care of.

On this day, I ordered the small lasagna, which came to a measly $3. Though there was only one layer of cheese, there was enough pasta layers for a filling midday snack, rounded out with a generous topping of meat and tomato sauce.

Lorenzo’s is a great place to go for a quick bite!

Small Lasagna

Small on Servings and Service: Rigoletto’s Cafe

A few friends and I had dinner at Rigoletto’s Cafe (10068-108 Street) on Wednesday night. Extremely accessible, this Italian restaurant was located just off of the Corona LRT line.

The dining room was a dark, European-style bistro that looked from the furniture, carpeting, and lighting as if it hadn’t been updated since the late 80s or early 90s. Luckily, we were seated underneath one of the few spot lit tables, otherwise, we would have been eating over a single-flame candle and not much else.

Though I admit it was my fault for a) ordering the small versus the large plate, and b) not ordering a less mundane dish, I was disappointed with my tortellini in cream sauce – its equivalent at Chianti’s would have been several dollars cheaper and of similar quality. I had pasta-envy just looking at my friends’ rigatoni, penne, and lasagna, which were easily three times the size of my selection. Earlier, when we had put in our orders, I had asked our server if we could have separate bills, to which he scoffed, and ultimately didn’t even provide me with an answer. I couldn’t help but get the feeling that my question translated into my ridiculously small serving.

For dessert, I ordered a latte and the chocolate mousse. My coffee was all right (I find I much prefer the sweetened, less authentic varieties available at chain coffee shops), while the mousse had obviously been pre-made and refrigerated – much too rich and dense, the consistency was closer to pot de crème than whipped mousse.

Lastly, the service was spotty throughout the night. They were extremely short staffed, with three servers attending to the entire restaurant (which was surprisingly busy for a downtown location on a random Wednesday). Although our waiter was quite attentive initially, by the end, we had to signal not only to order our entrees, then dessert, but also to request and pay for our bill (which wasn’t, by the way, separated). I suppose Rigoletto’s could be the kind of place one dines at for an evening of uninterrupted conversation, but I would have still appreciated the occasional check-in from a friendly server.

With the abundance of restaurants I have yet to try, I would be hesitant to return to Rigoletto’s Cafe right away. But I do believe in second chances, so though the service received a failing grade from me on this round, I will allow for a retest in the future.

BrightNights 2006

Mack and I visited one of the so-called Edmonton Christmas “traditions” last night: BrightNights at Hawrelak Park. With over 550 lit displays, this was the largest festival in its history. I had been to this event with my family once before, but my memory is faint.

This time around, it was slow going; poor Mack burned through an unknown amount of gas. Funny how this family-friendly attraction doesn’t garner criticism from those against fossil fuels. But I guess when profits are directed towards charity and not Big Oil, such pollution is socially acceptable.

I couldn’t pick out all twenty-five new displays, but I did recall a few from my past visit, including Santa’s reindeer-drawn sleigh and the Jaws-reminiscent shark (oddly positioned this year in the “Sugarplum Village” section). The animated ones were definitely my favorite. In particular, the archer near the entrance and the squirrel in the forest.

I can’t see how this could be an annual pilgrimage unless you had small children, but it wasn’t a bad way to spend a holiday evening. I’d be more in favor of returning for the one-day pedestrian-only event in early November; it’d be a good opportunity to pro-actively work off the calories that would undoubtedly be gained over the season of eating.

Reactine, Christmas generosity, and Ezio Farone Park

A few things before Christmas:

I love Lucky the Golden Retriever as much as the next person, but my allergies typically start acting up before the two hour mark after contact. Encouraged by Mack, I took some Reactine before heading to Jane’s house for the potluck last Friday, and it worked wonders. Why hadn’t I thought of it before?
Shopping on Saturday with May at Edmonton City Centre, I stopped in Mayfair Shoes to ask about a waterproof spray for my Kenneth Cole boots I bought in November, as the salt was not being kind to my shoes. The two store clerks recognized me, as I am in the store quite frequently, and when asked which product would work best for my boots, they offered me a can for free! They even gave May one too! Random acts of generosity, any time of year, are very welcome.
Lastly, I took a few pictures at Ezio Farone Park, located near the north end of the High Level Bridge while waiting for a friend on Thursday. The Park is across the street from the building I work in, but I never take the time to enjoy it. Perhaps my pictures may encourage you to go out and appreciate what downtown Edmonton has to offer.

The High Level Bridge and LRT track

A trail at dusk

The Legislature in the background

Modern Simplicity: Holt’s Cafe

On Saturday, May and I headed to Holt’s Cafe , located on the second floor of Holt Renfrew (10180-101 Street), for brunch.

We had both been wanting to eat there for ages, but it had to be a Saturday, as both of us wouldn’t have been able to get away for a lunch out of the office on weekdays, and Holt’s Cafe was closed on Sundays. In a recent Edmonton Journal piece, the reviewer cautioned all diners to make reservations early to ensure space availability, so about a week earlier, I called for a 12pm table-for-two.

When I arrived, the hostess immediately led me to a table by the window. Definitely one with a view, the glass overlooked the main floor of Manulife Place, and was positioned so it took full advantage of the sunshine filtering in from Manulife’s numerous skylights. Crisp white table linens contrasted nicely with the painted red walls, accented with the soft glow emanating from rectangular screen lamps. The minimalist decor scheme was chic, classy, and elegant, and an example of how a simple two-toned red and white color palette could be maximized to produce a warm but sophisticated design.

The cafe was moderately full, with patrons consisting mostly of mature couples and groups of ladies lunching. After getting settled, I nearly attacked the waitress for coffee, but she didn’t flinch at all, and even brought me cream without being asked (and of course, kept the refills coming). Unfortunately, there was no separate brunch menu, but I noticed that most of my fellow diners were choosing lighter meal options like salad or soup. Though dismayed because they had run out of Vegetarian Quiche, I decided to try the shrimp alternative anyway. May opted for the Whole Wheat Spaghetti topped with a curious Indian-inspired Marsala Sauce.

My portion was appropriately sized, and I wasn’t disappointed with the quiche. Light and fluffy, with a good flavor balance between the shrimp and the egg, it was the perfect brunch selection. Served with seasonal greens and a side of orange poppy seed dressing, the salad proved to be good companion to the quiche. My friend said her pasta was okay and not too spicy, but she would have preferred to have ordered my dish.

For dessert, we opted for the Lemon Tarts. They proved impossible to eat gracefully, as the filling was not viscous enough to adhere to the pastry shell. Though a tad too sweet for my taste (I prefer pastry cream), it wasn’t bad.

It was a wonderful dining experience, and while it may be some time before I can fit Holt’s Cafe into my lunch schedule again, I will be back to try their other entrees.

Dining room