City Market Report: Week 17

It still felt like summer on Saturday at the City Market. Sure, it was a bit chilly to start, but it warmed right up by noon!

Market crowds

Squash are starting to come out and play though, so fall is just around the corner!

Squash from Sundog Organics

Squash from Riverbend Gardens

Pattypan squash from Sundog Organics

Parsnips from Sundog Organics

Kale from Sundog Organics

Concord grapes from Steve & Dan’s

Kohlrabi from Kuhlmann’s

Carrots from Kuhlmann’s

Broccoli from Kuhlmann’s

Potatoes from Kuhlmann’s

Potatoes from Riverbend Gardens

See you next week at Corn Fest!

September 8, 2012 What the Truck?! @ Churchill Square

Churchill Square is a beguiling landmark in Edmonton. I think most people would argue that we need a large, open, centrally accessible space in our city, a blank slate that could be transformed into any number of things. It would be hard to argue against the opinion that part of the reason why we have become known as festival city is because of Churchill Square – from mid-June until mid-August, those that wander by will almost surely find some sort of entertainment to capture their attention.

The Works in Churchill Square

That said, for most of the year, Churchill Square still lies frustratingly vacant. City Council has tried to solve this problem, by providing funding to the Edmonton Arts Council to program the Square on a year-round basis. But the difficulty isn’t just about making something – anything – happen, but the stark reality that Churchill is an indomitably large area. And for most festivals without massive installations, staging, or the magnitude to draw hundreds of patrons, it really is a challenging space to animate and encourage a vibrancy that befits Edmonton’s town square.

Churchill Square

When Mack and I first approached the City last spring with our idea for a food truck festival, the events planners immediately directed us to Churchill Square. In a way, it made sense – the level, concrete pad was perfect for vehicles, and the concrete staircase on the west side was essentially built-in seating. It’s one of the most transit accessible locations in the city, visible from the street and located in a dense neighbourhood.

But that June, with only seven participating trucks, it just didn’t fit the scope of What the Truck?! at the time. Churchill Square seemed a little too obvious for a venue. Besides, we really loved the pop-up, roving idea of a festival based around mobile vendors, taking advantage of underutilized spaces in Edmonton and demonstrating the possibilities of thinking outside the box.

Our first WTT was located in one of Edmonton’s gems, Beaver Hills House Park

Fast forward fourteen months, and in many ways, we have come a long way – food trucks are on their way to becoming mainstream in Edmonton. The ten trucks that participated in What the Truck?! at Victoria Promenade in August were absolutely mobbed. Then a week later, Food Network’s popular Eat St. came calling, really highlighting that our scene features some trucks that can stand proudly amongst some of North America’s best street eats.

Drift filming Eat Street!
Drift on filming day

So when Mack and I were scouting locations for our final What the Truck?! this season, Churchill Square was at the top of our list. Building on our momentum from Old Strathcona, 104 Street and Victoria Promenade, we think Edmonton’s food trucks are finally ready to take on the Square.

What: What the Truck?!, Edmonton’s food truck extravaganza
When: Saturday, September 8, 2012
Where: Sir Winston Churchill Square
Time: 5-9pm

Not only will this be our biggest event ever, with a total of twelve trucks, but it will also involve three vendors new to What the Truck?!: Little Village, Yellowbird Cafe and Bully.

Little Village is one of Edmonton’s newest food trucks

The menu is now up – just make sure you’re not hungry when you peruse it! Hope to see you down at Churchill Square on Saturday!

City Market Report: Week 16

Mack and I were honoured to have been asked to ring the opening bell at the City Market this morning!

Honoured

I know I was particularly fortunate, because it is the second time I’ve been asked to do so, but it was fun to open the market with Mack this time around.

Mack rings the bell!

It also meant we were at the market early enough for our best selection of produce this year.

Gorgeous tomatoes from Sundog Organic

Potatoes from Sundog Organic

Parsnips from Sundog Organic

Pumpkins and corn from Sundog Organic

Beets from Sundog Organic

Bread and butter pickles from Kuhlmann’s

Broad beans from Kuhlmann’s

Pears from Steve & Dan’s

Corn from Riverbend Gardens

The view from behind the counter (photo taken by Jenny Berkenbosch)

I was also volunteering for the Downtown Edmonton Community League today, where we were selling 2013 memberships. We were also promoting DECL’s annual Corn Fest, which is taking place on September 15, 2012, from 11am-3pm at Beaver Hills House Park (Jasper Ave & 105 Street). Come by that day to get some free corn, and to renew your community league membership!

William and Chris geek out for #yegdt

Speaking of #yegdt, the City Market released their new bags today that incorporate the I [heart] yegdt logo. The interior is even lined with handy separators for bottles! Pick them up from the info tent for $4 a pop.

New bags

The market was also overtaken with brides, a stunt to promote Mile Zero Dance’s Wedding Crasher Party Fundraising Dance, taking place on September 21, 2012. It’s a pretty ingenious idea – when else would you have the opportunity to re-wear your wedding or bridesmaid gown?

Mile Zero Dance promoters

It really was just another day downtown. See you at the market next week!

Until Next Year: The Village of the Fringed

The 31st annual Edmonton International Fringe Festival came to a close on Sunday, and it smashed records all the way through. After years of stalled ticket sales, something seems to have changed in the market for ticketed shows: 104,142 tickets were sold in 2011 and 112, 006 in 2012. Great weather is only one factor, so I’d be interested to know how the organizers come to understand these breakthroughs. But whatever the explanation, congrats to the Fringe for this amazing feat!

Fringe alley

We headed back to the grounds on the weekend, and thankfully, the food was better on this occasion. The green onion cakes aren’t an annual tradition for us like they are for some other regulars, but we enjoyed them as a quick snack while waiting in line.

Green onion cakes

We also had a chance to dine at the Little Village Food Truck, tucked behind the beer garden by the tracks. Hopefully, if the Fringe reconfigures the food vendors next year, the trucks can be a little more prominent along the main strip!

Little Village Food Truck

Anyway, I really enjoyed the roasted lamb over potatoes – tasty, and remarkably easy to eat, and Mack liked his drunken pork sandwich.

Roasted lamb over potatoes

Drunken pork sandwich

This was the first year in quite some time that Mack and I missed out on getting a Frequent Fringer pass, but it probably worked out for the better because of time constraints. We did end up making it out to eight shows, however. Three stood out for us the most:

Medicine: TJ Dawe’s most personal play I have ever seen focused on his inner demons, and the journey he undertook to understand and exorcise them. As usual, Dawe wowed the crowd with his wit, rhythmic storytelling and the depth of his revelation. I was glad to see that it was held over!
The Popular Principles of Hypnosis: written and performed by two recent MacEwan Theatre grads, it may not have been the most polished show or even all that plausible, but it was one of the most earnestly performed, and utterly charming. I look forward to seeing Mathew Bittroff and Jayce Mckenzie at future Fringes!
Harold of Galactus: I wasn’t certain that the long and narrow BYOV at the Varscona would work, but the energy of Mark Meer and Chris Craddock carried through the room. It was amazing to see the improv masters build a complete superhero origin story inspired by an audience’s suggestion.

Of the eight shows we took in, we only received programs for three of the shows. Did others find that their productions were paperless as well? Perhaps that was a trend this year, or just a coincidence for us?

Also on the rise this year was the #yegfringe hash tag. It’ll be interesting to see if the Fringe embraces this in the future – I’d love to see a Twitter fall at the Arts Barns! I know the festival shies away from “sanctioning” reviews, but there is precedence – I remember the pre-renovated Arts Barns housing internet cafes (before smart phones became ubiquitous) encouraging patrons to post their reviews on online forums.

Arts Barns

In all, it was a great Fringe! See you all next year!

Recap: Truck Stop – Pulled Pork Throwdown!

On August 15, 2012, What the Truck?! held its ever Truck Stop: Throwdown Edition. We didn’t know what the turnout would be like, given it was scheduled on a Wednesday in a packed summer calendar. But we were fortunate to have glorious weather, great coverage in anticipation of the event, and partnership with a wonderful charity.

Behind the Archives

As mentioned in a previous post, the competition aspect of this Truck Stop had been born from the reality that certain items commonly appeared on the menus of trucks. We were thrilled when The Act, Nomad and Smokehouse BBQ embraced our idea, and agreed to put their pulled pork pride on the line for a good cause.

Vote for your favourite!

Given we were holding the event at the Edmonton Public Schools Archives, the Edmonton Public Schools Foundation was a natural fit. But more than that, their support for early learning initiatives and full-day kindergarten, vital to getting “bean sprouts” (as Director Sandra Woitas calls them) off on the right track, is without a doubt a worthy charity.

Dick Mather Park, adjacent to the Archives

Diners were free to try as few or as many sliders as they wanted for $4 a pop, while the opportunity to vote for their favourite required a $2 donation to the Foundation.

The liens grew fast and furiously, but the mood was light, and the crowds seemed to be enjoying the sunshine. We even had some food truck veterans drop by, happy to be on the other side of the window for a change!

Kara and Nevin of Drift

In the end, The Act took home the prize, earning the most votes from discerning diners.

The Act’s winning slider

But no question, with a total of $1800 raised (from a combination of donations from voters and the trucks), the real winners of the evening are the school children who will be supported by the Foundation’s work. A big thanks to the Edmonton Public Schools Archive for permitting us the use of their parking lot, the three trucks who were a part of our inaugural Throwdown Edition, and the team at Edmonton Public Schools for being a great partner.

And if you missed this Truck Stop, not to worry – you can look forward to our final What the Truck?! of the season next week. On September 8, 2012, a dozen trucks will be colonizing Churchill Square from 5-9pm. More details here.

City Market Report: Week 15

With the overcast and windy weather, it felt like fall at the City Market today. You have to think the market administrators felt the same, given they put up the banners this week reminding everyone that the City Market will be vending indoors again after Thanksgiving at City Hall.

Yes to year-round!

The crowds definitely seemed smaller today, probably chased away by the clouds and numerous other festivals going on today, so there was still plenty to choose from by the time we reached the street.

Corn was out in full force – at Riverbend Gardens

At Kuhlmann’s

And the baby variety from Greens, Eggs and Ham (the entire thing, leaves and all, is edible! It tasted like corn shoots to us)

Multi-coloured baby eggplant from Greens, Eggs and Ham

Gorgeous carrots from Sundog Organic

Beets from Sundog Organic

Fennel from Sundog Organic

Giant zucchini and squash from Kuhlmann’s

Coronation grapes from Steve & Dan’s

We had missed Lactuca’s debut at the City Market a few weeks ago, but Travis was out in full force again today, with what I still think is one of the coolest vending “wagons” I’ve ever seen.

Travis Kennedy of Lactuca

Bike-powered and self-contained, it’s almost as neat as the fact that he grows all of his micro-greens out of his lot in Westmount. Read more about him on Kevin’s blog if you haven’t already.

The stash

We’re looking forward to the Greater Edmonton Alliance farm tour tomorrow. Hope you enjoy your weekend too!

A Banh Mi Twist: Fresh Bubble Tea & Sandwich Bar

Last Tuesday was probably the worst day to dine out for lunch. The rain was coming down sideways, and needless to say, I was soaked by the time I reached my destination. Still, after my first lunch at Fresh Bubble Tea & Sandwich Bar (10611 Kingsway Avenue), I have to say the food was worth the walk, showers and all.

Fresh

Having opened up about six months ago, the cafeteria-reminiscent Fresh tries to be true to its name, with a menu made up of banh mi sandwiches and fresh fruit bubble tea drinks. Fresh is definitely more health-conscious than the highly-visible McDonald’s across the street, but suffers a bit in terms of prominence. Tucked on the first floor of the non-descript Kingsway Professional Building, it’d be easy to overlook Fresh (especially with all of the current construction!).

As I mentioned, their menu focuses on wholesome items, but is far from extensive. For this, I applaud them – usually, restaurants try to do too much, instead of concentrating on doing a small number of items well. Fresh only offers four banh mi options (pork, chicken, beef, tofu), and a significantly smaller bubble tea menu when compared with other cafes.

Given the rainstorm, I opted only for a beef banh mi with peanut satay sauce ($6.49). All sandwiches are topped with cheese, house mayo, cucumber, onions, lettuce, cilantro, pickled carrots and daikon – not exactly your conventional banh mi, but close enough to be familiar. The fusion may also appeal to diners who are more comfortable with western-style sandwiches, and help bridge them towards the traditional.

Beef banh mi

The sandwich was made fresh, the meat fried up on the flattop upon order. It arrived neatly wrapped in parchment paper. The bread was fresh, crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside, while the filling was substantial. The vegetables had been packed in with a generous hand, ensuring a textured, crunchy layer with every bite, but the star really was the peanut sauce-laced meat. It added a depth I don’t typically associate with banh mi, even if it was much less intense than other satay sauces I’ve encountered.

Yum

Based on this experience, I would have no hesitation returning to Fresh, and would hope to add a bubble tea to my order next time!

Fresh Bubble Tea & Sandwich Bar
10611 Kingsway Ave
(587) 520-8310

First Impressions of The Village of the Fringed

Mack and I spent our Sunday at the Fringe. It was another scorcher, which meant many roving artists lucky enough to score an air-conditioned venue made sure to mention it in their elevator pitches.

Mack does his best village child impression

We took in three shows (the best of the bunch was Seven Ways to Die: A Love Story), but had plenty of time in between to explore the site to uncover what was new for this festival this year.

A packed McIntyre Park

Fringe Daily Discount Booth

I really like the idea of a discounted ticket booth – where tickets to a number of performances, posted daily, are offered at a discounted rate. Over the past few years, the Fringe has been targeting those who have never before attended a ticketed play. Between the “First time Fringer” sessions and now, the opportunity to pick up tickets for half price (given that cost might be a deterrent for some), I think the organizers are doing a wonderful job. I’ll be curious to see what the uptake on this booth is.

Daily Discount Booth (located near the train tracks)

New ETS policy

Something I am not a fan of, however, is the change to the ETS policy with regards to the festival. In the past, flashing one’s Fringe program was enough to grant two people a ride home after 6pm. Similarly, those with a “Fringe benefits” sticker (obtained with a donation at the gates) were granted the same privilege. We’re assuming that perhaps this service was abused, because the festival has now drastically changed the system. This year, in lieu of the program or sticker, after 4pm, patrons are required to exchange a printed voucher from the program at one of three on-site Information Services booths for one ticket.

Transit vouchers

For Mack and I (and I would imagine the majority of those who share programs between them), it means one of us still has to pay for transit fare. Shouldn’t we be encouraging alternative forms of transportation, not deterring their use? In a way, this also disadvantages BYOVs (which continue to flourish outside of the Old Strathcona neighbourhood), as patrons attending “off-site” shows are not able to exchange their voucher. The City may be promoting cycling to the Fringe this year, with sparkly new bike racks that take up parking real estate, but it does seem to be one step forward, two steps back.

New bicycle racks right on Whyte

Food Trucks

Food trucks really are taking over the city, given they are now infringing on our long-standing festivals! Little Village Food Truck is on-site for those looking to satisfy their mobile cuisine craving, as well as Bo Thai, who participated in our Truck Stop last year.

That said, I was disappointed with a pad thai ($7) I ordered on Sunday. After a long wait and curt service, I found the dish sorely lacking in tofu and egg.

Pad Thai from Bo Thai

Mack fared better with his non-food truck fare from Zaika, back again this year. He ordered a butter chicken combo ($10), and though slightly pricier than my pick, it was well worth it, given the generous amount of tender chicken and the crispy samosa.

Butter chicken from Zaika

As a whole, the food offerings seem to be down in number when compared with last year, but maybe that’s just our perception. Of course, there’s always the option of a meal at a neighbouring eatery, as we indulged in after our last Fringe show that evening.

Poutine from The Next Act (it was nice to be in the restaurant for a change, instead of in front of the truck!)

We’ll be back at the main grounds on Friday (I’m looking forward to seeing TJ Dawe’s Medicine, while Mack has his sights set on Magnetmonton), but we did get another hit of Fringe tonight at #YEGprov (playing at BYOV 13). It was a first: Mack’s first on-stage appearance at a Fringe performance!

Mack’s cameo in the “Actor’s Nightmare” game

It was a fun show, and I especially enjoyed the exercise when the actors had to pick up on one another’s stories. Look for Brittney and Adam to guest star on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Happy Fringing!

City Market Report: Week 14

Mack and I had great intentions to wake up early to have a leisurely stroll at the City Market yesterday before we had to drive to Viking for the Rge Rd 135 dinner at Nature’s Green Acres, but of course, that didn’t quite happen. We did end up getting almost everything we wanted, but at a pace a little more frantic than usual for a Saturday morning.

Loved the City Market’s new flag markers

We were happy to see Martin Kerr back busking, too, and picked up his second CD of acoustic songs. We can legitimately say that Martin played us into Viking!

Martin Kerr

It seemed busier at the market than we’d ever seen it. Stalls were bustling with activity, and many were already sold out of some seasonal items. The appetite for fresh vegetables was palpable this week!

Riverbend Gardens was clean out of corn

Cabbage from Riverbend Gardens

Celery from Sundog Organic

Garlic from Kuhlmann’s

Mack always gets the fun job of toting around everything I throw into our shopping basket, and yesterday, even I had to admit it was fuller than usual!

Not impressed with the load

See you next week!

Blink: Urban Picnic

I would say the first event in our Blink series of pop-up dinners came together relatively quickly, from conception to reality (helped greatly, of course, by the staff of Century Hospitality Group). The notion of transforming a pedway into a restaurant felt inspired, almost spontaneous. This is especially true when contrasted with the location of our second Blink event.

For a few years now, Mack and I have been looking longingly at a site at Louise McKinney Park, wondering if it would be possible to program the space. It seemed like the ideal location – accessible, with riverfront views. Though in recent years there have been more efforts to animate the park as a whole (That’s Edmonton For You and Hip Hop in the Park come to mind, besides the long-standing Dragon Boat Festival), it’s still a drop in the bucket.

Louise McKinney Park

The addition of washrooms and a cafe at the base of the building haven’t seemed to help either – on most days passing through in the afternoon or evening, one would be hard pressed to find many people using the trails, let alone lingering. We often hear it said that the best feature of Edmonton is our extensive river valley – but if no one is actually out enjoying it, what use is it?

Trails

One argument that has been made is that there should be more reasons for people to visit Louise McKinney. The cafe in the River Valley Adventure Co. is a good start, so people taking a stroll can stop in for a coffee or ice cream along the way, but it’s clearly not enough. Opening up the riverfront to more commercial development doesn’t mean letting it go forward unchecked, but a few more amenities such as a local restaurant with patio seating, would help make our greatest attraction a more user-friendly one. For us, Blink provided us with the ideal medium to explore this idea further – what would a river valley restaurant look like?

What: Blink: Urban Picnic!
When: August 26, 2012
Time: Cocktails from 5-5:30pm, dinner from 5:30-7:30pm
Where: 9735 Grierson Hill

But like our previous event, Mack and I aren’t in this alone. We’re actually quite fortunate in that we’ve again found some wonderful partners to work with.

The biggest challenge was to find a way to prepare the food in the middle of the park. With the advent of food trucks in our city, this was easily solved. We knew that Kara and Nevin of Drift had been wanting to branch out with meals beyond sandwiches, and with their philosophy of promoting local producers, the fit was perfect. With Drift on as a partner, Blink: Urban Picnic was born. We can’t take credit for the name – it was all Kara’s idea, wanting to take advantage of the al fresco nature of the event, under a family-style casual dinner theme. Check out the menu they’ve developed here.

Kara and Nevin also introduced us to the owners of River Valley Adventure Co., who have also jumped on board. They have seen first hand how some development can help introduce folks to our natural assets, but acknowledge that more can be done. They will be offering coffee and tea to diners at the end of the night, as well as an opportunity to try out a Segway!

Inside River Valley Adventure Co.

Another of our obstacles was finding the resources to cover all of the materials we would need to set up a pop-up restaurant. We wanted to keep the ticket price as low as possible, and we were only able to do this when the Shaw Conference Centre stepped in. They have been not only a generous, but gracious sponsor, and in this case, the perfect fit. In many ways, the Shaw is the gateway to the river valley – either by folks traversing its outdoor staircase to reach the valley below (as we do on our walks), or by taking the escalator down for similar access. They’ve even come up with a way for diners to experience this latter path in a novel way – by enjoying a cocktail along the way! We are asking that diners enter the site through the main doors of the Shaw Conference Centre off Jasper Avenue. There, they will each receive a champagne flute to drink while riding down to reach Louise McKinney. They have dubbed this an “escalator cocktail” – no doubt this will be the first of its kind in Edmonton!

Shaw Conference Centre

Tickets for Blink: Urban Picnic are $50, and will go on sale at 9am on August 20, 2012. We hope you consider joining us for this pop-up dinner!

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