Ladies who Lunch: Queen of Tarts

Annie and I got together for lunch over the long weekend at the Queen of Tarts. She hadn’t been to the charming bakery and cafe before, and though I’ve been popping in sporadically since it opened to satisfy our needs and cravings (bread and sweets, respectively), I hadn’t yet sampled their lunch menu.

The lunch crowd was steady at Queen of Tarts – not surprising because the bright and airy room is the sort of space made for leisurely weekend afternoons. The French-inspired menu is short but accessible, with the cafe taking full advantage of their bread case and pastry expertise.

Dining area

I chose the croque monsieur ($14.95), made with local ham, béchamel, dijon mustard and gruyere on miche bread and served with organic greens. I probably could have done with a third piece of croque monsieur (who can pass up melted cheese and ham?), but I will admit that the mustard layer was a bit too potent for me – especially because the vinaigrette atop the salad was also mustard-based.

Croque monsieur

Annie chose the day’s special, a French onion soup served with a side of organic greens ($12.95). Her soup was absolutely packed with onions; she also commented on their sweetness, a testament to their lengthy cooking time.

French onion soup

Though the portion sizes are modest, it did mean adding a dessert course to our lunch (not something we normally do) was possible. We shared a pot of Earl Grey tea ($6.95), a thunder brownie ($3) and a chocolate dacquoise ($3.50).

Dessert!

The rich, decadent thunder brownie has crossed my paths many a time (it’s Amanda’s favourite dessert), but it was Annie’s first encounter with it. She appreciated its chocolate depth. The dacquoise, on the other hand, was new to both of us, and surprised us with its delicate meringue sandwich. Its texture was absolutely perfect – just the right amount of chew and sweetness, enhanced with a thin layer of chocolate in between.

The Queen of Tarts started offering high tea this past Friday, and will run daily until May 7, 2011 (with 10% of proceeds being directed to The Bissell Centre). After that, the high teas will be held on a monthly basis. Based on this lunch experience, I would be happy to return again to check out their high tea – especially if I can find a way to work in a dacquoise into the meal.

Queen of Tarts Bakery & Bistro
10129 104 Street
(780) 421-4410
Tuesday-Wednesday 9am-6pm, Thursday-Friday 9am-8pm, Saturday 8:30am-6pm, closed Sunday & Monday

The Cooking Chronicles: Weeknight Suppers

It is so often said that it is almost a cliché: after a long day’s work, favoured recipes are those that are fast but flavourful. But I suppose that’s why it is a cliché – because it is true! Below are two weeknight suppers we made recently; one that worked out well, and one that didn’t.

Pan-fried Crumbed Fish and Fries

I had photocopied a recipe for pan-fried crumbed fish and fries from Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food quite some time ago, but for whatever reason, didn’t pull it out again until last week. We had two haddock fillets from Ocean Odyssey and some potatoes from Eat Local First ready to use.

The fish turned out really nice, and seared on the hot pan, the panko-breading turned into a satisfyingly crispy crust. I definitely preferred this to Mark Bittman’s cornmeal crusted fish.

Pan-fried fish and “fries”, served with Greens, Eggs and Ham mixed heritage greens

The potatoes, on the other hand, taught us two lessons:

1) to make good fries, one must have patience. The second batch we left in the oven for nearly double the time specified on the recipe actually resembled fries instead of just starchy white, parboiled potatoes.

2) don’t use old potatoes. Or at least, know when a potato is past its prime and should be thrown out. I had let the potatoes sit in my pantry for too long before moving them to the fridge, and the taste was definitely off. You learn from experience, right?

Curried Tomato Soup with Eggs

Most of Mark Bittman’s recipes have been written for those looking for a quick fix. As a result, it’s easy to flip through The Food Matters Cookbook to find a dinner idea almost instantly, and last week the curried tomato soup with eggs (his play on makhani, a spicy Indian tomato sauce that’s used for braising hard-boiled eggs) caught my eye.

With the use of some punchy Malaysian curry powder, balanced with the creamy sweetness of coconut milk, the soup was flavourful and packed with vegetables. I particularly liked the inclusion of a boiled egg garnish (we used Greens, Eggs and Ham duck eggs), for an added richness and texture.

Curried tomato soup with eggs

Best of all, the pot yielded several servings of leftovers…perhaps the best reward to be reaped from home cooking!

Let’s Meat for Lunch: Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse

A belated birthday lunch, compounded over three months, can only equal one thing: reparation in the form of a gloriously gluttonous meat buffet.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I’m pretty sure Dickson only chose Brazilian steakhouse Pampa, the newest darling of city carnivores, as our lunch destination as a reaction to my suggestion of a vegetarian café. Regardless, the more inexpensive daytime meal seemed like the ideal way to determine whether or not the $45 per person dinner tab would be worth the splurge (you can read more about the dinner service on Twyla’s blog).

Pampa is the kind of restaurant that makes a bang-up first impression (and one that, all shiny and new, would present very well in that patented then-and-now camera pan on Food Network renovation shows like The Opener, which Pampa took part in). The glass wine case gleamed in the muted daylight that streamed through the bank of windows, and the black, white and red scheme felt modern and clean. I loved how open the room felt (necessary too for the roving servers), and Dickson felt the need to comment on the large cowboy canvases that graced the walls – a reminder that vegetarians really need not apply.

Interior

I had made a reservation on Open Table just in case, but it probably wasn’t necessary. And though the restaurant wasn’t entirely full, I was still surprised at how busy it was – I had to wonder if the patrons were return customers, or curious first-time diners like us?

Both Dickson and I were already familiar with the rodizio restaurant – he has been to both Gaucho and Bolero in Calgary, and I had visited one several years ago in Montreal. Essentially, itinerant servers offering different cuts of meat will continue to pay a visit to your table until you flip your meat passport over to signal “Stop the pain!”.

Yay or nay?

Before launching into Pampa’s universe of meat though, we thought it best to at least peruse its salad offerings. It’s worth noting that Pampa does have a beautiful salad bar, accented with more glass, and garnished with touches of fruit. Some of the bowls were in need of refreshing during our turn, but there was enough variety of vegetable and grain-based dishes to satisfy most. A very unique carrot and pink peppercorn salad stood out for me.

Salad bar

But the main event began almost immediately after we sat down. Lunch sees only five different varieties, and we had our initial exposure to them, one right after the other – grilled chicken, grilled pork, pork sausage and two kinds of sirloin. I know Dickson was disappointed with the spread – friends who had attended the dinner service the night prior had identified a few of their favourites, none of which were on the menu at lunch.

The house-made pork sausage was quite tasty, with a casing that crackled and meat that was both juicy and well seasoned. I liked the grilled chicken, but Dickson thought it wasn’t anything he couldn’t recreate at home on the barbecue. The pork had to be consumed immediately – I waited a few minutes and it had dried to the point of inedibility.

Our hands down favourite was the picanha, top sirloin. Not for the faint of heart, it was served rare, with a layer of fat and a perfectly charred crust, studded with sea salt gems. We had thirds and fourths.

Carving is an art form

Our only complaint was the inconsistency in service. The servers were almost too efficient during our first half hour, and basically disappeared towards the last half of our meal. It was clear other tables were similarly drumming their fingers, hoping they wouldn’t have to return to the salad bar to fill up. I suppose that is the biggest downside when it comes to lunching at Pampa – it’s not a leisurely meal when you’re depending on traveling servers for main course access.

That said, I felt the $21.95 per person price tag was fair, given the salad bar bounty, amount of meat that could be consumed, and the tableside carving. Pampa had an atmosphere I wouldn’t mind returning for, and definitely has the workings of a special occasion restaurant. And in the end, being the first rodizio in Edmonton has its advantages – you won’t find this style of dining anywhere else in the city.

Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse
9929 – 109 Street
(780) 756-7030
Lunch: Mon – Fri 11:30am – 1:30pm; Dinner: Monday-Saturday 5-10pm; closed Sundays

Food Notes for April 25, 2011

I didn’t think I’d get swept up in Royal Wedding fever, but I should have known otherwise. Will you be up early to watch the ceremony on Friday too? On to this week’s food notes:

Tickets for Indulgence 2011, to be held on June 13 will be on sale May 2. The organizers are extending the event a half hour, which will be sure to help attendees hit every station if they so choose. Be sure to pick up tickets soon; they are sure to go fast!
Kerstin’s Chocolates is partnering with Alley Kat Brewery for a special tasting on May 26, 2011, which will see chocolates paired with beer.
Mack and I were thrilled to be asked to act as judges for Century Hospitality Group’s second annual Top Chef tournament. Our bio pages are here and here.
Liane posted a write-up about Prairie Bistro, the restaurant at the new Enjoy Centre, run by Julianne Mimande.
I heard some great things about Slow Food’s annual Northern Food Night, so I was happy to be able to read about it on Twyla’s blog.
For those dim sum newbies: a dim sum dictionary.
There really is a second life for almost everything: lobster shells are being turned into biodegradable golf balls.
A piece in the NYT about the insatiable appetite for spring ramps (a traditionally foraged food), got me thinking about other “wild” products – will we ever reach a point here where the demand ravages the supply?
I saw these too-cute cake pops at Starbucks last week. But they are easy to recreate at home too, or at least, the cheater versions are, heh.

Starbucks cake pops

Mack and I met up with Thom on the weekend for some gelato at Famoso. Maria had told me that they had a peanut butter and jam flavour – talk about unique! I couldn’t really taste the Saskatoon berries, but the creaminess of the peanut butter was tasty enough!

Thom and Mack

I can’t tell you how excited I was to see Blue Plate Diner’s patio go in this week – bring on the al fresco weather!

Blue Plate Diner

The Lunch Option: Hardware Grill

Two Christmases ago, Mack’s parents gave us a gift card to Hardware Grill. It was particularly thoughtful because the four of us had shared a wonderful meal there a few months prior. We had always intended on putting the gift card towards lunch at the restaurant, but didn’t work to sync our schedules until last week (it helped that I had a meeting in the same neighbourhood right after lunch).

Hardware Grill, for many reasons, has the distinction of being Edmonton’s finest restaurant. It is also the only restaurant in recent memory that Mack and I had to think twice about before deciding on what to wear – jeans or no jeans? Even though it was daytime on a Friday, we opted against denim. We discovered upon arrival that casual attire was acceptable; the suits were few, and there were numerous parties dressed in their Friday best.

The warmth of the dining room is apparent, regardless of the time of day, but I think I might actually like the room better at lunch, if not only because of the natural light, and the almost buoyant atmosphere.

Interior

We don’t normally order starters for lunch, but armed with a gift card, we threw caution to the wind. It’s always difficult for me to pass up French onion soup ($8) when I see it on the menu, and I was glad I gave in. The most amazing thing about the rich, subtly sweet dish was the bread – though submerged for the better part of the fifteen minutes it took for me to finish the soup, it did not dissolve into a soggy mess, and instead, retained its chewy, dense texture. The portion size could have also easily made this a light lunch in itself.

French onion soup

Mack’s romaine a la Caesar ($10) was equally well received, plated with care, and robed with a garlicky smooth dressing that could convince anyone that Caesar dressing from a bottle should not be tolerated.

Romaine a la Caesar

It was a wonder I was able to finish any part of my main at all, but I did my best, especially because the beef bourguignon ($20) was well worth the effort. The short ribs were fork tender (it was a definite sign when our server did not replace my butter knife with a steak knife), and the black coffee BBQ sauce hit all the right notes (and if the recipe isn’t a guarded secret, it should be). At first, I wasn’t sure about the inclusion of roasted corn kernels in the mashed potatoes, but it won me over in the end – the sweetness and unexpected pop cut through the richness. Mack also enjoyed helping himself to the slices of crispy pork belly off my plate.

Beef bourguignon

Mack had been waiting all week for the truffled mac ‘n cheese with baby lobster and shiitakes ($16). It was definitely not your diner mac ‘n cheese, baked and bubbling in a muted ceramic dish – this was its elegant, refined older sister, down to the use of ribbed shells. The sauce was much thinner than Mack had expected, but he enjoyed it all the same, and thought it was the perfect size.

Truffled mac ‘n cheese

It was a very pleasant meal – everything was well paced, and our server was professional but gracious. The prices are also quite reasonable, and would be a great option for those wanting to try Hardware Grill on more inexpensive terms.

Though I can’t see myself visiting Hardware Grill for lunch all that often, I could see myself returning now and again – especially for the beef bourguignon. Thanks again to Martin and Patti for the gift certificate!

Hardware Grill
9698 Jasper Avenue
(780) 423-0969
Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11:30am-2pm; Dinner: Monday-Friday 5-10pm, Saturday 5-10:30pm, closed Sundays

The Cooking Chronicles: Breakfast Meetings

For the past few months, Mack and I have been hosting the Eat Alberta planning meetings at our place. It just made sense, location and finance wise.

Since we didn’t have to travel at all for the meetings, I’ve been making an effort to prepare and serve the group baked goods (and some weeks, have had great help from Su and Valerie). After all, no fruitful discussions can come on an empty stomach!

Cream Drop Scones

A Dinner with Julie recipe for cream drop scones was great in a pinch. Five minutes of prep, fifteen minutes in the oven, I pulled them out just as the group was arriving.

We served it with some Johnson Family Farm butter and August Organics jam, and in spite of the sugar sprinkle, I found the added sweetness from the jam necessary to bump up the flavour. Valerie commented that the biscuits would work well in a strawberry shortcake.

Cream drop scones

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

More recently, I made a batch of blueberry yogurt muffins, using yogurt from Smoky Valley Goat Cheese (really, one of the most inexpensive products you can buy at the City Market alongside MoNa’s cremini mushrooms – $3 for a 480 mL container of farm fresh yogurt).

I probably could have included more orange zest for further citrus zing, but in terms of texture, the muffins had nice crackly tops that gave way to moist, fluffy interiors. A definite winner!

Blueberry yogurt muffins

Like the breakfast banana muffins, I’m truly learning that baking doesn’t have to be an activity relegated to a Sunday afternoon. If you have ten minutes, you can bake too!

Day 5 in San Francisco: “Top Chef” Thursday

Things we loved in San Francisco:

Two Buck Chuck (Seriously. Wine for $2 a bottle in North America?)

Consumer warning labels in stores (how’s that for awareness?)

Scramble crosswalks (coming soon to Edmonton)

Something else we loved? Sleeping in. We decided to give ourselves the benefit of a late start on day 5, as we felt recovery was in order after two consecutive early mornings.

The day as a whole was a lazy one – without any concrete plans besides a dinner reservation and a late show, it felt freeing to be able to wander without direction. So after grabbing a coffee from Peet’s, we spent the morning shopping at Union Square.

Union Square

It was easy to get used to that kind of shopping experience – stores densely packed together, all accessible from street-level, with crosswalks at every block. Sure, some of the stores we visited have locations in Edmonton also, but only locked inside a mall or car-driven complex.

Pedestrian-friendly shopping

We eventually walked over to the Yerba Buena Gardens, which, on first glance, appeared to be the city’s outdoor bedroom. We lost count of the number of people idling on the grass, enjoying the shade and the soothing sound of the water features.

Yerba Buena Gardens

Waterfall

I had read about there being a century old carousel at the Gardens, and, like my giddy stint at the Musee, I couldn’t pass up a visit.

Carousel!

Mack initially wasn’t as keen on reverting back to his childhood, but even he enjoyed circling the wooden animals to select his steed. And at only $3 for two rides, it was well worth it!

Whee!

Mack gets in the spirit of things

I knew we were near ‘Witchcraft, one of Tom Collichio’s casual sandwich outposts, and given we were to later dine at another restaurant connected to the Top Chef series, it just seemed fitting to stop there for lunch.

Interior

At 2pm, we found the restaurant nearly empty – perhaps we just missed the lunch rush? ‘Witchcraft wasn’t in the most inspiring location (it faces a parkade), but the interior definitely tried to make up for it. We loved the floor-to-ceiling windows, the second floor loft-style seating, and the stylish prints featuring antique kitchen equipment.

Mack

From what I had read about the restaurant though, I really thought the menu would grab me. But somehow, the sandwich combinations didn’t excite me at all. I ended up with the grilled cheese sandwich and soup of the day, while Mack chose the BLT. Our lunch for two (with one drink) cost $23.

My grilled cheese was good (solid bread foundation, nice combination of cheeses), but the soup was better (great texture and depth). Mack liked the BLT well enough (especially the bacon), but thought the tomato overpowered everything.

Grilled cheese and soup

BLT

The side of Tim’s Chips ended up being our favourite part of the meal – kettle-style, they were just the right thickness to offer both a satisfying crunch and a rounded flavour from the frying oil. Best of all, they didn’t have any additives.

Tim’s Chips

It’s something to be said when the package of chips stands out the most – so all told, ‘Witchcraft was a bit underwhelming for both of us.

A brief sojourn back to the hotel had us ready for our trip’s most anticipated meal. While watching the second season of Top Chef Masters, both Mack and I fell head over heels for Chef Hubert Keller. His personality and modest nature outshone his competitors: where others put ego first, Chef Keller always seemed to let his food speak for itself. So we knew a visit to SF wouldn’t be complete without reservations to Fleur de Lys.

The restaurant was just a ten minute walk from our hotel, allowing us to build up an appetite for the multi-course meal. When we arrived, we were whisked inside a sumptuous room, lined with curtains and complete with a tented ceiling. Most of the tables were arranged like streetside Parisian cafes – facing inwards instead of towards one another. It really felt like we had stepped into another world.

Unlike our experience at Gramercy Tavern in New York a few years back, when I was afraid to even take out my camera, it didn’t seem out of place at Fleur de Lys. Most of the diners were our age, and nearly all of them were snapping pictures of their experience. Also, through the curtains, I spotted a television set tuned to Food Network – of all shows, Top Chef Masters was on!

We chose the $82/person 4 course meal, which of course, with wine, was much more than that. Given that we were provided with several options for each course (starter, seafood, meat, dessert), the price seemed reasonable.

The vegetable ragout with truffle oil was a bit underwhelming to me, though the egg was poached very nicely. Mack enjoyed his Maryland soft shell crab, but had a bit of trouble determining how best to eat it, given the crab had been deep fried whole.

Vegetable ragout

Maryland soft shell crab

My salmon (sustainably raised, of course) was well cooked, and I loved the accompanying broccolini. The dish also marked my first ever encounter with porcini flan, and I have to say, I quite enjoyed the savoury version. Mack’s dish of prawns ended up being just a singular prawn, albeit one that was pretty tasty, and one that he enjoyed more as it was served alongside pork belly.

Sustainably raised salmon

Wild jumbo prawn with brioche crust

The duck, moist as ever, was a play on duck l’orange, served with fresh orange segments. I wasn’t a fan of the spetzle though – they were bland. Mack equally enjoyed his filet mignon, though not surprisingly, he devoured the lobster truffled mac & cheese (stuffed into a brioche bun!) first.

Muscovy duck breast, grenadine pickled onions

Seared filet mignon

We both absolutely adored the dessert course. My chocolate souffle was easily worth the additional $6 charge, light and fluffy on top with a satisfying and rich centre. Mack’s plate was a whimsical play on burger, fries and shake, with slices of kiwi standing in for pickles.

Chocolate souffle

Fleurburger

The restaurant saved the best part for last – towards the end of our meal, Chef Keller came out to meet all the diners! I’m pretty sure everyone in the room knew who he was, but he still made sure to introduce himself at each table, “Hello, I’m the chef here”. Mack didn’t want to wash his hands afterwards. #fanboy

With Chef Keller

Our dinner at Fleur de Lys was a memorable experience, though only partially because of the food. We were so happy to have met Chef Keller!

We didn’t plan it that way, but the 19^th annual San Francisco Fringe Festival happened to be running the same week we were there. Of course, we had to take in at least one show.

The fact that Edmonton is the home of the second largest Fringe Festival in the world is so often bandied about that I think Edmontonians take it for granted. At least, I know I do. So it was a shock to me that San Francisco, an enviable city in so many ways, could not even hold a candle to our fabulous theatre festival.

With just three venues and a total of 42 shows, the scale of the SF Fringe was much, much smaller than Edmonton’s Fringe. Show times were also confined to evenings on weekdays and the venues weren’t clearly marked. It also probably didn’t help that their theatre district was in the shadiest part of the city that we’d come across thus far (the aforementioned neighbourhood that we were warned by hotel staff not to walk through).

The biggest difference, however, was the lack of a festival atmosphere. The festival grounds are one of the biggest reasons Edmonton’s Fringe is the place to be in August. The buskers, the food, the music and the activities are all such an integral part of the Fringe now that it is difficult to consider what it would be like without it.

We chose Star Crossed Love based on the description on the website, and had pre-purchased our tickets online (just in case). There really was no need – granted, it was a 10:30pm show on a Thursday night, but for a supposed “pick of the Fringe”, the dozen people in the audience was disappointing, to say the least.

Star Crossed Love

The premise of the theatre company is the showcase of badly written scripts. That is to say, all of their productions are culled from rejected Hollywood screenplays, performed on stage verbatim. For example, any time a character nodded, the actors would nod in exaggerated fashion. As you can guess, some of the actions got old fast, but others, including “lovers a long time” (where the couple looked to be bored of one another) were amusing.

The script itself was indeed awful – an over-the-top, implausible, rags-to-riches tale where the heroine ends the show up on stage, accepting an Oscar. But wasn’t as funny as it could have been, and for that reason, wasn’t that entertaining. We did want to commend the actors though – they really committed to the roles, and tried their best to wring every bit of unintentional humour from it.

We made our way back through the Tenderloin and retired to our hotel for the night. On to the next day!

Food Notes for April 18, 2011

My sister Amanda moved to Toronto last week! I know we’ll still talk lots (and she may be the reason why I finally get a smart phone), but I’m going to miss her! On to this week’s food notes:

You can vote for See Magazine’s annual Best of Edmonton poll now until April 28, 2011 (Mack’s blog is one of the options under “Best Local Blog!”).
Kerstin’s Chocolates sent me the following tidbit: this Easter, Kerstin’s Chocolates is going to give one lucky person a free 1-year membership to our new Chocophilia Choc-o-the-Month Club (worth $600!). Customers who make a purchase at the register or online will be entered for a change to win! Enter before April 23rd, and then find out who wins on April 25th.
Check out Live Local for information on some great upcoming events, including the second in their series of Live Local dinners (this one at Sabor Divino on April 28), high tea at Hotel Macdonald to celebrate the marriage of William and Kate, and a local chefs series at Everything Cheese in May.
Liane mentioned this week that Prairie Bistro, the eatery at the Enjoy Centre, was set to open today.
Also opening today is Chai Pani (8205-105th Street), a chai tea bar that will be serving pastries from around the world. It’s always great to have another coffee shop option on Whyte!
Congratulations to Jean Pare for thirty years of Company’s Coming success!
Mack and I attended a special meeting of the City Market tonight, called for members to vote on whether or not the Board should proceed with considering the Mercer Warehouse as a viable year-round option. The vote was a resounding no: 69 against and only 3 for. The Board has now been directed to consider other possibilities, such as continuing at City Hall for the time being.
Urban Diner has a great round up post of all of the Vancouver food carts.
I think this seems even cooler than the recent trend of pop-up restaurants – underground street food markets.
Based on the name of the show, I really thought this was an April Fool’s Day prank, except that I think Top Chef’s Carla Hall would be great as a host: ABC is set to launch a daytime talk show about food called The Chew.
I had a lunch meeting today at Ninh Kieu, and had their pho again for the first time in a while. The serving of meat was very generous, and as meatballs go, really quite tasty!

Ninh Kieu

There’s nothing like winding down the afternoon with a beautiful vanilla latte from Credo.

Credo

Calgary Food Recaplets

One day, I might catch up on all of the back posts I intend to write…but I’m not there yet. Here are a few of the food-related places Mack and I checked out while in Calgary a few months back that didn’t fit into my previous posts.

Kingsland Farmers’ Market

Though I know our own farmers’ market scene has its own share of politics, the fact that Calgary’s ups and downs has played out in the public eye made it all the more intriguing to me as a non-resident. When I read that several vendors were breaking free from the Calgary Farmers’ Market to start their own (what has become the Kingsland Farmers’ Market), I knew checking it out would be at the top of our Calgary to-do list. Mary Ellen of Greens, Eggs and Ham has been selling at Kingsland for a number of months now, and has been providing us with updates along the way, so it was even better to be able to see it in person.

Kingsland Farmers’ Market

It’s another Calgary market that is open on multiple days – Thursday to Sunday. Most of the vendors seemed to have permanent stalls, selling everything from produce to meat to wine and prepared food.

Interior

It was a decent space, a converted car dealership, with high ceilings accented by nice wooden beams. With the large number of hot food vendors, it was great that the farmers’ market also had a large, bright seating area set aside – I can imagine friends meeting up for a bite to eat at the market, which would be a great draw for those not necessarily looking to shop. The same area also housed craft vendors – separation much appreciated by those just looking to do their grocery shopping.

Greens, Eggs and Ham

Like the Calgary Farmers’ Market, the Kingsland Market also allows the sale of imported produce. Mary Ellen told us that they operate on the bullseye diet – goods that can’t be sourced locally can be brought in from elsewhere. She commented that Calgarians seem to prefer the “one-stop shop” farmers’ market.

The tropical fruit table

We didn’t want to buy too much, given we would be in Calgary for a few more days without cold storage options, but we did pick up a bag of pretzel buns from Rustic Sourdough Bakery (they were miles above the pretzel bun we had at Loungeburger), plus two cute “pies on a stick” from Sugar Pie Bakery. What can’t be served on a stick these days?

Pretzel buns

Sugar Pie Bakery

Phil & Sebastian at Chinook Centre

I’m not sure I ever considered the possibility of one of the third wave darlings like Transcend or Credo ever setting up shop in one of our major shopping complexes, but after stumbling upon Phil & Sebastian in Chinook Centre, I’m wondering if that day might be closer than we think.

Phil & Sebastian

Open since September, the Phil & Sebastian is located in the newest wing of Chinook, but is also accessible from a street entrance. It was absolutely hopping, with many patrons (like us) stopping by for a caffeine boost to break up an afternoon of shopping, but it seemed many others were oblivious to the mall’s connection.

Interior

We loved the design, with the central coffee bar dominating the space, an open invitation for patrons to watch their coffee being made, and to interact with the baristas.

Coppeneur

The space vacated by Kismet on Stephen Avenue has been turned into a charming chocolate shop. Coppeneur is a micro-batch bean-to-bar chocolate maker, based in Germany (some of their products are carried by Kerstin’s Chocolates in Edmonton). This is their first retail location in North America.

Coppeneur

I always enjoy browsing for chocolate, and this occasion was no exception. We picked up a mixed package of their cuvee bars, which were almost too beautiful to consume – barks of dark, milk or white chocolate studded with everything from almonds to cocoa nibs to pink peppercorns. Worth a visit – particularly because they were one of the few storefronts downtown actually open on a Sunday!

Cuvee bars

Spoon Me

The cheekily named Spoon Me is a frozen yogurt chain with twenty locations in the U.S., and two locations in Calgary. We stopped in for a snack at the Kensington branch just before heading back to Edmonton.

It was a delightful space to spend some time in, bursting with natural light, bright wall colours, and funky furniture. The bathroom walls were decorated with decals playing off their name, such as “May the spoon be with you!” and “You can’t handle the spoon!”. The fun continued with their fill-in-the-blank napkins.

Frozen yogurt treat

At $5 for a small (with three toppings), it was on par with other frozen yogurt bars, but between the interior and the laugh we had reading through some of the napkins pinned up to the wall, it was well worth it.

And it just keeps on growing…

I really appreciate that such a lovely food city is only a few hours from us – and though we share many similarities with Calgary, it always feels a bit like a world away. I’m looking forward to our next trip down already!

The Cooking Chronicles: Creature of Comfort

Like Brooke, I know this warming trend should really trigger some sort of change in the kinds of dishes I should be craving, but the reality is – I love cold weather comfort foods. So though at some point a transition to lighter, more seasonal fare will take place, I’m going to take my sweet time.

Potato-Crusted Quiche

A few weeks ago, one of my coworkers talked about her favourite quiche recipe – instead of the usual pastry crust, she liked to use shredded potatoes as the base, pressed into a pie plate. I’d really never considered potatoes as a base before, but it seemed like an idea too good not to try.

I found a recipe for a potato-crusted quiche that involved slices of potatoes, a great way to use up the bag of baby potatoes I’d picked up from Kuhlmann’s. As directed, we tossed slices of potato with melted butter, parmesan and seasonings, then did our best to artfully arrange the slices in two pie plates.

Crust, pre-baking

After baking them for half an hour, we filled them with a mixture of cream and Greens, Eggs and Ham duck eggs and threw ham, mushrooms and cheddar in one, and sautéed onions and spinach bacon and parmesan in the other. We served the quiche with a side of mixed heritage greens, also from Greens, Eggs and Ham.

Potato-crusted quiche

Quiche with a side of greens

Amanda stopped by for dinner that night, and loved the quiche – as scalloped potatoes are a favourite of hers, she especially appreciated the potato base. Mack and I both really enjoyed the quiche as well – no doubt, this will be a recipe we will be coming back to again.

Vij’s Stewed Cinnamon-Scented Lamb Curry

The last lamb stew I made was a bit of a bomb – too sweet, and more than anything, highlighted the gamey taste of the meat, something Mack was not a fan of. With one more package of lamb stew from Eat Local First left to use, I wanted to find a recipe that he would actually like. Vij’s stewed cinnamon-scented lamb curry seemed like a good fit, given the strong flavours and Mack’s affinity towards curried dishes.

I had to do a few substitutions – canola oil instead of ghee, sour cream instead of yogurt, and just 1lb of meat instead of 2, but other than that, I followed the recipe as printed. I wasn’t sure the sauce would ever thicken, but it did, to a luxurious consistency. The curry was most pointedly infused with cloves (with the cinnamon barely detectable), but the flavours were very similar to the shortcut butter chicken dish that is a staple in our kitchen. The lamb was super tender after two hours on the stove, and, hurrah! wasn’t gamey at all. Mack gave it the thumbs up.

Vij’s lamb curry

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