Category: food

Food Notes for February 15, 2010

Though I wouldn’t expect anything less, Canada is embroiled in Olympic Fever! I have to say I am enjoying my share of the Vancouver coverage, but there seems to be a daily limit of how much I can watch. In other news, have you taken a look at the plan for Fort Edmonton Park yet? It proposes the inclusion of several new restaurants, among other additions. I encourage you to take the survey – it’s a piece of the puzzle that will help shape the future of one of the city’s attractions. On to this week’s food notes:

  • Jeff and Sally of The Edmontonian posted a great article on Culina – definitely worth a read. Also on the Culina front – the family of restaurants has started a blog. Knowing that this is their second attempt at this (the “blog” link on their revamped website was rarely used), I wish them luck with keeping it up!
  • Farmers’ market news from Liane: Sparrow’s Nest Organics won’t be returning to the City Centre Market this year. However, interested consumers can still buy into their CSA program.
  • Mary Ellen and Andres Gruenberg of Greens, Eggs and Ham are offering their pre-payment plan for a second year in a row – a minimum of $25o will guarantee you a great selection of products year round. I participated last year, and found it to be a convenient way to access local goods from a farming family that I trust. E-mail Mary Ellen for more information.
  • Look out for a new Famoso to open soon in Christy’s Corner (13655 St. Albert Trail, 780-732-0222). The suburbs are just bursting with restaurants, aren’t they?
  • I wrote a short profile on Brett Roy of Sweet Lollapalooza that appeared in this week’s Vue Weekly.
  • Also on the subject of chocolate, Valerie wrote an exhaustive post about her recent single origin chocolate tasting at home. I think I experienced cocoa fatigue just reading it!
  • Though I’ve seen online “cooking challenges” before (Food Network Canada has a monthly recipe invitation, for example), I think Valerie and BruleeBlog’s joint trial of a Momofuku recipe was a first at the Edmonton blog level. I hope to see more such challenges!
  • Though Valentine’s Day is over – an interesting article from the NYT about new insight into the world of aphrodisiacs, and an amusing list of the ten most romantic restaurants in Edmonton from Urban Spoon that demonstrates the dire need for critical mass in some situations (Taco del Mar made it onto the list.  Twice.).
  • I stumbled upon Ottawa Citizen food writer Ron Eade’s blog this week – it is fantastic. A notable post – his musings on the “Canadian credibility gap” between what the country says they buy…and what they actually buy.
  • I forgot to link to this last week – Canadian Tire is venturing into food.
  • I hope everyone had a good Valentine’s Day! Though Cookies by George has made a killing on their “Because you can’t eat flowers” slogan, someone should play on the cookie idea with bread. Who doesn’t love the smell and taste of freshly baked bread? Anyway, knowing my weakness, I came home on Friday to homemade bread. Given that it was his first attempt, Mack wasn’t expecting much, but his loaf turned out great! I especially loved the crust. The only downside is that I may now expect a loaf at every special occasion…

 

Mack’s first loaf!

  • In lieu of our indulgent dinner at Madison’s Grill a few weeks back, Mack and I decided keep our expenses in check for Valentine’s Day. So we ended up at one of our favourite joints in the city to share a plate of poutine.

 

A Route 99 specialty

 

Fin!

The Cooking Chronicles: Pizza Stone Attempt #2

On Chris’s recommendation, our second pizza stone attempt revolved around a Peter Reinhart recipe for dough.

For starters, the recipe made enough dough for four 10 inch pizzas, which meant we had enough dough for another round of pizzas – a future dinner time saver! And though I was worried the dough wouldn’t rise (it didn’t double in size like Giada’s recipe), the bread turned out great. Mack, who was in charge of rolling out the crust, was a bit challenged at first, but with the aid of a rolling pin, was able to shape two thin crusts.

The recipe advised us to place a sheet of parchment paper underneath the dough prior to dressing the pizza, which would allow for easier transfer onto the preheated pizza stone. This was a very useful tip, as the paper also allowed for seamless transfer off of the pizza stone (we don’t have a pizza peel) – we simply pulled the paper (and pizza) onto a baking sheet.

Pizza Stone Product #2

We don’t usually marvel at how well recipes turn out, but on this occasion, we felt a small celebration was warranted. The crust was perfectly browned and crispy, and topped with tomatoes from Doef’s Greenhouse, and prosciutto and basil from the Italian Centre, it was undoubtedly one of the best pizzas we had ever made.

Thanks again Chris for the recommendation! I think we’ve found a keeper.

Charity Auction Dinner: Ric’s Grill

Last fall, the Edmonton Sun’s Graham Hicks approached Mack to see if he would like to be a part of the 2009 ATCO and Edmonton Sun Christmas Charity Auction. He would be paired up with a restaurant, and people would bid on the chance to have dinner with him, with proceeds going to charity (coincidentally, my agency is one of the four that benefit from the funds raised).

Ultimately, a bidder paid $140 to have dinner with Mack at Ric’s Grill downtown, and we arranged to meet up with the winning party this past Wednesday.

Though we were expecting a pair of diners, we ended up being joined by four people – it turned out the bidder, Terri Lynn, had actually done this once before, having secured the opportunity to dine with Vinomania’s Gurvinder Bhatia and CBC’s Ron Wilson the year prior. Along with Terri Lynn’s friends Kelly, Sue, and Ginette, the night was filled with good conversation, and of course, wine (a lovely Malbec that my usual sweet palate didn’t mind at all – good choice Ginette!).

Mack didn’t get much choice in the restaurant that he would be paired with, but since each establishment had donated a certificate that would cover most of the costs (in this case, $300), we were thankful that Ric’s Grill stepped up to the plate. My last meal at Ric’s was nearly two years ago, and given the experience I had, I wouldn’t have considered coming back without a push.

Although our server gave us a tad too much time and space (perhaps she was deterred by the amount of laughter emanating from our table), it was a solid evening overall. Mack, the goat cheese lover between the two of us, enjoyed the almond goat cheese crostini ($12) starter, a cheesy, rich cousin of garlic toast.

Our steak dinners were equally agreeable. My six ounce, bacon-wrapped filet mignon ($31) was nicely prepared, perhaps on the medium rare side of medium. My side of celery root and cauliflower soup was the standout part of my meal – creamy and well seasoned. The crispy leeks (reminding me a bit of fried onion straws) added some textural flair.

Celery Root and Cauliflower Soup with Crispy Leeks

Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon with Chef’s Potatoes

Mack’s sirloin Oscar deluxe ($33) was topped with sautéed prawns, scallops, asparagus and housemade Béarnaise elicited no complaints. He said that the scallops in particular were cooked well.

Sirloin Oscar Deluxe with Rice Pilaf

I’m glad I had the opportunity to visit Ric’s Grill again. And while we don’t usually eat out at steakhouses, I would consider giving them another try in the future. It was good to meet all of you – thank you for a great night!

Ric’s Grill
10190 104 Street (2 other Edmonton locations)
(780) 429-4333

The Cooking Chronicles: Poached Halibut with Saffron

Our go-to method of cooking fish involves the oven, but lately, it seems we have been over-roasting everything. The dry, chalky flesh that results is unpleasant, and really, a sad waste of good fish. I was more than ready to seek out new cooking methods.

We had tried poaching fish before, using a pot on the stove, with moderately successful results. However, when I came across an Eric Akis recipe that involved poaching in a slow cooker, in broth instead of water, I was intrigued. My sister had given us a slow cooker for Christmas that we had yet to break in, so I was eager to kill two birds with one stone.

The recipe involved combining chicken stock, wine and orange juice with a number of aromatics and spices, including fennel and saffron. After simmering away on low for four hours, filets of fish would be added to the liquid for ten minutes. In our case, we used two beautiful pieces of wild halibut from Ocean Odyssey Inland.

To accompany the fish, a trip to the Old Strathcona Market had garnered carrots from Peas on Earth and parsnips from August Organics that I roasted with some baby potatoes we already had on hand. So simple, but so delicious – the tiny parsnip coins were my favourite, caramelized to candied perfection.

Exactly ten minutes and our entree was done, flaky and moist throughout. And in contrast to roasting, this technique is more forgiving, with a few additional minutes in the hot bath not likely to dry out the fish. The flesh had taken on both the rich, yellow hue of the saffron-infused broth, as well as the flavour. Although fennel, garlic and pepper had also been used to season the liquid, we couldn’t taste anything but the dominant saffron. For that reason, we’d likely choose a different flavouring agent next time, but would definitely attempt this cooking method again.

Poached Halibut with Saffron and Roasted Vegetables

Hurrah for new recipes!

Valentine’s Day in Edmonton: Deal or No Deal?

Mack and I decided to collaborate on this post. Enjoy!

Sharon:

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a holiday where consuming chocolate is the national norm, and for an occasion that is marked with an indulgent feast. And though I realize that Valentine’s Day has been escalating in its commercial nature over the past two decades (and one that that Mack and I embraced wholeheartedly last year), a gander at one too many pre-fixe restaurant menus sent me over the edge this time around.

Of course, restaurants shouldn’t be blamed for feeding a consumer-driven hunger for extravagance, excess, and unbridled expense on February 14. No doubt, some meals, and the ultimate experience of spending time with your sweetheart could be worth every penny. Also, some restaurants do offer embellishments – providing a rose to the lady, employing a musician to set the ambiance, offering a treat at meal’s end – but could it really be worth the heightened price tag? How much more are patrons charged on Valentine’s Day, compared with any other day? With Mack’s penchant for statistics and graphs, we set to find out.

Mack:

Coming up with the data was harder than we thought! Finding the set price of the Valentine’s Day menu was easy, but finding something to compare it to was not. We decided to generate a comparable figure using the closest dishes we could find on the regular menu. Definitely not scientific, but fairly representative.

We started by finding as many restaurants with Valentine’s Day menus as we could, and then narrowed it down to those which also had regular menus online. We ended up with 12 restaurants:

The average Valentine’s Day menu price was $71.08 per person, with prices ranging from $35 per person at The Dish to $160 per person at Red Ox Inn. The average regular menu price was surprisingly similar at $69.65 per person. On average, Valentine’s Day menus featured 4 courses.

So what’s the best deal? By far, Madison’s Grill. Their 6 course Valentine’s Day menu is just $85 per person – the regular menu would cost roughly $116 per person. Of course, we’re not sure about portion sizes, but based on our recent Farmers’ Market Dinner experience, we expect they will not be small. The worst deal? Hardware Grill – you pay $31 more for the Valentine’s Day menu than you would on a regular day.

I wouldn’t cite any of this data in an academic paper, and the numbers don’t take into account ambiance, food quality, freedom of choice and service, but it was fun to generate just the same. I was surprised to discover that the Valentine’s Day menus aren’t that much more expensive after all!

Sharon:

So numbers aside, after scrutinizing more than a dozen pre-fixe menus, I can tell you that considering the menu options only, both Mack and I agree that Hardware Grill wins, hands down. We were salivating as we read through each course (butternut squash-mascarpone tortelloni
with truffle butter cream sauce and fresh chanterelles? Porcini crusted sea bass, lobster-truffled potato crêpes, white corn-arugula & gulf prawns? Where do we sign up?).

While I wouldn’t go so far as to recommend any one restaurant (personal choice being that last intangible), based on our experience, Madison’s Grill and The Dish would top our list. If you’re looking for innovative, creative food that celebrates local producers, there would be no better choice than Blair Lebsack’s dining room in the Union Bank Inn. However, if you desire something more casual and comforting, The Dish is a great choice with its consistent kitchen and friendly service.

Mack:

You could, of course, avoid restaurants altogether and cook that special someone a tasty meal at home! Because as Sharon pointed out, Valentine’s Day is about spending time with your sweetheart, not spending lots of money. If you do go the restaurant route, keep in mind that there are more to choose from than the dozen we mentioned here.

We hope you enjoyed this light-hearted look at “Black Sunday” (a la Eater) in Edmonton, and we wish you a very happy Valentine’s Day!

Culinary Q & A with BruleeBlog

Occupation: I write, edit, do public relations, design websites, and dabble in a little bit of photography.

What did you eat today?

Breakfast, snacks and lunch were made up of oatmeal with soy sauce, leftover Chinese food from a banquet dinner (chicken and yi-mein/e-fu noodles), 2 bananas, and a handful of clementines. Not sure what dinner will be yet. Probably a salad.

What do you never eat?

Durian. I have tried it frozen, in ice cream, as candy, and fresh off the street in Malaysia, and I have given up trying to like that nasty, stinky, worse-than-dirty-gym-socks-washed-in-a-sewer fruit.

What is your personal specialty?

I don’t really think I have one.

Complete this sentence:

In my refrigerator, you will always find: vegetables and fruit, soy milk, a jar of The Jam Lady’s most excellent jam. Oh and processed cheese. I know, I should hang my head in shame.

What is your weekday meal standby?

An egg and cheese sandwich or a grilled cheese sandwich, both made with the aforementioned processed cheese and whole grain bread. If I am feeling guilty I will have a salad instead.

What is your favourite kitchen item?

My Le Creuset french oven.

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Assuming that I would eat until I burst, I would have a big bowl of Penang assam laksa, a plate of roti canai, beef chow fun, har gow, turkey congee with the cooked heart and gizzard, grilled black cod with teriyaki sauce, a plate of salmon sashimi, smoked salmon, prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and gravy, lamb with rosemary, roasted beets, a bison cheeseburger, sweet potato/yam fries, a grilled cheese sandwich, a vanilla milkshake, and some chocolate mousse for dessert. (Did you notice the total lack of fruits and non-root vegetables?)

Where do you eat out most frequently?

Probably Moxie’s. There’s a location near my home, and I’m a sucker for their steak and goat cheese salad.

What’s the best place to eat in Edmonton?

I would have to say The Blue Pear. The food isn’t always absolutely perfect, but it is always innovative and interesting.

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

Definitely Georgetown, in Penang, Malaysia. And I would eat my way through all the hawker stalls. In my opinion, street food always trumps fancy food.

Check out BruleeBlog’s website here.

Food Notes for February 8, 2010

Excellent, non-POTW (patient of the week) episode of House today – great to see Lisa Edelstein getting the opportunity to flex her acting chops. In other news, I’m happy to see America’s Best Dance Crew back on TV! But with the addition of a Canadian crew from Montreal this season, perhaps they should change the name to North America’s Best Dance Crew? Anyway, on to this week’s food notes:

  • Chris and I are organizing the third Edmonton Foodie Meetup, to take place on March 3. Check out the wiki and add your name if you’re interested in attending, and let us know your restaurant choice!
  • I’m looking forward to West Edmonton Mall’s celebration of Mardi Gras, taking place on February 16 from 4-9pm, called the Taste of Bourbon Street. There will be food samples, cooking demonstrations and entertainment.
  • Think you make the best grilled cheese? Slow Food Edmonton just announced their first-ever Grilled Cheese Olympics, to take place on March 13. Judges include Chad Moss from Transcend and the Journal’s Liane Faulder. I think it will be a great event!
  • Bravo to Julie van Rosendaal for putting together the Blog Aid cookbook for Haitian relief. 27 food bloggers contributed recipes and photos to the wonderful book, which, from the preview, looks gorgeous. To order, click here.
  • Three local professionals are repeating their Working Poor Diet challenge in February – spending only $80 on food for a month, and doing their best to adhere to Canada’s Food Guide. Their hope is to raise awareness of the reality those working minimum-wage jobs face, in addition to raising $5000 for the Edmonton Food Bank.
  • Kelly of Crazy White Girl with a Kitchen posted an early review of ZINC. On a related note, I’m disappointed that the restaurant didn’t opt to use OpenTable as their online reservation system.
  • The Journal reviewed Avocado, the first of the Calgary-based franchises to open in the Edmonton area (expect a few more before the year is out). Verdict? Unremarkable.
  • Alberta Venture has a great interview with Julianna Mimande on her side of the Bacon-fallout story (I interviewed Cindy Lazarenko back in November 2008 for Vue).
  • I had read about the chicken + burger + fish + egg burgers at McDonald’s, but didn’t know they would actually serve it here – until Chris posted about his special request. What a combination.
  • Liane wrote about the subject of plating design – L2 Chef Shane Chartrand provides home cooks with some useful pointers.
  • An insightful, must-read piece by NY-based food critic Robert Sietsema on the evolution of the restaurant review in New York. And a response from Grub Street on the future of food media – in their opinion, the next step involves, “reviewers (or bloggers, at least) outright collaborating with chefs and restaurateurs.”
  • With all eyes on Vancouver, NYT critic Sam Sifton provides visitors with a guide of the best restaurants the city has to offer. I’d be keen to visit the re-branded Refuel, and of course, dine again at Vij’s.
  • Also on Vancouver – I couldn’t resist snapping a photo of the Vancouver Barista Bear at Starbucks. But shouldn’t it be wearing a parka, or at least a raincoat?

Too cute!

Marvellous Meat and Potatoes: Kabsa the Divine Dish

Before the most self-aggrandizing Pecha Kucha to date, Mack and I had dinner at the nearby Kabsa the Divine Dish on Jasper Avenue and 103 Street. I had heard good things about the Middle Eastern restaurant from a co-worker, and though its location makes it a prime spot for post-work dining, I hadn’t made the effort to visit prior to that day.

Walking in, the black and white colour scheme is as stark as it is notable. Save for a few tiny black mirrors and framed monochromatic prints, the interior is bare. This drew attention to the fact that the restaurant is extremely well kept (particularly on a day where salted sidewalks meant tracked-in slush), and matched the establishment’s seemingly no-frills philosophy. I have to say I would have appreciated some background music (even the radio would have helped) as overhearing other conversations didn’t make for a pleasant dining experience.

Kabsa doesn’t have a posted menu – instead, the clerk lifted the lid of each of the trays and named each dish underneath. Our choices included Tandoori chicken, chicken with garlic, roasted lamb and smoked lamb. Each entrée is served with rice and the day’s vegetable (kabsa refers to a meal of meat, rice and vegetables), and runs in price from $10-14 (on a side note, I had to laugh when the clerk, instead of accessing a till, calculated my bill total on her iPod).

The portion sizes were huge! The large meat serving was complemented by an even larger mound of rice, as well as a handful of potatoes. My roasted lamb was fork tender, and fell off the bone with no effort at all. I’m almost certain the flavourful meat would turn those unsure of lamb into stalwart fans.

Roasted Lamb

Mack similarly enjoyed his chicken which was equally tender and moist. In particular, he loved the aroma and consistency of the rice. His cardamom-scented rice actually reminded me a lot of the Somali rice I had not too long ago.

Tandoori Chicken

Our meal, with a can of pop, totalled $28.30. While not the cheapest meal in the area, the quality and serving size blew me away. For these reasons, I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Kabsa as a dinner destination downtown.

Kabsa the Divine Dish
10345 Jasper Avenue
(780) 421-1366
Monday-Friday 11am-10pm, Saturday-Sunday 6-10pm

Setting the Decor Standard: Basil Leaf

I met up with Dickson, my stalwart pho companion, earlier this week to give the newest addition to Chinatown’s ever-revolving dining scene a spin. Basil Leaf, dubbed a Vietnamese restaurant and sports bar, opened about two weeks ago in an unfortunate location. Not unfortunate so much for the ghosts of the failed restaurants past, but for its sight-unseen building, tucked just far enough down 107 Avenue to be missed by most passing by.

Interior

Though this was my introduction to any incarnation of the space,  it looks like the new operators gutted the place, with stunning results. The dark wood floor, intimate leather banquets, and Cactus Club-esque artichoke lights elevate interior design expectations of Asian restaurants. Moreover, the dish and flatware were surprisingly modern, with beautifully curved tea cups and soup spoons in place of more traditional pieces. Between Basil Leaf and Urban China, the bar for the design of Edmonton’s Asian restaurants has been set. Though Basil Leaf does support a “sports bar” in theory – a high, granite bar encircles a mounted television screen, an area separated from the main dining space by a partition – it seems to be a footnote, and shouldn’t detract would-be diners from visiting.

Table setting

The menu was fairly standard for a Vietnamese restaurant, stretching several pages with numerous stir-fries, vermicelli bowls and soups. Prices also seemed match those found at similar establishments, though I can only really speak to pho, which is always my dish of choice.

My predictable pho with medium rare beef was $7.75, while Dickson’s usual deluxe pho with all of the fixings rang in at $8.25. The green onion cake starter was $4.50.

As in Paula’s review, the service was borderline too attentive, with the servers at numerous points hovering over our table, and constantly checking to see if we needed a hot water refill for our tea. For some reason, it wasn’t off-putting – perhaps because they appeared to be genuinely interested in our dining experience.

Of course, with food being the focal point of our visit: I liked the green onion cakes well enough, though the batter had not been evenly seasoned. The pho also could have been better – the curved bowl my dish was served in was another plus, but the flavour of the broth was one-note, and could have been enhanced with more aromatics and spices. Dickson and I also agreed that the beef was overdone, becoming tough and unpleasantly chewy too quickly.

Green Onion Cakes

Beef Noodle Soup with Medium Rare Beef

Deluxe Noodle Soup

While Basil Leaf may not become my destination for pho, I would gladly visit them again. Perhaps for dinner when I might be able to take advantage of a booth , and when the lighting will better highlight the space.

Basil Leaf
10023 107 Avenue
(780) 756-8880

“You win some, you dim sum”: Urban China

You can thank Mack for the eye-rolling title quote.

It’s always nice to have more options within walking distance of the office, so when signs of a new restaurant where Rosie’s used to be on 106 Avenue and 100 Street appeared, I was excited. Urban China opened up in the fall, and I was eager to give them a try.

Dickson and I met up for a dim sum lunch one afternoon. A handful of tables were occupied, with one or two non-Asian groups seated when I entered. The host immediately greeted me in Chinese, to which I ungracefully replied in English, and was led to a table.

The interior had been completely redone, with fabulous results. Unlike most Chinese restaurants that utilize too many gold accents and fake fauna, Urban China chose the sophisticated route of dark wood, leather chairs, bright aquariums and a single red accent wall. It is a sleek space that seems destined to become popular for special occasions and banquets.

Interior

Of course, that previous statement would only be true if the food matched the expectations set by the décor. At Urban China, dim sum is both a cart and paper affair. For the limited number of tables, it seemed rather silly for the restaurant to offer carts at all, even though I prefer the jostling atmosphere incurred by drive-by hawkers. Because of their limited pre-cooked selection, we ultimately ended up ordering a few dishes directly from the kitchen anyway.

The dim sum litmus test of ha gao and siu mai ($4.25 each) wasn’t overly positive for Urban China – the shrimp dumplings were the better of the two, but for the price and wavering quality, we were better off at a cheaper establishment.

Shrimp Dumplings

Pork Dumplings

The rice crepes with shrimp ($4.75) were probably the best of our dishes that day, which contained a fair amount of shrimp encased in a silky wrap. My BBQ pork buns ($3.75) on the other hand were poor, a congealed meat filling with an almost pasty quality in every bite. Dickson was similarly unimpressed with his steamed egg yolk sauce buns ($3.75), commenting that the frozen versions at T & T were better.

Rice Crepe with Shrimp

BBQ Pork Buns

Egg Buns

Sharing small plates for lunch is always a nice way to go, particularly in a clean and chic environment. But at least for dim sum, Urban China doesn’t provide the best value or quality. I’ll have to come back to try their dinner menu to see if it holds up.

Urban China
10604 101 Street
(780) 758-1888