Category: food

Value Meal, Italian-Style: Italian Bakery

Wanting something other than what was waiting for me in the communal fridge, I headed to the Italian Bakery (10646 97 Street), hoping it would live up to the fantastic review in Vue Weekly two months ago.

Italian Bakery & Delicatessen

A modest line greeted me at the deli counter. A number slip indicated I was just three away from a custom sandwich built the way I wanted – and cheaper than the average supermarket pre-packed variety. A small (with 1 meat and 1 cheese) is just $2.50, a medium (with up to 2 meats and 1 cheese) is priced at $3, while a large (with 2 meats and 1 cheese) is $5, all garnished with either mayo, mustard, or vegetable spread  and banana peppers if so desired. Saran wrapped for no hassle travel, it would be the perfect sandwich to take on a picnic, or in my case, provide a reprieve from a lunch of weekday leftovers.

Deli counter

Menu

The time in line was actually a blessing in disguise, as it gave me some breathing room to decide which meat and cheese combination I wanted to try. After some deliberation, I chose chicken breast and German butter cheese to be paired with vegetable spread. One of the three behind-the-counter deli ladies (each with their own individual slicing machines) efficiently took my order and assembled my sandwich. I marvelled at how all of the employees were so cheery and friendly despite the growing crowd of hungry customers.

Also prompted by the review, I asked for a single slice of tiramisu ($2.50). With my meal ready, I snagged one of the three tables situated against the window (great for people watching) and dug in.

Small sandwich and tiramisu

The freshness of the bread was apparent, and with the accoutrements, it made me wonder why I had ever made a fuss over Pret a Manger‘s looks-better-than-it-tastes paper and plastic-encased sandwiches. As for the cake, the bottom half of the tiramisu was exactly what I was expecting – a coffee-soaked layer of homemade ladyfingers accented with a rich marscapone cream. My only wish was for the top half to have had an equal amount of spongy coffee goodness, instead of a dry cookie layer as it was.

While I can’t definitively say the Italian Bakery has the best meal deal in the area, it would at the very least find a place on the podium of values.

Food Notes

  • Eating local is all the rage now, so much so that it seems events galore – from cooking classes, tours, and sampling fairs – are a weekly affair. Edmonton’s Countryside TASTE! of Summer is such an event, taking place July 13 at the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park. There will be live entertainment, a small market, and Taste of Edmonton-esque food booths. Tickets on sale at Ticketmaster and at the gate.
  • Another Edmonton trend that continues is “upscale” packaged dinners. Following in the footsteps of Wild Tangerine and Culina‘s Frozen Dinners, Bacon is now offering take-away dinners Tuesday through Saturday – $14 for a frozen entree, salad and dessert, packed in a biodegradable container.
  • I’m quite excited to check out Sip! The Wine and Food Experience at CapitalEx, July 17-26. Over 150 alcoholic beverages will be on hand to sample, but of course, I am mostly looking forward to the food pairings. The menu is here, while the schedule for special guest appearances is here.
  • My appointment television for the summer: The Next Food Network Star, showing on Wednesdays at 8pm MT. While I wished our episodes ran on par with the American channel, I can’t complain about the content of the show. In its last incarnation, I think the draw for me was the celebrity judges (Bobby Flay, Giada de Laurentiis, Rachael Ray), but this year, I’m actually more interested in seeing how the contestants fare in the challenges. It’s still too early to pick a favourite though.
  • Mack and I have been slowly working our way through the irresistible silver-packaged President’s Choice-branded chips. The first flavour we tried – General Tao Chicken – has actually been our favourite thus far; Szechwan was too mild and Smokin’ Stampede much too spicy. Waiting to be sampled on the kitchen table: Buffalo Wings and Blue Cheese.
  • Just before joining the lineup to await the grand opening of the Apple Store on Saturday, Mack and I tried the new Homestyle Hash Brown from Tim Hortons. It’s just about the only thing from a fast food outlet that remotely resembles the pictures I’ve seen in advertisements. Unfortunately, it didn’t taste as good as they described – the seasoning actually made it taste worse than the more plain McDonald’s version.
  • Shaken, not stirred: Before the fondue party, Annie and I chowed down on the new Maple Leaf Pasta Shakers. “Fresh” pre-cooked pasta, a light dressing, a package of sundried tomatoes, and vacuum sealed chicken are vigorously shaken together (that was the fun part) for an easy meal. The pasta was a bit scary-looking, as one would expect processed, preserved pasta to be, but appearance aside, it wasn’t bad, both portion and taste-wise.

 

Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Shaker

The Cooking Chronicles: Chocolate Fondue Night

Annie graciously hosted a chocolate fondue party on Sunday night, something she has been wanting to do for some time.

While Janice and Annie cut up fruit we had purchased that afternoon, I got to work on preparing the chocolate base in a double boiler. Using Rachael Ray’s recipe as a guide, I melted together milk chocolate melting wafers, squares of dark chocolate, some whipping cream, and a dash of Baileys. Having never tried chocolate fondue before, I wasn’t sure what consistency to aim for, but as we could add chocolate and/or cream to the mixture anytime, I wasn’t too concerned. I transferred the concoction to the ceramic fondue pot, and surrounded by bowls of fresh fruit, cookies and sweets, the dessert looked positively inviting.

Count me surprised that the tiny tealight was able to keep the mixture bubbling, even to the point where we were able to easily melt in more chocolate to top off what we had. Between the strawberries, cantaloupe, bananas, peaches, and apple slices, I liked the latter fruit the best – the crunchy texture suited the dipping exercise nicely. Chocolate-dipped Teddy Grahams weren’t bad as well, though the chocolate-chunk coated cookies were a bit too sweet, even for me. The fondue experience was not only fun, but I ended up feeling more full than I expected – it turns out one can eat quite a bit when everything is coated in chocolate.

Thanks Annie for hosting the party!

The spread

Annie posing with Black Cat Riesling (I bought it more for the novelty bottle than the wine itself)

Janice multitasks (again! and she was on call too!)

May and Janice

Me and Annie

The Cooking Chronicles: Chocolate and Banana Panino

I remember watching an episode of Giada’s Weekend Getaways where she feasted on a mean-looking chocolate and banana panino, and since then, have wanted to try one ever since. I picked up a baguette and some bananas on my way home from work on Friday, and after supper, intended on recreating Giada’s dessert for myself.

I spread Nutella on both slices of bread, placed three banana slices in between for the filling, and drizzled olive oil on the top and the bottom to help with the browning. Pressed down for two minutes in the George Foreman Grill, they were done, served along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I was hit with a deja vu moment of having possibly tried such a panino before, but I think it was just the classic combination of banana and chocolate that threw me off. While not fancy or particularly unique, these sandwiches would be an easy dessert for a weekday evening.

Chocolate and Banana Panino with Vanilla Ice Cream

Food Notes

  • The first of my FoodTV posts went live on Monday! Check out my write-up on the City Centre Market here.
  • Doggie-Style Deli, a cafe for dogs, just opened on the city’s west end. One question: why?
  • Edible Arrangements, the American-based company that has elevated the art of fruit arrangements, now has a store in Edmonton (102, 10179 105 Street, 429-2802).
  • I read on Chowhound that there are 3-course prix fixe meals available at some of Calgary’s reputable establishments, including Brava Bistro and Blink, outside of a “dine out week” event. I hope Edmonton follows this trend.
  • Capital Health (spurned by Edmonton Journal’s own searchable database a few years ago) launched a website that will allow those interested to look-up recent inspection reports.
  • Vij’s, famed for their Indian cuisine, has just added a bread-like dish called parantha made with ground crickets to their menu. His reasoning behind choosing to grind the crickets is spot on: “We decided to grind them into a flour so there was no visual effect, because in North America we eat with our eyes – if something does not look appealing, we tend not to eat it.” I hope to be able to try it when I’m in Vancouver later this summer.
  • Catherine Jheon at Food TV posted about a photography ban at David Chang’s popular Momofuku Ko. I’m not sure I agree with it, but it’s his restaurant, and he can set the rules, especially for a place where the seats are in such high demand.
  • I tried the new Margherita Pizza from Panago recently. While not as good as more “authentic” thin-crust pizzas from Leva or daCapo, it was pretty good. The fresh mozzarella made the pie.

 

Margherita Pizza

  • Easily seduced by the smell of fresh baked goods, I wandered over to Handy Bakery (8660 118 Avenue) after a meeting last week. Keen on tasting the difference between Chinese and Portuguese Egg Tarts, I picked up half a dozen for my family and I. Sweeter, with a caramelized surface supplemented by the buttery flakiness of puff pastry, each tart was a little piece of heaven. Liane Faulder introduced Nata, a new Portuguese Bakery in this week’s Bistro – I will definitely have to try their tarts some time as well.

 

Portuguese Egg Tarts

Salad Days of Summer: Sunterra Market

Drawn to Sunterra Market‘s Commerce Place location (2nd floor, 10150 Jasper Avenue) to satisfy a craving for vegetables, I was happy to find it absolutely hopping. I usually patronize them only after work hours for sweets, and thus have never had the opportunity to see it so vibrant.

I’m not sure about their recently completed renovations – the compartmental affect seems to block natural light from flowing through the previously more open space, and the “Frenchification” of everything (“bakery” has become “boulangerie”, garbage cans are now labelled “poubelle”) further increases Sunterra’s pretentiousness. At any rate, I’ll hold out final judgement after a few more visits.

On this day, I headed straight for the salad bar, where a focused employee was diligently filling up half-empty containers of salad options to satiate the bustling crowd. There were nearly two dozen options – a bed of spinach, wild greens, or romaine to be topped off by veggies (carrots, green peppers, grape tomatoes, among others), protein (hard boiled eggs, cubed ham, shredded chicken, chickpeas, sunflower seeds), various carbs (fried Asian noodles, croutons), cheese (feta, marble), and a choice of six unlabeled mystery dressings.

I picked up a plastic box, and with the Mongolie Grill principle of choosing the lightest ingredients, built my salad. I indulged a little – marble cheese cubes and a slice of roasted red pepper – which I thought would topple over my mainly spinach and white mushroom creation, but on the weigh station, the total came to just $3.70 (0.266kg at $1.39/100g).

Yes, maintaining a fridge and pantry of fresh ingredients would certainly be a cheaper way to go, but with the fun and variety possible with Sunterra’s fresh salad bar, I can see why people would shirk a packed lunch and opt for a spur-of-the-moment greens creation instead.

My salad, dressed with a healthy dose of raspberry vinaigrette

Big Plates of Mexico: Las Palmeras

We didn’t end up making a stop in Red Deer two weeks ago, so Mack and I planned a special trip down to visit Tom on Sunday. Tom didn’t object to our restaurant choice, so with Kim and Jon along for the ride, to Las Palmeras (3630 50 Avenue) we went.

Mack outside of Las Palmeras

The air-conditioned venue provided a much-needed respite from the 30+ degree weather. While we were greeted by a “HOLA” floor mat and a ceramic mariachi band, the overall kitsch was restrained – a decorative tiki bar and a neon Corona sign notwithstanding. Washrooms marked “Senioritas” and “Hombres” were expected, but still brought a smile to my face.

Dining area

Colorful display

The dining area we were seated in was comprised of booths as well as stand-alone tables, filled by three other parties on that late afternoon. Our efficient waitress tried to tempt us with “something refreshing”, but we stayed the course and stuck with food only. Mack and Tom opted for Chicken Quesadillas ($13.95), Kim and Jon the Super Burritos ($12.95), and I the lone Chicken Enchilada ($15.95). Mack and I topped off our plates with an order of Pupusas ($8.95) for good measure.

Just after we polished off the complimentary fresh-fried tortillas chips and house-made salsa, our pupusas appeared. Crispy hot corn tortillas concealed a deliciously savoury filling of ground pork, tomato, onion, zucchini and cheese. Like some supporting characters that steal the limelight away from the main players in a production, the wonderful appetizer overshadowed my entree.

Tortilla Chips and Salsa

Pupusas

Our main dishes, on kid-friendly, bright-bordered plates, arrived all with serving sizes I thought daunting for the average individual. Kim and Jon seemed to like their burritos fine (Jon even polished off the tortilla condiment container), while I think Mack and Tom had my share of entree envy with their quesadilla. My enchiladas, dressed with an overzealous amount of cheese, were not what I was expecting. The chicken baked up a tad dry, and the tough casing didn’t help matters. The beans were pretty good, accented with some green onion bite, but half of the rice on my plate was undercooked – more stirring in the communal pot needed, perhaps?

Super Burrito

Chicken Quesadilla

Chicken Enchilada

It was a snappy meal – quick, no-frills, and intensely filling (we all remained full for hours afterwards) – but for better quality and a much cheaper price for El Salvadoran versions of the above, I’d recommend El Rancho in Edmonton’s north end. Still, I’m excited to have finally been able to try something off the Gasoline Alley-beaten path, with many more yet to visit.

Tom and Kim

Mack and I

Go Elsewhere for Pho: Thanh Thanh Oriental Noodle House

Having learned from experience not to attempt to have lunch at Thanh Thanh Oriental Noodle House (10718 101 Street) during their peak midday hour, I met Dickson there at 1pm on a weekday. We hit the tail end of the rush, and were seated fairly quickly as the crowd started to disperse.

Making good on an earlier promise to try our their pho menu, I headed straight for that page and picked out the Soup Lover’s Delight with medium-rare beef ($7.45), while Dickson opted for the Northern Vietnamese Soup ($7.95) with thin slices of chicken, well done and medium rare beef.

As it was still fairly busy, I was surprised that our dishes arrived as fast as they did. We were both sad to see that the large-bowl standard of Pagolac and Hoang Long hadn’t rubbed off on Thanh Thanh’s serving size though. I found the broth oily with no depth of flavour, while Dickson commented that the pho in general wasn’t that hot. As well, the meat was sliced too thick for my liking, and really, by the time the bowl had been brought to the table, could have been considered well done.

As their other dishes aren’t bad, Thanh Thanh isn’t a complete write-off – just go elsewhere for pho.

Soup Lover’s Delight with Medium-Rare Beef

Northern Vietnamese Soup

The Cooking Chronicles: Birthday Pizza

My Mum offered to make me whatever I wanted for my birthday supper, and though I usually pick her sweet and sour pork when a special occasion arises, this year, I chose pizza on the grill. My sister and I tried making our own pizzas on the barbie last year, and though they were edible, the dough was a tad undercooked. We hoped to rectify that this time around.

Mack and I picked up some choice toppings before heading home (fresh basil, Hungarian salami, white mushrooms), and using the dough my Mum had made that afternoon, assembled our individual pizzas on par-baked rounds.

Assembling pizzas

My Dad was in charge of the barbecue portion of the recipe, and just a few minutes after the first three went on the grill, he knew they’d be burnt. We probably shouldn’t have par-baked the dough, but my Mum and I thought that’d be a way to avoid undercooking the dough.

On the grill

Luckily, my pizza turned out okay, and slightly less charred than the others. We learned our lesson though, and won’t be pre-baking the dough again.

My pizza (with lots of cracked black pepper!)

After dinner, Mack and I went for a walk in the nearby Mill Creek Ravine (or what I deemed, “the bush”), retracing the path my family and I used to take on warm summer evenings not unlike that one.

On a bridge

Mack

Mack and I

Good, Not Great: Tropika

Annie and I had dinner on Sunday night at Tropika (6004 104 Street), mainly because of the 2-for-1 coupon I had on hand. The dining room was packed, but we were still seated within a few minutes of entering the establishment.

Their pictorial menu never ceases to wow me, as it did on my first visit there last year. I was looking for something simple that would yield leftovers I could take with me for lunch the next day, so the Nasi Goreng ($11) was my choice. Annie wanted something spicy, and thus opted for the Singapore Laksa ($10).

Our waitress was great throughout, always on top of filling up my water glass. And though it was quite busy, our food didn’t take as long as I expected. This time around, I didn’t think the fried rice was that good – besides the broad beans, the packaged mixed vegetables used seemed like a too-easy shortcut. Annie thought her noodle dish was quite good – I commented that the spice level was definitely too high for my palette.

A decent (and dirt-cheap meal with the coupon), Tropika was a reasonably good place to end off the weekend.

Nasi Goreng

Singapore Laksa