The Cooking Chronicles: More from Smitten Kitchen

Mack always teases me that I have my “phases”. He says that I’m currently in my smoothies-for-breakfast phase and my Scandal phase, though based on our cooking schedule recently, I think he’d also say I’m in a Smitten Kitchen phase.

Over the holidays, I didn’t feel too inspired to try new recipes, but browsing through Deb’s website and new cookbook, I immediately bookmarked a handful of recipes. We tried a few more last week.

Mushroom Lasagna

Though the mushroom lasagna is actually Ina Garten’s recipe, I came across it through the Smitten Kitchen website. The idea of a lighter, meatless lasagna was really appealing, as was the prospect of leftovers.

Mushroom lasagna

The recipe worked out really well, and my only quibble was recommending 3/4 lb of pasta instead of a full box. Deb mentions that not layering the pasta resulted in uniform slices, but I would have preferred not having leftover pasta. We probably also could have done with a melty mozzarella crust on top.

Lunch portion!

But as a whole, it was a lovely pasta, with a luxurious combination of bechemel and sautéed mushrooms. It would make an excellent vegetarian main course.

Honey Harissa Farro Salad

It seems like it was only a few years ago that I learned that salad did not have to be comprised of greens alone. Since then, we’ve made and enjoyed salads that have included everything from couscous to lentils. The honey harissa farro salad in The Smitten Kitchen cookbook looked interesting for that reason, though I have to say I was a little apprehensive about experimenting with farro, as our experience with another grain-based salad (bulgur) did not go well.

We found farro in the bulk section at Planet Organic. The grains resembled rice in their shape, but ranged in colour from light brown to golden. As directed by the recipe, we prepared the farro by boiling it (in stock on this occasion), and simmering it for 20 minutes. The cooked grain then puffed up, though surprisingly, did not take on much of the stock’s flavour, but resembling barley in its chewiness.

We combined the farro with roasted Kuhlmann’s parsnips and Greens, Eggs and Ham carrots and tossed it in a dressing made from olive oil and harissa. The salad was topped with fresh mint, and some Smoky Valley goat cheese.

Honey harissa farro salad

We probably should have stuck to the recipe on the cheese front (it had recommended feta), as the goat cheese overwhelmed the flavours. Mack also couldn’t get used to the interaction between the spicy dressing and the mint. I was really impressed by how the addition of farro really “bulked” up the salad (Deb’s word), as it really did transform the dish into a meal in itself.

I’m not done with Smitten Kitchen just yet – I still have the rest of the book to cook through!

Small Plates, Japanese-Style: Izakaya Tomo

Some meals are more than just the food on the table and the company you are with – they are experiences. Our dinner at Guu in Toronto, my first taste of an izakaya (a Japanese pub), was one such experience. It was loud and boisterous, with most of the cacophony of voices originating from the staff. The dozen servers and chefs would yell greetings at patrons whenever they entered or exited the restaurant. Though I’m sure it could get trying after a while, for us, it was still novel; for me, Guu was memorable because of the infectious energy and vibrant atmosphere. When I heard Edmonton finally landed its own izakaya, I was excited to see if it could replicate that experience. Mack and I had dinner there last Saturday, before a movie at South Edmonton Common.

Though it would have been nice to see Izakaya Tomo amongst an established hospitality district instead of a vehicle-driven strip, no one can deny the attractive rent differential. And walking in, the interior also made us forget about the location – the earthy tones and wooden fixtures made us feel immediately at ease, on top of, of course, the warm, vocal welcome from staff. With the relatively small size of Izakaya Tomo (nine tables) and corresponding staff size, there was definitely a less frenetic pace than compared with Guu, to the point where a comparison almost couldn’t be warranted.

Interior

Izakaya Tomo does serve sushi (the chef previously worked at Mikado), but we focused our orders on cooked dishes, which ranged in price from $3.95-$11.95). Our server recommended we order 4-5 dishes, so we took her advice (I have to note the obvious but charming directive printed on the menu, which reads “Please order whatever you want”).

The deep fried tofu ($4.95) came out first, a nice starter, though the breading didn’t hold together as well as we would have hoped for.

Deep fried tofu

Next came the dish we were most curious about, a carbonara udon ($11.95), combining Japanese and Italian ingredients in a way we’d never seen before. But we were hooked – the udon noodles seemed right at home in the creamy, peppery sauce, so much so we wondered why we had never encountered the combination before (a friend of ours who we ran into at the restaurant that night commented that the carbonara reminded him of the heavenly pastas he’d sampled in Italy – high praise for a fusion dish from a Japanese establishment!).

Carbonara udon

The tonpei yaki ($8.95) is Izakaya Tomo’s version of an okonomiyaki. Instead of a flat pancake, the dish was made up of a pork and cabbage-filled egg crepe drizzled with Japanese mayo. Though I probably prefer the pancake version, Mack was more than amused at the swaying bonito flakes.

Tonpei yaki

The server must have misheard me, as we intended to order the chicken kara-age ($7.95), and didn’t realize until we received the bill that the dish we actually received was the chicken teriyaki ($10.95). That explained why the chicken wasn’t as crispy as we expected. We really appreciated the side of cabbage and bell peppers, which helped balance out the heavier items.

Chicken teriyaki

The beef shogayaki ($10.95), was a ginger-fried beef, shredded paper thin. It was Mack’s favourite dish, with forward, but not overwhelming ginger flavour.

Beef shogayaki

Service was friendly and attentive, and we were never left wanting anything. The food also came out lightning fast, to the point where we could barely keep up!

With the continued trend of share plate dining, Izakaya Tomo is entering the Edmonton food scene at the right time. And given it is our favourite way to eat out, sampling our way through numerous dishes, we look forward to trying the rest of the menu, and of course, to receiving another warm welcome!

Izakaya Tomo
3739 99 Street
(780) 440-9152

Food Notes for January 14, 2013

While I appreciate the warmer weather (it makes going out for winter walks much less of a chore), it’d be better if things stayed below freezing. It’s going to be hard to keep my pants clean with cars entering the splash zone…Onto this week’s food notes:

In conjunction with International Week, the University of Alberta Office of Sustainability is hosting Raj Patel, who will be speaking on food cultures for sustainability on January 30, 2013. Admission is free.
Fork Fest, which runs from January 20-24 and 27-31, 2013, has started to post their menus. Prix fixe menus are not consistently priced, which makes it a bit more difficult to browse, but given the range of casual to more upscale eateries participating, perhaps it suits individual establishments better.
A new wine bar opened up in the Illuminada 2 last Thursday, called Jono’s Bar (11931 Jasper Avenue).
Vue Weekly has a great profile on Canteen, brought to you by Frank and Andrea Olson of the Red Ox Inn. I love that their menu is built around sharing!
Vue Weekly reviewed Panciteria de Manila (9653 102 Ave). Sounds like a great, inexpensive option downtown!
Marianne wrote about her recent visits to Canteen, Sloppy Hogs Roed Hus and The Underground Tap and Grill.
Cindy reviewed the recently opened north side location of Pho Hoan Pasteur.
The craft beer market is heating up in Edmonton, with Calgary’s Craft Beer Market set to invade our city in the spring.
I was remiss in not linking to Valerie’s thorough post on 2013 trends, which covers the continued rise in local food and urban agriculture, food education, food writing and social networking. A must read!
#yegfood was the #3 hashtag employed by local users in 2012!
At Deep Freeze this weekend, Mack and I opted to try empanadas from Paraiso Tropical (9136 118 Ave), a Latin food market. We were able to get 4 empanadas for just $10, and they were the perfect snack enjoyed by a warm fire. The red corn empanada was particularly good.

Empanadas Paraiso Tropical

Portland: Food Cart Central

In September, Mack and I spent ten days in Portland, Oregon. I’m hoping to cover the highlights of our trip over a series of posts.

When deciding where we would vacation last fall, we had a short list of American cities we had yet to explore. Portland was at the very top, and given its vibrant food cart culture, it seemed fitting to pay them a visit on the heels of our biggest What the Truck?! event to date. We knew about the sheer number of food carts in the city (somewhere between 400-600), had heard about their well-established food pods (clusters of food carts), and researched some of the vendors that have received national attention. We were more than ready to experience the mobile magic ourselves.

First Impressions

I have to say, our initial impressions weren’t positive. Our first encounter came on night one, after checking into our hotel. We had located a food pod about two blocks away on Alder Street, and were hoping to score a quick dinner.

This pod, like most others in the downtown core, was made up of carts set up on the periphery of parking lots. Although we did encounter actual “food trucks” over the course of our trip, most vendors were set up in converted trailers, connected to city power and water hook-ups. Many were far from well-maintained.

Dual purpose lots

For visitors like us, it also wasn’t evident where patrons were supposed to sit, without obvious dining areas in sight. A few days later, after familiarizing ourselves with the neighbourhood, we located a park nearby, but for a city known for its pedestrian leanings, the lack of benches was surprising.

Worst of all, the vast majority of vendors were closed! We learned quickly that most downtown carts only operated during the lunch rush, while pods that catered to the evening crowd were located in other parts of Portland.

Sorry, come again

On the plus side, this did narrow down our choices quite significantly, given there were only three carts still open at 6:30pm that night. We ended up ordering from neighbouring vendors, picking up a Cuban sandwich ($7.50) from El Cubo de Cuba, and a yellow chicken curry ($5) from the aptly named I Like Thai Food.

El Cubo de Cuba and I Like Thai Food

Unlike food trucks, which are set at a grade or two above street level, many of the food carts in that area were constructed from converted trailers. As a result, we were able to peer directly into the kitchens and watch as our food was being prepared.

Although it didn’t make sense for us to partake, El Cubo de Cuba participates in Go Box, an initiative that attempts to decrease the waste of disposable food containers by encouraging the use of reusable take-out boxes. It’s just neat to see an example of a program that can flourish only with a critical mass of vendors.

With seemingly no other option, we brought our food back to the hotel for consumption. The curry was absolutely steaming hot, and cooked to order, the chicken was tender amongst the softened vegetables. I couldn’t get over how inexpensive it was – $5 for a generously portioned curry and a side of rice was unreal.

Yellow curry and Cuban sandwich

Similarly, the pork in the cuban sandwich was dripping with juice, and with meat stuffed to the brim, Mack could barely finish it. The tater tots were a fun alternative to fries.

Eats After Dark

Two days later, we made plans to check out one of the late night pods across the river. About a half hour’s walk from downtown, Cartopia on Hawthorne and SE 12th was adjacent to numerous bars and restaurants. This proximity was the case for the two other late night pods we passed through later that week (one on Mississippi Avenue and another, with live music, in Clinton), and made perfect sense given the pods’ complementary nature to brick and mortar businesses, enhancing street life all while providing a hangover cure.

Cartopia was set up on a vacant lot, and the carts, like those we had first encountered, were also plugged into the power and water systems. Unlike the downtown pods, however, Cartopia had a canopied seating area and portapotties. And with a simple string of lights, it looked like the perfect place to spend a warm fall night.

Cartopia

We were swayed by the promise of poutine ($5) from Potato Champion, but it ended up being the least favourite food cart dish of our trip. Although the fries were all right, the “curds” were mozzarella chunks, and the gravy was weirdly sour and unstrained, which left chunks of onion amongst the sauce to contend with.

Poutine

We fared better for dessert – Perierra Creperie had the longest line of any vendor, and after trying a delicate chocolate and banana crepe ($6) made literally in front of us, we could see why.

Perierra Creperie

From Whiffies, I indulged in a deep fried peach pie ($5). Freshly fried, the pastry was deliciously crackly.

Enjoying my deep fried pie

No doubt, the advantage of pods was the ability to mix and match – for the price of one entree at a casual upscale eatery, we were able to sample three different items. Though we didn’t crunch the numbers, we were almost certain we spent less on food in Portland than we have in our other trips to American cities in recent years.

The Money Cart

Our hallelujah food cart moment came halfway through our trip, when we made our way to Brunch Box on Oak Street. Featured in season one on Eat St., this was the cart that had become seared in my memory, the money shot of the YouCanHasCheeseburger haunting me.

Brunch Box

What is the YouCanHasCheeseburger, you ask? It’s a burger on steroids – instead of a regular bun, all of the makings of a burger, a patty, lettuce, tomato and onions, are bookended by two Texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches. All for $6.

YouCanHasCheeseburger

It was far from gourmet, but that burger was our most memorable meal, probably because it met our sky high expectations, built up after years of anticipation. The buttery crispness of the grilled cheese just melted into the beef, with sauteed onions providing a sweet finish.

Digging in

The burger made such an impression on us, in spite of the caloric feat, we returned to Brunch Box…two more times.

Ecstatic to be back for a grilled cheese

PDX Favourites

Because food pods have taken root all across Portland, many of the popular vendors have been able to open multiple locations.

We returned to the Alder Street pod for lunch one day so we could dine at carts that were already closed on our first visit. Though we were in the thick of the lunch rush, there were surprisingly few people around the pod. With so many vendors competing with one another, we had to wonder how some were able to survive, especially with such limited operating hours.

Mack made a beeline for Grilled Cheese Grill, a cart with three locations in the city. They had an impressive selection of classic and modern grilled cheese combinations, with Mack ultimately deciding on the Gabby ($5.75), with Tilamook cheddar, colby jack, swiss, mozzarella and bacon. He enjoyed it, but said it paled in comparison with the simple but solid grilled cheese sandwich from Brunch Box.

The Gabby

Nong’s Khao Man Gai is easily Portland’s most famous food cart, renowned across America for the sole dish they sell, a Hainanese chicken rice. They have two locations in the city, and both close up shop once the day’s inventory has been sold.

Nong’s Khao Man Gai

The front clerk charmed those waiting in line, his carefree disposition translating into effortless upsells and smiling customers. I was easily convinced to add an order of fried chicken skin ($1) to the basic order of poached chicken and rice ($6.75).

Chicken and rice

Terrible photo aside, the dish transported me back to Asia. Served in a paper packet sealed with an elastic, the slow braised meat was some of the best chicken I’ve had, and even better when accompanied with a bite of aromatic, shiny rice and a drizzle of ginger and garlic-flecked chili sauce. The order also included a small container of fragrant broth, which I inhaled.

No doubt, the sheer number and panoply of carts was impressive. Though we weren’t sure how they all sustain themselves, it was entirely true that a high quality meal could be had at street corners all over Portland. Let’s hope Edmonton’s food truck culture continues to develop in this direction!

The Cooking Chronicles: Smitten Kitchen

Usually for Christmas I am gifted a cookbook or two, and this year was no different. Mack bought me The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, the latest blog-to-page sensation. Although I had heard the name before, I hadn’t really actively explored her blog before. But after flipping through the book and browsing her extensive collection of online recipes, I can see why Deb Perelman has the extensive following that she does – I’m hooked, too!

It’s been just a few weeks since my quick introduction to Smitten Kitchen, but in that time, I’ve already made a few of her recipes, both from her book and her blog. And given the results, it won’t be long before more of her dishes make their way to our kitchen table.

Seared Cod and Gazpacho Salsa with Tomato Vinaigrette

As you’ve probably noticed, our favourite type of dishes are one-pot meals, both because of their simplicity and association with comfort. But Deb’s dish for seared halibut (we used cod), served with a simple salad and drizzled with a light vinaigrette proved we shouldn’t so easily overlook recipes that feature multiple components.

That said, the different components were quick and easy to pull together. To make the salsa, we combined chopped Doef’s tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers with some quick pickled Kuhlmann’s onions (only pickled because I didn’t have any sweet or red onions in the pantry) and parsley. To make the sauce, we blended a tomato with red wine vinegar, olive oil and seasoning. The Ocean Odyssey fish was simply seasoned, then seared.

Seared cod and gazpacho salsa with tomato vinaigrette

The salsa was light and fresh, and surprisingly tasty even without any salt or pepper. But what really made the dish was the tomato vinaigrette. Sweet and tangy, it would be great on chicken too, though next time I would consider heating it just a bit, to bring it up to temperature with the fish.

Baked Chicken Meatballs

I clicked “Surprise Me!” on the side of Smitten Kitchen, and it led me to Deb’s recipe for baked chicken meatballs. I’d never used ground chicken for anything before, but as we found out, this is a good reason as any to do so!

As she suggested, we made entree-sized meatballs, and enjoyed them alongside a salad. What made them stand out was the sweet tomato paste glaze, and how moist they were (the panade really helped).

Baked chicken meatballs

For lunch a few days later, I used the leftovers to make us meatballs subs. Topping the subs with a homemade marinara sauce and shredded gouda, I did my best to toast the overflowing sandwiches with limited success.

Chicken meatball subs

The meatballs held up well, and Mack gave the sub a thumbs up. No doubt, this recipe will be bookmarked for future reference!

Food Notes for January 7, 2013

A few years ago, we spent our Christmas holidays watching the first few seasons of Mad Men, as we had jumped on the show’s bandwagon quite late. This year, I spent much of the holidays catching up on past episodes of Scandal, the juicy drama focused on Olivia Pope, D.C.’s most sought after crisis manager. It’s soapy and over the top, but I can’t get enough of the plot twists and betrayals. On to this week’s food notes:

Congratulations to Nomad, who announced that they are moving into a bricks and mortar location this year! Look for them in the McLeod Building.
Knifewear finished a successful run of their pop-up store on December 31, but has promised a permanent location in Edmonton in 2013. It’s about time!
To celebrate their 100th edition to be published in March, The Tomato is looking for your recommendations for their list of top 100 best things to eat in Edmonton. Make a suggestion by January 25, 2013 for your chance to win prizes.
I’m sure the reviews for Canteen will start to pour in soon, but here’s the first from Little Miss Andrea.
The Journal published a glowing review for Sloppy Hogs Roed Hus – it’s not for the meat weary!
Little Miss Andrea checked out Izakaya Tomo over the holidays. It’s on my must-try list!
Jennifer Cockrall-King’s popular Okanagan Food and Wine Writers’ Workshops is taking place in Kelowna from April 28 – May 1, 2013. Look for more details to be posted on January 16, 2013.
It’s the time of year for food forecasts: check out Liane’s here, and Paul Shufelt’s here (I will say I respectfully disagree with Paul that food trucks are on the way out!).
Marlow Moo posted her list of trends she’d both like to see, and prefer would disappear, in 2013.
Eatocracy shares trends they’d like to see in 2013 (I love the idea of interesting virgin cocktails), and the NYT throws down their 10 trends for 2013 (I can see chicharrones taking root here too).
On the weekend, we met up with my parents at Pampa. They’ve never been, and though we’ve been before, it took us over a year to ready ourselves for another night of carnivorous gluttony. There were some misses with the selections offered, but we enjoyed most of them, with chicken and pork sausage being the favourites around the table. Since our last visit, Pampa has stepped up the table service as well, asking on numerous occasions whether we had any meat items that they could send our way (instead of having to wait for a particular kind of meat to make the rounds). On the other hand, an off-putting change was Pampa’s adoption of Q Water (the filter system that is de rigueur in Edmonton right now). We asked for tap water, but were told it wasn’t an option. We paid the $2/person for water, but it was a cost that did not go down easy.

Bring on the meat

Mack and I also started our New Year off right with a visit to La Poutine!

La Poutine

On the walk home from La Poutine, we finally found the skating rink at the Legislature that has eluded us for some time. It turns out it is located behind the building, our own little Wollman-esque rink in the city.

Beautiful night for a skate

A Warm Welcome: Cafe Amore

Quite a few different sources had been pointing us to Cafe Amore over the last few months – friends, associates, the blogosphere – it seemed everyone was raving about this small Italian eatery’s food and atmosphere. We finally gave it a try ourselves recently, to celebrate Mack’s birthday.

The trickiest thing about Cafe Amore is that reservations aren’t permitted for groups smaller than 6. When I called to confirm this, I also asked about the best time to avoid a long wait, but unfortunately, staff couldn’t commit to any particular time or day. So we took our chances on a Friday after work.

Cafe Amore is a small space to be sure – it resembled more of a small neighbourhood pub than a restaurant. The room was anchored by an 80s style wooden bar (with a glaringly fluorescent soda cooler), with several flat screen televisions adorning the walls. A handful of tables occupied the adjacent space, though as Mack noted, many of them looked to be comfortable four tops to which several more chairs had been added.

Because of the tight space, there wasn’t much room for a lobby. Later on, as more people piled in for the dinner rush, this became more apparent given we felt like the waiting parties were watching us eat. When we entered, there wasn’t a sign directing us to wait, so we weren’t sure if we were to hunt for a space ourselves. After a few minutes, a gregarious staff member greeted us, and told us he could squeeze us in at the bar (and eventually were fortunate enough to be moved to a table; the next couple who walked in wasn’t so lucky, and had to wait about 45 minutes).

As soon as he found out it was our first time at the restaurant, he shook our hands and introduced himself. Mack remarked later that although we weren’t impressed with the initial welcome or the close quarters, these misgivings were negated by the effort staff made to personally connect with diners (later, the patriarch of the restaurant not only made the rounds to check how our meal was going, but also thanked us on our way out).

Happy birthday, Mack!

We were told how the menu worked (no paper menus, just the chalkboard equivalent) – entree options included seven different pastas (with the pasta falling on that particular day offered at a discounted rate), prawns, and several specials. Appetizers changed on an almost daily basis. I settled on one of the pasta dishes ($14, plus $3 for chicken), while Mack opted for the crowning special of pasta pescatore ($25).

Though the server had promised our food would be delivered promptly, the swiftness exceeded both of expectations. The portion sizes also blew our minds – each of our plates could have easily fed two people. My sambucca rose was nothing special, though I enjoyed the slight sweetness of the sauce. In hindsight, I would have added the rapini ($4) for a bit of texture.

Sambucca rose

Mack’s pescatore, however, was the crown jewel at our table. Linguine and a generous amount of king crab, baby clams, mussels, jumbo prawns and baby shrimp had been tossed with a white wine sauce. Light and fresh, with perfectly prepared seafood, Mack could not be happier with his birthday dinner.

Pasta pescatore

Though we did enjoy our food, our dinner really highlighted for us an instance where service can really make a meal. While we will be returning in the future, the lure of Cafe Amore is its staff, and their ability to make you feel welcomed and appreciated.

Before we left, we were told that the owners are hunting for a second location. Given the Delton storefront is bursting at the seams, this couldn’t come at a better time. But with the expansion, we do hope that they can maintain their personal touch, which sets Cafe Amore apart from other restaurants.

Cafe Amore
12118 90 Street
(780) 477-7896
Sunday 12-6pm, Monday-Saturday 11am-12am

The Cooking Chronicles: Everyday Dinners

Though we’ve been eating some rather elaborate meals, as is typical for the holidays, not every day during the season sees such extravagance. Most evenings for us have seen more low-key dishes. And though I’m sad at having to bid adieu to my favourite time of year, it will be nice to return to some semblance of routine again. Here are a few of the recipes we tried more recently.

Mulligatawny Soup

This mulligatawny soup from Spilling the Beans was not your typical chicken soup. Chickpeas, coconut milk, and a tart apple helped distinguish this from other recipes, and with the help of a deli chicken and boxed stock (we skipped the first step), made it quick to pull together.

Mulligatawny soup

The creaminess reminded me of a chicken and wild rice soup I’ve made in the past, but without the heaviness lent by cream (and instead, added a bit of sweetness). We left the apples too crisp for our liking, but for lunch the next day, they had absorbed more of the broth and blended in with the soup much better. Another one pot dinner for the win!

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are not something I grew up with, and actually, I only had a vague idea of what it was. Turns out, at its core, it is simply a mixture of ground beef simmered in a tomato sauce, served over toasted buns. Mack was craving this over the holidays, so dug up a Rachael Ray recipe to make for dinner one night, garnished with some cheddar.

Sloppy Joes

This recipe was much too sweet for my taste, and between the ripe Doef’s tomatoes and bell pepper, I think the brown sugar could have been significantly reduced.

As a whole, the dish left me thinking about another recipe with a similar name, the New “New Joe’s Special”, which also uses ground beef as a base for a mixture to be consumed over toast, but has so much more inherent flavour. I think that will be the dish I turn to the next time this craving hits.

Culinary Highlights: 2012 Edition

Though I didn’t necessarily travel far from Edmonton this year (remaining on the North American continent), many of my food memories from 2012 revolved around the trips I took. I was fortunate enough to visit Toronto twice, spent over a week in the Okanagan, and in the fall, explored the food and hipster mecca of Portland (which, of course, I have yet to blog about).

The mac and cheese at Bannock, one of my favourite spots in Toronto

Amanda at the Toronto Underground Market

It was absolutely beautiful by the lake at Quail’s Gate in Kelowna

The farmers’ market at Portland State University was unreal

The best salami I’ve ever had, courtesy of Olympic Provisions in Portland

The YouCanHasCheeseburger (two grilled cheese sandwiches in place of a regular bun) from Brunch Box in Portland was worth every calorie

I also had many memorable meals closer to home, including an incredible multi-course dinner at the Slow Food Canada gala in May, a Canada Day crab boil, a farm to table feast like we’ve never experienced, multiple meals at our favourite new restaurant, Three Boars, and innumerable bowls of beef noodle soup at Pho Tau Bay.

My favourite dish at the Slow Food gala: a celebration of grains and pulses with the most delectable pea puree

The spread at an indulgent Canada Day crab boil

R GE RD 135 farm dinner at Nature’s Green Acres

They may be better known for their creative uses of lesser cuts of meat, but Three Boars’ simple dessert of lemon curd, blueberry compote and granola was one of the best desserts I ate this year

I’m pretty sure I consumed more pho than anything else in 2012

Mack and I were also very lucky to work with some amazing partners on several food events we helped organize, including two pop-up dinners, a food conference and more than ten What the Truck?! events.

We had a blast organizing Blink: Pedway Pop-Up with the Century Hospitality Group, which took place in February in the pedway between Scotia and Commerce Place

Similarly, we loved working with Drift to pull off Pedway: Urban Picnic at Louise McKinney Park in August (photo by Hugh Lee)

Eat Alberta 2.0 doubled in size, and took place inside the kitchens of NAIT

After a series of successful Truck Stops in Old Strathcona, we hosted our first ever Throwdown Edition in August, featuring pulled pork

We ended the What the Truck?! season with our biggest event ever, colonizing Churchill Square in September

Here’s to another year of good food!

After ringing the opening bell at the City Market

Epicureous in Edmonton: 2012 in Review

I wish we could say 2012 was the year City Council declared that having access to locally-grown food was important enough to protect, but alas, that was not the case. In November, Council voted to accept the toothless, vague Fresh, the Food and Agriculture Strategy that certainly did not live up to its name. By doing so, although some good was accomplished (including a directive to set up an Edmonton Food Council), Fresh did not make preserving the city’s peripheral agricultural land a priority.

Farm stand at Riverbend Gardens

This was in spite of the fact that the appetite and interest in local food continues to grow. The 124 Street Grand Market was a huge hit, while the number of restaurants and vendors highlighting area producers, like Three Boars and Drift, are gaining huge followings.

Here are some other notable food happenings in 2012:

It was a big year for local establishments on the small screen, when Food Network rolled into town. You Gotta Eat Here profiled Tres Carnales, Highlands Kitchen and The Sugarbowl, while Eat St. shot features on Drift, Molly’s Eats and The Act Out & About.
It was great to be a chocoholic in Edmonton: this year saw Jacek and Cococo Chocolatiers open boutiques, we saw the rebirth of Kerstin’s Chocolates, and the debut of two small-batch lines of chocolate, The Violet Chocolate Company and The Jones Chocolate Company.
I have to wonder if 2012 saw the ramifications of Corso 32’s runaway success, with a seeming renaissance of Italian eateries. Cafe Amore may have opened in the fall of 2011, but it was one of the most talked about restaurants this year. Cibo Bistro gained a following of its own since it entered the scene in late 2011. Most recently, St. Albert-based Nello’s added a second location in Edmonton with Antonil’s, and the Italian Centre added Massimo’s Cucina Italiana to its holdings. The Century Hospitality Group also jumped in the fray with the announcement of its forthcoming Parlour Italian Kitchen & Bar.
124 Street became a district of dining destinations with many notable openings this year, including a second location of The Bothy, The Makk on 124, Canteen, and the announcement of Rge Rd, coming in spring 2013.
Nineteen, Chef Andrew Fung’s upscale addition to the city’s outer ring, has perhaps ushered in an era where fine dining and suburbia are not mutually exclusive.
The success of Sloppy Hogs Roed Hus and Smokehouse BBQ (the tragedy of the fire at their Edmonton location notwithstanding) speaks to the local appetite for southern barbecue.
Frozen yogurt seemed poised to take over the city, with the touchdown of Pinkberry at last, and the expansion of Tutti Frutti to both WEM and Southgate.
It wasn’t all positive though: we lost two local favourites this year – Highlands Kitchen shuttered in the fall, while The Blue Pear announced their last meal would be served in December.
With the transformation of The Bank to Public House and Iron Horse to MKT, it was a signal that pubs were deemed to be more versatile and lucrative than nightclubs. We’ve still yet to see a true gastropub land in Edmonton though.
Along the same lines, beer markets are on the rise, with the opening of MKT and The Underground Tap and Grill this year, and Craft Beer Market in 2013.

We can only guess what 2013 will bring – looking forward to it!

You can take a look at my previous year in review posts here.

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