Category: notes

Food Notes for April 24, 2023

Openings

  • Baekjeong Korean BBQ House will be opening a second location in Mayfield Common. It’s bucking a trend of nearly all recent openings of additional locations ending up in Windermere.

Upcoming Events

  • The Hotel Macdonald will be hosting a Coronation Breakfast Celebration on May 6 at 4am, for those wanting to indulge during a live viewing. At $49 per person, the menu is a reasonable value considering the quality and service of the Fairmont.
  • The Edmonton premiere of Omar Mouallem’s feature-length movie, the Lebanese Burger Mafia, will take place at NorthwestFest on May 14. General admission is $14.

Local News

  • Congratulations to Great North Cookie Company for winning the Culinary Arts Cookoff, which took place over the weekend. The cookoff is a fundraiser for Highlands School.
  • Global interviewed Edmonton’s newest brewery, Polyrhythm Brewing.
  • Phil’s latest Best Dishes casts a spotlight on The Everyday Food Company in Sherwood Park.
  • Milk and Cookies Bakeshop, since closing its storefront in March, posted an update that some products will be available through Uproot Food Collective, in addition to offering monthly treat box deliveries.
  • I just learned that Not Your Baba’s, Fuge Sausage, and Drift Food Truck have teamed up to offer Local Eats Fundraising, which is a great way to keep those food-related fundraising dollars local.
  • Birddog is among Downtown restaurants that are hoping for a long playoff run.
  • Speaking of the Oilers, Annie Rue Ice Cream has made a Play La Bamba Baby flavour of ice cream (available in pints), with $2 from each pint sold going to the Ben Stelter Fund.
  • Edify has some details about Epic’s (formerly JustCook Kitchens) Whyte Avenue location.
  • Food Bike Tour has released their schedule for the summer, which launches in late May. Most of their bike tours start at $139, and include bites at three stops.
  • Staff at the Terrace Plaza location of Starbucks in Edmonton have voted to join the United Steelworkers union.

What I Ate

  • After an errand on the south side, Mack and I picked up some tacos for the first time from Taco Delhi. I loved their idea of fusion tacos, and found the naan to be particularly great, remaining pliable and chewy even after the travel home. I’d be open to trying other dishes there after this initial experience.

    • Taco Delhi

Butter chicken naan taco from Taco Delhi

  • A friend brought over take-out banh xeo from Co Chin Saigon last week, a dish I’ve been meaning to try for ages. It did not disappoint, crispy and savoury, with a generous amount of pork and shrimp filling. I can’t wait to have it again!

    • Co Chin Saigon

Banh xeo from Co Chin Saigon

  • We took advantage of a sunny weekend to walk over to Little Brick for lunch (we’ve found that the multi-use pathway from the funicular makes it a much easier walk into Riverdale from Downtown). Their expansive, all-season patio is great, and I enjoyed the hot turkey sandwich for the most part (I could have done with a little less cranberry sauce).

    • Little Brick

Hot turkey sandwich from Little Brick

  • A day is always made better with bubble tea! It’s great to have Dagu so close when the craving hits.

    • Dagu

Milk tea from Dagu

Food Notes for April 17, 2023

Openings

  • Congratulations to Bodega on the opening of their sixth Edmonton-area location in Ellerslie (916 103A Street SW).
  • Bar Oro’s pop-up on Capital Boulevard is open again while their permanent location continues to undergo renovations. The pop-up is located at 10047 108 Street.
  • The Lunchbox Sandwich Shop opened in March, near Ezio Farone Park. Find them at the Ledgeview Business Centre, 9707 110 Street, #103.
  • Die Pie will be re-opening soon at a new location, 11817 105 Avenue. It is double the size of their previous restaurant.
  • H & W Produce will be opening up their first shop in Sherwood Park later this summer in the former Planet Organic location at Unit 160, 201 Festival Way.

Closures

  • Long-standing Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market vendor Gramma Bear’s Home Baking have retired after 35 years.

Upcoming Events

Local News

  • With the Oilers post-season in full swing, Edify’s playoff bar guide might come in handy.
  • I really like Linda’s post about California-inspired eats available in Edmonton given our first round opponent is the LA Kings.
  • Edify checked out the duck wings at The Underground Tap & Grill.
  • Sharon points out some of the restaurants offering their take on Vietnamese street food, including Mai Mai, Da Kao, Chi & Em, and Co Chin Saigon.
  • Tamara Vineberg’s annual Montreal bagel fundraiser is back, with proceeds benefiting the B’Nai Brith Youth Organization. St. Viateur Bagels will be shipped to Edmonton on June 14. They can be ordered for $21.95 per dozen.
  • The Public Food Hub is hosting their first Insight Lab on April 19: “Insight Labs are exclusive, small roundtable tasting sessions connecting brands with food lovers.
    During each session, you will get the first taste of a new product, allowing you to provide valuable feedback to our Makers such as taste, presentation, packaging and positioning.” Advance registration is required.
  • Omar Mouallem talks to CKUA about his feature-length movie, The Lebanese Burger Mafia, which will premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto in May.

Food Notes for April 10, 2023

A Capella Catering Adds Restaurant to its Roster

After more than 30 years in business, A Cappella Catering has added a restaurant to its operations: Prestons, the eatery and lounge inside downtown’s Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel.

A Cappella’s chief operating officer, Kim Mahoney, still sometimes catches herself with how surreal it feels to be running a restaurant. “I look over and my 10-year-old son is sitting at a table doing his math homework,” she laughed. “It’s like something I see in the movies. Is this real?”

Prestons reopened on March 1 after being closed since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Mahoney said the hotel approached the catering company a little more than a year ago about taking on all food services at the facility, including the first-floor restaurant.

“They third-party it because it’s not something they want to do themselves,” said Mahoney. “We catered a few events for them, and we have the experience.”

A Cappella has been offering catering and room service at the nearby Matrix Hotel for nearly a decade, and in 2021, it took over food services at Fort Edmonton Park. But a restaurant wasn’t really in the plan.

“Our founder Todd (Rutter) had run a little café before going into catering, and had no intentions of doing a restaurant again,” said Mahoney. “So the restaurant is not anything A Cappella has done before, but it’s exciting. I see so much potential.”

Prestons is open seven days a week for breakfast and dinner. It was important to Mahoney to ensure the menu reflected the best of what A Cappella could offer. “It’s hard to take a catering menu and turn it into a restaurant,” said Mahoney. “We wanted that ‘A Cappella’ flair and that ‘A Cappella’ touch.”

A popular beet salad on the catering menu inspired the Heritage Salad on the dinner menu, and the top catering seller, the Glory Bowl — made up of layers of rice noodles, protein, and vegetables — appears as the Buddha Bowl.

Items from A Cappella’s food truck, Curbside, also feature prominently, including the mac and cheese and fried chicken. Mahoney found ways to incorporate Curbside’s house-smoked meats onto the menus, too.

“We made use of the Austin brisket and Montreal smoked meat on our breakfast benny and skillet,” said Mahoney. “We’re making the brisket into an entrée as a dinner option. And the smoked meat sandwich is traditional like Schwartz’s Deli in Montreal, that big ball of meat overflowing so that you can hardly wrap your mouth around it.”

It helps to have access to built-in clientele from hotel guests, and Mahoney expects Prestons will be even busier when the Oilers playoff run begins later in April. But she hopes to raise awareness about the restaurant with those who live and work in the area, especially since Prestons had been closed for nearly three years.

“Downtown is saturated with a lot of restaurants,” said Mahoney. “But we noticed that on Sunday and Monday nights not a lot of restaurants are open. We wanted to bring back comfort food and nostalgic dinners.”

Mahoney and her team are in the process of planning their first special event, a Mother’s Day brunch with chef-attended stations. They intend to begin hosting weekly prime rib dinners (complete with Yorkshire pudding and family-style sides) on Sunday nights in mid-May.

“We have high standards for our food and quality,” said Mahoney. “Everything is scratch-made and done in-house. From the muffins to the sauces to the meats. And we pride ourselves on our service.”

Disclosure: My family and I were invited for a complimentary breakfast at Prestons, and were also given a take-and-bake meal.

Openings

Upcoming Events

  • The annual Culinary Arts Cook-Off fundraiser returns to Highlands School on April 22, 2023. This year is a “cookie-off” edition, and tastes are sold for a loonie each.

Local News

What I Ate

  • We’re happy to have the Fawkes Coffee and Doughnuts pop-up back on 104 Street! The Captain Crunch donut was calling my name, but the cookie monster flavour ended up being the stand-out for me.

    • Fawkes

Donuts from Fawkes

  • We were fortunate to be #gifted one of A Cappella’s take-and-bake dinner for Easter. The brisket was super tender and was enough for multiple meals for our little family; we’ve purchased several of their turkey and ham take-and-bakes before, so the quantity and quality was no surprise! Thanks again to A Cappella for the gift of time.

    • A Cappella Catering

Our Easter spread from A Cappella

Food Notes for April 3, 2023

Openings

Upcoming Events

  • The second annual Filipino Restaurant Month returns April 1-30, 2023. In Edmonton, four restaurants are participating: Filistix, Max’s Restaurant, Cebuchon and BBQ, and Manila Grill.
  • April is also Garlic Fest at Sorrentino’s, with garlic-themed menus, events, and cooking classes.
  • Edmonton Public Library is hosting an event called Milner After Dark on April 15 in support of their early literacy program. The event includes live music and tasty bites served in The Kitchen. Tickets are $35 for general admission.
  • Hungry Zine is popping up at Fu’s Repair Shop on April 16 to celebrate their latest issue, which is all about mall food. Adult tickets run $32.88 and include a choice of meat or vegetarian combos.

Local News

Beyond Edmonton

What I Ate

  • Friends of ours brought us some take-out from XO Bistro last week – their vermicelli bowl really hit the spot for me that day.

    • XO Bistro

Grilled chicken and spring roll vermicelli from XO Bistro

  • Last week, we were #hosted by Prestons, the restaurant inside the Coast Edmonton Plaza downtown. They are A Capella Catering’s first foray into a restaurant, and they serve breakfast and dinner. I tried the Great One Skillet, with Montreal smoked meat and roasted vegetables topped with poached eggs, hollandaise. It was very satisfying! Mack enjoyed his meat lovers’ benny (featuring BBQ brisket as well as the same Montreal smoked meat). The atmosphere of the restaurant was much more laid back than other brunch restaurants in the neighbourhood, which for us was a welcome change given we had Elizabeth with us. Thanks again to Prestons for having us!

    • Prestons

Great One Skillet from Prestons

  • We walked over to Chinatown on the weekend and picked up some banh mi from Van Loc. The restaurant re-opened with new ownership earlier this year, and feels like a breath of fresh air in the area. The sandwiches were huge, and were packed with meat!

    • Van Loc

Assorted banh mi from Van Loc

Food Notes for March 27, 2023

Openings

Closures

  • I was so sad to learn that A Bite of Brazil is permanently closing. It was a favourite stop of ours for their addictive cheese bread. Their last day is March 29, 2023.
  • Violet Chocolate Company also announced their closure. They do not yet have a set date. They launched a Nostalgia Collection featuring their favourite flavours.

Local News

What I Ate

We took our annual staycation at Prairie Creek Inn last week, so I took a week off from the blog.

  • Before we left, we took advantage of several Downtown Dining Week deals. Mack and I stole away for lunch at Continental Treat. It was our first time at the restaurant, and the special enabled us to try their famous dill pickle soup. It is definitely worth a try, alongside their excellent potato salad.

    • Continental Treat

Schnitzel from Continental Treat

  • We also ordered take-out from BaoBao, Dagu, and Tiffin – given my parents are still avoiding dining indoors, it was great for these restaurants to honour the deals for take-away.

    • Downtown Dining Week

Takeaway from BaoBao, Dagu, and Tiffin

  • As noted above, we were big fans of A Bite of Brazil’s cheese bread. While the bread will still be available at Pampa, it really isn’t the same as being able to grab some warm bread to enjoy alongside some coffee. We made sure to stock up.

    • A Bite of Brazil

A Bite of Brazil freezer stores

Kasey Ramen tonkotsu

  • Breakfasts at Prairie Creek are always epic, as Emily can attest. We enjoyed feasting on hot breakfasts every morning during our stay.

    • Prairie Creek Inn

Emily with one of our many Prairie Creek breakfasts

Food Notes for March 13, 2023

Openings

Upcoming Events

  • A fundraiser for the Campus Food Bank on March 18 will see author James Wilt talk about his book “Drinking Up the Revolution: How to Smash Big Alcohol and Reclaim Working-Class Joy”. Tickets are $20.
  • Meals on Wheels is hosting a fundraiser on April 5, 2023. Wing Wednesday will take place in the Stantec Tower, and will include samples of wings. Tickets are $45.
  • Hot Chefs Cool Beats returns on May 11, 2023. The event includes interactive food and beverage stations, ice carving stations, and entertainment. $95 early bird tickets are available until March 31 plus tax, with funds supporting the Canadian Culinary Fund.

Local News

What I Ate

  • I had been craving Rosewood Foods’ patty melt, so finally hit them up last week. If you haven’t tried it yourself – you won’t regret it.

    • Rosewood Foods

Patty melt from Rosewood Foods

  • I met up with a colleague for lunch at Hallway Café last week, with Ellie in tow. It’s one of my favourite places for a meal Downtown with a baby, with ample stroller room, lots of menu options that can be consumed with one hand, and on my visits, no large crowds. Food-wise, I also appreciate that you can order a half pizza plus a side, which always means fries for me.

    • Hallway Cafe

BBQ chicken pizza and fries from the Hallway Cafe

  • While enjoying Martin Kerr’s performance at the Downtown Farmers’ Market on Sunday, we tried Waffloos for the first time. The sweetness of the liege waffle worked surprisingly well with the savoury ham and cheese flavour, but part of me was nostalgic for the simplicity  of Eva Sweet’s version (remember them)?

    • Waffloos

Waffloos

Food Notes for March 6, 2023

Bonjour Bakery Relocates for the Long Term in Old Strathcona

Edmonton’s Bonjour Bakery has planned for a long future in Old Strathcona with the opening of a purpose-built space on Whyte Avenue.

Yvan Chartrand has been operating Bonjour Bakery since 2009, renting space in an 80-year-old building along the busy stretch of 99 Street and 87 Avenue NW. But after his son Kenny joined the company in 2017 in the role of head baker, Chartrand started exploring real estate options that would provide more stability.

“Looking at the future, I thought for him, if I wanted to retire, and he wanted to take over, I’m young enough that I can still make a move to help, so the timing was right,” said Chartrand.

It was important for Chartrand to stay in the area, and when he exhausted the possibilities of finding an existing building in the neighbourhood that would suit the bakery’s needs, he purchased land five blocks south at 99 Street and 82 Avenue NW.

“Being on Whyte Avenue is a dream,” said Chartrand. “My mother is from the Peace River region in northern Alberta and when I was a kid, I would hear about Jasper Avenue and Whyte Avenue. So being able to build a new building on Whyte is quite special.”

The land purchase went through in January 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic ground everything to a halt. For a time, Chartrand did not know if construction would move forward. “I put a foot on the brake pedal because I didn’t know which way things were going to go,” he said. “Restaurants were struggling and our wholesale business collapsed. So we would decide (whether to build) based on our sales.”

Fortunately, bakeries were permitted to continue operating throughout the pandemic. “Surprisingly for us, our sales stayed quite stable,” Chartrand said. “People still needed to eat.”

Last year, when he could see the pandemic waning, Chartrand finally initiated plans for the building. The one-storey, nearly 3,000-square-foot bakery opened for business on Feb. 1. The exterior offers a European flair, but the red paint is a nod to the many brick buildings on the street.

While the amount of space is nearly identical to the space Bonjour used to rent, the configuration is better for customers and staff. The retail area has doubled to accommodate more people, and Chartrand will be travelling to Montreal in the spring to source more specialty crisps, olives, spreads, and mustards to stock on the shelves (being careful to not compete too directly with K & K Foodliner across the avenue). Chartrand is also excited about the open concept that allows customers a full view of the production area.

“You can see the mill where we mill the flour, you can see the oven, the mixing,” said Chartrand. “People need to see how their food is made. I don’t have any secrets. Some places put up a wall because they don’t want you to see what’s in the back, but I’m the complete opposite. Who is making it, how it is made, it’s all part of the experience.”

This extends to the lineage of the flour he uses for the pain paysanne, made from heritage red fife wheat. He sources the grain to grind in-house from a farm near Bonnyville. “I can tell them where the grain is from, which field, who harvested it,” said Chartrand. “One day I hope to be able to say this for all of the flour I use.”

The new bakery will enable Chartrand to enhance some of Bonjour’s offerings over the next few months, but he intends to stay true to the bakery’s roots. “We will still focus on what we like doing and what we’re good at: bread, croissants, and that type of dough,” said Chartrand. “We will go more into pastries with some tarts, but we are not a patisserie.”

In early April, the bakery will also offer cold sandwiches. Some will be pre-made for people to grab and go, but the majority will be made to order at the cheese counter. “The sandwiches will be made from our bread and the cheeses we carry,” said Chartrand. “We will have a daily sandwich. It will be very European, like sandwich shops in Paris.”

Currently, Bonjour Bakery is open 8am to 4pm, Wednesday through Saturday. Soon, Chartrand will be extending hours, likely adding Tuesdays, opening later on Thursdays and Fridays, and in the summer, adding Sundays.

Even with minor shifts, Bonjour’s longevity can be attributed to Chartrand’s firm principles, which breed patron loyalty.

“Personally, I don’t sell anything that I don’t eat,” said Chartrand. “I couldn’t sell something that my heart is not in. Your customers will see it.”

Openings

  • Yelo’d has re-opened in Old Strathcona in a new location at the Dominion Hotel, 10324 82 Avenue.
  • Jeff Senger’s new butchery Modest Meats opens this week, a few doors up from High Dough. It is located at 7345 104 Street.
  • Manchester Square is really filling up – Western Sandwich Company’s standalone location (they also have a stall at Bountiful Farmers’ Market) opens on March 7. Find them at 10712 124 Street.
  • Mukja K-Street Food has taken over It Dog’s location (8621 109 Street). Their soft opening will take place on March 8.
  • Preston’s in the Coast Edmonton re-opened as of March 1, and is being run by A Capella Catering.

Upcoming Events

  • NAIT’s Chef in Residence Program resumes with Calgary-based Connie DeSousa and John Jackson from Charcut, among other restaurants. They are hosting a Chef in Residence lunch and dinner on March 16. Tickets start at $28.
  • Edmonton’s International Beer Fest returns to the Edmonton Convention Centre, March 24-25, 2023. Tickets start at $27.53 for general admission, with sampling tickets at an additional cost.

Local News

What I Ate

  • We picked up dinner from our neighbouhood XO Bistro on Friday. Their fusion pho beef dip was tasty and hit the spot.

    • XO Bistro

Vermicelli bowl and pho beef dip from XO Bistro

Food Notes for February 27, 2023

Greater Mill Woods Dining Week Spotlights Southeast Eateries

A desire to draw attention to the food scene in Mill Woods has grown into a new dining week offering deals at nine restaurants in southeast Edmonton.

The inaugural Greater Mill Woods Dining Week will take place from March 3 to 12. Each participating business will feature an item priced at $15 or less.

Event lead Daniel Witte said the idea was sparked during a participatory budgeting session with Coun. Keren Tang of Ward Karhiio last summer. “Participatory budgeting empowers people to create small-scale projects that would make an impact on people in the ward,” said Witte.

Volunteers were given a maximum of $2,000 to carry out projects. So far, they have included a wide range of activities, including painting a Pride walkway at Mill Woods Transit Centre (which Witte was also involved in), adding Google Street View for bike lanes, and creating welcome packages for new refugees.

Witte noticed that some of the restaurants he frequented in his neighbourhood were struggling. “I love these restaurants, but it would be great if more people knew about them,” said Witte. “We wanted to have a dining week to spread the word about some of these places to help them.”

Tang connected Witte with the Mill Woods Presidents’ Council, a body comprised of representatives from all community leagues located in Mill Woods, The Meadows, and Ellerslie. The council offered volunteers with event experience. It also broadened the boundaries to include parts of Ward Sspomitapi. Coun. Jo-Anne Wright of Sspomitapi stepped up to match the $2,000 in funding to support the project.

As a result, the Greater Mill Woods Dining Week encompasses businesses in the heart of Mill Woods, such as the 2nd Floor Café inside the Mill Woods Seniors Association, as well as restaurants situated in newer communities further south, such as Woodshed Burgers and Tiffin India’s Fresh Kitchen in Ellerslie.

Witte was adamant that a transparent process be adopted to ensure restaurants weren’t invited based on volunteer preferences and that the focus remained on small businesses. A form was sent out through community leagues requesting restaurant nominations; volunteers then reached out to the 30 nominated restaurants, of which nine agreed to participate.

Witte is pleased with the range of dishes represented. These include macarons from French patisserie Reinette Café, a Chinese food combo from Tasty World, and a donair meal from Magma Donair.

“The specials are a good introduction to the restaurants,” said Witte. “I know I have no clue where to start with a new menu when I go to a restaurant for the first time. This is a bridge in.”

During the event, diners are encouraged to share their experiences on social media with #MWDiningWeek. All posts will be entered into a draw to win $40 gift cards to participating restaurants.

As a lifelong resident of Mill Woods, Witte is hopeful the event encourages other Edmontonians to visit the area.

“Mill Woods feels like its own little city,” said Witte. “It has such a diverse array of food from restaurants who have been in Edmonton for a long time. It has its own little version of everything.”

Openings

  • New Irish gastropub Ashford House is now open at Manchester Square, located at 12026 107 Avenue.
  • Lalibela African Restaurant is now open in the former Langano Skies location (9906 72 Avenue).

Upcoming Events

  • The next Nosh Food Fest will take place this weekend, March 4-5, 2023 at the Strathcona County Community Centre.
  • This year’s Downtown Dining Week runs March 15-26, 2023. Nearly 60 restaurants are participating this year. The menus are up to peruse early.

Local News

What I Ate

  • My friend Su and I hit up Pip for a pre-theatre meal last week. It was my first time in their new space, and in spite of the larger space, it still felt really cozy, especially on that chilly night. I enjoyed the natural wine they had on feature that night, and the gnocchi hit the spot.

    • Pip

Gnocchi from Pip

  • We grabbed take-out from Dorinku Osaka on Friday. They had nifty containers for the ramen (not dissimilar from the containers used by Dagu), with separate compartments for the broth and the noodles. Emily enjoyed the chicken karaage, too.

    • Dorinku Osaka

Take-out from Dorinku Osaka

Food Notes for February 20, 2023

Openings

  • The Glass Cafe is now open Downtown, located at 10345 107 Street. They brew beans from Catfish Coffee Roasters.
  • A new butchery is open in Glenora, called Arpa Farm Fresh Butchery, from the folks behind Sofra and newcomer Zula Kitchen Wine Bar (located next door to the butchery). Find them at #110, 14055 West Block Drive.

Closures

  • Milk & Cookies Bakeshop is closing its storefront on March 11, 2023: “The last year has been really hard on us. Sales are way down, ingredient costs are way up, staffing the bakery has been a rollercoaster, and I had a baby 4 1/2 months ago. I need less stress & more flexibility, so it’s time to say goodbye to this part of the business.” The business expanded during the pandemic in 2020. The post references that it may not be the last that we see of Milk & Cookies, though!

Upcoming Events

  • Save the date: this year’s Seedy Sunday will take place on March 26, 2023 at the Alberta Avenue Hall.

Local News

What I Ate

  • We checked out a couple of restaurants participating in the Feed the Soul Dining Week before the event wrapped on Friday. First, we picked up lunch from Cafe Caribbean – I enjoyed the curry chickpeas with potatoes!

    • Cafe Caribbean

Curry chicken and curry chickpeas with potatoes from Cafe Caribbean

  • We also grabbed take-out from Mesobena – it was a massive amount of food. and a great way to try several dishes at once. I loved the kik alicha (yellow peas) and tikel gomen (cabbage and carrot).

    • Mesobena

Beef and vegan combos from Mesobena

  • I didn’t know Padmanadi has a separate brunch menu, served up on weekends! I tried the curried tofu scramble and would definitely order it again.

    • Padmanadi

Curried tofu scramble from Padmanadi

  • Love Pizza has a great deal on Mondays, with 2 pizzas for $25 – so we had to indulge in their mac & cheeza one more time before it retires for the year. It will be available until the end of February.

    • Love Pizza

Mac & cheeza pizzas from Love Pizza

Food Notes for February 13, 2023

Openings

Upcoming Events

  • Winefest returns to the Edmonton Convention Centre on February 24-25, 2023. Tickets start at $122 and include an all-inclusive sampling of wine and food.
  • Freson Bros. is hosting the 3rd annual Future of Alberta Food on February 25, 2023 at NAIT. Six teams will make 24 dishes attendees can sample. Tickets cost $75.
  • The Edmonton Craft Beer Festival will take place March 10-11, 202 at the Edmonton Expo Centre. General admission tickets start at $21; food and beer vouches are extra.

Local News

  • Vegan pizzeria Die Pie is planning to re-open as a standalone restaurant in April (they currently operate Seitans alongside other concepts in the 5th Street Food Hall). They have started a crowdfunding campaign to help them reach their goal.
  • Local restaurants, including the Robert Spencer Hospitality Group, and Transit Smokehouse, shared with the Journal how they are addressing rising food and utilities costs.
  • The Th3rd Wave Coffee Award results are in – congratulations to Rogue Wave for winning cafe and roaster of the year, and to Sorellina Cafe and Brew Bar for winning new cafe of the year.
  • Phil highlighted Wild Rose Cakes on his latest Best Dish column.
  • Twyla’s Edmonton AM column focused on Nepalese and Indian restaurant Green Bean Mountain Bistro.
  • Also from Edmonton AM – they featured one of the Feed the Soul participants, Cafe Caribbean.
  • Edmonton Convention Centre chef Serge Belair talked to CTV about the dishes that helped him with his podium finish at the Canadian Culinary Championships.
  • Between Bountiful Farmers’ Market introducing an import produce vendor and the Downtown Farmers’ Market selling oranges, it appears the Edmonton farmers’ market scene is moving closer to the Calgary model of markets offering more of a general grocery store selection instead of focusing on locally-grown options.
  • In honour of World Pulses Day on February 10, TechLife asked a chef for tips on cooking with beans, one of the most inexpensive ways to add protein to your diet.

What I Ate

  • I was invited to the media preview for the launch of the renovated Confederation Lounge at the Hotel Macdonald last week. An updated food and cocktail menu accompanies the refreshed space, and most notably features an old fashioned priced at $299 (they have since sold three such drinks, but the rest of their cocktails are priced between $21-24). I sampled some of their new food items, and particularly enjoyed the fried brussels sprouts tossed in a sweet chili sauce, and the pillowy bao buns with Korean beef. Thanks to the always hospitable staff for having me!

    • Confederation Lounge

The bar at the Confederation Lounge

  • Emily and I hit up Tea Bar Cafe on the weekend to take advantage of their extended Chinatown Dining Week deal – it was such a hit that they are continuing their promotion of a bubble tea + bubble waffle for $10 until February 28!

    • Tea Bar Cafe

Our order from Tea Bar