• The third annual Porkapalooza takes place June 17-19, 2016 at Clarke Park. Expect a BBQ competition, food demos, and of course, lots of barbecue!
• Just in time for Father’s Day, Accent Lounge is hosting Back Alley Beer Gardens on June 18, featuring food and beer from Blindman Brewery. Advanced tickets are $25.
• The pop-up is sold out, but is still worth mentioning, as the excitement around Duchess Bake Shop’s expansion is unparalleled: Cafe Linnea will be offering a sneak peek of their menu on June 18 at Little Brick.
• Taste Alberta is hosting a special dinner at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald on June 23, 2016 called Prairie on a Plate. The four-course meal is priced at $69 and is available in the Harvest Room during regular dinner service.
• Missed the last two Northern Chicken pop-ups? Then mark your calendar for the next one, to take place on July 3, 2016 at Packrat Louie.
• The expanded District Cafe & Bakery opens its doors on June 14, 2016 with expanded hours – 7am to 9pm! I’m excited to have a local cafe within walking distance open late.
• Liane has some details about Baijiu, the second venture from the folks behind North 53 to open up this fall next to Rostizado in the Mercer Building.
• Fuqing Lanzhou Noodle is the second hand-pulled noodle shop to open in a number of months (following Wheat Garden, and joining the longer-standing Noodle Feast on the south side). Jonny is optimistic after his first visit to the restaurant located at 10821 97 Street.
• Situation Brewing has only been open for a few weeks, but it’s been hopping ever since (ahem). Jonny is the latest to check out the brew pub.
• Ms. Hangry Foodie visited the newest quick-serve pizzeria in Edmonton, Blaze Pizza.
• Graham from the Edmonton Sun raved about his perfect experience at Chartier.
• Wheat Garden Noodle & Dumpling Bazaar received some love from Linda!
• Linda joined a group of bloggers in the kitchen of the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald for an interactive cooking lesson and dinner.
• There’s not enough meat to this press release about the food to be expected this fall at Rogers Place, but I counted the use of “local” eight times in the article. I’ll be interested to see what that actually means, since “Alberta beef”, for instance, doesn’t actually mean beef that was raised in Alberta. At any rate, expect a Rogers Place booth at Taste of Edmonton this summer, showcasing some of their signature offerings.
• Congratulations to Karlynn, whose first cookbook Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
• Last Tuesday, Uber Eats was running an amazing promo: several participating restaurants offered dishes priced at $2, and delivery was free. It was all we needed to try the service out for the first time. We selected chicken and beef shawarma from La Shish Taouk. It was great to follow along on the app to know that our order was received, in process, and on its way (delivered in about 30 minutes). We’ll be using Uber Eats again in the future!

Uber Eats Toonie Tuesday special from La Shish Taouk

• Mack and I kicked off the weekend with some wine and bacon from Tzin at our favourite neighbourhood patio on Friday. Given the intermittent rain on the following few days, it was a good reminder to take advantage of any and all opportunities to eat outside!

Bacon from Tzin

• It was only fitting after attending a conference all about Chinatown to head over to Chinatown when we needed a bite to eat! The bun bo Hue from King Noodle hit the spot, as always.

Bun bo hue from King Noodle

• We typically make our own pizza dough, but after spending the weekend at the conference, we cheated a bit and picked up some of the fresh dough available at the Italian Centre on Saturdays and Sundays (for just $1.49). It made it really quick to pull together a pizza, topped this time with prosciutto and Edgar Farms asparagus.

It’s pizza time!

• Author Marty Chan is hosting a ten-course Chinese dinner at Sai Woo Gardens on June 15, 2016. Tickets are just $45.
• If you’re looking for an outdoor supper out of the ordinary, look no further than Brad Smoliak’s long table dinners located at Elk Island. The first for this year is scheduled on June 18, 2016. Tickets are $150 each.
• The latest Vegan Snack Attack box, put together by Long Lost Foods and Blue Rose Baking, can be pre-ordered by June 21 for pick-up on June 23. The $40 box feeds four.
• Diner en Blanc has announced its 2016 date: July 28, 2016. You can sign up now for the white dinner in the hopes you’ll be chosen.
• Careit Urban Deli on 104 Street is the newest brunch destination downtown!
• Andrea and Cindy have already stopped by Daniel Costa’s newest restaurant, Uccellino, which opened last week.
• It’s been great to see such a proliferation of independently-owned coffee shops all across the city – Avenue profiles one of the newest, Square 1 Coffee in Aspen Gardens.
• Evonne reviews Seoul Fried Chicken.
• The Journal will be profiling patios all summer. First up: Little Brick.
• John Gilchrist, food reviewer for the Calgary Herald, provides some tips on how to review restaurants.
• Wine lovers rejoice – Northern Lands will be back in 2017.
• I love the idea of a cookbook club, as an alternative to the traditional book club: members trial recipes from the same book and bring it to a tasting party! Athena tested out this idea with the Duchess cookbook.
• I had a work lunch at Juniper last week. The pesto chicken grilled cheese was tasty, but was a bit on the small size.

Pesto chicken grilled cheese from Juniper

• Not up to cook on Friday, Mack and I headed to Route 99 for some poutine and pizza.

We love us some Route 99 poutine

• There was a ton to do on Saturday, which made it feel like the official kick-off to summer. We checked out, among other things, the Meet Me in McCauley Market. It returns to Church Street (96 Street from 107A Avenue to 108 Avenue) on July 9 from 10am-4pm.

Meet Me in McCauley Market

Though I’m sad the Raptors couldn’t advance to the Finals, it was a pretty great run. Looking forward to next season, and hoping they can keep DeRozan! On to this week’s food notes:

• There will be a ton of things to check out on June 4, 2016, with it being Make Something Edmonton’s 100in1day Project, but one of the events I’m looking forward to is the Meet me in McCauley Market, from 10am-4pm on Church Street (96 Street from 107A Avenue to 108 Avenue). There will be workshops on urban agriculture and food security, vendors, and other programming.
• On June 6, 2016, Three Boars will be featuring a collaboration dinner with “a menu juxtaposting sad bastard bachelor foods and high end restaurant ingredients. Foie, instant ramen, donair, caviar…you get the point.” Reservations recommended.
• The 18th annual Zoo Fest, in support of the Valley Zoo, takes place on June 18, 2016. They’ll have wine and samles from New Asian Village, Sage and The Melting Pot.
• Kitchen by Brad (10130 105 Street) is hosting “Meatball Madness” every Friday from 11:30am-1pm, where you can pick up a quick bite to eat.
• Uccellino, completing Chef Daniel Costa’s trifecta of restaurants, is now open at 10349 Jasper Avenue, from Wedesdays to Sundays, 5-11pm. Half of the seats are unreserved.
• Cafe Linnea, Duchess Bakery’s forthcoming breakfast restaurant, will be opening this summer!
• Diane linked to a new noodle restaurant in Chinatown called Fuqing Lanzhou Noodle located at 10824 97 Street.
• Avenue has the details about the newest board game cafe in Edmonton, The Gamers Lodge, which features food items named after pop culture references.
• Jonny checked out Nudoru, and contributed another so-so review.
• Uber Eats finally launched in Edmonton last week, offering another option for food delivery service in Edmonton. We rarely have food delivered, but I’m looking forward to trying it. I had nothing but positive experience with Uber, so I’m certain that will carry forward with Uber Eats.
• Liane’s latest market vendor profile focuses on Caramia Caramels, who sells at the City Market.
• CBC’s This is That spoofs high-end chef programs by providing pub fare with the same treatment: “Food doesn’t have to be interesting, it just has to be edible.”
• The Edmonton Food Council is recruiting new members to start September 2016. The application deadline is June 20, 2016.
• The first What the Truck?! of the season took place this weekend at the Expo Centre, gathering nearly 40 trucks together each day. I tried some new dishes, including a savoury pizza crepe from Divine Crepes, Alberta Fried Karaage from Northlands Truck 1879 and the sweet chicken curry from Pink Taffeta. All in all, it was a great kick-off to the summer! The next event takes place on June 18, 2016 at Blatchford Field.

Pizza crepe from Divine Crepes was all right, but I should have selected a dessert crepe instead

The Alberta Fried Karaage was hot and crispy, but was missing something

The sweet curry chicken from Pink Taffeta was enjoyable enough, with a nice cashew garnish

Are you following the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals? They’ve played some great basketball these last two games. Go Raps go! On to this week’s food notes:

• Are you ready for this year’s first What the Truck?!, taking place May 28-29, 2016 at the Expo Centre? Check the website for the menus on Tuesday.
• Edmonton’s Craft Beer Festival is coming up, taking place on June 3-4, 2016 at the Expo Centre.
• Edmonton’s newest craft brewery, Situation Brewing, has been open since the weekend, but their grand opening is slated for May 25, 2016. Jason Foster has the lo-down on Situation.
• One of Downtown’s most consistent revolving door spaces is again changing hands – The Burg (10190 104 Street) is becoming Stage 104 after May 24.
• Jonny is the latest to visit The People’s Perogy.
• Last week, the Journal posted the first positive review of The Almanac that I’ve seen.
• I missed linking to the Journal’s review of Malaysian restaurant Island Cafe and Bistro in the west end.
• Vue Weekly profiles East African restaurants Mareeg Cafe and the newer Samosa House on Alberta Avenue.
• Make sure you read your menus carefully and ask questions, otherwise, you can be duped: Liane tackles the confusion around restaurants claiming to serve kobe beef.
• Western Living Magazine just released their list of 2016 Foodies of the Year, and Edmonton has some great representation, with Italian Centre’s Teresa Spinelli, food activist Kevin Kossowan, Prairie Noodle Shop’s Eric Hanson, and chocolatier Jacqueline Jacek.
• Liane wrote a great article about the good intentions of restaurants that try – but cannot sustain – the support of local producers.
• Phil’s latest Off Menu podcast features local butchers Elyse Chatterton and Corey Meyer.
• Liane profiles Ian Truer and Winding Road Cheese. I hope to make it out to the French Quarter market soon to pick some up for myself!
• Did you know Edmontonians have had a sweet tooth from our inception? Lawrence Herzog covers our love affair with candy since the 1900s.
• If you’re looking for some great excuses for a road trip to Central Alberta, check out this AMA article.
• Ocean Odyssey Inland has a great new space at 10019 167 Street to house their frozen products, but also to offer customers convenient, quick meals solutions such as marinated seafood and fresh options from Iceland.

Ocean Odyssey Inland

• It was a soggy first outdoor market day for the City Market on Saturday, but we love that it’s back on our street!

City Market

Edgar Farms asparagus for miles

• Inspired by Dinner with Julie, I picked up some rhubarb from Sundog Organic and made some rhubarb cream scones on Saturday. They were a tasty treat!

Rhubarb cream scones

• Several outdoor markets have already started this year, but my personal favourite kicks off this Saturday – the City Market returns to 104 Street on May 21, 2016, and runs from 9am-3pm. See you there!
• The YEG Market District is taking place Friday evenings from 4-8pm at 152 Street & Stony Plain Road, and will host vendors, craft sellers and food trucks.
• The first What the Truck?! of the season is coming up on May 28 & 29, 2016, with over 40 trucks expected each day. Check out the line-up here, and check out Liane’s profile of some of the new trucks to expects out on the streets this summer.
• Cravings, a gluten-free food sampling fair and expo, takes place on June 12, 2016 from 11am-3pm.
• The Canadian Food Championships, taking place July 22-24, 2016 in conjunction with the Taste of Edmonton, are recruiting competitors. The categories are: bacon, burger, dessert, steak, sandwich and seafood.
• Satisfy your Korean street food craving at NongBu every Saturday from 11am-3pm.
• If you’ve ever wanted to try the University of Alberta’s Faculty Club but didn’t know someone with a membership, now’s your chance – the Club will be open to the public on Wednesday evenings and for Saturday brunch.
• Quick-serve chain Blaze Pizza opened their first Edmonton location at 15709 37 Street. It’s similar in concept to local establishments Urbano Pizza and Love Pizza.
• Millwoods is home to a new bakery and cafe called Reinette Cafe and Patisserie, located at 301 Woodvale Road.
• Chef Lindsay Porter of El Cortez shared some information about the forthcoming restaurant Have Mercy, located above El Cortez. Have Mercy will offer Southern comfort food.
• Old Strathcona will also be home to a new teppan and bar soon, Seorak (10828 82 Avenue).
• Cindy sampled her way through most of Chartier’s menu.
• Ms. Hangry is the latest to check out Quickly, the newest bubble tea chain to hit Edmonton.
• Vue Weekly reviews Juniper Cafe.
• Buzz Feed compiled a list of 31 Coffee Shops To Visit Before You Die, and three local cafes made the cut: Coffee Bureau, Elm Cafe and Transcend.
• Meat will be featured on an episode of You Gotta Eat Here on May 20, 2016!
• The West End Food Hub Alliance has rebranded as Food4Good, and hopes to one day open a grocery store that will offer targeted discounts to those most in need.
• Vue Weekly has some ideas for some great agriculture tourism day trips.
• I failed to link to it last week, but Earls backtracked on its earlier announcement that it was switching to exclusively American-sourced Certified Humane beef, and will now continue to serve some Alberta beef.
• Mack and I met up with some friends at 1st RND on Friday (hoping that the Raptors would close out the Heat that night). I enjoyed the atmosphere, and would definitely go back to watch a game. The perogy burger was great, and I appreciated the option of tater tots instead of fries.

Perogy burger from 1st RND

• After dinner, Linda introduced Mack and I to our first escape game experience at GTFO. It was more challenging than we expected (we blew through all three hints), but managed to make it out just in time!

We GTFO of Visiting Room!

• We finally made it out to CoCo Fresh Tea and Juice tonight. The salty cream chocolate wasn’t quite as advertised, but we enjoyed the passion mango slush.

CoCo to go!

• Many Edmonton restaurants have stepped up to collect donations or donate proceeds from meals served to support the Fort McMurray fire evacuees. One of those is a dinner on May 16 at BLVD, involving several local chefs. Tickets are $125 plus fees. Remember – you can also donate directly to the Canadian Red Cross.
• Missed the first Northern Chicken pop-up? Not to worry, they’ve announced the date of their second pop-up at Belgravia Hub, taking place on May 16. Details to come.
• Vue Weekly released the winners of their 2016 Golden Fork Awards. The issue also features articles on Farm to Fork Eatery in Sherwood Park, Workshop Eatery, The Local Omnivore and Love Pizza.
• Square One Coffee is Edmonton’s newest coffee shop, located at 17 Fairway Drive.
• V Sandwiches on Rice Howard Way has finally re-opened!
• St. Albert darling Jack’s Burger Shack now has a food truck, enabling them to serve the City of Edmonton! Follow them on Twitter to find out about their next location.
• I’m sorry to hear that Sabzy Persian Grill announced their closure last week.
• KB and Co, a plant-based cafe, is set to open in the Fox Tower on June 1. With all of the challenges faced by Earth’s General Store, it’ll be interesting to see how another vegan/health-conscious business does on 104 Street.
• Ms. Hangry Foodie checked out Nudoru Ramen Bar and was hoping for more.
• Jonny visited Workshop Eatery and had a mixed experience.
• Cindy recapped the final Comal Mexican Table Dinner of the season.
• Phil’s latest Off Menu podcast is all about Twyla and Steve Campbell’s Northern Food Night.
• Looking for some ready-made meals for the freezer? Modern Mama tried Funky Fork, a local catering business that offers freezer meals.
• I missed this last week – it’s great to see Pat’s shop, Ocean Odyssey Inland, get some great coverage on their expansion.
• It wasn’t a good sign at Tappen Taro (380, 800 Broadmoor Boulevard) on Saturday night when we arrived to a near-empty restaurant. My Mum had seen an ad in a local paper and wanted to try it. The food was okay, but during the meal, we were longing for Izakaya Tomo.

Appetizer platter for two at Tappen Taro

• It was great fun to help Annie host her baby shower on Saturday! I probably bit off more than I could chew, but everything came together in the end. It was also great to have a Sugared & Spiced cake for our finale!

Baby shower goodies!

It was great to finally have that vacation, however brief! We had a fun time in Toronto, in spite of their weather (a chilly 10 degrees most days). So though we’re back at work, the weather is much better at home! On to this week’s food notes:

• Revel in the sunshine on May 3, from 11:30am-1:30pm at the Fairmont Macdonald, where they’re hosting a barbecue in support of Habitat for Humanity. $5 will net you a hot dog and a drink!
• SPUD is hosting their third Pop-Up Market on May 7, 2016, from 10:30-1pm. They’ll be offering micro farm tours, samples, and the opportunity to meet some of their vendors.
• Northwest Fest, Edmonton’s non-fiction film, movie and art festival, has paired up with Relish Film Fest to screen two food-related movies, Bugs on the Menu on May 6 and Sugar Coated on May 9, 2016.
• The big news this week is certainly the announcement of Dovetail Deli’s closure. While Nevin and Kara’s food will live on in Drift Food Truck, it’s sad to see them go.
• Quickly, a bubble tea chain, is opening up their first Edmonton location at 5818 111 Street on May 7, 2016.
• Fat Franks has opened up a storefront in Capilano at 101, 5015 101 Avenue.
• It looks like Attila the Hungry is the next food truck to open up a brick and mortar space. They’ll be on 124 Street.
• Did you know Edmonton is home to a new perogy restaurant, called The People’s Perogy (13645 149 Street)? Ms. Hangry Foodie checked it out.
• Chartier, the French Canadian restaurant located in Beaumont, has been getting a lot of good press, this week from the Journal and Avenue Magazine.
• Vue Weekly visits Afra Afro-Can Grill on 118 Avenue, which serves up Senegambian cuisine.
• Ms. Hangry Foodie reviewed Plate International Buffet, billed as a Vegas-style buffet restaurant.
• Linda shared her experience at the charming Passion de France.
• The Journal spotlights Nipsis Cafe, located at the Maskwacis First Nation.
• India Fusion is a great Edmonton story, a downtown restaurant offering free food to anyone in need.
• Sonic 102.9 compiled a list of 11 things you must eat to be a TRUE Edmontonian. Take it or leave it.
• Culinaire launches as an Alberta-wide magazine with their issue this month, being released May 5, 2016. I will hope their Edmonton content is more than this post demonstrates, with just 1 of the 7 folks interviewed being from our city.
• Unless you were living under a rock this week, there was a ton of reaction in the province about the news that Earls decided to switch their source from Alberta beef to a Kansas ranch that offers Certified Humane beef.
• Have you heard? Chickpea water (also known as aquafaba) is being touted as the next “it” ingredient, with properties similar to egg whites, without the animal product.
• It’s been hard getting back into the groove of work, but things were tempered somewhat by a lunch date with Mack at Tau Bay!

Our usual

I’ve been looking forward to some time off from work for a while, and it’s finally here! While it’s not a long break, it should be some good down time with my sister in Toronto. On to this week’s food notes:

• A reminder that the annual Culinary Cook Off at Mount Royal School is taking place on April 23, 2016, from 11am-2pm. Tastes of the nine competing restaurant dishes are just a toonie, with all donations collected going towards arts programming at the school! I was fortunate enough to be a judge last year, and had a blast.
• The next Honest Dumplings pop-up is taking place at Dovetail Deli on April 24, 2016 from 5-8pm.
• It’s hard to believe the first outdoor farmers’ market is already upon us: Salisbury moves outside on April 21, 2016.
• The Almanac is hosting a pig roast pop-up on May 1, 2016. Tickets are $30 and include pork, sides and dessert.
• Mark your calendars: the first 124 Street Grand Market of 2016 debuts a new location at 124 Street and 102 Avenue on May 12 from 4-8pm. The location is just temporary to accommodate neighbourhood renewal construction this year.
• It’s finally confirmed: Edmonton will be home to its first Chipotle, in South Edmonton Common.
• The Fox Tower will be home to a third food-related business, called Bundok. It is a 40-seat eatery run by Chef Ryan Hotchkiss, formerly of Jack’s Grill, Bar Bricco and Red Star. They’re aiming for a July opening.
• Avenue Magazine checked out the Stuffed Gourmet Sausage Company, the sister restaurant to Smokehouse BBQ on 124 Street.
• The Journal reviewed Tofu House, one of the several Korean establishments that opened up in the city in the past year.
• Learn more about Rob Tryon, the man behind supplier Effing Seafoods and his quest to educate Edmontonians about seafood.
• Karlynn’s first cookbook, Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky, is now available for pre-order! It will be released on October 25, 2016.
• Calgary-based Culinaire Magazine will be expanding its coverage to include the entire province. The first Alberta-based issue will be released on May 5.
• Phil’s latest Off Menu podcast features an interview with Robert de Groot of Vegreville’s Red Cup Distillery.
• Mack sent me this story on the “farm to fable” tale that some Tampa Bay area restaurants tell. The local food critic followed up with menu claims and found many of them to be false or stretching the truth.
• I attended a lovely work lunch at Parkallen Restaurant’s west end location (10804 170 Street), a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it building. Inside, it’s very welcoming, and based on the beautiful family-style spread of food they had prepared, I’ll be hankering for a reason to head back on my own soon.

Appetizers at Parkallen Restaurant

• Northern Chicken, a forthcoming restaurant from Chefs Matt Phillips and Andrew Cowan, is hosting a fried chicken pop-up at Dovetail Deli on April 17 from 3-7pm 4-8pm.
• Trinity United Church will be screening Just Eat It, a film about food waste on April 22, 2016, followed by a tasting of smoothies made from rescued produce. Admission is free but donations are encouraged.
• On May 5, 2016, Effing Seafood is hosting a pop-up evening of oysters and wine at The Cavern. Tickets are $80 per person.
• Chutneys Indian Grill, a fast casual Indian restaurant, is opening up this summer at 4316 17 Street.
• Cindy has the first review (as she usually does!) for Nudoru Japanese Noodles + Tapas (10532 82 Avenue). Nudoru is notable for being the only ramen restaurant in Edmonton who makes their own noodles.
• The Journal reviewed Soy and Pepper, the modern Korean eatery Downtown, and made a note of the steep prices.
• Cathy enjoyed the fried chicken at Dixie Lee (8943 82 Avenue), which replaced the Cheese Factory.
• Jonny found a great hidden gem in Castle Bake, a northside Lebanese eatery.
• Looking for a new brunch destination? Andrea checked out El Cortez’s new Sunday brunch menu.
• Cindy recapped the recent Buddha Boys takeover of Prairie Noodle.
• I love Edmonton, but our placement on this international list seems a bit suspicious: on a reader-voted Conde Nast Traveler list for Best Pizzas in the World, Edmonton landed a the #8 spot, ahead of Milan and Florence.
• The Little Potato Company is a really great local success story. They’re now expanding into the US to feed the growing demand.
• Information about the Urban Hens Pilot Project is now up, which will issue 50 licenses for urban hens, beginning on April 28, 2016.
• The Alberta Farmers’ Market mobile app is now live. Its primary function seems to be for consumers to locate their nearest open market on any given day, but what I personally would have found more useful would have been a current, updated list of vendors at each market.
• Welcome Careit Urban Deli to 104 Street (10226 104 Street)! It opened up last Friday, and already has some local products on its shelves, such as Jam Lady jams and Irvings Farm Fresh bacon. There are lots of grab and go items available in the cooler, in addition to their sandwich selection.

Careit Urban Deli Downtown

• I attended the Lick Your Plate cookbook launch last week, and sampled some of the tasty desserts from the book. It was fun to run into some familiar faces, including Jacquie.

Enjoying some tea-based cocktails at the cookbook launch

It’s hard to believe it’s already April, but perhaps even harder to believe is that spring came early this year! I hope you’re out and about enjoying the weather as much as possible! On to this week’s food notes:

• The 25th annual Garlic Festival at Sorrentino’s kicked off today, and runs until April 30.
• Mark your calendars: the 2016 season schedule of What the Truck?! is now up! The first event is now a two-day extravaganza, on Saturday May 28 and Sunday, May 29.
• Jennifer Cockrall-King is launching her new book, Food Artisans of the Okanagan, on April 13 at Audreys. She’ll have sips and snacks on hand, too.
• The next COMAL Mexican Dinner is taking place on April 17 & 18. Tickets for the 6-course meal (including drinks) are $120.
• The second annual Edmonton Resilience Festival runs April 29 – May 1, 2016. I picked up my ticket for a workshop all about naturally leavened biscuits, waffles and muffins, led by Owen Petervine from Prairie Mill. It sounds like a great follow-up to his sourdough workshop last year.
• This year’s Indulgence tickets go on sale May 1 at 9am. They go fast, so make sure you’re on it if you’re planning on attending!
• Cindy tweeted that the space above El Cortez will soon be home to Have Mercy.
• It’s interesting to hear that Karen Anderson of Calgary Food Tours is expanding north to include Edmonton and Canmore on her roster. She’s started a crowdfunding campaign to help them with this growth.
• Nando’s scores a positive review from the Journal.
• Crystal posted another lukewarm review of The Almanac.
• Jonny didn’t get on the Love Pizza love train.
• Cheryl checked out the gluten-sensitive offerings at Kazoku Ramen.
• Just in time for food truck season, The Local Good spotlights the men behind S’wich.
• I love the title of Phil’s most recent odyssey, called Game of Scones, a quest for the city’s best scone.
• Speaking of Phil, his latest podcast features Chef Dale MacKay, of Top Chef Canada fame.
• Food is a 24 hour business – learn more about some of Edmonton’s night owls in Addie’s Avenue Edmonton article.
• Liv’s latest piece in the Globe highlights chefs who’ve returned home after stints abroad.
• Lillian is one of the most inspiring local bloggers, sharing her food knowledge learned through her own personal experimentation. Her newest lesson is all about hand rolling noodles.
• Have you already seeded your garden? Travis from Lactuca encourages you to start with lettuce.
• I love innovative ideas to curb hunger. Here are two this week about fridges open to the public: one in a Montreal alley, where people can drop off and/or take what they need, and another in India, where patrons can leave their restaurant leftovers in a fridge outside for anyone to take.
• I loved Bru’s tower of focaccia served alongside their feta dip! The dip was a bit salty, but I appreciated that it had been warmed through.

Feta dip with focaccia

• A long walk on Sunday took us over to Brit’s Fish and Chips. It definitely hit the spot.

One piece haddock and chips