Spring is (finally) here – hope you’re out and about enjoying the beautiful weather! On to this week’s food notes:

• Get thee to an outdoor farmers’ market – Callingwood was among the first to open on May 3, and the South Common Market this past weekend on May 9 & 10. But my favourites are coming up – the 124 Grand Market on Thursday nights from 4-8pm starting May 14, and of course, the City Market on Saturdays from 9am-3pm beginning May 16. Check out the full list of Alberta Farmers’ Market Association markets here.
• Northlands is kicking off a series of their Urban Farm tours on May 15, with several more being offered throughout the summer. It’s a free look at their farm and beekeeping operations.
• Have you RSVP’d to our first What the Truck?! event of the season yet, taking place at Churchill Square on May 23? There are over 8,000 people expected already.
• The Capital Care Foundation is hosting a unique long table dinner on the field of Commonwealth Stadium called Feast on the Field. Taking place on August 12, it is a fundraiser for seniors in care. Tickets are $140 each.
• Parkallen’s new west end location, located at 10804 170 Street, opened on May 10, 2015.
• I can only hope this is true – Three Boars might be opening up a second location in the space vacated by Moriarty’s downtown (10150 100 Street).
• Phil breaks down what you can expect from Chef Lindsay Porter’s new menu at El Cortez.
• NongBu has been getting a lot of online love: this week, from Jonny.
• Congratulations to Phil (aka Baconhound), who not only won the 2014 Yeggie for Best in Food, but also took home the medal for Best Twitter Persona. Congrats to Phil and to the rest of the winners!
• Speaking of accolades, Vue Weekly released the results of their annual Golden Forks Awards last week – check if your favourites made the cut.
• Also from Vue – did you know that Knifewear offers a knife skills class?
• The rumours have been rampant for a long time, but it’s finally confirmed – south Edmonton is finally getting its own T & T Supermarket, located in the old Future Shop at 3451 Calgary Trail.
• Loblaws will be linking their new rewards program with incentives for purchasing healthy products – though we’ll see how big the net will be in defining “healthy”.
• It’s been a while since we’ve been to the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market, but we were delighted to come across Mo-Na Food’s booth. They’re still waiting to hear back if they’ll be vending past the end of May.

Mo-Na at OSFM

• I had a hankering for Bun Bo Hue on Friday, and was saddened to encounter a closed King Noodle House that evening. Mack and I eventually had to settle for Pagolac’s version across the street.

Bun Bo Hue from Pagolac

• Before the Yeggies on Saturday, Mack and I had a bite to eat at Café Bicyclette. The serving was as generous as I remembered, though the gravy was a little on the sweet side this time around.

Poutine from Café Bicyclette

See you at the City Market!

I had a fun time in Boston, but I’m happy to be back – it wasn’t as green (or as warm) out East as I wanted it to be! But regardless of the weather in Edmonton tomorrow – make sure you get out and vote! On to this week’s food notes:

• I love food crawls! An upcoming food crawl on May 30 and 31 from 1-4pm will be taking place in one of Edmonton’s most underappreciated neighbourhoods – Chinatown. Tickets are just $35 and guests will sample 4 dishes. I’m happy to be involved as a volunteer “guide” for one of the tours – hope to see you there!
• RGE RD’s annual dinner at Nature’s Green Acres will take place on August 15, 2015.
• Delux’s new location in St. Albert (101, 150 Bellerose Drive) is now open!
• The latest Korean restaurant to open in the city is Nongbu – both Andrea and Cindy have already checked it out.
• Curious as to what might be on the menu of a vegan-oriented bar? Get My Tab showcases Arcadia Bar’s food, which includes a donair wrapped in a green onion cake.
• Chef Tony Krause is continuing his Underground Dinners in The Salt Room at Mother’s Market; last week, Chris and Liane captured his most recent supper.
• The Journal takes it turn to review HALO, the restaurant located at the Renaissance Airport Hotel at EIA.
• While One Republic were in town last week, they shared their positive visits at Transcend Coffee and North 53. It’s no BuzzFeed shout-out, but it’s pretty cool.
• Congrats to Allan Suddaby (the Executive Chef at Elm Café) on the launch of McKernan Food Works, which will produce craft food products. The first and flagship product is an apple cider vinegar, made exclusively with apples harvested in Central Alberta. You can pick up the product at Little Brick – can’t wait to get my own bottle!
• It must be the warm weather, but I had to hit up a food truck when I returned to Edmonton. Thankfully, Bully was parked just around the corner from our condo, where I picked up a tasty turkey provolone sandwich.

Turkey provolone sandwich from Bully

• My other delirious craving had to do with, what else, beef noodle soup. Pho Tau Bay, it had been too long.

My usual at Pho Tau Bay

Hi everyone, Mack here! Sharon is still in Boston on her vacation so I’m guest blogging her food notes this week. You can check out some of her adventures on Instagram. I haven’t run out of food yet but if Sharon doesn’t make it home soon I might be in trouble. Kidding!

• Save the date for our first What the Truck?! event of the season – May 23 in Churchill Square!
• Liane Faulder will be leading a foodie tour in Vancouver in July and there are still a couple of tickets left if you’d like to go!
• The Italian Centre Shop has launched a new logo. The new brown logo is classic looking and reflects "chocolate, espresso, and earth".
• After 35 years, Unheardof Restaurant is closing its doors on June 13. Chef Lynn Heard plans to do some catering and personal chef work in retirement.
• Native Delights celebrated its grand opening on Saturday at 10406 118 Avenue in the former Sloppy Hoggs space. Great to see another food truck success!
• Darren and Sylvia Cheverie’s quest to bring French Canadian restaurant Chartier to Beaumont passed a huge milestone as they exceeded their goal and have now raised more than $100,000. They decided to record their reaction and posted it on YouTube:

• Congratulations to S’wich Food Truck chef Alexei Boldireff on winning Edmonton Food Fight 2! Here are recaps from Cindy and Twyla. Stay tuned to FoodFightYEG on Twitter for details about Food Fight 3.
• Marianne wrote about Brew-Curious, the all day tour put on by the Edmonton City as Museum Project. "It’s not surprising that we have a rich brewing history in Edmonton just below the surface." I really wish I had been able to go, sounds like it was awesome.
• And while I’m on the topic of beer, here’s some advice on home brewing from Edmonton Beer Geeks Anonymous and the Edmonton Homebrewers Guild.
• Cindy, who is a fan of Cafe Amore like me (and, I suspect, you), wrote about The Black Pearl, the newest spot in my hood. Mel also wrote about it for Vue.
• Nongbu Korean Eatery is now open in Old Strathcona from 5pm-10pm, Monday through Saturday, with lunch slated to launch in May.
• Andrea visited Dovetail Delicatessen recently, the new lunch spot from Nevin and Kara Fenske of Drift.
• B’s Diner, located at 10037 Whyte Avenue, is hosting a fundraiser for their lunch program for kids on May 1 from 5-9pm. $15 will get you a Ramen Burger, fries, and a non-alcoholic drink of your choice.
• There’s a new restaurant called 12 ACRES opening in St. Albert next month. They have partnered with City Life Farms to source ingredients. Check them out on Twitter for updates.
• The latest episode of The Yards Podcast features coffee and cafes in Edmonton.
• In case you missed it: Planting Edmonton on the urban agriculture map.
• Check out the sweet ice cream that Sharon picked up in Boston:

• Here’s another one from Sharon’s adventures in the USA – Utz Chips!

This guest post was written by Mack, an Edmonton-based geek who fancies himself a part-time foodie. You can find him online at his blog, and on Twitter.

I’ve been doing the countdown for some time now – I’m heading to Boston later this week for a brief vacation with my sister Amanda. So it’ll be a bit quiet on this blog until I’m back! On to this week’s food notes:

• The Pourhouse’s pop-up challenge continues on April 23, 2015 with Chef Spencer Thompson of Toast Fine Catering bringing his best to the kitchen.
• Truffula is back at Earth’s General Store downtown with another raw, vegan lunch pop-up on April 24 from 11-2pm.
• Andrea has the first review of The Black Pearl, a brand new seafood restaurant that opened on 104 Street last week.
• Jonny offers another perspective on the newest Korean restaurant in Edmonton, Tofu House.
• Phil’s latest Pizza Odyssey post describes visits to Famoso and Piccolino Bistro.
• A reminder that Dovetail, Drift’s new brick and mortar deli on 124 Street, is now open!
• The big food news this week was Duchess’ inclusion on a BuzzFeed list of 23 Bakeries Around the World You Need to Eat at Before You Die which features some pretty prestigious counterparts. In similarly big news, it was also announced that Duchess is finally shopping for a bigger location!
• Liane has a few more details about Parkallen’s new west end location (10804 170 Street), opening soon.
• We’re continuing to profile new food trucks that will be hitting the streets this year over at the What the Truck?! website – next up, Fab Food on Four.
• Mack and I really enjoyed the second dress rehearsal for the Edmonton Opera’s Lucia Di Lammemoor. It was great to see some of the gorgeous costumes up close at intermission as well! The show finishes its run April 21 and 23. Thanks to the Edmonton Opera for having us.

With Sable, who is a part of the chorus

• It was another fun show at this year’s Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts, which took place Monday evening. One of my favourite acts was Edmonton Poet Laureate Mary Pinkoski, who combined talents with singer Eva Foote and dancers Jeanie and Jodie Vandekerkhove. Congrats to all of the nominees and winners!

Performers against a stunning backdrop by Jason Carter

We’re deep into planning What the Truck?!’s fifth (can you believe it?) season. Make sure to check the website in the next few weeks for an announcement of our first event of the summer! On to this week’s food notes:

• A reminder that the Culinary Arts Cook-Off is taking place at Mount Royal School on April 18, 2015, from 11am-2pm. See you there for “noodles and doodles”!
• This is such a neat idea – Brew-Curious is a “rare chance to experience Edmonton’s local brewing heritage and modern craft beer industry”, with plenty of tasting in between. A few tickets to the April 18, 2015 event are still available.
• Native Delights is celebrating their grand opening on April 25, 2015, from 10am-6pm with a street festival. Check it out at 10406 118 Avenue.
• Congrats to Glow Juicery, who just opened a new Juicery + Raw Food Cafe in Old Strathcona over the weekend (7911 104 Street).
• Swiss2Go, a popular sandwich shop that used to be located in the west end, is reopening on April 15, 2015 at a new shop in Beverly (4306 118 Avenue).
• My Dad, for one, will be thrilled to hear this: Bubba’s is back. You might remember Bubba’s as a very popular south side barbecue vendor, until a fire put him out of commission. Find him now in the Osman Auctions lot at 6330 75 Street.
• Korean is definitely the cuisine of the moment in Edmonton – new restaurants seem to be opening up all the time, including Seoul Tofu House (5020 97 Street), reviewed by Andrea.
• Great to see the Journal feature the repurposed Central Station Edmonton Transit System booth that now houses Baba Finkelstein’s.
• Phil offers his thoughts on his YEG Pizza Odyssey so far.
• Another local chef will be featured on Chopped Canada this season – watch Zinc’s Chef David Omar take on the competition on June 13, 2015.
• It must be spring, as food trucks have started to come out of hibernation! Check the Street Food app for the latest updates, but in anticipation of our What the Truck?! season, we’ve also started posting profiles of new trucks you can expect on the street this year. First up: Phat Tony’s.
• You have until April 20, 2015 to nominate your favourite restaurant for Vue Weekly’s annual Golden Fork Awards.
• I do wish Avenue Edmonton articles went online sooner – I always want to link to them after reading the paper issue. Anyway – I didn’t want to miss pointing to a piece about some Edmonton restaurants that are building their success but not repeating concepts in the process.
• Vue profiles the Alder Food Security Society and how they want to increase food security in Edmonton by giving a broader audience access to local food.
• Mack and I are super-excited we got into our first track choice for Eat Alberta (Track 9: Foothills). But in case you missed it, tickets for the May 2, 2015 event are still available!
• On the way home from an errand, Mack and I thought it was a good excuse to finally give Ragazzi Bistro (8110 82 Avenue) a try. The wait, as expected, on a Friday night was almost 45 minutes, and we toughed it out. We shared a Raging Bull pizza with pepperoni, ham, sausage, salami, bacon, and banana peppers. The crust was bone dry, which just wasn’t our preference, and we could have used a bit more cheese. And as is usually the case with meat-heavy pizzas, it was also on the salty side. That said, the service was good, and it was clear that Ragazzi has built up a clientele made up of mostly regulars – so they must be doing something right. It’ll be worth another shot when we’re in the neighbourhood again.

Raging Bull pizza

Back at it after a long weekend – though I can’t complain – we were able to host my family for dinner, finally write our wedding thank yous, and still had time to lay low and relax. Hope you had a good one, too! On to this week’s food notes:

• It looks like Parkallen’s new restaurant in the west end is almost ready to open!
• Andrea and Cindy recapped the second underground dinner hosted by The Salt Room, located upstairs at Mother’s Market.
• Andrea also wrote about The Dog, the restaurant that replaced Absolutely Edibles.
• The Journal didn’t take long to review The Burger’s Priest.
• Chef Andrew Cowan has moved on from Century Hospitality to helm Packrat Louie.
• The Journal wrote a story about the couple hoping to kickstart Chartier, their Beaumont restaurant dream, with crowdfunding.
• The Edmonton Opera is hoping to increase the buzz about their new show, Lucia di Lammermoor, through some opera-inspired cocktails at &27, BLVD and Mercer Tavern.
• Sobeys Newcastle pulled a fast one with some of its neighbours as a way of introducing the community to some of their ready-made items. Watch the aftermath of its “pop-up restaurant” here.
• There’s an anti-Yelp documentary coming out in the fall; Grub Street interviewed the director on how this film came to be.
• Mack and I started off the weekend with a stop at one of our old favourites: Route 99.

Pepperoni and mushroom pizza

• We also did some home cooking with some Icelandic halibut from Ocean Odyssey, served over a bevy of vegetables from S4 Greenhouses and Doef’s.

Seared halibut with gazpacho salsa and tomato vinaigrette

I’m so ready for the Easter break; Mack’s been making fun of how much I’ve been sleeping lately, but I think it’s just fatigue. It’ll be nice to have a long weekend to catch up on sleep and other things! On to this week’s food notes:

• Sorrentino’s annual Garlic Festival kicks off this week and runs April 1-30, 2015, featuring garlic-centric menus at all of their locations.
• The owners behind Absolutely Edibles have revamped the space, which has now become The Dog, an upscale hot dog joint. Linda has an early review.
• A smattering of reviews of The Burger’s Priest – this week from Robyn and Stephanie.
• Jonny offers another opinion on Cerdo Tacos, the new Mexican restaurant in St. Albert.
• Is two a trend? The Alder Room was the first to launch a crowdfunding campaign this year to help finance their new restaurant, and now a couple have done the same with the hopes of opening a French Canadian restaurant, Chartier, in Beaumont. They’ve already raised over $45,000 towards their goal of $95,000.
• Vue Weekly’s annual Golden Fork Awards is now accepting nominations for your favourite eats.
• Congrats to the crew behind the 2015 YEG Sexy calendar, which raised $19,500 for the Edmonton Food Bank! If you have what it takes to be a part of their 2016 calendar, applications are now open!
• Tickets for the 2015 Eat Alberta will be released on March 31. Mack and I are looking forward to attending as participants this year – hope to see you there!
• A few friends and I took in one of the drop-in classes on Wednesday evenings at the Art Gallery of Alberta. Centred around silk screening, the instructor first gave us an opportunity to explore the Pop Art exhibit for inspiration, then we all tried our hand at creating a stencil to screen. While my artistic talents definitely leave something to be desired, it was a lot of fun!

Can you guess which print I created?

• Before the art class, we met up at the nearby King Noodle House in Chinatown. I’m not sure what it will take for me to deviate from the bun bo Hue.

Bun bo Hue at King Noodle House

• Kerry and I met up for a long-delayed dinner at RGE RD on Thursday night. We shared several small plates, with my favourite being the hay smoked sausage and chickpeas. The brassica mustard was the perfect accompaniment.

Hay smoked sausage and chickpeas at RGE RD

• After a long week, it was nice to unwind with Mack at one of our favourites, Café Amore. Black Pearl, their new seafood venture on 104 Street, sounds like it might still be a month out.

Truffle chicken pasta at Café Amore

• There was a ton of excitement with the lead-up and opening of Little Brick (10004 90 Street), Nate Box’s newest venture, on Friday. We didn’t plan very well, and arrived on Sunday afternoon past their operational hours, but Nate was still gracious enough to give us a quick tour of the space. No doubt, a lot of love has gone into restoring the Riverdale home, and it will be a beautiful venue for brunches, set dinners and musical evenings.

Inside Little Brick

Happy Easter!

• I’m looking forward to attending Northern Land’s Meet Your Maker event this weekend. Learn more about the biggest all-Canadian wine and culinary festival in Vue Weekly.
• Dream Tea House opened up their fourth location in Oliver Square (11242 104 Avenue). Stephanie wrote an overview of their menu items.
• Sherwood Park now has its own location of Memphis Blues Barbecue House (150 – 222 Baseline Road).
• Sandwich and Sons continue to get good food press, this week from both Liv and Twyla.
• The seventh Pizza Odyssey took Phil to D’Amore’s Mercato and the Italian Centre, for a throwdown of grocery stores that double as pizzerias.
• Not surprisingly, the third Prairie Noodle Shop pop-up was a resounding success, serving up vegetarian ramen. Andrea and Cindy recapped the evening.
• Andrea also captured her experience at the first underground dinner at The Salt Room.
• Cindy attended a variety of events during Edmonton’s first YEG Coffee Week – great to hear that it will be back next year, too!
• Century Grill (and Hundred Bar and Kitchen) have been sold by Century Hospitality Group, in order to allow the business to focus on their other brands. Century Grill is hosting a final farewell party on March 28.
• Chic Hog O’s Social Roast House closed recently due to a dispute with their new landlord. The couple behind the restaurant are currently scouting new locations and considering a food truck.
• Did you know that March 20 was “macaron day”? Lillian (macaron baker extraordinaire) marked the occasion by reflecting on the origins and current direction of her blog.
• F.E.D. U.P. (Feminist Eatery Database Undercover Project) is a site led by four Women’s Studies students at the University of Alberta, seeking to “highlight prominent issues regarding sex, gender and race in the service industry”.
• The tickets for the 2015 edition of Eat Alberta go live on March 31, 2015.
• Twyla is leading her own food tour to New York City April 12-16, 2015.
• Mack and I hosted a family supper on Sunday, as Mack’s Mom is in town for the week. We successfully made citrus-braised pork shoulder tacos with all the fixings from Pucker. We’ll definitely make it again!

Tacos for the family!

• The Telus World of Science Edmonton plays host to its latest Dark Matters event on March 19, an adults-only evening where “science is served on the rocks”. The theme this week is food and beer, with Alley Kat on tap, and sessions on cheese, honey and sausage.
• Cookie lovers rejoice: Cookie Love Café is holding their grand opening celebration on March 20. Expect free cookies, ice cream and espresso!
• Taste of Iceland reservations are going fast! Check out the dinner menu to be served at Characters from April 9-12, 2015 here.
• Burger’s Priest opened to much fanfare this weekend, but did you know that another Eastern burger chain is set to invade Edmonton this summer? Phil has the details about Relish Gourmet Burgers (10704 124 Street) aiming to open in June.
• The warm weather means food trucks have started to come out of hibernation! The Local Omnivore, among others, has already kicked off the season.
• There are some great things happening at Mother’s Market – namely, the unremarkable food vendors on the second floor have been replaced by The Salt Room, run by Chef Antony Krause, formerly of St. Albert’s Privada. He is hosting an ongoing series of underground dinners, the first of which were reviewed by Cindy and Diane. It looks like his next few are already sold out, so follow Antony on Twitter to get a jump on the next one!
• NAIT’s annual Chef in Residence Program took place last week, and it looks like Chef Michael Stadtländer helped cook up quite the feast for its feature luncheon – reports are back from Andrea and Chris.
• I love that Loblaws is following in the footsteps of French supermarket Intermarché and adopting its ugly produce campaign, selling undersized or blemished produce under the “Naturally Imperfect” label.
• The Downtown Business Association kicked off Downtown Dining Week with a reception at the Art Gallery of Alberta on Thursday. Nine restaurants were on hand, offering samples of some of the dishes they will be serving as a part of their prix fixe menus from March 13-22, 2015. One of my favourite tastes was from The Harvest Room, who served a red wine braised veal cheek slider. Zinc’s contribution of a house cured and smoked pork belly, atop potato rosti with a quail egg was also delicious, and formed part of a larger statement plate of “head to hock” Alberta pork. Thanks again to the DBA for the invitation!

Red wine braised veal cheek sliders

Zinc’s Alberta Pork “head to hock”

• On Friday, my family and I headed to The Marc for supper to celebrate my parents’ anniversary. Incidentally, only my Dad ended up ordering from the Downtown Dining Week menu, as the rest of us were too easily swayed by the a la carte options. One thing we could agree on, though – beignets for the win!

Braised pork cheek with Savoy cabbage, peas, pearl onion and fingerling potato

Seared scallops with confit potato, spinach pistou, leek crisps, tomato and caper

Beignets!

I’m honoured to be among the bloggers nominated in the “Best in Food” category for the 2014 Yeggies. Congrats to my fellow nominees! On to this week’s food notes:

• Over 30 restaurants are participating in this year’s Downtown Dining Week, which runs March 13-22, 2015. Prix fixe meals are specially priced at $15 for lunch and $28 or $48 for dinner.
• The Palestinian Bazaar on March 14, 2015 will celebrate the arts, culture and food of the Palestinian people. The event is taking place at the Citadel Theatre from 12-5pm.
• It’s starting to look like spring out there – head to the annual Seedy Sunday event to get inspired for your garden this summer! The March 22, 2015 event features speakers, exhibitors and seed swapping.
• St. Albert is now home to a taqueria – Cerdo Tacos opened last week at 150, 15 Perron Street.
• The Edmonton location of The Burger’s Priest opens on Saturday. The Journal has a sneak peek.
• Great to see that Meat is now offering brunch on the weekends from 11am-2pm! Bring on the biscuits and gravy.
• First there was S’wich, then Farrow, and now, Sandwich and Sons – Edmonton is definitely on the handcrafted sandwich train! Both Andrea and Cindy checked it out last week.
• Linda reviewed the new Browns Socialhouse in Windermere, which seems like an immediately popular addition to that part of the city.
• Diane started a great series called Living La Vida Local, which will be highlighting her favourite local businesses. The first post is all about Revojuiceinary.
• Have you seen Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list? Three local establishments made the cut – Corso 32, RGE RD and Rostizado.
• Ever wondered what your favourite chef has up his or her sleeve? Wonder no more, with Liane’s story about food tattoos.
• Thinking of booking a class at Get Cooking? They’re offering a 10% discount for April to June classes booked this week. I’m already looking forward to our Indian street food class with Addie in a few weeks!
• In Calgary on the weekend, Mack and I stumbled upon a thought-provoking art installation at the Esker Foundation in Inglewood called tender by Rita McKeough. The accompanying interview illuminates her view on how we should see our food.

tender