• Cathy shared a bit about the forthcoming Rocky Mountain Icehouse (10516 Jasper Avenue), brought to you by the folks behind Cask & Barrel. The grand opening is taking place on July 25 and 26, starting at 4pm.
• Elm Café’s Dining Room (9132 – 118 Avenue) will be open for business on July 25 and 26, from 5pm-late, with a theme of Southern BBQ. Make sure to call ahead for reservations.
• I love the ideas behind this event on August 7, 2014: Ladies on the Green is a charity golf tournament where golf is optional! Food and indulgences are included, and even golf lessons for those so inclined.
• Vue Weekly previews the hotly anticipated El Cortez Tequila Bar + Kitchen.
• I didn’t know Pampa was offering cooking classes about Brazilian BBQ. The cost is $90/person, and upcoming dates include August 23 & 24 and September 20 & 21. Unfortunately, Pampa doesn’t have any information on the website to link to – interested parties will just have to call the restaurant.
• Karlynn shared that the new fair food winner at this year’s K-Days was the Angry Birds candy apple.
• Lillian reviewed a new Korean/Chinese restaurant on the south side called Rae Mi Hyang (10625 51 Avenue).
• Have you heard of The Carrot Project? It’s a fundraiser for E4C’s School Snack Program, where they’ve partnered with Meadow Creek Farms (located 1.5 hours outside of Edmonton). For $75, donors will receive over 20 pounds of vegetables in early October, while a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Snack Program.
• Congrats to everyone involved in planting the city’s first food forest in the river valley this weekend!
• I didn’t hear about the French food blogger fined for a negative review she wrote until I saw the story linked on Cheryl’s blog.
• We had our latest What the Truck?! meeting last week at The Parlour (where on Wednesdays, the wine is half price!). The pizzas, as expected, were delicious.

The Gamberi (garlic prawns, sriracha pesto, fior di latte, lemon)

The Hangover (pancetta, fior di latte, fried egg, potato fritto, green onion)

It’s almost easy to forget how great summer in Edmonton can be until we have weeks like this. Hope you’re enjoying the weather, too! On to this week’s food notes:

• Mealshare is a non-profit that works to help feed Edmonton’s less fortunate by partnering with restaurants for a “buy one, give one” model (certain dishes with a Mealshare logo next to them will result in meals donated to a charity). To mark the addition of six new restaurants to the Edmonton program, they are hosting this year’s pancake breakfast on the morning of the K-Days Parade on July 17 from 7:30-10:30am in Churchill Square. Each $5 breakfast of pancakes + sausage or fruit and yogurt will result in a donated meal. Great cause!
• Mark your calendar: Slow Food Edmonton will be hosting several Open Farm Days events in August. The first is on August 23, 2014, and involves a pig roast and other seasonal goodies at Get Cooking’s new digs at MacEwan University. On August 24, 2014, Slow Food will be leading a walking tour through Reclaim Urban Farm’s plots in the Garneau neighbourhood, cumulating in a Ukrainian-themed lunch at the St. John’s Institute. Check out more Open Farm Days events here.
• Lux is hosting their fifth annual Bacon Day fundraiser on August 29, 2014. Tickets are $75, with $25 going towards Youth Empowerment & Support Services.
• Phil posted a great recap of some of the best burgers he encountered through his Burger Odyssey. I did want to see one awarded a bronzed burger trophy, however.
• Speaking of Phil, he’s already onto another new series, this time, to find the best of Edmonton’s patios.
• City and Dale shares their favourite picnic spots in the city, with some ideas of how to fill your picnic basket, too.
• Check out these visual representations of the last meals consumed by twelve death row inmates (thanks for the tweet, Liane!)
• There’s something about the first ripe tomato among the green vines that is just such a satisfying sight.

Sweet baby girl tomatoes from Sundog Organic

Hot on the heels of our Truck Stop at Baconfest, we’re returning to Boyle Street Plaza for a second year in a row for a burger-themed Truck Stop on July 10, 2014, from 5-8pm. Check out the menus here, and I hope to see you there! On to this week’s food notes:

• Congrats to Evoolution, whose third location at Southgate Centre is now open!
• Liv posted about A Taverna, a relatively new Portuguese eatery located in Café Amore’s former space.
• Check out what you missed at the inaugural Baconfest with Cheryl’s review.
• Vue Weely has a great article featuring conversations with the bar managers behind three successful local haunts: the Next Act, Sugarbowl and The Underground.
• I had heard that another home grocery delivery service was due in Edmonton soon, but just checked out the Spud Edmonton site this week.
• I am so happy to hear that the urban beekeeping pilot was approved by City Council today. Up next, urban chickens? 
• Remedy’s fourth location at 124 Street and 103 Avenue is now open!

Remedy

• Pampa’s long-awaited food truck is now open! Check them out this week at the Street Performers Festival on Churchill Square.

Pampa is now mobile!

• It’s been a while since I’ve been to West Edmonton Mall, so 1st Rnd was new to me, a sports bar on BRBN St. that has since replaced the Hooters. Any thoughts from those who have been?

1st Rnd

• While at the Mall, we also treated ourselves to sorbet popsicles from Popbar, the first Canadian location for the chain. While $4 each seemed a bit steeped, both Mack and I agreed the bars had a much more concentrated fruit flavour that either of us had expected, refreshing and intense.

With our Popbar treats

• I was happy to be among the volunteers of the second annual Heritage Chinatown Night Market on Canada Day. Like last year, the weather was smokin’ hot, and people seemed to enjoy the mix of performers and vendors.

Roxanne and I take a break from burger duty

• Afterwards, Mack and I walked down near the river to watch the inaugural Light the Bridge show, and of course, the accompanying fireworks. River Valley Road provided a great vantage point for both, and it was neat to be among so many people without feeling crowded. Check out Mack’s blog for more pictures and information about the lights.

Happy Canada Day!

• I was lucky enough to be given complimentary tickets to see Broadway Across Canada’s production of Wicked this week, running at the Jubilee Auditorium July 2-20, 2014. Though it was my second time seeing Wicked (the first being in New York seven years ago), it was my Mum’s first musical. She loved it! For me, it was great to relive one of my favourite shows (“For Good” did not disappoint), and I really enjoyed Kara Lindsay’s performance as Glinda. Her rendition of “Popular”  was charm and perfect comedic timing. Go see it while you still can!

Wicked selfie

Do you have your Canada Day plans yet? If not, make sure to check out ShareEdmonton’s list of events in and around the city. You can find me volunteering at the Heritage Chinatown Night Market, running from 4-9pm on 102 Avenue and 95 Street. Regardless of how you spend the occasion, Happy Canada Day! On to this week’s food notes:

• What the Truck?! is coming to Baconfest this Friday, July 4, from 5-10pm with six food trucks outside the Arts Barns, all serving-up bacon-infused dishes (think: bacon lobster mac & cheese, bacon poutine, bacon ice cream and yes, even a bacon milkshake). There’s no admission fee for the Truck Stop – just bring cash for food. See you there!
• World Cup fever has inspired many Brazilian-inspired menus or celebrations, including a four-course meal with beer pairings at Culina, and a special a la carte menu at Pampa.
• It’s been a rough month for 104 Street, with the closure of Lit and the impending closure of Sobeys on July 31, 2014.
• Meat was positively reviewed last week in the Journal.
• Rebecca posted about one of the newer food trucks, Dolce and Banana.
• Avenue has a great feature sharing the favourite eats of 25 prominent Edmontonians, including Mayor Don Iveson. Interestingly enough, the list is dominated by cheap eats.
• Transcend’s Poul Mark is the coffee columnist for CBC. Check out his first coffee column.
• Want to contribute to a cookbook “reflecting the evolution of Edmonton over the past century”? Check out the Edmonton Historical Cookbook project.
• Looking forward to the food at K-Days? Tempt yourself with some of their new items this year, including a 125 pound hot dog (why they don’t have better quality photos for the items is beyond me).
• Jason Foster wrote about the evolution of Big Rock back to its craft beer roots.
• It was announced last week that Lactuca moved to a one acre site at Northlands.
• Robyn attended Slow Food Edmonton’s Tangle Ridge Ranch event this weekend – looks like it was a fun evening full of good food and company!
• We’ve been enjoying the delicious wave of summer fruit these past few weeks. I can’t wait for blueberries!

Raspberries from Steve & Dan’s at the City Market

• Baconfest released their menu last week – from savoury to sweet, bacon lovers will rejoice. The event runs July 4, 2014, and tickets are $75.
• Savour Strathcona County, a celebration of food, is back on July 6, 2014, with nearly 20 restaurants and food trucks participating.
• What are you up to on July 19, 2014? Want to help build up Edmonton’s river valley food forest? Join Dustin Bajer and other Edmontonians who will be planting more than 1,000 food producing native trees and shrubs that day.
• Liane had a piece with more details about El Cortez, the forthcoming tequila bar in Old Strathcona.
• The trend of board game cafes are picking up steam in Edmonton, with The Hex Café moving onto Whyte Avenue.
• Phil’s latest Burger Odyssey post is up, comparing the offerings of Select and Cha Island Tea.
• Liv visited Meat for Dinner.
• Val posted a beautiful review of a recent meal by Chef Shane Chartrand celebrating Aboriginal cuisine at Sage. Their summer signature series is now over (their promotions never seem to run more than a week), but hopefully they bring it back again!
• Congratulations to the organizers of Porkapalooza, who reported that 25,000 people visited the three day festival. It will be back again next year.
• Learn more about Riverbend Garden’s CSA in Vue Weekly.
• Elaine Wilson, who many will know from her cooking classes and stall at local farmers’ markets, will close the current chapter of her life in favour of new beginnings. We’ll miss her in the hands-on role she’s played in Edmonton’s food scene over the years, but I’m sure she will still be out and about!
• Finally, another one of the vacant storefronts in Chinatown on 97 Street and 106 Avenue will be populated again – this time with a Korean restaurant, Lee House.

Lee House

• Our What the Truck?! team had a planning meeting at Packrat Louie earlier in the week. All of us ordered pizzas. Mine was all right, a combination of buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, spinach, mushroom and egg. I just didn’t expect that the egg would be hard boiled, or cold.

Prosciutto pizza at Packrat Louie

• Mack and I celebrated my birthday early on #yeglongday, taking advantage of the absolutely gorgeous weather with a late dinner out on the patio at Tavern 1903. I’m happy to see they’ve eliminated the $1 charge on Q Water, and yes, their truffle mac ‘n’ cheese is still just as delicious as I remembered.

Mack @ Tavern 1903

Truffle mac ‘n’ cheese and KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower)

Short ribs and parmesan frites

• We had my family over for dinner yesterday. Among the dishes were a simple but satisfying modified caprese salad, substituting asparagus for the basil.

Caprese salad with Gull Valley tomatoes and Edgar Farms asparagus (just one more week for local asparagus!)

• Kinnickinnick is hosting a gluten-free BBQ on June 21, 2014, with proceeds benefiting the Edmonton Food Bank.
• The 124 Grand Market has partnered with Taste Alberta to host a farm to fork culinary tour on July 13, 2014. Tickets are $55, and besides the tour, will include a family-style lunch by Brayden Kozak of Three Boars and Mike Scorgie of Woodwork.
• NAIT released their summer schedule of culinary boot camps, with the addition of a new course called “For the Love of Chocolate Boot Camp”.
• I can’t think this far ahead, but a new festival was announced today called Dig In, St. Albert’s Horticulture Festival. It runs October 10-11, 2014, and will feature hands-on workshops, sampling, demonstrations, and a kick-off gala.
• Liane has the details on Rostizado, the hotly anticipated new eatery from the boys behind Tres Carnales. It sounds like a series of unique “mini eateries”, the likes of which Edmonton hasn’t seen before.
• The Taste of Edmonton celebrates their 30th anniversary this year. They have expanded their Sip ‘n’ Savour workshop side of the event, growing it even outside of Edmonton’s bounds. They’ve also released their menu, which this year will feature items from twelve food trucks. Discounted sample tickets are already on sale. This year’s festival runs July 17-26, 2014.
• El Cortez Tequila Bar? Count me intrigued. It is set to open some time this summer at 8230 Gateway Boulevard.
• Cindy has one of the first Indulgence recaps up!
• It looks like Andrea was far from impressed by the food at Teapsy Café.
• Julio’s Barrio opened up their new extended patio last week. While the restaurant itself may not be my favourite, I applaud having more life on the sidewalks.
• On Saturday, Mack, Thom and I ventured to Giovanni Caboto Park. The Italian Centre was celebrating their 55th birthday, so we made sure to indulge in some free cake. The main event was the outdoor screening of the England vs. Italy World Cup match. Though the screen resolution wasn’t great, it was an opportunity to watch the game amongst passionate fans in a unique venue.

Happy birthday, Italian Centre!

World Cup in the park

• I have to say my impressions of Red Deer have been grounded in my visits to Gasoline Alley. On our way back from Innisfail on Sunday, however, Mack and I made sure to finally go through downtown Red Deer, and finally visit Dose Coffee, which we had read about some time ago. It’s a lovely space, and could easily be mistaken for a shop on 104 Street or 124 Street in Edmonton. It didn’t hurt that the lattes were delicious, too!

Dose Coffee

We’re coming up on our second What the Truck?! event this summer, taking place on Friday, June 13, 2014 from 5-9pm at Old Strathcona. Expect 15 trucks, from six new vendors to old favourites. Menus will be posted in a day or two – hope to see you there! On to this week’s food notes:

• Shovel & Fork is teaching a class on container gardening on June 14, 2014. The class will be taking place at the Bissell Centre, and proceeds collected will go towards helping the Centre establish their own rooftop garden. Tickets are $70.
• A reminder about Hawkers Market on June 14, 2014 from 6-11:30pm at the Mercer Warehouse.
• Dishcrawl is back! Their first event after the hiatus is taking place on 124 Street on July 15, 2014. Tickets are $60 and will grant you three meals at three restaurants.
• Congrats to Confetti Sweets whose storefront in Sherwood Park is now open.
• Looking for Sailin’ On’s massively addictive coconut bacon? It’s now stocked at the Italian Centre!
• It’s finally official: Earth’s General Store is moving to 104 Street, taking over the storefront formerly occupied by Pangea.
• I was surprised to hear about Chef Nathin Bye’s move to Murietta’s. I wish him all the best in his new endeavours!
• Phil’s latest Burger Odyssey post pits Delux against Local. Who comes out on top?
• Vue Weekly offers some background on the concept of Bar Bricco.
• The Journal had a great piece on Edmonton ex-pat Leanne Brown’s Good and Cheap cookbook, which helps people maximize their food dollar.
• Chef, a fictional film about the rise of a food truck, opened last week to positive reviews. I hope to check it out soon!
• Say it ain’t so: Top Chef Canada has been cancelled after four seasons. I know there will be other TV outlets for Canadian chefs to be highlighted (Chopped, Masterchef), but I think Top Chef had a tangible impact on raising the profile of the young talent who participated, and allowed Canadians to look inward, instead of only ever appreciating chefs south of the border.
• I’ve now stepped down from the board of the Downtown Edmonton Community League, but it was nice to finish off my term with the annual pancake breakfast. It was a little chilly, yes, but the sun made it a pleasant morning. Thanks to those who came out!

Pancake picnic in the street

Sarah and Milap were pancake flipping pros!

• All my Mum wanted for her birthday was tacos from Tres Carnales – we made sure she also had a side of celebratory sangria. Delicious!

Dinner at Tres Carnales

I hope you enjoyed the absolutely gorgeous weekend! It was easy to forget the rain that preceded it, but did it ever make a difference – it helped flip the switch to green. On to this week’s food notes:

• The JLS Night Market has rebranded as Night Market Edmonton and returns this summer in a new location: Beaver Hills House Park (Jasper Avenue & 105 Street). The market will operate every Friday night from June 6 to August 29, 2014 from 7-11pm.
• Though I haven’t heard the term “Super Saturday” used this year, Downtown will be one rockin’ place this Saturday with the Pride Parade coming through. But before then, start your day off at the Downtown Edmonton Community League Pancake Breakfast, taking place from 8:30-11am at our new league space (10042 103 Street). Alternatively, Oliver is also hosting a breakfast by Duchess Baker that same morning, a kick-off to their annual Oliver Community Festival.
• A reminder that the Red Shoe Crawl is taking place in Old Strathcona on June 8, 2014! They updated the list of businesses you can expect to visit, amounting to nearly two dozen. Tickets are still available.
• The Italian Centre is celebrating their 55th birthday with a party on June 14, 2014 at their Little Italy shop (10878 95 Street). I’m looking forward to the outdoor screening of the Italy vs. England World Cup match. Should be a good time!
• Also June 14, 2014 is the next Hawker’s Market at the Mercer Warehouse.
• Porkapalooza released more details about their first annual festival, running June 13-15, 2014 in Hawrelak Park.
• Tickets to Baconfest, taking place on July 4, 2014 at the Arts Barns, will go on sale June 4, 2014. Although tickets are necessary for the indoor component, there will be lots of free/no admission activities outside as well!
• Fort Edmonton Park has a cool new feature where you can pick up a pre-packaged lunch basket from the Johnson Café at the Hotel Selkirk – perfect to take and picnic on the grounds outdoors.
• The big news this week was the announcement that after a decade, the Wild Tangerine will be closing at the end of June.
• Transcend will be anchoring the new Mother’s Market (revised opening date: June 20, 2014) with an in-house café.
• Robyn had the chance to check out Popbar’s first Canadian location at West Edmonton Mall.
• An interesting piece in the New York Times about food truck associations south of the border.
• It looks like Tutti Frutti will have Menchie’s bookending it on (and just off) Whyte. Another Menchie’s is moving into the Marble Slab vacancy.

Menchie’s

• Mack and I spent the weekend participating in the third annual Good Hundred Experiment, a gathering of about one hundred people, all involved in projects that somehow better the community. The crowd was diverse, and endeavours ranged from environmental to political to artistic. It was a learning opportunity to hear about some of the wonderful things going on in the city, and to network with people I’d never met before. Kudos to Nadine and Tad for their wonderful facilitation and planning skills – getting strangers to feel comfortable with one another is not an easy task, but I feel that they more than accomplished that by getting conversations to flow and connections made. Bravo!

Good Hundred

• I had been craving pho all through our Toronto trip, but was not able to satisfy that craving. So of course, I made a beeline for Pho Tau Bay not long after returning home.

My usual

• It’s been too long since our last visit to El Rancho – the Amigos Platter hit the spot!

Three of my favourite things (but don’t worry, I shared them with Mack)

• Our What the Truck?! team met up at The Next Act tonight to plan our event coming up on June 13, 2014. It was my first halibut sandwich of the year, but I’m sure – not my last.

Cornmeal-crusted halibut sandwich at The Next Act

Mack, Amanda and I had a great time in Toronto. I was happy I could be a part of Janice and Bennett’s special day – it was a beautiful ceremony and a rockin’ reception! And though Mack jokes that he will now need a vacation after his “vacation”, it was great (as always) to explore Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods. On to this week’s food notes:

• Elm Café’s next pop-up is another Austrian Sausage Stand on May 30 and 31. As always, the menu is extremely value-oriented, at 3 courses for $35: pancake soup made with smoked pork broth; a choice of sausage: Käsekrainer (cheese-filled sausage), Leberkäse (Austrian meatloaf), or Debreziner (spicy paprika sausage); and rhubarb strudel.Make sure to call ahead.
• The next Art Gallery of Alberta Supper Club is taking place on June 1, 2014. Tickets are $150.
• Do you have your tickets for the Mercer Summer Super Party yet? In addition to art displays and an On the Spot Pop Up Market, expect a Hawkers Market offshoot with food trucks! It all goes down on June 6, from 5pm – midnight at the Mercer Warehouse.
• The Edmonton Craft Beer Festival is coming up, June 6 and 7, 2014 at the Expo Centre.
• Next Act’s sister restaurant MEAT is now open! Vue Weekly has a great preview of the restaurant, and Cindy has already stopped by.
• A restaurant in Calgary made the news a few weeks ago after offering a family a “well behaved kids” discount on their meal. What do you think?
• Mack sent me a link to a piece about the history of ramen.
• I’m so happy that the City Market is back outdoors – every Saturday from 9am-3pm on 104 Street north of Jasper Avenue. We were out of town last week so missed the opening week, but I made it out early on Saturday and made sure to snag a few bundles of Edgar Farms asparagus and some tomato plants from Sundog Organics.

Edgar Farms asparagus

• Though I shouldn’t be too hard on a first-time event, I think Host Edmonton has a lot of work to do if they decide to repeat the conference in the future. It wasn’t clear who the primary audience was intended to be – industry professionals? Home cooks? Foodies? I was given the complimentary opportunity to attend two sessions on Saturday morning, and though it was only a taste of the range of sessions, the direction wasn’t clear. My favourite of the two was Chef Christine Cushing’s demonstration. Engaging and clearly passionate about food, I couldn’t think of a better speaker to present on stage early in the morning. That said, I found value in it primarily as a home cook – if I was an “industry professional”, I’m not sure it would have suited my needs. In that sense, Bal Arneson’s keynote was likely meant as an inspirational talk – and there’s no doubt her story (transitioning from a small village in India to a Food Network Star) is quite the tale. But I didn’t receive her casual name-dropping as well as others, and would imagine that her storytelling, interwoven through food, would have been more powerful.

Christine Cushing (an overhead mirror would have been helpful)

Roasted eggplant spread with flat bread and bergamot orange blossom panna cotta

I hope you’ve all saved the date for our first What the Truck?! of the season! It’s taking place on our home turf (104 Street) on May 24, 2014, from 5-9pm. We’ll be releasing the list of trucks participating tomorrow. Hope to see you there! On to this week’s food notes:

• Gail Hall will be hosting two farm tours this summer. The first is around the Kitscoty area, July 19-20, 2014, and will feature visits to The Cheesiry, Ribstone Brewery, buffalo ranch and a honey farm.
• The Valley Zoo’s special farmers’ markets last year have turned into a regular event – running June 17 – September 19, 12-6pm.
• Popbar opened its first Canadian location of the international chain at West Edmonton Mall on the weekend. It offers gelato bars in a variety of flavors.
• Congratulations to the winners of the second annual Yeggies, awarded at the Avenue Theatre on Friday. In particular, kudos to Valerie of A Canadian Foodie for winning Best in Food, and to Phil (@Baconhound) for winning Best Twitter Persona.
• Speaking of awards, I realize I forgot to link to Vue Weekly’s 2014 Golden Fork Awards.
• Andrea reviewed Hart’s Table last week – it sounds like the menu has undergone quite a bit of change since the restaurant opened.
• Duchess has a blog! Check it out for some behind-the-scenes photos of their cookbook photoshoot.
• Great to see Reclaim Urban Farm and Lactuca featured in the Edmonton Journal.
• Eater took a tour of a sriracha factory in California.
• For Mother’s Day, my family had dinner at Café Amore. It was a first for the rest of my family, and as expected, they were all defeated by the massive portion sizes. As usual, their hospitality was great.

Truffle chicken

• For dessert, I tried The Guardian’s recipe for tiramisu, which involved an extra step of separating the egg yolks from the whites and beating them separately for volume. I do think it resulted in a lighter cake that seemed much less dense than my previous tiramisu trials. Even my Dad, who isn’t much for sweets, had seconds.

Tiramisu