• Registration for this summer’s first Edmonton Diner en Blanc is now open!
• Looking for Easter dinner plans? The Mirepoix Trio is hosting another pop-up dinner, this time at Upper Crust. Check out the two different menus for the April 18 and 19, 2014 dinners. I’m looking forward to it already!
• Iconoclast Coffee is hosting a free grand opening party on May 3, 2014, from 7-11:30pm. If you needed an excuse to check it out, here you go – they promise fine food, prosecco and music. Speaking of the Koffiehuis, Vue Weekly profiled the new shop last week.
• Slow Food Edmonton is hosting a 5-course dinner at Lux on May 13, 2014 that will highlight sustainable species of fish. It sounds like it will be an educational and tasty evening. Tickets are $70 for members and $80 for non-members.
• Speaking of fish, because of the new direct Icelandic Air flights to Edmonton, Ocean Odyssey will now be offering fresh wild Atlantic fish. Stay in touch with this development on their website.
• Hillaby’s Tools for Cooks has expanded beyond the Enjoy Centre, with a location in Terwillegar (14251 23 Avenue). They celebrated their grand opening on April 10, 2014.
• Also now open is the Tunki Café Shop (10998 124 Street), a new Peruvian café on 124 Street.
• Liv reviewed Bodega Tapas & Wine Bar.
• I have to say In & Out Burger was a little underwhelming the first time I tried it in the States, and I wonder if Carl’s Jr will be the same? The American chain just opened their first Edmonton-area location in Spruce Grove (420, 131 Century Crossing), with another on the way in the west end.
• As I mentioned last week, it’s great news that Evoolution is expanding, including another storefront in Southgate.

Coming soon: Evoolution

• Dinner at Boualouang on Friday was great (their green curry/coconut rice combo is deadly). The Thai-style salad was new to a few of us, but turned out to be a delicious choice as well.

Thai-style salad with papaya, dried shrimp, peanuts, tomatoes and chilies

• It was a busy family-filled weekend for us, including participating in a baby gender-revealing party. It was a lot of fun testing out old wives tales and failing miserably at baby-related trivia.

Gorgeous table!

Fans of Television Without Pity will already know the bad news, and for me, it is still sinking in. It’s a website I’ve visited on an almost-daily basis for over thirteen years, and has been with me for the good (The West Wing), the bad (multiple Bachelor/ettes) and the ugly (the current season of Scandal). I’m going to miss the insightful discussions and the community of people who made up the forums. On to this week’s food notes:

• The third installment of Hawkers Market takes place on April 12, 2014. There will be several new vendors this time around, including Reclaim Urban Farm and Orbit food truck.
• Elm Café’s Dining Room will be hosting a Sugar Shack Dinner on April 25 and 26, 2014. The three-course meal is priced at $35.
• Lots of 104 Street news this week: Jacek Chocolate Couture will be replacing Bubble Buzz with a downtown storefront, Earth’s General Store will be moving in, and the Tres Carnales restaurant in the Mercer Warehouse (opening in June) has a name – Rostizado, offering “modern Mexican”, table service and wine.
• In related news, popular specialty shop Evoolution will be expanding beyond 104 Street and into Southgate and the Enjoy Centre.
• State & Main will be a street-level tenant in the First & Jasper complex.
• Liane shared that in addition to their farmers’ market tables, Confetti Sweets will also have a storefront in Sherwood Park, to open in mid-May.
• Mack and I both have Iconoclast Koffiehuis (11807B 105 Ave) on our list to check out – it was nice to get a peek inside from Cindy.
• Both Andrea and Cindy checked out Mama Lee’s Kitchen (10633 51 Avenue), a new Korean take-out restaurant in Southgate.
• Robyn offers up another opinion on Bar Bricco.
• Phil’s latest Burger Odyssey pits The Next Act against The Sugarbowl. Time for a death match.
• I rarely have the opportunity to meet up with Mack for lunch, so last week when it was possible, we made it count at Pho Tau Bay.

#phodate

• It’s been some time since I’ve been to an Edmonton Rush game, but it was as exciting as I remembered! It was a much closer game than anyone expected, but they managed to hang on and maintain their undefeated streak. Bring on the playoffs!

Go Rush Go!

Although Calgary was equally cold this past weekend (spring? what spring?), it was still worth it to get away from the city for a few days. Short of living there, it is impossible to keep up with their food scene! On to this week’s food notes:

• Northlands is hosting a behind-the-scenes tour of their kitchens and facilities on March 27, 2014, which finishes up with a three-course lunch. Tickets are $80 for non-members.
• Elm Café’s Dining room will be hosting another Austrian Dumpling Night on March 28, 2014 (Mack and I went to a similar dinner they hosted last year and really enjoyed it). $30 for three courses, with a choice of dumplings for the main, which include a potato dumpling stuffed with Grammeln (crispy fried bits of pork, a by-product of making lard).
• Vue Weekly’s 2014 ballot for the Golden Fork Awards is now out. Vote for your favourite restaurants here.
• Bar Bricco (10347 Jasper Avenue), Chef Daniel Costa’s new spuntini bar, opened up this weekend. Cindy already stopped by – it looks like a wonderful addition to downtown.
• Mama Lee’s Kitchen, opening soon, will offer take-out Korean food in Southgate (10633 51 Avenue).
• Vue Weekly published a feature about District Coffee Co., while Liv explains why its worth checking out.
• Phil posted his most recent YEG Burger Odyssey findings, pitting On the Rocks against Kelly’s Pub.
• Just in time for the Christmas season, Duchess will be publishing a cookbook.
• Watch for the possibility of more patios on Whyte Avenue this summer.
• There’s a new distillery in the province called Eau Claire Distillery. They will be trying to source as much of their grain and produce from the province as possible.
• With the cold temperatures, it’s not surprise I’ve been retreating into Pho Tau Bay for bowls of warming soup. Yum.



My regular

• Though we had a productive meeting over dinner at MRKT last week, I have to say I was a bit disappointed with the food. It’s been several years since we’ve been to the restaurant, and though the service has been good on previous occasions, the menu has left us wanting more. Unfortunately, it is still largely unchanged since our last visit. I ordered the braised short ribs ($27) this time around, and though tender, the plate definitely could have been warmer.

Braised short ribs

• In honour of the proliferation of selfies, we thought it appropriate to post our own – with a plate of our favourite Route 99 poutine, of course.

#poutineselfie

A tight deadline at work ate up most of my brain space (and free time) last week, but I am hoping to catch up on things this week! Mack and I are also looking forward to a mini-break in Calgary this weekend – it will be nice to get away for a few days. On to this week’s food notes:

• The next Dining with Friends event on March 20, 2014 features hot pot.
• Café Bicyclette will be hosting an outdoor “urban sugar terrace” for the next month, featuring mulled wine, maple roasted rabbit and sugar pie, and of course, maple taffy served up on a bed of snow. The special dinners run March 14 – April 12, 2014.
• The next microfunding Meaet event on April 3, 2014 features a dining in the dark component.
• The downtown location of Three Amigos (10247 Jasper Avenue) is now open!
• Farrow (8422 109 Street), the new sandwich spot next to Three Boars, will open April 2, 2014. Cindy posted about the pop-up that took place at Three Boars over the weekend.
• The big news last week was the announcement that Transcend will again be returning north of the river. They will be moving into an 800 square foot space in the Mercer Warehouse this summer.
• Liv wrote about her recent visit to the new south side location of D’Amore’s Italian Mercato.
• We missed attending the last Pecha Kucha in person, but did catch Omar Mouallem’s fascinating talk that made the case for donairs as Edmonton’s signature dish. It’s even spawned a rebuttal from a fan of the “other” signature dish – green onion cakes.
• We always knew burgers were popular, but I’m sure not even Phil expected the response he’s received since starting the quest for Edmonton’s best burger. The Unknown Studio catches up with Baconhound in their most recent episode.
• Speaking of podcasts, the newest Mack and Cheese episode is all about restaurants!
• Su sent me a photo that David’s Tea is continuing their expansion in the city – this time on Whyte. Thoughts?

David’s Tea on Whyte

• A friend and I had dinner at The Marc tonight, taking advantage of their $25 three-course Downtown Dining Week menu. It was an excellent value, and the salmon in particular was exquisite.

Saumon a la Provencale from The Marc

• The Telus World of Science is finally getting into the evening/adults-only special event business! The first Dark Matters: An Evening for Adults on March 13 explores the art and science of Alley Kat beer, cheese and molecular gastronomy. There’s even a 3D screening of Gravity. Check it out!
• Help celebrate the end of Winter in Edmonton with a Farewell to Winter Patio Party this weekend, March 14-16, 2014. It’s great to see so many establishments involved, but is it too much to ask to post any special menus the restaurants will be offering at that time?
• Elm Café’s Dining Room is hosting another seasonal dinner on March 15, 2014, this time on the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day! The three course meal is just $30. Reservation details here.
• Don’t forget about the annual Culinary Cook-off on March 15, a fundraiser for Mount Royal. This year’s theme is “Noodles and Doodles”, and will see ten chefs present their best pasta creation for the hungry masses.
• The Mirepoix Trio is hosting another pop-up dinner on March 16, this time at The Clever Rabbit.
• Century Hospitality’s newest restaurant in Edmonton, Hart’s Table & Bar in Terwillegar (14229 23 Avenue) is now open!
• Sabor Divino is rebranding their tapas lounge – Bodega. They hosted an open house tonight.
• I didn’t get to the Taste of Iceland at Characters last week, but heard the food was great. Cindy, Eva and Maki wrote about their experiences.
• The Journal reviewed Glass Monkey positively last week.
• Cindy wrote about the newest Latino grocery store in Edmonton, El Mariachi on 124 Street.
• It sounds like the response to District Coffee Co.’s first week was amazing! Cindy was among those who checked it out.
• The Tomato’s second annual Top 100 Best Things to Eat in Edmonton list is finally online.
• The JLS Night Market will be continuing this year in a different location – Beaver Hills House Park, starting June 6, 2014, and will run every Friday night from 7-11pm until August 29.
• I missed linking to this last week – Northlands started an initiative called Alberta Flavour, which will help local agri-food companies grow.
• The fourth season of Top Chef Canada started today, and like the seasons before, there is no Edmonton representation, but ample competitors (three, in total) who currently work in Calgary.
• Maki and Marianne organized a food and drink bloggers meet up that took place at The Common last week. It was great to catch-up with some familiar faces and get to know some new ones! Carla posted a recap here.

Short rib and risotto from The Common (I loved the sweet potato chips!)

• My sisters and I had lunch at Tiramisu Bistro on the weekend. We dined during the brunch/lunch rush, but it didn’t really excuse the indifference our server demonstrated throughout our meal. My prosciutto panini was okay, though the French onion soup had an odd consistency.

Prosciutto panini from Tiramisu Bistro

• This year’s Downtown Dining Week runs March 14-23, 2014. Their menus are already up – priced at $15, $25 and $50.
• Farrow is the new sandwich spot that is opening up next to Three Boars (8422 109 Street). If you want a sneak peek of their menu, check out their upcoming pop-up at Three Boars on March 16, 2014, from 11am-2pm.
• Congratulations to Culina Muttart for ten years in the business! To celebrate, they are hosting special family-style wine dinners March 18-20, 2014 at $89 per person.
• The Red Shoe Society (benefiting the Ronald McDonald House of Northern Alberta) is hosting another great fundraiser – this time, their second annual Cookies & Beer, being held at Craft Beer Market on March 25, 2014. Tickets are $50, and will feature both sweet and savoury pairings.
• The next Tomato Test Kitchen with Mary Bailey and Chef Brad Smoliak is scheduled for March 27, 2014.
• Elm Café’s new downtown cafe, District Coffee Co., opened March 3, 2014 at #101, 10011 109 Street.
• There’s a new Latin Market called El Mariachi that opened at 10991A 124 Street.
• Silk Road (always a stop for us in Calgary) is opening up an Edmonton location next to Knifewear later this summer. The shop will be at 10818  82 Avenue.
• Liane tweeted that Café deVille has now closed their Sherwood Park location.
• It’s that time again – Avenue Edmonton released their annual food issue this week, which includes their extensive categorical list of favourites. Congrats to RGE RD, voted best restaurant this year!
• The Tomato also contributes the glut of food lists this month, with their second annual Top 100 Best Things to Eat in Edmonton. Unfortunately, the list isn’t online, and I’m not sure I agree with an item appearing on the list in the top 10 from a restaurant that just opened in December.
• Lillian shared her experience at the new southside location of D’Amore’s Mercato (4612 99 Street), offering tasty Italian eats.
• Both Liv and Eva wrote about their sub-par meal at The Glass Monkey.
• Phil’s latest Burger Odyssey post is up, with the burger from Daravara drawing the most compliments so far.
• Cindy wrote about Elm Café’s most recent dining room event, Sausage Stand. Looks like we missed a delicious night!
• Liane wrote a piece detailing the negative impact of no-shows on independent restaurants.
• I’ve always liked the idea of underground dining, but perhaps push comes to shove, it’s not my cup of tea: after reading the rules of Table, “an underground monthly 9 course dining experience” in Edmonton, I’m not sure I’d ever want to participate at that price point with so many unknowns.
• CMT’s Burger Wars was in town this past week filming a burger showdown between The Next Act, Rodeo Burger and Delux Burger Bar. The episode will air later this spring or summer.
• It’s a little embarrassing that I hadn’t noticed The Wine Room (10525 Jasper Ave) before, given it is just up the street from our condo, but from what I can gather, it opened late last summer. I haven’t heard much about it (good, bad, or ugly), but it looks like they have incorporated iPad menus, something that hasn’t caught on in Edmonton just yet.

The Wine Room

Hi everyone, Mack here. Sharon is feeling a little under the weather still, so I’m guest blogging food notes this week!

• The next edition of Green Drinks Edmonton is focused on local food and will feature a great lineup of local experts. Get your tickets for the event which takes place on March 5 at Yellowhead Brewery.
• Chad Moss is the new president of Slow Food Edmonton. The organization currently has about 80 members.
• Allan Kellogg reviewed North 53 in the Journal last week. Sounds like he enjoyed it, but rightly questions how repeat business is going to work with the pricey dishes.
• NAIT’s current Chef in Residence is Lynn Crawford, and she’ll be preparing a three-course luncheon taking place at Ernest’s on March 13. Karlynn is giving away tickets to join her at the event! So is Linda!
• Looks like Graham liked his dinner for two at The Glass Monkey. I’m intrigued by his comment that it’s "designed for conversation" with no need to yell to be heard.
• Though annoyingly there’s no playlist or tag or anything, OptikLocal has a pretty impressive collection of videos up on YouTube as part of a series called EATS Edmonton. Each video is 3-4 minutes long, and you’ll find features on local tastes, plates, places, and creations.
• Linda reviewed Square One Wye Road, a new restaurant in Sherwood Park. Sounds like the service was good but the food was lacking.
• The 2014 Culinary Arts Cook Off is taking place on March 15 at Mount Royal Elementary Campus. The five judges they announced on Friday are an impressive group!
• Little Miss Andrea visited Lan’s Asian Grill recently, and called it "a hidden gem in our city." Nice writeup!
• This week’s Gastropost mission is Beautiful Beef. And if you don’t love Alberta beef, you can share your favorite vegetarian beef alternatives.
• Speaking of beef, are you following along with Phil’s quest to find the best burger in Edmonton? He’s currently 12 burgers into the odyssey.
• I made carrot, spinach and rice stew for dinner tonight. Predictably, mine didn’t turn out as good as when Sharon makes it (she originally blogged about it back in 2010). I guess it tasted okay, but it turned a weird purple thanks to the purple carrots I decided to use!
• Sharon recently tried the pho at Delicious PHO’ in West Edmonton Mall. She said she found it a bit salty for her tastes. They recently opened a location on 124 Street where The Makk used to be located, and their website says another location is coming soon to Baseline Road in Sherwood Park.

Delicious PHO’

• Sharon and I went to the second HWKRS MRKT on Saturday night at Vacancy Hall in the basement of the Mercer Warehouse (the next one has already been scheduled for April 12). She’ll write more about that later, but I wanted to highlight the chicken and waffles from Parts & Service, a new food truck slated to open this spring. The verdict? Winner winner chicken dinner!

Chicken & Waffles

• Oh how the tables have turned. You’re used to seeing lots of photos of me on this blog, but now I get to post one of Sharon! I snapped this photo at Tavern 1903 a few weeks ago. Her review is forthcoming so stay tuned!

Sharon at Tavern 1903

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.

It was a lovely weekend to spend outdoors, and there were lots of opportunities to do so! We spent a fair bit of it inside, trying to make a dent in season 2 of House of Cards, but it was an enjoyable way to relax. Hope you had a good weekend as well! On to this week’s food notes:

• Elm Café’s Dining Room (9132 118 Avenue) is opening up again for a special event. This time, they will be hosting a Sausage Stand at 6pm on February 28, 2014, celebrating all kinds of Austrian sausage. Take a look at the menu here. Reservations can be made by calling (780) 756-1645.
• It’s that time of year again – Avenue Edmonton will be releasing their new 2014 food issue in March. Help them celebrate who they deem to be Edmonton’s best new restaurants at NAIT on March 3, 2014. Tickets are $10, with proceeds going to the Edmonton Food Bank.
• You may have heard that there will be a new direct cross-Atlantic flight from Edmonton to Iceland beginning later this year, but did you know they have organized a Taste of Iceland, running March 5-8, 2014 to further promote it? Expect meals from an Icelandic chef and Icelandic musical acts.
• An event titled Menu of Modern Art 3 is taking place at Latitude 53 on March 8, 2014. It is a reception involving six different chefs, including Chef Nathan Saurette from Three Boars. Advance tickets are $25.
• Mark your calendars: this year’s Seedy Sunday takes place March 16, 2014 at the Alberta Avenue Community League. Swap or buy seeds, learn about different organizations that can help you get started with gardening and listen to presentations from local experts.
• More details were released about the participating chefs in the March 29, 2014 fundraiser Hot Chefs, Cool bEATS. Chefs like Nevin Fenske of Drift and Ariel del Rosario of Filistix will be returning, joining event newcomers like Chuck Elves of Three Boars and Edgar Gutierrez of Tres Carnales.
• NAIT announced that their 2014 Hokanson Chef in Residence will be Chef Lynn Crawford. As usual, the Chef in Residence will be hosting a luncheon, taking place on March 13, 2014. There are two opportunities to win tickets to the lunch – through NAIT and through Valerie’s blog. Good luck!
• Speaking of NAIT, they have also added to their public food offerings with the addition of a line of cheeses (mozzarella, feta and brie), available for purchase at their meat store.
• Cindy visited the brand new location of Shanghai 456.
• Liv posted a Korean fried chicken showdown – between Coco Deep Fried Chicken and Wing Chicx.
• Liane published her second piece in her deli series, this time focusing on Polish deli Baltyk Meat.
• Mack and I are slowly chipping away at wedding planning tasks. This weekend, we had a cupcake taste-off with my sisters, in order to choose a bakery for our wedding cupcakes. The contenders: The Sweet Side, Crave and Flirt. We’re pretty confident with our final decision, and it sure was a fun way to come to it!

Cupcakes!

• We continued our indulgence by ordering Royal Pizza for dinner. Panago is our typical go-to, but my sister was insistent we had to try the deep-dish deliciousness of Royal Pizza. I have to admit, the crust was pretty tasty, though I’d imagine it would be even better fresh in the restaurant.

Fred’s Special and Donair pizzas

Do you have Olympic fever? I do! The time zone difference makes it challenging to witness the wins in real time, but it’s still great to relive the moments later on. Go Canada Go! On to this week’s food notes:

• Still looking for Valentine’s weekend plans? Sailin’ On is hosting a pop-up brunch on February 16, 2014 at the Mercury Room (10575 114 Street).
• Knifewear is celebrating their grand reopening in Edmonton with beer, hot dogs and a knife sale on February 18, 2014 from 6-10pm. Check out the shop at 10816 82 Avenue.
• The next Dining with Friends event highlights Szechuan food on February 20, 2014. Limited tickets remaining!
• ZINC is bringing back art-themed dishes with their Art Gallery of Alberta Supper Club. The first meal pairs Italian cuisine with their current exhibition and a guest speaker on February 23, 2014. Tickets are $150.
• Maki and Marianne are co-organizing an Edmonton Food & Beverage Blogger Meet-Up, to take place at The Common on March 4, 2014. It’s been a while since the last one I co-organized back in 2010; it’ll be good to catch-up with faces old and new!
• Mark your calendars: the next Green Drinks: Your Local Food Tools is taking place on March 5, 2014. It’s a great place to meet other people interested in local food.
• Shovel & Fork is putting together a fundraiser for Slow Food which will see Drift serve up a set menu to pair with Alley Kat beers. Hijacked – a Slow Takeover takes place on March 8, 2014, and tickets are $30.
• The big news this week was Elm Café’s expansion into downtown, with the opening of District Coffee Co. at #101, 10011 109 Street. They will focus on great coffee (being the first in Edmonton to offer Calgary’s Phil & Sebastian, yay!) and fresh baked goods. Expect District to open on March 3, 2014.
• The Journal positively reviewed Chic-hog-o’s last week.
• Who says vending machines have to serve junk food? Chicago is the home to salad-dispensing vending machines!
• Mack and I took a brisk walk over to the Boyle Street Plaza on Saturday to take in the On the Spot Pop-Up Sale. It was a great use of the building’s gym space, and with the large bank of windows, didn’t feel at all like we were buckled down in the middle of winter. It was also great to see Molly’s Eats out in the off season!

On the Spot Pop-Up

Susan and Teresa of Molly’s Eats

• I warmed up today with some good food and great conversation at Tres Carnales. It’s been too long without fish tacos!

Our spread at Tres Carnales