I love that it is again warm enough to open up our windows. There is something so comforting about being able to hear the downtown soundscape from our condo. On to this week’s food notes:

• The Alley Burger comes to Edmonton: Liane posted that Century Hospitality Group will indeed start the back alley tradition here – starting this Friday.
• Chris reviewed the new restaurant Nomiya last week. Looks like a great place to share food!
• See Magazine reviewed Bistro India, the newest restaurant serving south Indian cuisine in the city.
• Cathy paid a visit to the relocated Japanese Village that, in her words, is now “nearer Red Deer.” Heh.
• Avenue Edmonton interviewed the city’s brisket superstar, Rand Petersen (aka “Bubba” of Bubba’s BBQ and Smoke House) for their April 2011 issue (I will link to it when it goes online). I have to say I’m a bit disappointed that he won’t be moving around much, or at least to a location where it is a tad more transit accessible.
• Castledowns Farmers’ Market celebrates their grand opening on April 6, from 4-8pm (via Liane).
• On the heels of Top Chef All Stars (loved who won, by the way), comes the first season of Top Chef Canada, which starts on April 11. To get you through the week – check out Sherene’s  interview with host Thea Andrews.
• Canned tomatoes and beans are a great weekday shortcut for me, but the more I read about the prevalence of BPA in the plastic liners, the more I think we should be eliminating canned foods from our pantry.
• The WSJ had an interesting piece about how small businesses are having to be shrewd in order to keep from losing money when offering online coupon deals.
• I couldn’t help but think of Ellen and Jill when I read about NY’s newest “build your own sushi” joint (can you say Doritos sushi?). Finally, sushi I’d be interested in! Heh.
• How cute are these retro lunch boxes from Old Navy?

I’m a pepper!

• While on the LRT on the weekend, we spotted an ad for Urban Diner. Loved the idea of stains communicating their range of dishes!

Urban Diner ad

• We were happy to see Pat at the City Market on Saturday. She will be at every other City Hall market. She was also happy to announce that Ocean Odyssey also launched their website!

Pat of Ocean Odyssey Inland

• After the Taste of Bourbon on Wednesday, Mack and I grabbed a bite at Cactus Club. My original intention was to dine on the butternut squash ravioli, but I was swayed by the idea of Korean lettuce wraps ($14.75), while Mack ordered flatbread with tomatoes, feta and a balsamic glaze ($10.50). The pork and pickled vegetables were lovely, but forming the wraps using the iceberg lettuce leaves weren’t quite as elegant or as easy as I had hoped. Still tasty though!

Korean lettuce wraps

Flatbread

• Mack and I headed to L’Azia for the Edmonton Champions after party on Thursday. My wine on an empty stomach ordered the gyoza (a pricey $6.95) instead of the siu mai. They were all right, but we expected them to be filled to the brim with goods, and not the half-empty pockets that they were. Especially for $1.40 a pop.

Gyoza

• The GalaGuru that Mack and I attended on Friday at the AGA featured a burger bar (with choice of bison, beef or turkey patties, with an assortment of condiments and cheeses)! We loved the round, stylish chafing dishes.

Burger Bar!

• Did you know New York Fries is now offering two new poutine varieties? Instead of the traditional gravy, how about a mild butter chicken sauce with your cheese curds? Or, a red wine sauce and angus beef? We tried the former (though the latter reminded us of the upscale poutine we had last year at Madison’s Grill). Though the chicken was a little dry, it actually wasn’t half bad.

Butter chicken poutine

With a little over a month to go, Eat Alberta has sold 50 tickets! There are still 10 available though, so don’t be discouraged. On to this week’s food notes:

• Great to see West Edmonton Mall is continuing with their Taste of Bourbon Street. The second annual sampling is taking place this Wednesday, March 30 from 4-9pm. In addition to eats, you can also look forward to cooking demonstrations.
• Want to learn more about the birds and the bees? Well, urban chicken coops and hives, that is. A presentation on April 21, 2011 at the Stanley Milner Library will be discussing the basics of keeping urban bees and backyard chickens, and how to ensure these options are available in the city. Patty Milligan (Lola Canola) and Laura Klassen Russell and Dr. Lori Hanson (from the River City Chickens Collective) will be presenting.
• Brooke checked out the Beard Papa outlet that opened in recent months at WEM.
• There was a great feature on Kevin Kossowan in the Journal this week, capturing a wild game cooking demonstration he hosted with Taste Tripping.
• In an effort to expand relationships with local producers, Lux will be introducing a series of 3-course “From Market to Table” dinners in May, inspired by ingredients found at the City Market. The Century Hospitality Group as a whole is also going to start sourcing sustainably-fished Ocean Wise seafood.
• Speaking of the Century Hospitality Group, they hosting their own in-house Top Chef-style tournament! Pretty cool.
• This is an interesting thread about the heightened need to accommodate food allergies – how far is too far? On a related note, here’s a great TED Talk from a woman who wanted to pinpoint the cause of an increasing number of food allergies after her youngest child began reacting to food.
• The NYT had a great piece about veggie burgers finally coming into their own.
• So many food shows, so little time: watch for the first of two food-truck related series to debut on Food Network Canada on April 6, called Eat St. The show will highlight some of the best trucks in North America.
• I passed a new Japanese restaurant on 105 Avenue and 101 Street over the weekend. It didn’t appear to be open yet though (but I could be wrong).

Yakitori Grill

• I noticed that Shine Bistro (in the Citadel Theatre complex) is now Vicki’s Gourmet Bistro & Catering. Anyone been yet?

Vicki’s

• La Poutine has their signage up! Their website has been changed to say their opening can be expected for April. I hope so – can’t wait for poutine!

La Poutine

• But until then…Route 99 is still our go-to place for poutine, even if it isn’t authentic. And nothing says welcome back to Edmonton like comfort food (Mack was in London last week).

Mmm…

• It was a rather blustery, grey week in Edmonton. Perfect for a warming bowl of pho!

Pho Tau Bay

I hope everyone isn’t having too much trouble avoiding those puddles! Most of the lake-sized ones seem to have disappeared over the weekend, which I for one am thankful for – I’m pretty sure those two trucks aimed to splash me on my way home last week…on to this week’s food notes:

• Looking for something to do this Saturday? How about helping out a good cause at Twestival? Join other Tweeps at Red Star Pub on March 24 as they raise funds for the Edmonton Public School Foundation.
• Somerville Wine & Cheese is celebrating their grand opening March 24-26, 2011. They will be offering free prosecco until 8pm and live music on each night, and a percentage of the sales will be donated to support arts programs at Westmount and Oliver Schools.
• Sorrentino’s is celebrating two decades of their annual Garlic Festival this year, just around the corner in April. As a thank-you, they are offering $20 gift cards to be used during the Festival.
• The big news this week was about the expansion of Duchess, who will be tripling in size. Not only are they expanding the size of their kitchen space, but they will also be adding a dessert bar!
• A new, authentic Mexcian restaurant on Rice Howard Way called Tres Carnale is taking shape! Great to see they are documenting the work for the public to see in a blog format.
• Brooke wrote about a new Japanese restaurant called Nomiya (3803 Calgary Trail) on the south side.
• Both Karlynn and Leslie had the chance to sample some of the savoury fare at Queen of Tarts last week.
• Kathryn offers us a peek inside the Jacek Chocolate Couture studio.
• Is it still hyper-local if the street chosen is an artery that cuts across the city? Liane posted about a new food blog that chronicles vegetarian eats along 99 Street.
• It was great to read about Barr Estate Winery in Taste Alberta last week.
• I noticed recently that the Good Food Box added a “how local is it” rating (out of 5) under each product. Points are awarded for local ownership, production, and source of ingredients. For example, Clover Valley Honey rate 5/5, beech mushrooms from MoNa rate 3/5, while Two Leaves and a Bud Peppermint Tea rates 0/5 (at that point, one has to wonder why it is in the Good Food Box at all…).
• Canadian Beef is awarding several Canadian food bloggers the opportunity to attend a food blogging conference in DC for free.
• The City Market held its second farmers’ market at City Hall this past Saturday, albeit in the parkade. I’m glad the rest of the markets will be returning to the bright City Room – hope to see you there!

In the grey zone

Anyone else watch The Bachelor finale today? I know I’m probably not supposed to admit it, but the show always sucks me in! On to this week’s food notes:

• Thanks to everyone who blogged about Eat Alberta so far: Andree, Kelley, Andrea, Marianne, LeQuan, Cathy, Leslie, John and and Julie.
• Patience, please: week one impressions from the folks at Transcend Downtown.
• Pampa was reviewed by the Journal and Twyla last week: looks like it’s the place to be for meat lovers!
• Vue published a profile on Callingwood cupcake bakery Sweet Krumblz.
• A few reports back from Downtown Dining Week: FoodieMcPoon on Wildflower Grill, Karlynn on Hardware Grill, and Dave on Moriarty’s, Madison’s Grill and ZINC.
• Restauranteur Vic Mah passed away last week – he will be remembered for his philanthropy, and of course, his food.
• I haven’t been down to the Castledowns Farmers’ Market (Wednesdays, 4-6pm) yet, but it was good to read about it at John Schneider (of Gold Forest Grains)’s blog.
• Company’s Coming e-mailed out an electronic copy of one of their shorter cookbooks – Cookie Jar Classics. Though I know having a laptop on the kitchen counter is en vogue, I always end up printing out recipes so I can make my own notations (e.g. add extra cup of stock, double seasoning, etc.). How about you?
• Jaime sent me a link to a fun game – ever wonder what it would be like to egg your house? Now you can find out, courtesy of the folks at Cadbury.

Thanks to everyone who had kind words about my inclusion on Western Living’s 2011 list of Top 40 Foodies Under 40. I think it’s a great honour, especially to be recognized alongside some of Edmonton’s other representatives on the list: Garner and Giselle Beggs, Nate Box and Daniel Costa. On to this week’s food notes:

• The City Market is back: the winter edition of the market starts this Saturday, March 12, and runs until May 14, 2011 at City Hall. After that, it’s back on 104 Street they go!
• Live Local Alberta will kick off a series of “farm to fork” dinners on March 27, 2011 at Blue Plate Diner. Tickets are $75. See the menu here, which features elk carpaccio and a chevre cheesecake.
• Mark your calendars! Indulgence 2011 will take place on June 13. Tickets will be available after May 2, 2011.
• This would make an interesting night out – Fort Edmonton Park/Hotel Selkirk has organized a Girlfriends’ Getaway, featuring a wine tasting, movie night and horse-drawn carriage ride.
• Another contest of sorts – Original Joe’s has committed to giving away $100,000 in free wings, and all you have to do is “like” them on Facebook.
• Marianne reviewed Niche last week.
• Chris reviewed Mini Mango, opened by the folks behind Sweet Mango.
• Book A Table announced a new restaurant, Soda Jerks (17520 – 100 Avenue). They also said that Twisted Fork has now closed.
• Gail Hall has a blog! Check out her site for tasty recipes.
• See Magazine had a feature on veganism – I have to say I didn’t know that vegans had to be careful about how they combined certain foods in order to get maximum nutrients from their meals.
• I admit I still don’t know enough about the raw milk issue, but raw milk cheese is in the news in the States as the feds look at repealing the 60 day aging period permitted for raw milk cheeses.
• Avenue Calgary also released their annual food issue. For a peek at Calgary’s best restaurants, check out Andree’s blog.
• Toronto will be getting a taste of David Chang! He will be opening two restaurants in 2012.
• This is a pretty neat idea, from the folks behind TED: Coffee Common, where numerous roasters/baristas will be able to share their passion and knowledge of coffee while having the opportunity to network with one another.
• Did you catch the premiere episode of America’s Next Great Restaurant? Mack’s favourite thus far is the grilled cheese sandwich guy.
• Mack did a great job at Pecha Kucha 9, speaking on the topic of digital preservation, but there were also a few food-related talks that night. Dr. Kim Rayne discussed food access relating to the health of populations in our city and Kevin Kossowan talked about his family’s food system – if you missed it, you can watch all PK9 presentations online here.



Kevin at Pecha Kucha

• Mack attended the City Market AGM tonight, where several new members were elected to the board, including Jennifer Berkenbosch of Sundog Organics, Owen Petersen of Prairie Mill and Pat Batten of Ocean Odyssey Inland. In addition to City Hall, the Market Board has been exploring Enterprise Square and the Mercer Warehouse as year-round possibilities.

City Market AGM

• I spotted a new restaurant at 8205105 Street, just north of When Pigs Fly.

Chai Pani

• Annie and I met up at Taipan Café for lunch on Friday (a rare treat for a weekday, but made possible by Teacher’s Convention). I’d never been to Taipan before, so their inexpensively priced meals were a welcome surprise. Annie managed to somehow finish both her duck congee and plate of noodles ($7.35), while I was utterly defeated by my bowl of noodles with shrimp wontons and beef brisket ($7.95).

Duck congee and milk tea

Noodles with shrimp wontons and beef brisket

• Saturday afternoon called for another visit to Queen of Tarts. Their bread case was bursting (this time, everything had labels), as was their lunch case. Look for a new menu item this week – a duck confit and lentil salad. But if that doesn’t strike your fancy, I know what I’ll be looking forward to trying is their chicken banh mi!

Bread case

Mack and I went to Calgary for the weekend for a short getaway. As much as I know that Edmonton is always competing with #yyc, Calgary is a very nice place to visit (even more so when you throw caution to the wind and stay in a fancy hotel). On to this week’s food notes:

• A reminder that Downtown Dining Week starts this week and runs March 4-13, 2011. The menus are now up.
• In addition to Seedy Sunday on March 20, 2011, Just Food Edmonton and Slow Food Edmonton will be hosting an event called Beyond the Supermarket, which will provide consumers with alternative ways to support local producers.
• Avenue Edmonton released their third annual list of the 25 Best Things to Eat. I’m happy to see that Battista’s Calzones made the list. Also in the issue, an interview with the spunky Daniel Costa.
• Pampa, with its all-you-can-eat meat menu, is now open. Has anyone been yet?
• Marianne reviewed the plush Somerville Wine & Cheese. Looks like a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.
• Twyla visited the Five Guys Burgers & Fries location (a U.S.-based chain) – sure to be a bang up success. Mack and I first tried the restaurant in DC.
• City and Dale wrote about a recent brunch experience at Culina Muttart.
• Niche got a great write-up in the Journal last week.
• Liane posted more details about the new Southwest Edmonton Farmers’ Market that is set to open May 19, 2011, to run on Wednesdays from 5-8pm.
• Valerie wrote a wonderful tribute to Michael Schmidt, an advocate for raw milk, recapping his visit to Edmonton last week. Schmidt will be back in Edmonton on March 23.
• For all you Roll up the Rim to Win junkies, Jon Lin has again started posting about his winning (and losing) streak in his annual results tally.
• Food Network announced the competitors for Top Chef Canada (to start airing April 11). It’s unfortunate that no Edmonton chefs made the list (Century Hospitality’s Paul Shufelt was in the running), but there are two Calgary representatives, Rebekah Pearse of Nectar Desserts (now closed) and Connie DeSousa of CharCut.
• Speaking of Calgary, Foodie McPoon wrote about her Calgary quest for macarons.
• Over in Vancouver, it’s the end of an era: db Bistro Moderne and Lumiere are closing its doors.
• Looks like doughnuts are the new cupcake in NY.
• Mack’s Dad enjoys scotch, so we thought there would be no better place to take him for dinner than The Bothy. Martin appreciated the extensive selection of scotch, and was able to introduce Mack to his first taste of scotch (I stuck with wine). The chicken and leek pie was also just as delicious as I remembered.

Mack’s first scotch glass!

Charcuterie and cheese selection, featuring O Sol’ Meatos cardamom salami and Jam Lady condiments

Chicken and leek pie with tomato and bacon soup

• I met up with my family at Urban China for lunch last week. I haven’t been back there for dim sum since my visit early last year, but from what I hear, they’ve really improved (it is now at the top of my parents’ list of dim sum favourites). The har gao and siu mai seemed particularly tasty.

Pork and shrimp dumplings

• Last time, the epic battle featured Mr. Bacon vs. Mr. Tofu, but in another death match with only one winner, who would survive: the corndog or broccoli?

Captain Corndog vs. Baron Von Broccoli (as seen in Livingstone & Cavell Toys in Calgary)

Have a good week!

Nothing like a long weekend to refresh the spirit! Hope you had a good Family Day as well. On to this week’s food notes:

• Twyla blogged about her epic Valentine’s Day dinner at Bistro La Persaud – it looked amazing.
• I love sneaking a peek into people’s kitchens, especially for the day-to-day stuff, so I love Marianne’s recent posts about her “meal planning sagas”. She and Charles are exemplars that you can eat well at home, even without a lot of time to cook!
• Are you intimidated by the prospect of making your own sausages? (I know I am.) Valerie’s photo essay helped somewhat – at the very least, it looks like a lot of fun!
• Culina’s TV Dinners are now available gluten-free.
• Chris Kourouniotis, a designer that brought us the interiors of Hundred and Press’d, among others, was interviewed for the Journal. It was interesting to read about his thoughts behind decor, such as “If you want to sell more liquor than food, say, 60 per cent versus 40 per cent, we tend to darken the colours, provide richer reds and earth tones, with red being the driving flavour, and we have way more millwork and wood in a bar or a heavy liquor space. We really try to warm up the space, because psychology shows that’s what sells the beverages.”
• The Journal also had an article about Cheemo Perogies – they’re an amazing success story (they produce half a billion perogies every year!), but I had no idea they used locally grown flour, canola oil and potatoes in their products.
• Vue Weekly’s issue this week focused on brunch in Edmonton. One standout article – a piece that finds out the brunch favourites of Jacqueline Jacek (of Jacek Chocolates), Michael Harvey (of Cafe Haven) and Nate Box (of Elm Cafe).
• Perhaps it will be Transcend Coffee that will raise tea to a new level in Edmonton?
• Speaking of coffee, Calgary’s John Manzo wrote about a recent experience in Good Earth Cafe that gets one thinking about the quality control in place at successful third wave coffee shops.
• Mack and I stopped by Crave Cupcakes (7929 104 Street) on Saturday. It’s a bright little store, with pretty display pedestals. We tried the Va Va Vanilla (vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream) and the Lemon Lime Twist (lemon cake with lime buttercream). The lemon cake was the standout – moist, light, and subtle.

Interior

Cupcakes

• My office celebrated Black History Month with a potluck last week. It’s hard not to love a place where we not only regularly gather around homemade meals, but the lunch also dissolves into a dance party!

The potluck spread

I hope everyone had a good Valentine’s Day! If anything, it’s a good excuse to spend some time with your loved ones. On to this week’s food notes:

• Downtown Dining Week is coming up soon – March 4-13, 2011. 32 restaurants are participating this year, at $15, $25 and $50 price points. Most menus are forthcoming, though Wildflower Grill has already posted their offerings.
• Nettie Wiebe, a well-known food activist, will be speaking at two engagements: March 3 and March 4, 2011.
• Liane posted that this year’s Chefs in the City event is coming up on March 25, 2011. I had the privilege of attending last year, and it was quite the event indeed.
• Edmonton’s first location of Crave Cupcakes is now open!
• Liane also wrote about Blair Lebsack’s new venture, inspired by his recent trip to France and Spain.
• Bistro Praha was reviewed in the Journal this week. Looks like returning customers will be satisfied.
• Twyla reviewed Sabu Sushi Bar, the third restaurant to go into that location in a year. One can only hope it sticks.
• There was a great article about Credo in Vue last week.
• Bill C-474 was defeated last week. Jennifer posted the reply she received from her MP about why he voted against the bill.
• A writer in the Atlantic absolutely admonishes foodies in this piece. One gem: “Most of us consider it a virtue to maintain our principles in the face of social pressure, but in the involuted world of gourmet morals, constancy is rudeness. One must never spoil a dinner party for mere religious or ethical reasons.”
• Eater posted a hit list of food truck do’s and don’ts.
• A new restaurant is moving into the space vacated by Apocalypse Gaming (10185 107 Street), next to Khazana. Look for Chateau Beirut soon.

Chateau Beirut

• I’d been meaning to post a picture of Mighty Trio Organic’s new labels for a while, and finally got around to taking one this weekend at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market. Sean of Mighty Trio said some shoppers have even approached them asking if they were new to the market, having noticed them for the first time just because of the fresh designs!

Mighty Trio Organics (the labels were designed by Gabe Wong)

• One of the guilty pleasures that Mack and I share involves McDonald’s breakfast items; we love starting out any road trip with an Egg or Sausage McMuffin! So when McDonald’s announced a two day window where we could try their new Buttermilk Biscuit Sandwich for free, we jumped at the chance. It was clear many others also leapt at the word “free” – the line up at the Commerce McDonald’s was longer than I’d ever seen it. As for the sandwich? The biscuit was all right, but we both didn’t like the scrambled nature of the egg.

Buttermilk Sausage Biscuit

• In between shopping at South Edmonton Common, Annie and I stopped by Local Public Eatery to grab a bite over the weekend. It wasn’t the best experience, food or service wise: my fish was on the greasy side, and Annie’s burger was cold, and it took over twenty minutes to pay our bill. It was busy in the restaurant – the Oilers game was on – but I am hopeful our next experience will be more positive.

Fish and chips ($13)

Oil City burger with squash soup ($15)

• Not food related, but I’m proud of my sister – Amanda helped style a mannequin for Goodwill, using the clothes and accessories available to her at the southside location.

Amanda’s rocker-inspired look

• Walking home today, a dressed-up light pole at 102 Avenue and 106 Street caught my eye. At the top were cards printed with the following message, “While cold snow fell, I dreamt of summer gardens, and awoke to blossoms upon my pillow. I offer one to you, and although old and withered it still holds the whisper of its past glory.” Attached to the back of the card is a dried flower. It was such a beautiful thing to stumble upon – thanks to whoever offered up these random acts of kindness!

A beautiful surprise

Mack was nice enough to add a “subscribe by e-mail” button to my site (which you will find on the right). Subscribing means you will get an e-mail alert any time a new post goes live. Thanks, Mack! On to this week’s food notes:

• Mark your calendars – the 2011 edition of Seedy Sunday is taking place on March 20.
• Kerstin’s Chocolates will be releasing two limited edition Chocophilia bars for Valentine’s Day, Salt and Pepper and Chipotle Bacon Bars, available from February 5 – 12, 2011. They also announced the date for their third anniversary party: March 5. Just sign up for a ticket to attend!
• A new hyperlocal website just launched yesterday, focusing on Edmonton’s west end.
• It’s difficult to keep up with all of the local food blogs sprouting up, but I’m doing my best – welcome, Jeremiah of Food Don’t Lie!
• Chris had a great Q & A with Owen of Prairie Mill last week.
• Jennifer Cockrall-King wrote a very timely post about Bill C-474, which calls for a “waiting period to assess the potential economic harm to Canadian farm export markets to allowing commercial sale of any new genetically modified food seed.” It is a private members bill that will be up for discussion on February 8, 2011. This is on the heels of the USDA approving the Monsanto’s GMO sugar beet, which means half of America’s sugar crop will be GMO this year (need a primer on the risks of GMO crops? Read David Suzuki’s take here).
• Also worth reading is Mark Bittman’s Food Manifesto for the Future (my favourite point: “Break up the U.S. Department of Agriculture and empower the Food and Drug Administration. Currently, the U.S.D.A. counts among its missions both expanding markets for agricultural products (like corn and soy!) and providing nutrition education. These goals are at odds with each other; you can’t sell garbage while telling people not to eat it, and we need an agency devoted to encouraging sane eating.”
• Mary Bailey sent along a clip from a new show starring Fred Armisen (of SNL fame) called Portlandia. This clip pokes fun at locavores – pretty funny.
• Eric Ripert was in Calgary early last week. See a recap of his talk here.
• You know veganism has gone mainstream when Oprah tried it. At the very least, I’m sure she’s gotten millions of Americans to talk about it.
• If this doesn’t scare food bloggers, nothing will: a food blogger in Kuwait is being sued for $18,000 for writing a negative review.
• It’s just for publicity purposes, but Kraft’s machine that uses facial scans to determine what type of meal you’d like (made from Kraft products, of course) is just another in the trend of technology trying to help the consumer with dinner.
• Happy Lunar New Year to those who celebrate it – all the best for the year of the rabbit (or cat)! We missed the firecrackers in Chinatown, but thankfully, not the excuse to have good food with family! My Mom suggested that I make barbecue duck salad rolls, and who am I to not listen to my mother?

Ready to roll!

• The table was absolutely laden with good food – our annual potluck never disappoints!

So much food

• And as tradition dictates, we started the meal with yusheng, a dish comprised of raw seafood, condiments and shredded vegetables, which we tossed together as a group – all in the name of good fortune for the coming year.

Happy New Year!

It’s always bittersweet when a friend leaves your workplace for another opportunity, but at least in Jill’s case, she’s only a few blocks away! Still, I’m going to miss you and our coffee breaks, fellow grapefruit club member! On to this week’s food notes:

• Probably the biggest food news in the city this week was the announcement that Transcend is opening up downtown, in the space formerly occupied by Axis Cafe (10349 Jasper Avenue). Look for the T3 to open up in March, with a full food menu to boot.
• Another Japanese Village is set to open in south Edmonton at 2940 Calgary Trail (which most recently housed Blush, among other things) – thanks for the tip!
• Congrats to Liane and Kevin, two Edmonton winners of the first instalment of the Canadian Food Blog Awards!
• Save the date! Slow Food Edmonton is planning its first annual Eat Alberta Food Conference April 29-30, 2011, to be held at the Yellowhead Brewery. The day will feature lots of hands on sessions like sausage and bread making, as well as various tastings. More details to come!
• Perhaps this is the way to engage the next gen set at the community league level: host a wine and cheese for Valentine’s Day (Oliver is doing it on February 12, 2011).
• Joel Salatin (of Polyface Farms/Omnivore’s Dilemma fame) is coming to town at the end of June.
• The Journal wrote about how social media helps bring diners into local restaurants, like Elm Cafe.
• Also from the Journal – looks like Alberta lamb is on the upswing (it does seem to be more readily available as of late, but then again, I’m probably just looking for it more).
• The City of Edmonton invites you to complete a survey regarding their Corner Store Revitalization Project (trying to help reverse the immense tide away from neighbourhood-based shops). I’m not that optimistic, but I do support it – anything to make the city more walkable.
• I love Councillor Henderson’s idea of closing off 104 Street in the summer and turning it into a “big patio”. C’mon Council, make it happen!
• How could you not love CHARCUT’s alley burgers (aka, gourmet burgers, served out of their back alley)? I know what I’m lining up for the next time I’m in Calgary. Both Andree and Julie wrote about their recent back alley foray.
• Watch for a new farmers’ market in southeast southwest Edmonton, at the Lillian Osborne High School (2010 Leger Road), to be launched some time this spring or summer.
• Check out the hydroponic tomatoes that came out of Maki’s basement. Gorgeous.
• 700 columns later, The Minimalist is over! Mark Bittman will still be writing for the NYT, but ended his weekly recipe column last week.
• I’ve been reading a lot about “pop-up” restaurants lately – establishments that open up temporarily for a few days or a few months. How’s that for finicky diners – here today, gone tomorrow…

Have a good week!