I know I am probably going to be saying this a lot this year, but I can’t believe it is already the last week of January! Help make it count by voting for Edmonton so we can be a part of the latest edition of Monopoly Canada. On to this week’s food notes:

• This is your last week to participate in Original Fare’s Fork Fest, with pre-fixe deals at some of Edmonton’s best restaurants going for $25 and $45. Marianne filed a review about The Blue Pear last week.
• Looking for something different to do with your loved one on Valentine’s Day? Check out Love is Freedom – for $195 per couple, you will get a 4-course cooking lesson, wine pairing, chocolate tasting, live band, and limo service home. Talk about decadence!
• Looks like L1, the lounge accompaniment to the Fantasyland Hotel’s L2 Grill, is set to open in March.
• Vue Weekly published an interview with Paulina Meza Romo of The Old Bread Factory last week.
• Bruce posted some shots of a delectable creation by Delux’s latest celebrity chef: Warren Smith of Wild Game Consultants. I have to say Bruce has the best job – he gets to sample each burger!
• Slow Food Edmonton has some great events planned for 2010 – I have to say I am particularly looking forward to the grilled cheese smackdown in February, and of course, Indulgence.
• The Journal published a story this weekend about why it’s tough to get reservations in some of your favourite restaurants. They also had a story about three lovely cafes to visit – The Wired Cup, Mandolin Books and Coffee Co. and Zocalo.
• I spotted a new-ish Vietnamese restaurant called the Basil Leaf (10023 107 Avenue) on a walk back from Chinatown today. It looked open, with cars outside and people inside. Around the corner from Basil Leaf was another new-to-me restaurant – Samurai Bistro (10003 107 Avenue). No activity around it though, so not sure if it is yet open.

Basil Leaf Kitchen & Sports Bar

• Hurrah – Edmonton finally has its own Starbucks mug! I have mentioned before that Mack and I collect these mugs on our travels, but of course, wanted to have one that celebrates our own city. I’m not sure I would have chosen the Edmonton Queen as our “defining image”, but then again, apart from the River Valley, I can’t think of anything else that would be suitable. I found the mug at the Starbucks on Jasper and 109 Street (thanks Maria for the tip!).

Starbucks’ Edmonton mug

I am loving this warmer weather, and though the slush is hard to wade through at some junctures, I’d much prefer this to colder climes. Anyway, on to this week’s food notes:

• Original Fare’s Fork Fest is on! Running January 17-21 and24-28, pre-fixe meals are on for $25 and $45, and is a great way to try out a new restaurant (or return to an old favourite). Remember to sign up for a VIP card if you haven’t already.
• The NAIT Culinary Arts program’s next Chef in Residence is Restaurant Makeover’s David Adjey (you may remember the school brought Rob Feenie in 2009). Adjey was in town recently for Capital Ex, where he conducted some cooking demos at the Sip stage.
• Liane posted that Century Hospitality is on track to finally open its second Delux Burger Bar in May 2010 in West Edmonton Mall (Chris Lachance had originally pegged the expansion to take place by November 2009) – curious that they would choose a location so close to Crestwood, where their first branch is, but then again, they are probably actively seeking the same clientele that would patronize Cactus Club.
• Also from Liane – a feature on The Bothy and three pubs with good grub (Red Star, Bibo and Filty McNasty’s).
• Twisted Yogurt, the frozen yogurt outlet in Sherwood Park, has a website up with its forthcoming locations listed. I’m looking forward to their growth!
• Also growing is Avocado (how could you not love the name?!), a Mexican restaurant. A St. Albert location opened up in the fall of 2009, but it looks like several more franchises are coming to Edmonton, including one in Ellerslie, coming soon.
• Shark Club in the west end of the city has shuttered after 18 months of business.
• Julie van Rosendaal wrote about her experience introducing Anthony Bourdain to a crowd of ravenous foodies in Calgary last week. While I wasn’t there, I’m sure she did a fabulous job – it’s too bad some people chose to rain on her parade.
• Chris posted about the first Five Guys location in Canada, to be in Medicine Hat of all places. Mack and I had the chance to visit Five Guys while in DC – I hope they expand to Edmonton soon.
• I guess it was just a matter of time: Guy Fieri will be hosting a game show on NBC, debuting in March.
• Mack snapped a photo of the new lower-calorie snacks now available at Starbucks. While I don’t often buy food at Starbucks, it’s always nice to have more options, just in case.

Starbucks’ snack display (at the store on Jasper Avenue and 109 Street)

• I heard about the Le Gnome closing early this week – they were unable to come to “reasonable terms” with their landlord, and will cease operations as of January 31, 2010. With a gift certificate I got for Christmas I needed to spend, Mack and I headed to WEM on Sunday. It was pretty busy (as you can see from the photos), but our wait in line wasn’t long. Everything was 30% off, but even with the discount, many things were still out of our price range, and like Brulee Blog, we kept our spending to a minimum. We ended up picking up a quartet of Emile Henry ramekins, a vegetable scrubber, and a soap dispenser – things we wanted anyway.

At Le Gnome

Inside the store

Mack and I made it back safely from Yellowknife on Sunday afternoon, just in time to watch the Canadian Juniors defeat Switzerland! Unfortunately, a volunteer commitment will prevent me from watching the final against the US (sniff), but Mack has faithfully agreed to update me via text. On to this week’s food notes:

• Looks like Melting Pot, the US-based fondue chain, is targeting Valentine’s Day for its grand opening (117, 2920 Calgary Trail, next to Cora’s).
• Lea’s handy site reports that popular Chinatown eatery Pho Tau Bay is closed January 3 – March 5, 2010.
• In case you missed it, watch for Original Fare’s Fork Fest later this month, January 17-21 and 24-28. Hopefully the menus are released a bit earlier this time.
• Local bloggers Chris at Eating is the Hard Part and Valerie at A Canadian Foodie started off the new year with new blogs. Go check them out!
• Liane wrote a good piece on educating Edmonton about food, published last week.
• Vue Weekly also had a wrap-up article – the best and worst trends of the last decade.
• Besides being in the press for their abysmal season thus far, the Edmonton Oilers were also in the news for a disputed bill at Osteria de Medici, an upscale Italian eatery in Calgary. Their disputed bill rang in at $16,796.39, including tax and tip. Interesting related thread on Chowhound about the restaurant – and it isn’t positive.
• I watched the lobster episode of Lynn Crawford’s new Food Network series Pitchin’ In and was not impressed. I was hoping it would be a sort-of farming counterpoint to Bob Blumer’s very well done Glutton for Punishment, but Crawford comes across whiney and condescending. I think it is partly due to choppy editing, but there was nothing of value in the episode – I didn’t learn any more about lobster fishing (techniques or sustainability), cooking techniques, or recipes. I guess it can only get better from here, but I won’t be watching.
• I finally perused Maple Leaf’s Republic of Bacon site and have to say, it is darn amusing (the “bacon porn” is worth a look, as are the restaurant menus). And though it’s not the same focus as the Hellmann’s Eat Real, Eat Local site, I think it is a better campaign because even though Maple Leaf is behind it, their logo and name aren’t stamped everywhere.
• Is Christine the new Jared? She could be, with a ridiculous campaign called the Drive Thru Diet from Taco Bell.
• Food Network Humor has some cute photos of your favourite Food Network chefs when they were younger.
• I’m sure the Vancouver 2010 merchandise will be even more ubiquitous as the Games approach, but I couldn’t help but snap a photo of the cute bottles of maple syrup bearing the Olympic logo that we saw at a Co-op in Yellowknife.

 

Does it taste like the Olympics too?

• Mack’s parents are tea aficionados, and have an entire cabinet devoted to loose leaf teas. In addition to a selection of fine teas, their brewing system also involved a cool Teavana tea maker that, once steeped, would dispense tea into a matching cup placed underneath.

 

Teavana Perfect Tea Maker

• Mack’s parents also have a Breville Keurig single-cup coffee maker. While I won’t be giving up our grind and brew system any time soon (nothing beats the smell of fresh-ground beans), it was neat to have a selection of over a dozen coffees at any given time. Mack was particularly blown away by how quickly the K-cup was able to brew a cup of coffee.

 

Breville single-cup coffee maker

• Seeing the new Skinny Legs and Cowgirls sign up, Mack and I stopped to check if they were open. While they aren’t yet offering lunch (they will be on January 9), they have been offering dinner and brunch since December 17! It looks beautiful inside, with the tinned ceiling and tiny chandeliers. Can’t wait to try out our new neighbourhood eatery!

 

Skinny Legs and Cowgirls (12202 Jasper Avenue, 780-423-4107)

I hope everyone had a good Christmas! We seemed to leave Edmonton at the worst time, just as the city was warming up! And though it’s not as cold as it could be here in Yellowknife, it’s still pretty darn chilly. A quick post of this week’s food notes:

• I liked Liane’s article about upcoming food trends published this past week for the most part, but it should have read with a caveat that Edmonton tends to be way behind in embracing the trends, especially for her sidebar about trends that are “gone” – pork belly, cupcakes and finishing salts are still firmly entrenched in our city. I also had to chuckle at the quote from Dana McCauley about S’Mac, one of the mac and cheese restaurants  in New York – it’s been around for a few years now.
• Chris has a great round up of the decade in food.
• Many people were shocked when they read Liane’s post that Tree Stone owner Nancy Rubuliak has sold her beloved bakery to a couple originally from Montreal. I am glad the new owners said they will be keeping many of the same products, and are looking at installing a wood burning oven to recreate Montreal-style bagels.
• Liane also had a preview of the cover of The Tomato, the newly-named City Palate magazine, which will hit the newsstands on January 2, 2010.
• Both the Journal and Vue Weekly filed rave reviews for the Hardware Grill’s newly minted lunch menu. I can’t wait to check it out with the gift card from Mack’s parents – thanks again!
• Interesting gadgets I read about this week: the first sous vide machine for the home cook (retails at $450 US), and an all-in-one Cuisinart Soup Maker, which combines a blender with a heating element.
• I met up with Dickson for lunch at Dahlia’s Mediterranean Bistro in the High Street area last week. They don’t have an extensive menu (soups, sandwiches, and the like), but the interior is clean and the service is friendly. I had a late breakfast that day, so decided to order their last cup of lentil soup ($3.95) – it was delicious, and the addition of rice was a nice touch. Dickson had a chicken breast sandwich with spinach-basil pesto, roasted peppers and melted mozzarella. He said it was all right, but nothing special. Apparently they get their smoked meat sent from Montreal – I’d love to go back and try it.

 

Lentil Soup of the Day

 

Chicken Breast Sandwich

• Mack and I finally decided to cook up the Greens, Eggs and Ham turkey bombs for my family that we had been saving in our freezer. Turkey breasts stuffed with orange-cranberry stuffing, it is the perfect seasonal dish for someone like me who is afraid of preparing a whole turkey. Unfortunately, we overcooked them, but they were still pretty good.

 

Turkey Bombs

• My family doesn’t really have any Christmas Day traditions besides opening presents together in the morning. Sometimes after that, we end up at Denny’s for breakfast, for an early movie, or like this year, for dim sum. It was a packed house at Dynasty Century Palace – I haven’t been there for dim sum in a while, but I can see why it was so busy – almost all items are priced at $3.25. Quality-wise, we were pretty disappointed, but I was happy we were able to have another meal together.

 

My family at dim sum

 

Me and Mack

Have a great New Year’s eve, everyone!

Christmas is my favourite time of year, but it really is flying by faster than I’d like. We’ll be in Yellowknife in less than a week, but at least I’m now officially on holidays! On to this week’s food notes:

• Though the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market will be closed on December 26, they will be open on December 23 for those needing to pick up a few things.
• Still looking for a last-minute gift for a foodie friend or family member? How about a monthly wine subscription from Bin 104? Or there’s always the Beer Club at Sherbrooke Liquor Store, or Transcend Coffee’s monthly coffee subscriptions.
• Liane had a great piece about three new “superstar” chefs in Edmonton – from Skinny Legs and Cowgirls, Von’s and Blackhawk Golf Course.
• Liane also visited The Bothy last week.
• An early review of Guru Restaurant on Chowhound, the new Indian establishment in the west end.
• See Magazine interviewed Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Eating Animals, a sort-of manifesto for vegetarianism, this week.
• One of the committees I volunteer for held an appreciation dinner last week at Rendezvous (10810-95 Street, 780-756-8902), an Ethiopian restaurant in Little Italy. I would never have wandered in on my own, so was really happy for the opportunity to be introduced to their cuisine. It was fantastic! The injera, which I am normally not a fan of, was not sour at all – apparently, that was a testament to its freshness. The friendly owner also conducted a coffee ceremony for our group, freshly roasting green coffee beans and brewing the result for us. I will definitely be back on my own sometime soon.

Rendevous platter

• Mack and I attended the last Tweetup of the year on Friday at Original Joe’s Varsity. I had the Sicillian Burger, which featured a whole Spolumbo’s sausage – it was a lot of meat, but was an interesting combination, even though I think the sausage overwhelmed the beef and the rest of the toppings.

Sicilian Burger

Happy Holidays!

It really sucks for Top Chef watchers in Canada – not only do we get a delayed finale (five days late), but there are ample opportunities for us to be spoiled of the result, as I was watching Conan O’Brien last week (“…and the Top Chef winner, __!”). Worse than that, they just aired part one of the finale a second time! Arg. Anyway, on to this week’s food notes:

• Week 2 of Planet Organic’s Meet the Locals Food Festival kicked off today and runs until December 20. Check the schedule for tasting tables and cooking demonstrations! I checked out the festival back in November, and highly recommend it.
• Guru Restaurant, located in the old Julio Barrio’s building in the west end (17021 – 100 Avenue), is now open. It looks very sleek from the website photos. Anyone give it a try yet?
• L2 Grill, the revamped Fantasyland Hotel restaurant, received a glowing review in the Journal this weekend.
• Early reviews of The Bothy: from Foodie Suz and Chowhounders.
• Liane had several great heads-up posts on her blog this week, including word of a new foodie group called Les Marmitons coming to town, the impending relocation of Skinny Legs and Cowgirls to the space formerly occupied by Ziveli (12202 Jasper Avenue), and the chance to get a $10 Culina gift certificate simply by bringing in a donation for the Food Bank. And of course, Liane also had a lovely write up about the darling cookbook of the moment, We Eat Together (it made #4 on the local bestsellers list!).
• Via Eating is the Hard Part – is the Motoraunt, aka the Monster Burger purveyor, about to close?
• This gathering of Calgary food bloggers as a means of celebrating the release of Julie/Julia looked like so much fun! I especially love the photo of the cameras out in full force, heh.
• If you love soup, then this NY Mag guide’s for you.
• We (okay, I) was determined to get to the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market this weekend, to pick up some groceries as well as some gift items. And though it shouldn’t be surprising, it seemed the cold scared many regular patrons away!

A veggie rainbow at Riverbend Gardens

• A quick stop at Flirt Cupcakes for a gift resulted in a cupcake each for Mack and I. I’ve said it in the past, but I’ll say it again – Flirt really excels in choosing whimsical embellishments for their cupcakes. I liked the cinnamon cake base of the Sweet Georgia Brown, but the icing was actually a bit sweet for me this time around. Mack liked his Eggnog Spice, but would have preferred a stronger eggnog flavour in the icing.

Cupcakes from Flirt

• We also ran a few errands in the west end, including a trip to the Doggie-Style Deli to pick up some dog treats for a few furry friends. It was our first visit, and more than anything, I’d compare it to an indoor play area for dogs. Apparently they are a popular location for dog parties, and while we were there, a pug group had gathered for their weekly play date. They had an extensive freezer of food as well as dry biscuits. We bagged a half dozen, and the owner was nice enough to waive the charge, saying we should simply come back if the dogs liked the treats. It was a very nice gesture!

 

Doggie-Style Deli

• St. City Roasters has been on our coffee rotation for the last number of weeks. Although we just picked up our third variety (their festively-packaged Holiday Blend), my favourite so far has been Tica Toucan. I really had no idea they had such a variety until we were looking through the shelves at Sobeys Urban Fresh.

St. City Roasters’ coffee tree at Sobeys Urban Fresh

Stay warm everyone!

Sigh. Winter has arrived with a vengeance. I suppose the only bright side of it all is that we will have a really white Christmas. If you’re looking for things to do this month, you may have noticed that I didn’t post my events round-up this month. I hope to do it in January, but for the time being, I encourage you to check out ShareEdmonton! Mack is continuously updating the calendar. On to this week’s food notes:

• As seen on Twitter – Vinomania (10108 101 Street) is offering free wine tastings every Saturday in December from 1-5pm. Plus, Paddy’s cheese as an accompaniment as well!
• We Eat Together, which launched at d’Lish two weeks ago, will have another launch at Audreys Books on December 10 (where the book is now available). You can also pick up the book at Carbon Environmental Boutique, Earth’s General Store, Red Ribbon, Blue Plate Diner and Paddy’s International Cheese Market.
• Nate passed along the fact that he spied an “open” sign in the window of The Bothy, the wine & whisky bar on Calgary Trail. I called today to confirm, and yes, they are open! Tuesdays they open at 5pm, while every other day they will be open for lunch and dinner from 11:30am onward. Their house made pies look delicious, and yay, they have charcuterie!
• Here’s a thread on the Connect 2 Edmonton forum about the new L2 Grill at the Fantasyland Hotel. The poster says that the lounge will be renovated as a high end wine/scotch bar.
• Mack said that Credo Coffee is now equipped with reloadable cards. Such a convenience, and would make a great gift!
• Isabelle posted about a lovely meal she had at Refresh Organic Bistro. Looks delicious!
• Sweet Lollapalooza, the new chocolate shop located in Commerce Place (I visited it myself last week), was featured in a lovely spread in the Journal over the weekend.
• Vue Weekly published an interview with Dee Bateman and Greta Sieben, the owners of the always-bustling Wild Earth Bakery last week.
• Marginally related to food (but something I would post anyway because it’s about my favourite festival) – the Edmonton Fringe released the name of next year’s festival. I would never have guessed: It’s All Gravy. At least the Die-Nasty folks will have some good material to go on…
• Speaking of names, City Palate publisher Mary Bailey has chosen to rebrand the magazine as “The Tomato”.
• Jennifer Cockrall-King will be cooking up a storm in the month of December. She will be pitting recipes from Canadian books up against those from celebrity chefs. So far? Gordon Ramsay lost out to local cookbook author Debra Anzinger.
• I just saw a commercial on Global for Gordon Ramsay’s Cookalong Live, a television special where viewers at home can reproduce the same 3-course meal alongside Ramsay. The timing seems late (though I understand the news hour takes precedent), but it’s a little gimmicky regardless. Anyone going to watch it?

I can’t believe it’s December 1 tomorrow – I’m sure we say this every year, but where did 2009 go? Still, as it’s my favourite time of year (only 25 days until Christmas), I’m going to enjoy every moment of it. On to this week’s food notes:

• Up-and-coming chef Daniel Costa is hosting a special tasting at Red Star (10534 Jasper Avenue) on December 3 in honour of Parlous Magazine’s launch party. Tickets are $25; contact Daniel at 780-937-2276 for tickets. You can also read an interview with Daniel in the current issue of Parlour on pages 36-37.
• Sutton Place Hotel’s annual Taste of Christmas lunch buffet kicks off on December 8. At $30 a person, it’s a bit pricey, but I’ve been before, and the selection and quality generally speak for themselves.
• If Sutton’s price isn’t right, a new hotel restaurant on the block – Creations in the Sawridge Inn – is offering their own “12 days of Christmas lunch buffet” from December 7-23, at just $14.95 per person. The Journal happened to review their dinner service this weekend.
• Sweet Lollapalooza, a new chocolatier in Commerce Place, opened today. Foodie Suz was one of the first to sample their treats.
• Foodie Suz also posted about Cafe Haven out in Sherwood Park, which I would venture out to try just because of their Twitter presence. Looks like a neat place.
• Chris over at Eating at the Hard Part wrote about his visit to Greenhouse, a “gourmet” salad eatery that shares a space with Good Earth on the U of A campus. Could this be the start of the salad bar trend in Edmonton?
• Kiwi Kiss was in the Journal last week – turns out the man who started Booster Juice is behind this new frozen yogurt shop.
• Liane wrote today that chef Nathin Bye of Lazia failed to place in the national Gold Medal Plates competition this weekend in Vancouver. It’s still a fantastic achievement to get that far, especially as the youngest one there!
• Mary Bailey is Delux Burger’s celebrity chef for the month of December! Mary’s locally-sourced creation sounds delicious, featuring beet relish and Sylvan Star smoked gouda.
• Valerie (aka A Canadian Foodie) was featured alongside her catering club at Kate Chegwin where she teaches. It’s awesome that she is passing down an appreciation for good, clean food (as well as teaching cooking skills) to a new generation.
• I wrote about the Meet the Locals Festival for last week’s issue of Vue Weekly (providing a bit more information that my blog post about the event).
• This is kind of cool – the NYT broke down Thanksgiving-related recipe searches on Allrecipes.com by geographic location. Wonder how a similar analysis of a Canadian Thanksgiving would turn out?
• Last week, I linked to a fast food flow chart that I found absolutely hilarious – just as funny is their method of answering the question, “What kind of cereal should I eat?”
• The restaurant trend articles have started to roll in: Nation’s Restaurant News says simple and restaurant-grown will be in, and Restaurants and Institutions call more specialty menu items (gluten-free, vegetarian), more deals, and asks, “Are eggs the new bacon?”
• I was excited to see that the Chinatown outpost of Hoang Long finally reopened about a month ago, after being closed for months. When I met Cristy there for lunch last week, I somehow thought the interior would have changed more. What mattered more than the decor, however, was the food – still the same good soup. And though the service could have been better (I wasn’t offered even a glass of water until Cristy arrived), I’m glad to have another pho option in the area.

 

Beef Noodle Soup with All Types of Beef ($8.95)

 

Wor Wonton Soup ($7.95), absolutely loaded with veggies

• Mack and I stopped at Bulk Barn on Saturday while at South Edmonton Common (next to Payless). I was looking forward of checking out their “over 4000” items, and while I wouldn’t be able to do as thorough of a job chronicling the store’s contents as Chris already has, I have to say I love the nutritional information next to each of the bin labels, and their selection of baking ingredients. I was also expecting more “unique” bulk items though – what exactly, I’m not sure, though our relatively fast walk through yielded a few semi-interesting items.

 

Surrounded by bulk bins!

 

I heart fortune cookies

 

Chocolate toonies (not as common as their $1 counterparts)