Category: notes

Food Notes

  • Bob Mac on Chowhound was right about the rumor that the Century Hospitality Group would be renovating the space formerly occupied by Terry Vaughn’s Sports Bar, then First City Sports Lounge (10136 100 St) – the signs are up in the window advertising “One Hundred Bar & Kitchen” to be open Fall 2008.
  • Original Fare is offering their annual version of “Dine Out Week” on July 13 – 17 and July 20 – 24 called ForkFest. Check out their website in a few weeks for details on the pre-fixe $20 and $35 menus.
  • Congrats to Canadian Trish Magwood for her James Beard Award win last week. She received recognition for her book Party Dish in the “Entertaining” category.
  • Bettina and I went to the renovated McDonald’s near Heritage Mall (11007 23 Avenue). With its earth toned walls, flat screen television, fireplace, and leather lounge chairs, I had to wonder – does an upscale McDonald’s make the food taste better?

 

It certainly doesn’t look like your average McDonald’s

 

Cinnamon Melt – good anywhere

Food Notes

  • The St. Albert Farmer’s Market kicks off this Saturday, June 14! With 200 vendors, it’s double the size of the City Centre Market. I hope to head out there myself soon.
  • Liane Faulder contributed her first article about the City Centre Market last week, focused on a couple who run a Mexican food stand. I quite like it.
  • I love the idea of a Lunch Club, as featured in the Journal’s LifeStyle section on Saturday – a group of people bring an item to share at lunch every day. Terribly difficult to be consistent about it, but I guess if people are counting on you, it’s hard to cop out.
  • Gail Hall of Seasoned Solutions has started to teach her wonderful Market Fresh Cooking Classes, which I had the privilege of participating in last year. It’s a great opportunity to learn how to shop and incorporate produce and other goods picked up from the City Centre Market.
  • Urban Safari Tours bills itself as “Calgary’s Premier Restaurant Tour Guide Service”, offering a multitude of restaurant tours for those that need direction. I wonder if such a service will ever find a place in Edmonton?
  • Chow has a list of 10 must-read food blogs. One of my fellow FoodTV contributors, Definitely Not Martha, made the list!
  • Via Andree Lau’s blog, a link to the new CBC FoodBytes blog (which she also writes for).
  • Here’s an interesting idea (sent to me by Mack) – a jar meant for sticky substances like peanut butter with lids on both the top and bottom of the vessel.
  • After watching Sex and the City last week, the girls and I had a bite to eat on the patio out at Joey’s Mediterranean Grill (9911 19 Avenue). There are probably worse locations for a patio (e.g. next to the exhaust parade that is Whyte Avenue), and with the water fixtures, cool breeze, and open area, I found it quite nice. The wait for the food, on the other hand, was not. The restaurant didn’t seem very busy, but for whatever reason, our dessert courses still took half an hour to deliver. My Hi-Rise Burger ($11.99) was nothing special, but the so-called “skinny fries” were surprisingly addictive.

 

Hi-Rise Burger and Skinny Fries

Food Notes

  • Vintage (10124 124 Street), the new lounge that replaced Mangiamos, is now open. I peered in the windows on Sunday, (very Eater of me, I know), and it looks very much like Suede Lounge – movable ottomans and low tables – but about half the size. Pick up the NextFest program in this week’s See Magazine for a coupon that entitles you to a free tapa at Vintage.
  • I love this concept of  deVine’s “Taste the Season: A Traveling Tasting” event. Partnering with local eateries, guests will sample plates from Ric’s Grill, Characters, and TZiN, all paired with exquisite wine selections. $90 seems a bit pricey to me, but it’s a great way to walk your way through one of Edmonton’s great food districts.
  • Kerstin’s Chocolates recently started their own blog! The Cocoa Room will be offering a special $5 tasting plate on Saturday, June 7, with a sample of very special chocolate made from a rare variety of cacao, and as well as a new Chocophilia variety. They will also be offering free hot chocolate all day. Head to their shop at 10139 112 Street to check it out.
  • See Magazine released their annual “Best of” survey results this week. It’s a mixed bag of results to me (glad to see that Route 99 was recognized for the 2nd Best Poutine, and the Italian Centre for Best Deli, but the fact that Taco del Mar placed at all for Best Mexican, and  the Wok Box earned number one as the Best Take-out makes it hard to take too seriously). I did like Scott Lingley’s personal list, however, and many of the restaurants he included are on my hit list to try (Tau Bay, Handy Bakery, Viphalay).
  • Judy Schultz contributed to the Bistro section again this past week with a story on asparagus producers Edgar Farms. I’m not sure whose decision it was to have Liane Faulder start in the summer and not the fall, but it really does take away from her new take on things with Judy’s columns appearing on almost a weekly basis.
  • Mack sent this to me (who else would?) about a “BarCamp” style cupcake tasting called CupcakeCamp. Too cool.
  • Alex Witchel wrote a great nostalgic piece on those iced cakes of our childhood – reading it made me want to go to a bakery straightaway to relive the delicious magic.
  • Speaking of cake, has anyone tried the Tuxedo Truffle Mousse cake from Save-On Foods? I bought a small one for a dinner I attended recently, and though I find that cake and icing alone are enough to satisfy me, I loved the variety in this case.
  • I purchased a Fruit Flan from Sobeys Urban Fresh, hoping that it would be as good, if not better, than one I had from Sunterra. Unfortunately, it looked better than it tasted, though it may have been my fault for leaving it too long in the trunk of a car.

 

Fruit Flan from Sobeys Urban Fresh

Random Notes

  • Liane Faulder (Judy Schultz’s replacement for the weekly Journal Bistro column) published her first few articles this week. She chose the theme of senses, focusing on a select few restaurants that tempt the palette with visual glory, sensual aromas, and textural pleasures, as well as an additional piece on a restaurant in France that serves food in the dark. It’ll take a while to really understand her style, so I’ll hold out judgment for a while.
  • Both Giada and Ina will have new shows on the American Food Network. I hope it isn’t too long before it will air on the Canadian side of FN!
  • This is probably old news by now, but Gordon Ramsay might be the next superstar chef to break ground in Vancouver. Urban Diner cites numerous sources that Ramsay is in talks with Holt Renfrew to open a restaurant in their store.
  • Via Chow, a very cool collapsible coffee cup made with the commuter in mind.
  • Though I missed the television airing of House‘s fourth season finale, I managed to watch it on Thursday. Oh, Wilson.
  • I’ve watched a few movies over the last month or so, some worth remembering, and some not at all. Iron Man was surprisingly good (Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect choice for the titular character), and P.S. I Love You was a disappointment (I couldn’t wait for it to end). And of course, the countdown to Sex and the City begins!
  • At the drugstore, I came across bags of Skittles I’d never seen before – Skittles Chocolate. Each package comes with five flavours: S’mores, Chocolate Pudding, Chocolate Caramel, Vanilla and Brownie Batter. Why mess with the rainbow?
  • I tried an Iced Brewed Coffee ($2.15 for a tall) at Starbucks on Friday. It’s apparently just double-strength coffee, iced, with a few pumps of syrup, but for some reason, it’s a lot better than most of the iced coffees I’ve tried – slightly sweet, but still a strong enough coffee taste that wasn’t diluted too much even with the melting ice cubes.

Enjoying an Iced Brewed Coffee

Food Notes

  • Vue Weekly released the results for their annual Golden Forks awards last week. I agree with some of the choices (Italian Centre as the best deli, Wildflower Grill as the best new restaurant, Hardware Grill as provider of the ultimate dining experience), but some of the choices, that seem to remain the same year after year, still puzzle me (Creperie as the best for lovers, Barb and Ernie’s for breakfast). I wish the paper did some more analysis, however, and compared this year’s winners with those chosen last year (Calgary’s Fast Forward does a cheeky job of that).
  • See Magazine reviewed a new Indian restaurant on the city’s southeast side, called Rasoi on 50th (4341 50 Street).
  • The Globe & Mail had a great piece about BC residents going the distance to affirm their 100-mile diet commitment by finding farmers to grow grain when they couldn’t source it otherwise.
  • The New York Times has a good primer of an article about the ways in which cities are trying to reduce the amount of food that goes to waste.
  • Andrew had a “going-away” dinner at Kyoto (10128 109 Street) last week before his three week trek across Europe. I’ve only had positive experiences at the restaurant – until that day. Our server was either new, or didn’t care very much, and the bento boxes that Megan and I ordered arrived a clear twenty minutes after the other half of the table received their platters of sushi. Unacceptable. Here are some pictures:

The Boys

Andrew & Amber

Kristen & Joe

Bento Box with all things cooked

Food Notes

  • Mucho Burrito, a fast-food outlet which bills itself as a “fresh Mexican grill” just opened its first Edmonton franchise recently (10124 109 Avenue). A second is already in the works for North Town Mall.
  • The City Centre Market opens on Saturday! The updated vendor list isn’t up yet, but I look forward to joining many other “scuppies” (socially conscious upwardly-mobile person)in our weekend best on Jasper and 104th (is it just me or are markets the new Sunday Promenade for those 20-35?).
  • Speaking of Farmers’ Markets, Lex Culinaria linked to a listing of all of the approved markets in Alberta, complete with hours of operation and links to their websites.
  • Taken by their flashy silver packaging, I bought a bag of President’s Choice brand (get ready for it) General Tao Chicken Chips. I wasn’t expecting much with that name, so who knew I’d actually enjoy them? They taste like a spicier, more flavourful version of BBQ chips. Worth the $1.49 I paid.
  • Also on the cheap end of things, Mack and I tried the new $1.39 Iced Coffee from McDonald’s over the weekend. Three flavour options were available to us: regular, vanilla and hazelnut. Between the regular and vanilla, the former was surprisingly better. Mack commented that while the coffee taste was more genuine than a Tim Hortons’ Iced Cappuccino, he wasn’t sold on the low price alone, and would still opt for a Starbucks Frappuccino. I, however, wouldn’t mind another regular now and again.

Iced Coffee from McDonald’s

Food Notes

  • It looks like they are just putting the finishing touches on the Sobeys Urban Fresh (10404 Jasper Avenue), which opens this Thursday. I am excited to hear about the local products they will be offering (Greens, Eggs and Ham, among them), and the partnership they have with the City Centre Market.
  • A new Wok Box is under construction in the old bakery space on Jasper Avenue next to Who Cares?
  • Judy Schultz mentioned a new deli in Edmonton in her Bistro column last week – Careit Urban Deli (5236 199 Street) apparently specializing in healthy takeout meals.
  • Check out 630 CHED’s website for gift certificates priced at half their value every Wednesday at 10am. This week, they were offering $100 vouchers at Von’s Steakhouse for $50.
  • Kerstin’s Chocolates will be offering their first ever chocolate making course next week.
  • Mack sent me a link about a new service where dialing “#PIZZA” on your cell phone will not only connect you with viable delivery options, but also recommend new places to try, based on customer ratings and research and the cheapest eats.
  • The Olympus Stylus 1010 camera has a “cuisine” function! Too cool.
  • The FN Dish, a web show on the Food Network, focused on food blogging last week. Ed Levine, one of my favorite NY-based bloggers, is featured in the interview.
  • The New York Times sent nine writers to review chains in the suburbs, and the consensus was one of pleasant surprise. A few write-ups in particular are deliciously condescending, including one on The Cheesecake Factory: “On a recent Saturday night, there were at least 150 people in their best jeans and T-shirts, beepers in hand, happily waiting 30 or 40 minutes for tables.” Worth a read.

Random Notes

Weekends really are for blogging!

  • A new tea shop is now open in Edmonton: Felicitea Tea Lounge (15047 Stony Plain Road) serves all kinds of tea, both hot and cold, including bubble tea.
  • The Globe thinks that Vancouver has replaced Toronto as the new culinary capital of Canada.
  • Teatro La Quindicina will be back on May 1st with their first show of the season, a double billing of What Gives? and the brand new Revenge of the South Sea Bubble.
  • Broadway Across Canada released their 2008-2009 season recently, which includes Spamalot, Hairspray, and Annie. After the sound debacle at The Producers last year, I am hesitant to risk being disappointed again.
  • House is finally back tomorrow in its new time slot!
  • World Malaria Day was on Friday, April 25. Take a look at a striking photo slide show on the Globe & Mail website of images captured by children and youth in Liberia and Rwanda. Image #13 is incredibly haunting.
  • After three days of blizzard-like conditions this week, I am happy that the weather is finally cooperating. Because of the snow, I was particularly amused by this sign:

Springtime in Edmonton

Food Notes

Prosciutto Pizza

Food Notes

  • Heads up: Original India on Whyte Ave and 105 Street (opened by the owners of Little India’s Maurya Palace) is coming soon (though a little later than the Edmonton Journal had reported).
  • A new Ric’s Grill will be opening in the summer on the city’s west end (17520 100 Avenue).
  • Edmonton’s “newest cocktail venue” (as they are billing themselves), Stir, is now open downtown (10304 111 Street).
  • Vue Weekly has released their ballot for their annual Golden Fork Awards. Answer at least 10 questions to be entered into their draw for $700 worth of restaurant gift certificates!
  • I love the idea of so-called “one trick pony” restaurants. While perhaps better for curious food tourists than locals, it’s a neat idea that I hope spreads north soon.
  • A good answer to the question: should one always dress up when going to a semi-formal restaurant?
  • Need a time-killer? A vocabulary game called FreeRice donates 20 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program for each word the player selects correctly.
  • One of my favorite food bloggers, based out of New York, flipped a complete 180 last week and is going back to blogging basics, and is uncertain as to whether or not she will be able to honestly review again, as she’s not only become friends with some of the people in the food world, but also because she’s “ultimately someone who wants to make other people happy.” Having some kind of cover of obscurity is essential, as she notes, and I know that’s one of the reasons why I cling to this more anonymous medium of publishing.