Shermie’s annual birthday dinner has become so much of a tradition that I end up looking forward to it as if it were my own party. A few years ago, before my own foodie inclinations revealed themselves (because I believe everyone has an inner foodie), she started introducing me to Edmonton’s fine dining purveyors, including the Harvest Room at Hotel MacDonald, Madison’s Grill at the Union Bank Inn, Hardware Grill, and Ruth’s Chris last year.

This year, she chose Culina (9914-89 Avenue), Brad Lazarenko’s brainchild, renowned in Edmonton for its original approach to ethnic comfort food. I had been there for brunch a year ago and was less than blown away. For a restaurant whose reputation precedes it, I can understand how difficult it must be to live up to such high expectations, but then again, what other outlook should be held?

For those wondering where the name of the restaurant comes from, an explanation from Lazarenko himself (taken from a recent interview with Original Fare):

“Culina is Latin for culinary, the art of cooking or the oven to cook in. My father also comes from Kalyna Country which is a region northeast of Edmonton. Kalyna means cranberry in Ukranian. I thought it was fitting.”

Walking in to the polished, dark dining area, I do think the space functions better as an evening venue. Seated at a corner table lined with wooden benches on two sides, a combination of the decor and dim lighting allowed for an intimate experience despite the cramped quarters.

A change in the Culina website from one presenting detailed menu information to a frontpage that hasn’t been updated since last June and the fact that I didn’t “take notes” at last night’s sitting means my description of the dishes will be unfortunately spotty. Shermie, May, Gord and myself all ordered arguably the most unique entree – Spring Creek Ranch steak topped with chocolate and blue cheese sauces served with dirty mashed potatoes ($26).

Dark, rich and sweet, the chocolate sauce didn’t quite tasted right with the steak – it teased the back of my throat for sure, but didn’t compliment the tender strips of meat (pre-sliced into manageable pieces; I wonder why?). An interesting idea, it strikes me as a “trademark” Culina dish that people hear about, come to try, and either return to experiment with the rest of the menu, or not at all. Mack enjoyed his chicken, but in the end, said that there wasn’t anything particularly special about it.

Dessert was another thing – the flourless chocolate torte topped with a dollop of dulce de leche was delicious (and for the birthday girl, came with a candle!). Definitely a cake to indulge in, if the note in the menu was true (about the Queen of Tarts being Culina’s dessert supplier), I will be sure to look for her booth when the City Centre Market resumes operation in mid-May (or for those more eager, she has a table at the Salisbury Greenhouse Market on Thursdays until May 8).

Still, the wow factor that I hoped for – that intangible moment when you feel that the restaurant really *gets* it – was lacking. But between the ambiance, attentive service, and reasonable, reliable entrees priced in the mid $20-range, I can see why Lazarenko continues his brusque business. Good for groups, casual get togethers, and comfortable catch-ups with friends, I would return to Culina in the future.

On a blustery Sunday, Mack and I foolishly ventured out for brunch. I had been itching to try the New York Bagel Cafe (8430 Gateway Boulevard NW) for some time, and as we had to be in the Old Strathcona/Glenora area later that afternoon anyway, it seemed like a good idea.

We parked on the corner of Whyte Avenue and Gateway Boulevard, meaning we had to trek through at least one block of fresh snow drifts to reach our destination. I had to laugh at the conditions outside, as I was reminded of my only other brush with the Bagel Cafe – several years ago at the coldest and wettest Fringe I had attended to date, I ended up there to use the facilities and buy a few hot drinks to take back to the stage at King Edward Academy. Perhaps the Bagel Cafe is my personal equivalent to a “bad weather” friend.

When we entered the charming restaurant, we found ourselves third in line to wait for one of the twelve or thirteen tables on hand. Thankfully, the wait was just half an hour, albeit not the most comfortable in the cramped quarters of a very small entryway.

The dining area itself was quite cozy, the white, snow-reflecting sunlight streaming in to light up tables and floors made of aged wood, a brick hearth, and brightly painted walls. The centre bar was rather imposing, and though it carved up the dining area to allow for a private corner of tables, it made the space seem less friendly somehow.

For such a small place, the menu was quite extensive – four pages in total. Bagel platters, breakfast plates and their famous eggs benedicts, even picky eaters would be satisfied. Mack decided to give their omelet ($14), customized with mushrooms and smoked meat, while I opted for their Classic Breakfast ($11), which included jumbo eggs, bacon, home fried potatoes, and a toasted buttered bagel.

While we waited for our food, we were a bit worried after seeing a sign tacked up on the wall. It read: “Please understand that good food takes time to prepare…enjoy a drink and the ambiance while you wait.” This sentiment was reinforced on the menu: “Please note that modifications to menu items may not be made as it will slow the kitchen down, please respect the menu the way it is.” Though the warning did make the lag time expected, neither of us thought our food would take nearly an hour. Moreover, the Cafe doesn’t serve drip coffee (cash grab or simply removing the burden of refills from already over-taxed waitresses?) – so coffee drinkers be aware – unless you’re prepared to slap down another $4 for a second cup, enjoy your mocha/latte/espresso slowly.

When our plates did arrive (steaming hot, thank goodness), it was evident that presentation was a New York Bagel trademark. The layers of fruit were artfully arranged, the eggs had been garnished with care, and the bagel itself was carefully stacked at an angle. My scrambled eggs were wonderfully creamy, and the smoked meat in Mack’s omelet was delicious. The home fries on the other hand, pan fried with what looked like sea salt, was much too salty for both our tastes. And the bagels? Mack’s cheese variety was much better than my sesame, but for its namesake food item, they could have been mistaken for those taken from a local grocer.

Between the weather, the wait and the expense, I’m not sure I will be back at NYBC soon. But perhaps on another chilly day in the future, I will find myself at the Cafe door just looking for a warm place to hide out.

I had read numerous reviews – all positive – about Sweet Mango (9120 82 Avenue), a new-ish Vietnamese and Thai restaurant located in a south side strip mall. As such, it has been on my list of places to try for some time, and I finally had the opportunity to do so on Saturday.

Driving up to the restaurant, Mack and I were greeted by Sweet Mango’s signage summing up its food philosophy: “A modern Vietnamese fusion dining experience”. As with other local fusion experiments, I was curious to see what their interpretation would be, and as it turned out, it was comparable to Matahari – they offer dishes more accurately described as “Westernized Asian” than “fusion”.

At any rate, my first impressions of the eatery were encouraging. Their equivalent of “Please wait to be seated” was a cute “Please be a patient mango”, complete with an image of the fruit. As well, the interior could have easily been a page out of an IKEA catalogue, with moulded white plastic new-age chairs, a clean modern paint scheme, and stalks of decorative bamboo in vases leaning against the back wall. The large tables (uncommonly sized in a food bracket which typically strives for space conservation over comfort) are perfect for those looking for a place to spread out and study, an observation potentially sanctioned by an advertised 10% discount on food for students with a valid ID – not a bad deal from an off-campus, non-pub establishment.

We were promptly seated, and each provided with a leather-bound book encasing beautifully put-together menu pages, complete with full-color pictures and detailed descriptions of dish options. I was impressed with the variety available, which spanned the usual grilled meat/vegetable rice plates, vermicelli bowls and pho, to more interesting choices like crispy tofu fries, Thai salads, and mango prawns. Though we had resolved to “eat healthier” just a day earlier, that ideal went out the window when we decided to order our respective benchmark dishes for Asian eateries – his being Spring Rolls ($3.75/3) and Ginger Beef ($11.95), mine being Pad Thai ($13.95).

We were hoping the wait for our food wouldn’t be too lengthy, as we had a show to attend immediately following dinner, and though there were only two waitresses covering the entire dining room, we didn’t stay idle for too long. Our appetizer arrived promptly, with a dessert-sized plate for each of us. While perfect for our spring rolls, the plate was much too small to comfortably eat our entrees from. But that was a minor complaint – the spring rolls were good – crisp from being freshly fried, and our two main courses were everything we expected them to be – inoffensive, predictable versions of our favorites. The pad thai was indeed spicy (as we had been warned on the menu), so it was fortuitous that we had the sweet morsels of fried beef and stir-fried vegetables as a tapering heat escape.

Though the dishes they offer, in my opinion, is not rightly described as “fusion”, for the quality and the dining room surroundings, Sweet Mango is a welcome addition to the Asian restaurant scene in Edmonton.

Annie and I had tried OPM (1820 99 Street) in South Edmonton Common a few weeks after they opened, and like most restaurants that attempted to ride the fusion wave (L’Azia comes to mind as well), we thought it failed miserably.

OPM was the location of Megan’s birthday dinner on Saturday, and a gathering of friends wasn’t a bad reason to give the restaurant another go. By the time Mack and I arrived, quite a sizable group were already seated at one of the long, high tables in the lounge.

Mack and I decided to split two dishes. OPM’s citrus spin on his perennial favorite, the Orange Ginger Beef ($13.49), was a no-brainer, while our second selection was geared toward my personal craving for a noodle of some sort – the ‘Old World’ Chow Mein ($12.49), egg noodles tossed with chicken, bbq pork, black beans and vegetables.

For a busy Saturday night (no reservations, of course), and such a large party, I was pleasantly surprised that our food seemed to take no time at all. Though the plates themselves appeared to be small, the servings turned out to be quite filling. I actually ended up enjoying the ginger beef more, complete with a guilty side of those crunchy fried noodles often found atop “Asian”-style salads. In my opinion, the chow mein was too bland, though Mack enjoyed it well enough.

All in all, I thought their tapas menu functioned quite well to encourage sharing among friends, and as long as you aren’t expecting “authentic” Asian cuisine, the service and decent food doesn’t make for a bad night out.

The rest of the pictures are here.

It must have been my Mum’s enthusiastic reception of NAIT’s Student Showcase Buffet at it’s School of Hospitality on a segment of “What’s Eating Theo” on CityTV that drove me to make a reservation for us last year. When I called in October to inquire about the next available date, I was told that a table on April 11, a wait of a good six months, was the best we could do. Despite the fact that the buffet is only a once-a-week occurrence during the September-to-April school year, I thought such a lengthy wait list was telling of the quality of the food served. As well, the dishes shown in the CityTV segment included kangaroo chops, something rarely seen in the Edmonton market, leading me to believe that the menu was skewered towards the difficult-to-prepare and the exotic. Turns out I was wrong on both counts.

Mack picked me up from work, but we left a little bit later than we should have. By the time we reached the vicinity of NAIT, it was already past our scheduled 11:15am sitting time. We circled around the various lots and parkades for a good fifteen minutes, and finally found some empty spaces near the HP Centre. Note to anyone heading to the buffet, especially those with later seating times – plan to arrive at least 20 minutes before, as available spaces are incredibly hard to come by.

We entered Ernest’s, the School of Hospitality’s restaurant, at nearly 20 to noon. We were told that we had to vacate our table promptly at 12:15, which left us with about half an hour to make the most of the buffet, something we weren’t told when I initially made the reservation. Thankfully, they had seated my parents already, and both my Mum and Dad had filled up one plate each by that point.

We were offered coffee or tea immediately, though later we saw that other patrons were given an additional option of Coke in glass bottles. Sparing no time, Mack and I picked up plates and headed to the salad bar to start our rounds.

We worked out way through platters of cheese, canapes, grilled vegetables, and even a student carving prosciutto from a slab. Most of the meat, seafood and pasta stations were concentrated in the centre, though two were lone tables on the periphery.

Had I been smarter, I would have picked up more to try on the first go-around, but from what I did get to sample, I liked the Moroccan chicken the best. My Mum and Mack preferred the lamb kabobs, while my Dad enjoyed the prime rib roast. I was disappointed that there was nothing “exotic” or even remotely unique on the menu.

In my opinion, the dessert spread was better than the appetizers and mains. An assortment of chocolates, cakes, and tarts greeted us. The warmed cinnamon buns were my favorite, while Mack quite enjoyed his New York-style cheesecake.

I want to place a caveat on this review, as to be fair, a combination of our late-start, parking challenge, time pressure, and the overwhelming expectations created after a six month wait negatively colored our experience of the buffet overall. For those who arrive early and have the opportunity of a more leisurely meal and are well aware of the hour-long time limit, I’m sure a good time can be had. But because of all of the factors above, I can’t honestly say I enjoyed myself that day.

The full set of photos are on Mack’s Flickr site.

I used to lament often about all of the “lost” restaurant opportunities in high school, having dined more times than I could count at Boston Pizza. Mack would always rebuff my complaints, since a) nothing can be done to change the past, and b) he always believed it was the company held, and not the food, that was paramount. Though I loathe to cede to his wisdom, I must say that he might be right.

I’ve written only in passing about Zuppa (9843 110 Street), the default take-out midday purveyor of choice in the Grandin area. Besides one blissful eat-in lunch of their home-made soup and side of baked pita chips, my other experiences have been less than noteworthy over the years, complete with greasy omelets, weak coffee, and a demonstrated philosophy of quantity over quality with their bland wraps and pastas.

Likely not helped by the lack of choice in our immediate neighbourhood, Echo and I ended up there for lunch on Thursday. We joined a very long line at 11:45, as the three staff members shuffled through the typical business lunch crowd. A quick once-over of their specials and their regular menu convinced us to split an Italian Grill on Focaccia ($6.50) and their famous Warm Cheddar Chicken Caesar Wrap ($8.50).

While Echo paid for our order (thanks again for lunch!), I snagged one of the tables by the window. It seemed that just after she sat down to join me, our food was ready, and was brought to us by the cheerful busperson.

Only included with dine-in orders, a side pasta salad was present on both our plates. As expected, the servings were huge, so much so that I only managed to finish the salad and my half of the panini. Between bites of the crunchy Italian Grill (slightly spicy from the cuts of meat, and held together nicely by gooey, melted cheese), catching up with a friend made me realize that food should fade into the background, and in good company, even lacklustre entrees are somewhat elevated.

I suppose this review reads like a backhanded compliment to Zuppa, and though I don’t mean it in that way exactly, lunch there brought me to the belated epiphany that with all of my focus on food lately, I have tended to forget that who I dine with is just as important as what I am eating.

Partly because I wanted to check out Zocalo’s flower selection, and partly because I had a Sorrentino’s gift card to use, Mack and I ended up at the Little Italy location of Sorrentino’s (10844 95 Street) on Friday night.

This was my third trip to a Sorrentino’s in the past six months or so (reviews of my other visits are here), and I still can’t figure out how they have managed to develop the reputation they have. While their food is never outright disappointing, I have never been blown away by their service, meals, or ambiance.

The location in Little Italy is the most casual and informal one that I have been to, but was actually a lot smaller than I anticipated. A hearth on one side, a bar tucked in the back corner, aged wood, and checkered red and white table cloths did their job of conveying a homey feel. For a Friday evening however, the restaurant was surprisingly empty. Throughout our meal, just two parties rotated through – I had to wonder if it was even worth it for the Sorrentino’s Group to keep this location open.

At any rate, the current Garlic Festival meant we had additional menu choices (I loved the advertising slogan – “All you need is clove”). Mack ended up ordering the Ravioli Pollo ($17), sliced chicken and ravioli tossed in a lemon pepper garlic cream sauce, while I chose the Mamma’s Lasagna ($14.25) off of the regular menu, hoping it would be just as cheesy as the time I had it at the southside location.

Our plates arrived in no time. Mack enjoyed his pasta, and the definite garlic flavour that came with it. My lasagna, however, wasn’t completely warmed through, and being the cheese monger that I am, I was looking for more than just a token sprinkling of parmesan.

If someone knows what I’m missing about Sorrentino’s, I’m willing to be englightened. But as it stands, I still can’t see the appeal of what has turned out to be just a locally-owned chain of forgettable restaurants.

Echo and I stopped for lunch at 4th & Vine Wine Bar & Bistro (11358 104 Avenue) in Oliver Square on Friday, hoping for a quiet place to catch up.

I’d been to 4th & Vine a while back for their Sunday evening “dinner and a movie” event, and found it nice enough, but had always meant to go back. The narrow dining area, with its bank of high windows opposite the bar, was even more gorgeous with the sunlight streaming in on a warm, spring-like day. The restaurant was empty, save one table, so we chose to sit at one of the booths near the door – a table that I thought was perfect for a business meeting if one needed to spread out a bit.

The menu that we received looked slightly different than what appears on the website (I was disappointed with the lack of a gnocci entree), but both Echo and I were intrigued by the Roasted Turkey Breast Sandwich (poached pears, turkey breast and emmenthal on multigrain bread with cranberry dijon), served with either a soup or salad for just $10.

Our food took a little longer than I anticipated (especially given the nearly-empty restaurant), but our cheerful waitress and the venue tempered our wait somewhat. When our sandwich and soup combos arrived, I was surprised to see actual slices of turkey encased within; I had expected sliced deli-meats, so this hearty filling was a nice surprise. The meat was fairly moist, and the sweetness of the cranberry made our sandwich seem like a post-Thanksgiving treat. The pears were perfectly poached, but between the bread and the turkey, the subtle flavour of the fruit was lost. The cream of tomato soup rounded out the meal nicely, though the slightly sour aftertaste was something I couldn’t get used to.

4th & Vine might be too far for those working in the downtown core, but is worth venturing out to if you’re looking for a quietly elegant place to eat.