A White Christmas in Yellowknife

Mack and I spent a week in Yellowknife in December, ensuring we did, in fact, get a white Christmas. It was a low-key holiday, however, which is exactly what we both needed.

With Mack’s brother Thom

Two years ago (my first time up north), we checked off many of the “touristy” items off our list, so this time around, we spent most of the time with Mack’s family indoors.

The family includes a multitude of pets (miss you, Kotah and Traz!)

Noteworthy was the hospitality provided to us on the flights. In spite of the journey only taking an hour and forty-five minutes, we were provided with full meals both ways! On the return leg, this meant a full turkey or roast beef dinner. Mack wants me to mention that it was typical airplane food, but I was so floored that we were served anything above pretzels that I didn’t mind.

Thanks, First Air

We did do some wandering, on one of the warmer days while we were there (-16 or so). We took a walk around downtown, exploring some of the paths around City Hall.

It’s snowing!

Serving up Yellowknife’s hollow, artificial Christmas tree

I couldn’t help but stop in Le Stock Pot a few times over that week, the most adorable bakery/deli I’ve ever seen (the owners used to have a larger kitchen supply store, then a market, but they downsized earlier this year). Their pricing might have been inconsistent (a croissant cost $2.50, a pain au chocolat $0.60), but I loved what they were able to cram into the little storefront. The bakery even supplies fresh bread to the local Shoppers Drug Mart.

Le Stock Pot

We did our best to bring back something home with us, and stumbling into Javaroma, we found a coffee shop that roasts its own beans.

We especially liked the “Made in NWT” sticker

We didn’t bring back this, erm, unique chicken in a can that we found at the grocery store, however.

A 3 pound can!

Although many restaurants were closed during the break, we found that Le Frolic, a local French bistro, was open for brunch on Christmas Eve. Mack’s Dad had good things to say about their lunch and dinner, but hadn’t yet tried their brunch – so we thought it might be a nice meal to have together.

Interior

It was empty save for two other tables, but it was festive enough, nicely decorated with garland and Christmas lights. It turned out their brunch menu consisted of six different eggs benedicts. Needless to say, we were disappointed – the eggs were inconsistently poached, leaning towards hard yolks instead of soft ones. The skillet potatoes had also been cooked with hot sauce – something that wasn’t mentioned on the menu (when we asked our server about this, even she seemed surprised).

Eggs “Benny” with back bacon ($13)

Eggs “Arctic” with smoked arctic char

Although the brunch didn’t meet our expectations, it was enjoyed in good company, which is all that really mattered.

Thanks again to Martin and Patti for their hospitality, and for making our holiday so relaxing!

Culinary Highlights: 2011 Edition

I had so much fun in 2011! Mack and I continued to experiment in the kitchen (not a chore, especially in the summer with the City Market right outside our door).

Tomato pasta, at the top of the list of our favourite home cooked meals this year

Roman egg drop soup: nothing to look at, but now a go-to comfort for me

Of course, this didn’t mean we didn’t explore restaurants. For whatever reason, we ate a lot of poutine this year. Both while dining out:

Traditional poutine from La Poutine

Breakfast poutine from Calgary’s Wake Bistro

And dining in:

Asparagus bacon breakfast poutine

Oh yes: poutine sandwiches

We were also really happy to welcome the Queen of Tarts to our street. It’s incredible to be able to buy fresh, artisan bread just down the block (in addition to all of their sweet treats!).

Queen of Tarts

The city also hosted some great food events, including the Red Shoe Crawl in Old Strathcona.

Our “completed” passport from the Crawl

I was fortunate this year to have participated as a judge in Century Hospitality Group’s inaugural Top Chef tournament, and was also asked to speak about my food blogging at a Travel Media Association of Canada retreat. It was also a great honour to have been named one of the year’s “Top 40 Foodies Under 40” in Western Living magazine.

CHG Top Chef winner Ben Weir hard at work in the kitchen

Although I didn’t travel as much this year (Toronto being my furthest 2011 destination), more important was who I was with as opposed to where I was.

Amanda enjoys a cocktail from the sky-high Canoe in Toronto

Perhaps my favourite meal of the year was had at the pop-up restaurant at The Drake Hotel in Toronto – so kitschy! (and sadly, I have yet to write about it)

Fried chicken from The Drake

Last but not least – had a blast helping to plan both Eat Alberta and What the Truck?! – our food community is small but mighty, and I really enjoyed getting to know and working with the producers, chefs and entrepreneurs that keep our city well-fed.

Love this shot of participants in Kathryn Joel’s pasta making class at Eat Alberta

Filistix served up some mighty fine biscuits and gravy at the first What the Truck?!

Mack and Sharon

Enjoying some Eva Sweet bacon waffles at What the Truck?! 2 (photo by Brittney Le Blanc)

Thanks for reading and for all of your support in 2011!

Epicurious in Edmonton: 2011 in Review

January signals a time for reflection, and for me, this includes reviewing Edmonton’s year in food (you can take a look at my 2010, 2009 and 2008 reflections as well).

A picture from What the Truck 2?! in September

The food scene in Edmonton this past year was heavily dominated by excitement around the new food trucks that hit the streets in 2011 (among them Drift, Molly’s Eats, Nomad). I’m looking forward to seeing how this momentum continues into 2012, with at least two more trucks confirmed (Big City Sandwich, Battista’s). It’s also worth noting that several vendors, including Fat Franks, Eva Sweet and Filistix moved into brick and mortar operations this year too, on campus at the University of Alberta. It will only be a matter of time until established restaurants start getting into the food truck business as well. Of course, the mobile cuisine movement was just one of the trends this year:

A coffee district is brewing: in March, Transcend’s downtown location opened on Jasper Avenue, just off 104 Street, joining downtown gem Credo. Then word came that Roast Coffeehouse, a new cafe and roaster, is moving into the Mercer Warehouse, to open its doors in 2012. Bring on the caffeine!
I’m always happy to report on local businesses flourishing, not an easy accomplishment in a city that loves its chains. Both V Sandwiches and Viphalay opened up their second outposts in 2011, Famoso was working on their sixth, and Oodle Noodle just threw the doors open to their second downtown location!
Also resilient are cupcakes – no, they are not going away! Calgary favourite Crave Cupcakes launched their first Edmonton branch in February, while Delish opened up in Little Italy, and Flirt set up a downtown shop in July.
Burgers may have “jumped the shark” in other cities (with ever-pricier versions being served up in high-end restaurants), but in Edmonton, they are as popular as ever. American chain Five Guys expanded into Sherwood Park in February, with Smashburger to follow suit in 2012. As well, the Century Hospitality Group replicated Calgary’s popular alley burger.
It’s wonderful that farmers’ markets continue to gain a foothold in our city, spawning three new markets this year: in Southwest Edmonton, Castledowns and the Meadows. Unlike Calgary, which seems to prefer the multi-day model, we have neighbourhood-based markets, which is more congruent with the “living local” framework. The City Market also transitioned into a year-round market in October, moving directly from the street into City Hall.
That hunger for knowledge about local food and how best to prepare them has also encouraged a market for learning opportunities as provided by businesses such as Taste Tripping, Get Cooking, and Brad Smoliak’s upcoming venture in the space that housed The Butler Did It.

We’ll see what 2012 has in store for Edmonton!

Food Notes for January 2, 2012

Happy New Year! I hope you’ve had a good start to 2012 so far! Mack and I had a wonderful holiday (including quite a long break from our computers) in Yellowknife, and took a few days to get settled back in Edmonton. Thanks for being patient with my absence from this blog – needless to say, I have some catching up to do now! On to this week’s food notes:

Liane posted about the newest arm of the L’Azia group of restaurants – East (16049 97 Street, 780-457-8833). It offers “Authentic Modern Chinese with a Malaysian twist.”
Twyla reviewed Cibo Bistro this week. Looks like there’s some work to be done at the upstart Italian eatery.
Valerie had an amazing series of posts capturing thoughts of local and international food writers, farmers, chefs and others involved in the industry on trends to watch for in 2012.
Liane also broke down what to expect this year, as well as a summary of what was seen in 2011, food-wise, in Edmonton.
Inspired by Oprah’s “favourite things”, Carmen put together a list of her favourite dishes sampled in 2011.
Michelle wrote a great post on dining with children in Edmonton: “…So many people find it perfectly acceptable to tsk at kids in restaurants, and on one memorable occasion, ask to change seats when they realised I was going to sit next to them with my daughter. How rude it that? In our politically correct society, we wouldn’t dare do something like this if we were sat next to say, a black person or an openly gay couple. Yet its perfectly acceptable to do this to children? How low can we sink?” Worth a read.
It looks like Viphalay’s second location downtown (10523 99 Avenue) is open – I’m excited to have a great Thai option within walking distance.

Viphalay

Mack and I will be writing more about Metropolis later, but did anyone else take a trek through the food pavilion on New Year’s Eve? It was crowded, to say the least, and definitely wasn’t built to accommodate the traffic and flow of people that evening. I hope it was just first night issues that will be rectified in later weeks.

Food pavilion

Fireworks

Birthday Surprise: Wild Tangerine

Mack, Kat and I surprised Jill with a birthday dinner at Wild Tangerine last Monday. She was kept in the dark right up until she walked into the restaurant – it was funny when she saw my name on the reservation register and thought, “What a coincidence that Sharon is here too!”

Wilson Wu, co-owner and host, was his usual gregarious self, and was more than generous on this occasion of sharing some of the treats that the kitchen had come up with for the season. First, we were invited to try their Christmas pizza with smoked turkey, cranberries and instead of a tomato sauce, a layer of pureed yams. It was definitely not the usual delivery variety – light with a seeded crust, it’d make a great starter for a party (it’s available through the Good Food Box and at the restaurant).

Holiday pizza

Wilson was also nice enough to gift us bags of their holiday tangerine-glazed popcorn, mixed with dried fruits and nuts. We gave the popcorn to Mack’s parents, and they found it quite enjoyable.

Popcorn

To start, we had to introduce Jill and Kat to Wild Tangerine’s famous shrimp lollipops. If you haven’t yet tried these perfectly fried morsels, served with wasabi yogurt, make it your mission in 2012 to do so – they’re one of Edmonton’s best appetizers.

Shrimp Lollipops

For mains, Kat and Jill decided on the night’s special, an ahi tuna with shredded Brussels sprouts and rice. The tuna was cooked well, pink and tender, enhanced with a chia seed crust.

Ahi tuna

Mack ordered another special, a sablefish served with a dried scallop consommé. The fish was flaky, while the broth had a deep umami flavour. Mack wasn’t sure what to think of the garnish, but actually quite enjoyed the skin crisps.

Sablefish

I opted to try the Siao Hseng Wine slow-cooked Ardrossan bison short bibs with sushi rice. The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender, and while sushi rice was unexpected (as opposed to the typical jasmine), the piece-y, slightly tangy grains worked well. I also liked the crispy chips, though for presentation purposes, I expected a sprinkle of something with more pop.

Bison short ribs

Jill’s dessert of a chocolate tart with coconut and watermelon arrived with the cutest duck candle. It was smooth, with a buttery crust.

Chocolate from the East

I preferred the chocolate tart to the crème caramel that Mack and I shared. It was set nicely though, a silky texture offset with cubes of watermelon and gems of pomegranate.

Crème caramel

I’ve never been disappointed with a meal at Wild Tangerine, whatever the occasion. We’ll be back soon!

Wild Tangerine
10383 112 Street
(780) 429-3131
Monday-Thursday 11:30am-10pm, Friday 11:30am-11pm, Saturday 5-11pm, closed Sundays

The Cooking Chronicles: Christmas Cookery

I actually haven’t been cooking much these past two weeks – for lunches I’ve been subsisting mostly on pots of my two favourite soups, while dinners have been had out of the house. That said, in the last week, I did have to make a dish to contribute to a potluck at work, and did some Christmas baking as well.

Asian Slaw

My team was once again responsible for treating the rest of the staff at the office to lunch to celebrate the holiday season. With turkey, bread and root vegetables taken care of by my colleagues, I knew I wanted to contribute some sort of salad that could be served cold (so I could avoid the reheating rush).

Paging through cookbooks desperate for inspiration, I came across Trish Magwood’s recipe for Asian slaw in Dish, the colourful, eye-catching cover shot. I had always wanted an opportunity to give it a try, and this seemed like the perfect time to do so (a similar recipe can be found here).

I’m not sure why I haven’t yet learned my lesson about starting new recipes early for good measure, but I really didn’t think it would take me as long to prep the vegetables as it did (surprisingly, it was cleaning the bean sprouts that took the most time).

Asian slaw

A rainbow combination of julienned carrots, sliced red cabbage, bell peppers and green onions, slivered baby bok choy and chopped cilantro and peanuts (I omitted the mango), with a spicy-tangy vinaigrette of chili sauce, fish sauce, sugar and vegetable oil, it was a vibrant, crunchy counterpoint to some of the other foods on the table. I particularly like that it is a salad that can be prepared nearly year-round primarily with locally-sourced vegetables. It’s definitely a dish that I will make again!

Cake Pops

For some reason, when thinking about what I wanted to make for my work colleagues this year, I latched on to the idea of cake pops. These dainty cake bites served on sticks have been popular enough to appear in the pastry case at Starbucks, and the queen of cake pops herself, Bakerella, released her first cookbook this year.

For something so popular, however, it was difficult to locate a start-to-finish cake pop recipe. Although the guidelines are straightforward (crumble a cake, mix in some icing to bind the crumbs, roll into balls, chill, secure on a stick, dip in chocolate and decorate), I was hoping to be able to follow something more concrete the first time around (especially with regards to how many pops I would end up with). However, at least I was able to determine, between Bakerella’s video and the FAQ on Vernoica’s Cornucopia, what not to do.

On the web, it seemed most people used cake mix and prepared icing for their cake pops, but I decided to make both from scratch. I made Ina Garten’s pound cake for the base, and a quarter of Magnolia’s recipe for frosting. I used one loaf for the cake pops, saving the other one to gift on its own. This recipe made 20 medium-sized cake pops.

Pound cake

The upside of using pound cake as the base is that it wasn’t very sweet to begin with, so the addition of icing as a binder wouldn’t make it too sweet. That said, because the cake was comprised of a drier crumb, we probably needed to incorporate more icing than other cake recipes to ensure the balls would form easily. Mack was a great help in forming the cake balls – he had to be firmer with them to make sure they could hold together. After fifteen minutes in the freezer, we pierced each ball with a lollipop stick.

Cake balls

We melted the chocolate wafers using a double boiler. We probably could have been less stingy with the amount, as we didn’t quite have enough depth in the bowl to make dipping an easy task (we had to do more swirling than recommended to fully coat the balls). Immediately after dipping, we dressed the balls with festive sprinkles and stuck it in a piece of styrofoam placed in the fridge to harden.

Dipping

In the fridge

The next day, I wrapped them up individually with some cellophane and ribbon – given it was our first experiment with cake pops, I was really happy with the results! They were pretty sweet, though this mostly had to do with the chocolate coating and sprinkles, rather than the cake itself.

Cake pops

It’s really neat to see what’s possible with cake pops (just take a look here). Though it’s not likely I’ll tackle any of the more complicated designs, I’d definitely consider making them again for a special occasion again in the future. Thanks again to Mack for all of his help with this project!

A Raw (Food) Adventure: Noorish

The second half of 2011 has seen a rash of vegetarian restaurants open in Edmonton (The Clever Rabbit on 124 Street is forthcoming, while another vegetarian restaurant, Veggie Garden Restaurant, opened in November). Noorish, subtitled a “conscious eatery & superfood elixir bar”, kicked off this trend in October, but seemed to go beyond just food – they promote a holistic philosophy of health that also includes yoga and meditation classes, and raw food and vegan education seminars. For me though, the best point of entry has always been food, so May, Annie and I decided to give their menu a spin on Friday.

We were told there was a reservation black out period during the prime dinner hour on Fridays and Saturdays, but we decided to chance it anyway. Although all of the tables were taken up when we arrived at 6:30, the friendly hostess seated us immediately at a low-slung lounge area to wait for a table. We were moved not ten minutes later, seated in their beautifully carved but comfortably solid wooden chairs.

The restaurant, though bustling with patrons celebrating the weekend, felt as laid-back as it was warm. The wood furniture, floors, fall colour palette and tabletop greenery created a very inviting atmosphere – the space was designed for lingering. Noorish also features a small retail space at the rear of the restaurant, and offers a variety of ready-to-eat products and cookbooks.

Interior

To tempt our palate, we started with drinks from their extensive beverage menu. Annie and May decided to try the homemade kombucha tea with cranberry ($3.50) , an “effervescent fermented mushroom tea”, which apparently helps build immunity. I ordered the Chagachino chai ($8), which is made with a 11 different ingredients (most of which I had never heard of before). The tea wasn’t what Annie and May expected, tasting closer to an alcoholic cocktail with its acidic kick than a juice. My chai had a similar kick, possibly from the cayenne, or some of the other ingredients I was unfamiliar with. While it was definitely complex (with health benefits similar to the kombucha), at $8, it was definitely a one-time drink for me – I’ll stick with regular chai.

Kombucha tea and chai

The entree menu was a lot less extensive, with just nine dishes to choose from (excluding the breakfast, desserts and treats menu). But for a small restaurant, I’m glad they decided to concentrate on just a few dishes, instead of attempting to stretch themselves too thin.

For us raw food newbies, we appreciated being able to find familiar terms like “nachos” and “pizza” on the menu. I realize those words bring certain connotations to mind (namely, “cheesy” and “piping hot”), but it helped ease our transition to their philosophy. We were told that as much as 50-80% of nutrients are lost when food is cooked above 40C, but raw food has other benefits as well, including easier digestion, clearer skin and as a whole, having to consume less food. The term “living food” was used quite a few times, and though I recognize it was meant to denote the line between “raw” and “cooked” substances, I couldn’t help but imagine the ingestion of squirming insects.

Noorish focuses on raw veganism, so one won’t find a trace of meat on their menu. In its place are protein-rich foods like legumes, nuts and seeds. The roasted root vegetables in the Me-so Noorished ($16) appealed to Annie, while May wanted to try their Bodhi Tree Burger ($17). I ordered the Mystical Mandala Pizza ($16).

In spite of the packed house, our food arrived quickly (in some ways, the raw philosophy benefits a busy kitchen, where much of the prep is done beforehand, while assembly is the main task at hand at meal time). The plates were massive, and each of our entrees were accompanied by one of their salads. There is no doubt Noorish knows its salads – May’s quinoa salad had great flavour and texture, while my side of wilted kale salad really made me rethink the possibilities of kale. The leaves were tender tossed with the miso lemon dressing, and I particularly loved the addition of the fresh sprouts.

Bodhi Tree Burger

Annie had no complaints about her dish. She had been craving starch all day, so the combination of beets, yams and potatoes, smothered in a miso hemp gravy and melted vegan mozza cheese hit the spot. May didn’t know what to expect of her sprouted chickpea burger, but enjoyed it enough to comment that she would order it again.

Me-so Noorished

The pizza was a sight to see – I have to say the most off-putting thing was the radioactive orange cashew chili cheese – more reminiscent of processed Cheese-Whiz than anything else. I could have done with a little more vegetables and a lighter hand with the cheese, but the seeded flatbread crust stood out the most. Crunchy and nutty, it was a vehicle that I could imagine using for dips, as a crostini, or to accompany soup.

Mystical Mandala Pizza

We were all surprisingly full at the end of the meal, so much so that we had to forego dessert (unusual for the three of us). We agreed that while Noorish wouldn’t necessarily end up in our regular rotation of restaurants, we were happy to have opened our eyes to the possibilities of raw cuisine. If it’s something you haven’t yet tried – Noorish is the perfect place to get acquainted with this philosophy, and fill your belly at the same time.

Noorish
8440- 109th Street
(780) 756-6880
Tuesday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday 11am-11pm, Saturday 10am-11pm, Sunday 11am-10pm, closed Mondays

Food Notes for December 20, 2011

Between the functions, potlucks and dinners, this Christmas season has been a busier one for me than usual! And with trying to spend as much time with family in Edmonton as possible before we jet off to Yellowknife for a week, I know December will be over in a flash. On to this week’s food notes:

Liv checked out one of the newest restaurants to hit Edmonton, Cibo Bistro. Looks like it’s worth a try (and might be a great Italian backup to those who can’t swing a reservation to Corso 32).
The Journal also reviewed a fairly new restaurant – Cafe du France, in the LeMarchand Mansion. It sounds like the review might help the restaurant at least raise its profile, “the pretty little café was completely empty at 7 p.m., and remained so until we left more than two hours later, literally shutting the place down.”
Great to see several food bloggers participated in the recent Meals on Wheels call out to the blogosphere for volunteers. I wasn’t able to make it, but I love living vicariously through pictures!
Michelle also spearheaded a recipe live blogging experiment to capture how to make classic butter chicken. Yum, I don’t need to be told twice!
Via Cream and Sugar: ever wonder what’s behind that distinct Subway smell?
It seems like vegetarian restaurants are on the up and up this year – Veggie Garden Restaurant (10582 100 Street, 780-757-9060) just opened up at the end of November. My coworker said it’s pretty good, but I have yet to try it myself.

Veggie Garden

Oodle Noodle’s second downtown location on Jasper Avenue just off 104 Street is on the cusp of opening. Mack and I peeked inside today to take a look at the progress – we love the exposed brick and seating that takes advantage of the room’s length. Look for a soft open soon!

Oodle Noodle

The Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market was bustling on Saturday! I loved the pine arrangements right up front – fragrant and eye-catching! It’s also open on Christmas Eve for those last minute needs!

Pine arrangements

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful holiday season filled with family and friends. All the best in 2012!

Ramen on the Brain: Meguro Ramen

The topic of Chinatown revitalization has been bandied about a lot in the past year, especially with flashy projects like the Yorkton Development residential towers and the Wild Rose Circle Development. But in the short term, existing businesses that bring people into the area will have a greater impact – no area can rely on large-scale developments alone.

That’s why it was great to see that a new ramen joint joined the Chinatown fray in recent months. Instead of opting for a newer, suburban location, Meguro Ramen chose to situate itself in the heart of Chinatown on 97 Street, in the space formerly occupied by Padmanadi.

In other large North American cities, the ramen trend has exploded, with eaters ravenous for hand-pulled noodles and umami broth. Ramen doesn’t yet have the same foothold in Edmonton, but we may get there soon if more restaurants with this focus continue to open up. During November’s cold snap, I met Annie at Meguro Ramen for lunch on a Saturday.

Save for the instant version, my experience with ramen has been limited. But in many ways, because of my love of pho, I am already partial to oversized bowls of noodle soup. At the same time, I knew my bias would affect my reception of dishes outside the realm of beef broth and rice noodles.

The interior has been completely transformed – gone is the buffet service, the dated paint, the wall of thumb tacked photos. In its place is a dramatic red and black room with paper and glass lantern accents, a space that I think would look even better after dark.

Interior

Although Meguro does serve dishes outside of the ramen family (about ten appetizers, and three different rice bowls), we zoned in on their namesake entree. We had the choice of ten varieties, made up of different kinds of broth and toppings, including the most unusual combination of ramen and cheese of all things. I didn’t stray far from pho, ordering the beef noodle ($10.95), while Annie opted for the curry ramen ($9.95).

Menu (I really appreciated the pictures)

Given we were among just three other parties, it wasn’t a surprise that our food arrived quickly. But we appreciated the expedient service, especially on that cold afternoon. The steaming bowls were garnished beautifully, while the atypical soup spoon helped round out its presentation.

Beef noodle ramen

I enjoyed the beef very much, tender, with just the right amount of fat. The noodles were quite good as well, thicker than I had anticipated, but satisfyingly chewy. The broth was a bit of a disappointment for me; bland and lacking flavour, I had to reach for quite a bit of the spice shaker on the table to liven it up. Annie had similar thoughts about her dish – thumbs up to the pork (which she found to be better than Nomiya), but was expecting a broth to have much more kick.

Curry ramen

When we went to the counter to pay, we asked the staff whether or not their noodles were made in-house. He responded, “It’s a secret.” Maybe it was meant tongue-in-cheek, but we interpreted that to mean, “No.”

Though our lunch didn’t quite show me what all the ramen hype was about, Meguro Ramen is close enough to my workplace that I think I will be back again soon – there are at least nine other ramen dishes that I’ll have to work my way through after all!

Meguro Ramen
10626 97 Street
(780) 497-8280
Sunday-Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-10pm

Food Notes for December 12, 2011

Still looking for the perfect Christmas gift? How about a pair of YEGWOOD treefarer shades? For a chance to win a free pair, just leave a comment on Mack’s blog! On to this week’s food notes:

Cally’s Teas is back! Or at least temporarily starting December 14 until her shop at 10151 82 Avenue is in order. Check out Marianne’s blog for more details.
Great news for the food truck scene this week: Battista’s Calzones bought a truck to debut next summer.
It seems like it’s been in the works for quite some time, but Cactus Club will be opening up a downtown location of their popular casual upscale restaurant on Jasper Avenue and 111 Street.
Twyla reviewed new-ish Mediterranean restaurant Ousia: “Ousia holds promise. The ambiance scores high, as do the appetizers and desserts. The entrees were disappointing but those issues should be easily fixed.” Great to see that the staff commented directly on the blog, too.
Liane shares her favourite dishes of 2011, and asks readers to share their own.
Kevin posted a link to the continuing campaign to protect the agricultural lands in Northeast Edmonton – consider becoming a Friend of Farmers.
There really is an app for everything: just released last week was Big App for Meat by butcher extraordinaire Pat LaFrieda, pitched as the “definitive butcher’s guide to every cut of meat”, with 360-degree interactive rotating meat and videos of butchery. Sounds like a great use of technology.
‘Tis the season for food trends. Here are some great links from Grub Street (keep in mind Edmonton is always behind, if we get the whiff of the trend at all).
Passed by a new forthcoming vegetarian restaurant next to Duchess on 124 Street and 107 Avenue called The Clever Rabbit. Vegetarian seems to be a trend this year, with Noorish having opening up not long ago as well.

The Clever Rabbit (excuse the drive-by photo)

We stopped by the St. Albert Christmas Market on Saturday to pick up a few gifts. There were a few producers present (Irvings, Steve & Dan’s, Erdmann’s, among them), but the majority were crafts and giftware vendors. We saw for the first time Steve & Dan’s sparkling juice – this would be a great non-alcoholic alternative for a local food gift basket.