ETS Community Conference 2008

I’ve decided to just make a quick point-form post about my impressions of the ETS Community Conference, if not only to remember what I thought in my first year of attending. If you’re looking for a little more detail, feel free to read Mack’s post about the half-day event here.

  • I read in the Edmonton Journal a few weeks before the conference that Bob Boutilier, the new GM of the City’s Transportation Department, actually takes the bus to work every day from his home in Twin Brooks. He definitely earned some respect from me with that admission. And after hearing him speak on stage, I have even more admiration for his obvious passion for public transit and his deft appreciation of the politics behind a sprawling city devoted to its vehicles. He didn’t once patronize the audience and knew that we all had first-hand experience of the ills of the current system. While realistic in his assessment of the time it will take to extend the LRT, he left the audience with the assertion that he believes the current city council is pro-transit, meaning that it may be possible to lay the groundwork for a better, more efficient transit system in the next three years.
  • Charles Stolte, Manager of ETS, presented himself as much more of a statistics fan when compared with Boutilier, though I guess it was good to know that ridership had increased by 7.75% in the last year, and that they had reached their “saturation point”, as they now have more buses than garage storage space at this time.
  • I wasn’t too impressed with the ETS Info-On-the-Go “demonstration” (or rather, slides of screen shots), though it was amusing to notice that the virtual customer care representative was seemingly modeled after Posh Spice (she was even named “Vicki”). While there is potential for such technology, I agreed with those in the session that questioned the usefulness of the kiosk for those already familiar with the system.

I would consider attending next year’s conference, if not only to meet others who are like-minded in their belief that the system can and must be improved.

Random Notes

  • The fabulous Frankenstein will be staged in Calgary early next year at Alberta Theatre Projects, in partnership with One Yellow Rabbit. I am happy to see the play getting even more exposure in Canada!
  • The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra released their schedule for 2008/2009. For those outside the Pulse8 Club age range, perhaps you might want to consider convincing a few friends to purchase a 2-for-1 season sampler pass, a great way to dabble in their musical offerings.
  • I just heard that NBC is doing its best to reunite the original cast of ER for its final season next year. I haven’t followed the show in a while, but that would definitely make me tune in.
  • Mack introduced me to TripIt, an online travel planning tool, while we were organizing our New York trip, and though I did use it for our Calgary outing, but I still prefer a good old-fashioned paper and pencil schedule. TripIt just doesn’t fit in my purse the same.
  • Here is an interesting article from Alberta Venture that uncovers how difficult it really is to bring in a high-profile speaker for an event.
  • An article in this week’s New York Times talks about the movement towards intimate restaurants where chefs are close enough to conveniently serve the food directly to the diner. An interesting fact from the piece, which may explain the phenomenon: “Cooks and other restaurant employees who do not interact with the customers cannot legally earn tips or share in the tips earned by the waiters. For the purposes of the New York State Department of Labor, cooks and and dishwashers have the same status: they are paid an hourly wage, with overtime, but they are not paid more for a busy Saturday night with 300 covers than for a slow Tuesday lunch with 30.”
  • There’s a new food blog in town: Edmonton Eats. It’s still in the beginning stages, and there’s no information about the authors of the website, but it’s always exciting when new voices join the discussion about the city’s restaurant scene.
  • Expressionz Cafe is a new community-oriented coffee house, seemingly modeled after The Carrot. Dare I say this will be a trend in Edmonton?

More on Calgary’s Food Scene

Though I’m pretty set on where I would like to eat in Calgary this weekend, I find that lists are great to refer back to. Here are some observations and a running tally for future outings:

  • Chowhound favorites the River Cafe (situated on Prince’s Island Park, and likely beautiful in the summer) and Teatro (which has a simply stunning interior) might be worth a splurge one day on reputation alone.
  • Capo comes with high regard from Andree Lau, a Calgary-based blogger whose taste I trust. Whenever I see advertisements or read about Capo, the name of the head chef, Giuseppe Di Gennaro, is never far behind. I do think Calgary has a more developed appreciation and awareness of the staff behind the food.
  • I have seen JAROblue mentioned numerous times as well, but without any content available on their website, it is difficult to assess whether or not they’re worth trying.
  • Independent coffee houses on the level of Transcend in Edmonton, are more numerous in Calgary, and include Higher Ground in Kensington and Caffe Beano. There were also rumblings on the Chowhound boards that Phil & Sebastian (currently based out of the Calgary Farmer’s Market), are looking for a space to call their own.
  • I am really drawn to The Cookbook Co.‘s marketing of their cooking classes – with their bright and well-designed flyer, I want to believe that the sessions themselves will live up to the promise on paper. It’s also great that they are able to draw from the local restaurant community to teach some of the classes.
  • We will be there to only hypothetically catch the tail end of it, but Calgary has their own Savour Wine & Food Experience. How cool would it have been to have dinner with someone like John Gilchrist?

Anyway, I am looking forward to this weekend as a means of sampling what Calgary has to offer.

Quotable People: Installment Eleven

  • “Good books, like good friends, are few and chosen; the more select, the more enjoyable.” – Louisa May Alcott
  • “With true friends…even water drunk together is sweet enough.” – Chinese proverb
  • “The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.” – William Blake
  • “No road is long with good company.” – Turkish proverb
  • “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” – Victor Borge
  • “Depth of friendship does not depend on length of acquaintance.” – Sir Rabindranath Tagore

Culinary Q & A with Shermie

Occupation: Law student

What did you eat today?

– 2 pieces of cinnamon raisin toast
– banana nut muffin with apple juice
– Tim Horton’s toasted chicken club on whole wheat without bacon, medium french vanilla coffee
– chicken curry, rice, green peppers and beef cooked in a wok

What do you never eat?

– squid

What is your personal specialty?

– anything requiring a microwave

What is your favorite kitchen item?

– the microwave

World ends tomorrow. Describe your last meal.

Gotham Steak House in Vancouver – petit filet cooked rare with creamy lyonnaise potatos and cauliflower au gratin and chocolate mousse for dessert. Alternatively, Vij’s in Vancouver for lamb popsicles in the most addictive tasting sauce and their tapioca root fries.

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for their petit filet. They do side dishes and dessert well too.

If you weren’t limited by geography, where and what would you eat?

Vancouver always has new restaurants opening with famous chefs, so I would just hit the hot new restaurant. West is on my list.

In Paris, I would eat fresh croissants, cheese and fruit.

Food Notes

  • They should have called it Truth: Impossible: it seems Dinner: Impossible host Robert Irvine lied about his credentials and some of his experience, leading to his release from the hit Food Network show.
  • A coup for Canada: Daniel Boulud will be assisting in the transformation of the space once occupied by Feenie’s. The best thing about the article is Rob Feenie’s quote where he celebrates his own greatness: “Do you think he came cheap? If this is the only way they can replace me, that’s great.”
  • An amusing rant against the 100-mile diet phenomenon in The Province.
  • I’ve been looking for food blogs to add to my reading repetoire, and this one caught my eye. I especially like her “Mom Series” – posts written as a tribute to her Mom’s traditional Chinese home cooking.
  • Avenue Magazine’s March edition is all about food. Check out this comprehensive list of local dinner preparation kitchens.
  • Also from Avenue, a spotlight on Pizzaria Prego (5860 111 Street). I will have to get myself to Lendrum Mall soon to try their Sunrise pie. Made with tomato sauce, mozzarella, bacon, scrambled egg, cheddar and tomatoes, it would be like having breakfast for dinner!

MacEwan Theatre Arts: “Hot Mikado”

MacEwan Theatre Arts wrapped up their season with Hot Mikado. From the website:

“The story is based on the Gilbert and Sullivan original The Mikado. In an imaginary Japan, the town of Tittipu has tired of the Mikado’s (emperor’s) law which makes flirting the only crime punishable by death. They appoint a lowly tailor, one Ko-Ko, Lord High Executioner, since he has been condemned for flirting, and won’t execute himself or anyone else. Ko-Ko is about to marry his beautiful ward, Yum-Yum, but she is being pursued by a young man of her own age, Nanki-Poo, who is pretending to be a second-trombone player. He is actually the son and heir-apparent of the Mikado, having fled from his father’s court when accused of flirting with the elderly and formidable Katisha, who wants to marry him or have him beheaded. Will Nanki-Poo be executed? Will true love prevail?”

It’s not hard to guess the answer to that question, nor is it a huge leap to assume that the production relies too heavily of the charm on the cast to carry across a fairly trite story. In this case, as with most MacEwan productions, the cast was a mixed bag.

Corey Rogers (Nanki-Poo) and Yemie Sonuga (as Katisha) were both unfortunately unable to carry a tune. Thankfully, there were a few surprises (Adrianne Salmon and Matt Van Boeyen) to help balance out the group, but it was still a bit painful to have to sit through some pretty awful numbers.

Dickson and I were both looking forward to the appearance of Alissa Keogh, who even as a chorus Gentleman #7 in the first half of the production managed to outshine most of her castmates. The second act saw her take a turn as the Mikado, complete with a solo tap performance, which she nailed. Her ease with movement and song will be a loss to the MacEwan stage, but I am certain she will be on to bigger and better things upon graduation.

Also looking forward, the program included a listing of the 2008-2009 theatre season, which includes a play by none other than Stewart Lemoine, which will run from March 13-21, 2009. It seems his departure from the position of Teatro Artistic Director has allowed him the time and space to write for alternative venues like the Edmonton Opera and now MacEwan. Where will he pop up next?

Appalling Inconsistency: Ric’s Grill

I’ve been wanting to try Ric’s Grill (10190 104 Street) for a while, and a special menu offered in accordance with Edmonton’s Downtown Dining Week was the perfect catalyst to do so. So having made a reservation with enough wiggle room to make it to a show at MacEwan later that evening, Dickson and I headed to the Warehouse District on Saturday.

The Metals Building, in all its stalwart brick glory, always seemed inherently fitting for an upscale steakhouse. The interior offered nothing unexpected – dark wood, leather, and too-dim lighting reminiscent of Ruth’s Chris. While I understand that the booth we were seated in was designed to create a private enclave of sorts, Dickson actually felt borderline claustrophobic in its looming wake.

When I didn’t find a Dining Week menu among the leather-bound folders on the table, I requested one from our server. He replied that the promotion was not available to those who had not mentioned the special menu while making the reservation. As this was not clearly indicated on the website (as it is on Calgary’s Dine-Out Week site), nor was I asked such a question when I spoke to the hostess over the phone, I couldn’t fathom how this could have been their policy. Dickson amounted this to “nominal participation” in Dining Week, though when we heard a similar bottom line delivered to a nearby table who was also interested in the promotional menu, we found some comfort in their consistency.

Not so, it seems. May, who ate at Ric’s Grill the night prior, was immediately given the Dining Week menu upon request, even without “pre-ordering” over the phone beforehand. What boggles my mind is that the options available on the Dining Week menu are no different than what is offered on their regular menu, so a lack of food supply would not be an acceptable excuse. And as one would think the pre-fixe menus are meant to encourage otherwise experimental-shy patrons to dine outside their borders with the hope of reaping return business in the future, why so many hurdles would be in place to ultimately save the restaurant just a few dollars (the 6oz Filet Mignon pre-fixe with dessert was $35, while the same Filet Mignon is regularly priced at $31 without dessert) is beyond me. Though I will continue with this review to be thorough, it’s a safe bet I won’t be back at Ric’s Grill; it is unacceptable for a restaurant of their supposed calibre to be nothing more than a token participant in an event set up to promote the best of Edmonton’s urban cuisine.

I ordered the 6oz Filet Mignon, with a soup to start, while Dickson settled on the 12oz Top Sirloin and a Caesar salad ($31). The spicy beef and vegetable soup was great – the amount of beef was generous, and the vegetables had obviously been simmering for quite some time. Dickson said his salad (made from scratch), was quite enjoyable as well.

As for our entrees – I had no complaints about my steak, though I do think the Filet Mignon I had at Mr. Mike’s a few weeks back was just a touch better, if not only because I’d take a peppercorn cream sauce over Bernaise any day. And I won’t deny it – the fun of onion rings as a side is something I still haven’t gotten over.

Dickson’s sirloin, ordered medium rare, was exceptionally moist. So much so that the red juices that collected on his plate became somewhat unappetizing. I don’t claim to be a steak expert, but perhaps they should have let the meat sit for a while longer before serving it?

Ric’s Grill, I hardly knew ye.

Exterior

Interior

6oz Filet Mignon

12oz Top Sirloin

The Cooking Chronicles: Tiramisu

In part for a dessert party practice run and in part because I was craving something sweet, I decided to finally try and duplicate a tiramisu recipe that a client had given me last year. I was unfortunately unable to locate the exact recipe on the web, but I found a wonderful collection of tiramisu varieties here, worth perusing if you’re interested. Also, in the purchasing of a container of mascarpone or bag of ladyfingers, it is without a doubt that a similar recipe to the one I used will appear on the packaging.

Anyway, I was amazed at how easy it was – I made sure to make coffee and allow it to cool a few hours ahead of assembling the cake, but after that, the most time-consuming recipe item was beating the egg whites until stiff. I did find that the ladyfingers (my client recommended the “Tina” brand, which can be found at the Italian Centre) very quickly soaked up the coffee, so I had to be careful with the few seconds that they sat in the liquid.

Layering coffee-soaked ladyfingers atop the mascrapone mixture

After letting the tiramisu sit in the fridge overnight, it was ready to be eaten. The time in the fridge allowed all of the layers to fall into one another, with the coffee softening the ladyfingers to the point that it was difficult to guess that the cake-like texture actually came from a biscuit of sorts. My Mum would have preferred a thicker consistency for the cream, but I thought the lightness worked well with the dessert as a whole. However, I was looking for some more sweetness to round out the flavour – perhaps a hit of chocolate shavings or syrup would have provided that extra something.

There is no question that the end product was worth the small time invested, but I’m still not sure I would make this dessert again.

Tiramisu (I went a little overboard with the dusting of cocoa)

Little Italy: Worth the Trip

I’ve been meaning to make my way to Little Italy for quite a while now, but haven’t taken the time out of my day to go until this afternoon. Without a car, and ignoring the pedestrian option, I ended up taking the always interesting #5 bus (and the definition of “interesting” is very apparent if you’ve ever been on this route).

First up was Zocalo (10826 95 Street), a flower and gift shop. I was curious to see if it would measure up to its enticing advertisements. It does – I was greeted by cheerful gerberas placed outside the door, and a bright and fun interior. Zocalo offers beautiful flower arrangements, unique ceramics and glassware, and kitchen items that would freshen up any decor. I may be back for the hydrangeas I spied in the cooler, to spruce up my living room when I throw a dessert party in the spring.

Zocalo interior

The next block was vibrant with activity – a branch of Sorrentino’s, a cozy cafe in Tra Amici, and of course, the “flagship” Italian Centre (10878 95 Street). I’ve been to the southside location countless times, but this was my first visit to the downtown purveyor of Italian imports and fine cheeses and meats. While not as geographically convenient for me, I will have to say that I prefer this location – something about the diversity of the patrons, the inherent bustle created by narrow aisles, and a deli counter that literally spans the entire back-end of the store allows for the cultivation of a more authentically urban shopping experience.

Little Italy begs for another trek very soon.