Hot Dogs and Burgers and Fries, Oh My: Delux Burger Bar

Though I’ve been keeping afloat of the series of Celebrity Chef burgers at Delux, none of them have really captured my attention, at least not enough for me to make an effort to trek down to Crestwood to try it. But this month’s poutine burger? Stop the presses.

We took Che Bechard’s creation for the month of August as an excuse to check out Delux’s second location in Edmonton, located on the always-hopping Bourbon Street in West Edmonton Mall (it also worked out that I was also able to satisfy my curiosity at Victoria’s Secret – I wanted to see what the hype was all about).

Though many, if not most, of Bourbon Street eateries offer takeout, Delux is the most aggressive, with an eye-catching D2Go order window.

D2Go

On the other hand, I didn’t find the interior of this Delux appealing at all. Independent of one another, the waiting area with its cocktail tables, a communal seating area, and generous booths are all right, but put together, the entire space lacks a visual flow, apparent especially when compared with the neighbouring Earls. The plaid patterns on the walls and the billboard photos plastered on the ceiling also seem unnecessary, further cluttering the room.

Mack at Delux

We chose to sit at the bar for immediate service, and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Alvin was our waiter that night, and boy, was he on the ball. Between drink orders, he managed to take good care of us – consistently refilling my water glass, letting us know about the progress of our food order, checking in on us periodically – just superb service all around.

The Nathan’s Famous hot dog sliders ($10) we had opted to start with were also a great choice. We both remarked that the dogs were some of the best we’ve ever had – moist and bursting with flavour. I wasn’t a fan of the toasted bun, but the chipotle ketchup and caramelized onions were tasty additions. The sliders are on special for $2 on Wednesdays…a dangerous deal if I lived or worked closer to a Delux.

Hot dog sliders

As for the main event? The first few bites of the poutine burger ($10), ripe with special sauce, fries, and curd cheese, were delicious. But as we made our way through it, we realized we would both be ultimately defeated by its richness, and that sharing one between the two of us would have been the better way to go.

Poutine burger

You still have a few days left to try out the poutine burger – but if you miss it, don’t worry – you can find some solace in the hot dog sliders.

Delux Burger Bar
1755 170 Street, West Edmonton Mall (one other location)
(780) 487-3589

We’ll Show You Ours: That’s a Wrap!

It’s not a secret that the Fringe is my favourite summer festival. The shows, the food, the buskers, the atmosphere – it’s a combination that rightly attracts an incredibly diverse crowd. I really admire what the Fringe is doing to try to build their audience from the ground up, tackling the age-old issue of those who wander the grounds, but never step inside a theatre. From their First Time Fringer discount program, to the variety of Fringe apps that were available this year (built by community members), I would hope that their efforts do translate into more tickets sold, or at the very least, a piqued curiosity that may lead to future ticket sales.

Outdoor mainstage

The Fringe should be commended for their green initiatives this year – we watched as Green Team volunteers sorted through the trash for organic material to compost

Mack and I at the Parlour photo booth

I would be lying if I said this Fringe won’t be memorable for a reason entirely unrelated to the festival. That said, I haven’t overlooked the fabulous productions we were fortunate enough to catch during We’ll Show You Ours:

The Lime Tree Bower still lingers in my memory because it reminded me that the core of theatre is storytelling. Vincent Forcier, Jon Lachlan Stewart and Cody Porter were seamless in their delivery, fully embodying the characters, Irish accents unwavering. I was swept up by the vivid language, rich descriptions that nourished my imagination, transforming the immediate setting of a family-owned pub into a shadowy graveyard, a college auditorium, an inhospitable bar. It was also a great choice to have the characters subtly interact and respond to one another during each of their monologues – it added a laid-back air that made the production such a treat to watch. Moreover, I was happy to be finally be able to see the much-buzzed about Lachlan Stewart in action, who lived up to every expectation.
There is no one like TJ Dawe. If you haven’t yet watched this master at work, weaving personal experiences into relatable, thought-provoking anecdotes all while demonstrating his incredible skill with the rhythms of the English language – remember his name for next year. While I didn’t take to Lucky 9 as much as last year’s Totem Figures, it’s difficult not to enjoy Dawe, whatever the content.
The bar was set pretty darn high for BASH’d, with all of the accolades it has received, on top of the fact that the show had a successful off-Broadway run in New York two years ago. It cleared the bar with room to spare. I am still in awe of Chris Craddock and Nathan Cuckow – not only for their conviction and limitless energy (they barely stopped to breathe over the hour), but also for their ability to compellingly portray the heartbreaking tale of love and tragedy in a single hour.
We picked David Belke’s The Crimson Yak for its plot mention of Coca Cola (and by golly, they even referred to it as Mack has in the past, as “the nectar of the gods”), but it turned out to be a good choice for a host of other reasons. The songs were as hilarious as they were catchy (“Crimson yaa-aa-aa-k”), and Karyn Mott absolutely stole the show as the wide-eyed, fanatical Dhara.

The Fringe turns thirty next year. You can bet it will be a huge party, just as it should be. See you there!

City Market Report: Week 15

The haze that remained over the city couldn’t cast a shadow over the City Market this week; at least for us. I’m not sure what it was, but we really enjoyed ourselves today – possibly because we could actually do some real shopping today (our fridge is now working again), or because we were able to linger, and catch up with people without needing to be time conscious.

Time for another overhead shot

It was also noon by the time we made it down to the market. And though that meant missing out on some early bird pickings (like eggs from Sunshine Organic), we were still able to strike off most of the things on our shopping list.

Riverbend Gardens had corn!

Romanesco broccoli from Kuhlmann’s (I had to look that name up)

Lobster mushrooms from Mo Na

Some of the vendors have been steadily adding banners to their booths as the weeks pass. One such example is Mighty Trio Organics – I love their colourful banners!

Mighty Trio Organics

Sugar Sugar Bakery, the newest cupcake business to join the vendors at City Market, was back this week. If you haven’t yet, check out her cupcake menu – many of the flavours are cleverly named after Archie comic characters! We bought two “Honey Honey” cupcakes to try – the cake, sweetened with honey, was quite distinct, and one I would buy again.

Chandra, of Sugar Sugar

Lastly, a special shout out to Patty Milligan for making my day – she gave us the sunflowers that were gracing her table – they have been brightening up our space all day!

Next week – the penultimate cultural festival at the City Market takes place, celebrating all things Italian.

artsScene Edmonton Summer Patio Party and Behind-the-Scenes at Fairmont Hotel Macdonald

Though I’ve attended a few artsScene Edmonton events before (notably their patio party at Latitude 53 last summer), this was my first of their behind-the-scenes series, which provides attendees with the opportunity to “go backstage” at cultural institutions such as the Alberta Ballet, Edmonton Opera, and most recently, at the Freewill Shakespeare Festival. This time, Hotel Macdonald was to be centre stage.

Hotel Macdonald

The haze outside meant most people opted to stay inside, which meant the room was all the more lively. With music from the Jerrold Dubyk Trio and beats from Mindy Cooper (DJ Sweetz) thrown in, it was a great atmosphere to mingle the night away.

Inside the Wedgewood Room

Jerrold Dubyk Trio

Sarah Jackson was also on hand as one of the featured artists, showcasing her new project Angles of Love. I love that she is able to incorporate fun, interactive elements into her exhibits (at the last Refinery party at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Sarah created condiment portraits of guests).

Sarah busy with card readings

Some hors d’oeuvres were included in the price of our $29 ticket, and I made sure to sample away. The kitchen had prepared all sorts of skewers, and, more up my alley, several crispy deep-fried treats, including spring rolls and spanakopita. A selection of cold appetizers were also available, including salsa and chips, cucumber cups, and very tasty squares of toast topped with brie and strawberry.

Food, glorious food!

I had been most looking forward to the tour portion of the evening, which was supposed to provide insight on the building’s history and architecture. It did somewhat, though not to the extent I was hoping for. Also, with such a large group, it was difficult to hear the guides at times.

Inside the Drawing Room (formerly known as the Ladies’ Drawing Room, where women would wait for their escorts)

I have dined in the Empire Ballroom before, but I had no idea the room had been used to house jean makers during World War II. Or, that the ceiling (called “The Chase”), featured anatomically correct hounds.

Empire Ballroom

The decidedly masculine Jasper Room was built to overlook the Fathers of Confederation painting on the wall next door. The room also includes windows set near the floor – done so they are level with diners seated at the table.

Jasper Room

Our last stop was up to the eighth floor rooms, where many high profile visitors have stayed – recent guests have included Van Morrison and Bon Jovi. Though someone was occupying their most lavish suite that night ($3000/night, where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stayed), we were able to see the Churchill Suite, a cozy two-story room with generously-sized bathrooms, priced at $999/night.

Imagine waking up to Churchill in the morning

After the tour, we wandered outside to take in the patio, smoke be dammed.

The haze

Lots of green!

Thanks to artsScene for a great night – check their website to find out about their future events!

You can read Mack’s post about the evening here, and see his photoset here.

Food at the Fringe!

We spent most of the weekend at the Fringe, which not only meant watching quite a number of shows, but also having the opportunity to sample food from several vendors, both on and off the Fringe site.

Green onion cakes are a perennial Fringe favourite

A vendor dedicated entirely to chocolate covered bananas!

Deli Manjoo, small, custard-filled cakes were only found at Capital Ex…until now

We encountered Big City Cupcakes on Saturday just before entering the grounds. It turns out the Kelowna-based franchise is set to take Edmonton by storm, with a location in Kingsway Mall opening this week, another coming soon in City Centre downtown, and more in the works.

Big City Cupcakes

They pride themselves on using all natural ingredients, and never sell day-old cupcakes. They also offer gluten-free cupcakes on select days. At $4 a pop, they’re definitely charging more than their competitors, but then again, their cupcakes are about twice the size of those found at Whimsical or Flirt.

Chocolate Mounds and New York Chocolate Cheesecake flavours

The Chocolate Mounds (chocolate cupcake with a ganache centre topped with coconut butter cream, rolled in coconut and drizzled with ganache) was intensely sweet, but chocoholics would love it. Mack liked his Chocolate Cheesecake (chocolate cupcake baked in homemade cheesecake filling and topped with cream cheese icing), as it really did manage to capture cheesecake flavours in a mini-cake form. We were also lucky enough to be given the After Dinner Mint cupcake to try for free, and it ended up being my favourite of the three – the refreshing mint icing lightened the dense chocolate cake. As much as I love the occasional cupcake, I wonder if Edmonton can support several more cupcakeries – I guess time will tell.

Zaika is new to the Fringe this year, and though we didn’t try it yet, their sleek, monochromatic booth caught my eye. I also am intrigued by their menu, which deviates from the usual tandoori/butter chicken offerings of other Indian food booths (Jean Poutine blogged about it here).

Zaika

Set up next to Zaika is Rustixx Wood Fired Pizza, which we first saw in Calgary a few weeks back at Fiestaval. Rustixx is a mobile food cart that offers wood-fired thin-crust pizza, not a small feat given they have to tow the oven around.

Rustixx’s wood-fired oven (it gets up to 900F!)

They make nine different pizzas, ranging in price from $10-15. We opted for the meat lovers ($13), featuring pepperoni, bacon and sausage.

Meat lovers pizza

Our experience with Vince and Colleen’s wood-fired oven this summer led us to believe that the Rustixx pizza would have a similarly crispy crust (our preference), but it didn’t. It was chewy; the kind of crust that invites eaters to fold it over like a sandwich (something Famoso advised in its early days). Not unpleasant, but not what I was expecting either. The toppings were great though – subtly tangy sauce, fair amount of cheese, and particularly delectable sausage.

On Sunday, we had some time to kill between shows, so wandered away for the day’s eats.

Fat Franks is never a bad choice

I’d been meaning to check out Cha Island Tea Co. (10332 81 Avenue) for a while, and finally had the time and proximity to do so.

Cha Island Tea Co.

Facing south on 81 Avenue, Cha was a quiet (air-conditioned) refuge from the Fringe bustle, making it a great stop in between shows. With the bright walls, natural light, and reggae music, I felt like I had stepped off the street and into a soothing retreat.

In addition to drinks and light fare, they also sell loose leaf teas

Given the name of the place, I knew I should have ordered tea, but for whatever reason, felt more like an iced coffee ($3.75) that day. It was all right, but a bit watered down. Mack’s green apple iced tea ($3.75), on the other hand, was something that will have me coming back. The sweet and tangy flavours were balanced perfectly, and really, both drinks were very generously sized (in plastic-sealed cups often associated with bubble tea).

Green apple iced tea and iced coffee

I’m hoping to sample more Fringe food this weekend before the festival wraps up! Do you have any favourites so far?

Cutting Ties with Teatro la Quindicina

I saw my first Teatro la Quindicina play in 2001 – the summer after I graduated high school. Cocktails at Pam’s had received a 4 1/2 star review in the Journal, and it seemed to be on everyone’s must-see list. At the time, I was a volunteer, and redeeming volunteer appreciation Fringe bucks at the time meant waiting in line twice – once to get tickets at the door, and again to get seats. My friend and I waited over three hours total to see the production, which probably didn’t help our expectation level. Both of us came out of the show not having understood the humour – when the audience laughed, we didn’t even know a joke had been made. It happened to me then, and it has happened since then – sometimes a show just doesn’t jive with an individual because theatre, like other forms of art, is subjective.

In 2004, I attended my second Teatro show, a remount of Shocker’s Delight during the regular theatre season. The show, about growing up, friendship and love, featured Ron Pederson, Jocelyn Ahlf and Josh Dean, and to this day, remains one of my all-time favourite productions. Every theatre patron has those handful of plays that they go back to, year after year, to be referenced as what cemented their love of theatre. Shocker’s Delight was one of those shows for me, so much so that I purchased a copy of A Teatro Trilogy: Selected Plays by Stewart Lemoine soon after.

Since then, I’ve been attending Teatro la Quindicina productions regularly – Pith!, The Oculist’s Holiday and last season’s Everybody Goes to Mitzi’s!, have been highlights over the past six years. Two years ago, because Mack and I were finding that we were attending most, if not all, of Teatro’s plays, we decided to purchase season subscriptions, figuring that was one way we could support the company.

For that reason, I was shocked to read Teatro Artistic Director Jeff Haslam’s comment, written on Saturday:

You come across as snotty and arrogant. I absolutely despise your pretension that you are “a reviewer” in any professional way. In fact every time I read one of your posts I think “I am not smitten with this weird women like her icky friends seem to be. I wish she’d stop subscribing to my theatre company, because she seems like such a pretentious doof. I wonder if she knows that her endlessly stuck-up self-important little reviews are deeply offensive to those of us who bust our buts for next to nothing to bring a little entertainment to this distant northern city? I wonder if she knows that her crappy 19 bucks goes to less than 40% of what it costs to pay all the artists she isn’t always smitten by? Do us all a favour lady. Write about food and take your entertainment dollar elsewhere.
Sincerely
Jeff Haslam

When I started this blog back in 2006, I wrote about many things, including theatre. One reason for this was so I could maintain a log of memorable shows, actors and playwrights as a personal reference guide. Another – which has become the driving force of my blog – was so I could showcase all that I love about Edmonton – local restaurants, area producers, festivals, and yes, theatre.

I have never claimed to be a professional reviewer. But like anyone who watches any production, I will have an opinion. Sure, most theatregoers may not take the time to express their opinion as I do, but they likely do so in other ways – telling friends, commenting on a review, updating a Facebook status. Though I doubt they would believe me anyway, I never meant to hurt or offend any of the Teatro actors; my intent wasn’t malicious, or personal, even though he has interpreted it as such. I was, in my mind, recording my experience of the shows (my posts about Teatro can be found here).

Mack wrote more about the process of confirming that comment was indeed submitted by Jeff Haslam, and I thank him for willing to be the go-between. I will admit to some cowardice on my part – as personal as their reaction seemed to be, mine was equally so. Six years of history with anything can do that to you.

Perhaps what’s most upsetting to me is when and how Jeff Haslam chose to disclose his feelings about my blog. There are numerous other routes he could have taken – an e-mail, for instance, or, in person, at one of Teatro’s shows (as a subscriber, I would have to call in to reserve my seats, so he would have known when I would be attending the plays). Also, last November, when I contacted him by e-mail for a post I wrote about shopping locally, he responded, but did not mention his opinion in his reply. The most opportune time in my mind, however, was in April of this year, when I renewed our subscription to Teatro. Could he not have communicated to me then of his preference that we stop attending his shows earlier, and save us from all of this? I think about all of the productions I have attended in the past few years, sitting in the audience unaware that the theatre company putting on the show really didn’t want me there.

He will ultimately get his wish – I can say with confidence that any production Jeff Haslam is involved in will never earn another dollar from me. And though I am saddened by how this happened, I look forward to supporting other theatre companies with my patronage in the future.

August 26, 2010 update: Mack and I received a handwritten apology from Jeff Haslam in the mail today. It was accompanied by a signed copy of Stewart Lemoine’s At the Zenith of the Empire, and a refund for the unused portion of our season subscriptions.

City Market Report: Week 14

The unthinkable happened – we were up and at ‘em at the City Market this morning even before it opened. We had a good reason though – Patty Milligan (aka Lola Canola) had lent us two of her market tents to use at the Wild Boar and Beer BBQ last Sunday, and we had arranged to return them to her bright and early this morning.

Vendors still in prep mode

Kuhlmann’s before the rush

After we dropped off the tent, we returned to our condo to have breakfast and (more importantly) coffee, before heading back down to pick up some groceries. Unfortunately, fridge issues have reared its ugly head again, severely limiting the types of things we could buy today.

Marketing not seen very often at farmers’ markets

We made sure to visit Rick and Amy of Barr Estate Wineries again, to pick up a bottle of wine to try (we opted for “The Other Red”, their raspberry wine), and stopped at Halwa Farms to buy some of their stone-ground whole wheat flour. Zucchini from Kuhlmann’s, carrots from Beck Farms and peaches from Steve & Dan’s were other purchases today.

Yellow beans from Kuhlmann’s

Cucumbers from Kuhlmann’s

Peaches and nectarines from Steve & Dan’s

Celery from Sundog Organics

Carrots from Sundog Organics

Baby squash and zucchini from Greens, Eggs and Ham

It’s awesome to still see new vendors popping up this late in the season. It was the first week at the City Market for Sunhill Gardens, located near Camrose (they also sell at the Salisbury Market on Thursday nights). The produce they were offering this morning included carrots, potatoes and swiss chard.

Sunhill Gardens

Also great are the community tents – the book sale being hosted by P.A.L.S. was looking quite busy.

P.A.L.S. tent

Our Saturday routine complete, we are now off to enjoy our annual summer tradition – the Fringe! See you in Old Strathcona!

Slow Food Edmonton’s 5th Annual Wild Boar & Beer BBQ

Last year, my involvement in planning Slow Food Edmonton’s 4th annual Wild Boar & Beer BBQ was nominal – I helped with some of the promotion, such as putting together their first ever Scavenger Hunt, but other than that, I was just happy to be able to attend one of my first events as an official Slow Food member. This year, Maria and I leapt with both feet and decided to plan the event ourselves.

We started back in February, if you can believe it, but were able to secure the date early on with Alley Kat Brewery. In the months that followed, we met with several Slow Food members who had planned past BBQs, and helped us work through other details (thanks again to Vince Roy, Colleen Ingoldsby, Jennifer Cockrall-King and Gail Hall!). We eventually got Leva Cafe and Cafe Haven on board to make the side salads, two restaurants who already source many of their ingredients from local producers, and booked Earl Hagman from Hog Wild Specialties, who would be the man behind the boar. As the event drew nearer, we secured Martin Kerr as the afternoon’s entertainment, applied for the necessary permits, purchased insurance, printed tickets, rounded up door prizes, arranged to borrow tents, organized another scavenger hunt and ordered everything from porta potties to non-alcoholic drinks to dessert to cutlery – it really was an education for me, as it was the first time I had a hand in putting together such a large-scale event where we would be feeding nearly 200 people. It really wouldn’t have come together without Maria though – with my day job, it would have been challenging to make connections during business hours, so Maria took on the brunt of the necessary calls.

We knew the date would be a problem for some – August 8, 2010 fell on this year’s Folk Fest weekend. Many people did express that the date did create a conflict, but in the end, it was as close to a sell out as we could have hoped for. All we had left to do was keep our fingers crossed for good weather.

On Sunday morning, the forecast was looking good. Maria and Jeff had generously taken the 4:30 a.m. shift, having met Earl at the Brewery at dawn to help move the barbeque. They were back at Alley Kat at 9 a.m. to meet up with Mack and I, alongside Neil and a few other brewery staff for set-up.

Checking on the boar (all 140lbs of it, and on the ‘cue since 4:45 that morning)

Many hands made light work, and we were finished in no-time. Of course, there were still plenty of things of things to do, and over the next few hours, we made our way through the task list.

All ready to go!

Yvan from Tree Stone Bakery had been kind enough to donate all of the bread for the barbeque, including a huge loaf that we nicknamed the “surfboard”, for how large it was.

Mack has fun slicing bread (we included Mighty Trio Organics canola oil for dipping)

Many started arriving even before 1 p.m., but the Alley Kat volunteers were ready to handle the thirsty crowd. Their beer is a fine choice on any day, but even more so on a hot summer afternoon.

There was also iced Toddy coffee from Transcend and lemonade from Homestyle Beverages for those not interested in beer

Martin Kerr was tasked with establishing the mood for the event, and I think he did a great job – there’s just something about an acoustic guitar that seemed to fit so well with the casual vibe that afternoon.

Martin entertains the crowd

Thea had brought Slow Food swag in case anyone was interested, and was also great in lending us a hand that day when we needed it.

The Slow Food table

We could sense the crowd was getting hungry, and planned to start serving food once it looked like most of the seats were filled.

The crowd

Jeff and Chad are ready to carve

Leva Cafe and Cafe Haven had delivered their salads earlier that afternoon, and they looked great!

Cafe Haven’s tri-colour carrot salad, featuring carrots from Riverbend Gardens and Greens, Eggs and Ham, and cilantro from their staff’s veggie patch (the sesame seeds were a nice touch)

Leva Cafe’s coleslaw featuring Caraflex cabbage from Riverbend Gardens (it was super-fragrant, from the sesame oil)

Leva Cafe’s mixed greens salad with Elderflower dressing featuring mixed heritage greens from Greens, Eggs and Ham, beets from Sundog Organics, and BC Blueberries from Steve and Dan’s (I really loved the blueberries)

Though we had originally planned for the food to be served buffet-style, we made a game-time decision to serve the food ourselves instead. It ended up being a great choice, if not only because it meant we were able to interact with every person who attended the event.

On the line

It was great to see some familiar faces – Liane from the Journal (who put together a very nice write-up of the event on her blog), fellow food bloggers Kevin and Lea, Jim and Elaine (who we met last year), and MP Linda Duncan.

Even my parents came out, and brought their friend Poh!

The line didn’t seem to diminish – every time we thought we were through, we looked up and saw that more people had joined the line. Really though, I probably just had no idea how many servings made up nearly 200.

The line

The carvers hard at work

After we were done serving (yes, there were seconds available for most who wanted them), Maria and I doled out the door prizes.

Maria announces the winner of a jar of Lola Canola honey

Finally, we were able to relax – for a while anyway. The four of us settled down in the shade with our plates of food.

Maria and I

Mack and Jeff

All that was left was takedown – though most of the crowd left just after 4, we had several tables linger until nearly 5. By 6 that night, we were finally done.

At the end of the day, Maria and I were really happy with the event – no one went hungry, and we avoided any major catastrophes! Of course, we both acknowledge that this event would not have happened without our volunteers, including Thea, Chad, Tara, Jeff, and the crew from Alley Kat. We also have to thank many local businesses who helped us out in other ways:

Mary Bailey of The Tomato for a full-page ad
Bob Robertson for designing the Beer & Boar ad
Yvan Chartrand of Tree Stone Bakery for donating bread
Riverbend Gardens for donating cabbage
Blue Plate Diner for donating potato-based plates
Credo Coffee for donating corn-based cups
Mary Ellen and Andreas Grueneberg and Patty Milligan for donating door prizes and lending us tents
Ed Fong of DeVine’s for donating door prizes
Julianna Mimande for donating a copy of We Eat Together
Kerstin’s Chocolates for donating a door prize
And last but not least – Neil and Lavonne of Alley Kat for hosting us and donating all of the beer.

Thanks to everyone who came out and helped to make the event a success!

You can check out Mack’s photo set here.

City Market Report: Week 13

So we did end up cruising the City Market early on Saturday, due to some last-minute shopping for the Wild Boar and Beer BBQ to take place the following day.

Great weather for a stroll

After the errands were completed, I made my rounds. It was good to see Julianna, Gabe and Zach out – they were selling the last of their We Eat Together inventory.

Julianna, Gabe, Zach

I know I’ve become a broken record, but I am continuously amazed with Sundog Organic’s selection of produce. I picked up some spinach, kale, basil and cilantro, but marvelled at the rest of the gorgeous goods. I was also happy to hear that their farm tour last week went over well; they hope to offer more tours in the future.

Eggplant!

Field peppers

At Greens, Eggs and Ham, I picked up some lean ground turkey that I had pre-ordered (a privilege of being a member of their Futures program). I saw their rat’s tail radishes for the first time this season – small green pods that resemble a cross between a pea and a chili pepper, but are crunchy, and taste like radishes. They are often eaten as a bar snack.

Rat’s tail radishes

Patty pan squash from Kuhlmann’s

Green beans from Kuhlmann’s

Sarah of Belua Designs made her biggest monster yet (he required 7 socks!)

I love seeing new vendors at the Market, and this week, there were two to meet. First, Barr Estate Winery actually chose the City Market to debut their product in their first official day of business (they were told by their marketing person that the City Market is the place to be – I have to agree!). They have a small fruit orchard on their property in Sherwood Park, and in their spare time (Rick and Amy work as heart researchers during the day), they make wine. At the moment, they have two varieties –raspberry and rhubarb. Between Barr and en Sante, I think it’s a boon for shoppers to be able to pick up local wines at the market to accompany their fresh produce!

Barr Estate Wineries

The second new vendor is Sugar Sugar Bakery, joining Whimsical Cupcakes to expand the Market’s cupcake offerings. I love the cupcake names, many of which have been given a moniker from the Archie series of comics. Though we picked up four cupcakes for a friend’s birthday, we didn’t try any ourselves yet. That said, Maria said the honey cupcake (topped with a honeycomb – too cute) was her favourite.

Cupcakes!

The buskers at the Market play such a huge part at setting the tone at the atmosphere, and one of my favourites, Martin Kerr, was back, for his first City Market date this year. He’s set to return next week, if you’re interested in his acoustics!

Martin Kerr

At the end of the day, Mack and I headed to Patty Milligan (aka Lola Canola)’s booth to learn how to take down her tent (she was kind enough to lend us the tent for us at the Boar & Beer BBQ). While awaiting her return, Mack managed to sell two jars of honey on Patty’s behalf! He was all smiles after that.

Downtown was a busy place on Saturday, also hosting the festive Cariwest parade that afternoon. We could hear the music from our condo, and headed out to Jasper Avenue to watch the colourful procession.

Gorgeous costumes

The flatbed trucks, toting towers of speakers, DJs spinning and a steel drum band, were interesting modes of transportation – more so because of their sheer number!

And another one…

The costumes alone were definitely worth coming out for, and everyone in the parade looked like they were having a great time! I have to wonder though – there was some very suggestive dancing in places – for a family-friendly event, I would have thought those in the parade would have kept it PG.

Steel drums!

We followed the procession down to Churchill Square, where the party continued.

Make room!

Councillors Amarjeet Sohi and Ben Henderson having a blast

Palance!

You can take a look at Mack’s photo set of the parade here.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Drumroll Please: Judging at the 35th Annual Heritage Festival

Mack and I were thrilled when the Heritage Festival asked us to be a part of their judging panel to help identify outstanding pavilions this year.

Heritage Festival

On Sunday, we took the bus to Hawrelak Park and met up with our two fellow judges – former City Councillor Michael Phair and CTV News Director Glenn Kubish. Though I knew it would be logistically impossible for the four of us to review 63 pavilions representing 85 cultures, I wasn’t sure how the cull would be taking place.

With our fellow judges

It turned out that the Festival administration had conducted a preliminary round of judging the afternoon before, and had whittled the massive list down to seven or eight finalists in each of three categories: arts and crafts, entertainment and food.

Board Vice President Sue Ooraikul Thomas oriented the group and provided each of us with a binder outlining the judging guidelines, and sheets we would be using to record our scores and comments. We decided that by splitting into two teams, we would be able to cover more ground (particularly in the performance category, as shows are not continuously offered).

Michael and Glenn get ready to roll

One of the highlights was undoubtedly getting to use a golf cart for the duration of our judging duties. I was always envious, on those scorching hot afternoons, of the people who would zip nonchalantly by in their covered cart. Well, for a few hours, we got to experience the joys of such convenience ourselves!

The view from the golf cart

It was funny though – we were stopped by numerous people who assumed that we were staff or volunteers (which, I suppose, we were). We had to learn the lay of the land pretty quick in order to direct people to washrooms, ATMs, and specific pavilions.

Mack hearts the cart

It’s no surprise, really, but the judging criteria really made us more aware of certain things, aspects of pavilions that even after years of attending the festival, I had never really noticed. It was an interesting exercise, and as Mack agreed, made us look at all of the pavilions (after our judging duties were over) in a different way.

Chris cooks up a storm at the French pavilion

After about four hours, we met up with Michael and Glenn to compare notes. Though I thought it would be more of a challenge to come up with our top-three in each category, it wasn’t difficult at all:

Arts and Crafts

Iraq
Thailand
Scandinavia

Entertainment

China
Philippines
Thailand

Food

Borneo
Scandinavia
Arab

We both really enjoyed the experience – thanks again to the Festival Board for thinking of us!

Our judging duties over, we took our time and wandered through the grounds, stopping at pavilions we didn’t get a chance to see the first time around.

Dancers at the Thailand pavilion

Three tenors at the Italian pavilion

Lion dances on the Taiwanese stage (yes, we were hit by the lettuce)

Finger puppets at the Chilean tent

The Scandinavian pavilion in Lego!

Vuvuzelas at the Africa OYI pavilion

Creative marketing

Cooking up chicken skewers at the Japanese pavilion

So much corn

We were happy to hear that the Festival was “going green”, with Earth Friendly Distributors providing biodegradable plates, bowls, napkins and utensils, and Waste Management providing receptacles for biodegradable materials. Unfortunately, the system needed some improvements, as several pavilions we visited were doling out Styrofoam plates and plastic cutlery. Also – some of the bins could have definitely used emptying, in order to encourage the diversion from regular waste.

Overflow

Though many of our food tickets went toward drinks to keep us hydrated and cool, we were able to try some interesting items, including an arepa from the Venezuelan tent, and fried plantain from the Congolese tent (I thought Mack would like plantain, given his love of bananas…but ultimately, the starch was too much for him).

Shaved ice from the Hong Kong pavilion

Arepa

Fried plantain

My annual Heritage Festival treat – langos from the Hungarian pavilion

Mack’s annual treat – perogies from the Ukraine pavilion

The Heritage Festival is one of the those events that really represents the best of Edmonton – its diversity, its energy, its spirit. Richard LaSueur, Past President, indicated that they are at capacity at Hawrelak Park (with a limited number of outlets to connect power and water), and will need to expand in order to accommodate all of those who apply. I do hope they can achieve this in the coming years – the Heritage Festival is a vibrant celebration that shoots for the moon, and reaches it.

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