September 20, 2013 What the Truck?! at Churchill Square

It’s been an amazing year for food trucks. The growth in the Edmonton scene has been unprecedented, with at least a dozen new trucks joining the scene in 2013, offering cuisine ranging from tacos to banh mi to the ever-popular poutine.

This year also saw changes to Edmonton’s street food policy, with longer hours of operations, and more clarity around where food trucks can park. The new regulations should make it easier for even more trucks to join the city’s fleet.

This Friday, we want to celebrate this banner year in Edmonton’s food truck scene with the largest What the Truck?! in our festival’s history. This Friday, join us on Churchill Square to sample fare from 16 vendors, including two of the most recent newcomers, Knosh and Black Bull Grill. You can take a look at the menus here.

What: What the Truck?! at Churchill Square
Where: Churchill Square
When: Friday, September 20, 2013
Time: 4-8pm
Check out the Facebook event to RSVP and spread the word!

This time last year on the Square

We’ll have DJs Thomas Scott (Urban Monks) and Polyesterday helping us set the tone that night, two of our What the Truck?! music veterans.

Hope to see you there!

What the Truck?! in Louise McKinney Riverfront Park: August 24, 2013

Since our successful Blink: Urban Picnic last year, Mack and I have mulled over other ways to animate the river valley. Even temporarily, it was great to see Louise McKinney Riverfront Park being used for something other than a quiet stroll or a cycle through.

Although the Park is home to several festivals, including this past weekend’s annual Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival, and Hip Hop in the Park, for most of the summer, it lays dormant, and is without a doubt one of the most underutilized green spaces in the city. It’s a shame, given its proximity to the core, and with beautiful views of the valley and the river, Louise McKinney should be a better fixture on the event scene.

I recognize the gradient, and the access points down to the riverfront could be a barrier for some. And for others, its lack of casual, commercial activity (save for the Urban Green Café), doesn’t provide enough of an excuse to make the trek down worthwhile.

Our upcoming What the Truck?! on Saturday is an attempt at enlivening the space, just for an evening.

What: What the Truck?! at Louise McKinney
Where: Louise McKinney Riverfront Park, 9999 Grierson Hill Road
When: Saturday, August 24, 2013
Time: 5-9pm

We’ll have ten trucks on hand, including two of the newest to join Edmonton’s fleet – Lemongrass Grill and The Crooked Fork.

French Quarter Farmers' Market

Lemongrass Grill and The Crooked Fork

You can check out the menus here and judge for yourself, but it’s hard not to love the variety food trucks bring to the table (or in this case, park).

Hope to see you there on Saturday!

Rediscovering Chinatown: 97 Street Night Market

I remember spending weekends in Chinatown with my parents as a kid. It was always busy; parking was hard to come by, and the sidewalks were lined with people shuffling from shop to shop. At the time, I’m not sure I understood why my Mum would drag us to four seemingly identical grocery stores, but now, I understand it was not only the price differential, but the fact that each establishment offered a particular specialty that was worth seeking out.

In my teenage years, I accompanied my parents on their errands less and less, though on the odd occasion out and about in Chinatown, it was evident the neighbourhood was changing – businesses once vibrant were shuttered, buildings were falling into disarray, and the streets were noticeably quieter. I’m sure the opening of megastore T & T didn’t help matters, offering convenience and easy parking, but the visual aesthetics of Chinatown – neglected and unkempt – probably also didn’t do much to boost the image of the district.

Chinatown today

Five years ago, I began to rediscover Chinatown. My office is within walking distance of the main shopping hub, and at lunch time and after work, I’d pop over for a bowl of pho at Pho Tau Bay, a banh mi from Nhon Hoa or pick up a box of buns from Garden Bakery for breakfast. For Asian groceries, Lucky 97 is my first stop, while Ying Fat meets all of my tofu needs. And though not Asian at all, the Italian Bakery is my go-to deli.

You can now find me in Chinatown at least once a week, eating, shopping and appreciating a neighbourhood that is still very much pedestrian-oriented. We now celebrate streets like the 104 Street Promenade and 124 Street for their walkability, independent businesses and diversity – but what about Chinatown?

The area has made some strides in recent years, adding Urban China, and its new sister eatery Urban Shabu, which have helped draw crowds as destination restaurants. The Wild Rose Circle Project, with housing and retail, is finally under construction, and the McCauley Revitalization Strategy continues on. But in the short term, what else can be done to encourage Edmontonians to discover or rediscover their Chinatown?

I am part of a new group called Our Chinatown. We are a group of young professionals working to revive Edmonton’s Chinatown – reclaim its heritage, embrace its present and imagine its future. As our inaugural event, we are organizing a night market as a way to create a lively, energetic gathering that inspires a new vision for the neighbourhood.

Event: 97 Street Night Market
Date: Saturday, August 17, 2013
Time: 6-10pm
Location: parking lot on 97 Street, south of 105 Avenue

Heritage Chinatown Night Market Part of our organizing team

Building on the success of the Heritage Night Market organized by the Chinese Benevolent Association on July 1, 2013, our market will set a different tone, anchored by a DJ and three food trucks.

We’re thrilled to have The Lingnan Express, Molly’s Eats and Swich offer Asian-inspired dishes, which will include ever-popular night market items like curried fish balls, green onion cakes and oyster omelettes, and modern takes on Asian cuisine such as Korean smoked meat and matcha ice cream sandwiches. Gama will also be serving up bubble tea! Check out the menus here.

Besides food, vendors also form the cornerstone of night markets, and we’ve assembled a great selection of items for your shopping pleasure! You will find everything from accessories to clothing, CDs and movies, toys and stationary to hand-made art and keepsakes.

Heritage Chinatown Night Market Heritage Night Market vendor

We’re also excited that a few young performance groups will be on hand for entertainment. 5 Elements Drums and Lion Dance Crew will help us kick off the market at 6pm, and at 8pm, Convergence Dance Crew will bring us their best K-pop dance covers! I had the pleasure of watching Convergence at this weekend’s Heritage Festival – they just nailed Psy’s Gentleman!

Convergence Dance Crew!

For those who are interested in learning more about Chinatown’s past, present or future, we have also lined up several tours on the history, future development and artistic side of the neighbourhood. The schedule will be posted on the website on Tuesday.

August 17 is shaping up to be a Chinatown equivalent of Downtown’s Super Saturday. The Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival rocks the North Saskatchewan River from 9am-5pm in Louise McKinney Park, while the 5th Annual East Meets West Festival runs 11am-8pm on 107 Avenue and 99 Street. End your day at the 97 Street Night Market from 6-10pm.

We hope you’ll join us in (re)discovering our Chinatown on August 17!

Recap: Truck Stop in The Quarters

We usually avoid organizing What the Truck?! events in July because of how busy the Edmonton event calendar gets in the middle of summer, but the Boyle Renaissance Plaza venue was too good to pass up. It was an opportunity for food trucks to animate an area that should be more visible and appreciated, and we were happy that Edmontonians responded with a good turnout, in spite of several concurrent festivals.

Perfect weather for food trucks!

Though we estimate that a total of 1,000 people came through that evening, about 100 took a tour of the new facility, explored the community centre and learned about the programs offered by the YMCA.

Boyle Street Plaza

Those who attended may have noticed some coloured coupons floating around that day. The Boyle Street Community League had stepped up to purchase vouchers that were distributed to low-income residents and community members so that finances would not be a barrier to partaking in the event. We were floored by their generosity and inclusivity.

Gorgeous green space

City of Edmonton staff were on hand to provide face painting to children and adults alike, and Virgin Radio provided the soundtrack for the evening.

Mindy Cooper of Virgin Radio

Mack and I also made sure to line-up before the crowds gathered (good thing too, given three of the trucks sold out!). We were able to share the green curry chicken sandwich from Swich and the pulled pork poutine from La Poutine. Yum!

Green curry chicken sandwich

Pulled pork poutine

Thanks to everyone who came out! We’ll be announcing the details of our next What the Truck?! event taking place in August next week. Stay tuned!

On the (Alberta) Avenue: Shop Smart and Avenue Goes to the Dogs

Though the city’s fabric is enriched by long-standing events like K-Days, Folk Fest and the Fringe Festival, I’m really attracted to less established festivals like Deep Freeze and Illuminite. Someday, these events might come to be regarded in the same light as the “big boys”, but for now, I love their grassroots nature, charm and inclusive feel.

Alberta Avenue has really been a pioneer in this front, with the aforementioned Deep Freeze and Kaleido both setting the bar high for other communities hoping to employ festivals as a catalyst to revitalize the neighbourhood.

A few weeks ago, we heard about a launch of Alberta Avenue’s latest retail campaign called “Shop Smart”. Building on the coalition behind “We Believe In 118”, the drive reminds consumers to avoid questionable retailers and to shop locally. They have also launched a petition that advocates for the creation of a by-law that will regulate the sale of weapons.

The launch took place on July 11, 2013 with a small street party on the corner of 118 Avenue and 87 Street. With food trucks and a passport for prizes activity (involving visiting businesses displaying the “Shop Smart” decal to collect stamps), we thought it would be a fun way to spend the evening.

Shop Smart event

The timing, from 4:30-6:30pm, was curious, because it wouldn’t have given those that don’t live in the community much time to reach the event and participate. It also didn’t seem to be as organized as it could have been – one of the most prominent businesses featured on the passport, location-wise, was Handy Bakery. It wasn’t even open for the last part of the event.

That said, it was a good opportunity for us to finally visit businesses we’ve walked past dozens of times, but never had the excuse or time to check out.

Wall of guitars at Mhyre’s Music

Some businesses took the launch more seriously than others, as a chance to positively engage with new customers. Wee Book Inn, for example, handed out free tote bags and offered an in-store discount.

Mack at Wee Book Inn

Others, like Saffron’s Carribean Delight, seemed less than happy to be a part of the event. Granted, the server probably just felt overwhelmed, but the lack of welcome or even a smile didn’t make me eager to return.

The event was also an opportunity for us to try S*wich for the first time. S*wich is fairly new to the food truck scene, but sets itself apart in the sandwich category by baking its own bread. They also feature popsicles and ice cream sandwiches from THIS Place (affiliated with the truck). Mack and I are happy to say that the sandwiches do live up to its reputation, especially the bread!

Montreal smoked meat sandwich

Mack with a smoked turkey club

In the end, the prize we earned from collecting the minimum ten stamps was another tote bag with some information about the Avenue’s businesses and a few coupons. I’m not sure what we expected, but it was a fitting souvenir for the evening.

The following Sunday, we returned to the neighbourhood for Avenue Goes to the Dogs, an annual celebration of dogs. The festival, at Eastwood Park, began as a way for community members to meet one another, as many residents have dogs. Though we don’t have a dog ourselves (living in a pet-free building doesn’t help matters), we love dogs!

We ran into Pancakes, The Act’s loveable mascot

The festival lucked out with the weather – early morning showers gave way to overcast but dry skies. The crowds were also modest at the start of the festival (I was reminded of the rabid hordes at Toronto’s Woofstock earlier this year), but everyone had such genuine love for their pets that it more than made up for numbers.

Dog meet-up!

The real draw of the festival for me was the dachshund races. I missed the same kind of event at Woofstock, so this was a chance for me to watch this at home! There was a solid turnout of more than a dozen dachshunds and other long-bodied dogs, including Pancakes. Even Mack got in on the action, volunteering to hold Pancakes at the starting line.

Ready, set…

Go!

It really was the cutest thing, even if some of the dogs were less than cooperative!

See Spot run

Pancakes really had a bit of an unfair advantage due to her size, but some of the little ones gave her a run for her money, including the absolutely adorable Ellie, an 18 month old dachshund.

Ellie

Avenue Goes to the Dogs was much less commercial in nature than Woofstock, and felt very community and information-oriented, with displays that included City pet licensing requirements, the Edmonton Police K-9 Unit, and pet adoption societies.

Adopt me!

We had a great time, even sans dog. Kudos to the organizers for a great job, and for giving us another reason to visit the Avenue.

Truck Stop: Boyle Renaissance on July 25, 2013

It isn’t by accident that our What the Truck?! events have taken place only in centrally-located, mature neighbourhoods. We knew early on, for a grassroots festival like ours, we needed to choose areas of high residential density and ideally, areas which also boasted high levels of foot traffic. Given we had a promotional budget of $0, we needed to encourage the chance that visitors could stumble upon the festival.

Of course, our secondary reasoning for the venues we have chosen in the past relate to our desire to animate underutilized spaces by showcasing their potential, and encouraging the use of alternative modes of transportation by ensuring pedestrian and transit accessibility.

This is why our upcoming event The Quarters is so exciting. The area has fallen into disrepair over the years, but the City has a grand vision to breathe life back into the area, which will include parks, a direct connection to the river valley, and new commercial and residential developments. One development, the Boyle Renaissance, is well underway, and can be seen as the herald of change in this neighbourhood.

Boyle Renaissance

Located just east of downtown, the completed first phase not only includes both affordable and market housing in the Welcome Village, but also a community centre. Mack and I toured through the facility in March, and were really impressed by what we saw. The building houses the Boyle Street Community League and also functions as its multi-function community hall – a gym, meeting rooms and even a kitchen can be rented through the league. We’ve been told that certain choice times in the gym have already been fully booked for the year by sports teams.

Welcome Village

The YMCA occupies the second floor of the building, and runs several programs out of the facility, including a family resource centre, child care centre and a collective kitchen.

We also appreciated some of the aesthetic features, including built-in projection equipment to allow art or films to be showcased just behind the glass walls, and a communal table that will be installed in the outdoor courtyard.

Community centre

When the City approached us earlier this year about organizing a Truck Stop event at the Boyle Renaissance, we knew it was the perfect fit. Though it may not have the foot traffic of Downtown, Oliver or Old Strathcona, we hope that through events like this, more Edmontonians will be exposed to up-and-coming neighbourhoods like The Quarters.

Join us on July 25, 2013 for our next Truck Stop in The Quarters!

What: Truck Stop: Boyle Renaissance
Where: Boyle Renaissance Plaza, 103A Avenue & 95 Street
When: Thursday, July 25, 2013
Time: 5-8p.m.

Expect children’s activities, music, a movie projection and tours of the new facility. And of course, food!

We are thrilled that four of the food trucks that debuted this year will be joining us that night. This will be one of the best opportunities to try food from several of the newest trucks in town, all in one place!

Menus will be posted at the What the Truck?! website on July 18, so check back then. Hope to see you there!

Sundays are for Markets: Eden’s Market on 124 Street

Sundays are coming up markets – almost overnight, three markets have joined the fray, giving shoppers even more alternatives to the Saturday mainstays of Old Strathcona, City Market and St. Albert.

Callingwood, 10am-3pm at 69 Avenue & 178 Street
South Edmonton Common, 10am-4pm at 151 Karl Clark Road
Eden’s Market on 124 Street, 10am-3pm at 10534 – 124 Street
French Quarter, 12-5pm, 8627 rue Marie-Anne-Gaboury (91 Street)
Edmonton Petroleum Club Outdoor Market, 10am-2pm, 1110 108 Street

I haven’t had a chance to visit the latter two yet, but Mack and I stopped by Eden’s Market on 124 Street on Father’s Day. Located in a small parking lot, the market looks to build on the momentum of the Thursday 124 Street Grand Market, which has managed to attract its fair share of regular patrons with its eclectic mix of food trucks and homegrown and handmade goods.

Though we had noticed premature signs last September announcing a forthcoming market on that corner, Eden’s Market has been attributed to organizer Patricia Cheung’s desire to help the Youth Empowerment and Support Services (YESS) make up its funding shortfall by donating all vendor fees to the non-profit. It’s interesting to note that the South Edmonton Common market also trumpets its support for charities (unfortunately, without too many concrete details about the type or amount of support).

On that rainy Sunday, crowds were scarce. This could have easily been attributed to the weather, but more likely to the Dad’s Day conflict. There were less than a dozen vendors participating (not surprising given the growing competition), including three food trucks.

We picked up some peppered jerky from Andy’s Finest Jerky, and scored some waffles from Eva Sweet. Though it’s not quite big enough to linger for long, it sounds like Eden’s Market will continue to grow as it finds its footing.

They will be celebrating their grand opening on June 23, 2013, with five new vendors, five food trucks, and a lion dance. Here’s hoping for good weather on Sunday and for the rest of the season!

Eden’s Market runs 10am-3pm at 10534 – 124 Street until October 6, 2013.

Recap: What the Truck?! in Old Strathcona

I’m always a worrier before our events, and on Friday, with the overcast skies threatening rain all afternoon, I really wasn’t sure how things would turn out at our first What the Truck?! of the year.

But after it poured in the hours leading up to the start, the skies cleared, and we were blessed with sunny (and dry) skies. And thankfully, the crowds followed!

After a series of successful Truck Stops in McIntyre Park last year, we started considering the location for one of our larger festivals. Central, accessible, with lots of built in seating and grass, it turned out to be the perfect setting for a celebration of food trucks to usher in summer.

It was particularly gratifying for Mack and I to see so many young families in attendance. We always strive to make our events family-friendly, but it seemed even more children were in attendance this time around, dancing, playing with one another, and taking advantage of the open space.

It’s always great to see familiar faces at What the Truck?! – we really appreciate the support – but it’s also nice when we run into those who are attending the festival for the first time!

Allan (of Irvings Farm Fresh) at his first WTT

Mack and I were also excited to try the new food trucks for ourselves (it’s almost embarrassing to admit). Paul Lampa of The Food Fighter laughed when I told him I wouldn’t be sharing my chicken parmigiana sandwich – I knew why after I attempted to finish it on my own. I should have weighed the sandwich – it was beyond generous, and I was defeated by the layers of breaded chicken topped with cheese and a subtly sweet tomato sauce.

Paul of The Food Fighter

Mack chose the cheesy beef sandwich from The Local Omnivore, after learning that they brined the beef for twenty-one days before smoking it.

Mack with his cheesy beef

At the end of the night, most of the trucks had sold out of food. Thank you to those who attended for making the event a success – we hope you had a great time! To help us with the planning for future events, we would appreciate it if you could fill out this survey about your experience.

Events like this cannot happen without support from the community, and we were incredibly fortunate to work with great partners and sponsors. The Old Strathcona Business Association stepped up as a partner from the moment we approached them; a special shout out to Tineke for all of your work! The Strathcona Community League was a sponsor early on as well, and helped us spread the word in the neighbourhood. DJs Thomas Scott (Urban Monks), Rob Clarke and Polyesterday also donated their services – who didn’t want to dance along with them?

DJs Thomas Scott, Rob Clarke and Polyesterday

A final thank you goes to our wonderful volunteers, who were game for anything we threw at them that night! If you found the site spotless, you know who to thank!

We are in the process of planning our events for the rest of the year, but you can expect two more What the Truck?! events this season, and at least one Truck Stop in the coming months. Check back on What the Truck?! for details!

You can see more photos from the event here.

124 Street Grand Market 2013 Kick-Off

While the City Market is my go-to destination for seasonal produce and other groceries, the 124 Street Grand Market is a great mid-week destination for a fun evening out. In its first year, it did a great job highlighting the fact that a market isn’t just a shopping hub, but also a place for people to meet, eat, and linger. Their “food truck alley” encouraged patrons to expect great dinner options, and an expanse of tables to enjoy supper al fresco. The musical buskers were a bonus, and created a lovely atmosphere in which to drink in long summer nights.

Welcome!

The 2013 season for the 124 Street Grand Market kicked off this evening. The skies threatened rain, but this didn’t deter the modest crowds from celebrating the market’s return.

124 Street Grand Market

The Misery Mountain Boys

Four trucks offered plenty of options, and included Drift, Nomad, Little Village and Sailin’ On. My sister and I took this opportunity to give Sailin On’s vegan dishes a spin, and ordered the BLT ($8), containing coconut bacon, lettuce, tomato, carrot, and a homemade garlic vegan mayo.

Sailin’ On

We weren’t sure what to expect from the coconut bacon, but after trying it, were shocked at how the texture and taste so closely mimicked meat bacon. We learned that the coconut bacon was comprised of roasted coconut flavoured with spices, but besides a hint of coconut, it was a pretty impressive stand-in!

Felicia was almost fooled!

We also indulged in an ice cream sandwich from Cookie Love. Over the weekend, they picked up their bicycle-powered cart from Portland, and though it isn’t quite finished (awaiting decals and an umbrella), it was ready for its first trial run at the market.

Mike from Cookie Love

I bought an ice cream sandwich ($5), made up of a double chocolate chip cookie, regular chocolate chip cookie and vanilla ice cream. The cookies were thin enough to make it easy to eat, and were as soft as they could be having come out of a freezer. It was a nice treat on a warm night.

Ice cream sandwich

It was great to see some new vendors out as well, including Duchess. Giselle explained that although the shop was quite busy on market nights, it made sense to have an actual presence at the market. To sweeten the deal for shoppers, Duchess developed specific products that are exclusive to the market, such as marshmallow macarons and a line of bottled drinks. As you can expect from Duchess, everything was beautifully-packaged and gift ready!

Duchess iced teas and lemonades

This market is also a great place to find funky treasures and gifts. Tonight, we stumbled upon Kristine MacDonald’s “yeglaces”, silver/copper charms in the shape of our fair city, with a river etched through it.

Yeglaces

Although I don’t (yet) own a bike, it was such a novel idea to have a bike repair specialist on-site. Instead of park and ride, how about a tune-up and dinner?

Dusty Pedals

Congrats to Krista and her team on a great first day!

124 Street Grand Market
108 Avenue & 124 Street
Every Thursday evening from 4-8pm until October 3, 2013

Truck Stop: Ginger Beef Throwdown

It’s finally starting to feel like summer, and you know what that means – food truck season! Mack and I are still in the midst of finalizing the What the Truck?! calendar for the year, but we’re excited to announce our first 2013 Truck Stop, taking place next week!

What: Ginger Beef Throwdown
When: May 17, 2013
Time: 5-8pm
Where: Royal Alberta Museum, 12845 102 Avenue

Our Pulled Pork Throwdown was so well received last year that we didn’t hesitate when the Royal Alberta Museum approached us earlier this year with an idea to partner on an event.

To celebrate the RAM’s newest exhibit, Chop Suey on the Prairies, this Truck Stop will serve up different versions of ginger beef-inspired dishes, a staple on Chinese restaurant menus across the prairies in the early twentieth century. The Act Out & About, Bully Food Truck, The Lingnan Express and Smokehouse BBQ will be throwing down the gauntlet and doing their best to earn your vote. Four trucks, four dishes. You decide who made it best.

The Lingnan’s ginger beef

The museum will be open until 8pm that night so attendees can visit Chop Suey on the Prairies. Admission will be by donation (the rest of the RAM will be closed). This Truck Stop will be a great opportunity to not only taste some unique interpretations of a classic Chinese-Albertan dish, but to also explore some of the roots of our ethnic Prairie cuisine.

Check back on the What the Truck?! website on Monday for menus. Hope to see you there!

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