Just a reminder that our next Truck Stop is taking place this Thursday, July 25 downtown at the Boyle Renaissance. It’s an opportunity to try out four of Edmonton’s newest trucks and explore the new facility in The Quarters. Hope to see you there! On to this week’s food notes:

• Fort Edmonton Park has organized a “Food Through the Ages” event running at the site from August 3-5, 2013. Every day, visitors will have an option to work for their food, through a period-appropriate chore, and will be awarded with a period snack. Interesting idea of incorporating a participatory history lesson with food!
• Looking for something new to eat at K-Days? Liane writes that the deep-fried apple caramel pie was awarded the “best new food” on the midway this year.
• Liane provides a backgrounder to Rge Rd, the newest restaurant to open in the city.
• The Journal reviewed The Burg – it’s been hit or miss for diners, so good to hear they had a positive experience.
• Andrea posted about her experience at a recent Dishcrawl in the Southgate area.
• Sustainable Food Edmonton is looking to raise $250,000 to bring City Farm back.
• I’ve been dreaming about a Diner en Blanc in Edmonton since we were inspired to pull off the pedway pop-up last year, but it’s nice to see the event done closer to home – in Calgary, at Central Memorial Park in early July.
• Since Credo began closing early, I’ve had to look for another post-work meeting place. Though Roast does the job, it’s a bit inconsistent. THIS Place (10382 105 Street), however, has become my new favourite. On a hot summer’s day, what’s better than a popsicle and a freshly-squeezed lemonade?

Raspberry lemonade popsicle and lemonade

I strong-armed Mack into the Vietnamese iced coffee popsicle since I already ordered  – so unique!

• We used up some free pizza vouchers at the Whyte Avenue location of Famoso on the weekend. I’m happy to say it was a much better experience than our visit to the South Common branch.

Margherita pizza from Famoso

• Mack and I have also been craving ice cream and gelato like nothing else this past week! It meant a walk over to Cococo on 124 Street over the weekend – not a bad way to work for a treat!

Crème brulee gelato

It’s hard to believe we’re already in the middle of July – where has the summer gone? On the bright side, I do feel like we’ve been taking in a good variety of all that’s available to us in Edmonton. It really is a great place to be during festival season. On to this week’s food notes:

• Liane previewed the upcoming Taste of Edmonton Festival, which is helpful to parse through all of their new events this year. I’m looking forward to being a part of the judging panel at the ATCO Blue Flame Black Box Competition on Sunday!
• In the midst of festival season, I almost forgot about Fork Fest, which runs July 21-25 and July 28-August 1, 2013. Menus are forthcoming.
• Ration is a pop-up restaurant taking place on July 25, 2013 at Sabzy. Their 5-course vegetarian dinner will focus on celebrating the seasonal bounty that can be harvested locally. The event is led by Mithalee Rawat, the head chef at Pangea’s deli.
• Love Salvadorean food? Head to the Pupusa Festival on July 27, from noon-8pm at the Alberta Avenue Community Hall.
• Heritage Days food tickets are now on sale! You can also see the food menu here.
• Go now, Edmonton: RGE RD, Chef Blair Lebsack’s new restaurant in the former Blue Pear space, is now open!
• Yes, there is another food truck. Liv gives us the low-down on the comfort food of Street Eats.
• Speaking of food trucks, Bully handed out more than 400 free turkey dinners on Saturday outside the Bissell Centre. Bravo.
• Curious about how The Burg came to be? Check out this article in Vue.
• Thanks to the City’s streamlined rules on sidewalk cafes, it has been wonderful to see them blossom all around downtown, including at Tres Carnales.
• Mack and I stopped by the St. Albert Farmers’ Market on our way to an errand in the area. Though we had already done our shopping that morning, it was great to wander through. It was neat to see they had free bike parking!

Bike parking

• Oh how I missed you, Pho Tau Bay – after their two month hiatus, I was more than happy to fall back into a bowl of your comforting noodle soup.

Pho!

• The nights have been somewhat chilly, but Mack and I are still trying to take advantage of the al fresco dining window!

Pizza on the patio

We’re not able to harbour pets in our current building, but it doesn’t mean I can’t love dogs! I’ve heard so much about the Avenue Goes to the Dogs Festival on Alberta Avenue but we’ve never been – when I saw that they will have wiener dog races at noon on Sunday, I knew where we’d be this weekend. Hope you’ll be out and about as well! Onto this week’s food notes:

• Add another market to the Sunday list: the Century Park Sunday Market runs every Sunday from 9:30am-2pm until September 29, 2013. It just started on June 2, so it isn’t surprising they only have 8-10 vendors, but given the sudden increase in Sunday markets, I’m not sure how many more they can realistically attract.
• It’s great to see The North Edge (Central McDougall and Queen Mary Park, just north of downtown) repeating their successful series of food tours, now called Flavour Journey. Tickets are just $30, and grant you samples at three restaurants in the area. The event will run July 17, 31 and August 7, 2013.
• 10 Mile Meal has announced two of their upcoming events. The first is an urban meal in partnership with a Taste of Edmonton on July 27, 2013, where tickets are $60. The second is in Calmar, Alberta, the summer fair meal will celebrate German recipes made using locally-sourced ingredients. Tickets range from $65-80, depending on the inclusion of a farm tour.
• Speaking of Taste of Edmonton, they have released a full printable menu online. The festival runs July 18-27, 2013.
• Dishcrawl is already planning their next event, and it is right in my neck of the woods, 104 Street! The event runs on August 6, 2013, and tickets are $50.
• RGE RD, Chef Blair Lebsack’s new restaurant in the former Blue Pear space, is set to open this week! Keep your eyes peeled on Twitter.
• Avenue Edmonton’s fifth 25 Best Things to Eat List is finally online. For an annual feature that readers anticipate, you would think the editors would get it up sooner.
• The Act Out & About was featured on Eat St. last week! Great to see Edmonton representation on the show.
• Liane wrote about one man’s quest to quietly promote beekeeping in the city.
• I didn’t really understand the reason for the hype around “cronuts” (a cross between a croissant and a doughnut) until I read this.
• Mack sent me a link to a Business Week article about the McWrap at McDonald’s, and how it will not only position themselves as a “Subway buster”, but also will change the cucumber industry.
• Grub Street reports that Hostess products (think: Twinkies) may be getting makeovers in the near future, with health-conscious labels such as gluten-free, whole grain, and stevia-sweetened snack cakes. Well, if Kraft Dinner did it, why not Twinkies?
• Mack spied that Irie Foods (10152 82 Avenue) on Whyte Avenue is no longer, soon to be replaced with Pho 102.

Pho 102 Noodle Soup

Happy Canada Day! Hope you were out enjoying the glorious weather today, and taking in all the myriad activities happening all across the city. On to this week’s food notes:

• The Green & Gold Community Garden opened its market on June 29. Check their website for hours and a weekly produce update. Run by volunteers, all proceeds from the garden go to a non-profit organization in Rwanda that supports marginalized women.
• Liane had more details to share about Tavern 1903, the new resto-bar from the folks behind Hardware Grill that is set to open in the Alberta Hotel in August.
• Avenue Edmonton released their 5th edition of the 25 Best Things To Eat this week (unfortunately, it is not yet online – hopefully they will rectify the print and online connection soon). They are also hosting a party on July 4, 2013 to celebrate the issue. RSVP here.
• Von’s will be unveiling their new menu, designed by Chef Shane Chartrand, on July 2, 2013.
• Marlow Moo was disappointed with her recent experience at The Burg.
• It was interesting to read about Stony Plain Road’s plans to become Edmonton’s “Market District”.
• Phil offers a peek at three of the new Sunday farmers’ markets in Edmonton.
• I noticed that Syphay is now in Chinatown (94 Street & Jasper Avenue)! I haven’t been down Calgary Trail in a while, so don’t know if their other location remains intact, or if they moved, since their website is not up-to-date.

Syphay

• Mack and I always try to make our way to The Works, which is never too crowded and is great to explore at your own pace. This year, I was delighted to find a shopping cart carousel, constructed from metal barricades and shopping carts. Even cooler, the ride was human-powered – I bet the volunteers ended up with a good workout at the end of their shift.

Despite the brief periods of rain, we had a gorgeous weekend overall! I hope you took advantage of it in much the same way that I did – in the company of family and friends! On to this week’s food notes:

• The newest Italian Centre in the west end at 170 Street and 90 Avenue  opened its doors today, June 24, 2013.
• Smashburger will be opening its first Edmonton-area location on July 3, 2013 in Sherwood Park at #530, 5000 Emerald Drive.
• The Journal is organizing a Taste Alberta farm tour on July 21, 2013. Stops include Brown Eggs and Lamb and Rock Ridge Dairy.
• Cindy reviewed The Burg, the newest eatery on the 104 Street. Let’s hope it lasts longer than its predecessor.
• Speaking of burgers, Liv posted about the burgers from one of the newest food trucks, The Patty Wagon.
• Enzo’s on 76th received a favourable review from the Journal last week.
• The Taste of Edmonton unveiled their plans for this summer’s festival on Tuesday. You can look forward to nine new restaurants, the return of food trucks, and bite-size portions. More interesting, however, is the festival’s new direction: deliberate highlighting of chefs, local products and food preparation workshops. Get a taste of the event at their new website.
• It’s hard to believe some are already looking ahead to the holidays, but Christmas in November is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and launched their ticket sales last week. The line-up looks incredible, and though I’m sure the price of entry is worth the dollar amount, cost is a serious barrier to participation.
• Andrea recapped this year’s Indulgence event.
• Valerie rounded up some incredible posts as a part of her Canadian Food Experience Project. So much passion from across the country!
• Signs are up in the window of the tavern in the Alberta Hotel.

“From the great folks at Hardware Grill”

• Marlow Moo tipped me off that there is a new Hoang Long branch set to open downtown on 109 Street, south of Jasper Avenue.

Hoang Long

• Mack and I finally made it back to Izakaya Tomo on Sunday for dinner. We ended up ordering nearly everything we tried the first time around, except for the chicken karaage (fried chicken). It was crispy and seasoned perfectly – a must-try if you haven’t been to the restaurant yet.

Chicken karaage

I don’t know when it happened, but all of a sudden, we’re in the middle of summer! I hope you’re out enjoying it as much as I am (though on rainy days, for all you Mad Men fans, there’s nothing like a bit of Mad Style to perk up the week). On to this week’s food notes:

• Company’s Coming is hosting another Scratch & Dent sale on June 22, from 9am-3pm at 2311 96 Street. It’s been a few years since I’ve been myself, but I would expect nothing less than great deals on classic cookbooks.
• Liane posted about Savour Strathcona County, a tasting event taking place on July 7, 2013.
• Great to hear the Alberta Hotel finally has a tenant for their restored bar! Even better, that tenant will be Larry Stewart of the Hardware Grill!
• Food trucks are popping up left and right in Edmonton – the newest? The Crooked Fork, spotted at the French Quarter Farmers’ Market on Sunday.
• Liv reviewed one of the newest food trucks in the city – Swich.
• It looks like the first Red Shoe Crawl of the year was a smashing success! Check out Andrea and Robyn’s write-ups for a look at what you missed.
• The biggest food-related news this week was the sale of Safeway Canada to Sobeys.
• I saw this on Luisa’s blog and had to share it – how funny are these anti-theft lunch bags?
• The Burg was originally heralded to open on June 17, 2013 (taking over the former 104 Street Grill space), but it looks like the date has been pushed back to June 19.

The Burg

• Mack and I finally had the chance to check out the LIvingBridge over 97 Street. It wasn’t as intuitive to get on top of the bridge as we thought (use the stairs located next to the Remand Centre), but the space really has been transformed.

LivingBridge

Great view of Chinatown

• Makescape was a neat Make Something Edmonton project that transformed Centennial Plaza (the sorely underutilized space behind Stanley Milner Library) into a deliberate gathering place last week. Loved the framed boxes of grass!

Makescape

• I attended TEDx Edmonton for the first time on Saturday. Todd Babiak’s presentation on “The Future of Sabbaticals” was my favourite of the day, and definitely made me think about the possibilities of a year away from work. It was disappointing to see a slate of speakers so devoid of women though (just one, while other women on stage were limited to artistic pursuits). Still, the day, as expected, was meticulously organized, and the spirit of inspiration could be felt in the room.

One of the day’s highlights – Amaluna’s balance goddess Lara Jacobs

• June has been a month of milestones and celebrations for my family – I missed noting my Mum’s birthday a few weeks back. We had a casual dinner at Tres Carnales, where the tacos and the enchilada special were spot on!

Enchiladas from Tres Carnales

• Last week, we celebrated Felicia’s convocation and my Dad’s birthday all on the same day. We had a low-key lunch at the nearby High Level Diner (great food, even better service). We probably could have asked for a graduation candle too, but a birthday cinnamon bun seemed more fitting.

Felicia’s favourite grilled chicken and cheddar sandwich

Happy birthday, Dad!

Sorry for the belated food notes – I returned from Toronto late last night, and didn’t get a chance to post. I’m getting back into the swing of things though, including last-minute preparations for our first What the Truck?! this Friday – check out the menu here. Hope to see you there! On to this week’s food notes:

• The Art Gallery of Alberta started their Late Night Wednesday series on May 29, 2013. Admission includes a signature cocktail to be enjoyed on the terrace, and evening exhibition tours.
• A night market is launching in Edmonton in a few weeks, called Just a Little Somethin’. Their grand opening will take place on June 22, 2013, and it will run every Saturday from 7-11pm in a parking lot located at 10171 106^th Street until September.
• Sad news: Bee Bell Bakery will close its Old Strathcona retail location on June 15. I feel like a grew up on their banana cream pies – I hope someone decides to buy the bakery.
• Both Andrea and Linda reviewed Urban Shabu, the new hot pot restaurant in Chinatown. I did not know it was related to Urban China!
• Based on the Journal’s review, Café Amore has remained true to its roots in spite of its move to a larger location.
• It’s great to see gastropub chefs (Mike Scorgie of Woodwork and Jesse Morrison-Gauthier of The Common) competing amongst more traditional fine dining chefs in this year’s Gold Medal Plates.
• Gail Hall’s second farm tour in August heads to Central Alberta, and includes stops at Rock Ridge Dairies and Gull Valley Greenhouses.
• Annie sent me a story about the rise of pop-up patios in Calgary.
• Connecticut has made strides to label GMO food sold in the state, but will it ever come into affect?
• While in Toronto, we stumbled upon some interesting chip flavours at a Loblaws store.

Would you like a drink with those chips?

• At The Drake General Store off King West, we found a cool rendering of brunch hot spots nearby. Neat way to capture restaurant recommendations!

Brunch map

It feels like I was just in Toronto, but I’ll be there again in a few days to attend a work conference. It’s a nice excuse to be away, and to visit with my sister again! On to this week’s food notes:

• Downtown will certainly be a gathering place on June 8, 2013 for this year’s version of “Super Saturday”, with the City Market, Pride, and several parties. More details about what to expect here.
• Duchess Provisions promises to be bigger and better – check them out on June 9, 2013 when they re-open.
• The Sunday market scene just went from zero to sixty: Eden’s Market on 124 Street and 105 Avenue just opened on June 3, 2013 (interestingly, it is a fundraiser for YESS), and will operate until October 6 from 10am-3pm; La Cite Francophone’s year-round market will begin on June 16, 2013, and run Sundays from 12-5pm; and the Edmonton Petroleum Club will be starting their Browse & Brunch market series on June 9 – September 8, 2013. Of course, don’t forget about Callingwood, which runs 10am-3pm.
• I just looked at the list of Birch Patio Date Nights (out at the Devonian Gardens on Thursdays from June 6 – August 29). If you ever needed an excuse to go, how about themed nights, like Italian feast, summer in Paris, and my favourite, county fair? Count me in!
• The Edmonton Craft Beer Festival is on June 14-15, 2013 at the Expo Centre.
• Both Marianne and Sarah visited Belgravia Hub last week – looks like a great community spot!
• Robyn reviewed Café Amore’s new space downtown.
• It looks like Swichfood will be out on the streets tomorrow – I just can’t keep up with all of the new food trucks this year!
• Pure Kitchen now has a website! And they have coupons!
• Ninh Kieu (10708 98 Street) in Chinatown has now changed hands.

Cusina Ni Mutya

• This evening, I had an amazingly productive and energizing meeting about another pop-up event we’re planning for this summer. It probably had more to do with the company and the idea, but it may have also been related to the namesake dish at Café Tiramisu.

Iced latte and tiramisu

• Felicia and I had the privilege of attending Cirque du Soleil’s Amaluna under the big top at Northlands with complimentary tickets. It was my first Cirque, and I was blown away. I expected acrobatics, but wrapped up in story, beautifully told, it was so much more. It’s a must see!

Under the big top!

Hurrah for rain! Hopefully we are in store for more moisture, but it’s still amazing how fantastically green everything seemed to become overnight. I relish my lunch hour walks when I get to drink it all in – hope you’re getting some fresh spring air as well! On to this week’s food notes:

• A new market debuts this weekend. Check out Eden Market on 124 Street and 105 Avenue every Sunday starting June 2, 2013 from 10am-3pm. It sounds like they will have several food trucks on hand, including Battista’s Calzones, Eva Sweet and The Food Fighter.
• I was too slow in posting a link to Elm Café’s first brunch that they are hosting in their brand new 118 Avenue space, but it sounds like they will be offering them on a regular basis in the future.
• It looks like Urban Shabu (9700 105 Avenue) in Chinatown is now open. Anyone been?
• Liv reviewed the freshly opened Belgravia Hub.
• Another corporate food truck is rolling into town (remember the visit by Kraft last year?) – this time, Sabra, offering samples of hummus and salsa from June 6-9, 2013. Check their Twitter for location updates.
• Top Chef Canada is recruiting for Season 4 (deadline June 11, 2013). What say we start drafting Edmonton chefs to represent?
• After work on Saturday, I swung by the Alberta Hotel to check out CKUA’s new space on Jasper Avenue. The music room was too packed for much of a peek, but the bar space (tenant still TBD) was beautiful. Hopefully someone takes it over soon!

Alberta Hotel

• On a rainy Friday, I grabbed some lunch at Bully Food Truck, parked in Churchill Square. The pizza burger (topped with pepperoni, mozzarella, caesar salad and bruschetta) was messy, but worth it!

Pizza burger

• In spite of our workout on the weekend, Mack and I gave into our cravings and ended up at Route 99 for a plate of poutine. It was worth every fry.

Poutine!

I had great intentions to catch up on writing and some other things this weekend…but then I found myself just enjoying the long weekend. I hope you were able to take in the sunshine as well! On to this week’s food notes:

• A reminder about Slow Food Edmonton’s Berkshire & Beer event at the Yellowhead Brewery on May 26, 2013. The menu is now up as well.
• Dishcrawl will be hosting their next neighbourhood crawl around Southgate Mall on June 12, 2013.
• Liv professed her love of the sandwiches at Pure Kitchen.
• Vue profiled Sailin’ On, the newest food truck to hit the streets in Edmonton.
• Sad news: the Arbour Room at the Rutherford House is now closed due to staffing and financial challenges.
• I missed this article last week – ever wanted to peek into RGE RD Chef Blair Lebsack’s kitchen? Now you can.
• I also missed linking to Omar Mouallem’s fantastic piece about the history (and his history) with Burger Baron.
• Mack sent me this amazingly nutty clip from a recent episode of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. The  owners are so stubborn and blind to their toxic behaviour that it’s hard to believe the confrontations aren’t staged.
• Valerie posted a recap about Eat Alberta 2013. Her pictures are gorgeous, and bring me right back to the day.
• Mack and I trekked across the High Level bridge over the weekend for dinner and dessert. The latter was made up of visits to Transcend and Menchies. Transcend was advertising their new cold brew coffee (something we’ve made at home, but are generally too lazy to do on a regular basis). Mack loved it, commenting that it actually tasted like coffee, though given it is filtered several times, we were surprised to see so many unidentified flecks in the mixture.

Transcend’s cold brew coffee

• Menchie’s, the newest frozen yogurt chain to land in Edmonton, is set up in the same way as other self-serve froyo establishments, with a wall of yogurt options and an adjacent topping station. I did appreciate the easy access to sample cups, though was hoping for more fresh fruit options. Overall, I enjoyed the strawberry sorbet, but probably wouldn’t be able to pick it out of a froyo line-up.

Menchie’s

• Felicia and I hit up Hundred for an Alley Burger last night. I don’t know what it is, but the burger always tastes better when consumed outside on a warm summer night.

Alley burger!